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Post by stuart on Aug 1, 2018 11:01:17 GMT
How often are shows cancelled at the Open Air Theatre? Got a theatre weekend in London booked and want to see this but worried that the show might get cancelled and leave us with a wasted Saturday night. Is it a common occurrence?
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jun 13, 2018 19:44:05 GMT
I feel the need to recognise the ushers at Mean Girls last week who were ridiculously vigilant with people on phones during the show. Someone in my row had barely taken their phone out of their pocket before they were at the end of the row.
If anything it became a bit distracting, but great to see a show which is going to draw an audience used to being attached to their mobiles such vigilance.
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Post by stuart on Jun 11, 2018 20:51:36 GMT
Just managed to grab a pair of £20 seats for a Saturday night in February 2019. Grand Circle slips 1-2. Will be my 3rd time seeing the show. Hopefully the view isn’t too bad?
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Post by stuart on Jun 8, 2018 2:38:15 GMT
She was rumoured by Popbitch way back before the show was even announced/mooted so she’s clearly been in the producer’s crosshair for a while. There have been reports that she’s due to announce new music any day now and she’s always released her albums September-December so I don’t think she’ll give up on time to promote that to do a stint in Chicago. Not to mention she’s got a bit of a history of not performing entirely live...
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Post by stuart on Jun 7, 2018 23:08:35 GMT
I do think Mean Girls will go in here eventually but I suspect there will be a filler for some time before it arrives. With a US Tour to mount, I think it will probably be Summer 2019 before we see Mean Girls in London.
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Post by stuart on May 12, 2018 8:20:30 GMT
I can really see this musical working really well over here as Spongebob has a large fanbase over here and the set design looks incredible. It Will need a big theatre like the Dominion for exsample or Safsdbury. This will easily do a good 3 to 5 years over here. Spongebob does have a big fanbase but does it correlate into a theatregoing fanbase? Everytime I’ve mentioned the show to people I know, they’ve sniggered or looked at me with a look of disdain. I think if this was to ever hit the West End, people would dismiss it as a show for children. It would struggle in a barn too. I could see it doing a decent year at somewhere like the New London or Prince of Wales (not that I see Mormon going anywhere anytime soon) but I think it would struggle for anything bigger.
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Post by stuart on May 10, 2018 17:59:34 GMT
Just booked tickets to see this in a few weeks. Was put in charge of buying theatre tickets for our group and finally plumped for this owing to the good word of mouth and Tony noms. I’ve since found out that the rest of the group have never seen the film. Is it easy to understand without prior knowledge of the film?
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on May 8, 2018 11:45:47 GMT
I’m going to New York for the first time in a few weeks and hoping to catch a show or two when I’m there. While I’m all clues up on the West End and UK theatre scene, what is the best way to get tickets for Broadway? I’ve got a few shows in mind already and I know TodayTix operate over there too, but what’s the best way to get affordable tickets for shows on the other side of the pond?
Would appreciate any tips!!
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Apr 18, 2018 10:28:34 GMT
I've just returned 2 tickets (Dress circle slips) for May 5th for all you ticket stalkers out there... (and f*** me that was painful. Got cut off repeatedly, and had Ed Sheeran blasted at me 3 times over while on hold) Matinee or evening?
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Post by stuart on Apr 15, 2018 20:50:35 GMT
Further to the Edinburgh Fringe speculation above, I've been told that they're not currently planning to take the show to Edinburgh this summer. In which case, the lack of any dates in the north of the UK is an absolute bafflement. TPTGW tour sold well up here in Scotland and TCAABR is near sold out for the peak performances when it comes here later in the year.
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Post by stuart on Apr 14, 2018 15:26:12 GMT
I saw this today in Glasgow on a total whim when I had a few hours to kill in town and the short running time suited my schedule perfectly. Managed to get a £10 ticket for the Upper Circle minutes before curtain up.
I had no prior knowledge of the play itself. I remember the initial West End run but it went over my head at the time. The cast were strong, especially enjoyed Nigel Havers’ portrayal of the character. But I just felt the story was a bit weak. I didn’t see the correlation between the ‘art’ and the friendship between the three friends. To me, it felt like two shorter stories which were mashed together into the one plot. I’d have liked more cohesion of the two. It all felt a bit forced, especially towards the end.
An enjoyable enough afternoon, but I would’ve felt short changed had I paid any more than a tenner.
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Post by stuart on Mar 28, 2018 10:14:11 GMT
UK tour announced
Wed 6 – Sun 9 June OXFORD Playhouse Tue 12 – Sat 16 June LEICESTER Curve Theatre Tue 19 – Sat 23 June CAMBRIDGE Arts Theatre Tue 26 June – Sun 1 July BIRMINGHAM Patrick Studio at Birmingham Hippodrome Tue 3 – Sun 8 Jul EXETER Northcott Tue 10 – Sat 14 July CHELTENHAM Everyman Theatre Wed 18 – Sun 22 July CARDIFF New Theatre
I presume this will then run at the Edinburgh Fringe? Would explain the lack of Northern dates and I can imagine the cast wanting to return without the pressures of a new show.
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Post by stuart on Mar 18, 2018 19:55:43 GMT
I walked past it a few weeks ago. I presumed that signage was temporary until it got closer to opening but clearly not. I would’ve expected a bit more sparkle from the signage, given the poster design.
It does stand out at night, to be fair.
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Post by stuart on Mar 8, 2018 23:08:24 GMT
I really think Marsha Songcome makes a strong and compelling Eliza. Ash Hunter was on for Hamilton himself, and I loved how full of emotion his portrayal was. Sifiso Mazibuko was on for Burr, Miriam-Teak Lee as Angelica and a fantastic Peggy/Maria debut from third cover Courtney-Mae Briggs. Wow, that’s a cast of mainly alternates! Only Lafayette/Jefferson, Washington and Mulligan/Madison were not out? What impact did this have on the ensemble?
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Post by stuart on Feb 17, 2018 11:15:46 GMT
It’s a story told a million times on here, but it was all set to close in July 2009 (when Michael Jackson was due to start his mammoth O2 run) but it was kept open when he died unexpectedly. It’s kept running ever since. I guess you’ve got Dr Conrad Murray to blame them?
It gets the tourists in because there’s no dialogue.
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Post by stuart on Feb 14, 2018 21:41:22 GMT
Everyone I know who has seen this show - myself included - had nothing but bad things to say about the audience behaviour.
The Saturday matinee I went the balcony had a hen party and a chav's birthday party who were disruptive throughout and yet the ushers didn't do ANYTHING at all.
What is it about particular shows that attract such people?
Probably because tickets are on a discount everywhere for it, so it’s an easy option for big groups looking for a cheap show.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Feb 10, 2018 23:21:25 GMT
Not quite ‘in the audience’ but I walked past Armando Ianucci in Glasgow today and just about had to do a triple take.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Feb 10, 2018 16:24:50 GMT
I see the running time is given as 1h20 so I hope that means more Mischief & not a really long charity speech! When I saw the show, they struggled to finish it off within the hour and the last 5mins were really rushed. I assume the extra time will give them a bit of breathing space.
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Post by stuart on Feb 7, 2018 7:33:36 GMT
Shout out to the 3 drunk women in the Grand Circle at 42nd Street on Saturday night who treated Act 2 as some sort of selfie photo shoot. Seconds after the lights went down they started and it continued throughout. I felt sorry for the poor usher who was up/down the stairs every 3mins to tell them off.
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Post by stuart on Jan 14, 2018 18:35:00 GMT
A few points on last night before the inevitable write up tomorrow:
All 3 pieces of ID checked (confirmation email, ID and Card) before entering the theatre and Card then scanned on entry to get your ticket.
Queued 20mins for merch in the ‘Hamilton Shop’ downstairs from 6:35pm or so. Sold out of mugs and a few t-shirts so I just got a shot glass and a programme.
Row C, Seat 30 was perfect. You could see feet at the front of the stage but not the revolve. I didn’t feel like I missed a thing though. You do get the brunt of King George sitting in said seat though....
I’m still struggling to find the words to describe it. Just unbelievable.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 14, 2018 18:31:39 GMT
What’s the “script” for sale for £5? In true Mischief fashion, I fully expect it to be blank but I’m still intrigued.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 14, 2018 12:53:58 GMT
I hardly ever get the chance to contribute to this thread, but now I can - Nicola Sturgeon at Hamilton tonight. Maisie Williams and Rami Malek were there too!
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 13, 2018 8:11:04 GMT
By the way, has anyone bought the book they sell at the merchandise stand? It was out of stock this Tuesday. I'm curious, is it the full libretto? If you’re talking about ‘Hamilton: The Revolution’ then it’s a brilliant book. Every chapter focuses on a different song (in the order they appear in the show), giving some of the historical context behind it and then discussing how they wrote the song, the staging, how they cast each part. Each chapter then ends with the lyrics to said song, complete with Lin’s notes for it. I finished reading it last week and I feel like it made me appreciate the music a whole lot more. You can get it for about £20 on Amazon. In other news, tonight’s the night for me!!
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 12, 2018 23:28:53 GMT
A raucous crowd for tonight’s 9:15pm show but that only made for a better performance.
A Russian crime drama based in a petting zoo called Gone Goat.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 10, 2018 20:25:57 GMT
One of ‘the band’ (who won that BBC show) has been absent since November, with his understudy appearing. Seems a long time to be off with no official word as to why.
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 9, 2018 13:41:48 GMT
How’s the merchandise queue been these days?
In other words, how early do I need to get there on Saturday to avoid queuing for an age for a mug?
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315 posts
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Post by stuart on Jan 7, 2018 9:46:27 GMT
I was at a pantomime last night and yet again, it was the parents who were behaving worse than children! All of the kids around me were impeccably behaved but you had parents sitting on their phones (the woman next to me spent the entire show with her handbag on her lap, with phone in said handbag as this obviously stops it from shining in others faces but instead lights up your handbag for the entire Circle to see!), one guy left his children unaccompanied about 5mins into Act 1 and only came back just before the interval, another Mum lit up an e-cigarette repeatedly during Act 2 until FOH intervened about 10mins before the end.
I think it’s the ‘iPad parenting mentality’. Child bored? Stick an iPad in front of them, that’ll keep them quiet. Child misbehaving? Stick an iPad in front of them, that’ll stop it. No, pay attention to your children! FOH are not there to supervise them. Also, even though you’re accompanying a child, basic etiquette rules still apply to you!
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Post by stuart on Jan 5, 2018 7:34:05 GMT
“I asked my guests how much they would fork out if they had paid for the show And what they think the show is “worth” Answers ranged from £15 to £55 Not £200 though And certainly not 800 dollars Which is idiocy My own pricing would be £65 for stalls prime Isn’t the first rule of getting comps that you don’t mention that they were comps? Weren’t the Premium Stalls seats for Bend It Like Beckham more than £65?
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Post by stuart on Jan 3, 2018 18:51:47 GMT
I think you’ve also got to remember that this was rumoured to be a last minute commission to replace the canned Ed Westwick drama. Hence why it was recorded so close to transmission. Perhaps they didn’t have a lot of time to create the set pieces we saw in Peter Pan.
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Post by stuart on Jan 2, 2018 20:56:31 GMT
So I’ve just got in my seats for tonight’s performance and quite disappointed with the height of the stage. I’m in row B and there is clearly a restriction on the view from these seats by about 3ft at the back of the stage. These definitely aren’t sold as restricted view - what are people’s thoughts on this? Should I be concerned about row C? Row C is my big concern too! Taking some people who have already moaned about the £90 tag! Don’t want to get there and not be able to see some elements.
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