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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 12:25:55 GMT
I gather this recouped a few weeks ago. A fantastic achievement in a relatively short space of time!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 12:26:18 GMT
Oh dear .... I didn't really want to contribute to this discussion but .... oh well here's my two penneth for what it's worth! In my view this is the same argument as Liza Minelli / Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Both Streisand and Minelli give iconic wonderful performances in Funny Girl and Cabaret respectively BUT they are NOT the characters that existed or orgininally written (I Am A Camera). Sally Bowles was a very average/mediocre performer in a very run down, seedy Kit Kat Club in the novel. If she had performed like Minelli there is no way she would have been stuck in the sleazy club - stardom would have beckoned. The issue is that when people see Cabaret on stage they expect Liza Minelli and the songs to be sung in the same way. The role was originally played in London by Judi Dench and although a fabulous actress can never be described as a singer. The parallels with Funny Girl - Streisand and Smith are clear to see. SO (in my very humble opinion) if you want to see the songs "sung the hell out of" etc. then go and see a concert or indeed an opera, but this is musical theatre where a more rounded performance is the norm. A performer has to act the role, look the part (not necessarily true in a concert) and carry the company and the audience. It is so much more than just "singing". My Man was never in the stage musical of Funny Girl it was added for the film. I really should not add fuel to the fire should I ? Not at all, you just said what I was attempting to say much more concisely and eloquently! It's not twisting and turning to accommodate inadequacies, because what some people consider inadequacies others consider part of the performance or might even like - for example, some people hate Idina Menzel's nasally, breathy way of singing, but some people think she's one of the stars of our generation. There will never be a consensus.
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77 posts
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Post by lifewithkirsty on Aug 18, 2016 12:31:18 GMT
I'm GAGGING to find out who will be the touring Fanny. When do we think we'll find out? I've got a group of nine going. I don't think they'll be that impressed if there's someone up on stage who can't sing it very well (acting choice or otherwise) but they will be expecting those songs to be absolutely nailed. I suspect the rest of the paying public in Manchester, and all of the tour venues, will feel exactly the same. I feel like they won't announce it till after the Savoy run ends which in my opinion is rubbish! Everyone knows it won't Sheridan.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 12:31:51 GMT
I'm GAGGING to find out who will be the touring Fanny. When do we think we'll find out? I've got a group of nine going. I don't think they'll be that impressed if there's someone up on stage who can't sing it very well (acting choice or otherwise) but they will be expecting those songs to be absolutely nailed. I suspect the rest of the paying public in Manchester, and all of the tour venues, will feel exactly the same. Keeping everything crossed for Konnie Huq!
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35 posts
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Post by heymrziegfeld on Aug 18, 2016 12:36:36 GMT
I'm GAGGING to find out who will be the touring Fanny. When do we think we'll find out? I've got a group of nine going. I don't think they'll be that impressed if there's someone up on stage who can't sing it very well (acting choice or otherwise) but they will be expecting those songs to be absolutely nailed. I suspect the rest of the paying public in Manchester, and all of the tour venues, will feel exactly the same. PRAYING for Natasha - although my bank balance won't be happy
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 12:37:33 GMT
I reckon we'll get multiple Fanny's on tour.That seems to be the trend with tours at the moment. People who can dip in and out, as they please.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 12:38:26 GMT
Another thing I truly disagree on, is the idea that 'who says a song should be sung in that way', well for one the composer of the songs. If the note is there for the singer to hit, then they should be able to reach it. Leaving aside Sheridan entirely for a minute, this is the broader point I've been interested all along and why I replied to all of this in the first place. What it seems to me you're saying is that because there is a score there is no room for interpretation, and to my mind that's simply not true. Yes, the notes are there to be sung and generally performers should be able to hit them, I don't think there's any question about that, and I've certainly never been trying to justify any instances where performers are out of tune. But the question of whether they CAN hit the note is completely separate to the question of whether they HAVE TO hit the note. And by that I mean they have a choice as to whether they hit the note straight, riff, use excessive vibrato, trill etc. Each person who sings Defying Gravity sings the money note at the end differently, and as anyone who's read the Wicked thread will testify, fans even notice when the same performer does it differently at different performances. The score hasn't been re-written for them, it's a question of taking what is there and embellishing it with their own interpretation. And sometimes that does mean not hitting the note exactly in terms of pitch or rhythm as it's written in the score. That all goes beyond what the composer "says" should be sung, so does that mean any different interpretation that deviates in the slightest from the score is wrong? I don't believe it does, and I think it would be incredibly boring if it did, and there'd be no point having revivals of anything. You could make the same argument in terms of production design vis a vis the original production of a show, but people rarely get as excited about when the lighting is redesigned! The same point goes for any performance of any musical composition - expression and interpretation are at the heart of all music, and to reduce it to saying "well the composer put it in the score so it has to be done that way" in my mind oversimplifies the very point of musical performance. But that's just my opinion.
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Post by broadwaylover99 on Aug 18, 2016 12:44:42 GMT
I must say, Louise Dearman and Laura Pitt-Pulford would both make fantastic Fanny's, but I doubt it'll happen
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 13:02:51 GMT
Songs in the theatre are usually adapted to fit the singer, transposition is a given. The notes for 'Hello Dolly', for example are usually changed so that they are nowhere near what Channing used (and I would imagine that the keys changed for her as she got older as well. although her voice was always down there). Exceptions to the rule would include anything by Bernstein or Weill, classical crossover composers, who write and expect those notes (such as the Cunegonde high E Flat, although Bernstein did write alternates).
It seems to have been missed that shows, and songs, as written are just blueprints and will change within the same production, never mind between different productions. For those who collect scores, you can see that replacements often have keys changed.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 13:20:53 GMT
Just had a quick check of the Dolly non Channing transposition offered by Tams Witmark, the second half of the title song is transposed upwards by a major seventh!!! You didn't used to get that sort of accommodation for amateurs but the advent of computerised scores has changed that somewhat.
To take Gypsy as another example, Roz Russell/Lisa Kirk in the movie is around a whole fifth lower than Merman (who took things down a tone from where she started anyway, as reflected in the vocal score), Lansbury in the OLC was around a major third down from Merman's original and Lupone/Peters following the vocal score. So, anyone listening the original cast recording versus the soundtrack is really listening to two different shows. Singing along to Merman (and who doesn't) is actually hitting notes that even she was unable to maintain.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 17:08:57 GMT
I can't believe how fast this run has gone for the show! Only a month and a bit left to see the show, its crazy how fast it has gone!
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19,670 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 18, 2016 17:23:17 GMT
I can't believe how fast this run has gone for the show! Only a month and a bit left to see the show, its crazy how fast it has gone! It's a year since booking opened for the Menier run. I got one of those Facebook memory thingies pop up this week
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 17:34:46 GMT
I can't believe how fast this run has gone for the show! Only a month and a bit left to see the show, its crazy how fast it has gone! It's a year since booking opened for the Menier run. I got one of those Facebook memory thingies pop up this week How crazy! A year goes by so fast!
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1,102 posts
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Post by zak97 on Aug 20, 2016 14:01:18 GMT
For a weekday performance (Mon-Wed), what time is best to arrive, and is there a significant difference in queue lengths between Sheridan and Natasha. Also, are the seats in a set location?
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Post by theatrefan25 on Aug 20, 2016 19:38:48 GMT
For a weekday performance (Mon-Wed), what time is best to arrive, and is there a significant difference in queue lengths between Sheridan and Natasha. Also, are the seats in a set location? I can't help with the best time to arrive I am afraid for those days (I have only day seated on a Saturday and got there at 7am). The seats are in row BB which is the front row Amazing view.
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Post by popcultureboy on Aug 21, 2016 8:36:56 GMT
Just to chip in on the Sally Bowles/Liza Minnelli/Judi Dench thing, I love that Dame Judi herself put up notices in the Palace Theatre during the run that said "Miss Judi Dench does not have a cold. She always sounds like this". She is the first person to say that she acts a song as she can't really sing. And I'll be the first person to say that her version of Send In The Clowns is the one I would always prefer to listen to over ANY other. However, Sally Bowles has diegetic and non-diegetic songs, so I would be interested to listen to how well Dame Judi gets across something like Perfectly Marvellous.
Anyway! My point is that in Funny Girl, it's the same thing. You have songs like Cornet Man and Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat, which are being performed as a show within a show, and you have songs like Don't Rain On My Parade which are most emphatically NOT a show within a show. I saw Natasha recently and was really struck by how she concentrated so much more on the comedy and the silliness in the "performance" numbers before going on to tear the roof off with Don't Rain on My Parade. Last year, I saw Sheridan at the Menier and loved her too, but I don't remember my jaw dropping with the power of her voice at any point. I've been saying since Flare Path that she has the potential to be our generation's Judi Dench and her decisions to act her way through all the songs just supports my theory all the more :-)
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Post by andrew on Aug 21, 2016 11:31:34 GMT
For a weekday performance (Mon-Wed), what time is best to arrive, and is there a significant difference in queue lengths between Sheridan and Natasha. Also, are the seats in a set location? We arrived at 9 and were fourth in the queue on a weekday. For a Sheridan performance.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 23:47:42 GMT
Also, are the seats in a set location? Row A stalls. Occasionally they will add the odd one elsewhere, if it's quiet, too. Not just if it's quiet - a couple of weekends ago they sold out of day seats pretty quickly so were offering any remaining single seats (and that's all they had) to the rest of the queue. Sold out show.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 23:52:03 GMT
Row A stalls. Occasionally they will add the odd one elsewhere, if it's quiet, too. Not just if it's quiet - a couple of weekends ago they sold out of day seats pretty quickly so were offering any remaining single seats (and that's all they had) to the rest of the queue. Sold out show. Yeah both times I have been they have offered dotted around single seats too, especially in the stalls they believe.
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Post by aeryfairy on Aug 23, 2016 17:40:22 GMT
I have a spare row B ticket for tomorrow night if anyone wants it? Face value (£75). Can meet you at the theatre.
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Post by partytentdown on Aug 26, 2016 9:56:01 GMT
I LOST TRACK - did George meet Sheridan?!
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1,306 posts
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Post by londonmzfitz on Aug 26, 2016 10:22:53 GMT
I saw this last night, first time at the Savoy after my 4 visits to the Menier Chocolate Factory (3 x Sheridan's Fanny, 1 x Natasha's Fanny).
Sheridan holds the audience in the palm of her hand. She's endearing, she makes constant eye contact with the audience and I couldn't fault her singing last night - and Darius makes such a visually commanding leading man. He is gorgeous indeed. I absolutely loved this.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 10:47:20 GMT
I saw this last night, first time at the Savoy after my 4 visits to the Menier Chocolate Factory (3 x Sheridan's Fanny, 1 x Natasha's Fanny). Sheridan holds the audience in the palm of her hand. She's endearing, she makes constant eye contact with the audience and I couldn't fault her singing last night - and Darius makes such a visually commanding leading man. He is gorgeous indeed. I absolutely loved this. So glad you enjoyed it!! Sheridan is amazing in that role, isn't she? I too love how she creates that strong connection between her and the audiences! She's naturally funny in the role but also amazing at the more emotional acting part and I too loved her singing!! It'll be a shame to see this end soon but I'm so glad I got to see it and I'm so happy it's been a success!
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Post by freckles on Aug 26, 2016 14:09:40 GMT
Are day seats one per person, or will they let you buy two?
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Post by Mark on Aug 26, 2016 14:38:40 GMT
My dad was able to get a top price single stalls seat for tonight (Fv £71.50) for £25 at about 1pm.
Looking online there are a few odd ones dotted about which have been "dynamically" priced.
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