659 posts
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Post by westendcub on Jul 23, 2019 20:16:45 GMT
Wow some really negative reactions on here, saw this last night and found it to be a vital LGBTQI+ musical with a powerful story and message, good pop score, great set and great ensemble cast...for me of the best shows of this summer, planning to return!
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Post by n1david on Jul 23, 2019 20:44:56 GMT
There is a fascinating and powerful story to be told about The Upstairs Lounge and it's denizens which probably needs a mini-series or long movie to do it justice, paging Ryan Murphy? I first read about the Upstairs Lounge in a LGBT history called "Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation". To be honest, it was a very upsetting chapter and I couldn't finish the rest of the book having read some of the stories of the victims (it has also put me off seeing this musical as I suspect it might reopen some of those memories). There are a couple of dedicated books as well.
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Post by anita on Jul 31, 2019 9:43:13 GMT
Seeing this tonight having managed to read nothing about it as I've seen most of the cast in other things before.
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1,510 posts
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Post by anita on Aug 1, 2019 8:06:18 GMT
Well Steve I had one of the onstage seats. Was told I'd been chosen. Enjoyed the show.
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1,510 posts
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Post by anita on Aug 1, 2019 10:11:50 GMT
Actually if you book on Soho theatre website you can book them. They are premium.
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Post by l0islane on Aug 1, 2019 12:50:00 GMT
I saw this last night and really enjoyed it. I had a £15 standing ticket but they directed us to some free seats in the 4th row. If you buy a standing ticket for a night with a good amount of free seats I think you've got a decent chance of being upgraded
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4,358 posts
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Post by shady23 on Aug 1, 2019 14:01:07 GMT
Fifteen quid tickets on today tix now available today only for the rest of the run.
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Post by paddy72 on Aug 1, 2019 22:03:46 GMT
I really tried to enjoy this and it all started so promisingly. You walk in and see an impressive set. Not quite age authentic but expertly crafted. The lights go down and the first song you hear is sung by the great John Partridge and it is terrific. Alas from then on it’s all down hill. So many, many, many songs. A long, long, long finger wagging script that meanders nowhere except through a role call of cliches. (Musicals that include pretentious dismissive material about social media are now just boring). A real shame.
Maybe the original story material is so dark that it could never be translated into a musical. Certainly it deserves better eulogies that continuous torch songs. And it didn’t help with silly things like mic-ing all the performers for an auditorium no bigger than your average Tesco metro. Hearing them sing and speak live may have given it a more authentic reality. Finally a strange coincidence for me. The show is set at exactly the same time - 1973 - that Rocky Horror was first tearing up the musical sexuality rule book down the King Road here in London. The historical picture of black and white morals that are portrayed in The Room Upstairs might be taken as being seriously remiss.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Aug 1, 2019 22:59:28 GMT
Fifteen quid tickets on today tix now available today only for the rest of the run. It looks like they have all gone now
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Post by paddy72 on Aug 1, 2019 23:00:08 GMT
I really tried to enjoy this and it all started so promisingly. You walk in and see an impressive set. Not quite age authentic but expertly crafted. The lights go down and the first song you hear is sung by the great John Partridge and it is terrific. Alas from then on it’s all down hill. So many, many, many songs. A long, long, long finger wagging script that meanders nowhere except through a role call of cliches. (Musicals that include pretentious dismissive material about social media are now just boring). A real shame. Maybe the original story material is so dark that it could never be translated into a musical. Certainly it deserves better eulogies that continuous torch songs. And it didn’t help with silly things like mic-ing all the performers for an auditorium no bigger than your average Tesco metro. Hearing them sing and speak live may have given it a more authentic reality. Finally a strange coincidence for me. The show is set at exactly the same time - 1973 - that Rocky Horror was first tearing up the musical sexuality rule book down the King Road here in London. The historical picture of black and white morals that are portrayed in The Room Upstairs might be taken as being seriously remiss. Apologies. The show is, of course, called ‘The View Upstairs’ and not ‘The Room Upstairs’. No offence intended.
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Post by robertb213 on Aug 2, 2019 7:17:14 GMT
LoveTheatre have a deal on, seats now from £24 😀
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Post by schuttep on Aug 3, 2019 9:35:37 GMT
I agree with many of the comments here because when it started I really didn't think I was going to enjoy it. But I ended up being moved by some of the later less-powered ballads and, ultimately, by the contrasts between what gay life was like in 1973 and 2019 (not as further forward as we'd sometimes like to think) as well as the final explanation of what happened to the victims of the fire (which was very uncomfortable). What was also uncomfortable was the way the people in the bar treat Dale - as if he doesn't exist, isn't worthwhile befriending, doesn't have problems worth helping him sort out. His tirade against them at the end is also disturbing: according to the writer, Max Verdon, it's meant to be.
So, in the end, I was won over.
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Post by kathryn on Aug 9, 2019 22:38:39 GMT
Saw this tonight and quite enjoyed it - but was not as affected as some in the audience.
Wes was just a bit too much of an insufferable stereotype for my taste, and the songs became a bit samey as the show went on. The cast did good work but I never quite believed that any of the characters were real people. As a result the tragedy of the ending didn’t quite land for me.
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4,520 posts
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Post by Mark on Aug 10, 2019 20:49:58 GMT
Saw it tonight on a last minute ticket following recommendation from a friend and I’m so glad I went. Great cast, and I thought the music serviced the characters and piece very well. Welled up a bit at the end, one of the lines Andy Mientus’ character had broke me. Very much worth a watch. I was thinking how great it would be if this could have a further life at Trafalgar Studios. It’s certainly selling pretty well!
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Post by rockinrobin on Aug 18, 2019 9:42:23 GMT
I was supposed to see The Night of the Iguana yesterday but changed my plans (intuition?...) and went to see this instead. Sorry, Clive. It really hit me. I knew the story of the UpStairs Lounge but I still bawled my eyes out. I feel no shame though - everyone in my row was crying. It is a marvellous piece of theatre, incredibly touching, very funny and most importantly very well performed. It moved me deeply. I hope it gets second life.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2019 19:48:48 GMT
Saw it this afternoon. Not an immediately memorable score (sound balance didn't help) but the performances were outstanding and the final scenes as moving as others on here have said. Solid 4 stars from me. Also amused I ended up in a running "flirt" joke with Cedric Neal from my corner of the front row. I was too, had no idea I was so close to the infamous monkey once again. I agree with your comments, especially the music. That cast are an absolute tour de force though.
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