236 posts
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Post by undeuxtrois on Jul 30, 2018 17:23:14 GMT
Hopefully nobody else from this cast goes with him yet, really hoping to see Joreen as Kim in Bradford.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2018 17:46:24 GMT
It’s weird that he’s just gone now after Plymouth. Cast change was right after the long Manchester run, so he could have gone then.
I’m really hoping to see Sooha as Kim in Sunderland, but if she leaves, I hope Joreen gets her role.
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2,764 posts
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Post by daniel on Jul 30, 2018 18:14:39 GMT
I really didn't enjoy Christian's portrayal of the Engineer.
Yeah his voice is fine, but I didn't get any charisma, any stage presence from him.
He's fine, but Red and especially Jon Jon were vastly superiour.
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Post by lolasangel on Aug 1, 2018 14:06:51 GMT
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 1, 2018 17:45:19 GMT
Red left the show yesterday and will be doing the US tour. It hasn’t been announced yet but Chuck will do the final week in Plymouth and I imagine the new engineer will start at the next venue. Really disappointed I won't be seeing Red, is Marbella's or Seng Henk Goh's engineer any good? Haven’t seen the tour, as my last few visits to the once-brilliant West End revival really put me off travelling to see it again. But I’ve seen quite a few Engineers, and it’s really surprising how much an actor’s take on the role can completely change the character - and by consequence large chunks of the show. I saw Marbella on a previous tour and then at the revival as alternate. Really not a fan. I found he did everything technically okay. He sings quite well, his acting is solid. But overall he is the worst I’ve seen, with Jon Jon Brooke’s being comfortably the best. Despite his experience (Marbella) he really lacks the star quality or presence to carry the show. I found him neither camp or showy (Valdez, Salazar), or edgy and dangerous (Briones). He just did the lines and hit the marks. Left no impression either time. I liked Leo Valdez a lot and Romeo Salazar was great, but nobody I’ve seen so far was a patch on Jon Jon.
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236 posts
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Post by undeuxtrois on Aug 1, 2018 19:41:59 GMT
Really disappointed I won't be seeing Red, is Marbella's or Seng Henk Goh's engineer any good? Haven’t seen the tour, as my last few visits to the once-brilliant West End revival really put me off travelling to see it again. But I’ve seen quite a few Engineers, and it’s really surprising how much an actor’s take on the role can completely change the character - and by consequence large chunks of the show. I saw Marbella on a previous tour and then at the revival as alternate. Really not a fan. I found he did everything technically okay. He sings quite well, his acting is solid. But overall he is the worst I’ve seen, with Jon Jon Brooke’s being comfortably the best. Despite his experience (Marbella) he really lacks the star quality or presence to carry the show. I found him neither camp or showy (Valdez, Salazar), or edgy and dangerous (Briones). He just did the lines and hit the marks. Left no impression either time. I liked Leo Valdez a lot and Romeo Salazar was great, but nobody I’ve seen so far was a patch on Jon Jon.I'm just annoyed that, when I booked the tickets, it was Red I wanted to see most. I will just have to keep an open mind with Marbella. I think we can all agree Jon Jon is the best though.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2018 21:22:41 GMT
I’ve just looked at tickets for this for the final matinee in Sunderland and all the levels are closed except the Stalls, which are very empty. It’s rather sad.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Aug 3, 2018 22:00:27 GMT
I live locally and haven't seen any promotion for this, I'm fact I had forgotten it was visiting.
The promotion at the moment is all Wicked, Wicked, Wicked despite that already selling very well.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2018 22:14:26 GMT
I live locally and haven't seen any promotion for this, I'm fact I had forgotten it was visiting. The promotion at the moment is all Wicked, Wicked, Wicked despite that already selling very well. I looked at Wicked as well and most shows are single seats or SRO. I’d imagine that they’ll use October to promote Saigon as their next “big” musical.
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358 posts
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Post by tysilio2 on Aug 15, 2018 9:19:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2018 22:20:44 GMT
I’ve just looked at tickets for this for the final matinee in Sunderland and all the levels are closed except the Stalls, which are very empty. It’s rather sad. Not sure where you're looking? On the official ATG site, all three main levels open, just the smaller gallery off sale - and seems to be selling ok!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2018 22:40:06 GMT
I’ve just looked at tickets for this for the final matinee in Sunderland and all the levels are closed except the Stalls, which are very empty. It’s rather sad. Not sure where you're looking? On the official ATG site, all three main levels open, just the smaller gallery off sale - and seems to be selling ok! I dunno if their website was having problems or glitching - it seemed last week when I looked that most of the theatre was closed off.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2018 17:44:09 GMT
Saw this last night at Norwich, and it’s still in as good shape as ever. Of note in particular was Christian Rey Marbella, who was very palatable as the Engineer, however he really did lack the spark given to the character by Jon Jon and Red. I didn’t feel quite as convinced by Sooha as I did last time, but she was still miles better than Eva, acting wise. The helicopter was only a projection, which I assume is due to the smaller stage. I could’ve sworn that Cardiff had the helicopter setpiece like the West End, but memory could be wrong. About twenty minutes from the end there was an incident going on in the stalls (we were sat in the circle) when we heard a lady proclaiming “here!” and lots of walkie-talkie sounds. The curtain came down and we were informed there had been a medical emergency, requiring the paramedics to come in. Before reading danieljohnson14’s story from the King and I, I hadn’t ever been present whilst medical emergencies occurred during a show, but after last night I was extremely impressed with the way the theatre dealt with the incident. The break lasted for ten minutes and nobody minded whatsoever. Palladium: take note.
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236 posts
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Post by undeuxtrois on Aug 16, 2018 19:03:45 GMT
Do you think the helicopter will be a projection in Sunderland and Bradford?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2018 21:47:00 GMT
Do you think the helicopter will be a projection in Sunderland and Bradford? Been real everywhere I’ve seen it (Leicester, Birmingham, Southampton, Manchester and Bristol!)
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696 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Aug 16, 2018 22:44:35 GMT
The helicopter was a physical model when I saw it in Edinburgh so it must have been broken the show you went.
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 17, 2018 1:45:49 GMT
You’re both right. The projections used in this production CAN be used in case of lift malfunction - AND are planned to be used for smaller venues which cannot receive the lift.
It comes down simply to stage dimensions and wing space. The original tour only played a handful of the largest venues, as it was the same helicopter lift from the recently closed West End production. It was enormous and cumbersome, due to its age and technology marching on. No problem at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, but certainly no good for your average mid-sized receiving house on the road.
This severely limited the booking potential of the tour, as it could play maybe 6-7 venues (e.g Bristol, Bradford, Edinburgh, Southampton), instead of 20+ with smaller stops (e.g Woking, Norwich).
Once these large venues had a long, successful run, it meant coming back 6-9 months later and trying to do another 2 months of business. There are only so many people willing to see it in any region. If a show comes every year on the dot, business can often suffer because audiences get saturated.
So Cameron designed the second, much cheaper tour, designed with much easier to transport sets, better to load and rig in venues with smaller access and/or stage dimensions. Hence a projected helicopter sequence instead of a physical set piece made it possible to go all over the country.
This production then basically went back as the West End revival, and with a larger theatre and audience expectation of a physical effect, was readded. Laurence Connor’s second tour basically WAS the West End revival.
This third touring production is basically the same as the second, with sets brought in from the near-replica Korean production. The difference this time is, thanks to a smaller, more economical lift and set piece, it can tour on an Arctic or two in its own right (out of the 16(!!) which tour this show) and can be used at most of the venues. It is broken down into four pieces and loaded in and rigged that way, like a Chitty can on the road. If it won’t fit, they can reuse the cheaper projection effect from last time around. Finally, a lot of the time it isn’t the size of the stage, it’s physical access getting a team in to load and rig the pieces from the loading dock to the stage.
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696 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Aug 17, 2018 2:12:12 GMT
When they use the projection, how does the scene pan out ? Chris hangs off the helicopter whilst shouting and looking for Kim. Does he stand on the fence instead ? Or stand on a platform in front of the projection ?
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 17, 2018 2:19:40 GMT
When they use the projection, how does the scene pan out ? Chris hangs off the helicopter whilst shouting and looking for Kim. Does he stand on the fence instead ? Or stand on a platform in front of the projection ? Sorry, I don’t remember! I haven’t actually seen this tour despite some fleeting involvement in it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2018 6:15:32 GMT
When they use the projection, how does the scene pan out ? Chris hangs off the helicopter whilst shouting and looking for Kim. Does he stand on the fence instead ? Or stand on a platform in front of the projection ? The back wall where the helicopter is projected onto has an open section where the door would be, so Chris climbs into it but doesn’t hang out or shout. He simply gets in and the helicopter flew away. A shame really as it did lose the wow factor of the scene slightly.
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372 posts
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Aug 17, 2018 8:53:29 GMT
I seem to be in the minority here but I really enjoyed Christian as the Engineer, he brought some dark humour to the role and Usher-like (the singer, not the job) smooth showmanship to American Dream. I wasn’t a fan of Red, I found him too camp and playing just for as many laughs as possible.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2018 10:45:43 GMT
I seem to be in the minority here but I really enjoyed Christian as the Engineer, he brought some dark humour to the role and Usher-like (the singer, not the job) smooth showmanship to American Dream. I wasn’t a fan of Red, I found him too camp and playing just for as many laughs as possible. Red does seem to have divided opinion. He does play it up for the laughs. I can see why he's gone over to the US to play the Eng there. The American audiences will lap it up.
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 17, 2018 11:07:09 GMT
I much preferred Romeo Salazar to Chuck in the role in town.. shame he didn’t get the part!
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Post by theplaymirrorslife on Aug 17, 2018 11:59:47 GMT
Thanks to knowing a bod in the know...... They've always planned to not have the physical helicopter in Norwich. As others have said it is a question of the stage / wing space and physical access to get the kit in. Even in all the venues where the helicopter has been used, how it is 'blocked' - whether it comes in & out from the rear or side, depending on the stage depth and wing space - is different for each venue.
I would think the helicopter will definitely be used in Bradford, as the Alhambra is used to housing the very big tours. And prob Sunderland as well, as it rebuilt and increased it's stage / flytower in recent years.
So looks like Norwich will be the only venue without!
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 17, 2018 12:02:47 GMT
Thanks to knowing a bod in the know...... They've always planned to not have the physical helicopter in Norwich. As others have said it is a question of the stage / wing space and physical access to get the kit in. Even in all the venues where the helicopter has been used, how it is 'blocked' - whether it comes in & out from the rear or side, depending on the stage depth and wing space - is different for each venue. I would think the helicopter will definitely be used in Bradford, as the Alhambra is used to housing the very big tours. And prob Sunderland as well, as it rebuilt and increased it's stage / flytower in recent years. So looks like Norwich will be the only venue without! *cough* ;-)
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Post by tf on Sept 21, 2018 3:16:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 6:40:44 GMT
So he’ll be our Engineer in Sunderland? Hopefully he’ll be doing matinees because that’s what I’m going to. Hoping to catch Joreen too.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 10:37:37 GMT
So he’ll be our Engineer in Sunderland? Hopefully he’ll be doing matinees because that’s what I’m going to. Hoping to catch Joreen too. That is good news. I am going to the final weekend in Sunderland and CRM's Engineer just doesn't do it for me sadly!
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372 posts
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Sept 21, 2018 13:30:20 GMT
I have videos of Leo as the Engineer from London and Manila and I REALLY didn’t like him, everything’s played for laughs and he spent half the show gurning at the audience
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2018 10:29:38 GMT
Anyone here who knows the Sunderland Empire well?
I'm seeing the show but I haven't bought my ticket yet. I've only been to this theatre once, but I was a bit towards the front left. The only tickets I can really afford for Saigon are the £35 ones at the edges of the stalls marked as Restricted View. If you sit further back in these seats (i.e. Row J or K), is the view slightly better?
Or, if I go for the £20 seats at the back of the stalls marked as "elevated scenes may not be visible", will I still be able to see the helicopter?
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