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Post by viserys on Aug 14, 2023 17:19:26 GMT
I just saw the new Aida in the Netherlands last weekend and considering all the trashing it received, I really don't think it was that bad. Could it be better? Sure. Was the original version better? Yes. But there are some truly good thoughts in there and of course there are still those fantastic songs by Elton John, that are so much better than most of the noisy pop stuff of today's shows.
So while it has been selling terribly in the Netherlands, I do hope this will have another chance somewhere (and dear Gods, bring back "Every story is a love story" to book-end the show).
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Post by viserys on Aug 7, 2023 12:02:19 GMT
I mean, they kept Iain Glen who was fine but certainly isn't the strongest singer they could have used, if that was their reasoning for Bertrande. Wasn't Juliette Caton someone's daughter/wife/otherwise a nepobaby, so there was lots of criticism that she only got the role because of her connections while Rebecca Lock felt more like the "deserving one"? It's all so long in the past and I can't stand this musical, so I can't be sure, but I seem to remember that bit.
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Post by viserys on Aug 4, 2023 7:23:06 GMT
They will probably benefit from slim pickings in the upcoming few months.
Some of the new shows aimed at a mainstream audience have already folded (NY/NY) or look unlikely to last much longer (the Britney thing) and the announcements so far like Merrily and Harmony don't have that much mainstream appeal. I also don't think the Rannells/Gad reunion in Gutenberg will be as much a draw as the Lane/Broderick reunion some years ago. Those two WERE the Producers, but Book of Mormon has been chugging on well enough without the original cast.
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Post by viserys on Aug 2, 2023 9:18:55 GMT
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Post by viserys on Jul 31, 2023 12:54:06 GMT
However, expanding my mind a little and looking at the changing world around me (and not making it all about me) one of the things I have noticed is the huge growth of selfie culture and stage door - there appears to be a big market for it. And at Guys and Dolls I think they've embraced that in a genius way. You can, if you want to, stay at the end and have a selfie - even a dance - with the cast. The pre, interval and post show activities encourage and create opportunities for photos and therefore produces a massive stream of ongoing marketing for the show. It's a perfect example of word of mouth / buzz marketing via social media. I appreciate that you are right in this and that - possibly - all those photo/selfie opportunities create social media buzz which translates to ticket sales for Guys & Dolls. So maybe this is the way forward. But personally I find the thought endlessly depressing that even top class entertainment like a West End show will be relegated to being a background for endless narcisstic parades of selfies and stagings of one's own life on social media and that the cast is forced to play into this every evening, no matter how tired they are and how much they'd rather be home.
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Post by viserys on Jul 30, 2023 18:28:53 GMT
I don't think we'll see countless adaptation of mangas, anime or East Asian cinema to the stage though, Totoro and Spirited Away are probably the best known anime titles but I can't imagine someone is going to do Akira the Musical or Parasite the Play. Yea, hopefully not. I mean, the point of that long ramble above was that producers need to be ahead of the curve and not follow the 1-2 hits with half a dozen mediocre imitations. The "yasss queen, girlboss!" thing led to a few decent shows about female empowerment like Six, but the stragglers now (like (Bad) Cinderella and Once upon a one more time) are flopping because the wave has passed. Same with the "teen musical" stuff that was having a moment a few years ago with a whole deluge that has petered out by now because the few really good ones were followed by pretty mediocre or downright awful stuff. So do stuff like Death Note, Totoro and Spirited Away now (I could also see a musical tapping into Chinese legends and/or adapting a wuxia movie do well) but if you arrive too late in 4-5 years' time, your show is behind the curve and people will be tired of the East Asian stuff. Even better, find out what's only just building up into the next hype and start prepping for THAT.
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Post by viserys on Jul 30, 2023 17:45:58 GMT
It’s the fact you never really can predict what people will go for. I think producers are not always up to date with what's popular among the mainstream. You would have thought that a musical about "female empowerment" featuring the hits of Britney Spears would sell like hot cakes, but it's shaping up to be an epic flop hot on the heels of the very similar Bad Cinderella on Broadway. Why? Of course I can't analyze this deeply, but my hunch is that the whole "sassy girlboss princess" thing is at least ten years ago - Six arrived at exactly the right moment in time when this was massive and caught the imagination. Now it feels dated (and Six and &Juliet have cornered the market that's there) same as Britney Spears hasn't had a hit in years and was certainly never the kind of mass-appeal bankable star across generations as Queen or ABBA (or built an enduring career like Taylor Swift over years). Meanwhile, while I hated "A Little Life" (the original book) with a passion and couldn't even finish it, I know it was/is very popular with younger readers, who would be keen to see it adapted for the stage - having a handsome popular star like James Norton in the lead might have been an additional nudge. Tellingly, the NT Live screenings locally are usually selling fairly badly with perhaps one quarter of seats sold at the cinema. A Little Life is so popular that the first screening sold out and they've added a second one in a much bigger cinema. Similarly, East Asian culture is HUGE among young people at the moment, so I am absolutely not surprised that Death Note has been selling much better than Evita (done to death) or Love Never Dies (was never popular). My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican proves the point and I can't understand why producers aren't rushing to bring in the gorgeous stage adaptation of Spirited Away from Tokyo. And before you say "but K-POP flopped on Broadway" - yea, no surprise, when tickets are twice what the concert of a genuine K-Pop band would cost. I didn't follow things closely over there, but I knew for myself that I'd much rather see a genuine K-Pop band on stage than a musical about a fictional band. Similarly, I feel that artists like the Temptations are now just too outdated - the generation that would have enjoyed them in their heydays might see a show like Ain't Too Proud as a local tour production, but not make a big day from it. Clearly it's the Gen X'ers now, who are ready to spend on the nostalgia of their youth - Back to the Future has been doing very well in the West End despite being a mediocre show at best and Stranger Things is cashing in on that nostalgia as well (we'll see how the play will do).
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Post by viserys on Jul 28, 2023 10:38:14 GMT
he seems to be in everything these days but I'm sure his fans will.be happy. That's why, isn't it? Same with Carrie Hope Fletcher. Cast people with many intense fans and half the tickets ares selling themselves.
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Post by viserys on Jul 26, 2023 6:07:28 GMT
My own expertise in the field is a bit outdated, but I think the main difference is that a blog/vlog/website has ONE person who runs it, while this forum has dozens of people contributing.
So, if there's a new musical and Timmy from "Timmy's Theatre Travels" contacts the PR people and says "I'm coming to London and want to review this for my blog, can I have a press ticket?" they will know exactly who they are dealing with and will also usually ask for stats like how many views per day/month, etc. to see if it's worth their while. So Timmy gets his ticket (sometimes with plus one) and that's it.
But with a forum like this, who would they even give the ticket(s) to? And what counts as a proper review? Some people here write wonderful long and insightful reviews, others just a few lines. And wouldn't you (as a PR person) pick a forum member who's clearly positively biased towards a certain composer/writer/performer so it's almost 100% you get a positive gushing review and not have your show torn to shreds?
The only way to get press tickets (I'd think, I can't be sure) would be to appoint an official reviewer for each show, then ask for press ticket(s) for this person and later pin her/his official review prominently on top of the thread.
You could also add a post somewhere prominent that says "Want your show officially reviewed on Theatre Board, which has XXX views per days and a global reach? Contact us at..." once you have appointed official reviewers.
Which I feel would go against the democracy of a forum, where everyone has their equal say. But I don't know if the question was asked in earnest anyway or just wondering. Personally I much rather read the reviews and opinions here, as these people have put time, effort and money into seeing shows. I refuse to give those noisy windbag bloggers and vloggers the time of day, since I can't help thinking they do it all for attention and freebies and feeling "better than the herd" mostly and I can't take them seriously. There is one Broadway vlog I absolutely love because the person who runs it really manages to cut interesting documentaries with interviews, footage and so on and his enthusiasm shines through. But I can't bear another West End vlog where the person just blathers into the camera for 20 minutes, while all that's being said could have been in a written article that takes two minutes to read.
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Post by viserys on Jul 25, 2023 19:13:42 GMT
Tbf, I saw that picture as well and thought it was for Rebecca and the set was for Manderley.
But when you look closer, the posters have a cyclist on them and the skyline in the background is Florence.
I'm relieved though that they've gone back to a traditional stage rather than the traverse.
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Post by viserys on Jul 25, 2023 14:06:23 GMT
Also, things do often shut very abruptly on Broadway! Useless for people that may wanna plan a return trip to see a show one last time! Better than to let a show burn money when there's no chance of an uptick in sales. A longer announcement makes more sense for audience favorites, so that people can return and see their favorites one more time. While NY/NY wasn't superawesomefantastic, I thought it was very entertaining and enjoyed myself quite a bit. I think one mistake was to open cold on Broadway rather than having a tryout somewhere. The main criticism seems to have been the (too) many storylines that were hard to follow, so they could have axed one or two and focused more on the main characters. While the story of the landlady who had lost her son in the war and the Jewish refugee she takes in was touching in itself, it really felt disconnected from the other storylines and could easily have been jettonised. London seems to become more radical about pulling the plug prematurely, too - see Aspects of Love and now Ain't Too Proud, and I fear Crazy for you will be next.
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Post by viserys on Jul 24, 2023 10:28:50 GMT
Good point. A lot of these male leads these days seem to be barely graduated from drama school - I hate to break it to you, guys, but as you grow older, other people suddenly look very young PS: I would agree that Tom would look extremely young compared to classic Normas like Patti, Elaine or Glenn, but not if they need to keep a significant age difference to Nicole's younger-looking Norma. Besides, we still don't know what Lloyd may be cooking up.
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Post by viserys on Jul 24, 2023 8:38:12 GMT
Maybe it was someone who had failed to get one before and knew chances were running out and was just super relieved?
I was very sad that despite sitting in the front row for Bat out of Hell several times, I never caught one of the note sheets that were "flying up from the orchestra pit" when the car was pushed into it as I wanted it so badly for a collage on my wall. A kind soul later gifted me one as they had caught a second one during a repeat visit.
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Post by viserys on Jul 23, 2023 12:25:35 GMT
On her Magic at the Musicals show, Ruthie Henshall has just said that Tom Francis (Rent Hope Mill, & Juliet) will be playing Joe Gillis Google’s Tom Francis… did anyone see him those other shows he’s done? He was great in Rent. I would be very happy with this casting.
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Post by viserys on Jul 22, 2023 5:21:42 GMT
I really enjoyed the two books he published - now I wonder if he wrote them himself or had a ghostwriter. Not sure if there's much money in this kind of niche books, but if he wrote them himself, he could do more along those lines. Can definitely see a book coming up about his experiences in the mask.
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Post by viserys on Jul 20, 2023 17:25:16 GMT
Saturday matinee was fun, we saw Aimee Fisher as Rita and Jasmin Colangelo as Nancy.
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Post by viserys on Jul 20, 2023 10:18:38 GMT
She is.
And that is pretty underwhelming casting.
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Post by viserys on Jul 11, 2023 11:31:57 GMT
I find it strange that there's no dynamic pricing on the website. If the reviews and positive WOM would make me think "I'll go and catch it this week" and then go to the website, I just very expensive seats that would put me right off.
It's all fine and well to help insiders who know their way around papering and lotteries and whatnot, but why not lower the official prices at least in the last days before the performance?
I'll be there on Thursday and so far it looks dire with lots of availability. I hope it will fill up!
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Post by viserys on Jul 8, 2023 8:11:33 GMT
Thanks TallPaul - actually the coach will chuck me out at Meadowhall, but I've worked out that I can take the yellow tram from there to Castle Square and the Premier Inn will be basically next door, so it's really all very convenient! Since we're all exchanging travel info on the fascinating city of Sheffield, do you have any recoomendations for a nice Indian restaurant near the theatre? We're looking at 400DC at the moment.
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Post by viserys on Jul 7, 2023 17:43:45 GMT
viserys is probably paying less for the airfare than I am for the carpark! LOL, I'm actually taking the train (Eurostar) and don't fly. But BurlyBeaR has a point, I paid £7.90 for the National Express bus ticket from London to Sheffield But thanks for the parking info; I'll pass that on to my friend who'll be meeting me (and take me home with her).
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Post by viserys on Jul 7, 2023 9:25:07 GMT
I never left just because a show has been SO awful - I guess I always hope to find something redemptive in the second part. I left three times for other reasons:
- Once because a migraine was absolutely killing me - Once because I hated the first half and then the second half didn't start on time due to the technical problems and we still had a long drive home ahead, so since we couldn't be sure when they'd even start again and we didn't like it anyway, we bolted. - Once (many years ago) at the Regent's Park Open Air because it was cold and miserable and I was still worrying a lot about walking back to the streets through the dark park as a single female, so I just wanted to be gone and get it over with.
I guess I'm bringing these up because people automatically seem to think "they hated it so much they left early" - and it's not always that. I was really gutted I had to leave "Shakespeare in Love" due to the migraine - Tom Bateman and David Oakes from the front row, what was not to like!
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Post by viserys on Jul 6, 2023 12:11:03 GMT
Oh wow, I normally ALWAYS miss this kind of thing, but I'll be in London at the right time. I loved her in Sky's Edge and can't wait to hear more from her.
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Post by viserys on Jul 3, 2023 18:14:43 GMT
Should push comes to shove, I'll look after your case myself! Awww, much appreciated! But I feel safe about leaving the suitcase with a Premier Inn... I'm always a bit doubtful when it's some little corner shop you know nothing about, but surely Premier Inn will be okay and frees me up for a few hours of sightseeing before my friend joins me.
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Post by viserys on Jul 3, 2023 15:44:26 GMT
Surely some must? I can't be the only one! You are actually the only person I know who's ALSO interested in opera and ballet and I don't even know you in person! One friend likes ballet (but rarely goes to see one live) and my Mom likes opera as well as musical (but not plays) and that's about it. But generally I only hear from musical-loving friends that they're going to see a play when it's a star they're interested in seeing on stage.
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Post by viserys on Jul 3, 2023 11:34:39 GMT
You won't embrace A STRANGE LOOP because the content is considered upsetting Oh, no, that was Parade Strange Loop I just can't muster all that much interest in, even though I'm VERY familiar with those voices in my head. If I was living in/near London and could spontaneously go (ideally on a discount), I would certainly check it out, but I have to plan my travels from abroad months in advance and then pick carefully what I want to see in those days, partly because hotel prices are ridiculous now, but also because I just can't "absorb" more than 4 shows, 5 at a pinch, in short succession. I also think musicals can be entertaining AND deeply moving, which is why I'm so utterly in love with Hadestown. I absolutely love the music and lyrics and also how it packs a punch in pointing out the human condition and mankind's ability to wreck things for themselves for eternally doubting themselves instead of having faith. And many of the classics, such as "Carousel" are also very deeply moving and about the human condition without having to be exhausting.
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Post by viserys on Jul 3, 2023 10:32:05 GMT
It's not entirely true away from the WE - more adult musicals have done well recently at the Almeida, Young Vic, Donmar etc - but why can they not translate to that wider play-going audience? What is it about singing on stage, or using music to explore ideas and emotions, that puts so many people off? Music is so much a part of all our lives - it's not like it's some weird niche thing. But that's also where I feel this kind of show belongs. So many of the recent Tony winners (for Best Musical) were a success Off-Broadway, then didn't do well on Broadway, because they just didn't belong on a big stage where they lost their intimacy and also felt overpriced for what were usually rather small shows. I purposely didn't bother with Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway now, because I'd much rather see it in a far more intimate setting in London in 1-2 years, perhaps at the Donmar or Young Vic. I also just couldn't muster any interest in seeing Parade on Broadway - while I do think it's a worthy subject to be telling, I couldn't face sitting through something so utterly depressing. As a movie, at home, okay, but not when I spend a lot of money on an evening out. And also, for me personally - musicals need to engage me with good music and lyrics from the get-go, I have no patience with wannabe profound shows with complicated music you need to listen to 20 times to "get it" or have to work out complicated metaphors. Call me shallow, but it's how it is. As I wrote in the Strange Loop thread, RL is stressful and challenging enough, I want entertainment and emotional engagement when I go to the theatre, shows that make me laugh or cry or ideally both. I guess the avid play-goers just have so much to choose from, why would they want to expand on that? Most musical fans rarely branch out into plays or opera either.
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Post by viserys on Jul 2, 2023 19:15:57 GMT
The use of ‘we’ was to describe the collective opinion here that ‘we’ think CRAZY FOR YOU is a better evening than ‘A STRANGE LOOP’, which is I think a fair claim if you look at the star ratings and posts. Alright, I misread that "we" too, probably because I don't see the forum as a collective "we". I haven't seen CFY yet (will do next week) and have zero interest in seeing ASL, so I can't speak for quality, I just think it must be possible to be supportive of your own favourite show and performer without being so dismissive of another show and performer (calling CFY a shallow boring museum piece or that Stemp may not be equally worthy of an award).
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Post by viserys on Jul 2, 2023 16:13:24 GMT
I hope it's OK to ask here, but maybe others may benefit from an answer too.
Is there anywhere to leave luggage for a few hours? Would the theatre do it? It seems the station doesn't offer left luggage service.
I will be arriving from London in the early afternoon, but my local friend won't be able to join me until the evening (when I can put my suitcase into her car boot), so right now it's either going for a sightseeing walk with my suitcase in tow or just parking myself somewhere in a cafe for the afternoon.
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Post by viserys on Jul 2, 2023 13:07:00 GMT
what feels like a shallow boring outdated museum piece Maybe because there are people who WANT simple good-natured entertainment when we go to the theatre? We're constantly bombarded with all sorts of challenges in the real world - whether personal challenges at work, in relationships, etc. or the general state of the world with pointless wars, climate change and inflation. I really don't care for anything that's supposedly "challenging and outrageous" at the moment. And the fact that A Strange Loop flopped on Broadway seems to confirm that I am not the only one. It's fine if you love the show and it speaks to you, but please don't presume to speak for the theatre community by using the "we" - WE all have different tastes.
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Post by viserys on Jul 2, 2023 11:14:07 GMT
I liked her too
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