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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 10, 2018 0:15:53 GMT
Report from Wednesday evening, which also had a Q&A.
Way better than Manchester. Completely reworked (confirmed in the Q&A). Played much more for laughs and very much inspired by Spamalot.
The smaller stage works better too.
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement.
A malfunction during the magic trick (chop a man into thirds). The cabinet rather displaying its age and faults, making it obvious how the trick was done if you didn’t know already.
An enthusiast cast, mostly recent graduates. Not the most masculine group of men as the Q&A reminded.
I think Pippin is one of those shows everyone interprets differently. It works with the large circus theme, but also on the small, cheap(er) and intimate scale, as this production shows.
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on Mar 10, 2018 18:55:39 GMT
I thought this a good performance of a pretty poor musical. I enjoyed act 1 but as others have said act 2 is a mess. The score is musically undistinguished with a few bland ballads mixed with forgettable up-tempo numbers. A collaboration of Sondheim/Lapine could possibly have made this concept work; the songs would have had considerably more point and focus then and they could have possibly brought off the downbeat ending. Judged by the highest standards Schwartz is not that great a composer. I liked the staging and thought it the best use yet, for a musical, of the available space at Southwark. The sound balance, though, was up to Southwark's low standard - the band was way too loud.
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 10, 2018 20:20:40 GMT
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement. Intrigued to know which parts?
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2,816 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 10, 2018 21:11:24 GMT
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement. Intrigued to know which parts? The Manson Trio in Glory
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4,598 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 17, 2018 8:53:48 GMT
I really enjoyed this. Great cast, fun production and a narrative and finale that I could follow and understand.
It’s a wee bit loud and act two went on a bit too much. But heaps better than the MCF production.
This production had a such a raw energy that I just adored and is often missing from big shinny west end productions
Last night performance was sold out and it got a very healthy standing ovation. Get a ticket as it’s great to see Southwark back on form 😄
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Post by nick on Mar 17, 2018 10:08:07 GMT
But heaps better than the MCF production. Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production.
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4,598 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 17, 2018 12:02:52 GMT
But heaps better than the MCF production. Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production. Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up
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Post by nick on Mar 18, 2018 14:00:40 GMT
Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production. Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know?
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 18, 2018 16:42:26 GMT
Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know? Would love to see clips of that production.
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Post by nick on Mar 18, 2018 20:14:31 GMT
I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know? Would love to see clips of that production. This shows the staging
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Post by viewfromthewing on Mar 23, 2018 9:55:38 GMT
I heard a rumour last week that this might transfer, with Grinning Man closure now confirmed for May 5th...I wonder...
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Mar 23, 2018 10:33:35 GMT
I heard a rumour last week that this might transfer, with Grinning Man closure now confirmed for May 5th...I wonder... Wow well if true I’m please for them but I can think of another 7 shows I wish would have transferred from Southwark!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2018 22:31:23 GMT
I was there this afternoon too. It’s a bit of an oddity really, isn’t it? A quirky story placed in an alien setting, but with something worthwhile to say nonetheless. This production owed much to the original production of Godspell, and at times the company’s childlike sense of fun didn’t quite work as comedy. But it was well meaning, cleverly staged and beautifully sung by a talented troupe who dazzled in more ways than one! (I’m talking thighs, chests, bosoms and bottoms!) Stephen Schwartz baffles me- here we have some of the most wonderful melodies (Corner of the Sky, With You, In No Time At All) and then some real padders you can’t wait to hear the end of. Glad I saw it.
I loved the Menier version too by the way...
Incidentally, the superb food market almost opposite looks a great place to eat before a matinee. (Unfortunately we’d already eaten, fearing all we’d get was the Weatherspoons at the other end of the road.)
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18,864 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 24, 2018 23:05:46 GMT
Caught up with this, this afternoon. Note for those who have programmes, they sold out by 2.30pm today - I got one of the last 30 at 2pm... collector's item... Hooray can’t wait for my magnet that you said you’d get me.....!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2018 10:37:53 GMT
Well. I saw this earlier this week and even though the score is a bit samey, the book is a bit of a problem and the band were way too loud, I wasn't too fosse as I found it rather entertaining. I thank you.
The cast were terrific, Bradley Judge spending most of the time with no shirt on which was most welcomed, Jonathan Carlton was delightfully lovely as Pippin and Genevieve Nicole splendid and giving us her best young Kiki Dee impression. I would have liked her to have given us a verse and chorus of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' but alas she chose not to. I actually rather liked Mairi Barclay as the grandmother, yes she was way too young but it fitted in with the whole idea of the show and ensemble playing it as a theatre troupe. And she was delightfully funny.
On the plus side, it made that awful Menier production a distant memory. Go see it. Oh no, you can't.
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Mar 25, 2018 11:12:16 GMT
I actually rather liked Mairi Barclay as the grandmother, yes she was way too young but it fitted in with the whole idea of the show and ensemble playing it as a theatre troupe. And she was delightfully funny. Agreed, I thought she was excellent as the grandmother, very funny, and it really worked. In contrast, I didn't think she worked at all as the stepmother - didn't have the right kind of presence for it, and her bizarre accent kept coming and going. And also, it just seemed a weird choice to have the same actress doubling up on two roles that are so close together in the show - is this standard?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2018 14:54:19 GMT
Hope everyone has found their corner...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2018 21:34:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2018 8:47:45 GMT
I was there this afternoon too. Wish I'd worn my badge now. I was the one in his own little corner on the front row for the first half. Turned out the people who should have been next to me got lost and were late, so not allowed in until the interval - by which time 2 had left in disgust, and the other 2 only stayed as they were related to a cast member. talking thighs, chests, bosoms and bottoms!) I certainly had close up views, thanks to some dodgy (but enjoyable) blocking. You mean I was THAT close...!!!! I wasn't that far from you- in the middle of the front row, so the close ups were really...erm...CLOSE UP!!! (I'm all right with thighs and chests; I just wasn't sure what the etiquette was with the others, as presented in this show!)
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86 posts
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Post by confessor on Mar 27, 2018 17:30:36 GMT
After being somewhat forced by choreography to inspect Ms Nicole's rump for prolonged periods, I kinda gave up with wondering, too, and just went with the flow. It was a pretty impressive rump to inspect! And that's coming from a gay man. Interestingly that costume is much more revealing than the version she's sporting in the programme. Maybe someone wanted to even things up with something for the hetero men and lesbians, seeing as the hetero women and gay boys had Mr Judge's splendid chest to ogle.
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