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Post by drowseychap on Feb 3, 2023 1:43:09 GMT
Sorry if this has been asked before is there a better side to sit on ? Looking at the offer £35 tickets ? If you want to sit closer to George Takei, choose rows A to H. That's the side he's sitting closer to most of the time. Otherwise both sides are fine but make sure you get seats in the middle of the rows. Thanks for the info I saw an offer on. OLT website today for sale tickets 🎟️ phew 😥 I bought correct ones then I managed to get row E middle for £30 for Saturday 👍🎭
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Post by Matt on Feb 4, 2023 21:20:29 GMT
Saw this today, there’s a tag line on the poster that says it’s “uplifting” but it’s literally the opposite. I thought the performances were great, but the whole thing was a bit dull and boring. In shows you usually get happy bits, then sad bits, then happy bits, but this just seemed to go sad, sadder, even sadder, saddest. I just came out of it feeling a bit deflated tbh, especially after arsenals loss to Everton just before.
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529 posts
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Post by drowseychap on Feb 4, 2023 22:34:57 GMT
Thanks for the advice all row E middle was perfect and yes George spends most of his time that side too . Really enjoyed the production found it very moving at times very strong cast , 3.5 ⭐️ for me maybe a 4 with George in it knowing he and his family lived that life does resonate . Clever use of a small space never felt like I missed anything .
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382 posts
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Post by stevemar on Feb 8, 2023 12:20:46 GMT
I am glad I went to this and the cast sang well, with great ensemble work and did the most they could with the material. Whilst the songs fair moved along, the lyrics were at best serviceable and I felt that there could have been more to the storyline in terms of exploration of the after effects of the war and the effects on the Japanese community. It just wasn’t very subtle and a lot brushed over. My friend was a lot more emotional than me though. Staging in traverse was a mistake. It hampered the cast (so only half could perform to each side at any one time) and most of the time they were performing to the orchestra side ways to the audience. Good on the decision to ask the audience to move forward (the first rows would have been empty otherwise). A decent 3 stars for me. I probably learned more from the article I read which had initially piqued my interest (not the headline which focuses on William Shatner!). www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/28/star-trek-george-takei-on-william-shatner-love-and-life-as-an-enemy-alien
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Post by Mark on Feb 16, 2023 23:03:24 GMT
Thought this was a wonderful show and told a side of the WWII story I wasn’t familiar with. Good music, strong performances and an important story to be told. I took my mum who can be a pretty harsh critic but she loved this. Glad for George Takei that he was able to bring the show to London. 4 stars from me.
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1,184 posts
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Post by joem on Feb 17, 2023 23:10:14 GMT
I enjoyed this tonight. It's an easy story to understand with good singing and the score is pleasant enough even if there are few stand-out songs.
Great to see George Takei, what a legend together with his Star Trek chums and unchum. Been watching it since I was five or six and still in love with the series and most of its sequels.
Note to Charing Cross Theatre: it's a really bad idea, maybe even on safety grounds, to have a stall selling stuff just in front of the only exit from the auditorium.
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258 posts
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 18, 2023 18:19:23 GMT
I really enjoyed this today. It's been a while since I saw a proper musical and I forgot how lovely good singing can be. I thought Aynrand Ferrer especially just sang beautifully and will definitely keep an eye out for her.
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321 posts
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Post by Scswp on Feb 19, 2023 16:59:53 GMT
Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’? Thanks for any help.
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Post by sfsusan on Feb 19, 2023 21:33:19 GMT
Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’? Sort of... in a more-or-less rectangular space, the majority of seats are at the short ends with the 'stage' in between them. There are some balcony seats above both of the long edges (I don't think these seats would be good, because some of the action takes place right below them).
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258 posts
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 19, 2023 22:51:17 GMT
Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’? Thanks for any help. It's traverse seating, so two banks of tiered seating rising up with the stage between them at the bottom. There's a very small balcony too, either side of the stage, but only about 4 seats on each side with a terrible view so avoid them.
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218 posts
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Post by galinda on Mar 13, 2023 17:37:37 GMT
Is the running time correct on the website? 2hrs 20mins? Due to see this on Saturday and need to work out if I will be able to go as due to the train strikes the last train home will be ridiculously early.
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321 posts
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Post by Scswp on Mar 14, 2023 6:12:19 GMT
Is the running time correct on the website? 2hrs 20mins? Due to see this on Saturday and need to work out if I will be able to go as due to the train strikes the last train home will be ridiculously early. Yes, that running time sounds about right (from the best of my recollections). Hope you enjoy it if you’re able to get there.
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Post by pws on Mar 14, 2023 7:32:29 GMT
Is the running time correct on the website? 2hrs 20mins? Due to see this on Saturday and need to work out if I will be able to go as due to the train strikes the last train home will be ridiculously early. Yes, almost exactly right. It's worth staying a few more minutes to listen to the band, who were terrific, if you can.
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Post by mkb on Mar 15, 2023 2:11:33 GMT
When I saw it in January, it finished at 21:55, including curtain call and play-out music. (That's rounded to the minute, not to the nearest five.)
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218 posts
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Post by galinda on Mar 18, 2023 12:27:06 GMT
Thanks all. Unfortunately it turned out my station were running no trains today and I couldn’t get to another station but Charing Cross theatre let me change my ticket for another date so I will get to see the show after all. Looking forward to it!
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3,080 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 20, 2023 16:56:32 GMT
I caught the Saturday matinee and this was in fine form. I got third row centre through Rush, but a family had taken over seats including mine, so I went for the front row (only shortly before everyone else was invited to move forward, but few did). This isn't selling as well as it should, but I think it's a case of people just not knowing the venue. I hope to get back for at least one more viewing before this closes.
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Post by matty on Mar 21, 2023 22:42:31 GMT
I have booked to see this twice before and both times work drinks got a but out of hand and I ended up missing it, so I was pleased to finally get to see it tonight.
Firstly, the theatre was soooo hot it was really uncomfortable and then I had to contend with the person in front constantly leaning forward...eurgh!
But that aside, I really enjoyed this tonight. Nothing groundbreaking, but the cast was on good form and it was a good night at the theatre.
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Post by greenswan on Mar 23, 2023 7:43:39 GMT
Saw this on Monday with a lovely Q&A afterwards. George Takei has an amazingly sonorous voice and very well rehearsed anecdotes. The other cast members were lovely as well. It's very conventional as a musical and hits all the main Hollywood tropes with somewhat forgettable music. Did wonder if the message was packaged up this way too help it sell to American audiences.
Nonetheless, I found the overall soundtrack beautiful, the actors were giving it their all and I found myself moved. So, overall would recommend.
The venue is a bit dreadful - very warm and stuffy, worn out seating and extremely smelly toilets with broken door locks.
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Post by marob on Apr 6, 2023 0:03:17 GMT
I saw the matinee today, having only really booked to see George Takei, and was very pleasantly surprised. I found the end quite affecting.
I also thought Aynrand Ferrer was great, and note with interest that she’s been the alternate Kim in 2 productions of Miss Saigon. Hope someone from the Crucible’s been in to see it.
Had another TV-related blast from the past besides Mr Takei. It was annoying me in the first act that I couldn’t place where I’d seen the father (Masashi Fujimoto) before. Turned out he’d starred in Banzai on e4, yet another one of those comedies from the recent past that they just would not get away with nowadays.
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3,080 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 8, 2023 21:10:26 GMT
I managed to get a rush ticket for the final matinee. The centre of Row F, which you might think would be an excellent view, but I hadn't realised just how badly positioned the seats are, so you're almost directly behind the person in front. There's a lot of leg room, but the ankle means that almost everyone has a head in view. I did hear someone two or three rows behind me saying she hadn't seen anything during the first half.
Thankfully, I could see enough and also know the show, although I may have felt less charitable had I been visiting for the first time and paid the full prices (which I got the impression was the case for most of the audience).
Another excellent show with everyone on fine form. One nice thing about not being on the front row is I didn't have to hide my tears as much at the end.
It was a rather odd crowd. I got a clear view of the front row in the main section and many really looked like they didn't want to be there, including two people desperately holding their Foot Asylum bags all the way through (I'm not sure if they worried about them being stolen, or thinking they might have to make a swift exit).
The show has been pretty much sold out all week and it's a pity this hasn't been the case for the entire run. I expect a transfer is out of the question, but we can hope.
I decided against joining the very long meet and greet queue at the end, but the cast can't get much of a break between shows when greeting everyone. Hope they've had an excellent final performance.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 8, 2023 21:24:13 GMT
Also saw the show this afternoon and also sat on row F by chance!
I thought this was fine, and it did get me emotionally at the end, but I thought it had a lot of problems, specifically the book. It was beyond paint by numbers, with absolutely no depth or anything above the surface level.
That said, there was a lot to like in the score, and I thought they used the space really well - nice sounding orchestra too for the number of them there were. Takei was fine (pretty remarkable for 85), I liked Telly Leung and I thought Aynrand Ferrer was terrific as Kei (mad to think that part was originally played by Lea Salonga).
Glad to have seen it, but pretty unremarkable in all honesty.
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