Groundhog Day the Musical - Old Vic

Also! Did anyone notice the new orchestration in ‘If i Had my Time Again’ it confused me as I couldn’t see real reason to change it and found it a little jarring.

The only thought I’ve had since is that it’s a click track playing to keep things more in sync. Just found it strange as the rest of the score sounded very live (which it was)

Bizarre?

For those wanting slightly cheaper tickets, they seem to have introduced a "day rate" at £40. Pretty good considering the normal prices.

It's a bargain but a shame - despite reviews it seems to be struggling to sell.

At the risk of displaying toxic positivity:

I understand (but don’t agree) with criticisms of Tim Minchin’s score. If you’re after a musical with “catchy, roof raising songs” then this ain’t it. For that there’s always Mamma Mia, Six, Moulin Rouge or sure….Les Mis.

I’ll gladly take Groundhog Day instead.

In my opinion Tim Minchin demonstrates numerous inventive variations of his stirring musical themes, he’s managed to create an incredibly complex score that expertly services the story, the world and its characters. It could be argued that to fully appreciate his work can become a bit of an intellectual exercise but even on surface value there’s so much to enjoy, some examples:

- The Muzak elevator/waiting room style music chosen for when Phil is “Stuck” is one of the many brilliant uses of shifting musical genres to tell a story.
- The monotonous, rhythmic, jazz inflected verses that Phil performs in the opening just perfectly suits the character. If he sang Andrew Lloyd Webber style ballads it simply wouldn’t work.
- Some of my favorite parts of the score aren’t even the “songs” but musical theme instrumentals that are played throughout, particularly in the transitions between days, the minute differences that chart Phil’s growth and humility.
- The snarky baseline used when Phil first gets out of bed is reused but to sound more playful in “Philandering”, and then again in “Philanthropy” but with bright, chaotic optimism.

I personally find musical scores that take a while to appreciate are the most rewarding and this is no exception.

I also think the book is arguably one of the absolute best I’ve experienced in musical theatre. There’s not a single dull or wasted beat, you’re never WAITING for the next song to come, I find it to be sharp as hell.

The show (I believe) splits people into two groups:

- Those that think the moral of the story is to be nicer to other people.

- And those that connect with the layered themes relating to birth and death, day and night, living with vitality and mindfully vs living a depressive loop (with the sun seeming out sight). Being one’s own worst enemy (as Phil is tormented by the Groundhog version of himself in both rodent and mascot form). And being able to see the world as if for the first time. Groundhog Day absolutely captures this experience of peaceful acceptance, powerlessness and catharsis.

I think this show is pure gold and I reckon one’s reaction is largely dependent on your emotional response to it.

Groundhog Day conjures such an atmosphere - it’s themes and overall production allow the show to be theatrical and intimate yet utterly cosmic in scale.

Has anyone sat in the front row for GD and if so was it a good view? I sat in the front row for Sylvia which was great but just wondering how high the stage is for this production.

I think, with a week between us, I rated it highly but have no compunction to rush back. This is often the case for me with quality productions. It isn’t an addictive fast food high, more a three course meal with a cauliflower veloute you’ll remember for years.

Andy Karl's face does look bizarre from that close but yes, great experience.

Alexander: "The monotonous, rhythmic, jazz inflected verses that Phil performs in the opening just perfectly suits the character. If he sang Andrew Lloyd Webber style ballads it simply wouldn’t work".


Sounds good and fitting to the dramatic moment. Not that Andrew Lloyd Webber would write an Andrew Lloyd Webber ballad for that circumstance either. In 'Evita', after the prologue, the similarly restless scene 'Junin/Eva Beware Of The City' changes time signature, melody, or rhythm 16 times. When it finally seems to settle into a ballad that ballad is disrupted twice by an indignant Eva with a different time signature/tune.

If you choose any seat it gives you a list of prices for that seat (full price, under 16s, senior citizen), for todays performance one of those options should say ‘day rate - £40’

The song can feel a little random but it's actually a great way to open Act 2. All through Act 1 the focus is on Phil and the ensemble play very stereotypical small townspeople who Phil just uses for his own enjoyment and has no care for. And Playing Nancy makes you stop and go "there's more to these people than you think" and makes you care for them which is what Phil learns to do over the second Act. Phil essentially manipulated this woman to get her into bed alongside taking advantage of pretty much everybody in town for his own pleasure. And this song just takes the focus away from Phil for a moment and forces you to pay attention to these characters who have just been a joke up until that point. 

Not just that - the point of the song is that Nancy is also trapped in a cycle that she is unable to break.