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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 28, 2020 12:19:26 GMT
I'd say Circle, you'll get more out of the projections And the choreo...
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Post by Raven on Feb 28, 2020 13:23:13 GMT
I've been reading reviews from people who have been back since the initial previews and there sounds like they have made some good changes. Has anyone else been back to compare?
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 28, 2020 13:30:58 GMT
I've been reading reviews from people who have been back since the initial previews and there sounds like they have made some good changes. Has anyone else been back to compare? You would literally have to do this to me to get me back in that theatre...
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 28, 2020 14:49:03 GMT
I've been reading reviews from people who have been back since the initial previews and there sounds like they have made some good changes. Has anyone else been back to compare? I saw the final Friday preview, and if there had been good changes made since the initial previews, then god only knows what the original version of this show was like!
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 28, 2020 16:06:16 GMT
I've been reading reviews from people who have been back since the initial previews and there sounds like they have made some good changes. Has anyone else been back to compare? I saw the final Friday preview, and if there had been good changes made since the initial previews, then god only knows what the original version of this show was like! The night I went the 'creatives' were sat across the aisle from me with their iPads out... I kept thinking to myself 'guuuurl you ain't making nearly enough notes'.
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Post by ceebee on Feb 28, 2020 17:56:17 GMT
I saw the final Friday preview, and if there had been good changes made since the initial previews, then god only knows what the original version of this show was like! The night I went the 'creatives' were sat across the aisle from me with their iPads out... I kept thinking to myself 'guuuurl you ain't making nearly enough notes'. What a joke - you can't usually use a phone in a theatre, let alone an iPad.
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 28, 2020 19:00:49 GMT
The night I went the 'creatives' were sat across the aisle from me with their iPads out... I kept thinking to myself 'guuuurl you ain't making nearly enough notes'. What a joke - you can't usually use a phone in a theatre, let alone an iPad. In fairness they all had their screens turned to the lowest brightness possible, but it was still annoying as I was right on the aisle and could see it out of the corner of my eye the entire 2nd half. They weren't there in the first half, maybe they watched it from the stalls or they thought it was already perfect....
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Post by xanady on Feb 28, 2020 19:13:53 GMT
Surely assessing the ‘product’ should be done behind closed doors at the DR? Not fair to disrupt the audience at a paid performance imo.
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Post by longinthetooth on Feb 28, 2020 19:17:29 GMT
Surely assessing the ‘product’ should be done behind closed doors at the DR? Not fair to disrupt the audience at a paid performance imo. I had the creatives sitting directly in front of me at Preludes. They used the old fashioned method of pen and paper - unfortunately illuminated by a pencil torch! During the interval people across the aisle complained to an usher, and he had to explain who they were (and why they would be carrying on!).
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Post by alece10 on Feb 28, 2020 19:27:10 GMT
I suppose it's the price you have to pay when you go to a preview along with things going wrong. But understand it can be annoying.
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Post by robertb213 on Feb 28, 2020 19:38:04 GMT
Different show, but I had creatives next to me at the third preview of Be More Chill a couple of weeks ago - he introduced himself to me before it started, said he'd be making notes throughout the show, how his phone would be on black-light and he would shield it as much as possible, but to tell him if it became irritating and he'd sort it straight away. He was brilliant about it and I barely even noticed him typing.
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Post by latefortheoverture on Feb 29, 2020 19:06:42 GMT
Surely assessing the ‘product’ should be done behind closed doors at the DR? Not fair to disrupt the audience at a paid performance imo. I had the creatives sitting directly in front of me at Preludes. They used the old fashioned method of pen and paper - unfortunately illuminated by a pencil torch! During the interval people across the aisle complained to an usher, and he had to explain who they were (and why they would be carrying on!). The same happened with me at &Juliet a few weeks ago. Someone complained about the man, it seemed he was drawing rather than writing, on an ipad. I presumed something to do with lighting. The usher went in Act 2 to talk to him, he explained and carried on. Did think there must be more discreet places for him to be than on the isle in 'premium seats' with an ipad on full brightness!
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 29, 2020 19:42:56 GMT
On Broadway they always sit at or beside/in the mixing desk.
I have no idea why they can't just do that here especially at something like Preludes as the venue is tiny so it's not like they'd miss anything.
Maybe overhang or the fact our mixing desks are usually surrounded by seating instead of behind it?
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Post by Theatre Fan on Feb 29, 2020 21:20:09 GMT
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Post by elfie1984 on Mar 1, 2020 10:13:45 GMT
Has anyone had luck with Rush Seats for POE on Today Tix? I imagine these go fairly quickly. Are there any available at the Box Office each day?
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Post by raiseitup on Mar 2, 2020 11:31:51 GMT
Cast recording has already been recorded, needs to be mixed. Schwartz says it will be out 'soon'
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Mar 2, 2020 13:26:51 GMT
Has anyone had luck with Rush Seats for POE on Today Tix? I imagine these go fairly quickly. Are there any available at the Box Office each day? My son got central row C dress circle for last Thursday evening at about 10.15 am. I've never used the Rush app myself but he said he was initially offered seats much further back and rejected several before he purchased onein row C. Saved £50 on the theatre price.
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Mar 3, 2020 19:30:43 GMT
Saw this last week and really enjoyed it, prepare yourself for a jumble of thoughts ahead:
I understand the use of ensemble members as the set and effects is polarising but I found it very innovative. It made things like the basket being brought to Tuya look more like outside forces were involved rather than pure chance. I agree that people rolling in a line on the floor looks goofy though.
The new songs were a bit hit and miss. I liked Tzipporah and Nefertari’s songs, and the one the Hebrews sang the first time Moses told them they were free. The rest were a bit forgettable.
There is very simple staging which is used to great effect. For me the best were the Yocheved reveal in All I Ever Wanted and the death of the firstborns, plus the closing of the Red Sea which other people have mentioned.
The dancing, oh MY the dancing. This must be the bendiest ensemble in the west end!
Now a bit of nitpicking:
The Plagues is my favourite song and sequence of the film and what I was most looking forward to seeing this. I understand it’s difficult to show frogs and such onstage, but I would have liked to see at least a distinction between each plague rather than a mishmash since unless you’re very familiar with the story you wouldn’t even know what plague you were seeing.
Miriam is supposedly a prophet which was only explicitly said at the end. I spent most of the show just thinking she was a bit mental.
It’s a shame that while everyone else got more character development Aaron was cut down to the bare bones and then some.
I’m conflicted about the ending (spoilers for those who specifically haven’t seen this production). Placing the blame on chasing after the fleeing Hebrews solely on Nefertari and Hotep makes Ramses a lot less culpable for his actions (the musical doesn’t really address how many Hebrews suffered in slavery in the time between Seti I’s death and Moses returning, plus how many Egyptians died because of the plagues) so he’s more just a good guy who got steered in the wrong direction. I don’t think after all that you can really have an ending where Moses and Ramses part on good terms. Also, why does a high priest have command over the army?
Cutting Playing With the Big Boys was a huge missed opportunity to show some stage magic, and I didn’t appreciate being blue balled by Hotep singing snippets of it here and there.
Last but not least:
An all round very strong cast. Mercedesz Csampai in her small but impactful role as Yocheved was a particular standout.
In my humble opinion even though the show has its flaws seeing the choreography and the movie songs being performed are well worth the ticket price alone.
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Post by vabbian on Mar 3, 2020 22:43:40 GMT
2.5 - 3 stars. I guess it's an impossible feat to live up to the film. Day ticket tonight £25 stalls W23 Happy to see Debbie Kurup in the cast! Audience didn't seem to respond well to the new songs. Barely clapped for those. The new songs seemed quite anti climactic(?) I think the leads just don't have the X factor. No shirtless Moses - a shame. One of the gays in the ensemble has a very obvious trendy haircut, whilst everyone else had more appropriate hair, was out of place. Very very bare set. Was not a fan of those square blocks being used for EVERYTHING. Hello
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Post by chels on Mar 7, 2020 13:16:30 GMT
Hello all, long time lurker of the site here. I saw this with my girlfriend about two weeks ago, we paid about 50 quid for both of us and sat in the Dress Circle. I enjoyed the animated film and have fond memories of it but didn’t know what to expect but when I saw the ensemble rolling around on the floor pretending to be a river, I went “Oh it’s that kind of show,” I liked the staging, I thought the bit where the Hebrews cross the Red Sea was clever and the cast was great. Also with all the projections, I thought they’d clearly saved a bit on costumes given the ensemble weren’t wearing much and at one point the Queen of Egypt came out in a very sparkly low cut dress I feel like it definitely had story/pacing issues, it seemed like every five minutes we were going into a new song or a reprise and some bits seemed rushed like Moses and Tzipporah’s romance rapidly going from not liking each other to sort of dancing together to oh we’re in love now to getting married all in the span of Act One. My girlfriend is Jewish herself and she thought that they really were trying to take religion out of it which struck us both as kind of bizarre given it’s based on a story that’s from religious texts. What with the re-centering the narrative on Moses and Rameses being bros and the oh it’s not Rameses fault actually arc. I don’t remember Moses actually mentioning God at all in favour of blabbing on about Destiny etc. On a side note, a friend of mine saw the original production in the US in...2017 I think? I was chatting to her about it and it doesn’t seem like they’ve changed much and tbh I think it needs a bit of a rewrite. My girlfriend has been gifted tickets for her birthday so we’re going again and it’ll be interesting to see what’s changed since previews. On the whole I’d probably give it a 3/5.
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Post by jay78uk on Mar 7, 2020 16:59:25 GMT
Went to see the Prince of Eygpt on Thursday night on a whim. We fancied some escapism and were surprised, while having a post work pint that there were rush tickets on tix for that very evening. We sat middle of row G in the circle for £25 each and had a fantastic if somewhat distant view. Gosh, the Dominion is huge! The show wasn't my cup of tea, but given I'm a big Sondheim fan and like fully scored musicals I didn't expect it to float my boat!
On the plus side, I thought the staging good and the effects... effective, especially the bits when a slave suffers an unfortunate incident and the death of the king. The projections of the pharaohs and inside the pyramid were great too, the backdrops less so. I also enjoyed the dancing and choreography- hugely energetic and fun.
On the down side, the show's script and characterisation is wafer thin and very 'hollywood'. Some of the staging was very cheesy- glitter in sand etc. Other than the hit song, the score to my ears was derivative... pastiche hebrew songs, some forgettable ballads- and unfortunately for most songs the lyrics weren't that clear- particularly in the first act. Thought the chap playing moses a lovely singer and I did enjoy his song 'footprints on the sand', not that there was much too it, but the orchestrations were easy on the ear.
The show does a reasonable job narrating the story, and would be a great show to take kids to- and I suspect many will be taken given many primary schools teach the story of moses. Be fascinating to see how long the show runs for- the circle was a quarter empty and I suspect most of the people in the seats around me had discounted tickets or had snagged freebies.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 7, 2020 22:22:35 GMT
3 stars is incredibly generous.
It’s one of the worst directed amateurish messes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely shocking. Dreadful design, an insipid leading man and horrible songs.
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Post by SageStageMgr on Mar 8, 2020 14:30:12 GMT
Ooh the temptation to mess with his head and sigh loudly at bits that are obviously good or that he enjoys enough not to make notes about... I did just this with ALW two seats down from me at "Stephen Ward". Except none of it was obviously good, of course.
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 8, 2020 14:52:01 GMT
3 stars is incredibly generous. It’s one of the worst directed amateurish messes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely shocking. Dreadful design, an insipid leading man and horrible songs. Oh, shall I take that to mean you didn't think much of the show, mrbarnaby?
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Post by jay78uk on Mar 8, 2020 16:02:08 GMT
3 stars is incredibly generous. It’s one of the worst directed amateurish messes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely shocking. Dreadful design, an insipid leading man and horrible songs. Oh, shall I take that to mean you didn't think much of the show, mrbarnaby? I got to agree that the direction was pretty amateurish... feel a bit harsh on the leading man though- he didn't have much to work with but was suitably winsome and a fine singer.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 8, 2020 17:24:42 GMT
He was absolutely useless. Liam Tamne sang him off the stage. He has zero stage presence or charisma.
Anyway not that it really mattered, everything about this show was bad.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Mar 8, 2020 17:35:09 GMT
Well i favoured him over Liam Tamne, personally.
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Post by theatre241 on Mar 8, 2020 18:15:45 GMT
How far back is the circle at the Dominion because ive booked Row E of the circle, will this be a good view?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 8, 2020 18:24:32 GMT
Well i favoured him over Liam Tamne, personally. So did I!
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Post by HereForTheatre on Mar 8, 2020 18:35:27 GMT
Well i favoured him over Liam Tamne, personally. So did I! I felt more depth from Luke Brady. I'm not saying that Liam Tamne gave a poor performance but i felt his portrayal was a bit broad where as i felt that Luke played his role with more nuance and intimacy. So fair enough Liam might have a stronger singing voice overall but if i was saying who i thought gave the best performance out the two i'd certainly say Luke. On a general note to all, i feel like we should think a bit more about how we express our opinions, especially if it's about a person and their performance or ability. I think there are ways to express you didn't personally enjoy what they did without being as harsh or using the words that have appeared in this thread recently. It feels a bit over the line.
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