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Post by justafan on Mar 10, 2024 8:43:31 GMT
not yet but I’m going to see it Wednesday in Wolverhampton Let us know what it's like. I didn't prioritise it high enough in London so missed it; may travel to a 'near London' venue if it seems worth it - but with travel costs I'll find out how many board members regularly feel. I enjoyed it more than the London run as the two Leads seemed to me to have more chemistry. The only thing I would say is that imo the staging suits a smaller theatre - the Grand at Wolverhampton is a big old space and some of the intimacy was lost as a consequence. The band sounded excellent albeit they were hidden away in the pit. Some brilliant voices and I thought Catherine Tyldesley as Blanche was excellent.
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Post by justafan on Mar 4, 2024 15:32:07 GMT
Has anyone seen this tour? It's done a couple of dates now: Leicester and Guildford. not yet but I’m going to see it Wednesday in Wolverhampton
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Post by justafan on Feb 5, 2024 10:46:11 GMT
Today Tix have a 24hour sale for this
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Post by justafan on Jan 13, 2024 22:55:28 GMT
Saw it tonight … final show … loved Peron … the Company did well … lots of energy and emotion as you’d expect. No fault of theirs but I didn’t like Eva without a blonde wig/white dress for Don’t cry for me … maybe I’m too much of a traditionalist …
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Post by justafan on Dec 29, 2023 9:56:45 GMT
I saw Jack Wilcox’s last scheduled performance as Bobby yesterday - wonderful again! And a packed house!
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Post by justafan on Nov 10, 2023 23:02:26 GMT
Just had an e mail to say that my booking for the 20th Jan has been cancelled. Looking at the website the last show is now 31st Dec so they have cut the run short. This is such a shame as I'd booked for the last performance and not sure I want to go out on NYE even though its a 1pm show. Me too. I’m bitterly disappointed as I’d had both shows booked and had hoped Jack might have been given the matinee … but hey ho - with this and Jersey Boys closing earlier than planned, I’ll be having a very quiet January ☹️
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Post by justafan on Oct 17, 2023 20:26:51 GMT
I caught one of Jack Wilcox's performances last night and he is very good indeed. He is more matinee idol than cheeky chappie which Charlie is. His vocals were excellent and his dancing great however Charlie really can't be beaten on the dancing front. If you didn't know who Charlie Stemp was then you wouldn't be disappointed not seeing him. The only other cast change was the couple playing the English comedy role. They weren't anywhere near as good as the other couple. Not full last night with quite a few empty seats. I noticed a few people moved from the far side dress circle further in just before the show started but an usher came and made them all move back which I thought was a bit petty. I think another Charlie show is due before Christmas for me and probably try and book for the last night. I think Jack Wilcox makes an excellent Bobby - not seen him as Bela but must be quite a feat being the standby/cover for both roles especially in the mirror scene - the concentration for the timing must be huge - kudos to him
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Post by justafan on Oct 9, 2023 10:30:38 GMT
It does say ‘more worldwide destinations to be announced’
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Post by justafan on Sept 13, 2023 19:01:22 GMT
I saw the matinee this afternoon with Jack Wilcox and he was excellent - a real tour de force. He and Tom Edden had a lot of fun in ‘that’ scene. So much so that Tom Edden had time to berate us, the audience, for being late in responding to one of his jokes Who was Polly this afternoon? Sorry I didn’t see a cast list so wouldn’t like to guess
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Post by justafan on Sept 13, 2023 17:55:10 GMT
Very disappointed that Charlie Stemp is off tonight. Have been tempted to try and sell the tickets on. I hear the understudy is really good. In fact I've booked to see him in October when Charlie us off. I saw the matinee this afternoon with Jack Wilcox and he was excellent - a real tour de force. He and Tom Edden had a lot of fun in ‘that’ scene. So much so that Tom Edden had time to berate us, the audience, for being late in responding to one of his jokes
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Post by justafan on Sept 6, 2023 18:10:24 GMT
Last Thursday evening, Danny Knott was on as Frankie (only his second performance as second cover) and I managed to pick up a late front row seat. The new cast has settled in well now. This show is rather like a machine, but no matter. The music is always good. I was impressed with Danny and very glad that he's got to go on. I was less impressed his costume designer as his clothes were all about two sizes too big for him, but I rather expect he was slipping into whatever was available (but seriously if anyone is reading this, please don't hamper him with such baggy clothes). Hope to see Danny again anyway (and as a side note, very glad that Joey Cornish is now the official alternate as well). If they aren’t investing in new costumes then it could suggest as danielwhit said above that the show is preparing for closure 🤷♀️
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Post by justafan on Sept 3, 2023 18:33:05 GMT
How refreshing to have a new piece of theatre writing that is universally loved by everyone. I’m not going till much later in the run but already know I will love it!!
I reckon this show could be the ‘theatre moment of 2023’
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Post by justafan on Aug 4, 2023 15:57:39 GMT
Thanks for pointer to the Fourth Wall Facebook pics anthony40 But....oh great, I guessed but didn't want to post before: Eva sang 'Don't Cry For Me, Argentina' surrounded by the aristocracy, as in the Kenwright version. Only Kenwright had them in gowns and gala finery, the concert seems to have 'smart' and suits/bow ties. It's not what the song's about - certainly not Kenwright's interpretation. It's not 'Disney princess gets to go to the ball', it's 'street fighter creates her own ball with the working class'. Perhaps at the concert the Drury Lane Audience were addressed as 'the people' and the ensemble dressed in finery looked on askance as the horrified Aristocracy?? Begs the question: who hummed the melody, when Eva is overcome by emotion and can't carry on? If it was the Ensemble then they're clearly not in role as the critical Aristocracy and it's again a director who either doesn't understand, or doesn't want, Evita to be the show that it is. That reminds me of an ‘awkward’ end of song number at the Tuesday matinee. In every production I’ve seen of this show right from the original at the PET when Evita puts her hands up in salute at the end of ‘don’t cry for me …’ the whole audience has been caught up in the emotion and unashamedly act as ‘her people’ and applaud the symbolism. This didn’t happen at the Tues matinee - not in the dress circle anyway - leaving the cast to start the next number.
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Post by justafan on Aug 1, 2023 14:39:25 GMT
Enjoying Jeremy Secomb hugely - great voice and presence - a hardworking ensemble but the rest … glad I only paid £25 thanks to A.Ham - I’m also surrounded by kids which is hugely irritating as they can’t seem to sit still
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Post by justafan on Jul 31, 2023 23:06:12 GMT
Does anyone know an approximate running time yet - just trying to arrange travel home after the Tuesday matinee ACT 1 53 minutes INTERVAL 20 minutes ACT 2 1 hour TOTAL 2 hours & 13 minutes Thanks so much 👍
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Post by justafan on Jul 28, 2023 22:09:26 GMT
Does anyone know an approximate running time yet - just trying to arrange travel home after the Tuesday matinee
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Post by justafan on Jul 27, 2023 16:58:43 GMT
I was there for the first performance with the new cast yesterday. The audience was a bit muted at first (with the exception of an American lady who was loudly and enthusiastically discussing dogging before the show - the US context may be different), but they picked up during the show. I say new cast, but a lot of people are continuing, and many of the others have been associated with Jersey Boys before, whether at the Piccadilly Theatre, on tour, or at sea. The current leads are very strong. Luke Suri is always such a natural sounding Frankie Valli. Karl James Wilson is the underappreciated glue as Nick Massi. Peter Nash doesn't overplay Tommy Devito. And Declan Egan is a really excellent Bob Gaudio. He has the vocals and nuance just right and looks like he wants to be there. I do hope this cast get a full year. Lots of new covers to see too. I was there as well - thought it was fabulous. They look as if they have gelled very quickly as a team - tho as you say many will have known each other from previous iterations of the show
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Post by justafan on Jul 25, 2023 21:34:34 GMT
Went to the final jersey boys show with the current cast last evening. They were all on excellent form - there were no hiccups, the audience was impeccably behaved and lots of support throughout for those leaving. Massive cheers especially for Adam Bailey’s final ‘Gaudio’ speech.
Ben Yates was in the audience - if by wearing a baseball cap he thought he would be incognito, he was wrong!!
Oddly, at the end we weren’t allowed out of the auditorium via the front stalls door stage right - I assume if there had been a fire alarm we would have been!!
Stage door was busiest I’ve seen it for a while. When the cast appeared, many were dressed for well deserved partytime. Spoke briefly with Luke Suri who was looking forward to an early night and a day off today.
Tomorrow they have a dress rehearsal with the new cast and then Jersey Boys cast 2023/24 hits the road at 7.30pm. Will I be there? You betcha - would be rude not too 😎
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Post by justafan on Jul 21, 2023 14:42:32 GMT
I'm tempted to book for one of the days when Charlie is on holiday as it would be really interesting to see how his understudy tackles the role. Likewise
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Post by justafan on Jul 21, 2023 14:25:58 GMT
If anyone is interested I have a ticket for the matinee next Thursday (27th) that I can no longer use. The seat is Flushing AA4 - I don’t want any money for it - just want it to go to a good home. Start time is 2.30. It’s an e-ticket so I can forward it on
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Post by justafan on Jul 8, 2023 22:22:19 GMT
Only the once in 50years of theatregoing. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘Allegro’ at Southwark - I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on - like others have mentioned took advantage of being able to get an earlier train home
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Post by justafan on Jun 15, 2023 17:36:43 GMT
I saw the matinee today … and LOVED it … it’s not on the scale or as lavish as the Drury Lane production - but you can’t fault the cast/musicians performances and the dancing is second to none.
It was wonderful to see ‘Julian Marsh’ dance both during the show and at the curtain call 😍
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Post by justafan on Jun 3, 2023 10:01:47 GMT
Did the show start with the whole cast on stage rather than just Pop? This was also a change made for the post covid tour. From Instagram stories it looks like a similar set to the pre covid tour! Pop is onstage first and then the ensemble comes on
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Post by justafan on Jun 3, 2023 0:00:06 GMT
Opens tonight! Anyone there to let us know if the is is just the last tour recycled? I was there tonight but can’t answer your question as I didn’t see the tour. A pretty packed Coliseum. For a first performance I thought it was very slick. Slight delay to Act 2 because of ‘technical issues’ but Ben Elton was quick to get on the 🎤 to keep us informed. I thought the leads were strong vocally. It’s still a crazy tale but the music is what I go for … and for those of you who like a singalong … there are moments when screens reveal the band and they and the cast encourage audience participation I really enjoyed it! A healthy 4 stars from me😀
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Post by justafan on Jun 2, 2023 13:50:09 GMT
I saw the matinee yesterday having never read the book. Regardless of my feelings about the subject matter and how it was portrayed - how the heck does that small cast do two shows in a day with that emotion - does act 1 always end in silence from the audience - you could’ve heard a pin drop. I’ve not seen any mention of covers being on - IMHO this cast deserves every award going; how on earth does their mental health recover - I’m still recovering and they’ve done another performance since!
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Post by justafan on May 5, 2023 22:19:26 GMT
Kevin Fullink has confirmed he is leaving at cast change in July, does anyone know anyone else leaving, or has anyone else announced it? Would you know the date of cast change?
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Post by justafan on Apr 17, 2023 18:15:46 GMT
If anyone is interested I’ve just returned to the Palladium a single front row Grand Circle seat for the 6pm performance £29 before fees
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Post by justafan on Nov 7, 2022 12:45:03 GMT
Anyone looking for a ticket on Friday 18th November - Stalls F25 I’ve just returned one so should appear on the Almeida site shortly
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Post by justafan on Aug 25, 2022 10:01:32 GMT
About time that MX was back treading the boards - I’ll definitely be booking
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Post by justafan on Aug 25, 2022 10:00:20 GMT
After not having planned to see Jersey Boys last week, they suddenly announced Dayle Hodge on in the lead role for the Thursday evening show, so I managed to change my plans around and get a ticket. Someone else will know better than me, but Dayle isn't officially in the cast. He may well hold the record for being the longest serving Frankie Valli, going from when he first performed the role to what, every time, could be his final performance. I think I saw him as the tour lead a few years ago, but that was from way back at the rear of the theatre. Got to say, yes he's older than a typical Frankie, but the emotion he brings to the role is something else. A complete professional and you can see why he is involved with training up so many of the actors who have followed in his footsteps. They no longer seem to offer Stalls rush through TodayTix, only the Dress Circle. I did manage to get a discounted central Row D seat through another route, but I also arrived to find they were upgrading a lot of people to the front Stalls (my polite request to sit in one of the eight free seats in the front row was denied). Row D is an excellent view, but the downside is you're in the midst of people who aren't always respectful. One person translating the show into French behind me and there were crisp eaters in too. The sound was also rather unbalanced, with Dayle particularly quiet during the first half. I appreciate the cast probably get fed up of seeing the same people in the front row, but I hope they reinstate Stalls rush soon. Apart from that, they managed to perform the show with only two female cast members, which is always impressive. And they've been running through the third and fourth covers this past week. Who knows what combination of people will be on this week? I just did a Today Tix search for tonight’s show and was offered Stalls C12 so Stalls seats are still available on the day.
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