The Little Big Things - @sohoplace / NT At Home

This is a VERY traditional musical and I doubt most old school musical lovers will have the same problem as those who prefer more modern stuff.

The general public do not over analyse these things as much as theatre 'fans' do, they just absorb it and decide if they love it hate it later.

I spent most of the time thinking how amazing Great Comet and Bands Visit would work in that space! 

When is the official opening? And is there an extension built in? There aren't any other shows announced to play Soho Place afterwards...

Good point. Either this is extending- or they have another show coming in with a name that doesn’t need to go on sale until later

I believe that this was announced quite far into the run of Brokeback Mountain also, so seems possible that the venue aren't booking significantly far in advance in general. That may be so they can extend if the production warrants it, but may just be venue policy.

Well she certainly got it right with Jamie didn't she. I have a lot of respect for that lady.

I am baffled by the response that I've seen to this show. It's such a waste of an uplifting story.

Any feeling of hope that I was supposed to take from this show was sucked away by the state of the lyrics and book. The music was bland too, but by from the biggest offender here.

Watching the lyricist and composer mouth along accompanied by furious head bobbing pulled focus constantly. Not only did I not hear a single original lyric, but the structure was all over the place. Aside from the title number - which is chock full of overused nature imagery - I can't remember a single song, which on its own isn't damning, but is just another on the list of faults.

The book is straight out of a GCSE drama piece - if you like dialogue that is groaning under the weight of all the exposition crammed into it, and plot that doesn't really want to dig any deeper than the surface to dissect some of the show's tougher themes, this is the new musical for you.

Some clumsily-assembled stage flight and uninspired set design feel like the least of this show's problems.

Highlights include Amy Trigg stealing every scene she's in, and Gracie McGonigal's incredible voice. Love the use of BSL in the choreography, but I'm a bit confused about the artistic justification. A nice touch regardless.

My biggest takeaway is this. Whilst I had a big problem at the time with the fact that Henry, after he returns home from the hospital, is suddenly able to produce works of great art seemingly without any training or practice at all, it all makes sense now. It's very clear that that's the way these creatives feel about how making art works; don't worry about putting the time in.

You’re reading way too much into it. They use a few different tricks to try and elevate moments, this being one. For me it’s when the show faltered. This flying moment, the lift that was over used. They should have just trusted the material without these bells and whistles.

It's a musical. The flying moments are simply used to enhance dramatic moments in a theatrical context. I don't think anyone looks at it and thinks they're claiming disabled people have special magical powers. Non-disabled people have been "flown' in many musicals - nobody thinks they can actually fly either. It doesn't have to represent anything. It's just a visually nice effect which in conjunction with singing, dancing, theatre lighting, dry ice/theatre smoke (all of which also wouldn't have been present in Henry's real life) enhances the moment.

I do get the point that I also wanted it at times to be a bit more depressing and gut wrenching - but as I said upthread that genuinely seems to be Henry's story and he's a uniquely positive guy. From what I've read, the plot of the musical seems very true to his story. He did do art before the accident but only developed the passion for it afterwards. Obviously he didn't learn to mouth paint overnight, but again time in a musical is not the same as actual time!

The music (to me) sounds very much the same style as the light "pop" that younger writers of musical theatre seem to go for these days. To my ear it sounds much better than Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Come From Away, Kimberly Akimbo, Fun Home and indeed most of the stuff in that genre.

Do I wish there was a deluge of new musicals written in the style of ALW or CMS? Yes. Is that ever gonna happen? No. This is very typical of the way successful new non film non jukebox musicals are written.

I’m surprised by the critics reviews thus far, 3* The Times, 3* Broadway World and 3* The Stage. Especially after all the rave reviews I have seen on here and from friends. Still looking forward to seeing this tomorrow.

Gosh - this expresses really well how I felt about it. If I wanted to there are lots of things I could pick holes in....
But as a theatrical piece it made me feel something too! I was moved. I had tears. And I came out feeling wonderful. So whatever holes there may be - as musical overall, they totally succeeded and I had a wonderful evening!
The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts I guess. 

Agree with this too and another good description.
I’d also say it’s 3 or 4 stars but made me feel things a 5 star show does :-)

Plus don’t forget people on internet forums are generally more prone to loving/hating (in whatever ratio; here tending to former) whereas critics (sometimes) more objective analysis leads them to middling.