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Post by winonaforever on Dec 15, 2018 16:59:21 GMT
24 hour offer on TodayTix of £15 or £25 stalls seats for shows up to 5th Jan Thanks for the reminder, I saw an alert about this earlier then forgot! Just got a £15 stalls ticket for next Thursday. I'm really looking forward to this!
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Post by anthem on Dec 18, 2018 15:16:06 GMT
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 20, 2018 17:26:19 GMT
Sad to say I really didn't enjoy this today. I had been looking forward to it but couldn't connect with it at all. I'm not a huge fan of sung-through musicals but normally I can get into them if the score hooks me in, and this didn't. The voices were great but I found it a tuneless chore to sit through I'm afraid. Even Sharon's big number in the second act didn't have a real melody. I guess I just can't click with Tesori's style as I didn't like Fun Home either! Oh well. Worth seeing for Sharon I suppose 😀
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Post by showtoones on Dec 20, 2018 17:50:36 GMT
Sad to say I really didn't enjoy this today. I had been looking forward to it but couldn't connect with it at all. I'm not a huge fan of sung-through musicals but normally I can get into them if the score hooks me in, and this didn't. The voices were great but I found it a tuneless chore to sit through I'm afraid. Even Sharon's big number in the second act didn't have a real melody. I guess I just can't click with Tesori's style as I didn't like Fun Home either! Oh well. Worth seeing for Sharon I suppose 😀 I found fun home pretentious but I do love Caroline. I think it's the type of show yu need to hear multiple times as it is "tuneless" as you say. But I would pay to hear Sharon read the phone book.
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 20, 2018 17:53:41 GMT
I agree on Sharon, her voice is sublime and she was the show's saving grace for me. I just wish she'd had some proper belting musical numbers rather than having to sing to seemingly random notes!
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Post by winonaforever on Dec 20, 2018 20:08:26 GMT
I was at the matinee. I LOVED every second of it (didn't find it "tuneless" at all and I hadn't heard the music before) I was in floods of tears during Sharon's big number, and thoroughly enjoyed myself!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2018 7:35:28 GMT
I wonder just how well this is doing at the Playhouse. Anyone have any idea?
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Post by jamb0r on Dec 23, 2018 9:30:59 GMT
Top level was closed when I went on Wednesday evening (a day or two after opening night) with lots of upgrades being dished out, quite a few empty seats in the stalls
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was hoping to unfortunately. I too found the music rather tuneless and didn’t feel like much happened in the story. Enjoyable enough, but won’t be rushing back.
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 23, 2018 10:53:39 GMT
Upper was also closed for the matinee on Thursday and people were being upgraded. Stalls were only 2/3s full as well. I can't see this lasting until April.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Dec 24, 2018 9:26:33 GMT
Lots of empty seats on press night.
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Post by showgirl on Dec 24, 2018 16:30:34 GMT
Am I alone in being unable to warm to Sharon D Clarke? I've seen her in enough productions now to wish to avoid her in future. I am aware that she seems highly-regarded but however good the show, I seem unable to overlook the fact that she's in it.
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Post by Boob on Dec 24, 2018 17:01:39 GMT
I’m almost completely with you. Except I thought she was absolutely fantastic in this. Everything else though, no thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2018 17:23:53 GMT
When I went, Upper Circle was open but only about half full, if that.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2018 17:59:01 GMT
Am I alone in being unable to warm to Sharon D Clarke? I've seen her in enough productions now to wish to avoid her in future. I am aware that she seems highly-regarded but however good the show, I seem unable to overlook the fact that she's in it. I wouldn't say that I would avoid her but I do find that I think she's pretty much the same in everything she does. I think that's partly the parts she chooses though. She does seem to pick variations on a theme.
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Post by showgirl on Dec 26, 2018 4:28:42 GMT
That may account for my aversion, @ryan, or at least in part. In fairness to Ms Clarke, she may of course be offered roles similar to those she has previously played but whatever the reason, yes, I do have that sense not only of deja vu but also of an uncomfortable vibe.
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Post by Michael on Jan 1, 2019 23:34:24 GMT
Seen this on Saturday. Despite not enjoying this show at all, I'm glad I went as it showed me that Shrek must have been a lucky one-off and Ms Tesori and I should better part ways in the future. Thankfully, I held back from buying a ticket for Violet, which I'll now be skipping.
I am not exactly a fan of sung-through shows but am fine with them if they have at least a few good songs. This one, unfortunately, doesn't and I found the entire score to be tuneless.
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Post by lonlad on Jan 2, 2019 1:00:48 GMT
That#s hilarious since I would imagine SHREK is the one title Tesori would say was a rather dull and boring money gig whereas the rest of her output honours her roots as a true maverick who writes musical mosaics and contemporary operas rather than traditional songs with buttons and the like. (The one real attempt at such a song in C OR C is also its least interesting one.) Between FUN HOME and this, London has been granted a uniquely focused exposure to her work: lucky London, and with VIOLET to come.
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Post by olliebean on Jan 2, 2019 8:47:59 GMT
I saw Violet at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre back in 2015, and found it a very affecting piece, and musically definitely worth seeing - I wouldn't let your dislike of Caroline put you off. Caroline, I felt, although I didn't dislike it, suffered somewhat musically from the libretto having been written by a playwright and not a lyricist; much of it is more recitative than song (the programme notes reveal that it was originally intended to be an opera), and the melodic style reflects that.
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Post by beatrice on Jan 6, 2019 8:17:15 GMT
This was such an odd one to me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either. I felt like there was a lot left half-done. Weird sort of afternoon for me.
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Post by gmoneyoutlaw on Jan 7, 2019 21:39:14 GMT
This was such an odd one to me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either. I felt like there was a lot left half-done. Weird sort of afternoon for me. When I saw this on Broadway in 2004 I really enjoyed the musical of Tesori. She's an odd bird as her music is difficult to follow. It's as if it's half done and you have to provide the other half in your imagination. A friend said that when he saw it audience members just didn't understand it as it was "too American". His words not mine. I felt it was so much better musically, than Fun Home or Violet. Thoroughly Modern Millie, which is one of my favorite scores, is to me was a fluke in the Jeanine Tesori catalog. I'm taking 4 locals with me to see Caroline next week. I hope to have a lively conversation after the show.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 18:48:36 GMT
Don't forget, Sharon is now on an alternate schedule and will not perform on any Monday nights for the remainder of the run.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 8, 2019 18:51:46 GMT
Seen this on Saturday. Despite not enjoying this show at all, I'm glad I went as it showed me that Shrek must have been a lucky one-off and Ms Tesori and I should better part ways in the future. Thankfully, I held back from buying a ticket for Violet, which I'll now be skipping. I am not exactly a fan of sung-through shows but am fine with them if they have at least a few good songs. This one, unfortunately, doesn't and I found the entire score to be tuneless. Totally agree. It’s a tuneless dirge of a score. Never again would I sit through this. Even if Oprah Winfrey or Michelle Obama was in it.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Jan 8, 2019 20:12:07 GMT
Tesori is quite possibly my favourite contemporary theatre composer, her range is outstanding and her ability to write songs as theatre is similar. In an age when shows that don’t just plonk together a few tunes are sadly few and far between (whether newly composed, a compilation of old songs or jukebox style from a non theatre composer) she is carrying the torch for craftmanship borne by the likes of Kander, Coleman and Sondheim. When hack work like Kinky Boots gets a Tony, then you are in trouble.
Shrek is the least of her scores but Millie is fun pastiche, at least. Neither are as theatrical and dramatic as Violet, Fun Home and Caroline though.
I doubt it will travel but I’d love to see Soft Power, a show written with David Henry Hwang. Her liberal sympathies are also very welcome in a form that is often reactionary either both politically, stylistically or both.
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:22:48 GMT
Loved it at the Nash, saw it twice. Loved it again and Hampstead but I only wanted to see it once. It’s a very bold and foolish move to transfer it into Wendy’s End. Surely all the theatre geeks had already seen it at Nash, Chi or Hampstead ? I, of course wish it well Wendy's End! LOL I saw it yesterday and liked it. Act 1 was too "light" on content (plot, drama, thematic strands) but thankfully act II had more substance (which I would have expected for Tony Kushner) Needless to say Sharon D Clarke was stellar. I completely believed her character - felt her pain, rooted for her, and desperately cared for her. The score is typical Tesori (a couple of good numbers and the rest quite bland). Didn't mind the singing washing machine and the radio trio (and completely got the theatrical device) but the bloody moon was a whimsy step too far for me. The boy playing Noah that particular day was excellent - utterly believable, and I loved the character of Caroline's daughter. The piece stayed with me more as a play than a piece of musical theatre. But a lot of the 21st century Broadway fare has a similar affect on me (in terms of the music, specifically)
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:24:08 GMT
I mean if you look at it with a stone cold eye, even 7 hours of Angels in America doesn't have a GREAT deal of plot. That's not Kushner's style...it's observing slices of life, over smaller or longer periods/events and unravelling those themes. That's just what he does, densely and at length (Nobody is right or wrong above, just me adding my Kushner 2 cents because clearly i should be writing about him elsewhere...) See, I didn't find Caroline or Change particularly dense. Only Act 2. It was a very light touch in act 1 and not enough to sustain a whole act, IMO. Would have been better as a 1 act show with a few cuts.
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:26:00 GMT
Oh, and the Dress Circle was full.
And there were a few nervous giggles at the line about killing the Jews (not surprising - depending on the audience, I've heard similar reactions in Cabaret)
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:27:59 GMT
That may account for my aversion, @ryan , or at least in part. In fairness to Ms Clarke, she may of course be offered roles similar to those she has previously played but whatever the reason, yes, I do have that sense not only of deja vu but also of an uncomfortable vibe. Well I found her a world away from Oda Mae Brown, which was the only other thing I've seen her in (Ghost)
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:31:29 GMT
This was such an odd one to me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either. I felt like there was a lot left half-done. Weird sort of afternoon for me. When I saw this on Broadway in 2004 I really enjoyed the musical of Tesori. She's an odd bird as her music is difficult to follow. It's as if it's half done and you have to provide the other half in your imagination. A friend said that when he saw it audience members just didn't understand it as it was "too American". His words not mine. I felt it was so much better musically, than Fun Home or Violet. Thoroughly Modern Millie, which is one of my favorite scores, is to me was a fluke in the Jeanine Tesori catalog. I'm taking 4 locals with me to see Caroline next week. I hope to have a lively conversation after the show. I sorta get the "too American" references. The racial issues are very different to ours here (civil rights movement and so on) and the whole Jewish cultural thing is of course very New York, and for most British people, we only have vague reference points to Jewish culture as it is such a minority religion in the UK.
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Post by distantcousin on Jan 13, 2019 14:32:25 GMT
Seen this on Saturday. Despite not enjoying this show at all, I'm glad I went as it showed me that Shrek must have been a lucky one-off and Ms Tesori and I should better part ways in the future. Thankfully, I held back from buying a ticket for Violet, which I'll now be skipping. I am not exactly a fan of sung-through shows but am fine with them if they have at least a few good songs. This one, unfortunately, doesn't and I found the entire score to be tuneless. Totally agree. It’s a tuneless dirge of a score. Never again would I sit through this. Even if Oprah Winfrey or Michelle Obama was in it. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Comment of the day!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 13:54:31 GMT
I've given the Cast Recording a second listen and I'm still not on board I'm afraid. Other than "Lots Wife" and the "Act One Finale", I'm just sat here like "I paid to see this live"? Maybe I need to see it live and give it a second chance, but I'm in no rush, and it doesn't look like it would be a struggle to nab a ticket if I decide last minute anyway.
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