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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 18:33:46 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2016 18:33:46 GMT
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19,650 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 8, 2016 18:47:34 GMT
What did they put that naff rapping cat in it for then?
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19,650 posts
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 18:48:40 GMT
Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 8, 2016 18:48:40 GMT
Lol. Meow.
Nice one dear.
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 18:54:02 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2016 18:54:02 GMT
Think her beef is she is the only principal original creative not to be invited.
Though anyone know if Napier is involved or if someone else is adapting his set?
Sure he said Palladium would be his last adaptation of it.
In two minds re Lynne.
- On the one hand I am a huge Cats fan and her work on the show is iconic (IMHO)
- On the other the whole point of revivals should be to reinvent, reimagine and push forward....
I'd like to see this though. Shame I can't afford the air fare!
(Oh and I know am in a minority but I really like the new Tugger. #jellicoolestcat)
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19,650 posts
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 19:05:58 GMT
Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 8, 2016 19:05:58 GMT
Im not going to bore you with my thought of the recent tour again. But it was soooo dated. I'm sure it was great back in the day and introduced many people to MT but jeez let's move on. Miss Lynne is still immortalised at Her Majesty's. It would have been so much more classy for her to commend the new approach and wish it luck.
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 19:37:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2016 19:37:37 GMT
The issue is it isnt a revival, its a revisal with the original creative team except her. And someone else is being brought in to tinker with her work, so her ideas but 'improved'. She was without doubt key to its original success and has every right to be annoyed.
She has gone a bit overboard in her language but she is hardly the first theatre person to do that
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 20:05:39 GMT
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Post by max on Jun 8, 2016 20:05:39 GMT
It's a tough one. I think the high impact of dance in pop videos and TV shows (yes 2 min routines on Strictly & street dance on Britain's Got Talent) made the choreography for CATS look rather stately in its recent revival. I don't know how you multiply that intensity across a two hour show without breaking the dancers (a different cast for Act 1 & 2 ?!!),but I felt it I'm afraid. Where there was 1 twist or spin I wanted 2 etc. What was once high octane no longer is.
I think insouciant style (Astaire / Fosse) doesn't date in the way the primal thrusts and preening of Lynne's work for Cats has.
Wish she saw it that way, as it's sad she's lived to feel slighted over a much loved project. Though I wish this brilliant woman many more creative years I hasten to add!
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 20:52:18 GMT
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Post by infofreako on Jun 8, 2016 20:52:18 GMT
I enjoyed the palladium stop but felt the tour cast in blackpool struggled and it showed in terms of half empty venue for a large part of the run.
That said maybe in smaller theatres like eastbourne on this years run it will do ok
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 21:43:26 GMT
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 8, 2016 21:43:26 GMT
To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen.
If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public.
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 22:28:02 GMT
Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 8, 2016 22:28:02 GMT
To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen. If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public. So they can only use the logo if they copy the original production? How does that leave the recent Sunset Boulevard then? |
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 23:45:14 GMT
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 8, 2016 23:45:14 GMT
They only used the logo.. Plus a picture of Glenn.
Cats is using exactly the same poster image.. The logo on a black background. It shouldn't be allowed if they are changing the choreography.
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Cats
Jun 8, 2016 23:45:52 GMT
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 8, 2016 23:45:52 GMT
(I should have said poster image- not just logo in original post)
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Cats
Jun 9, 2016 0:43:29 GMT
Post by ali973 on Jun 9, 2016 0:43:29 GMT
It can't be a completely independent production because the website is essentially a microsite that sits on the flagship Cats website along with the UK/Euo tour, Paris, Japan, Australia which are based on the "original". However, I do find it sketch that there's absolutely no cast/credits page on the Broadway site.
I'm rather excited to see this and can't wait to book. Can't wait to see the new-ish choreography.
BTW, dame Gillian looks amazing. I can't believe she's 90. You go, girl.
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Cats
Jun 9, 2016 15:32:03 GMT
Post by westendwendy on Jun 9, 2016 15:32:03 GMT
To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen. If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public. This is a disgrace if the whole show has been rechoreographed - it ran over over two decades because of the success from her input!
That said, it's a small theatre world and I'M NOT SURE if being so vocal will do any favours. She's 90 bless her..
Restaging one song for the tugger is fine but not the whole show!!!
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Cats
Jun 9, 2016 16:20:20 GMT
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Post by loureviews on Jun 9, 2016 16:20:20 GMT
The strength of this show is that the dancers move like cats, and that is 100% down to Gillian's choreography.
She is right that she basically created the show, and she is right to feel concerned and slighted at being the only original creative excluded.
This new show will definitely not be 'Cats' as we know it.
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Cats
Jun 9, 2016 16:36:27 GMT
Post by wickedgrin on Jun 9, 2016 16:36:27 GMT
She could probably have updated and reinvented some of the choreography herself though.
If the whole show is completely redone - fair enough but I suspect there will be a huge amount of her original choreography in there which will be uncredited and more importantly not paid for through royalties. I suspect it is a money saving thing. Didn't a similar thing happen with the tour of Les Mis where the original directing team were replaced (again to save cash I suspect). The revolve was dropped but alot of the staging looked very familiar.
It is a grey area but I would be on Gillian Lynns side, I think, in that she created the show and has a right to protect her copywright and her artistic vision.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 17:35:16 GMT
The Les Mis tour thing struck me too... Yes, it was different and refreshing, but an awful lot owed much to the original concept and staging. I'm with Gillian Lynn too. I'd be put out if I were sidelined in this way. Why do these big people treat others like this? There seems no sense of honour these days...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 18:42:17 GMT
Wasnt trevor nunn annoyed by the les mis revamp as he wasnt involved?
If this was a revival with a new take then fine, but its the original creative team except her. And to basically say 'your work is good but this new guy can make it better'is insulting. I would say with her input and ideas the show would have flopped originally
Also, as has been pointed out they are using the original artwork. It really annoys me that theatre producer's can get away using the same branding for a different product (hairspray springs to mind)
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 9, 2016 18:45:18 GMT
Are they getting away with it though? Or are they paying for the privelege. Even amateur productions get to use the branding if they pay for a license to produce the show. I've often been attracted to an ad for a show based on the recognisable artwork only to find its am dram.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 18:46:07 GMT
Wasnt trevor nunn annoyed by the les mis revamp as he wasnt involved? If this was a revival with a new take then fine, but its the original creative team except her. And to basically say 'your work is good but this new guy can make it better'is insulting. I would say with her input and ideas the show would have flopped originally Also, as has been pointed out they are using the original artwork. It really annoys me that theatre producer's can get away using the same branding for a different product (hairspray springs to mind) Yes, Trevor Nunn was put out. If my memory serves me correctly, he and John Caird did not appear at the 25th Anniversary at the O2 |
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Post by crabtree on Jun 9, 2016 23:12:07 GMT
shall we rework the music a bit as that's not crucial to the show any more either. I hear Gary Barlow has been having a fiddle with musicals recently. Actually, let's cut the cat theme as well and make it about ipads.
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Post by Jon on Jun 9, 2016 23:18:04 GMT
The cynical side of me thinks Cameron Mackintosh comes up with new productions of Phantom, Les Mis, Saigon etc with a much cheaper creative team in order to pay less royalties and keep more of the profits. It wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to close Les Mis in the West End and replace it with the new production but until sales dive or it moves theatres, he can't.
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Cats
Jun 10, 2016 5:28:48 GMT
Post by chernjam on Jun 10, 2016 5:28:48 GMT
To be honest it is sad to see ALW pulling his "blame the (American) producers" card on this one as well. And they are playing the Hamilton angle big time. That being said, for me, for Cats to have a revival, I would hope a new/different take on things. ALW has written some new music (supposedly a new Aria in Act II that he forgot to put in the London revival?  ) the new Tugger (which now is going back to the old tugger?) I'm sure the staging/sets are going to be altered? I mean - Evita was completely restaged and no one screamed that Hal Prince's take was being abandoned. I'm not sure about the point about sacking Gillian for a new choreographer as a way to pay less royalties. I doubt the new choreographer coming off of Hamilton is getting a lower rate than Gillian. They probably could've treated a 90 year old who was integral to the original creation better. Well - with all of this, I guess we can see ALW has fully recovered from his health ails and has truly made his "return" - shows premiering with Drama on and off stage. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 7:58:40 GMT
Evita wasn't just restaged. It was a completely new production. New concept, design, staging, everything... Even the logo for the show was different.
Is this a brand new production of Cats? Or is it the one that's been touring for years now, with a couple of new songs thrown in, but still performed on the rubbish tip with the tyre that goes off to the Heavyside Layer? If it's the latter, then it's not brand new, is it? It's the same old production, with someone's work put out with the rubbish, and a new choreographer's efforts replacing what is seen to be dated. Who says it has to be staged on a rubbish tip? Let's have a completely new design concept. Start from scratch and I'm sure nobody would feel insulted.
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Cats
Jun 10, 2016 8:33:59 GMT
Post by distantcousin on Jun 10, 2016 8:33:59 GMT
Are they getting away with it though? Or are they paying for the privelege. Even amateur productions get to use the branding if they pay for a license to produce the show. I've often been attracted to an ad for a show based on the recognisable artwork only to find its am dram.
Good point, and in fact I know a "rival" group to the one I'm in did Cats earlier this year, and we're expressly told by Really Useful that they could not blatantly copy any of the choreography or costumes. So it HAD to be a new interpretation.
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) the new Tugger (which now is going back to the old tugger?) I'm sure the staging/sets are going to be altered? I mean - Evita was completely restaged and no one screamed that Hal Prince's take was being abandoned. I'm not sure about the point about sacking Gillian for a new choreographer as a way to pay less royalties. I doubt the new choreographer coming off of Hamilton is getting a lower rate than Gillian.
