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Post by viserys on Mar 1, 2019 9:16:30 GMT
Obviously it was my comment that was deleted. Can we only say positive things about performers and musicals now? People must must realise when talking about casting we are not talking about the actual person but the suitability for the role and often the role that’s been played by a certain type, size, colour, singing style and voice, look, tone, height, personality for 30 years. Sheriden is very talented and she was great in Funny Girl - but we have the right to say that she isn’t the right match for the Narrator in a show we’ve all seen dozens of times (or have even been in). I’m all for not being nasty or hurtful but to white wash any slightly negative comments is a dangerous alley to go down. None of the posts that questioned her singing style/voice was deleted. But her size, which you bitched about, has absolutely nothing to do with whether she can play the role or not, so give it a rest.
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Post by viserys on Mar 1, 2019 8:25:01 GMT
I liked Sheridan a lot both times I saw her - for me the disappointment stems from the fact that the Narrator is such a wonderful "breakthrough" role for a young MT performer, the way it was for Linzi Hateley back then, so I'm sad that nobody is getting that opportunity now. Though if they reverse it - cast a name for the Narrator and then give a young male performer his big break as Joseph (instead of making this the star casting to draw punters), I suppose that's fine, too.
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Post by viserys on Mar 1, 2019 7:17:07 GMT
"Splashy pop-spectacle shows, whether for a date night or part of a hotel’s weekend getaway package, sell far better in Hamburg than almost anywhere else"
""[T]here are plenty of high-quality international productions which we regrettably have to decline showing over here," Jaekel confirmed. "Sometimes the subject matter of the book lacks relevance for Germans, sometimes the score uses musical patterns too far away from what we are used to, sometimes the title just leaves German audiences bewildered, and most of the times it's a mixture of all," he observed."
So what in the world makes them believe that Hamilton has any chance whatsoever in Hamburg in German?
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 13:27:39 GMT
Agree with Emily and Baemax, granted, since I work from home, I don't have a boss looking over my shoulder, but I also just leave the tab open and get on with other things in the meantime. So it's just 5-10 mins total out of my work day.
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 13:11:23 GMT
Anyone else fed up of feeling like the least important person in this triangle? People that work are unlikely to be free at midday to Tw*t about with multiple windows! Most successful likely to be teenagers with hours of free time to tweet about it whilst they’re doing it...grrrr. Tab left open whilst phone unlocked, but sends you back to the start if your phone locks. Rubbish. Oh how I wish I'd still be a teenager (...not really).
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 12:26:56 GMT
Got through at 12:22, so 22 mins after receiving and clicking on the link.
Got one of the grand circle slips for £15 - the ones closest to the circle say "moderately restricted", the ones further to the stage say "very restricted".
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 12:06:20 GMT
I'm in the queue with 15 mins to go...
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 11:27:30 GMT
No problem here either. First matinee is 9th November, press night 19th November, booking to 21st December. Premiums are stalls E to N except outermost pairs, and dress centre block A to E. Rest of stalls is £80, rows S and T £47.50, A, U and V not on sale yet. Dress only the restricted ends of A and B are £47.50, the rest including H is £80. Uppers, centre block B to E except outer 2 on the aisles are £47.50. Outer pairs B to E, plus all rows A and F are £32.50. Slips £12.50, 4 seats closest to the stage not yet on sale. Balcony A to E £25, slips all on sale £12.50. Looks like a lighting rig in the centre balcony rows D and E. No boxes on sale yet. Add £2.50 to all prices booking fee. Excellent info, gives me time to plot and consider while I wait for my link to arrive
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 7:59:38 GMT
I dread to think what will happen on Sunday when closing performance hysterics meet drunk carnival audiences.
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Post by viserys on Feb 28, 2019 6:33:54 GMT
Very Loud and Very Stand Up was their remit (for context in the circle, most everyone stayed seated like the old as balls people we were, until the encore, except this group of say 8-10 women who then blocked the view for so so many of us) Then there was The Whistler to our right. Who at periodic intervals, usually at the most inappropriate moments, would let out a loud two fingered whistle. Again this wasn't particularly that sort of crowd- more a polite cheer and clap kind of crowd. Welcome to the world of German fandom. I invite you to sit through one of the super popular musicals here (coughtanzdervampirecough) to enjoy the whistlers, whoopers and hollerers in their full glory!
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Post by viserys on Feb 26, 2019 19:00:37 GMT
I also got mine only 10 mins ago. You do need to be registered as:
"You will receive your early access booking link via email at noon (GMT), Thursday 28 February"
Really not impressed by the pricing, will it sell that well?
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Post by viserys on Feb 25, 2019 14:54:45 GMT
I just can't resist a good offer: The UK Tour of Miss Saigon is ending in Cologne now and while I have no love for this show, I've heard a lot of good things about this particular production and cast. In a move which I think London theatres should copy, the German producers are offering left-over single seats dotted around the auditorium at the price of the cheapest seat category a few days ahead. Today they opened this offer for the last week and I leapt at it. Now I'm sitting in what must be one of the best seats in the house (Row 9, in the middle) for 39.90€ (£35) instead of 115€ (£100) at the very last performance on Sunday evening Which also happens to be the height of carnival season here... (I wonder what the English/Asian cast will be making of it all )
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Post by viserys on Feb 22, 2019 5:39:21 GMT
Thanks for the review. I've booked for this in March and this makes me look forward to it even more!
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Post by viserys on Feb 21, 2019 9:51:12 GMT
Well, that was easy, ticket for a tenner on a Saturday I COULD possibly make. Still quite some availability, so don't fret if you're in the high numbers!
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Post by viserys on Feb 21, 2019 9:33:28 GMT
the queue is moving again
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Post by viserys on Feb 21, 2019 9:02:14 GMT
853 here!
I don't even plan to book, but I love the excitement of a good queue!
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Post by viserys on Feb 20, 2019 10:39:23 GMT
Edit: Accessible Seats may also be more expensive than other seats in the auditorium. People shouldn’t be penalised either. Er, no, they shouldn't be. If you book via an access line, and are registered as having an "access" issue, then you are normally sold the seats at the lowest possible price e.g. an accessible stalls seat for the same as the cheapest upper circle ticket. Anything less would be against the DDA anyway. If you do have a problem with prices for a registered person, take it up with the management immediately, as they will do their best to help every time. I was just going to say... Everytime I've booked access seats, they have been reduced, often to half price. And when I booked two tickets, the second ticket would be reduced too (even though I'm perfectly capable to attend the theatre alone).
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Post by viserys on Feb 19, 2019 13:08:04 GMT
I certainly don't think the 15-year old girl who wants to see Hamilton because friends were hyping it on Instagram is in any kind worse than the 50-year old Wall Street banker, who wants to see Hamilton because it's the hype of the season and readily pays $1000 for a ticket, thus contributing greatly to the massive increase in premium seating and prices in general.
I'd also say, that if only one out of ten "Instagram kids" gets bitten by the theatre bug and starts seeing other shows as well and develops a lifelong interest in theatre, it's worth it.
The problem is short and simply people who can't behave. Hyped-up kids who whoop and holler throughout the show or sing along loudy (and aren't checked by their parents) are annoying, but so are drunk hen parties and grannies who keep exchanging gossip about Aunt Lucy even after the curtain's gone up because they just MUST finish their juicy tale.
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Post by viserys on Feb 19, 2019 9:39:47 GMT
Can anyone remember what the professional reviews for CFA in New York were like? Did the show succeed there on word-of-mouth or were the critics more kindly disposed to it?
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 21:41:47 GMT
He plays Romeo's older brother, not the father.
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 18:44:52 GMT
I bet half the people booking this will think it's about Lewis Hamilton...
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 16:25:54 GMT
Same here, except that it's not just a ticket but a whole trip to London... not yet 100% convinced I'll spend that for her.
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 12:02:14 GMT
Same. The toxic mix of awful translation, incomprehensible foreign performers and ludicrous prices in combination with absolutely ZERO interest in Alexander Hamilton will kill this stone-dead within a month.
If anything, this should be sent on a continental European tour with stops in some big cities and done in English with subtitles, the way Book of Mormon is now gearing up to.
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 9:27:41 GMT
nm, read the news myself now!
Can anyone enlighten me why front stalls are cheaper than back stalls at the Royal Festival Hall?
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 9:20:19 GMT
Who's Rob Houchen playing then? Looks-wise I'd think Liam Tamne would probably be playing the Italian Romeo?
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Post by viserys on Feb 17, 2019 17:56:30 GMT
I always think some shows just ‘chance their arm’. They put seats at huge prices. If people pay that then great, if not they can reduce the price giving people the illusion of ‘this Seat is 50% off’. The seat should have always been the ‘discounted’ price but people then feel they are getting a bargain. I never understand how this logic is meant to work. A show that needs to be discounting 50% (or more) vibes that it's not doing well and this in turn vibes that it's not popular/not very good. A show that's selling out/has low availability for weeks to come vibes that there's a huge demand and thus "must be good". American shows seem to cleverly capitalize on this by keeping booking periods short - even Hamilton, by all counts a success, only just extended booking for one month - June. Book of Mormon has been doing the same. Dynamic pricing is far more subtle, but I also wonder how many people are scared off by checking new shows, see the initially very high prices, decide against booking and never check back. I think it would make far more sense to start low and only hike prices when there's a big demand. Also gives new shows a chance to get the punters in and then help to spread word of mouth.
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Post by viserys on Feb 16, 2019 8:26:20 GMT
I honestly don't get why this is singled out as a "cynical cash cow of a show" when so many shows these days are either milking old movies with more or less success or milking known songs in the disguise of biography musicals or jukebox musicals.
What's worse about Only Fools and Horses compared to, say, The Bodyguard, which rips off both an existing movie and existing songs, Dirty Dancing, which doesn't even bother with an original score or, Thriller Live, Motown, Tina and the list goes on and on.
Sure, it would be wonderful if the world (or at least the West End) was full of fresh, innovative original shows like Jamie, The Grinning Man, Romantics Anonymous and The Clockmaker's Daughter along with new imports like Hamilton, Come From Away, Evan Hansen or Comet, but even most of these are leaning on books or other sources and aren't completely new.
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Post by viserys on Feb 15, 2019 17:29:29 GMT
Surprised that some people on here have not seen Maggie Smith on stage previously, mostly as I expected nearly everyone to be a doddering geriatric like me! I looked it up and it's 12 years since her last London performances, that seemed a fairly short time but then I realised it really really isn't! I got into straight theatre too late, I suppose. I was able to catch Dame Judi in one of her (presumably) outings to the stage but Dame Maggie's absence has been too long. Now I can't make it during these dates. Which is a pity since, being German, I'd be interested in the play itself as much as in seeing Maggie Smith live on stage. Oh well. I guess the text will be available to buy.
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Post by viserys on Feb 13, 2019 15:56:40 GMT
Same as Steffi ^ Live in Germany, travel to London regularly for many reasons a) better pricing, b) better quality, c) meeting friends. About a six-hour-one-way-trip on the Eurostar (Edit: The Eurostar itself is 2 hours, the rest is getting to Brussels, lol) Also travel to the Netherlands, Belgium and France for musicals. Why see Anastasia for 140 EUR in Stuttgart when I can see it for 80 EUR in Scheveningen? (as just one of many examples) New York/the USA rarely, though this might be changing this year for reasons I don't want to get into. Ironically I can't be faffed to travel anywhere inside Germany. I only see shows in my own town, where I can reach the main venues by bicycle in 20 minutes
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Post by viserys on Feb 12, 2019 12:50:52 GMT
Mitts off. You can keep your Bateman, but D'Artagnan is mine.
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