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Post by scarpia on Oct 3, 2021 18:12:22 GMT
Don’t worry, it was just the doubles turning their heads very obviously away from the audience that used to strike me as hokey, not the entire scene. It’s even more magical now that they’re able to show their faces all the time they’re descending because that moment which used to look odd (to me) doesn’t take one (me) out of the story any more. I sort of agree but they could at least use one set of doubles at the beginning where they used to walk across the stage and then descend the stairs under the stage as what they do now is a bit awkward for the first part of the song - at least they now go straight into the title song after Raoul has said "angel" rather than the extended music that they had when it first reopened. Although it was obvious it was doubles, it was still quite clever doing that and then a pair walking out on to the bridge straight after. Oh thank god for that, has the extended pause been ditched?! I don't think anyone concentrated too hard on the actors' faces at that point; the scene is too overwhelming and fast-moving for that. Also, glad to hear nothing too serious happened to the leading lady and that she is doing OK. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2021 20:06:58 GMT
I agree with the hokey comment tbh. I love the original staging and the title song sequence is one of my favourite moments, but the doubles did always seem very obvious and them trying so hard to not be seen by the audience draws your attention even more.
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Post by ceebee on Oct 3, 2021 21:33:49 GMT
Extended pause still happens. Understudy/alternate Christine was on today (and she was brilliant). Show stopped ten mins into second half due to technical issue. The stage management and tech today was shambolic with many missed sound/lighting cues. The actors were excellent except for Carlotta, who was poor - off-key, screechy, screamy, terrible diction.
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Post by inthenose on Oct 3, 2021 22:00:03 GMT
Extended pause still happens. Understudy/alternate Christine was on today (and she was brilliant). Show stopped ten mins into second half due to technical issue. The stage management and tech today was shambolic with many missed sound/lighting cues. The actors were excellent except for Carlotta, who was poor - off-key, screechy, screamy, terrible diction. Out of interest, do you know if it was Holly-Anne Hull the alternate, or Anouk Van Laake the on-stage understudy? I'm hearing a lot of positive buzz about the latter. Sorry the show wasn't as good as it should've been. Easy to speculate with these things, could've had tech swings in, depending on the nature of the incident last night? Could be loads of reasons! The one thing you expect though from this show is slickness. Could be a green DSM too. Again, not what you'd expect from the creme de la crème of theatre. Was Carlotta the principal or an understudy? Finally, sorry for the interrogation, but any idea what caused the show stop? As a SM I absolutely love these kinds of details. Any other thoughts? |
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Post by sukhavati on Oct 4, 2021 2:30:16 GMT
I agree with the hokey comment tbh. I love the original staging and the title song sequence is one of my favourite moments, but the doubles did always seem very obvious and them trying so hard to not be seen by the audience draws your attention even more. I've always thought the doubles would do better if they'd focus on really learning to move like the principal actors in the scene. The last time I saw the show at HM's, Ben Lewis was still the lead and his walk is very distinctive, plus he's got a sense of both fluidity and weight to some of his movements. Along with the fact of being one of the taller, more athletically built Phantoms. I didn't have as much of an issue with the double on the travelator, but the actor doing the miming behind the backdrop for the Il Muto ballet never moved anything like the Phantoms. Too quick, not the same sort of body language if you will... I've noticed the same in NY and elsewhere... |
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Post by sukhavati on Oct 4, 2021 2:36:38 GMT
Aside from the technical changes, lighting, sets, I have some concerns about the new direction, story wise. I noticed that nearly all sincere moments in the new show are thrown away by "humour". For example, in "All I ask of you", which should be a very sincere moment, Christine is very scared, actually fearing for her life. Her lyrics are about her insecurity, grief and seeking the confirmation that Raoul takes her seriously. Raoul is trying to make clear that she can trust him and that he can provide a safe haven emotionally so that by the end of the song she begins to trust him and can wipe away her tears. Unfortunately now they are laughing throughout the whole song. And not only that, Raoul is turning all sincere moments into jokes. During the lyrics "Let me be you shelter, let me be your light", and "Christine, that's all I ask of you", he is actually making fun of the lyrics and the show. He puts on a silly heavy voice, gets down on his knees, stretches his arms, puts one eyebrow up and jokingly sings these lines as if he is making fun of a 1881 nobleman (which Raoul actually is). Christine then laughs even louder and confirms the joke with a reaction that reads: Oh Raoul, how silly you are to imitate a 1881 Vicomte/Count. Look how funny and silly you are by imitating a sincere Raoul. And then they continue to laugh their way out of the song. And this is just one example, the new show is full of them. Does the director not understand the show? Is he trying to apologize for the material or trying to be "current"? In my opinion a show with a director that is ashamed of its own material should close or change direction. Yeah - this is one of the problems that I've had with touring versions. Essentially, the show in HM's right now is the touring version, and they play the comic relief up a LOT. I don't spend my money on the Phantom tours anymore. I prefer the original staging, as Hal Prince directed it. As many have said, the Phantom is unpredictable and dangerous - Christine should rightly be fearful on the rooftop. Joseph Bouquet has just been murdered in public. Everything leading to second managers should be building on her fears. |
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Post by tom on Oct 4, 2021 3:30:52 GMT
Extended pause still happens. Understudy/alternate Christine was on today (and she was brilliant). Show stopped ten mins into second half due to technical issue. The stage management and tech today was shambolic with many missed sound/lighting cues. The actors were excellent except for Carlotta, who was poor - off-key, screechy, screamy, terrible diction. The extended pause didn’t happen when I went a couple of weeks ago, it was one of the things I was looking out for as I didn’t like the audios I’d heard with it in. Maybe it’s back due to safety as it must be a bit of a rush to get to the top of the bridge? I saw the main cast and they were generally good (Carlotta was OK but not the best I’d seen) but the sound/orchestra was the thing that left me a little underwhelmed. It lacks punch in the parts that used to be and need to be loud and climactic. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 4, 2021 6:28:25 GMT
The pause was nowhere near as long as opening night - partly because Raoul travels across stage then doubles back, so there's a bit of business to distract. It worked okay yesterday, though misses the wow factor of the mirror exit seamlessly transitioning to the bridge.
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Post by Mark on Oct 4, 2021 17:27:18 GMT
Curious if anyone has managed dayseats/last minute ticket discounts for this recently? I know they used to do it for Thursday matinees but unfortunately those have been chopped now.
Certainly seems to be plenty of availability
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Post by inthenose on Oct 4, 2021 17:44:41 GMT
Not to my knowledge, I check todaytix from time to time and haven't seen it reduced despite lots of empty seats.
TKTS however are showing availability for tonight as an example, £42.30 (37% off) or £52.30 (42% off). Wednesday is full price, they'll possibly sell whatever is left at a slight discount on the day. Monday night is the best chance of seeing the show in a discounted full price seat the moment.
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Post by inthenose on Oct 4, 2021 17:54:48 GMT
What I find really interesting and strange has been the show's lack of acknowledgment of Saturday night's cancellation. No apology, or status update or anything on social media. I am sure people in the audience were very concerned and would appreciate an update, even if it's vague and doesn't disclose personal information. Nothing either from any of the cast (although I notice Lucy St Louis has retweeted a couple of complimentary tweets, so I'm guessing she's fine).
Plus, surely they're offering refunds or exchanges and people who bought on the day or through agencies will need to know how they can get these.
It all just seems so haphazard and lax over there nowadays. They try and force this "we are a Phantom community, we listen and engage" nonsense on social media, getting people to write in with their Phantom experiences, send fan art, all that stuff - but the second they actually *need* to communicate they are completely silent. It's like their PR people read "Social Media Influencing... For Dummies!" but got stuck on Chapter 3.
Remember when it reopened, how ALW recorded little vignettes like "we need you, the Phans, we're nothing without you" schtick? It's a two way street, Andy. The image they project is that they just don't give a toss about anything but their bottom line in 2021.
Wouldn't be surprised if the radio silence is to try and get out of offering refunds/replacement tickets...
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Post by 141920grm on Oct 4, 2021 18:34:28 GMT
Holly did the show yesterday, and Anouk is making her debut tonight.
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Post by inthenose on Oct 4, 2021 19:25:42 GMT
If anyone is in, could they let me know how she is please?
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Post by scarpia on Oct 4, 2021 21:37:39 GMT
They try and force this "we are a Phantom community, we listen and engage" nonsense on social media, getting people to write in with their Phantom experiences, send fan art, all that stuff - but the second they actually *need* to communicate they are completely silent. It's like their PR people read "Social Media Influencing... For Dummies!" but got stuck on Chapter 3. Remember when it reopened, how ALW recorded little vignettes like "we need you, the Phans, we're nothing without you" schtick? It's a two way street, Andy. The image they project is that they just don't give a toss about anything but their bottom line in 2021. It was ever thus. I don't remember their social media team being any better in the past either. This is the same man who called the same public a "sad culture" of people just because they didn't jump on the Paint Never Dries bandwagon... Their social media team is pretty comically hopeless and they do seem to keep putting their foot in it (frankly I rather enjoy how inept they are, it's good entertainment). After it became apparent that they were downgrading Maria Björnson's designs, they did a post commemorating her on her birthday and her legacy (you can guess how well that went down); and on Twitter they made a big deal out of the "support" shown by the full 27-piece orchestra for ALW when they did a lockdown performance...even though this was done after the decision had been taken to fire almost everyone in that video (though it hadn't been publicly confirmed). You couldn't really make it up. They'll probably deal with this one with another 'Tuesday singalong' or whatever so that lots of American teenagers can show they know the lyrics to 'Music of the Night'. |
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Post by inthenose on Oct 5, 2021 16:54:02 GMT
Plus, surely they're offering refunds or exchanges and people who bought on the day or through agencies will need to know how they can get these. Wouldn't be surprised if the radio silence is to try and get out of offering refunds/replacement tickets... Someone on Twitter complaining about this exact thing, trying to rebook, Ticketmaster replied telling her to rebook at full price. Nothing on the website either. Scummy. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 6, 2021 17:22:09 GMT
Extended pause still happens. Understudy/alternate Christine was on today (and she was brilliant). Show stopped ten mins into second half due to technical issue. The stage management and tech today was shambolic with many missed sound/lighting cues. The actors were excellent except for Carlotta, who was poor - off-key, screechy, screamy, terrible diction. Out of interest, do you know if it was Holly-Anne Hull the alternate, or Anouk Van Laake the on-stage understudy? I'm hearing a lot of positive buzz about the latter. Sorry the show wasn't as good as it should've been. Easy to speculate with these things, could've had tech swings in, depending on the nature of the incident last night? Could be loads of reasons! The one thing you expect though from this show is slickness. Could be a green DSM too. Again, not what you'd expect from the creme de la crème of theatre. Was Carlotta the principal or an understudy? Finally, sorry for the interrogation, but any idea what caused the show stop? As a SM I absolutely love these kinds of details. Any other thoughts? It was Holly Ann Hull - she was beyond brilliant. Loved her performance. I think the stop was probably everybody behind the scenes being cautious due to the incident the night before. Carlotta was principal - no idea why she was missing her upper notes/belts but she didn't have a good day at the office. I hadn't realised there had been an incident the day before, so I sense they might have been taking no chances. |
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Post by inthenose on Oct 6, 2021 19:39:54 GMT
Out of interest, do you know if it was Holly-Anne Hull the alternate, or Anouk Van Laake the on-stage understudy? I'm hearing a lot of positive buzz about the latter. Sorry the show wasn't as good as it should've been. Easy to speculate with these things, could've had tech swings in, depending on the nature of the incident last night? Could be loads of reasons! The one thing you expect though from this show is slickness. Could be a green DSM too. Again, not what you'd expect from the creme de la crème of theatre. Was Carlotta the principal or an understudy? Finally, sorry for the interrogation, but any idea what caused the show stop? As a SM I absolutely love these kinds of details. Any other thoughts? It was Holly Ann Hull - she was beyond brilliant. Loved her performance. I think the stop was probably everybody behind the scenes being cautious due to the incident the night before. Carlotta was principal - no idea why she was missing her upper notes/belts but she didn't have a good day at the office. I hadn't realised there had been an incident the day before, so I sense they might have been taking no chances. Thank you. When did the stop occur? Thank you again |
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Post by scarpia on Oct 6, 2021 23:15:13 GMT
If you look through audience photos on Instagram, you can see that the chandelier has changed in appearance each week since august. Now there's more beading, gaps and holes have been filled in and there's a crown on the top tier that was only added two weeks ago. It's as if they weren't finished with it by the time they opened. Perhaps Cam hastily decided to make this new chandelier? They weren't ready. Part of the reason was because of the U-turn of what the chandelier was going to do. ALW revealed today that he's asked Hal Prince's daughter to oversee the Broadway production, which will remain the original. Shame London didn't merit the same treatment. |
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Post by inthenose on Oct 7, 2021 10:46:40 GMT
If you look through audience photos on Instagram, you can see that the chandelier has changed in appearance each week since august. Now there's more beading, gaps and holes have been filled in and there's a crown on the top tier that was only added two weeks ago. It's as if they weren't finished with it by the time they opened. Perhaps Cam hastily decided to make this new chandelier? They weren't ready. Part of the reason was because of the U-turn of what the chandelier was going to do. ALW revealed today that he's asked Hal Prince's daughter to oversee the Broadway production, which will remain the original. Shame London didn't merit the same treatment. Equity over there actually has some power. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 8, 2021 18:13:07 GMT
It was Holly Ann Hull - she was beyond brilliant. Loved her performance. I think the stop was probably everybody behind the scenes being cautious due to the incident the night before. Carlotta was principal - no idea why she was missing her upper notes/belts but she didn't have a good day at the office. I hadn't realised there had been an incident the day before, so I sense they might have been taking no chances. Thank you. When did the stop occur? Thank you again The stop was after masquerade - the point where Firmin runs on stage with another letter. (Hope that makes sense.) |
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Post by 141920grm on Oct 9, 2021 4:23:45 GMT
andrewlloydwebber.tumblr.com/post/664350224830070784to think that the former Plan B "shooting sparks at chandelier from an opera box" is now the actual direction AND the in-theatre box is now occupied IRL so the Phantom has to pop up from the onstage set piece box... so much for "bigger and better and more immersive" !
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42ndBlvd
Swing
I'll be back where I was born to be
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Post by 42ndBlvd on Oct 9, 2021 18:51:03 GMT
andrewlloydwebber.tumblr.com/post/664350224830070784to think that the former Plan B "shooting sparks at chandelier from an opera box" is now the actual direction AND the in-theatre box is now occupied IRL so the Phantom has to pop up from the onstage set piece box... so much for "bigger and better and more immersive" ! The "go!.." feels so flat. |
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Post by tom on Oct 9, 2021 19:31:06 GMT
andrewlloydwebber.tumblr.com/post/664350224830070784to think that the former Plan B "shooting sparks at chandelier from an opera box" is now the actual direction AND the in-theatre box is now occupied IRL so the Phantom has to pop up from the onstage set piece box... so much for "bigger and better and more immersive" ! The "go!.." feels so flat. To be fair I think Killian is miscast as Phantom. He is probably the second weakest I've seen ahead of Marcus Lovett but only just slightly behind Nic Greenshields. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 9, 2021 20:38:08 GMT
To be fair I think Killian is miscast as Phantom. He is probably the second weakest I've seen ahead of Marcus Lovett but only just slightly behind Nic Greenshields. I liked Nic Greenshields as the Phantom, except that he seemd to have difficulty with the ending of MOTN each of the 3 times I saw him. I think Nigel Richards is the worst Phantom I've seen & evidently some of those in power agreed because he was only standby for a short time before quietly disappearing from the cast list. I can't remember anything about Marcus Lovett but my list tells me I've seen him so I can only assume I wasn't particularly impressed with him either! Peter Joback, who I saw a few months before Lovett, I seem to remember wasn't to my taste either. |
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