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Post by danielwhit on Apr 26, 2016 14:19:58 GMT
don't think the idea worked very well and a musical made out of it wasn't the grandest idea. She could've invested in better shows. Saying that, all her other shows are always amazing and that's why I look up to her as a role model for aspiring producers. She has two of the biggest talked about musicals arriving this year, Funny Girl and Dreamgirls, both of which has done extremely well at box office already and will be done to a great standard. Well done for a try on BILB but I didn't enjoy it Sonia is a great producer but I think sometimes she does pick 'safe projects' like Hamlet or Harry Potter which would have sold regardless but at the same times, she transfers something like The Nether which was a tough sell but she produced it because she believed it deserved a wider audience. It's all about getting the balance I guess - for every risk you need a banker just in case it goes badly wrong.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 22, 2016 21:00:57 GMT
Aha, thanks for that. Good to hear they are planning on doing a musical.. Although I suspect that will be a couple of years away, presuming Play heads over to Broadway in the spring next year.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 22, 2016 14:58:09 GMT
I'd love it to extend but the tickets are so cheap, I can't imagine they're making much money. Maybe The Railway Children helps to subsidise it. I don't know, their tickets are cheap too but there are more seats for that show. It can't be that expensive to run though. I mean, there are barely any costume changes, the set never changes... the most expensive part, by looking at it, would be the lighting haha, which is amazing! While that is true - there is the crew call every day to change between Railway Children and In The Heights. Neither have particularly complicated sets, but the ITH one does need, effectively, to be built every day.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 22, 2016 11:26:41 GMT
First I've heard of it - I went to do some digging but couldn't find much yet. Presumably more will appear in the coming weeks, but it is very early for a touring production to be on sale! In related news, seems the current cast have only got 10 weeks left on their contracts. www.mayflower.org.uk/Whats_On/ThePlayThatGoesWrong2017
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 22, 2016 11:10:27 GMT
I'm glad Shenton liked it (he's been on a bit of a downer lately with his reviews) but that is a very muddled write up! What was the opening scene originally - if it doesn't spoil anything? (guess not, if it has been changed.) Note I haven't seen the new version so don't know when the two threads join, however the original sequence saw Mitch and a inmate played by Chris L in a cell. A clearly bent cop (who turns out to be Cooper) was deployed by other guards to torture them, which consisted of pieces of set being hit, the two gurgling to simulate being held underwater, that type of thing. They are then placed in a sack inside a laundry hamper and were pushed out by the bent cop, with the idea of being taken out of the prison and escaping. But a hamper switch happens and the two find themselves in the warden's office - crawling around inside the sack (infront of, unbeknownst to them, the warden and others), cutting through washing lines (which they think was the perimeter fence), feeling the wind on their face (a fan), etc. They eventually get revealed and jump out of the window, which then leads into the car escape sequence I presume is still performed. Generally it was good but definitely felt like a slow burn start to the play. And considering how much he disliked Play That Goes Wrong, that's some turn around! Only other two reviews I've spotted so far are: 2* from The Evening Standard www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/the-comedy-about-a-bank-robbery-theatre-review-so-wrong-it-s-just-not-right-a3231416.html5* from WhatsOnStage, describing it as "the funniest play since Noises Off" www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/the-comedy-about-a-bank-robbery-criterion-theatre_40261.html
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 21, 2016 22:35:19 GMT
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 21, 2016 16:36:34 GMT
Why does every article on the Mail seem to spend half the time referring to the "sex appeal" or "slender figure" of individuals, then spending many words on the dress sense? Admittedly Sheridan is attractive but do we need them to force that fact on us..? I presume it's to get keywords in for more links from google.
I'm glad the production is going well - I wonder if this'll be another Savoy production which will end up being recorded..
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 21, 2016 16:26:29 GMT
I'm pleased from that last comment that it seems they've tidied it up a bit - I think the first night felt so overly long compared to schedule as we started late and had a slightly overlong interval. Guess they've had a very busy three weeks of tinkering during previews!
So - couple of things:
1. The writers were on BBC London News last night, clip here: (includes clip of what I presume is the new first scene)
2. They are either making changes to set or taking some seats off of sale (I suspect the latter). I had booked C2-3 for a performance, got an email today saying "C2 was proving too restricted in terms of the view" so we've been moved. It was a £10 seat (and we booked specifically knowing it'd be a bad view but wasn't bothered), but worth noting they are removing some seats.
One for the Monkey to do a bit of investigation, methinks.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 21, 2016 16:11:33 GMT
Sorry guys, I meant to say new plays, like Pressure and For Services Rendered (I think) from last year. I wonder if this will now be classified as a revival? Technically it is - although being remounted by the same creative team, by the looks. Worth saying this'll be the second revival, as such, seeing as the production at the NT moved venues. I'm looking forward to it, was going to try to head down to Chichester to see this and LLL - am glad I won't need to anymore!
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 20, 2016 14:35:32 GMT
I know Ms Menzel was starring in If/Then at the time but I did expect a pop up at curtain call seeing as she was in town... They had a special 10th Tony Awards performance too where the current leads performed For Good! Seeing as If/Then runs for nearly the same length as Wicked, she would have had quite a dash.. (I'm making the assumption they were starting performances at the same time)
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 20, 2016 13:46:06 GMT
Sorry for the double-post but I sneaked in an extra visit tonight, having heard changes were being made, I thought that those who saw it last week may be interested to know the opening scene is now completely different, as well as a number of other smaller changes. Ooh, how does that first scene now work? I remember watching it at the first preview and thinking it didn't quite sit with what came after, so am intrigued to hear what they've done.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 20, 2016 13:33:26 GMT
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 20, 2016 13:31:28 GMT
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 19, 2016 20:39:50 GMT
There'll be next to nothing for the 10th. It's an anniversary of a remounting of a production which didn't have a massive celebration for its own 10th on Broadway (except for "greenifying" a tower).
Was it the 5th or 10th anniversary on Broadway which had a read-through of a workshop script? Either way, if that was the limit of what they did over there - London will get balloons, many press releases saying how wonderful the production still is and that's it. It'll cost too much for them to start faffing and bringing back previous performers to alternate through (think of rehearsals for one thing), and it'd miff the current cast no end if they rehired "old hands" for one night/week.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 18, 2016 17:26:24 GMT
what tour stops will there be in Europe? Birmingham is rumoured for 2018. Not sure if Birmingham will still be in Europe after 23rd June 2016 though. Two points: 1. Still be physically in Europe regardless of referendum 2. Chances are we wouldn't have formally split from the EU by 2018 anyway So yup, it still will be
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 12, 2016 9:53:56 GMT
Saw this last night and absolutely loved it! It is, by far, the best play I have seen this year. Having grandparents with dementia it had opened my eyes to how difficult it can be. I thought Kenneth Cranham and Amanda Drew were both phenomenal. How long was this in the West End and was it all the same cast? This current cast were in London for only a few weeks earlier this year. Previous casts (with some overlap) were in last year.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 11, 2016 13:44:28 GMT
That visual gag certainly put a new spin on anyone saying "you're driving me up the wall"!
I maintain when I've said before - the highlights here are funnier than TPTGW and PPGW. I was also a fan of the simpler but equally entertaining phone call sequences.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 11, 2016 10:10:41 GMT
I'd be more inclined to suggest it was thrown together as "ooh, that sounds good" rather than as a direct take off from the plot.
However, I note the cast seems to have grown since we initially had news about the production - but maybe that was simply casting having not been completed by the time of the Peter Pan opening. I'd find it hard to believe the production has grown significantly in cast size since their workshop in September.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 11, 2016 10:06:22 GMT
Anyone have any advice on whether it's better to take some of the early seats via TimeOut or wait until the midday scramble tomorrow? There are enough codes floating around to get booking immediately directly via the Old Vic (if the TimeOut one isn't, I don't know) - so I'd just jump in now if I were you.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 9, 2016 18:02:18 GMT
Call me in the minority but I was bored.
Very strong acting from all three. Daniel Mays stands out the most, this role being so different from his stereotypical geezer that he is normally cast for. Can't fault the other two either - Spall flits between personalities well in Act Three.
Biggest problem I think was the production the play had been wrapped up in. The Caretaker was clearly written to examine the individuals rather than to render an multifaceted plot, but the direction (as good as it was in its way) of the production seemed to strive for "play it straight, hope for the best". It's as if the original text and current production were sparring against one another - to no-one's benefit.
Act One I described in a text as "Plot so far: man arrives in flat, man moves in, other man leaves, random bloke walks in and the curtain comes down. Something about Sidcup". The second act didn't really improve (however gave the highlight in May's electro-therapy speech). I very nearly left in the second interval. The characters definitely showed signs of development in the final act, but even with this I was sure I could describe all the intricacies of the production in 5 minutes flat.
The Old Vic is having a curious season. It strikes me more and more that Warchus is trying to find his style for the place this year, perhaps the 2016/17 season will feel more cohesive.
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 9, 2016 17:46:12 GMT
Have to say I am very tempted to pop along in one of the £10 seats just before press night. View will probably be awful, however now I've seen it I'll have a good grasp for what is happening anyway!
Has anyone else noticed the possible inconsistency with the production against the advertising slogan?
"ONE ENORMOUS DIAMOND SIX INCOMPETENT CROOKS AND A SNOOZING SECURITY GUARD"
Who are the six crooks?
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 5, 2016 11:18:46 GMT
I think the difficulty with Phantom is we are now so used to faux operatic voices in the lead (such as JOJ). Therefore when a performer like Forster or Joback takes it, the tone switches. No less valid - but two very different styles.
In a different subject, I was pleased Phantom won out for the audience award. As much as I'd prefer Matilda to be able to pick it up one day..
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Post by danielwhit on Apr 2, 2016 13:40:19 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if the Broadway version is the same physical set as the West End was (considering it's several years old and it may be easier to build a second set designed to tour).
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 31, 2016 22:11:44 GMT
Heading back from first preview now, so some brief thoughts: Overall - fantastic shape for a first preview. Set is exactly what I'd expect, not photo realistic but 'quirky'. Cast do all the set changes, mostly covered by brief bursts into song. Script is in part stronger than Play That Goes Wrong, although the second half may be tweaked - it has a slightly irratic flow to it (especially the final 10 minutes). It's very nearly there but feels like it could do with a tweak or one less twist. I'll discuss that more when others have seen it though! Plenty of visual gags, and you will miss two minutes or so if you're under an overhang. Otherwise £20 restricted views will be fine. Equally, I think the front row may miss a bit that happens at the back of the stage (blocked by a 'vent' at the front of the stage for a scene). Really good to see this team tackle something very different to a Goes Wrong, it'll do well come reviews. You will definitely not be disappointed. Will discuss more when others have also seen it and I'm not on a train
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 28, 2016 14:44:56 GMT
One question which springs up.. where's the £5 per head going? TheatreCafe will make cash on the bar/food for the evening and there's no mention of charity (unlike Wilma's one from a couple of weeks ago).
Therefore - can we presume that the £5/head is going into the WoS pocket?
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 26, 2016 12:12:36 GMT
I saw it on Thursday afternoon. 3pm start, was out before 5.30 - the first half is longer than the second.
Rather enjoyed on the whole, pleasant, generally clean and a lot of fun. No doubt it'll improve further when it beds itself in.
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 18, 2016 22:02:29 GMT
I was going to buy tickets for this tour. However the promo video shows someone giving artificial respiration on stage. I don't want to sit at the front and watch this. Is this an essential part of the show ? I have no wish to watch this on a night out ? If you've seen the film - you'll know that would come and go within seconds. It will be pushed in promo videos (I guess) to illustrate the "he's died" thing - but it certainly isn't a reason to put you off the show
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 18, 2016 18:20:06 GMT
There are quite a lot of gaps in the schedule for 2017 so I can only imagine it will be heading to a lot more cities yet to be declared.
Presumably it'll also park up somewhere for the Christmas month, also yet to be confirmed.
I'm looking forward to a new production - the original set looked superb but it clearly wasn't well suited to touring. They did a great job at retaining the feeling of the West End set when it was adapted last time, mind.
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 17, 2016 13:14:18 GMT
Laura Emmitt has announced she has a scheduled Elphaba show on the 24th March. Is it usual for 2nd U/s to get scheduled shows? Let's hope it's to see about the potential for a lead or s/b job for either tour or London and the execs will be in! As far as I know Jackie Hughes was the first 2nd u/s to get a scheduled show and of course she went on to be standby on the tour so maybe a possibility? It is normal - they've been getting scheduled shows for years. Some choose to spread the word, some don't.
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Post by danielwhit on Mar 16, 2016 17:15:04 GMT
We didn't know (it was one of only two theatrical questions we lost marks on!) so I plumped a guess down for Cam Mac. Close but no cigar, in the end.
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