641 posts
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Post by christya on Mar 27, 2024 10:00:21 GMT
A woman as Greaseball, lack of Poppa, and a suspiciously short runtime? Pass. Hard pass.
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Post by d'James on Mar 27, 2024 10:02:52 GMT
says it's the professional debut for most of them, at least the leads (which I clicked on). Wonder why only the leads are named with roles but not all the minor roles like Buffy/Belle, Ashley/Carrie (whatever the latest names are), C.B./Caboose, Dustin, the Rockies... Maybe they haven’t finalised all the roles yet. I hope they get Greaseball right. Interesting that they didn’t go for the more obvious choice of gender-swapping Electra. |
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Mar 27, 2024 10:13:30 GMT
A woman as Greaseball, lack of Poppa, and a suspiciously short runtime? Pass. Hard pass. Poppa is Momma now  But yea, Greaseball seems the weirdest role of all to genderswap, since he's very much another clone of ALW's faible for Elvis (like the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Rum Tum Tugger in Cats). I suppose they think that a guy all the girls fawn and swoon over doesn't wash in today's climate, but what do I know. I HOPE there is a concept behind all of this, but after all the earlier hamfisted changes... who knows. |
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Post by ash on Mar 27, 2024 10:20:11 GMT
A woman as Greaseball, lack of Poppa, and a suspiciously short runtime? Pass. Hard pass. Poppa is Momma now But yea, Greaseball seems the weirdest role of all to genderswap, since he's very much another clone of ALW's faible for Elvis (like the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Rum Tum Tugger in Cats). I suppose they think that a guy all the girls fawn and swoon over doesn't wash in today's climate, but what do I know. I HOPE there is a concept behind all of this, but after all the earlier hamfisted changes... who knows. That was my thought. That's maybe true about the swooning thing, but that's been very much toned down in the current version in Bochum, its played more as admiring him for the being the winner. But hey, the idea of Momma and the new songs scared me at first, and I ended up much preferring the version I saw in Bochum to what I saw in London and and tour, so I'm still excited to see how they play it. I have to say though, I did expect to see more performers get recycled from the Bochum production. |
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1,582 posts
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Post by anita on Mar 27, 2024 10:26:07 GMT
I've never heard of a single one of them. Me neither. |
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19,787 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 27, 2024 10:33:31 GMT
Young, fit, heathy cannon fodder. Check the insurance kids!
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4,214 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Mar 27, 2024 10:49:50 GMT
I trust that they've all been on their roller skates for weeks now?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 11:20:14 GMT
It is not acceptable to charge full price for a graduate showcase
Paying audiences deserve more than a bunch of leads making their professional debuts.
Yes, this sort of cast is cheap. But it does not inspire confidence
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139 posts
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Post by Joseph Buquet on Mar 27, 2024 11:27:31 GMT
You’d think they’d anchor the cast with at least one established performer. But to have all those leads making their professional debut… at those prices… Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised
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Post by max on Mar 27, 2024 11:35:32 GMT
It is not acceptable to charge full price for a graduate showcase Paying audiences deserve more than a bunch of leads making their professional debuts. Yes, this sort of cast is cheap. But it does not inspire confidence It's not a graduate showcase - 'graduate showcase' is the most recent credit for those who haven't yet got through the auditions for a professional engagement. After (probably) three years of working as an ensemble with their fellow actors-in-training this cast will be well attuned to working as a collaborative company, and with an open-mindedness and willingness to experiment that is the stock-in-trade of drama school experiences. I'm not saying those facets evaporate once you've been in the industry for a while, but my recent visits to Arts Ed and Mountview suggest that it's perfectly acceptable to cast like this. Perhaps the excitement of the new will radiate from the stage. |
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8,159 posts
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Post by alece10 on Mar 27, 2024 11:51:41 GMT
To be honest I am not bothered about the cast as long as they do a good job, which I am sure they will. From what a remember when I saw it in the 80s (although I don't remember much about the 80s) I had never heard if anyone either. It's not really a "star performer" kind of show.
Same with the cast announcement for Mean Girls today. I have literally only ever heard of one person, Tom Xander from BOM.
I have resigned myself to the fact I'm just getting older and older.
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Post by danb on Mar 27, 2024 11:58:10 GMT
Young, fit, heathy cannon fodder. Check the insurance kids! I used the exact same phrase to someone earlier. I also thought that the cast was a bit small for the required cover. |
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Mar 27, 2024 11:59:08 GMT
I am still boggling at new names like "Oil Slick"
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Post by danb on Mar 27, 2024 12:00:18 GMT
It is not acceptable to charge full price for a graduate showcase Paying audiences deserve more than a bunch of leads making their professional debuts. Yes, this sort of cast is cheap. But it does not inspire confidence It's not a graduate showcase - 'graduate showcase' is the most recent credit for those who haven't yet got through the auditions for a professional engagement. After (probably) three years of working as an ensemble with their fellow actors-in-training this cast will be well attuned to working as a collaborative company, and with an open-mindedness and willingness to experiment that is the stock-in-trade of drama school experiences. I'm not saying those facets evaporate once you've been in the industry for a while, but my recent visits to Arts Ed and Mountview suggest that it's perfectly acceptable to cast like this. Perhaps the excitement of the new will radiate from the stage. If it’s even a third as good as Arts Eds ‘Rent’ I would leave happy. New talent has to get its break somewhere. |
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139 posts
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Post by Joseph Buquet on Mar 27, 2024 12:04:40 GMT
I think there’s a difference between name recognition and experience. A greater range of experience and age may have made for a more fulfilling production, but we’ll see.
Either way, I do think the pricing for such inexperienced performers is ambitious. I’ve also seen great productions at Arts Ed and other theatre schools, but at a tenth of the price.
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Post by max on Mar 27, 2024 12:10:47 GMT
To be honest I am not bothered about the cast as long as they do a good job, which I am sure they will. From what a remember when I saw it in the 80s (although I don't remember much about the 80s) I had never heard if anyone either. It's not really a "star performer" kind of show. Same with the cast announcement for Mean Girls today. I have literally only ever heard of one person, Tom Xander from BOM. I have resigned myself to the fact I'm just getting older and older. When it opened the only star name was Jeffrey Daniel - whose body popping and locking was famous from him being part of Shalamar. Though tbf - Andrew Lloyd Webber was the real big name back then, and the show doesn't have that today; though nostalgia and intrigue for the show itself may go some way to replace that impact. Also, oddly, it's the only show of Lloyd Webber's (other than 'Jeeves', and up until The Beautiful Game, I think) to fail to provide any Top 40 hit singles in the UK - despite being the main one where he actively tried to write some. |
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3,486 posts
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Post by ceebee on Mar 27, 2024 12:36:34 GMT
Crikey - whoever cast this has got a brass neck and balls to match.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Mar 27, 2024 12:40:49 GMT
I've never heard of a single one of them. Same. (Lol) |
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4,804 posts
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Post by Mark on Mar 27, 2024 13:39:56 GMT
We have Mean Girls announcing a cast of established names and familiar faces and complaints they’re too old or predictable, and we get a cast of fresh faces for Starlight and it’s a “graduate showcase”.
Producers can’t win it seems!
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Post by d'James on Mar 27, 2024 14:08:07 GMT
I am still boggling at new names like "Oil Slick" Where are you seeing these? |
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Mar 27, 2024 14:13:09 GMT
I am still boggling at new names like "Oil Slick" Where are you seeing these? Cast members have been sharing some of the roles they are playing on their individual Instagram pages, one gal shared that she's covering Greaseball, Belle and ... Slick Oil (not Oil Slick, though that hardly makes it better). Some other new names are Grey Wolf, Orange Flash and Blue Horizon, which I assume are new names for the engines? And one guy plays Tassita the Quiet Car. |
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Post by d'James on Mar 27, 2024 14:56:05 GMT
Where are you seeing these? Cast members have been sharing some of the roles they are playing on their individual Instagram pages, one gal shared that she's covering Greaseball, Belle and ... Slick Oil (not Oil Slick, though that hardly makes it better). Some other new names are Grey Wolf, Orange Flash and Blue Horizon, which I assume are new names for the engines? And one guy plays Tassita the Quiet Car. Oh wow. I guess it is time to move on from the country’s stereotyping. Tassita was in The Other Palace ‘workshop.’ Interesting they’re back. It didn’t really work with her (at the time) bursting into song every now and then, when they’re meant to be quiet. |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Mar 27, 2024 16:45:15 GMT
It is not acceptable to charge full price for a graduate showcase Calling it a graduate showcase is just lazy. When did you last see a graduate showcase that had a creative team of this calibre, that are all at the top of their game, had a multi million pound budget and builds a massive set to stage it on? You're basically aying you don't think you should have to pay for any of that. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 16:50:24 GMT
No. What I am saying is this is a very inexperienced lead cast with no professional experience.
It is right that people have to start somewhere. One or two leads fresh out of drama school is not uncommon. But a principal cast with this little professional experience is exceedingly rare.
Learning how to sustain performances as part of a long run is not something a lead cast should be doing as their first gig.
A show or two in the ensemble and as a cover gives you that experience to help for when you do start taking lead roles.
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Post by benj on Mar 27, 2024 17:07:34 GMT
No. What I am saying is this is a very inexperienced lead cast with no professional experience. It is right that people have to start somewhere. One or two leads fresh out of drama school is not uncommon. But a principal cast with this little professional experience is exceedingly rare. Learning how to sustain performances as part of a long run is not something a lead cast should be doing as their first gig. A show or two in the ensemble and as a cover gives you that experience to help for when you do start taking lead roles. I agree. I hope they all prove that they’ve got the stamina required, but they are very young, including the actress playing ‘Momma’. |
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