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Post by ptwest on Feb 6, 2017 7:20:43 GMT
Great way of continuing the hype though. Pay a fortune on advertising, people try to buy tickets but can't then make a mental note to book when more tickets go on sale. So then another ticket frenzy!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 31, 2017 20:51:19 GMT
High Wycombe 25th - 30th September 2017 Nottingham Derngate Theatre Monday 16th Oct - 21st Oct Edinburgh Festval Theatre 27th Nov - 3rd Dec Anybody know anymore dates?
Thanks for the info - just pointing out that Nottingham Derngate should be Northampton Derngate.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 29, 2017 17:23:00 GMT
I wish these programmes would stop showing winners or high scorers from other countries. They serve as a masterclass in how to do well - a great song, performed well by a performer that can sell it to the audience and innovative staging. Then present us with our choices, dull songs sung by performers who cant project beyond the end of the microphone. Or in Lucie's case, someone who can sing but with the dreariest song and performance imaginable. We don't have a prayer at winning anyway but it would be good to see us making an effort.
Mind you, the program was pretty appalling -found myself reaching for the mute button everytime CeCe was asked to speak. Or should I say yell.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 28, 2017 6:28:07 GMT
Pretty sure it was sung through.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 27, 2017 15:48:41 GMT
I remember thinking that Tonya Pinkins gave a stunning performance but overall the show was one to be admired rather than loved. I too was slightly baffled by the amount of glowing reviews for it, it made me feel I had missed something.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 26, 2017 6:34:40 GMT
I see that Zizi is taking a break from the show while it's in Zurich from 1st February until 19th March but she's returning when the production heads to Dubai in May. Lisa O'Hare is playing Mary in La Suisse. Would love to see Lisa O''Hare in the role again, she was fantastic on the previous tour.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 25, 2017 19:01:20 GMT
The blog really is superb advice, will ensure anyone I know who is booking reads it - but really grateful to have my tickets and not have to join in the scrum again. Good luck to all who are trying on Monday!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 23, 2017 12:36:15 GMT
I take groups to Manchester every so often and I don't see that having, say, a 6 week limit is going to make much difference. But where it will have a huge impact on school visits. Have just had the info for warhorse in Mid to late 2018 (not at an atg venue I might add, it's just an illustration) . There is no way I can commit to a school visit nearly two years ahead and project which children will be able to come, also predicting any change in cohort in order to have payment in within 4-6 weeks. I think in this era of bookings opening so far ahead of the show there needs to be some leeway. Taking my classes to shows has been one of the experiences they have really remembered, I would hate for this to become logistically impossible.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 22, 2017 18:40:51 GMT
Someone was doing this somewhere in our row at Sister Act yesterday. Made the seats feel like one of those 4D cinema experiences!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 22, 2017 15:19:22 GMT
So pleased that this has done well. It wasn't perfect but it was a great night out. I agree about the ending - but with a little tweaking it could be fantastic. Hope theres a life for this show after Canada.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 22, 2017 15:17:16 GMT
Is a growl not a form of riff then? A riff is when you change the melody. You can growl and still sing the notes that are written down in the score.
I fancy a career change so I think I might audition to be Elphaba. My voice will certainly change the melodies!
Seriously - totally agree with all those who have said they would prefer a powerful performance without all the vocal gymnastics. A few here and there can be good but it can so easily go over the top. It can get like those singers on X factor or similar who feel that singing every note in the world on every syllable is the key to greatness. For me, over riffing isn't a fabulous and exciting new interpretation, its showing off. And often that is to the detriment of the overall performance in my opinion.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 22, 2017 9:10:11 GMT
So I saw this in Sheffield last night. Really for me a show of two halves. The plusses- Alexandra Burke was very good overall, and in Karen Mann it was great to have a Mother Superior who could sing and act the part. I really enjoyed the whole ensemble of nuns.
But the first half - I nearly could have left at the interval. Dialogue that was so rushed that it was impossible to hear, same with song lyrics- it was my first time of hearing "it was good to be a nun" and I think I made out about a quarter of the lyrics. Curtis was about as threatening as a packet of Angel Delight and his three henchman had supposedly funny lines which were met with tumbleweed each time which wasn't surprising given the lameness of the delivery and the quality of the lines themselves. I got to the interval wishing I hadn't bothered and that I should have left my memories of the palladium production intact. Raise Your Voice and the Act one finale was where things started to pick up, but I was very disappointed overall. It also didn't help that the programme hasn't been updated with the new cast members, and the quality of the printing on some of the pages was appalling.
So it came as quite a surprise that act two was thoroughly enjoyable! I think it was a lot calmer, each song and performance had time to breathe and the pace slowed a little. Despite my reservations of the three villains, "Lady In The Long Black Dress" was great, as was "Bless Our Show" , and the big finish of "Spread The Love" worked really well. There was some excellent work from some of the nuns who you could see staying in character even through the dance routines. So although in my opinion it didn't even come close to the Palladium Production (Which I saw twice) I left feeling that overall I had had a good time.
I don't feel that the actor / musician aspect added anything though. Although it saves money in having to hire actors and a band. The cast were clearly very talented to be able to do this but ultimately I am not sure this is the right show for this kind of treatment.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 18, 2017 19:05:16 GMT
Quick question for those who booked on here on Monday from noon: did Ticketmaster put you in a queue, or did everyone get straight through? If they did put a queue in, was it at the "pick a month" page or later in the process? Asking as I'm doing some research. Thanks. I was in queue from 12 after the date selection, probably for about 5 minutes. The first time I picked seats then didn't get them the wait was about 3 minutes. For the 2nd and 3rd times it was up to between 10 and 12. The final time when asked TM to pick for me was much quicker.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 16, 2017 19:16:30 GMT
I remember when I saw it at the Dominion it was very lavish and lots of fun, but felt that Beast was a little camp. It kind of spoilt the ambiance! Although then "Gaston" sequence involving the dance with the beer glasses was great!
Took a mob of school children when it came to Manchester and they were mesmerised.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 16, 2017 18:20:41 GMT
Anyone who is prepared to spend that sort of money on a ticket has more money than sense. Can't believe anyone would actually do that but then what do I know?!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 16, 2017 12:37:18 GMT
Gave up on select your own seats after losing seats three times and got them to choose for me. Got row b in the stalls somewhere near middle so its further forward than I ideally wanted but I think that could have been a lot worse. Almost cant resist asking how high the stage is!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 15, 2017 13:45:38 GMT
Have they announced tickets for the actual 'show' or is it going to be the case that they will never actually go on sale....??!!? Nothing as yet. How long was it back in the day of the ALW shows between the show finishing and tickets going on sale for the actual show? I don't know if this was true for all of them but the tickets for the Sound Of Music went on sale well before the end of the series - I remember thinking that I would book before the frenzy once we knew who had won.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 15, 2017 10:25:30 GMT
Sometimes I think seat numbers should be entirely disregarded, and only row numbers used when taking your seat. Say I'm the first one in the auditorium and have ticket C19, I should ignore seat 19 and go for the central-most seat in row C, then everyone else in row C who comes in after just fills in the gaps. Mind you, I also sometimes think it would be quite nice to sell rows by audience member heights, so all the 6'6" bunch would be at the back and none of the 4'10" types would have to worry about not being able to see anything other than heads. But, y'know, if squeezing past people to get to your seat is a problem for you and you know that, then take the initiative and arrive early. People may then have to squeeze past you, but the implication does seem to be that it is the act of squeezing by rather than the acting of being squeezed by that isn't massively comfortable so an early arrival would make sense. Especially if you're in the middle of a row. But for those of us who are part of the 6'6" bunch, the circle overhang will be more pronounced than if we were 4'2". Maybe then taller people should sit further forward and smaller people at the back so everyone has as little impact as possible and we all get to see the top of the stage? :-)
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Post by ptwest on Jan 12, 2017 18:09:41 GMT
Email has just come through.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 11, 2017 6:14:07 GMT
It was a person, that was in the first cast of the bodyguard tour leg. A very reliable source. I would be interesting to see,if they work together in the future. I have seen some of her lovely fans get picked on, on social media and she's not commented. I guess it's the saying if your face fits. She is a talented singer. She sells seats and puts on a great show. 😊 It's the last sentence that is important here. 99% of the audience don't go to the stage door, follow performers online or think they are friends so won't care if the performer is a nice person or not, or if they interact well on social media. It's if they can deliver a performance night after night which makes paying out the high ticket prices worthwhile.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 10, 2017 20:11:19 GMT
This would be superb if this happens. Such a fabulous show.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 7, 2017 16:03:19 GMT
I'm not going to disagree that singing a song well deserves acclaim, but my issue with the instant standing ovation for AITYING is that in the night I went, people stood and hollered as soon as she hit the big note at the end meaning a) lots were determined to do it anyway as if the whole half was leading up to that moment. Marisha was excellent but I think there was a core number in the audience who would have stood whatever had happened. B) those screaming and whooping wouldn't have heard the finish anyway and c) the way the score is written there isn't time for an applause breaks before the dreams come on, meaning an awkward moment where half those who were stood didn't seem to know what to do. I suspect that Dreamgirls May become like Wicked where the hard core "fans" will try to outdo each other or maybe look for that special moment when the actress playing Effie adds one extra note etc etc.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 7, 2017 15:37:12 GMT
It all sounds like a superb subject for a musical in its own right!
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Post by ptwest on Jan 6, 2017 18:18:52 GMT
First theatre visit: the Wombles at Swindons Wyvern Theatre. I would have been about four.
First musical: Annie at the Bristol Hippodrome and although I hate the show now, I credit it with igniting the love in theatre that I still have to this day.
First west end show: Adrian Mole at the Wyndhams
First West end show which wasn't a school trip: Phantom in 1988
First Solo theatre trip: Miss Saigon in early 1990.
First returns Queue: Joseph at the palladium soon after opening night.
First Role: the giant in Jack and The Beanstalk. I was the only one taller than Jack.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 5, 2017 18:56:36 GMT
It all makes sense from a business point of view - it could have been a big PR disaster that the leading lady whom all the marketing has been based on was out so early in the show. And let's be honest, the initial reactions to Karen weren't great, although I understand she's been getting better and better (I should add that I haven't seen Karen, but I know her from X factor and there is no doubt she is a stunning singer). But if you had the opportunity to bring in someone who is sensational to fill the gap, then you would. I was really disapointed not to see Amber but this lasted seconds once I could see how good Marisha was going to be. So whereas I do feel that Karen and especially Ruth have been treated roughly here, from a customer satisfaction level which can equate to repeat bookings and word of mouth it is a no brainer.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 2, 2017 15:34:13 GMT
I normally go to Premier Inn at either Waterloo or County hall, but my back up as mentioned above is always the St Giles Hotel on Tottenham Court road. The rooms are too small to swing a cat, but the location is fantastic and the price is usually good compared with other central locations.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 1, 2017 16:34:54 GMT
Going to add to those that are praising Jocasta as Lorell - she was superb on Friday night. She felt a really strong presence on stage around the rather underpowered dreams around her (not including Marisha here!)
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Post by ptwest on Dec 30, 2016 22:37:48 GMT
So all three dreams off tonight which meant understudies / alternates were on, four if you don't the fact that Lily Frazer performing as Deena meant that her cover needed to be Michelle. Another great response to Marisha, standing ovation for I am telling you, nearly another one for I am Changing. She is phenomenal. Superb cast overall.
Biggest gripe? The theatre was so cold. Unbelievably so.. I know it's freezing outside but it's a full house. Surely they could afford a few coins in the meter.
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Post by ptwest on Dec 30, 2016 19:06:58 GMT
Marisha is on again tonight.
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Post by ptwest on Dec 30, 2016 7:49:36 GMT
This is good news - I booked all those months ago especially to try and see Amber, but in the lucky lottery of who gets to play Effie tonight, it sounds like Marisha would be a great result! I wonder who we will get?!
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