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Post by jgblunners on Nov 16, 2016 11:17:53 GMT
Today I'm at the Queen's for the Les Mis matinee, then hopping down to southwark for Side Show in the evening!
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 13, 2016 20:14:07 GMT
Yeah, Charlie Stemp said in an interview that it was recorded over the last 3 performances in Chichester, so it'll have that version of Back The Right Horse on it.
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 13, 2016 14:16:12 GMT
'Back The Right Horse' has been completely rewritten this week. It's now more about critics in theatre. Interesting, I wonder why they felt the need to change it now? Especially given that it's the old version that will be on the cast recording...
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 9, 2016 12:12:54 GMT
May b going to Vaudeville in new year..... Does anyone know a Vaughn running time for this...? It was pretty much 2 hours including interval at the Park Theatre. Maybe a few mins less...
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 6, 2016 14:33:32 GMT
that's exactly the point, it's a choral piece, it's meant not to have a central protagonist. The choral piece would apply to how the score is delievered, the central protagonist is what is the central character in the book, where the plot stems from, this is missing in Ragtime. The script is full of derogatory racist terms, that became unnecessary. I haven't read the novel on which the show is based, but from descriptions from other people I gather that it also does not have a central protagonist, so the author and the creative team behind the musical clearly want to focus on the relationships between people, and the way they affect each others' lives, rather than telling the story of one particular person. Interestingly, in the programme for this production one of the creative team (I think it might actually be the author of the novel, but I can't remember) mentions how different people he speaks to have very different interpretations of who the 'central' character of the piece is. With regard to the racism - to remove the slurs from the script would be to dilute the hatred and abuse that immigrants and people of colour at that time were subjected to. Since one of the purposes of the story is to make clear to us just how badly these people were treated, it would be detrimental to the piece if we weren't shown these shocking scenes.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 20, 2016 0:34:53 GMT
For the first time tonight I felt that my experience at the theatre was genuinely brought down a level from where it should have been because of the behaviour of the audience around me. Lion King evening performance - I was expecting the non-stop rustling of wrappers and packets throughout the show, but on top of that there was the ridiculous number and frequency of people checking their phones during the show. They didn't even attempt to hide it, just let their faces be lit up for all to see! I probably could have ignored that if I had been in a good mood, but the icing on the cake was the talking. Almost non-stop, people were chatting throughout the show, and not quietly! I was sat in the stalls, so tickets weren't cheap - maybe people think that if they pay that much money they buy the right to behave how they want, but it made me so sad that they seemed to have no respect for other audience members or the performers.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 18, 2016 13:53:32 GMT
Alice singing The Wizard and I at her fourth performance. I am totally blown over. Did not expect this AT ALL. Wow, brilliant! Quite amusing that she does a 'melt' riff now that Rachel appears to have stopped doing it
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Grease
Oct 13, 2016 10:59:04 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Oct 13, 2016 10:59:04 GMT
The shows twitter page has confirmed the casting too... 'UKs top boy band' really? does anyone think that? Must say, this is underwhelming, especially after the excitement over the Curve production. Guess it will appeal to a younger audience, though, and possibly get them into the theatre for the first time. We'll just have to wait and see how he turns out..
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Grease
Oct 13, 2016 10:31:19 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Oct 13, 2016 10:31:19 GMT
Email from ATG - Tom Parker from 'The Wanted' to star as Danny Zuko...
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 12, 2016 12:39:18 GMT
Anyone know if Eva or her cover have announced any of her holiday dates? (I'm aware they technically aren't allowed to - thanks, Cam Mac...)
I normally wouldn't worry about a cover being on, but after seeing Eva in Miss Saigon I really don't want to miss her Eponine.
On another note, Adam Bayjou does Monday evenings, doesn't he? I'm not a great fan of Peter Lockyer so would be nice to see a different Valjean.
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Cats
Sept 14, 2016 21:14:21 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Sept 14, 2016 21:14:21 GMT
Was at the opening night in Glasgow last night where it played to a full theatre (almost sold out tonight also). The magic of the show was enough to withstand the character assassination of Rum Tum Tugger. Going by the comments of those around me and the reactions of the audience in general, I would say the majority attending were seeing it for the first time. Life left in the old musical yet. RE: The new Tugger, how are people generally reacting to it? I saw the show for the first time in Southampton, but knew the original Tugger song quite well from cast recordings, so was surprised to see it had been changed. I understand that they want to keep the show modern by adding a hip-hop segment, but the 'new' number is just a bad re-hash of the old one. I think they would've done better to completely re-write it Edit: What pained me the most was that the ensemble was singing the tune from the old number, but it felt so slow and just made the whole number drag, which was awful because the whole point of hip-hop/rap is surely for it to be fast-paced and energetic?
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 13, 2016 22:49:23 GMT
There are still fees, same as the ATG site. Really? i got as far as the checkout and it didn't apply any fees
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 13, 2016 16:54:51 GMT
This new website kinda sucks tbh. I loved the old one Oh no I love the new website. Also if you click the ticket link you can buy tickets directly without the ridiculous add on ticket fees. Wow, I can't believe ATG have let them do that. Greatly appreciate it though, ATGs fees are so annoying
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 12, 2016 20:16:32 GMT
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 12, 2016 14:38:57 GMT
Getting previous leads back seems the logical thing for them to do seeing as Phantom, Les Mis and Saigon all did that for their 25th Anniversaries and it went down a storm every time. Different producers though, so you can never know...
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 8, 2016 12:56:50 GMT
Ooh I didn't know that Dewey had an alternate - why's that then? Is it a particularly demanding role?
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 8, 2016 11:50:43 GMT
The wait is apparently over...
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 8, 2016 8:48:33 GMT
Does anybody else love it when Rachel holds onto her second 'Bring me down' in DG until she absolutely needs to bring it off? I think hearing her vibrato ring out clearly over the ensemble and echo slightly afterwards adds something to Elphabas desperation/determination. Yes! I also love how she turns the last note into a battle cry with all the growl she puts on it - it's such a perfect end to the song.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 7, 2016 8:04:46 GMT
There you go guys, easily one of the highlights of the night, truly hilarious! Suzie sounds amazing! I had a listen to No-one Mourns the Wicked too and her Soprano sounds so strong! I was excited to see Rachel at the 10th anniversary but now I think I'm just as excited for Suzie!
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 6, 2016 15:56:07 GMT
Manchester dweller here, and I live about 200 yards from The Palace. If there's anything you need help with in planning your trip shout up! Much appreciated, Your Bearness. I'll think about the feasibility of this trip and will let you know! For the record, Steinman's music is not the problem with Dance of the Vampires, it's the very uneven book. Would love see Steinman music in a better show. Hence the trip considerations Ahh I see - I never saw it, just heard about its reputation. I have heard Mandy Gonzalez sing Total Eclipse though, and i'd probably be willing to pay the ticket price just for that!
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 6, 2016 15:44:13 GMT
Sounds very interesting - let's hope it doesn't turn out like Dance of the Vampires on Broadway, Jim Steinman's last attempt at a musical.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 4, 2016 22:36:12 GMT
what are we estimating the stage door queue to be like tomorrow before/after the show? also not sure if this has been posted but Mark Curry did an interview about the 10th: www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/4954/wizard-mark-curry-talks-us-ten-year-celebrations-wicked-london/“There’s going to be something very special on the day and they’re kind of keeping it a bit quiet. I’ve heard rumours that there might be past stars of the show coming back to see the show and maybe come on stage. That’s a rumour so I don’t know. There are going to be celebrities and fans and I think it’s just going to be the most electrifying night.”Seeing as that it happened at the last anniversary it's hardly a secret that it will happen again. Although they can do what they want as none of us will see from our seats right up high anyway .... What did they do for the last anniversary? And was it the same setup, with only the circle on sale?
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 4, 2016 21:39:06 GMT
I'm going to miss Daniel Hope being such an adorable Boq, and of course the Geordie accent! Looking forward to the new cast though! Does anyone know what Alice Fearn has done before? Might try to catch one of her shows among the many Rachel shows that I'm hoping to make
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 4, 2016 18:44:41 GMT
Nadim Naaman was tweeting about how it'd be one of his dream roles (I presume he was talking about Christian) - but I think he's around the same age as Ben and I agree, the role probably calls for someone slightly younger, with a naïvety about them.
Surely we could get some fun out of casting ex-Elphabas as 'The Green Fairy' 😛
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 2, 2016 22:03:33 GMT
Very wise call by Savannah - shame that it had to happen in her last week but she's done really well to recover so quickly. I imagine a lot of die-hard fans will be up in arms about her missing the muck-up matinee though. I hope she doesn't get any rude tweets at her.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 2, 2016 16:30:37 GMT
Quite interested by this - never read the book, but I've head good things so I'll probably try to nab one of the cheap seats too
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 1, 2016 22:22:29 GMT
Such a shame, was looking forward to this after hearing how well received the west end run was. Don't think I'll bother now unless it improves after Xmas!
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 1, 2016 18:54:14 GMT
Ooh that reminds me - the ENO sunset boulevard set is another example of how simplicity can be very effective.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 1, 2016 18:01:48 GMT
I loved the Jamie Lloyd Faustus set, and the National's Threepenny Opera is brilliant - a great example of simple tools creating fantastic effects. Phantom, Saigon and Wicked are, of course, stunning.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 1, 2016 16:23:11 GMT
As a student in london you'll generally have the opportunity and flexibility to take advantage of the cheaper tickets, so you may end up seeing more than you think! There's some really good cheap schemes around - NT entry Pass, Donmar Young and free for their Shakespeare trilogy, Donmar front row, Royal Court Monday nights for £10, Jamie Lloyd's £15 Mondays on many of his shows. For fringe stuff you could join Audience Club and see a lot of stuff for just a small booking fee. Oh, and it's not theatre, but www.bfi.org.uk/25-and-under is worth signing up for. The Shakespeare trilogy is definitely on my list, if I can get tickets, as I especially want to see how the perform 'The Tempest' having studied it for A-Level and read about the many elaborate original stagings of the play. The Royal Court and Jamie Lloyd schemes are something I had forgotten, so thanks for that, and I'll need to keep an ear open for plays that may be up my street. One thing I hadn't heard of is the NT entry pass? www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/entry-pass£5 tickets to every show at the National, usually some rather good seats. They go quickly for most productions though!
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