Side Show in Concert - London Palladium

no, absolutely sick of them. Part of that is a 'me' problem because I can't travel to London at the drop of a hat, but I also find many of them pointless.

They CAN be good to either test the waters and gauge interest in new shows (such as Death Note, which became a surprise success) or to present shows that won't stand a chance to be done commercially (such as the upcoming Diana or older shows that won't be brought back as a regular production like Love Never Dies) but I feel they are scraping the bottom of the barrel now with random mediocre shows from the last decades like this or Bat Boy.

But there clearly seems to be a market for them, so... shrug.

I agree that "in concert" performances are not ideal (unless they do it like Death Note), but I like them because it's a chance to see big-name performers playing a role they would probably never do otherwise, so... I mean, Rachel Tucker and Bradley Jaden, I just wonder what excuse they will come up with to get him to perform topless this time!

However..... I love Side Show although ive only seen it once at Southwark Playhouse.
I'm going them my money I'm afraid as its a great musical, great cast and other concerts I've seen by the same producers have been excellent.

Even if they had the money they'd be foolish to mount a full production since it already tanked on Broadway twice. These one off concerts should be regarded as the West End versions of the Encores! in New York

I do think people confuse issues when they get cross about these concerts, often thinking that the choice somewhere along the line has been "concert vs full production."

For a pantheon of reasons that is usually not the case. The choice, usually, is "concert vs nothing." And as such I think they are a good thing. They give you the chance to see something that most likely wouldn't sustain a full West End run, usually with a fantastic cast. It simply isn't the case that producers are saying "well I could do a full production, but I won't bother, just to like, annoy the fans!"

They are also usually of excellent quality and more than semi staged.

Anyway this sounds fantastic - Dearman and Tucker - take my money!

(Evita was of course something of an anomaly as it's a show that is about to sustain a full run in Leicester and am sure one day will again in London. It was also an anomaly in quality with everything re the lead already discussed ad nauseam!)

Also worth pointing out that these concerts are happening in addition to full production West End musicals not instead of. We have virtually no dark theatres. And for venues like Drury Lane they occur on Mon/Tues when the sit down show isn't on. Really they maximise West End space and bring something more to the table.

And as per everything - nobody is being forced to go!

I find things like Evita in concert odd considering it can sustain a West End run but I have no issues with things like Treason or Death Note being concerts which were successful enough to either extend or mount a further full production down the line.

Side Show let's be honest is never going to get a full West End run so a concert version is the best they can do.

I quite enjoy the one off concerts. I don’t see why people are complaining. Let’s be honest, most of these shows probably wouldn’t be able to sustain a longer run nor would they have been able to fit them all in for a decent run within the past year or two. I’d rather a concert version than nothing at all and they are always on top form. I think the casting for this is brilliant so I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve always avoided ‘Sideshow’; writing it off as a screetchy opportunity for show offs to belt each others faces off for 2 hours, but ‘Who Will Love Me As I Am’ is a lovely song, especially in the context of the show. I can imagine these two being sensational.

Well I for one am excited because I've never seen the show before and I know it probably wouldn't be mounted otherwise. I also don't tend to go to any of the other concerts anyway so I'm not fatigued by them yet haha.

I'd go to see Bradley Jaden open a paper bag so glad I've already got tickets.

That did make me laugh!

I’m the same with Tosh tbh.

Rachel's not even TRYING in that video too so imagine what it's going to sound like on the night!