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Post by partytentdown on Sept 13, 2018 10:04:39 GMT
What does it say about the West End that a ten year old flop musical that has already toured extensively in the UK should take over a premier theatre like the Savoy? Is there really nothing else to go in there? Frankly, I'm a little bit appalled. So am I. Completely and utterly. Is this *really* the best ATG can offer? I see it is running for most of next year. The lack of imagination is depressing. Ultimately this is a filler while presumably another show prepares to move into the Savoy. Mean Girls seems a good bet. ATG have had this knocking about on standby since the tour knowing eventually they'd have a dark theatre to fill for 6 months. The tour was even built with this in mind and billed as 'prior to the west end'. It's cheap and cheerful and easy to drop household names into. I believe it's planned to use the same set which has been in storage.
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 13, 2018 10:06:06 GMT
They haven't yet named the secretary role (Roz I believe) which is quite a meaty part with a solo song and dance number. Bonnie Langford played it on the tour.
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Post by zak97 on Sept 13, 2018 10:12:21 GMT
They haven't yet named the secretary role (Roz I believe) which is quite a meaty part with a solo song and dance number. Bonnie Langford played it on the tour. Maybe Bonnie could reprise it after 42nd Street.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 13, 2018 10:16:06 GMT
So am I. Completely and utterly. Is this *really* the best ATG can offer? I see it is running for most of next year. The lack of imagination is depressing. Ultimately this is a filler while presumably another show prepares to move into the Savoy. Mean Girls seems a good bet. ATG have had this knocking about on standby since the tour knowing eventually they'd have a dark theatre to fill for 6 months. The tour was even built with this in mind and billed as 'prior to the west end'. It's cheap and cheerful and easy to drop household names into. I believe it's planned to use the same set which has been in storage. Well it's got a different set designer so doubt it.
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 13, 2018 10:29:25 GMT
I agree. As my parents used to say (occasionally still do), 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' 😀
It's an acceptable show but this is a fairly week cast (aside from Natalie). I adore Louise but can't see her being great in this.
Selfishly it doesn't help that it's a show I've already seen and don't feel the need to see again, so it kind of feels a waste of such a great theatre, when I think of all the stuff that hasn't made it into town yet which would've been much better news.
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Post by alece10 on Sept 13, 2018 11:03:07 GMT
At the end of the day ATG is a business that's there to make money. It doesn't have the privilege of the NT to put on what they want whether it will be a commercial success or not. I think it will sell well with your occasional theatre goers and groups. Those of us on the forum that like musical theatre would love the west end to be full of some of the great new shows not seen in London before but that won't put bums on seats with even some established shows struggling. So I think it's a wise move on ATG's part.
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Post by Jon on Sept 13, 2018 11:07:28 GMT
At the end of the day ATG is a business that's there to make money. It doesn't have the privilege of the NT to put on what they want whether it will be a commercial success or not. I think it will sell well with your occasional theatre goers and groups. Those of us on the forum that like musical theatre would love the west end to be full of some of the great new shows not seen in London before but that won't put bums on seats with even some established shows struggling. So I think it's a wise move on ATG's part. I imagine ATG would love to have a brand spanking new transfer but unfortunately things fall through or it’ll take a while which is why we get fillers like 9 to 5. If 9 to 5 is only a limited run then something must be coming later in 2019,
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2018 11:14:00 GMT
At the end of the day ATG is a business that's there to make money. It doesn't have the privilege of the NT to put on what they want whether it will be a commercial success or not. I think it will sell well with your occasional theatre goers and groups. Those of us on the forum that like musical theatre would love the west end to be full of some of the great new shows not seen in London before but that won't put bums on seats with even some established shows struggling. So I think it's a wise move on ATG's part. I imagine ATG would love to have a brand spanking new transfer but unfortunately things fall through or it’ll take a while which is why we get fillers like 9 to 5. If 9 to 5 is only a limited run then something must be coming later in 2019, 9 to 5 is only till August 31st so from September they obviously have something planned.
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 13, 2018 11:16:40 GMT
Good point about groups, I imagine they will pack them in at affordablee group rates. It's a well known title particularly for occasional theatre types and the TV names will only help sell it to that audience.
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Post by iamamazing on Sept 13, 2018 11:27:48 GMT
I bet u Mean Girls will open on October 3rd 2019 and Tickets will go on sale October 3rd 2018. That will give 9 to 5 it's run till August sometime it will probably tour again after which wouldn't suprise me. Mean girls will start rehearsals in late August early September to give 9 to 5 time to load out and hit the road and Mean Girls will move in 😊. I was also thinking will this be an Olivia Award contender for next year as well as we have some great shows opening like CFA AND WAITRESS AND THE RUMORED HELLO DOLLY as well thanks guys 😊
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Post by Jon on Sept 13, 2018 11:30:33 GMT
I bet u Mean Girls will open on October 3rd 2019 and Tickets will go on sale October 3rd 2018. That will give 9 to 5 it's run till August sometime it will probably tour again after which wouldn't suprise me. Mean girls will start rehearsals in late August early September to give 9 to 5 time to load out and hit the road and Mean Girls will move in 😊. I was also thinking will this be an Olivia Award contender for next year as well as we have some great shows opening like CFA AND WAITRESS AND THE RUMORED HELLO DOLLY as well thanks guys 😊 Olivier Award, not Olivia....
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 13, 2018 11:34:57 GMT
I completely agree on it being a business decision and needing to make money, but I still don't see this show with this cast achieving that. Many people would've seen it on the tour (which had a stronger cast), and I can't imagine anyone screaming over their cornflakes this morning over the announcement of Louise and Brian given the reviews they get in other shows, and no-one outside of theatre circles will know who Natalie is. Fair enough it's a filler for a limited run but I still think it'll struggle and will limp along at best.
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Post by Oleanna on Sept 13, 2018 11:58:10 GMT
So, Hollywood got Jane Fonda, Broadway got Stephanie J. Block, and we get...Love Island’s Amber Davies...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2018 12:21:24 GMT
So, Hollywood got Jane Fonda, Broadway got Stephanie J. Block, and we get...Love Island’s Amber Davies... I don’t watch Love Island. Up until this morning I had no idea who Amber Davis was but reading her bio she is a trained actress? How do we know she won’t be good? Fair enough Brian and Louise are a bit meh casting but I think the board is very quick to judge someone we haven’t actually seen in action yet.
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Post by londontheatrefan on Sept 13, 2018 12:25:35 GMT
I've never seen the musical before and don't have a clue what it's about, so I'll be interested to see it. Louise Redknapp takes me back, I remember her from her Eternal days!
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Post by Oleanna on Sept 13, 2018 12:42:16 GMT
So, Hollywood got Jane Fonda, Broadway got Stephanie J. Block, and we get...Love Island’s Amber Davies... I don’t watch Love Island. Up until this morning I had no idea who Amber Davis was but reading her bio she is a trained actress? How do we know she won’t be good? Fair enough Brian and Louise are a bit meh casting but I think the board is very quick to judge someone we haven’t actually seen in action yet. Yes, she is a trained actress, Urdang I believe. And I’m sure she’ll do a great job. My mockery is more of the obvious difference in casting tendencies between Broadway and the West End
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 13, 2018 12:47:52 GMT
So, Hollywood got Jane Fonda, Broadway got Stephanie J. Block, and we get...Love Island’s Amber Davies... I don’t watch Love Island. Up until this morning I had no idea who Amber Davis was but reading her bio she is a trained actress? How do we know she won’t be good? Fair enough Brian and Louise are a bit meh casting but I think the board is very quick to judge someone we haven’t actually seen in action yet. We don’t. But given that she appears to have no experience other than theatre school and dancing in a cabaret bar it’s a bit of a stretch to think she’d be suitable for a leading role in the West End surely?. It’s more likely that she’s deemed competent, and that she’s got the part because a certain demographic will know her name. Look at the casting: Bona fide musical theatre actress... tick for the MT crowd. Known 90’s pop star and SCD name ... tick for the over 30 tv crowd. Current reality tv personality... tick for the kids. Looks like a cynical attempt to cover as many bases as possible to me but I’ll be happy to be proved wrong.
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Post by l0islane on Sept 13, 2018 13:00:50 GMT
I'm really torn about this, I flew to NY twice to see this when it was on Broadway because I'm a huge Dolly fan but even I have to admit it isn't a great show. The Broadway run was helped by the calibre of people they got to be in it (Allison Janney was a joy), but this cast isn't really inspiring me. Marketing it based on Dolly's name is basically her approach to selling most things. If you go to Dollywood (which you should!) she is in videos welcoming you to the park and to every ride/shop etc, Dolly excels at making you feel like she's there when she's not!! (I noticed for the tour they added a video at the beginning from Dolly welcoming the audience to the show!). That being said she attended most of the previews in NY and I'd be very surprised if she doesn't attend some here too. I'll be getting tickets for the first night purely based on that!
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Post by firefingers on Sept 13, 2018 13:03:07 GMT
When it was rumoured Amber Davies would be in it, I thought she'd play Doralee, a reasonably easy track that a name could get away with. But she is playing Judy, a much bigger sing (Get Out and Stay Out is a bloody epic solo 11 o'clock number). With that I mind I believe they wouldn't have cast her for that role if they didn't believe she could sing it (it's not like she is a massive name is it). Obviously proof of the pudding is in the tasting, but I do have a little bit of faith for now.
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Post by indis on Sept 13, 2018 16:34:11 GMT
didn't know Amber Davies could sing? only saw she was in this "Dating show"
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Post by latefortheoverture on Sept 13, 2018 16:36:38 GMT
Whilst I understand everyone's moaning as it's a fully stunt casted filler for the Savoy; I think many will be surprised.
Me and my friends, all under 23, have already started raving in our group chat over this. Also, bear in mind most of my friend have been to the theatre max 4 times in their lifes with the exception of one and me! We love us some Dolly Parton and was actually planning a road trip around America next year with a stop at Dollywood!
If my mind doesn't fail me Amber Davies was supposed to play Penny in the Hairspray tour but left to go on Love Island- I do think she'll be good in this role.
Only time will tell....
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Post by firefingers on Sept 13, 2018 16:37:44 GMT
didn't know Amber Davies could sing? only saw she was in this "Dating show" Did the MT course at Urdang, graduated two years ago.
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Post by latefortheoverture on Sept 13, 2018 16:46:55 GMT
found this video- Amber starts singing helpless at 1:12
Pleasantly surprised
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Post by mallardo on Sept 13, 2018 16:49:28 GMT
I don't question the abilities of the cast. It's the show I'm complaining about. The West End should never be a place where a "filler" production is given a major theatre for a six month run. Can we imagine such a thing happening on Broadway?
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Post by Jon on Sept 13, 2018 16:55:47 GMT
I don't question the abilities of the cast. It's the show I'm complaining about. The West End should never be a place where a "filler" production is given a major theatre for a six month run. Can we imagine such a thing happening on Broadway? If it's between a filler and a dark theatre, most theatre owners would pick the filler and many Broadway theatres do have filler, the Marquis Theatre has The Illusionists doing a short run for Christmas for example.
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Post by latefortheoverture on Sept 13, 2018 17:00:11 GMT
I don't question the abilities of the cast. It's the show I'm complaining about. The West End should never be a place where a "filler" production is given a major theatre for a six month run. Can we imagine such a thing happening on Broadway? I do agree; a six-month filler is significantly long, especially for such a prime theatre! It would not surprise me if there are producers queueing up/in discussion with ATG at the moment but ATG doesn't want to risk have a theatre empty. It's a hard one, I understand why, but at the same time, I could write a list of shows I think that could do well in the Savoy just now, I think!
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Post by mallardo on Sept 13, 2018 17:04:23 GMT
I don't question the abilities of the cast. It's the show I'm complaining about. The West End should never be a place where a "filler" production is given a major theatre for a six month run. Can we imagine such a thing happening on Broadway? If it's between a filler and a dark theatre, most theatre owners would pick the filler and many Broadway theatres do have filler, the Marquis Theatre has The Illusionists doing a short run for Christmas for example.
Point taken. But The Illusionists is running for a month, at Christmas, as you say. It's a seasonal thing.
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Post by Rory on Sept 13, 2018 17:11:31 GMT
We're always hearing about the lack of available theatres and multiple shows circling trying to 'land', so it always surprises me when a filler show is announced for such a long period.
It also irritates me that we ship everything decent over to New York, almost instantly, but get hardly anything back in return, certainly in terms of plays. I can think of so many plays that have been in Broadway that I would love to see in the Savoy but instead we get 9 to 5 with Louise Redknapp and Brian Connolly for 7 months. It's a shame Network with Bryan Cranston didn't transfer to the Savoy instead of the Belasco on Broadway.I know which show I'd rather see.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2018 17:27:39 GMT
Ooh this Drama is bigger than Dolly's....hair.
Look I really enjoyed it on Broadway. Would I pay Savoy prices for anyone other than my girl Stephanie J Block belting the house down...probably not.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2018 18:38:16 GMT
We're always hearing about the lack of available theatres and multiple shows circling trying to 'land', so it always surprises me when a filler show is announced for such a long period. To bring a show to the stage is massively complex. Creative team, cast, finance, theatre and indeed zeitgeist all have to combine for it to happen. There is no such thing as "filler" - just productions that have managed to pull off this incredible balancing act. Yeah I feel it's quite insulting to all involved to write off a show as just 'filler' nobody snapped their fingers and made this happen overnight. Also just because a show isn't someone's cup of tea, doesn't make it bad? (I mean according to some people it does). Failing all that, it's keeping Dolly in wigs and heels.
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