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Post by nash16 on Sept 29, 2016 23:59:12 GMT
Oh rats :-( Knowing how well this has sold generally, it's possible that when we get there, we might find there will still be a decent choice of seats to move to if we're not happy with our allocated one... That's what I'm hoping. I will try and ring Lovetheatre tomorrow and see if they can move me to an aisle. Same date etc. I don't care if it's further back or anything as long as it's on an aisle. Hey, you will be able to move to an aisle seat on the night no probs. Are you in the Stalls? We did tonight.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 29, 2016 23:57:50 GMT
Gosh, you are almost reminding me of some posts I often read on Broadwayworld.... no need to pull people up for a misused word. Your OPTIONS are pretty much Friday 40/returns queue, although even at premium prices I'd still expect to make much more for a kidney. Treat yourself and don't worry about the cost. This is the real deal. How did you know I was American?
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Post by nash16 on Sept 29, 2016 23:56:16 GMT
Deeply sad news.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 28, 2016 12:30:00 GMT
You are entitled to more opinions than the Friday Forty when you arrive. Like rush seats? Anything else? Literally any opinion you want. The people in the queue will let you know about more opinions too.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 28, 2016 12:28:20 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Sept 28, 2016 1:49:33 GMT
Ah, so this is how you learned to play that song in Groundhog Day so fast. Have you any other shows recorded in full? Would love to hear Groundhog Day again.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 28, 2016 1:45:02 GMT
The Friday Forty is my only opinion, right?? You are entitled to more opinions than the Friday Forty when you arrive.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 27, 2016 12:51:36 GMT
Saw this last night and oh dear…
Very disappointing. The set looks lovely, but that's about it. The music would be lovely were it not played solely on a keyboard. Keyboard "strings" and "brass" sound…well, like they're being played on a keyboard. Mark Hadfield puts in a fine performance, as does Jasper Britton. But Dominic Cooper, despite looking the way he does, seems woefully miscast. And maybe knows it?…
His opening speech is great fun, but right then he did nothing with it, apart from looking at a few people on the front row with a raised eyebrow. He gives the part almost no energy. There is no lust, no joy, no passion, no danger at all. Watch him jump onto a table in a moment of supposed passion…taking extreme care to do so… The few "moments" in the play that are moving or dramatic (and strangely there are very few in Stephen Jeffrey's piece, it almost fights against being dramatic…odd) go for nothing because we do not care about him.
This is part to do with the writing, of course, but Cooper does nothing to help himself.
The women fair a bit better. Although Johnson has done the unforgivable once again, and cast his daughter (the second time in a year). The fate of one of the male characters is met with silence and, again, a lack of empathy, because we simply have not got to know that person, or any of them, in more than a two dimensional way.
The role of Rochester though does have more meat to it. And Dominic Cooper is a fine actor, but not a great one. To be great in this part he would have had to have been directed better by Terry Johnson, and it looks like Terry has failed in this job. One wonders what his close friend Nick Hytner would have managed to get out of him if he had directed it?
At the end of the play Cooper turns to each of the characters and asks, "Do you like me now?", and, as we cringed at what was coming, the inevitable happened, and he turned out front to us and ask us the same question.
I fear the reviewers are going to have a field day with that moment alone, especially if an audience member shouts out.
We don't like you now because we were never allowed to like you in this production, because of the poor writing, but ultimately the poor choice of lead.
He'll run back to TV once the reviews come out and if the run completes its duration, and won't return to the stage for a long time it looks like.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 18, 2016 0:03:06 GMT
I was there tonight as well. Tim Minchin and his guest, Ralf Fiennes were in the audience, which draw some ooo's and ahhh's. Really enjoyed it again for the second time and was satisfied how they worked out some of the illusions in act 2. A part of me genuinely wishes there has been circus-like "Ooo's and ahhh's" that you speak of every time Tim and Ralphy-Ralf did something. E.g. stand up/sit down/reach for their glass/applaud/look knowingly at each other, etc. I wonder if they were together as a power couple or just sat next to each other in the House Seats? Could Ralphy-Ralf be contemplating a musical next?
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Post by nash16 on Sept 15, 2016 21:56:56 GMT
Different things appeal to different people for all kinds of different reasons. Sometimes we can't even quantify what it is about a piece that causes it to resonate so strongly for us - lord knows I couldn't tell you why Groundhog Day has burrowed its way inside my heart, but it has, and there were tears, and I'm not ashamed. (Also the tears were not conspicuous or performative, they were solely mine, for the record. ) The show that I love and brings me to tears is not necessarily going to be the same as the show that you love and brings you to tears, and just because we don't feel like that about each other's shows doesn't mean we're wrong to feel that way about our respective shows. Oh absolutely, agreed. It's just the way people seem to have wound themselves up into a frenzy over this final chance to get tickets, I really am struggling to see it's worth all that. I mean, had I for example gone to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and come out hating it, I could at least see what other people might love about it (lots of magic, oodles of nostalgia, some standout performances, the theatrical appeal). Groundhog Day just felt rather pedestrian. It develops only two characters in a large cast, that I can recall. The poor ensemble are very much just a bunch of folks wandering about with a variety of costumes on all night. The singing wasn't always that clear, so I missed some of the jokes (and I wasn't the only one in the party I went with to feel that). I like a lot of Minchin's comedy work but you can get away with rather more rushed, breathless, clever lines, as he is wont to write, when you're one guy doing comedy - not so much when there are a bunch of characters together on stage and you're supposed to be able to hear one above the other to develop plot and make people laugh. I dunno - it just felt to me like there was quite a lot working against it, so the reaction here (and from critics) is something of a surprise. R.e. the critics. A friend of one of the Producers told me that B'way had essentially said unless it got 5* reviews across the board, they wouldn't bring it over. One can't help but feel this info was passed on to the reviewers. I'm not saying bribery took place, but placing that thought into their minds… And hey presto, a lot of 5* reviews. Not across the board, but a lot. And it gets it's Broadway run. I just can't see it lasting on Broadway. It's not moving enough, and the story not engaging enough.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 15, 2016 21:53:02 GMT
Entirely with caiaphas on this one. It was a perfectly entertaining night out, but nothing more. I'm struggling to understand the love for this, or why people would be crying at it. It just wasn't anywhere near that deep, for me. I certainly wouldn't be rushing back, whatever the price! Yes, Jeanhunt. Totally agree. I don't quite get how this board thread has been so hyped and enjoyed it so much. I, like you, felt unmoved throughout, and saw only a lot of energy and one, maybe two good songs that didn't even fit within the story much.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 12, 2016 15:03:09 GMT
Hey Nash, I reckon Josette Simon for Cleopatra. Naaaah, she ain't known is she??
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Post by nash16 on Sept 12, 2016 14:38:08 GMT
JULIUS CAESAR TITUS ANDRONICUS ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Angus Jackson to direct one. Any thoughts for the roles of Caesar, Cleopatra, Antony, Brutus, Cassius? Glad to see my earlier post confirmed! Sounds like a great rest of season too.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 11, 2016 10:55:50 GMT
I had a successful experience at the returns queue yesterday, though just barely! I arrived at about 10:00am, and was about 20th in the queue. The box office opened and they came out and said that, at the moment, they had no returns. It only took about 20 minutes, though, for the first people to get their tickets (those first people told me they got in the queue at 4:30am). Then, for the next few hours, the queue moved surprisingly fast, comparatively speaking. By around noon, I think I was only 7th or 8th in line. At around 1, I was in the first 3 or 4. Finally at 1:50 (10 minutes to curtain), I was offered my tickets and decided to take them. As I was contemplating earlier in the thread, I DID in fact pass on a £190 pair because it was out of my budget, and the person behind me took it. I was willing to take the risk since I knew I would be here in London for a while and would have other chances to get in for cheaper. Luckily, I was offered a noticeably cheaper pair of tickets in the end, and it was a great seat in the 2nd circle. I didn't see anyone get offered a ticket for just one part. All the tickets I saw offered to the queue were for both parts, which was good. A man came out with a clipboard every time he had a return ticket to offer. He would come out and say how many he had, where in the theatre they were, and how much they were, and the person would then be directed into the box office to pay for the ticket(s) at the window, at which point the man with the clipboard would hand us the tickets from an envelope he already had on his clipboard. So to answer my own question from earlier: NO, there was no direct exchanges between us and the people who returned the tickets. It was all through the box office staff. However, 30 minutes before the show-time, the man came out and told us that from that point on, we would only be allowed to pay with CASH (credit cards had previously been accepted throughout the afternoon). He said, however, that if we were in the front of the queue and we were offered a return ticket, we would then be allowed to go to the bank across the street and get cash from the ATM without forfeiting our ticket, which I think is a very nice gesture on their part. All in all, a bit of a nail-biting experience, but totally worth it. I really loved the show! Great write up of your experience. And congrats for getting in!
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Post by nash16 on Sept 11, 2016 2:57:42 GMT
He was exceptional in THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at the Donmar. Indeed. He was very funny and sang very nicely so should be fine. "Fine"? He's gonna ROCK!!!!!!!!
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Post by nash16 on Sept 8, 2016 21:06:20 GMT
We have no reference on this guys singing then? Has he done any? Doing some research on him and he's had some TV success in america and seems a good comedy actor. He was exceptional in THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at the Donmar.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 8, 2016 20:24:13 GMT
Jessica Brown Findlay and Luke Thompson. It'll be pretty, anyway. He's cast his girlfriend AGAIN?
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Post by nash16 on Sept 8, 2016 20:22:27 GMT
Hahaha!!! Did they blow the budget on her dressing gown? What a mess!! Is it trying to be the Young Vic one (and failing?)? What's with the skipping ropes for rooms? Cripes. Seeing this in 2 weeks.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 7, 2016 23:02:27 GMT
Don't forget it's all here too:
Although it would be lovely to own a copy of it on CD.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 5, 2016 18:09:56 GMT
The Medical Song in GROUNDHOG DAY is great, but doesn't fit within the show as it feels like a stand-alone Minchin number.
Add to that the Act 2 opener in GD too.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 5, 2016 17:55:13 GMT
they're aiming to open it on Broadway in the Spring to try and bag a few Tony's Seriously? I'll be fascinated to see how it goes down in the USA. To us, it's history - to some of them, it's still a training manual… Haha, very true! Maybe it will make them think a bit too… Nah!
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Post by nash16 on Sept 5, 2016 12:18:06 GMT
Don't want to pay £85 to see this, but severely tempted to pay £65 for one of the seats in the second row next to the more expensive seats - it's Ed Harris for Gods sake, he doesn't do any old tat (does he? has he done anything on stage on the States recently? Hey Marwood, I would hang tight and download the TODAY TIX app. They're highly likely to use it on this, as same venue and director as THE SPOILS team, and you'll most likely get great seats on it for £26 or thereabouts. When I used it for THE SPOILS tickets we got Row H, Premium Seats for that price.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 4, 2016 1:14:33 GMT
This is a warmed-up version of an existing production he has staged previously - anyone seen it ? NT continues to line Patrick Marber's pockets with this too for some reason, after his last two duds here it's hard to see why. This particular production, that will be replicated fully with the English cast, premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2004. Ivo then took it to his theatre in Amsterdam in 2006. If you want to see what Ruth Wilson and co are going to have to duplicate, check out this trailer Note the flowers everywhere, like the bit-dodgy/uninspiring new NT trailer.
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Post by nash16 on Sept 4, 2016 1:09:18 GMT
Does anyone know if there are any plans to bring this back? For a play that was so well-received and won the Olivier, it seems odd that it has gone quiet after a just a three-month West End run. Knew I should have gone to the NT Live broadcast when I had the chance! No plans to return this in London, but they're aiming to open it on Broadway in the Spring to try and bag a few Tony's. It would deserve them all.
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Post by nash16 on Aug 26, 2016 22:30:44 GMT
The topic has created 5 pages of responses but there is no definitive statement or press release that the show is even coming! Baz and Mark Shenton haven't even discussed it... This may shock you but some of us on here actually work in the industry, and so often know things that journos like Baz and Shenton either don't know or won't discuss. Saying people are lying has pushed away some great industry insiders in the past, and makes the ones that remain unlikely to post. I could tell you what Sondheim revival is touring next year (with an eye on going into town after), what musical is going to have a quick run at Traf Studios 1 in the Autumn to see if it is worth a full time place in town, which well-received fringe show now has a West End house booked for next year, I could even give a full account of what happened on the night of technical difficulties at Funny Girl. But it is responses like yours that make me usually not bother anymore. What can be gained by going onto the internet and lying on a tiny forum? Why would anyone bother? Thank you, firefingers. Beautifully put and appreciated.
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Post by nash16 on Aug 25, 2016 22:56:59 GMT
Alex Waldman & Francesca Zoutewelle to play Chris & Ann in Michael Rudman's production opening in October.
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Post by nash16 on Aug 25, 2016 0:14:33 GMT
Was I the only one whom checked the meniers website 4 minutes after this post? Gutted I was keeping the Mark Owen theme. Apologies, MrsL.
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Post by nash16 on Aug 24, 2016 22:05:01 GMT
Just have a little Patience Mark Owen? A four minute warning?
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Post by nash16 on Aug 24, 2016 22:04:30 GMT
Menier I'm not bitter but I write in the 'meneir Christmas musical' board that I wanted hewing there a bit before you posted yours. Did you copy me? Oh darling, I don't want you to be bitter. No, you posted "hoping" for Hedwig in the Menier thread yesterday. I started this thread way back on the 11th of August. So have no fear.
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Post by nash16 on Aug 23, 2016 22:52:00 GMT
Menier
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