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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 29, 2022 6:43:47 GMT
I’m afraid that promo wouldn’t get me buying a ticket.
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Post by austink on Mar 29, 2022 7:57:56 GMT
Looks very amateurish, even the way they discuss the production/show. Indeed, let’s be honest the book for this show isn’t good and the issue with any production is how to deal with that. It seems they just shrugged and are not trying to make sense of it but instead layering a another level of issues that the plot cannot handle. Love the music but this has the feeling of a car crash.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2022 8:03:38 GMT
Looks very amateurish, even the way they discuss the production/show. Booked to see the Matt on Saturday, I'll reserve judgement, but jeez, yeah I agree......
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7,538 posts
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Post by alece10 on Mar 29, 2022 8:59:24 GMT
The bit of the video that worries me is when Alex Young says she will be "attacking members of the audience". Everyone will now be booking seats in the far corners of the back row.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 29, 2022 9:07:10 GMT
That choreo is a “choice” too isn’t it? I’m sure the rest of it willbe much more appealing.. 😐
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Post by apubleed on Mar 29, 2022 11:54:08 GMT
I saw the Encores! concert with Donna Murphy, Raul Esparza and Sutton Foster. The show is a complete and utter mess in my opinion but because it’s very rarely performed especially as a production as opposed to a concert I think if you are a Sondheim fan you’d be a ‘cookie’ to miss this! The promo seemed rather juvenile but I have personally always found the performances at Southwark to be at least worth the small price of admission.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2022 16:32:50 GMT
The bit of the video that worries me is when Alex Young says she will be "attacking members of the audience". Everyone will now be booking seats in the far corners of the back row.
And with the traverse staging, the front row is the length of the stage, so she'll have plenty of people to choose from.
Thankfully i'm in the middle of the back row. I hope it is staged better than Grand Hotel was. If you were at either end of the rows, you missed alot of what was happening at the other end.
Seeing it Saturday evening.
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Post by singingbird on Mar 30, 2022 12:15:28 GMT
I'm actually really excited about this and am going with an open mind. Saw it once, years back, at (I think) The Bridewell and, for it to work at all, I think the madness of it needs to be fully embraced. There's no half measures with this show!
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Post by JJShaw on Mar 30, 2022 22:03:18 GMT
I was so excited when it was announced but the more that is teased I am not really a fan of some of the concepts that seem to be getting thrown onto it. I believe the twitter said its going to be quite a giant rainbow rock for the miracle, what allegory could that be for /s ??!!!!! The last thing this show needs is more layers, but maybe that might focus it? I dont know. Will try and go with an open mind because it is one of my fave shows. The book is a bit whacky, but whacky in the sense that lots of older musicals do have those crazy silly plots where you just go with them! Man comes into town, stirs up drama etc Calling it chaotic, black out drunk, most of their descriptives in that video would not be what I'd say. And the moral to be yourself? I guess so, maybe? The team did feel very young, very university-our-show-is-going-to-change-the-world, but I could be wrong and it could be great.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2022 14:32:08 GMT
Is anyone following the Anyone Can Whistle twitter account for this production? Some queen is running it and it is so obnoxious. It is beyond embarrassing and so cringeworthy - something else that's making me not want to see this (I hastily booked a ticket when it was first announced).
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Post by alece10 on Mar 31, 2022 14:40:21 GMT
I'm not a Twitter follower to be honest but I did find this tweet rather amusing.
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Post by highonahill on Mar 31, 2022 14:49:09 GMT
I'm going tomorrow night. Sondheim fan, never seen this show and love seeing stuff at Southwark so that's what sold this to me. Booked before the Twitter account was set up!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2022 15:05:30 GMT
I'm not a Twitter follower to be honest but I did find this tweet rather amusing. It's so off putting and unprofessional looking - it's so intensely trying to be funny and it's not
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Post by apubleed on Mar 31, 2022 15:47:24 GMT
I'm not a Twitter follower to be honest but I did find this tweet rather amusing. It's so off putting and unprofessional looking - it's so intensely trying to be funny and it's not Strangely I feel this is consistent with the tone of the show. Sondheim often would say the show comes across like two smart asses at the back of a classroom trying to be clever (he knew it wasn’t his best work)
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Post by JJShaw on Mar 31, 2022 16:59:51 GMT
I assume the account is trying to replicate the success of the 9 to 5 and Diana twitter accounts which managed to seem genuine in their humour. The ACW one feels like when big corporate companies try and copy memes (although I will agree the £95 one was funny and a few of the other ones have been good but its a bit hit and miss)
Comes across a little try hard which is odd because by their accounts tickets have been selling rather well, maybe thats because of their social media presence?!
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Post by jaggy on Mar 31, 2022 21:27:03 GMT
Anyone seen this yet who would be willing to give a review?
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Post by notmymuse on Mar 31, 2022 21:41:41 GMT
Can someone explain what the £95 Twitter thing was about? I'm a bit lost.
On another note, I was lucky enough to see this at Jermyn Street with a great cast (Rosalie Craig among them) and really enjoyed it so fingers crossed for this production.
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2,813 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 31, 2022 22:05:27 GMT
Can someone explain what the £95 Twitter thing was about? I'm a bit lost. They're mocking the exorbitant prices of the livestream of the Sondheim Memorial Concert.
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18,844 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 31, 2022 23:04:32 GMT
Posts removed.
Can we focus comments on the show instead of each other please. Thank you.
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Post by matty on Apr 1, 2022 18:34:58 GMT
Anyone in for the first preview tonight? They opened the auditorium quite late and it is taking them a while to get everyone seated. Looks to be completely full though
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Apr 1, 2022 20:14:03 GMT
Catching this next week! Don't know this show at all - never gets produced it seems.
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Post by apubleed on Apr 1, 2022 20:20:27 GMT
If anyone is watching/listening for the first time the top tier songs are “there won’t be trumpets” “anyone can whistle” “me and my town” and “with so little to be sure of” in my opinion.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Apr 1, 2022 20:43:57 GMT
It's a preview!
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Post by matty on Apr 1, 2022 22:33:03 GMT
Well, this show is a bit bonkers isn't it. I was a bit sceptical at first, but ended up really enjoying it. Alex Young and Danny Lane had fantastic chemistry as the Mayoress and Comptroller. But generally the whole cast was really strong.
The show stop was only a couple of minutes, which I was quite pleased about as the cheese jokes were a bit much.
A few sound issues - I was sat on the far side and had trouble hearing quite a lot of lyrics at times. May have just been because it's the first preview, but hope they sort it out. From where I was sat I could also hear the sound desk guys talking quite a lot throughout - I get they may need to converse, but it's not a huge theatre and they weren't being overly quiet.
Overall, a really good night at the theatre and one I would recommend!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 2, 2022 9:25:30 GMT
I like that theyve got some merch, thats fun! Couple t-shirts, a hat, and I think I'd like to get the water bottle as it doesnt scream MT but is nice and inkeeping with the show.
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Post by alece10 on Apr 2, 2022 9:29:46 GMT
I like that theyve got some merch, thats fun! Couple t-shirts, a hat, and I think I'd like to get the water bottle as it doesnt scream MT but is nice and inkeeping with the show. I like the water bottle it's one of those "if you know, you know" items which is fun. Don't think other shows at Southwark have had merch before.
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Post by highonahill on Apr 2, 2022 15:09:45 GMT
I was there last night too. Agree with matty about it being completely bonkers! I'd never seen a production of this before, knew nothing about the 'story' or characters - only the songs that have been done as stand alone numbers. I really enjoyed it. The energy on stage and the comedic timing was fantastic. At times I had literally no idea what was going on, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment! Perfectly diverse casting made sense of the theme of corruption amongst those who lead and that individuality should be nurtured and cherished.
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Post by Steve on Apr 2, 2022 22:04:54 GMT
Saw this tonight, and the book really is a nonsensical travesty, while the songs are a delight, but what distinguishes this production is an hilarious performance by Alex Young as "antagonist," Cora, who is actually the only person you can relate to. . . Some spoilers follow. . . I had seen a production of this at the Union Theatre five years ago, so supposedly I should have an advantage in understanding the plot, but only the motivations of Alex Young's Cora and her sidekick, Danny Lane's Schub, made any sense whatsoever. Everybody else were worried about who is and who isn't a "cookie" (a derogatory and insulting word for mentally ill people), and whether the audience were cookies as well, or indeed instead, of the people on stage; and whether the simplicity of being a cookie would or would not ruin the town's plot to create an economy out of a fake miracle. Needless to say, even if it were possible to follow such crap, you wouldn't really want to. Instead, you just delight in the infectiously energetic cast delivering rarely performed Sondheim songs, and taken apart from the plot, they are dynamic and fun to watch, using the full narrow but long central staging area, with the audience on both sides. This show is the polar opposite of the Union Theatre effort, which built Cora up into a genuine villain, who you could join the characters of Fay and Hapgood in rooting against. That does not happen here. If the Union's Cora was Cruella Deville killing puppies, Southwark's Cora is more like Dr Evil scheming for one billion dollars or like Rebel Wilson's Adelaide sex-positively determined to bed Nathan Detroit in the West End's somewhat recent Guys and Dolls. Simply put, like any basely motivated comic character, Alex Young's Cora wants sex and money, and who wouldn't want those things, especially when all anybody else cares about, except Danny Lane's Schub, is who is or isn't a "cookie." Schub just wants to provide Cora with sex and money, thus forming the counterpart of a perfect comic double act. And oh god is Alex Young's Cora a perfectly realised comic creation. Her childish comic campness, coupled with very real expression of relatable base desires, is so well done that she had the audience in stitches even when delivering some of the most awful script ever put to paper, simply by channeling the character's base desires as subtext to the entire script, no matter how awful the dialogue. Anyway, I had a ball of a time, as Alex Young, her double-act with Lane, the cast's youthful exuberance and Sondheim's songs are all great. But the book is execrable and the concept of "cookies" is dated and insulting. Overall, I loved this principally for Alex Young's comic turn, which lifted my enjoyment from a thoroughly baffled 3 stars to a laughing-out-loud 4 stars.
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Post by zahidf on Apr 3, 2022 0:06:02 GMT
Saw the matinee preview for this
The plot is utter rubbish but the songs and performances a lot of fun. I'd echo that going in, you should assume you'd laugh but just ignore the plot entirely.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2022 11:36:16 GMT
Saw the Matinee on Saturday and I am very happy to say I loved it. Completely bonkers and camp as anything. This was my first whistle (was due to see the Union production but was too hungover to face the train journey) and very pleased it was my first. I have seen a lot of people saying they couldn't understand the plot, or at least aspects of it. But I completely understood it all, yes ok, it isn't exactly an amazing plot and book but was simple enough to follow. Alex Young is an absolute delight, I took from her performance, an amalgamation of many iconic camp females.
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