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Post by singularsensation10 on Sept 9, 2018 13:42:28 GMT
Do you not think that your £25 seat (in that horrific balcony) might have coloured your view slightly? It is bloody awful! A bit of intimacy, even just the upper circle, might have helped your enjoyment Potentially... the sound design wasn’t the best up there either. I still stand by my comment about the production though! £15 would be a better price!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Sept 9, 2018 13:06:51 GMT
Went on Thursday. Third time seeing the show (once off-Broadway, once at The Other Palace). Found it rather scrimpy that the set is exactly the same as the other palace. It looks v amateur and doesn’t do the production any favours. Gets lost in that huge theatre (huge when compared with The Other Palace).
The cast sounded tired, didn’t have the same sharp feel as when I saw it at The Other Palace. The new song they’ve put in for Carrie makes no sense to the show and detracts from the flow of Act 2. Thinking about JD as a character at that point in the story, he’s standing there with a gun whilst she rants at him for 5 mins, surely he would’ve shot her.
Unfortunately, the reason why this show worked Off-Broadway and off-West End is the informal, intimate feel that can be achieved in a small space. Not a 4 tier theatre. The cast played to the bottom of the dress; but unfortunately I was up in the balcony.
The quick turn around from TOP to West End was, unfortunately, to the detriment of the production in my opinion. It needed an extra kick in terms of staging and production value.
TOP production got 4/5* from me. Unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically carry over and this struggled to only just hit 3* for me. I felt cheated out of £25 for a terrible tiny seat in the Gods watching a production which was made for a single-tier 500 seat theatre....
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Post by singularsensation10 on Sept 9, 2018 9:16:12 GMT
Hi guys - has anyone had any experience with the £35 seats at the end of rows A&B in the dress? I’m taking a friend next month and three seem to be the most logical and affordable option considering I’m paying for both! However if they’re not great, I’ll pay for the band up from this.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 26, 2018 12:48:46 GMT
Gonna throw this one out there. Alexia Khadime.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 22, 2018 22:07:10 GMT
Rebecca Trehearn. Hadn’t considered her but now you mention it..! She’d be perfect.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 22, 2018 17:26:53 GMT
Having seen both Sarah B and Katharine McPhee play the role, I would be happy to see either of them again...but equally don’t think either of them are famous enough over here for the producers to warrant that huge expense. I feel like getting Keala Settle back into the show would be far more successful in terms of ticket sales. But then again they sent Idina over to open Wicked despite her being relatively unknown (in terms of the wider population) in the U.K. then.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 18, 2018 17:36:39 GMT
I am glad you had fun But what you are really saying Is lower your standards And you will enjoy it Despite negative comments About the acting Sound and set It’s still “fun” A bit like saying I went for a meal And the starter main course and dessert were not very nice But the meal was good Again I suppose it depends how low people are willing to drop their standards in order to have “fun” I meant more along the lines of: if you’re used to driving a Rolls Royce, don’t be surprised if a Fiesta isn’t quite the same plush experience. This show is far from mediocre...
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 18, 2018 8:49:41 GMT
I haven’t really liked a musical here Since the days of Hello Dolly And Crazy For You They were amazing This is awful Truly truly dreadful I am talking Below nursery school level I don’t like the atmosphere of the Open Air Or the people who attend There are huge queues And I don’t understand the concept To pay £65 to sit outside On hard garden seating With concrete flooring I didn’t even make it to the interval People who attend seem to have Rock bottom standards And treat it like an amazing event of sophistication Just because it’s outside For me the whole experience stinks of the crappy I tell you what Glyndebourne It ain’t Again £50-£65 Pay £75 and see Tina I think some context wouldn’t go a miss here. Hello Dolly and Crazy For You are completely different shows to Little Shop. Little Shop is not at all serious - un-subtle, over the top, loud and crass in its nature. I love the show, and loved this production - did I think it was perfect? No - the sound design (even though someone above said it was good?) was terrible, ‘let’s run everything through one speaker and turn it up really loud’ does not constitute as good sound design. I thought the set was a little flimsy and it wasn’t overly well acted on the whole. BUT as far as a night out at the theatre goes, it was fun and the audience loved it (even the lady two rows ahead doing her knitting). The cast had heaps of energy and the three street urchin girls were stand out. The production overcomes the challenges of an open air theatre really well. Don’t go expecting Glyndebourne and you won’t be disappointed.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jul 8, 2018 23:49:56 GMT
Steph is only doing 8 weeks so I don’t think they’ll get a standby in. She may return to standby when the new person comes in..but then it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth so she probably won’t.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jul 6, 2018 13:37:14 GMT
Saw this yesterday. Mixed emotions - there is such a varied level of quality in this show it is ridiculous. For The First time In Forever was beautiful - incredibly executed, brought a tear to my eye. This is proper Broadway standard. But then the ending felt like a cheaper Disneyland version of the show, still well executed but the old saying about polishing a turd comes to mind.
Fantastic cast - but parts of the book/score let this show down overall for me.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 28, 2018 15:36:53 GMT
Aside from the overreaction from the crowd, I really enjoyed it. So, are you saying you're ok with the audience enjoying the show ... but not too much? I appreciate that the loud vocal appreciation and extended applause this show receives isn't to everyone's taste and wouldn't be expected (or tolerated) at all shows but for me, the audience reaction just added to the sheer pleasure of experiencing the show. I wish there was as much love and enthusiasm for many more shows. I said to my friend that if I were in the show, I’d be loving it - but as an audience member it put me in a weird place of ‘oh am I watching a different show to these guys?’ It felt disingenuous - I felt like I was the only one laughing at the jokes but then at the end of each song there were screams like they had put up an ‘APPLAUSE’ sign. It felt rehearsed. I have nothing against people enjoying the show - it just didn’t feel as though they actually were...
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 27, 2018 21:22:49 GMT
Saw the show tonight. Aside from the overreaction from the crowd, I really enjoyed it.
Jodie Steele and Jamie Muscato nailed it for me tonight - loved their performances.
Carrie Hope Fletcher has a great voice but I am not keen on her acting - I don’t get the hype around her to be honest.
I’d say vocally it’s the best show I’ve seen for a long time. A really strong cast and i’ve Always loved the way this shows give everyone their ‘moment’.
I saw the show off Broadway a few years ago - I know the production underwent huge changes and developments to get to where it is today. The new songs - I didn’t feel they were any more remarkable or memorable than what they replaced.
Hope it transfers because it’s a lot of fun and I think the masses would get it. It’s not too culty I don’t think.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 23, 2018 11:16:24 GMT
I have just seen that WestEnd Understudies have tweeted that Nicole (1st Cover) is on again this afternoon. This brings to mind the depth of talent that appears to be needed to keep a show going today. I have not seen Nicole and I am sure she is splendid, but the show already has THREE Effie Whites! Now, back in the day to have three girls sharing a lead would have been unimaginable. I remember the fuss when Elaine Paige went from doing 8 shows a week in Evita, to 6 with "an alternate" for 2 nights - the alternate going on to take over from Paige when she left - Marti Webb. The point I am making is that the title role only had 1 lead, 1 alternate and I assume an understudy. Now we seem to have at least 4 girls (probably more) covering the leading role. So... the question I ask is - Is Effie White more vocally demanding than Evita? Or other leading roles for that matter... Kelli O'Hara will do 8 shows a week in the King & I barring illness for example. A 3 hour show where she is barely off stage. Or are the younger artists not as vocally trained / disciplined to deliver 8 shows a week? We now live in a world where the strains on a performer are more than just being on stage every night. Fans are more demanding than ever and they do heaps of press stuff all the time. Not to mention the fact that everything is documented - so any bad performance can be posted to YouTube at the flick of a thumb. There is more riding on it being ‘right’ every night. Who’s to say Elaine Paige didn’t actually only do 4 shows a week, with the u/s going on twice as well? Twitter wasn’t around so there wasn’t as much of a community talking about it every night. I think the decision to have 3 leads and a plethora of u/s ready to go is really clever as it means the show will always go on and will always be flawless. Nothing to do with training or stamina - if anything there is more research around now about vocal health and the fact it’s not healthy or fair for these ladies to do it every night if they want a long career.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 20, 2018 18:37:19 GMT
I hate this debate. They’re actors. Acting. If their characterisation is believable then why should it matter how old they are off stage.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 18, 2018 20:51:08 GMT
I’m in NYC July 4-9. Said to myself “if JV takes over I will go to see Wicked but only if it’s with JV”. Gutted that I’m missing her by 1 week - the same thing happened when I went to NYC a week after SJB’s final Elphaba show 😢 thrilled she’s taking over though, from what I have heard online she is phenomenal - I love what I’ve heard, she sounds like my kinda Elphaba!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 17, 2018 17:38:27 GMT
Will Alice’s voice seriously hold up in the next contract if she keeps going on like this? Frustratingly, her technique is very solid even with the many riffs.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 12, 2018 17:51:42 GMT
lAnd as far as the Alice issue goes, it reminds me of a Peter Capaldi moment in Doctor Who that I remember vaguely where he says if you have a mop and replace the handle and then later on replace the brush it’s no longer the same mop, I feel like that’s what Alice is doing with the Wicked score. Thoroughly enjoyed this post - how it made very little sense yet I understood it entirely. Some of Alice’s choices are sounding quite like Emma Hatton - i.e. let’s just extend this note..and this note..oh and this one just for the sake of it.
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Post by singularsensation10 on May 24, 2018 21:08:43 GMT
(I'm currently experiencing peak Wicked fandom, so I'm going to try and meet her at the stage door pre-show because she'll never come out between shows) Enjoy it :-) so so so many happy memories with this show I will never forget :-) can’t wait to go back and see it again soon.
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Post by singularsensation10 on May 3, 2018 19:28:06 GMT
don’t care much if Alice leaves or not but Sophie staying? 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻 who will be standby Glinda? Thinking of employment law I would assume Carina remains as Standby Glinda, and therefore Maria will stay covering Carina’s leave?! Hmmm don’t know the ins and the outs of equity law but I am self employed so know a fair bit about that and whilst I think they would have had to at least offer her to stay, I can’t imagine there is a law saying they have to keep her. She’s self employed after all.
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Post by singularsensation10 on May 1, 2018 15:13:46 GMT
She seemed to have a problem with the "u" vowel, there were references to "speck-er-lation" and "rep-er-tation", but then was fine in "pop-U-lar" so I don't know why that was. That’ll be her Welsh accent - probably doesn’t realise she’s doing it when she’s speaking , or hasn’t been asked to change it because who’s to know the Upper Uplands are not in Wales? Nice review as always Martello!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 23, 2018 20:18:58 GMT
Love that Olly is going into this. That paired with the fact that one of my childhood friends (one of the first and last girls I ever kissed!) is going into it too means I’ll have to get into see this cast!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 17, 2018 20:36:17 GMT
Since when were dayseats £30 now?! Gutted. When did they increase from £25? I feel so old...
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 14, 2018 16:38:40 GMT
Stamina? Training? There are only two big sings in it. I know she’s on stage a fair amount but It’s not exactly Brunnhilde from the Ring Cycle is it? I didn’t say they couldn’t do it. Rachel, Louise, Amy..they’ve all done just fine. I just said that it makes more sense for them not to go straight in if they could build stamina / develop their character as standby Why not break them in gently if it’s an option? And save their voice in the long run? I’m not sure my original post was understood. I was merely saying that it’s only the fans that care about a ‘new’ Elphaba, it is of little appeal for the production team as it’s a big risk.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 14, 2018 13:36:24 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm sure there are actresses out there capable of playing Elphaba. Yes, it is a hard character to play vocally, but it's not like it is the most challenging role ever in the history of musical theatre. didn’t say there wasn’t anyone else able to play it. I said that if there is already someone playing it who’s doing a good consistent job then why would they need someone else in???
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 14, 2018 10:36:25 GMT
I don’t think there will be a fresh Elphaba ever again for lead, this is because it takes time to build stamina for the role. It makes complete sense that they line someone up as standby with the view to take over because they develop the stamina as standby and are ready to hit the ground running as lead.
Take Alice vs Amy Ross - taking all personal opinions or preferences or “one is better than the other” out of it, Alice started her lead contract strong and has been pretty consistent. Amy started out small and safe, regularly took shows off to build stamina and is now growing and developing. Had they given her a standby stint she would have hit the ground running like Alice did.
The producers aren’t stupid - why get someone else in, train them up and build their stamina when there is already an actress playing the role consistently that wants to renew her contract? It doesn’t make sense. Even if the thirsty fans want something ‘fresh’....
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 11, 2018 19:48:51 GMT
Something funny happened last Wednesday; someone in the front row sneezed (I'm pretty sure during I'm Not That Girl) and the floor mics picked it up so the entire audience heard it and then everyone laughed. Not majorly funny but I'd be quite embarrassed if I was the one who sneezed! Floor mics? Why would Wicked have floor mics? It has never had floor mics before? How strange....
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 11, 2018 19:45:20 GMT
I've booked to see this again soon. If Lulu doesn't sing Relight My Fire I will be requesting a refund. I actually don’t think she could anymore. Those vocal chords ain’t what they used to be!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 11, 2018 17:21:08 GMT
I’m gonna go against the crowd (not the first time in my life) and day that Lulu wasn’t bad. She’s just entirely wrong for Dorothy. She would be great in pantomime!
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 9, 2018 14:11:26 GMT
Waaaait.... Hamilton won best sound design?!?! Well now we know there’s no actual judgement behind the choosing of the winners, all of the nominees must be placed into a hat and picked out at random because seriously. Hamilton. Winning best sound design. Nope.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Apr 9, 2018 13:49:28 GMT
I am sorry - I just lost all respect for the Olivier Awards. How the hell can they give Hamilton best choreography over 42nd Street? Probably the same reaso Clare was not nominated and they gave Jibson it for a total of 8 minutes on stage!! I am so 😡 You know what they say... that’s showbiz! I personally don’t think Clare was a stand-out winner but it’s ludicrous she didn’t get a nomination. I also didn’t love Jibson in Hamilton!
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