Cake - Tour / Lyric / The Other Palace

I think some shows suffer from awful titles too. Cake is such an odd name. I mean I get the connection to Marie Antoinette obviously, but still.

I had a terrific amount of fun at this. The leads are effervescent - the humour is sharp and it works, some of the music is superb and with a bigger ensemble the dance numbers would be spectacular.

Award winning masterpiece it is not, but this is pure campy entertainment with Zizi Strallen a charming, hilarious centre.

The plot could be clearer in Act 2 as already noted above, but this is easily fixed through a little dialogue.

Shame about the early closure as there are much much worse shows out there. This deserved to find its audience.

I managed to get in to see this at the weekend. It's not the best thing I've seen, but it's by no means the worst either. Some catchy songs, some very funny moments (the tom Francis picture esp tickled me), and the cast absolutely give it their all.

It's a real shame that it's being cut short and isn't being given a real chance, it does deserve more than 2 weeks.

It didn’t make sense to me how much I’d been thinking about this show since seeing it at the Lyric last autumn. I knew I enjoyed it at the time, having seen it twice, but in the weeks and months that followed I found myself hoping for news of a future run. I was totally captivated by the immensely exciting score, as well as the stunning individual performances from both Zizi Strallen and Renee Lamb.

So, you can only imagine my excitement when eight weeks at The Other Palace was announced. I booked a couple of trips and was just about to buy tickets for closing night in November when I heard the news it was closing early. And not just early, a mere two weeks or so after the first preview.

So, following a hasty visit to see Cake on Sunday evening, I really should be talking about it how it exceeded my expectations, what a wonderful job the creatives have done to tighten up the book and improve upon its initial run, as well as the excellent performances from cast members, old and new.

And that will come after my second (and, tragically, final) visit. But, for now, all I can think about is how disappointed and angry I am on behalf of this company. They’ve been properly screwed over here and deserve so much better for their efforts.

The fact the closure was announced before it even held its press night speaks volumes. This can’t purely be based on poor ticket sales - and if that were the case, reevaluate the marketing. Some potential customers have already said the addendum of ‘The Marie Antoinette Playlist’ put them off because they thought it was a jukebox musical. That’s fair and could have been addressed, similar to how Next to Normal finally ditched their awful art rebrand towards the end of their run.

No, this has been pulled for reasons as yet unknown and I’m not going to speculate, even if the producer involved has received public criticism for the handling of other shows over the past 12 months. I notice his name is included on the ‘Z list’ prop and wonder if that was the case before the closure was announced..?

This is a stunning visual and audio show. We had a 15 minute show stop after Zizi performed Champagne Dreams in almost total darkness, so presumably a problem with the lighting.

I can’t wait to see it again on Tuesday evening, where I promise I will focus more on the show itself rather than my disdain for the way this run has been handled by the powers that be…

However; five stars from me.

And his other nonsense at The Criterion!

I'm guessing that PTM wasn't included on the Z-list tonight then??

My second visit in three days to see this thrilling new musical and, as promised, this time I will focus (predominantly) on all the reasons I love it so much. I loved it at the Lyric but it’s evident that the cast and creatives have worked flat out to make it even sharper for this off-West End run.

Let’s start with the cast. I’ve said it many times but I would pay good money to see Zizi Strallen in absolutely anything. She really is a marvel and the epitome of a triple-threat. But it’s her character acting here that is so captivating, her Marie expertly treading the tight rope between “silly little rich girl” and misunderstood historical figure.

I was excited to see how they would re-stage Marie’s entrance after Zizi straddled a box at the Lyric and her frenetic Sunset-inspired sprint through The Other Palace was an inspired choice by director Bronagh Lagan.

Renee Lamb is immense as Jeanne also. She can hit every note and ‘Filthy Rich’, especially the reprise, is fast becoming my favourite number of the entire show. I love some of the choices she makes in the role. Meanwhile, Travis Ross has made the Cardinal so much more enjoyable to watch.

Millie O’Connell is absolutely stunning as Nicole. The combination of Joshie Harriette’s lighting design and the intricate way her face is made up makes ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ a hauntingly moody showstopper. O’Connell absolutely *commands* the stage and is utterly hypnotic.

Drew McOnie’s original choreography has so much energy but it really is Tasha Taylor Johnson and Jack McManus’s score that makes Cake such a hit. I literally cannot stop listening to the entire OCR (and am so thankful for its existence!). Morgan Lloyd Malcolm has tightened up the book for this run also.

It was gala night on Tuesday and the audience reaction was electric. The producers might have screwed up big time with this (it’s already better than Six, better than WAISS?, etc) but it deserves more and better.

It might not be a lavish, money-spinning West End revival but Cake is as exciting as anything you’ll see this year and I will continue to champion it.

I do t think there is a might have screwed up, they have definitely screwed up by closing early! If the rumours are true and he has ran out of money PTM has closed the wrong show out of the 2!

I have seen both and I can say it is, WAISS is a long very boring show which I gave 2 stars, this it have now seen on 2 occasions (exactly a year apart to the day) and I have enjoyed it on both occasions

Where has this info come from?