Saw this tonight and it is amazing. All the cast are superb and the dancing is just fabulous. I hope it goes to the west end and even on to Broadway, it is superb enough
Horrendous. How anyone can even think the vocals are acceptable must be deaf. The trajectory of Ms Bennett is a mystery to me and (I hope) all musical theatre lovers.
I have to say, based on the clip, she’s hitting the notes but not in the most attractive way? I’m going next week. Earplugs at the ready!
Horrendous. How anyone can even think the vocals are acceptable must be deaf. The trajectory of Ms Bennett is a mystery to me and (I hope) all musical theatre lovers.
I have to say, based on the clip, she’s hitting the notes but not in the most attractive way? I’m going next week. Earplugs at the ready!
There's much to enjoy despite La Bennett's extremely approximate vocals. Maybe also my position in the centre of the front row didn't help me appreciate her 'never-knowingly-underacted' style of performance.
Well I thought that was fantastic. TB’s voice might be an acquired taste but for sheer bombast and delivery it’s hard to fault her. Production values great (thank god, after Springer), band excellent, and not a single dud in the supporting cast. Agnes had me literally LOL-ing.
I can’t give it five big ones because the bar has been raised in Manchester lately due to *youknowwhat* but it’s deffo 🧸🧸🧸🧸. Sorry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Well I thought that was fantastic. TB’s voice might be an acquired taste but for sheer bombast and delivery it’s hard to fault her. Production values great (thank god, after Springer), band excellent, and not a single dud in the supporting cast. Agnes had me literally LOL-ing.
I agree Burly. There's lots of tremolo in Miss Bennett, but she delivers in every department as do the rest of the cast and musicians. Brilliant!
An agile production of a frankly clumsy piece. Major characters disappear for much of it, but they worked miracles in that small space. There's probably a reason why it has not been seen for so long. It is honestly, little more than a star turn. And the Mame number, catchy, but dear lord what the hell is it talking about and why does Mame not contribute to it vocally? Odd piece indeed.
An agile production of a frankly clumsy piece. Major characters disappear for much of it, but they worked miracles in that small space. There's probably a reason why it has not been seen for so long. It is honestly, little more than a star turn. And the Mame number, catchy, but dear lord what the hell is it talking about and why does Mame not contribute to it vocally? Odd piece indeed.
Mame was just a carbon copy of Hello Dolly (including the title song) commissioned by producers to cash in on the success with Dolly. Jerry Herman was simply filling a brief he was given - to put a fabulous Hello Dolly-esque score on a story which was already a successful play (called Aunty Mame I believe) and to stick Lansbury in the lead. So the piece literally is little more than a star turn. It’s interesting that this is apparent even when staged professionally a considerable amount of years later.
Lots of sold out perfs over the last couple of weeks, word got around. Tix available midweek this week, that’s all.
So pleased that this has been a big hit for Aria/Hope Mill. The investment in costumes, sets, design etc paid off. This could easily fit into the SWP or similar and would be a huge hit in London I reckon.
Post by FrontroverPaul on Dec 6, 2019 21:03:58 GMT
Can anyone who saw Mame in Manchester recall the approx running time ?
About to book my travel on advance tickets to see it in Northampton. Starts 14.30, need to choose a train to Euston from 17.24, 17.39 or 17.54 to get back in time to see another show at 19.30.
Lots of sold out perfs over the last couple of weeks, word got around. Tix available midweek this week, that’s all.
So pleased that this has been a big hit for Aria/Hope Mill. The investment in costumes, sets, design etc paid off. This could easily fit into the SWP or similar and would be a huge hit in London I reckon.
Do you not think it might go to the Park Theatre, considering that the Hope Mill's production of Rags is headed there?
Can anyone who saw Mame in Manchester recall the approx running time ?
About to book my travel on advance tickets to see it in Northampton. Starts 14.30, need to choose a train to Euston from 17.24, 17.39 or 17.54 to get back in time to see another show at 19.30.
Gosh, thanks for pointing this out as I also booked for a matinee but never having been to this venue before, I didn't realise it was possible to book advance fares. I haven't yet risked booking anything in London for the evening but was planning to idc.
Sorry, caught out by the predictive text on my mobile there. It's Rags the Musical at the Park Theatre Finsbury park not Ragtime.
I saw the Sedos production recently, one of my fav shows lol I'm seeing Rags soon too x
SEDOS' Ragtime was my number one amateur musical out of over a hundred of them I saw in 2019. Instantly became a fave for me too. The amateur shows at the Bridewell are always of a very high standard.
Hoping to be equally impressed by Rags tomorrow evening, as well as Mame of course.
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but with more positives than negatives.
To get the bad out of the way, it's a little bit slow, dated, and feels like it drags at times. The songs aren't massively strong. Darren Day continues to underwhelm in everything I've seen him, looking awkward and having zero rhythm in the Mame number.
Tracie herself lies somewhere between the two - her voice isn't particularly easy on the ears, and she has now given four practically identical performances in the four shows I've seen her in (End Of The Rainbow, Follies, Ruthless and this), so don't expect anything outside of her usual traits. Having said that, the style suits the piece well and she does perform it as 'a star'.
The good - it's an impressively large cast for our small Royal stage, and it's lovely to have a musical in there. It's predominantly our play house so to have nusoc and dancing in there makes a nice change. Choreography, costumes and wigs are all first-rate, and the whole show has a charming old-school feel to it. Jessie May was good as always (and a nice surprise, I didn't know she was in it). Also, Harriet Thorpe is utterly fabulous. It's the campest turn I've seen since Craig got Dolly-ed up on Strictly and I adored her. The 'Bosom Buddies' duet with Tracie in Act Two is the absolute highlight.
It ran about 2hr 20 including interval. We had around a 10-minute delay starting and the curtain came down around 10.15.
I hope anyone seeing it over the rest of the week enjoys it.
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but with more positives than negatives.
To get the bad out of the way, it's a little bit slow, dated, and feels like it drags at times. The songs aren't massively strong. Darren Day continues to underwhelm in everything I've seen him, looking awkward and having zero rhythm in the Mame number.
Tracie herself lies somewhere between the two - her voice isn't particularly easy on the ears, and she has now given four practically identical performances in the four shows I've seen her in (End Of The Rainbow, Follies, Ruthless and this), so don't expect anything outside of her usual traits. Having said that, the style suits the piece well and she does perform it as 'a star'.
The good - it's an impressively large cast for our small Royal stage, and it's lovely to have a musical in there. It's predominantly our play house so to have nusoc and dancing in there makes a nice change. Choreography, costumes and wigs are all first-rate, and the whole show has a charming old-school feel to it. Jessie May was good as always (and a nice surprise, I didn't know she was in it). Also, Harriet Thorpe is utterly fabulous. It's the campest turn I've seen since Craig got Dolly-ed up on Strictly and I adored her. The 'Bosom Buddies' duet with Tracie in Act Two is the absolute highlight.
It ran about 2hr 20 including interval. We had around a 10-minute delay starting and the curtain came down around 10.15.
I hope anyone seeing it over the rest of the week enjoys it.
I'm just about to leave for the station. First visit to Northampton for many years. Your info on timings reassure me that I've booked the right train back to London, the 17.36 as I understand the theatre is a 10-15 minutes walk from the theatre.