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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 1, 2019 18:08:00 GMT
It was simply the fashion back then, and they felt it worked in the architects models... Do other theatres have raised side stalls then? If so which ones? I can't think of any I've been in that do. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 1, 2019 18:13:59 GMT
Oh help, I'm going to the Lowry in August. I hope I haven't inadvertantly booked a disconcertingly raised seat!
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Post by sf on Apr 1, 2019 19:44:52 GMT
Wycombe Swan I think does, as does the Lowry. The Lowry doesn't. The big theatre is a regular proscenium house, and there are no raised sections in the stalls - just a gentle rake from the back to the front. The smaller one had a proscenium stage with three horseshoe-shaped balconies, each with just 2 rows of seats, around the stalls. |
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Post by craig on Apr 1, 2019 19:58:49 GMT
The Wycombe Swan certainly does. My old local as a kid. I've even performed there a couple of times!
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Follies
Apr 1, 2019 20:07:38 GMT
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Post by danieljohnson14 on Apr 1, 2019 20:07:38 GMT
Random question, did Imelda take her wig off at the end of Losing My Mind or is it newly added in for Joanna? I can't remember at all.
I liked the change in movement for Tracie in I'm Still Here, it felt more natural and fluid.
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Post by craig on Apr 1, 2019 20:12:49 GMT
Imelda didn't take a wig off at the performance I attended.
I thought it was very effective in Joanna's performance.
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Follies
Apr 1, 2019 20:17:58 GMT
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Post by danieljohnson14 on Apr 1, 2019 20:17:58 GMT
Imelda didn't take a wig off at the performance I attended. I thought it was very effective in Joanna's performance. I agree, I think it made the ending of that number more powerful and emotive. I can't remember Imelda's so I can't compare fairly, but Joanna's packed thst punch for me. |
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Follies
Apr 1, 2019 20:44:20 GMT
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Post by sf on Apr 1, 2019 20:44:20 GMT
Random question, did Imelda take her wig off at the end of Losing My Mind or is it newly added in for Joanna? I can't remember at all. It's new. Imelda Staunton also didn't pop pills during the song, she just took a drink. |
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Apr 1, 2019 20:44:45 GMT
Imelda didn't take a wig off at the performance I attended. I thought it was very effective in Joanna's performance. I agree, I think it made the ending of that number more powerful and emotive. I can't remember Imelda's so I can't compare fairly, but Joanna's packed thst punch for me. I always found Imelda's very affecting (especially compared to other performances I'd seen of it before). She held the note until her voice became like a groan (sort of like the sound the grudge makes? I can't think of a better way to describe it) and then it sort of disappeared into the music and she stood there blank faced, mouth open as if she'd gone brain dead and walked off stage. I don't know how much of that stayed in though as I haven't seen the new cast yet. |
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Post by Stephen on Apr 1, 2019 21:48:01 GMT
I enjoyed my second visit tonight more than I did when I saw the original cast. I just felt that I connected with it more this time.
Joanna Riding actually often sounds quite similar to Imelda Staunton when she sings. She didn't disappoint.
A female member of the ensemble fainted at the side of the stage at one point and had to be really helped to get off the stage. No show stop though. I hope she's OK!
4 stars this time.
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Post by craig on Apr 1, 2019 22:10:25 GMT
I was at the matinee on Saturday and two people behind me upped and left DURING Losing My Mind! I was totally absorbed in the performance but had a vague awareness of movement behind me and then noticed they had gone. What is WRONG with people!?
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Post by jgblunners on Apr 1, 2019 22:24:09 GMT
Imelda didn't take a wig off at the performance I attended. I thought it was very effective in Joanna's performance. I agree, I think it made the ending of that number more powerful and emotive. I can't remember Imelda's so I can't compare fairly, but Joanna's packed thst punch for me. I find it interesting to hear that, as I personally found the Imelda version without the pills and wig removal so much more effective. There was nothing to distract, just pure emotion and completely allowing the lyrics and Imelda's superb acting through song to pack the punch. In every other part of the show, I thought Joanna Riding was more appropriate for the role than Imelda, but those 3 minutes of Losing My Mind still belong to Imelda for me. |
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Post by Mr Snow on Apr 2, 2019 9:41:29 GMT
I was at the matinee on Saturday and two people behind me upped and left DURING Losing My Mind! I was totally absorbed in the performance but had a vague awareness of movement behind me and then noticed they had gone. What is WRONG with people!? One of the things I really liked about Company was the puzzled sigh Rosalie gave out at the end of each sequence interacting with her friends. What indeed.... |
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Post by Mr Snow on Apr 2, 2019 9:49:42 GMT
The theatre was designed to echo the Greek Amphitheatre of the past. Hence the fan shape. I get the shape horizontally, it's the shape vertically I don't get i.e. why are the side stalls blocks raised above the centre stalls block. All the pictures I've seen of Greek theatres/amphitheatres show each tier of seats as a continuous curve, not the side seats jacked up 10 feet above the centre ones.
One thing I forgot to say in my comments yesterday was that I thought "In Buddy's Eyes" was a beautiful song in terms of lyrics. I would kill to find a man who thought of me like that.
At the Follies day there was some discussing of this. The Theatre was conceived as a continuous run of seats on the amphitheatre model. But they needed a break to put in the technical staff half way up. As I looked around it made sense. The wings are most likely on the line the theatre was supposed to be. I think it was Dominic Cooke who said this ruined the theatre and made it problematic, and with cc TV etc today it wouldn't be needed. Perhaps a remodel will happen... I will just add that its perhaps not surprising that anyone who is prepared to kill would find Sally the most interesting character..  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 10:05:08 GMT
I was at the matinee on Saturday and two people behind me upped and left DURING Losing My Mind! I was totally absorbed in the performance but had a vague awareness of movement behind me and then noticed they had gone. What is WRONG with people!? One of the things I really liked about Company was the puzzled sigh Rosalie gave out at the end of each sequence interacting with her friends. What indeed.... I was just thinking the other about how much I *didn't* like this precise thing! I know that the point of the vignettes when combined with some of the lyrics ("these good and crazy people, my married friends") is to sort of let us in on the idea that Bobbie's friends are, at least sometimes, pretty weird, but after the third or fourth "... wow", I started to wonder if Bobbie even *liked* any of her friends. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 11:16:58 GMT
One of the things I really liked about Company was the puzzled sigh Rosalie gave out at the end of each sequence interacting with her friends. What indeed.... I was just thinking the other about how much I *didn't* like this precise thing! I know that the point of the vignettes when combined with some of the lyrics ("these good and crazy people, my married friends") is to sort of let us in on the idea that Bobbie's friends are, at least sometimes, pretty weird, but after the third or fourth "... wow", I started to wonder if Bobbie even *liked* any of her friends. Also a point that I'd been thinking about. I feel like in 2018 it was a lot more subtle, more as Mr Snow describes, a "puzzled sigh" which worked, but the 4th wall-breaking, enforced "wow" towards the end of the run seemed to provoke a bigger audience reaction. It is quite strange though as someone who values her friends to be quite so dismissive of them. I feel like it became a more obtuse way for the audience and Bobbie to relate and interact. As outsiders to it, we are left thinking "wow" of these people, they're a bit much. So Bobbie turning to the audience and saying 'wow' almost with them, makes her even more relatable. |
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Post by westended on Apr 2, 2019 11:19:56 GMT
How easy would this show be to tour?
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Post by Someone in a tree on Apr 2, 2019 11:25:15 GMT
How easy would this show be to tour? In arenas the set would fit in fine and so would the 200audience members |
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Follies
Apr 2, 2019 13:29:18 GMT
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Post by sf on Apr 2, 2019 13:29:18 GMT
The Lowry doesn't. The big theatre is a regular proscenium house, and there are no raised sections in the stalls - just a gentle rake from the back to the front. And I may be losing mine! Where am I thinking of, then... The Theatre Royal in Plymouth? |
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Follies
Apr 2, 2019 16:26:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 16:26:33 GMT
Just reading back on this thread,there is sooo much going on in this show that it definitely warrants multiple visits to take all the intricate nuances and special moments on board.Like Company and 42nd St,this is musical theatre gold and should be cherished as such.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 2, 2019 22:53:53 GMT
I mean i had the best time tonight. Front row for the first time of Follies 2.0 and it really is the way to see this show. To see the Mirror number in full so close is THRILLING. Ive gone on about it all so much, but I really love this production. Still cant decide if I love Follies or Company more, but they’re both pretty perfect 🤷🏻♂️
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 3, 2019 8:10:32 GMT
For me, I connected with Follies FAR more. In a really deep and long lasting sense.
I've listened back to Company and certainly as a score and script, I can't help but drift off outside of a few key, top notch songs (although I've never liked Ladies Who Lunch)
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Post by ahbutunderneath on Apr 3, 2019 8:37:15 GMT
While both are, in my opinion, Sondheim’s best shows, Follies is my favorite. It’s the kind of emotional rawness that he never really quite touched upon again. It’s bolstered by a (flawed and problematic, yes, but also incredibly human) book that really digs into the characters.
But I’d have to say I prefer this production of Company. I had some issues with this Follies, even though it’s leagues better than any recent production and very good on its own. But the new Company is just so perfect in just about every aspect- set, choreography, acting, concept, direction, etc.- that for me it’s difficult to even come close to it. I feel like Company fixed and reinterpreted the flaws in the original piece, while Follies put them on display.
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Post by craig on Apr 3, 2019 12:41:15 GMT
While both are, in my opinion, Sondheim’s best shows, Follies is my favorite. It’s the kind of emotional rawness that he never really quite touched upon again. It’s bolstered by a (flawed and problematic, yes, but also incredibly human) book that really digs into the characters. But I’d have to say I prefer this production of Company. I had some issues with this Follies, even though it’s leagues better than any recent production and very good on its own. But the new Company is just so perfect in just about every aspect- set, choreography, acting, concept, direction, etc.- that for me it’s difficult to even come close to it. I feel like Company fixed and reinterpreted the flaws in the original piece, while Follies put them on display. Not that I've seen another production of Follies, but this is largely how I feel. This production of Company just felt utterly perfect. I think Follies has the better score overall, and I LOVE this production of it, but it's certainly not perfect in the way that Company was to me. It probably helps that I'm 36 years old so Company, thematically, certainly struck a chord with me. |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 5, 2019 8:50:53 GMT
Saw it again last night, middle of Row C in the Circle, definitely enhanced with a wide screen perspective compared to Row C in the stalls, having both perspectives a luxury and seeing it only once would select the front of the circle (thank you Friday rush)
Surprised how empty the Circle was, not a musical aficionado, the production has it all, great music, great songs, great performances and impressive staging, all the attributes I associate with a West End show.
For me the National is the hub of my theatrical life, was thinking is this different to the casual Theatre goer who goes to catch a show and travelling south of the river is not considered or even known about. Does the National have the same kudos to the casual lets catch a show crowd or is it a slightly different clientele? could this be the reason for the low turnout? otherwise it is difficult to understand.
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