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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 14, 2018 17:54:25 GMT
I’m more excited than I oughta be for this next week. Anyone see it in Edinburgh? HEADS UP PLEASE!
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Post by daniel on Jan 14, 2018 18:36:30 GMT
Seeing this in Manchester in a couple of weeks. I absolutely love it, far more than I probably should! Do report back after you've been BurlyBeaR  |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 14, 2018 18:59:04 GMT
Seeing this in Manchester in a couple of weeks. I absolutely love it, far more than I probably should! Do report back after you've been BurlyBeaR I’m on it like a car bonnet! 👍 |
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Post by shady23 on Jan 14, 2018 19:06:15 GMT
I'm going early February in Sunderland.
Looking forward to seeing the new cast.
We saw Lord Farquad having a smoke in his dressing gown at the stage door the last time it was here. My Mum has talked of little else since! She is appalled whenever she sees a performer smoking "well! You'd think they'd look after themselves!" My favourite was the text she send me when she saw "a giraffe in full make" up having one outside The Lion King.
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Post by daniel on Jan 14, 2018 20:01:22 GMT
I'm going early February in Sunderland. Looking forward to seeing the new cast. We saw Lord Farquad having a smoke in his dressing gown at the stage door the last time it was here. My Mum has talked of little else since! She is appalled whenever she sees a performer smoking "well! You'd think they'd look after themselves!" My favourite was the text she send me when she saw "a giraffe in full make" up having one outside The Lion King. not to fuel danieljohnson14's fire any further, but I did see Chris Howell having a cig on the little side street next to the Fortune, just opposite Drury Lake's stage door. 👀 |
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Post by shady23 on Jan 15, 2018 12:06:00 GMT
One child free per paying adult Tuesday to Thursday at Palace Theatre Manchester on band A and B tickets.
Code is SWAMP
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 15, 2018 22:58:33 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 16, 2018 22:28:01 GMT
Oh my. Where to begin!
They've changed this and I don’t think it’s for the better. Let’s start with the big stuff.
The opening is different. The scene where the parents sing to young Shrek while he embarks in his journey is out and instead we get some confusing stuff with villagers and pitchforks. There is a child actor but he is in it for mere moments.
There are no “three ages of Fiona”. This is done using puppets which really did not work for me. I appreciate the potential issues around rehearsing young performers for what are short stops on this tour but if it needs to be done differently then this isn’t the way. The opening of the number with the strings is totally lost while she explains the puppets and the rest is just hugely distracting. The whole point of the number is lost and the audience reception to one of the best numbers in the show was lukewarm.
The dragon scene - no Donkey Pot Pie. Different song altogether and not as good. She has a brilliant voice but that whole thing about her eating him and then him flattering her looks is different. The premise is the same but it’s no longer as clear.
No bath scene with Farquaad and his bodyguard 😡.
Regional accents used for some of the fairytale characters (wolf, red riding hood and red witch). Why?
And to the lyric changes. No “They called me a hot tranny mess” it’s now “they made me wear a granny dress”. Political correctness gone mad. There are a couple of other changes that I tried to make a mental note of but but can’t remember now.
The perfomances are good. Steffan Harri smashes it and Laura Main has a great voice too although she is no Sutton. Samuel Holme needs to ramp up the camp factor by at least ten notches but the basics are there and the audience liked him. Hopefully he’ll relax into it. I really liked Marcus Ayton as Donkey but my friend thought he was meh.
I dunno, I really love this show for its deftness and cleverness and I really did enjoy it, the dancing rats and three blind mice were great and that biscuit cracks me up every time. Just wasn’t keen on the changes.
Opening night in manc, very cold very wet, snowing and miserable. A hard sell and they didn’t quite make it. Three stars.
(Magnet bog standard metal. Gagging to buy the gingerbread man puppet but held back!)
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Post by daniel on Jan 16, 2018 23:05:28 GMT
Interesting review BurlyBeaR! Just wondering, did you see the tour last time or the West End run? Just trying to remember what of your changes were in then - I remember Donkey Pot Pie was replaced with Forever for the London run, and I'm sure Farquad didn't have his bathtub. I've watched the Broadway DVD more times than I dare to admit so at times they do all blur together. Does the opening have the big opening book, and the villagers dancing round with bits of firewood or has that changed too? Disappointing to hear about the changes to the Fionas song, that was one of my favourites! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 16, 2018 23:23:05 GMT
Hmm I’ve watched that dvd a lot too, not to mention the OBC recording, maybe I’m getting confuddled 😐. ive only seen the earlier tour but I could swear the bathtub scene was definitely in it. Wasn’t it? Yes it was... im sure. I’m doubting myself now. Yes it’s the book is there but no villagers with firewood they just poke their heads through the pages.
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Post by Steffi on Jan 17, 2018 10:39:00 GMT
There definitely was no bathtub scene on the last tour.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2018 11:34:43 GMT
Wasnt it set in Farquadds gym in London and the last tour.
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Post by Mark on Jan 17, 2018 11:51:31 GMT
Why screw with I know it's today!?! One of the best songs in the show.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2018 11:55:00 GMT
Wasn't the opening scene in London involving the villagers too? Shrek and Fiona came out of a big book if I remember rightly, and then we hear a little bit of both their stories, followed by the villagers coming out, then the books part to reveal the swamp?
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Post by christya on Jan 17, 2018 12:17:47 GMT
Glad I didn't book for this now, 'I Know It's Today' is one of my favourites and it sounds like they've wrecked it.
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Post by ensembleswings on Jan 17, 2018 17:08:40 GMT
Quite disappointed to hear what they've done with 'I Know It's Today', that was the song I was most looking forward to and it sounds like it's lost majority of the appeal now. The other changes don't bother me as much, well hearing about them anyway, my thoughts may change when I see it. I'll still go and see the tour, now with much lower expectations especially for that song
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 17, 2018 17:44:31 GMT
I wouldn’t want to put anyone off seeing it but yeah, I Know It’s Today was a let down. There’s quite a lot of prop action in the original three person version with the books etc. Now try to imagine her dealing with that while she’s also trying to work the puppet. I don’t envy her and I’m not surprised it doesn’t work. Interestingly there are two puppets of Fiona one smaller than the other but she only performs with one of them. The other appears for the last bit of the song but isn’t used. I can imagine the original idea was to have a puppet on each hand and for her to sing with them, but of course that means no book action so they decided on just one puppet.
If it really wasnt possible to have the real young Fiona’s then I think something with video might have worked better. Not ideal by any stretch but better than this compromise.
Ive been racking my brains all day about that opening sequence and you’re right, I think I’m wrongly basing my memory on the dvd version, sorry! Did they use projections on the pages of the book on the last tour? They did this time. The gym sequence is in too, so I reckon I was remembering that wrongly aswell. Haha sorry again!
They didn’t use UK regional accents for the fairytale characters last time though did they? Please let me be right about something! 😝
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Post by No. on Jan 17, 2018 18:34:24 GMT
I’m actually gutted they’ve changed this, the sequence with the three Fiona’s was one of my favourites on the last tour
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Post by Phantom of London on Jan 17, 2018 18:39:16 GMT
Really just shows how producers on the road, race to the bottom, the same was done with the current Hairspray tour, a piece I adore. I know it’s today and the 3 Fionas we’re standout.parts of the musical.
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Post by sophizoey on Jan 18, 2018 12:32:10 GMT
Glad I read this thread before booking.i was originally going to get £37.50 tickets for Sunderland but after reading this I opted for the cheapest £17.50 ticket.
Ill just be glad to see it I was obsessed with the Shrek films growing up so it'll be nice and sentimental and fun anyway.
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Post by daniel on Jan 27, 2018 22:57:01 GMT
So, saw this in Manchester tonight...have to say, I was actually quite disappointed.
First up, I love Shrek. It's a real guilty pleasure show for me. I saw it in London back in my earlier days of theatregoing, I saw the tour twice, I've watched the DVD of the Broadway production more times than I dare to admit, and it's one of my most listened to cast recordings...but tonight was just, meh.
First up, the changes. They've ruined the opening. It's just not as good. Now it's very projection-driven. The big book is still there, but rather than people coming out through the book, they just poke their heads through whilst the projection is happening around them. Didn't work. I really like Big Bright Beautiful World, but it just doesn't have the impact in this production.
Next up, I Know It's Today...my Lord (Farquaad), what have they done to it? She has puppets. Think low rent Avenue Q. And they've cut a verse. The whole dynamic of the 3 Fionas (Fioni?) worked really well before, I think for most people it was one of the best songs in the show, and they've bloody ruined it.
So, "why the changes?" I hear you ask...it all seems to stem to the cutting of the kids. No baby shrek, no baby Fiona. Farquaad's dad now played by a man on knees rather than a kid. I don't know how much money the producers save by not having the kids in the show, but given how much they've jacked up the prices from the last tour, it's not like it's a cost they can't justify.
Next up, the casting. It's just not as good as previous incarnations of the show. Stefan Harri is great as Shrek, I really enjoyed his performance, but I thought Laura Main was crap. Her voice isn't strong enough, she struggled with the higher parts of the score and seriously lacked power. Comic timing all over the place, I didn't warm to her portrayal at all. Donkey was okay - a lot better than Richard Whatshisface from the West End run (though to be fair, I think my nan would also be better) but not a patch on Idriss from the first tour. He has a lovely rich soul voice but I don't think it suits Donkey, and he didn't have enough energy I didn't think.
Pinocchio was embarrassing. Sounded like Mickey Mouse does Frankie Valli. Rest of the ensemble strong, really liked Dragon and Gingie.
The music felt really underpowered. I need to check my old programmes but I'm sure they've reduced the size of the band...I'll report back when I've investigated.
Overall a disappointing show, due to greedy producers cheapening the product to maximise their profit. I'd expect a production to be reduced when being taken on by a different producer, (e.g. original Legally Blonde vs current LB), but when it's the same company, I see no viable excuse for reducing production quality and increasing pricing.
3 stars tonight.
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Post by daniel on Jan 28, 2018 1:19:22 GMT
To update on my earlier post - I've checked tonight's programme against the last tour and both the ensemble and the orchestra have been reduced in size...those pesky producers.
The ensemble is one person down, plus the four kids who alternated Young Fiona/Young Shrek/Dwarf, there is one less Swing, and 5 musicians have been cut. FIVE!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 28, 2018 19:39:18 GMT
To update on my earlier post - I've checked tonight's programme against the last tour and both the ensemble and the orchestra have been reduced in size...those pesky producers. The ensemble is one person down, plus the four kids who alternated Young Fiona/Young Shrek/Dwarf, there is one less Swing, and 5 musicians have been cut. FIVE! Young Shrek was played by a child on opening night. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 28, 2018 19:42:01 GMT
What did you think of Farquaad? |
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Post by daniel on Jan 28, 2018 19:52:43 GMT
What did you think of Farquaad? I thought he was good! I didn't find him as naturally funny as Gerard Carey or Neil McDermott, but I think he did a good job. |
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