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Post by thebearofwestend on Jan 15, 2017 3:47:59 GMT
How was the musical Beauty and The Beast received in the Dominion Theatre ?
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Post by westendwendy on Jan 15, 2017 6:38:54 GMT
Amazing show. The musical was glorious but Disney did not see it as a commercial success in London unlike Broadway.
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Post by thebearofwestend on Jan 15, 2017 23:40:54 GMT
bump
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Post by d'James on Jan 15, 2017 23:45:37 GMT
Don't know why I didn't see it there - I was obsessed by the film . . . mean parents!!! Anyway, I did eventually see it on Broadway in 2005. Would love to see another professional production.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 9:04:18 GMT
Well if you google it there are 2 reviews, Varity which is quite good and the independent which is quite bad so I'd say mixed
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Post by londonmzfitz on Jan 16, 2017 9:23:19 GMT
I saw it there. From memory it was a complete copy of the film (I took my son). Costumes were brilliantly colourful, everything else just - well, fine, really. I do remember thinking the Dominion is a great big barn to fill, something that hits me every time I see a production there. I've still got the mug, probably the programme too somewhere ...
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Post by trapdoor on Jan 16, 2017 13:39:26 GMT
It was okay. It was certainly a lavish affair, some really beautiful designs including some impressive truck work assembling the castle which rotated and moved to create different scenes. Be Our Guest was a long, lavish and show-stopping moment, even the transformation scene was pretty magical. It built it's way up from simple opening scenes into more large-scale scenery and costumes were glorious. It felt a bit lost in such a huge venue but it was a good show.
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Post by richey on Jan 16, 2017 14:34:47 GMT
It was pretty spectacular. Be Our Guest was very lavish with lots of fireworks as i recall. My favourite part was the castle as it turned around to show the exterior, especially good at the end of act one and during the fight.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 18:13:19 GMT
Cant believe this was 20 years ago!!! There was an hour long programme on TV when it opened, all about the making of the London production. It's really interesting. I watched it on youtube.
I found it for you:
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Post by ptwest on Jan 16, 2017 19:16:30 GMT
I remember when I saw it at the Dominion it was very lavish and lots of fun, but felt that Beast was a little camp. It kind of spoilt the ambiance! Although then "Gaston" sequence involving the dance with the beer glasses was great!
Took a mob of school children when it came to Manchester and they were mesmerised.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 22:15:00 GMT
(Sorry to hijack) I often wonder what has happened to various high profile musical actors that seem to disappear off the face of the earth after doing one or two big hits: Julie Alannah Brighten who was in Oliver! and Beauty and the Beast in the 90s, Sonia Swaby who was in Oliver!, Miss Saigon and Cats in the 90s, and Vicki Simon who was the filmed Ado Annie in the 90s NT Oklahoma! - where the hell are these people?
Re BATB - The original London cast album is glorious, that orchestra, those British accents, and the magnificent Mary Millar as Mrs. Potts breaking every heart with her rendition of the title song. Burke Moses transferred from New York to originate Gaston in the London production and he is perfection on both recordings. i personally love the dance music in Gaston and Be our Guest, I think they're thrilling.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 22:47:47 GMT
I believe Sonia Swabey had children and after the lead in La Cave, I think Julie Alanah Brighten went into teaching. Don't quote me on that!
Sonia Swabey had a fantastic belt.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 22:56:25 GMT
I believe Sonia Swabey had children and after the lead in La Cave, I think Julie Alanah Brighten went into teaching. Don't quote me on that! Sonia Swabey had a fantastic belt. Sonia's As Long As He Needs Me on the Hey Mr Producer DVD - mesmerizing Thanks for the (potential) info!  |
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Post by infofreako on Jan 17, 2017 18:23:27 GMT
Always used to watch the television adverts for this and wish I could go to see it. That short clip looked amazing
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Post by ali973 on Jan 17, 2017 19:16:36 GMT
Not my cup of tea at all. I find it tacky. I saw the original cast and then again because John Barrowman was in it (big fan back then!) and they had the first black Belle (Michelle Gayle?), their answer to Toni Braxon, who was doing the show in New York around then (or has just left). She was the first Belle to sing A Change in Me in London. I never saw Barrowman, but a young Earl Carpenter was the understudy back then.
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Post by groupbooker on Jan 18, 2017 0:02:49 GMT
I think this was a far far better show than Aladdin! Saw it first in New York before it came to London, then at the Dominion. The original London Cast was better than the Broadway cast I think. The costumes and sets were amazing, in Aladdin it is basically the cave but in B&B every thing just got better and better. Yes some said it was panto but I think that was because we are brought up on panto and most panto's start with the village scene. Pity the recent touring B&B were cheap versions - lets hope the next one goes back to the original.
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