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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 19:12:02 GMT
If Mary Poppins ends up going to the Drury Lane, to early to predict Carrie as the lead...?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 19:19:06 GMT
If Mary Poppins ends up going to the Drury Lane, to early to predict Carrie as the lead...? I don't think they would sack Zizi for Carrie somehow. I think if they were going to get rid of Zizi then they would get a "celebrity" to get the audiences in to be honest..
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 19:21:21 GMT
If Mary Poppins ends up going to the Drury Lane, to early to predict Carrie as the lead...? I don't think they would sack Zizi for Carrie somehow. I think if they were going to get rid of Zizi then they would get a "celebrity" to get the audiences in to be honest.. I didn't say they had to get rid of Zizi she is only signed on for the tour as far as we are aware currently, she may have a prior commitment for after the tour in which she can't do the West End run
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 19:35:02 GMT
I don't think they would sack Zizi for Carrie somehow. I think if they were going to get rid of Zizi then they would get a "celebrity" to get the audiences in to be honest.. I didn't say they had to get rid of Zizi she is only signed on for the tour as far as we are aware currently, she may have a prior commitment for after the tour in which she can't do the West End run Haha true! I think they would get two new leads for the West End run probably
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Post by musicalfloozie on Apr 29, 2016 7:26:25 GMT
Just reading the cast for when pops into Sheffield and whilst I'm pleased Phil Jupitas isn't in it, we seem to have Shaun Williamson 'Barry from Eastenders' hope I can get out my head he's Barry!
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Post by CG on the loose on Apr 29, 2016 8:40:36 GMT
His costumes for Chitty are a little more flamboyant, hopefully you'll be able to draw a veil over Barry... ;-)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2016 8:42:50 GMT
Carrie looks beautiful, Lee looks sexy... I'm sold.
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Post by musicalfloozie on Apr 29, 2016 9:23:09 GMT
His costumes for Chitty are a little more flamboyant, hopefully you'll be able to draw a veil over Barry... ;-) The costumes look fabulous, he's still Barry though. I would love to see Mark Benton in the role but sure Barry will do just fine. I'm really looking forward to it.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 15:56:42 GMT
Best of luck to all of the new new cast members debuting tonight in Milton Keynes!
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 19:40:59 GMT
Seeing it now, but the show has been stopped due to technical difficulties with the car. We've been waiting for ten minutes so far. For the record though, nobody has been slurring their lines.
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Post by stageyninja83 on May 4, 2016 19:54:56 GMT
Seeing it now, but the show has been stopped due to technical difficulties with the car. We've been waiting for ten minutes so far. For the record though, nobody has been slurring their lines. 25 minutes now, couldn't have been far from the interval. The old ladies around me are getting jittery that Lee may not reappear!
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 20:30:00 GMT
Seeing it now, but the show has been stopped due to technical difficulties with the car. We've been waiting for ten minutes so far. For the record though, nobody has been slurring their lines. 25 minutes now, couldn't have been far from the interval. The old ladies around me are getting jittery that Lee may not reappear! I didn't realise you were local to MK too! Which section are you sat? Unfortunately I'm not enjoying this very much at all...
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Post by stageyninja83 on May 4, 2016 20:30:10 GMT
Although Lee looked so knackered after Me Ol' Bamboo that I wonder if the show stop was to give him a 10 minute lie down ?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 21:47:08 GMT
Gosh, well I really wanted to like this, as the film holds a dear place in my childhood memory. But alas, today's show was plagued with difficulties. Faulty microphones, broken headlights and juddering sets. The children in this I found to be very hammy, choosing to shout every line possible. The boy and Carrie both had a near miss when stepping back onto Chitty when it appeared that the foot hold buckled, nearly causing them to face plant the floor. Whilst I appreciate that today was day one in a new venue with a new cast, there are still fundamental issues with this I feel. The extra songs not from the film are clearly filler and are quite tiresome. I just feel this doesn't translate particularly well onto stage.
High points - Carrie Hope Fletcher has a voice to die for, and Doll on a Music Box felt truly magical to witness.
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Post by David J on May 4, 2016 22:11:05 GMT
I'm still convinced that the original production and 1st tour translated the film to stage very well.
It's just the changes that were made in the subsequent tours that have done the musical no favours. The second tour added the lesser songs from the film whilst cutting out the childcatcher's only song. This current version takes ages to get going whilst the songs have been slowed down
Does the car still wobble up and down whenever anyone clambers on it? And simply making it go up and down in the air doesn't cut it for me.
Cant fault West Yorkshire Playhouse for giving this musical a try, but this needs a fully-fledged production to be truly magical.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 22:15:42 GMT
I'm still convinced that the original production and 1st tour translated the film to stage very well. It's just the changes that were made in the subsequent tours that have done the musical no favours. The second tour added the lesser songs from the film whilst cutting out the childcatcher's only song. This current version takes ages to get going whilst the songs have been slowed down Does the car still wobble up and down whenever anyone clambers on it? And simply making it go up and down in the air doesn't cut it for me. Cant fault West Yorkshire Playhouse for giving this musical a try, but this needs a fully-fledged production to be truly magical. 'Fraid so. Is the car meant to turn sideways as the projection moves to a landscape shot of the countryside or does it deliberately look like its careering out of control, as it always looks face on to the audience? Maybe I'm doing it a disservice, but I like to see the good in most things. It just happens that today was more of a challenge for me than usual.
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Post by longinthetooth on May 4, 2016 22:16:50 GMT
I never saw the original stage show, but the kids in the film made my ears ache. Could their voices have screeched any higher?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 22:19:23 GMT
I never saw the original stage show, but the kids in the film made my ears ache. Could their voices have screeched any higher? If this was the first show I'd seen with kids in, it would certainly guarantee that I'd vow never to do so again. I was actually rooting for the child catcher to get rid of them.
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Post by talkstageytome on May 4, 2016 23:11:39 GMT
I loved it at the WYP despite it's faults, but one thing I could not get over was the way Hushabye Mountain was sped up?? It made no sense to have such a lovely tender moment rushed through, was very jarring as everyone knows the original tempo, and really took me out of the moment. Couldn't understand why anyone thought that speeding it up made any sense at all.
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Post by carmella1 on May 4, 2016 23:13:51 GMT
So they did not slow it down. I was hoping with the new cast they would.
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Post by talkstageytome on May 4, 2016 23:17:16 GMT
So they did not slow it down. I was hoping with the new cast they would. Oh did they not? I've not seen the tour yet. I can't understand it! May catch it in Canterbury this summer, but I'm not going to go out of my way to see it again.
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Post by stageyninja83 on May 4, 2016 23:34:18 GMT
I'm still convinced that the original production and 1st tour translated the film to stage very well. It's just the changes that were made in the subsequent tours that have done the musical no favours. The second tour added the lesser songs from the film whilst cutting out the childcatcher's only song. This current version takes ages to get going whilst the songs have been slowed down Does the car still wobble up and down whenever anyone clambers on it? And simply making it go up and down in the air doesn't cut it for me. Cant fault West Yorkshire Playhouse for giving this musical a try, but this needs a fully-fledged production to be truly magical. 'Fraid so. Is the car meant to turn sideways as the projection moves to a landscape shot of the countryside or does it deliberately look like its careering out of control, as it always looks face on to the audience? Maybe I'm doing it a disservice, but I like to see the good in most things. It just happens that today was more of a challenge for me than usual. The car is meant to turn, it did when I saw it in Leeds. Definitely didn't work tonight and Carrie's bike not coming on and breaking down made that scene all very odd. Hopefully just teething issues that they'll resolve. I have to say I thought Lee's vocals were very weak, not a patch on Jon Robyns.
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Post by talkstageytome on May 4, 2016 23:41:00 GMT
'Fraid so. Is the car meant to turn sideways as the projection moves to a landscape shot of the countryside or does it deliberately look like its careering out of control, as it always looks face on to the audience? Maybe I'm doing it a disservice, but I like to see the good in most things. It just happens that today was more of a challenge for me than usual. The car is meant to turn, it did when I saw it in Leeds. Definitely didn't work tonight and Carrie's bike not coming on and breaking down made that scene all very odd. Hopefully just teething issues that they'll resolve. I have to say I thought Lee's vocals were very weak, not a patch on Jon Robyns. I loved Jon Robyns in the show. Would've been more inclined to book again if he were touring with it (although I much prefer Legally Blonde as a show in general so kind of glad he didn't). As I've said before, I would've thought that the name Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would've been enough to draw audiences in, and now that Carrie Hope Fletcher has joined the cast it's not like they're short on talent in their leads. One of the most needlessly 'stunt cast' tours, with a load of strange 'names' interchangeably appearing in the strange roles of The Baron and Baroness, as well as caractacus himself (don't understand the draw of Jason Manford. Maybe he's just not my cup of tea?). The show was well received with family audiences in Leeds without a single 'celebrity' in the cast. Just good performers.
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Post by tcodd1 on May 6, 2016 16:10:32 GMT
Seeing the show tonight in MK. Looking forward to it! Haven't seen the show since the original London production when I was younger, but will post feedback afterwards...got high expectations!
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 16:53:11 GMT
It will never be a patch on the Palladium production which was, in every aspect, perfect.
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Post by tcodd1 on May 6, 2016 21:23:20 GMT
Just got back and it was a good way to spend an evening. Feel-good, happy show with a few laughs from Michelle Collins and Shaun Williamson who were great together, and the spies who were hilarious!
Lee Mead was a bit of a let -down to be honest. Weak vocals and slightly stumbly dancing...but I suppose it is only the beginning of his run. Great relationship with the kids, though!
Carrie Hope Fletcher was a lovely Truly. Beautiful vocals and well-acted, although could have maybe put a bit more oomph into some of her lines as some fell a bit flat.
Other notable mentions are Andy Hockley as Grandpa and the two children (we had Henry and Lucy - adorable!)
The car was wobbly when on the ground and the inflatable didn't really work (in fact, it was a bit flat!) but the flying was good. Straight up and down but relatively well hidden...tilted towards Carrie's side on both flights which looked a bit odd!
Generally, though I thought it was good. Good sets and use of projection, choreography, orchestra etc. but not a patch on the Palladium production which still stays with me...
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 21:33:56 GMT
I really am looking forward to seeing is and am glad u have got Jason Manford as I know him better than Lee Mead. However I'm quite ad u won't have Michelle Collins as I really like her but I'm sure Claire Sweeney will be great. tcodd1 interesting to hear your thoughts, how does the palladium version differ. I guess they can literally have a flying car but as this is a touring show they need the projections.
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Post by David J on May 6, 2016 22:48:58 GMT
There's a lot of videos of the London, Broadway and Australian productions on youtube
I know comparing them to this is like comparing apples to oranges. But really...
I mean yes the original car was controlled by a lift that was built in beneath the Palladium stage from which the car is kept. All the tours including this have some sort of arm lift at the back. But apart from this, they all were sturdy enough to stop the car wobbling all over the place, breaking the illusion
I don't have objections to regional theatres taking on large scale musicals. Quite the opposite, and I have been amazed by the imagination production teams use to overcome their limitations. But for a musical like this, a bit more investment clearly goes a long way.
By the way, the second video shows the original Grand Prix/'Never was a car' song, which admittedly doesn't get the actual story moving. Just as the beginning of the film is just watching a lot of cars going round a race track. The first tour got it right. Introduce the characters, tell a short version of the Grand Prix with some of the verses from the song sprinkled in. Boom, the show is under away.
As I said before this version takes about 10-15 minutes before it even moves away from the junkyard.
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Post by carmella1 on May 6, 2016 22:50:01 GMT
I find it so bizzare to say Lee has weak vocals in this. He has a very powerful lovely voice. I have seen him many times and look forward to seeing Chitty. I know he has been having mic problems though. All the press articles have been great reviews.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 22:54:36 GMT
One thing you can say about the audience in those videos, they went mental for this show! Wow, what an audience response! And it does look truly magical at the Palladium, that finale looks stunning.
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