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Post by showtoones on Nov 9, 2023 16:14:14 GMT
It's actually 7 shows over 5 days. Wednesday-Sunday.
I guess thats why they have the Monday and Tuesday off, to rest up those weary legs
The Bochum show in germany did 5 shows in a row Friday night and 2 Saturday then 2 Sunday. Hard work yes, impossible no / the momentum carried us through. Oh and the bridge in Bochum hardly breaks down. I don’t know why someone said so - I was in the show there. Broke once in whole time I was in the show. Did a lot of cast members call/out get injured when you were involved in the show in Bochum? |
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Post by BVM on Nov 9, 2023 16:48:33 GMT
“ Audiences will be immersed in a world of speed, song and spectacle as an incredible cast of 40 whizz around and above, performing some of musical theatre’s most beloved hits, including AC/DC, Make Up My Heart, Light at the End of the Tunnel and the iconic Starlight Express.” And above?! Yeah I wondered about that. Can't really imagine it from current seating plan (and knowing the space) but would be v happy to be surprised! |
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Post by BVM on Nov 9, 2023 16:53:02 GMT
Awwww the bridge! Am a massive set design geek and the Starlight bridge is probably my fave set "item" of all time (sorry Sunset house - relegated to second). My hunch sadly is very unlikely. I've been wondering a lot what the set will be like and this week's unveiling of the seating plan has obviously fuelled that. Completely guessing as obvs the plan doesn't tell you much but I do wonder if it's all on one level - kind of like the Parkett tracks in Bochum and paddock in London. Unless it goes uphill to the horizontal section at the back behind Platform in front of Locomotive. But I don't think there will be linking of different levels via a bridge of similar. Plus new design means they won't want to copy Napier. I kinda think - just cos of well everything, there won't be vast amounts of physical (expensive) set and the race tracks won't be particularly "built up" like the outer AV track. That huge bank of Locomotive seats very much behind and above all the set. Massive use of projections as is normal now and possibly video and my guess is a large back wall to take projections. You'd hope stage will be bowl shaped so perhaps a higher level along the back wall like the US tours and very first bowl UK tour (not cos bowls are a Starlight thing but cos they are a roller skating thing). Michael Harrison also not exactly known for big expensive sets! (That said you'd think this won't be cheap!) So something technically impressive but not with huge amounts of physical set is what am thinking. This is all a complete guess though! I agree. I think a bowl would be great. They need something for Trax to do flips off (assuming they’re still in it) and I didn’t like the things they wheeled on and off stage on the last couple of tours. Yeah they were somewhat underwhelming weren't they. I get that it meant that they could get into all the small theatres in year 2 of the tour but was a shame they didn't bring back the bowl for year 3 when they returned to the bigger venues. Simpler and cheaper I guess. I reckon there will be Trax. Rumours I've heard (and this is friend of a friend level - so HUGE pinch of salt) is that they really wanna concentrate on singing/story telling abilities of cast and skating level required will be more akin to UK tour than the kind of level Bochum requires. If that's true reckon Trax might even be expanded for flips and tricks and spectacle on wheels. I really like the Trax. Follow a lot of them on Instagram and the stuff they do on blades is so cool. |
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Post by d'James on Nov 9, 2023 17:09:43 GMT
I agree. I think a bowl would be great. They need something for Trax to do flips off (assuming they’re still in it) and I didn’t like the things they wheeled on and off stage on the last couple of tours. Yeah they were somewhat underwhelming weren't they. I get that it meant that they could get into all the small theatres in year 2 of the tour but was a shame they didn't bring back the bowl for year 3 when they returned to the bigger venues. Simpler and cheaper I guess. I reckon there will be Trax. Rumours I've heard (and this is friend of a friend level - so HUGE pinch of salt) is that they really wanna concentrate on singing/story telling abilities of cast and skating level required will be more akin to UK tour than the kind of level Bochum requires. If that's true reckon Trax might even be expanded for flips and tricks and spectacle on wheels. I really like the Trax. Follow a lot of them on Instagram and the stuff they do on blades is so cool. Yes, that's what ALW wanted after he went to see it in Bochum one time, he said the music was really different to what he had written or something. It's a shame because the spectacle of them dancing and singing on skates is part of it. |
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Post by benj on Nov 9, 2023 18:04:59 GMT
I wish they would just give people what they really want, i.e. the production they remember from the 90’s. New songs, costumes, set and a different story ‘with a twist’ will likely just disappoint most people. I hope to be proven wrong, of course!
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Post by christya on Nov 10, 2023 12:58:34 GMT
I wish they would just give people what they really want, i.e. the production they remember from the 90’s. New songs, costumes, set and a different story ‘with a twist’ will likely just disappoint most people. I hope to be proven wrong, of course! Agreed. I'm so tired of things being 'reimagined' and 'reinvented for a new generation' and given a 'twist' - and then it turns out that it's code for 'scaled down, dull, and cheaper'. I hope that doesn't happen here, but I suppose we'll see. |
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Post by toomasj on Nov 10, 2023 18:28:58 GMT
I wish they would just give people what they really want, i.e. the production they remember from the 90’s. New songs, costumes, set and a different story ‘with a twist’ will likely just disappoint most people. I hope to be proven wrong, of course! Agreed. I'm so tired of things being 'reimagined' and 'reinvented for a new generation' and given a 'twist' - and then it turns out that it's code for 'scaled down, dull, and cheaper'. I hope that doesn't happen here, but I suppose we'll see. Absolutely this. I just remember how good 42nd Street was compared to the current touring version. Enormous sets, superb casting and huge ensemble. Not a cut corner or “modern rewrite” in sight and it was glorious. It was the benchmark for revivals in my view - absolutely phenomenal production. |
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 10, 2023 18:34:38 GMT
Are we still going to have the characters FlatTop, The Big Hopper, Rocky I, II & III, The Red Caboose, Volta and the song Freight is Great?
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Post by danb on Nov 10, 2023 19:07:40 GMT
Better bloody had be at £95 a pop and if they’ve ‘updated’ the Coda of Freight I’ll be after someones underpant enhancers. (Copyright V.Wood).
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Post by viserys on Nov 10, 2023 19:19:31 GMT
Are we still going to have the characters FlatTop, The Big Hopper, Rocky I, II & III, The Red Caboose, Volta and the song Freight is Great? Volta is part of Electra's entourage, but yea, still around. The two male components Krupp and Purse have been mashed together into a new character called Killerwatt (no, I'm not kidding). Caboose has been chopped down and changed beyond recognition in Bochum. I assume it will be the same in London. I wonder if they will have Brexit the British train in London? On another note, when I saw the show in Bochum a few weeks ago, Turnov (the Russian train) was not allowed to fly his flag, the performer carried it tightly bound around the stick. I wonder if they might replace him with a train from another nation to avoid all that political stuff. Plenty of countries have got high-speed-trains since. |
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Post by d'James on Nov 10, 2023 23:18:58 GMT
Volta is more like a drag queen now though, isn’t he? I find the new Bochum costumes very underwhelming.
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Post by BVM on Nov 11, 2023 9:50:09 GMT
Thing is, it’s really not that simple as giving the fans the production they love and remember. Because that’s different for everyone.
The fans that came to the “new” AV version in the 90’s think it’s much better than the version of the 80’s.
The 80’s fans think the heart and soul was ripped out in the 90’s. (As a 90’s pop kid I preferred the 90’s Nigel Wright arrangements)
Some people discovered it through the tours and were disappointed (yes really) when they got home and played the OLC CD they were selling.
The TOP workshops got lots of positive feedback from the fans.
Lots of the fans then decided actually they didn’t like a lot of the elements when they opened in Bochum.
The German fan groups are full of people who love the new version in Bochum. And a lot of younger fans (less likely to be on forums like this) also adore the current Bochum version.
Lots of older Bochum fans have huge misgivings about the current version.
Having said all this I do appreciate that most people on here have very fond memories of the AV. Myself included.
Personally one of the things I love about Starlight is the amount of versions we’ve had. I’d struggle to pick a fave (though if I had to I’d say the 25th anniversary Bochum version - basically an expanded version of the UK tour book and music/orchestration wise but on the epic set there; though AV will always be extra special). But most fans could make their own perfect version by handpicking elements from across the years.
Two things are for sure though.
This is yet again gonna be something new.
And whatever they do - they ain’t gonna please everyone!
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Post by andypandy on Nov 11, 2023 10:16:00 GMT
The Bochum show in germany did 5 shows in a row Friday night and 2 Saturday then 2 Sunday. Hard work yes, impossible no / the momentum carried us through. Oh and the bridge in Bochum hardly breaks down. I don’t know why someone said so - I was in the show there. Broke once in whole time I was in the show. Did a lot of cast members call/out get injured when you were involved in the show in Bochum? Sadly yes. Injuries are extremely common. Not so much from the show but rehearsals, warm ups and generally being on skates for hours and hours each week. We had to run up and down stairs in them - we also couldn’t really take them off. Our feet would swell. Sadly 2 people in my years had major injuries. They never performed again. Starlight is brutal sadly but such a magical (and difficult) show. It almost killed me mentally. Ha.. |
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Post by BVM on Nov 11, 2023 11:02:36 GMT
Did a lot of cast members call/out get injured when you were involved in the show in Bochum? Sadly yes. Injuries are extremely common. Not so much from the show but rehearsals, warm ups and generally being on skates for hours and hours each week. We had to run up and down stairs in them - we also couldn’t really take them off. Our feet would swell. Sadly 2 people in my years had major injuries. They never performed again. Starlight is brutal sadly but such a magical (and difficult) show. It almost killed me mentally. Ha.. Out of interest did you guys have a rota of who did which shows (so regular shows off)?! Before the 30th anniversary it used to be pretty random which performers did which shows (and lots would change over the 4 show weekend). Since the 30th it seems to have changed slightly and first cast are always on other than injury/sickness and holidays! Just wondered if this was a coincidence or if they've changed the way they allocate performers to shows! |
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Post by shownut on Nov 11, 2023 12:04:51 GMT
I was in the London Cast for several years during the 90’s and injuries are just part and parcel for this show.
Aside from first night of cast changeover, I can think of few times, in my 3 years that the full cast were on sans swings or understudies.
This production will likely be no different. Choreography on skates doesn’t do favours to hips, ankles and knees.
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Post by BVM on Nov 11, 2023 12:15:46 GMT
Caron Cardelle who was with the show for years famously picked up an injury so severe I think she was unable to work again. Very sad.
She attempted to sue RUG but I forget the outcome.
I wonder what the legal situation is now and whether actors have to sign disclaimers. Either way I really hope producers would look after their actors if they get injured and help with medical care if required. MSK medicine in particular NHS waiting lists are horrific so they should probably pay for private consultations/treatment.
Anyway it’s another reason I think the skating of the actors won’t be that heroic this time and they’ll leave the stunts to the bladers.
For the races I do wonder if it’ll be a live/multimedia hybrid like the first US tour. But with 2024 technology.
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Post by erik24601 on Nov 11, 2023 13:14:48 GMT
Regarding everyone’s favourite version of the show, I think it’s because it’s always been ALW’s most contemporary score so has always been adjusted and adapted to stay more with the times.
So as someone said (apologies, it’s on the previous page) if you saw it in the 80’s then that’s likely to be your favourite version because of the nostalgia involved in not only watching the show, but because it SOUNDED very in-keeping with the music of the time.
Same with the 90’s - NTYFIL is a pure 90’s ballad.
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Nov 15, 2023 16:57:48 GMT
Oddly enough, the Troubadour is becoming a roller skating venue before Starlight moves in. With this closing in March 2024, it gives them less than 3 months to build the set.
Musical Theatre Monday 12th Feb  |
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Post by david on Nov 15, 2023 17:23:25 GMT
The rollerskating coach has been announced-  |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 15, 2023 21:26:06 GMT
Oddly enough, the Troubadour is becoming a roller skating venue before Starlight moves in. With this closing in March 2024, it gives them less than 3 months to build the set.
Musical Theatre Monday 12th Feb You do know they build the set in a workshop- not the theatre , right? |
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Post by danb on Nov 15, 2023 22:00:56 GMT
Oddly enough, the Troubadour is becoming a roller skating venue before Starlight moves in. With this closing in March 2024, it gives them less than 3 months to build the set.
Musical Theatre Monday 12th Feb You do know they build the set in a workshop- not the theatre , right? Won’t they need it to rehearse on? 😑 |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 15, 2023 22:03:49 GMT
You do know they build the set in a workshop- not the theatre , right? Won’t they need it to rehearse on? 😑 Erm - no. They will use a rehearsal set- as is standard with every single show. And then move into the theatre for technical rehearsals on the actual set. |
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Post by danb on Nov 15, 2023 22:43:47 GMT
Won’t they need it to rehearse on? 😑 Erm - no. They will use a rehearsal set- as is standard with every single show. And then move into the theatre for technical rehearsals on the actual set. erm…yeah…I know. It was sarcasm mirroring the previous question. Do keep up. |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Nov 16, 2023 0:50:16 GMT
Oddly enough, the Troubadour is becoming a roller skating venue before Starlight moves in. With this closing in March 2024, it gives them less than 3 months to build the set.
Musical Theatre Monday 12th Feb You do know they build the set in a workshop- not the theatre , right? What i meant was it doesnt seem a long time from when Rollerscape clear the space to get in such a large technical immersive show and be ready for when the cast move in.
But i guess it doesnt take long to bung some plywood on the floor.
The website has promised skating around and above you, so i'm looking forward to a mult tiered set.
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Post by alece10 on Nov 16, 2023 1:36:05 GMT
Just booked a platform seat for early July. Couldn't get a 1st class carriage. This is really sold well especially early in the run.
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