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Post by annette on May 15, 2023 0:32:36 GMT
I saw this show twice in NY and thought it was utterly brilliant. It’s completely unique and relatable to audiences whether they have a direct connection to the primary subject matter or not.
I didn’t expect it to come over here after the sadly premature closing in NY and while I’m delighted that it is going to play in the UK, I just can’t get my head around the choice of venue for a show that, in my opinion, needs a far more intimate space.
The publicity up to now has been questionable ( the latest call out for theatre ushers to take part in a ‘fun’ video presumably intended for the publicity campaign feels cheap all wrong for the type of show it is) and the post preview prices are way too high for a show that many people in the UK have never heard of).
I sincerely hope the production doesn’t end up being adversely affected by the above. There’s still time for whoever is doing the marketing for the show to have a rethink about creating a more dynamic campaign for the show, but I so wish it had been headed for somewhere like The Donmar, Dorfman or Almeida which would all be far more natural homes for it. A consistently half full Barbican or worse would be heart-breaking waste of such a special piece of work.
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Post by mjh on May 21, 2023 8:34:57 GMT
Looks like Kyle Birch has been cast as standby Usher.
Nathan Amarkwei-Laryea, Rebecca Amissah and Yeukayi Ushe also joining cast as understudies / possibly one as Thought 3.
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Post by partytentdown on May 21, 2023 11:08:32 GMT
Give us an offer and we'll book!!
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 23, 2023 16:06:01 GMT
Jason Pennycooke no longer involved in the production. I wonder why?
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Post by partytentdown on May 25, 2023 20:19:39 GMT
Spotted the first offer for this:
Popbitch readers get £10 off tickets priced £40-99 between 3rd-22nd July with code POPBITCH.
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Post by shownut on Jun 4, 2023 9:22:08 GMT
So now, RuPaul is starring in A STRANGE LOOP at The Barbican?!!
That is what is being reported in today's Culture section of The Sunday Times in an article called 'How To Make A Smash Hit' (which is not credited to any journalist).
Is fact-checking no longer a "thing"?
Sweet, cartwheeling Jesus.
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Post by alece10 on Jun 4, 2023 9:45:15 GMT
So now, RuPaul is starring in A STRANGE LOOP at The Barbican?!! That is what is being reported in today's Culture section of The Sunday Times in an article called 'How To Make A Smash Hit' (which is not credited to any journalist). Is fact-checking no longer a "thing"? Sweet, cartwheeling Jesus. I've just been reading that article and I thought to myself "that's news" as I'd not heard anything. |
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Post by alece10 on Jun 4, 2023 15:02:36 GMT
Decided to listen to the OBC recording just now as I know so little about the musical and to decide if I want to see it.
Afraid it's a very big no! Don't know whether it was because I was listening to it in the garden (with ear buds) and it was boiling hot or whether I'm getting older and less broadminded. But songs about "d**k", c**k" and sexual fetishes isn't my idea of a night out.
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5,900 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 4, 2023 16:19:52 GMT
Oh I think they are now selling it as starring Madonna, Beyoncé and Hugh Jackman.
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Post by intoanewlife on Jun 4, 2023 17:25:09 GMT
Oh I think they are now selling it as staring Madonna That's me getting a refund then x |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2023 22:57:48 GMT
STANDING AT THE SKY'S EDGE didn't it win the Olivier
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Post by partytentdown on Jun 15, 2023 8:16:09 GMT
This is about to open, does anyone know how it's selling?
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Jun 15, 2023 8:42:45 GMT
As a Barbican member I now have access to booking and tickets are priced at £25 in the gallery; £25, £35 and £50 in the upper circle; £50, £65, £80 and £110 in the circle and £35, £50, £80, £95, £110 in the stalls. Hope that is helpful dazzerlump Pricing has been significantly reduced. Now £10 -£75. Stalls front row £40 which has convinced me to book. |
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Post by n1david on Jun 15, 2023 11:02:02 GMT
Pricing has been significantly reduced. Now £10 -£75. Stalls front row £40 which has convinced me to book. Must be only early in the run. I'm looking at a Tuesday in August and the stalls are still up to £125 with stalls front row at £80. Maybe about 30-40% sold for that date... |
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Post by usbuzzer on Jun 15, 2023 12:15:08 GMT
Yeah, I think they have reduced prices for first 20 performances or until the end of June as "previews price". Then it's exactly as @n1david said. I noticed they listed this in TodayTix rush tickets though! Worth checking what seats they offer once they premiere. And an open question remains if it's for previews only or if it's gonna stay until the end of the run.
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Post by bubblesmcgee on Jun 17, 2023 21:22:23 GMT
Well that was pretty blooming good. Won’t be for everyone but I thought it was smart, layered and incredibly moving. Cast top notch (sound balancing needs a couple of tweaks but that’s what previews are for!). Also really clever use of the cavern that is the Barbican stage, smaller moments feel well anchored and there’s a fantastic section where they do pull right back to use the expanse to isolate the lead. If you’re at all tempted I’d say go for it.
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Post by shownut on Jun 18, 2023 9:03:06 GMT
Well that was pretty blooming good. Won’t be for everyone but I thought it was smart, layered and incredibly moving. Cast top notch (sound balancing needs a couple of tweaks but that’s what previews are for!). Also really clever use of the cavern that is the Barbican stage, smaller moments feel well anchored and there’s a fantastic section where they do pull right back to use the expanse to isolate the lead. If you’re at all tempted I’d say go for it. Glad to hear it. Going Thursday and cannot wait! |
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Post by annette on Jun 18, 2023 16:21:26 GMT
Oh Michael (R Jackson), why did you do west end live solo? If for whatever reason the rest of the cast couldn’t be there, it would have been so much better to cancel the appearance. I can’t imagine that what he did will attract anyone new to this magnificent show, in fact quite the opposite. If I hadn’t already seen it in NY, I would have been confused and extremely underwhelmed by that performance from start to finish.
Very little stands up well at WEL. Old favourites like Wicked and Les Mis do ok, but , in my opinion, it’s not worth taking the risk for new shows ,where extracts out of context often end up being baffling and of little interest to the crowd. And once they’re up on You Tube they’re there forever.
Whoever has been doing the marketing on ASL has had some very strange ideas. Along with presumably advising doing WEL, there was all that confusion about who is actually in the show, after they randomly put photos on their FB page of some of the big names who have co-produced it.
There was also a toe-curling video of drag race alumni Tia Kofi
lamely attempting to interview the lead Kyle Ramar Freeman on an open top London bus. Again, nothing that I personally think would stimulate the curiosity of anyone that doesn’t already know a bit about the production.
ASL is one of the most moving, thought-provoking,funny and innovative productions I’ve seen in years. New work of this calibre really deserves to be seen and being a Pulitzer/Tony winning production deserved far better in the promotion department than it received.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 18, 2023 16:26:00 GMT
Ten year old kids in the stalls according to eye witnesses on Facebook.
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Post by hadeswasking on Jun 18, 2023 16:53:09 GMT
Ten year old kids in the stalls according to eye witnesses on Facebook. Book of mormon and cabaret performed on Saturday in front of the 10 year olds. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 18, 2023 16:55:41 GMT
Ten year old kids in the stalls according to eye witnesses on Facebook. Book of mormon and cabaret performed on Saturday in front of the 10 year olds. Equally inappropriate. |
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Post by hadeswasking on Jun 18, 2023 17:01:35 GMT
Book of mormon and cabaret performed on Saturday in front of the 10 year olds. Equally inappropriate. I think parents bringing their children to west end live should be aware of the programming available and plan around it if its inappropriate for their child. Its an event to uplift all theatre in the west end. Not just children's shows. |
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Post by danb on Jun 18, 2023 17:49:37 GMT
The West End is full of all sorts of shows, with enough variety of songs to be able to show off their wares to all ages without running into worries. The Barbican isn’t the West End; if the organisers want to invite A Strange Loop to perform, knowing how colourful it is, they can expect a few raised eyebrows and a few extra column inches about outraged parents if they’re lucky. It is win win.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jun 18, 2023 19:06:19 GMT
I was there at first preview too. I'm glad I've seen it as it is very different. It was very meta and tongue in cheek; there were laugh out moments. Saying that - I really didn't like the overtly sexual nature / lyrics. I think less is more. I was really anti this being staged at the Barbican as it's so big but actually it did work and thought the set design was really cool. Glad I've watched it but struggling to understand how this got so much hype in NYC.
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Post by max on Jun 18, 2023 19:32:57 GMT
Saw the West End Live performance on Youtube - Michael R Jackson should have explained he's the writer and doesn't appear in the show (though he did on Broadway). Then it would have been endearing. But without realising that (I had to look it up) he seemed unsure of the words in the first song, and then forgot/lost his place in the second one. Both feel like songs that only build with further voices joining and answering and affirming as it progresses (?), so doing it solo with a pianist trying to bang out a sense of it building was a hiding to nothing. Despite all that it made me more interested to see the real thing. West End Live does indeed seem quite....scary; the crowd seem supportive but... stuff happens there!
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