From Here to Eternity - Charing Cross Theatre

Apart from an initially confusing gay bar scene I'd say it was very easy to follow. The staging is minimal, basically some boxes that get moved around and nothing I'd call frolicsome on a beach.

Just found out that a past member of my local youth theatre group Llangollen Operatic Young 'Uns is making his West End debut in this. Cassius Hackfoth playing Montello I believe. He is one of a number of past members to have gone into the industry.

Yes, I saw this a second time tonight, this time from those seats, and these side seats remind me of the front row in the old Union theatre, where actors brush against you, and you feel completely immersed in the show.

Of course, you do get backs, and backs blocking fronts occasionally, if you sit there, but the immersive feeling (and I don't mean anybody talks to you, God forbid lol) is wonderful, for those that like that sort of thing.

If you do like that feeling, definitely choose the Row Z side, as one song is PERFECT from that vantage point, and would be the very opposite from the other side.

The very best seats in the theatre are probably Row K high numbers, as you get front facing staging, immersive distance from the stage, and a good view of the relevant balcony for a critical song, but you probably won't get those seats in an offer, and otherwise they are priced premium.

As for the show, I do LOVE it, and I loved it all the more because I had completely let go of the songs that aren't in it, in particular, my third favourite song from the original show, "More than America." Just let those songs go, treat this as a whole new show, and I think it's just wonderful!

Not being particularly sensitive to violence (it takes Titus Andronicus and King Lear levels of violence to upset me lol), I paid attention to the violence this time for Dawnstar's sake, and there was more than I thought, though nothing that would bother someone of average sensitivity:



Some spoilers follow. . .

Although her character is somewhat tangential to the main drama, Carley Stenson actually does terrific work in making her functional songs, "More to Life than this" and "I'll remember the Day" sound superb. She elevates those songs.

Adam Rhys-Charles sounds a little like Elvis Presley at his emotive best when he performs "At Ease," the best new song!

Jonny Amies and Jonathan Bentley are as fantastic as ever.

This is such a 4 and a half star show, and if you give yourself to it, you'll love it! What's not to love!?

This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know anything about it, so went in cold (I just knew it was about Pearl Harbor somehow, someway).

It's the most plot-heavy musical I've seen in a long, long time: an artifact of the source material, I suspect (originally a novel). And that's not a criticism: it kept me invested and involved because I honestly couldn't predict the many zigs and zags in the plot. It's also an impressive undertaking: a really large cast (packed into in a small space!), with judicious use of projection, and committed, talented performances. The score is pleasant enough (I liked a blues number the best) and the evening was--as the British put it--pacy. It clocked in *exactly* at 2 1/2 hours but never felt sluggish.

My only quibble is with an unfortunate side-effect of the in-the-round staging: the set was (at best) rudimentary with plenty of actors' crates being piled on in various configurations. That worked OK for the army scenes, but oof, when the scene changed radically to a queer bar, it was really hard to puzzle out the dynamics of space. (I agree 100% with Paul26 that the gay bar sequence was confusing--and it's the linchpin of the first act.)

But I was cheered to see artists revisit a piece they obviously cherished, and I've a sense that the (mostly older) audience enjoyed it as well.

Mr Wallacio was correct in his prediction that this would mostly get 3 stars from the critics.

The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, Whatsonstage, The Upcoming, British Theatre, The Arts Desk, Broadway World, London Theatre 1, Lou Reviews and West End Best Friend all gave this 3 stars.

The Stage, The Reviews Hub, Jonathan Baz Reviews, Lost in Theatreland, Love London Love Culture, Pocket Size Theatre, The Spy in the Stalls, Everything Theatre, Reviewsgate and Theatre Weekly gave it 4 stars.

Musical Theatre Review, All That Dazzles and dear Theatremonkey gave it 5 stars.

I just LOVE this show. For me, it's critic proof and I want to see it a third time before it closes.

Saw the show last night and am surprised that removing a lot of songs and adding a lot of dialogue seems to have actually reduced the story content and made the plot harder to follow.

Wasn’t impressed with any of the new songs. When an original song was performed it elevated the show to a different level.

I remember the original show having two very strong love stories. Now neither has any impact. Lorene doesn’t seem interested in Prewitt at all during Act I, it came across like a very one sided affair. And Karen didn’t seem that bothered about Warden either, other than as a way out of her situation.

Maggio’s mistreatment seemed to spring out of nowhere. It didn’t seem very clear that this was the result of the gay bar stuff.

I really missed the female chorus, mainly for the glorious sound they made, but the brothel scene was so awkward without any women. Mrs Kipfer was just… strange.

It was really hard to know where to look with so many fit and handsome men on stage! It’s especially upsetting that they are also so incredibly talented. Jonathon Bentley doing one handed press ups is just showing off

The impact of the finale can’t be understated, especially in such a small theatre, and with such strong voices delivering such a strong song.

I always see this theatre discounting heavily…I am all for full employment and don’t want to see anyone out of work but how does this theater stay afloat? That’s no shade…just a legit question…Are they getting government money?

Puzzling & surprising to hear that Todaytix won't list this venue's shows; does anyone know why, please? I would always prefer to book directly with the venue if it will benefit them yet shows at this one continue to be listed at (imo) unrealistically high prices, only to be discounted. I'm happy with £20 but that's still a lot more than I'm paying for most of what I see - which I know is a personal choice based on my budget and preferences. Most of my tickets are the Southwark Playhouse PAYG type or £10 or £15 seats with the occasional £20 NT Friday Rush, making £20 seem top end, whereas for those who see more MT and in the West End, £20 may seem a bargain.

Or you can book in advance and see it for £13 as they have 50% off the cheapest two price levels.  £13 is the back two rows of each seating blocks (either side of the stage).  Go for the shorter seating block and you can be in the eighth row. showgirl

This is on TKTS, not the theatre's own site.

Surely there’s never any need to queue at the TKTS booth any more, unless one is feeling nostalgic, that’s all online as well? Or does the booth have seats that the website doesn’t?

That’s what I thought. Last time I used TKTS I just went on the website whilst I was in the bus into town. Although the “day” seats go live at midnight I think so have bought them on the way home for the next night as well!

Wonderful revamp of the original which seems to have settled into a powerful, emotional and theatrical production.

Saw a Sunday matinee where they don't sell programmes (or ice creams) for some reason so will need to hunt the cast down from the web but all were giving strong performances and certainly expect to see some progress to bigger musical roles in the years ahead) - you can buy a mug with the poster print for £6.

Strong chemistry between all the various relationships both in the love interests but also
expressing the various prejudices held which were more realistic for the jibes and hatred causally given.

It seems to have bedded down some of the issues commented on in earlier posts and the storyline was clear and much more streamlined that the 2013 version.

The three female leads were strong and portrayed much more nuanced characters than the original show.
The in the round set and staging is one of the best I have seen, all sides covered and the cast use all levels of the stage.the band sound great.

While fight the fight has been a regular playlist option was surprised I recognised several other tunes when they came up. Considering the amount of movement they do while singing the vocals were superb.

Certainly hope this production can get this musical looked at again as a possible tour. Being honest found it much more enjoyable, believable and better production than the recent south Pacific show.

Recommended and with top ticket £50 front row and many offers for the others its easily the best value west end show in town.

Was in seat K9 front row but there is a sheet covered row in front. As other have said stalls k back likely has a edge for view but the cast will be in front of you at some point either on floor or stage level.