193 posts
|
Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Jun 10, 2018 19:22:05 GMT
I seem to be in the minority here but I like this show so am looking forward to this. I never saw the original TV show so can't compare it to that, and just view this as a show in its own right. I really hope Jorgie Porter can actually do ballet as I love the ballet scene between Tyrone and Iris.
|
|
2,452 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by theatremadness on Jul 15, 2018 14:43:34 GMT
Is this something to shout about? It's a 675-seat theatre....
|
|
1,718 posts
|
Post by stevejohnson678 on Jul 24, 2018 10:00:29 GMT
Well, this was a very pleasant surprise. I went to the Palace in Manchester without any real expectations but had a ball. This is up there with Little Shop of Horrors as Selladoor's best production for me.
Vocally, the cast are sensational. I was absolutely blown away by the powerhouse delivery of a terrific score. Some serious talent on that stage and not a weak link among them.
It's very much an ensemble show but Stephanie Rojas (previously in In The Heights) is outstanding as Carmen. Great work from Molly McGuire too as Serena and Jamal Kane Crawford as Tyrone. Jorgie Porter dances beautifully. The integration of the band (a small number of actor musicians) worked well.
The energy of the company combined with Nick Winston’s stunning choreography made Fame an absolute treat. Very slick for the first preview at the start of a year-long tour to celebrate the show's 30-year anniversary. This could well turn out to be the definitive production.
The full standing ovation at the end was well deserved. I've booked to see it again later this week.
Five stars.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 6:14:43 GMT
Ooh great stevejohnson678 based on your comments I'm probably going to give this a go this afternoon.
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Jul 25, 2018 7:56:22 GMT
Ooh great stevejohnson678 based on your comments I'm probably going to give this a go this afternoon. He certainly makes it sound more appealing, but it is that shortage of good tunes and anything happening that made Fame a snooze for me.
|
|
1,718 posts
|
Post by stevejohnson678 on Jul 25, 2018 8:37:09 GMT
Press night in Manchester is this evening, I believe. Can't cope with the stress of too many people deciding to see it on the basis of just my review!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 10:07:47 GMT
Press night in Manchester is this evening, I believe. Can't cope with the stress of too many people deciding to see it on the basis of just my review! The ATG card half price offer helped swing it, so you’re not solely responsible. £16 for 6th Row Center stalls, bargain!
|
|
518 posts
|
Post by ruby on Jul 25, 2018 11:59:33 GMT
I was tempted to book for next year in Bristol, but the horror that was Flashdance has put me off.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 17:27:01 GMT
Well first impressions count and I am an absolute sucker for shows that capitalize on the time from house open to curtain up. Shows like Bat out of Hell with its disconcertingly eerie postapocalyptic soundtrack and Phantom with its opulent auction scene on show, setting the scene whilst the audience take their seats. Fame makes the most of this opportunity with a birdseye view of a cab between two skyscrapers on show to the soundtrack of city traffic and hubbub which swells with the sound of the underground and other traffic noise into a climax to start the show. I was fooled by the preset scene into thinking the show might start off with some taxi movement, a bit like the car chase in Groundhog Day, but unfortunately this never materialised and the scene flew out never to be seen again. I spent parts of the show wonderning what the taxi was all about, how it was anchored to the show (if i it was supposed to be) and why but then in the Finale of the show 3 mini cabs came crashing in from the flys and spend the duration of the Fame Reprise bouncing, haphazardly, up and down the full height of the stage. Creased. Not only because one hit one of the cast on the head, but because of the randomness of it. Once I'd managed to regain composure I lost it again as a hand crept around the proscenium stage right and switched the head lights of on one. Howling. Otherwise, the set is good and production standards are great. But the taxis, awful.
The last time I saw Fame do the rounds I was a little youth, many years ago in Llandudno. I couldn't quite recall what happened in the show before todays performance and that would probably be because not much does. The plot is paper thin and the book even thinner. This works in the casts advantage however, as it means they have to work that bit harder to win the audience and keep them invested. They succeeded in doing so for today's matinee and to all extents and purpose you wouldn't know this show is still in previews. There is no weak link on stage but Mica Paris absolutely stole the show with 'These are my Children'. An absolute powerhouse with a belting performance, worthy of the ticket price alone.
This isn't Chekov or Stanislavski, but if you want a good couple of hours showcasing some very strong emerging and established talent, check it out.
|
|
1,718 posts
|
Post by stevejohnson678 on Jul 25, 2018 20:25:13 GMT
Glad you enjoyed, @remark ! I'm looking forward to seeing Mica this weekend (she didn't do either of the first two performances, though her understudy had a few in the audience taking to their feet for a mid-show ovation after These Are My Children). Those taxis at the end could definitely join the glowsticks at the Hope Mill Theatre in a stagey Mancunian Room 101!
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Jul 25, 2018 21:27:49 GMT
Stop it, because if I go and it’s terrible I shall hunt the pair of you down! 😂
|
|
117 posts
|
Post by bramble on Jul 26, 2018 14:39:07 GMT
What a terrible book. Saved by a hard working talented cast.Clumsily staged at times but full of energy.
|
|
4,158 posts
|
Post by HereForTheatre on Aug 7, 2018 10:48:39 GMT
If you are interested to see this or go back for a return visit then make sure to enter our competition to win two tickets to the show at a venue of your choice! You can also win tickets to Madagascar! ENTER HERE
|
|
|
Post by clair on Sept 5, 2018 20:16:26 GMT
For those who prefer the songs from the tv show there's a reunion concert in Liverpool next May! www.fameukreunion.co.uk/
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Sept 5, 2018 21:14:07 GMT
I’d assumed that it was at least an arena tour, not just Liverpool...how odd. A good spread of people from across the series, including the lovely Nia Peebles.
|
|
|
Post by clair on Sept 6, 2018 6:43:56 GMT
It's just one place as it's been organised - and financed - by fans of the show who have got this group together with all profit going to a children's hospice charity so not a promoter or anything like that.
|
|
18,788 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 6, 2018 7:09:56 GMT
It's just one place as it's been organised - and financed - by fans of the show who have got this group together with all profit going to a children's hospice charity so not a promoter or anything like that. How fantastic that fans have been able to organise that. And for a great cause. Hope it’s a huge success!
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Sept 6, 2018 8:49:05 GMT
It's just one place as it's been organised - and financed - by fans of the show who have got this group together with all profit going to a children's hospice charity so not a promoter or anything like that. Wow, that’s fab then. If they could guarantee ‘Life Is A Celebration’ and ‘Starmaker’ I’d be a lock!
|
|
4,955 posts
|
Post by TallPaul on Sept 6, 2018 12:32:48 GMT
The first 10 or so minutes of The One Show on Wednesday 5 September are worth a watch on iPlayer for more on the Liverpool concert.
|
|
|
Post by clair on Sept 6, 2018 12:40:54 GMT
danb They did both of those in Italy last year and Starmaker had me in tears as they had images of all those cast members no longer with us on a screen for it!
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Sept 6, 2018 12:52:42 GMT
The first 10 or so minutes of The One Show on Wednesday 5 September are worth a watch on iPlayer for more on the Liverpool concert. Yesterday?
|
|
4,955 posts
|
Post by TallPaul on Sept 6, 2018 13:43:45 GMT
Love was such an easy game to play. Yes.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2018 13:47:31 GMT
The first 10 or so minutes of The One Show on Wednesday 5 September are worth a watch on iPlayer for more on the Liverpool concert. Yesterday? Yes it was on Wednesday's show. I love the first Kids From Fame album. Desdamona, I Still Believe. I even like Lori Singer trying to sing note in tune in Its Gonna Be A Long Night.
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Sept 6, 2018 14:59:36 GMT
Yes it was on Wednesday's show. I love the first Kids From Fame album. Desdamona, I Still Believe. I even like Lori Singer trying to sing note in tune in Its Gonna Be A Long Night. Yes, there is probably a single cd’s worth of decent KFF songs across the albums. Do you think they would let me compile one? Promise to slip in ‘Dream Street’ by Janet Jackson and ‘Shoshoshoshoshoshorovsky’! ‘Body Language’, ‘Friday Night’... Might have to go and make a playlist. 😂
|
|
6,321 posts
|
Post by danb on Sept 7, 2018 10:59:55 GMT
Phew, just the conference centre, not the ginormo arena. Was a bit worried...good luck to them!
|
|
193 posts
|
Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Sept 16, 2018 19:33:49 GMT
I saw this a couple of weeks ago in Bradford and really enjoyed it. I thought all the cast were great. Jorgie was off injured but her u/s was really good and I loved her ballet routines. Hopefully I'll get to see Jorgie another time. Much as I enjoyed the more modern recent tour, it was nice to see this back being set in the 80s, especially the rewinding the cassette tape and the screech it made! The toy cars at the end are very strange though! I sat on the front row, which was a great view, but I was a bit distracted by the headshots at the back of the set, as I kept finding various cast members in there, which of course made me focus more on that trying to find them all! I found all but Serena. I'm looking forward to seeing this again, hopefully in a few different places.
|
|
695 posts
|
Post by cheesy116 on Sept 17, 2018 11:15:45 GMT
This has announced a run in London following the tour, playing at the Peacock Theatre. Tickets on general sale from October.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2018 15:26:09 GMT
West End run to celebrate the 30th Anniversary from September 11, 2019 to October 19, 2019.
|
|
|
Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 17, 2018 16:34:56 GMT
I think that is a bit of stretch to call it a West End run. The Peacock is not what most people would consider to be a West End theatre.
|
|
|
Post by QueerTheatre on Sept 17, 2018 16:53:30 GMT
I think that is a bit of stretch to call it a West End run. The Peacock is not what most people would consider to be a West End theatre. Realistically i think it is exactly what most people would expect from a west end theatre, its just us theatre people who would be aware of its dance history & general lack of upkeep.
|
|