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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 25, 2016 6:01:33 GMT
I found Forster okay. Much better as the Phantom than in, erm, Elf which I found him intolerable. Miles better than Scott Davies though. I've seen every Phantom cast for the last 15 years and Forster is comfortably in the middle for me. Bit camp, though.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 23, 2016 11:25:49 GMT
I hate to say it, as this shouldn't be the case with a paying audience in front of you, but sadly some shows simply start to "wind down" when inching to a closing date. Contracts finish and aren't renewed, understudies step up leaving the ensemble thin, cast have other jobs lined up and don't renew for final weeks, morale gets low playing to quiet, apathetic houses etc. It can make a show seem very flat in the dying days. I've seen some very turgid performances of productions I've loved, which have simply shot their load, so to speak. For this reason I don't tend to see shows late on in a run.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 23, 2016 9:57:37 GMT
From what I remember of the show, it looked cheap as chips to run ala Jersey Boys (not to say it didn't look slick - it did, very polished) and there are no big stars on the payroll. Can see this slogging along for another year easily, doing half its house at TKTS daily.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 23, 2016 9:49:46 GMT
The Ball/Staunton Chichester production was quite good. I saw it post transfer. The WNO semi-staged show was fine too. The actor musician tour (I saw Jason Donovan!) was really sub-par. The best production I've personally seen was the David Bedella Twickenham Theatre effort which was intense and very, very fun. Despite having to watch a saggy, sweaty, 70-odd year old Mark McKerracher flagellate himself from within dripping distance.
Extra mention to the Pie Shop production which was also excellent. Oh and there was the laughably bad production at the Bolton Octagon two or three years back. And amateur productions every few weeks. And concerts, DVDs, a motion picture (ugh)
Sweeney Todd really is one show which should be completely left alone for a good 5-10 years.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 22, 2016 19:17:37 GMT
Another revival?! This is one of the most commonly remounted shows in recent years!
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 22, 2016 17:36:11 GMT
I saw this last time on a comp (thank goodness) and absolutely loathed it. You couldn't pay me to watch this again.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 22, 2016 3:55:47 GMT
Mark Hutchinson, Tim Churchill and others spring to mind from Blood Brothers. Natalie Edmund was in Chicago for an age.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 21, 2016 11:23:39 GMT
Oh really? Wouldn't Cornell John or Hans Peter Janssens be a better Gavroche cover?
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 21, 2016 10:44:38 GMT
Charlotte Kennedy as Gavroche last night Awesome, thanks for sharing that! In all the times I've seen LM (50+) I've not seen an emergency Gavroche, experienced a show stop or really anything unusual of note!
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 21, 2016 10:03:30 GMT
This is very bad. Stay away. Bad sitcom. Poor Wyndham's. You said that a few pages ago and we all took it on board. I disagree, but I read it and understood it the first time you posted.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 21, 2016 9:59:57 GMT
Copyrights, contracts, red tape. Royalties and residuals, high production costs (£250,000 approx) let alone legal fees drawing up contracts and whatnot. There are always reasons behind the scenes! Further to the above, I don't understand the confusion. It all comes down to contracts. Whether it's crowdfunded or not makes absolutely zero difference. Wicked is an IP (intellectual property) with undoubtedly a very complicated structure of backers/producers. There are legally binding contracts in place between those, the creators, possibly original cast members, upcoming movie producers etc to prevent exactly this from happening. Why? 1. Asset protection. If I own an IP worth X million that was raking in X million easy profits, with the cast album still selling to anyone who hasn't already got a copy, then why risk damaging my brand with a cast recording which is potentially going to damage my brand. 2. Niche market. You think everyone is clamouring for a new cast recording. They aren't. The average Joe/Joanne doesn't care like you do. It's just another musical. They don't dayseat, they don't know any of the actors names - they probably don't remember any of the characters names. They just want showtunes to sing along to in the car. 3. And most importantly. Contractual obligations. A movie deal has been signed which will, undoubtedly mean a movie cast recording. Any other cast recordings released will be in direct competition to the sale of theirs and therefore reduce profits. Finally, please look at The Phantom of the Opera. Ever wondered why there hasn't been another cast recording? It's in Michael Crawford, Hal Prince, Sarah Brightman and a host of other people's contracts that an English language album of the show cannot be produced without their consent. Well, why don't they just give consent? They're so mean! That'll be because they earn very healthy royalties on every single cast recording ever sold. Enough for Crawford to essentially retire on. Any deal they signed would still involve paying them - even if they aren't on the cast recording.
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 20, 2016 19:36:20 GMT
At the interval. It's absolutely brilliant. Hilarious. Everyone should see this!
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 20, 2016 15:47:55 GMT
Copyrights, contracts, red tape. Royalties and residuals, high production costs (£250,000 approx) let alone legal fees drawing up contracts and whatnot. There are always reasons behind the scenes!
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 20, 2016 15:41:54 GMT
LOVED this at today's matinee. An hour and twenty minutes straight through. Brilliantly written, extremely funny and well acted with Alex Hanson on top form. Highly recommended!!!
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 20, 2016 5:55:46 GMT
I'm seeing this tonight - I'm actually pretty excited. I LOVE horrendously bad shows as much as good ones. It's mediocrity I can't bear.
If this is anything like "Too Close to the Sun", "Behind the Iron Mask" or "The Far Pavilions" then I'm guaranteed a great night 😁
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Post by chrisorsomething on Aug 20, 2016 5:48:18 GMT
Cast change almost 2 weeks away, huge amount of tickets for 3'rd Sept available, and this thread is dead. Shows how much interest people have in the current cast .... Roll on new cast, eh ! A fair point from a true fan's perspective. I personally feel the show has been on a constant downward spiral in quality now for many years and could do with a refresh.
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