Flowers for Mrs Harris - Crucible / Chichester

I was at today's matinee and loved this by the end of the second half but I'm glad that previous posters had emphasised the difference between the two acts as had I not heard that things would pick up after the interval, I'd have been inclined to give up then because this was initially so slow, drab and monotone.

The transformation was like a slowly unfolding, mood-changing miracle; the seemingly-endless procession of dresses was amazing and lots of people stood at the end. That said, I thought the music was horrible: monotonous, unvarying and it just went on and on without turning into anything particular. I'd rather have none or proper musical numbers, but I did enjoy the doubling.

I managed to catch the last show and I have no idea what all the fuss is about.

The music is truly terrible. An unrelenting assault of tunelessness.
The only redeeming features were a handful of the performances. Clare Burt obviously, Louis Maskell who stole the show.
Joanna Riding doing her favoured ‘musical theatre walking’ and pulling outrageously over the top expressions. But as always highly watchable.

Claire Machin.. playing Claire Machin.

If they transferred this to London, it would flop massively.

The blurb says it was originally an archive recording, never intended for broadcast, so it will be interesting to see how that differs from an NT Live-type recording with multiple cameras etc. I wonder if there was even an audience there at the time? But I loved this, so not sure what to watch first on Thursday, this or Jane Eyre. How lovely to be spoilt for choice!

This was really wonderful! A nice surprise and a huge treat in this lockdown, thanks CFT. A few minor gripes - Clare Burt was beautiful and heartbreaking but really seemed to struggle with the score. Claire Machin had this really weird, affected talking voice as Violet, it was quite off-putting. As was Laura Pitt-Pulford's French accent.

Other than that, the score was so rich, dense and complex - I was not expecting that! Louis Maskell as Andre was a real highlight and the finale was seriously gorgeous. Set was so, so simple but really effective. Very happy to have seen it!

a beautifully staged show and so moving, and gorgeous to look at. Im sad that the screening didn't show the curtain call, as I was hoping perhaps the frocks would come back and maybe Ada finally got her moment, but that would have been wrong. So glad to have seen this.

Just watched this and loved it. I found the music glorious - some exquisite scoring and gorgeous moments (notably Rain for Me) and the whole thing a joy.

Maybe it was just me, but I found the music too loud and overbearing at times, which made it difficult to hear the dialogue.

We watched this last night in the States.  What a treat.  Yes, the first act is a big of a slog.  Maybe more than a bit. But, the Act Two payoffs - the costumes, the actors transitioning to other characters that are connected to their Act One roles, more variety of music and some explicit humor.  It was delightful, and maybe there was a tear or two at the end.  Ms. Burt's final smile as the lights go out was marvelous. Such an uplifting show.  Uplifting then, and even more so today. I understand those that would have been tempted to leave at the interval - but that is not something I generally follow through on. And I'm glad I didn't turn off the video - but continued through to Act Two.  So, thank you to the posters here about the show - which I relied upon to continue the viewing. Also, thank you to the posters here for not spoiling the events of the show.  I didn't know the novel or prior productions. So, it was all new to me.  It is a little fun at home - where, yes, we could talk a bit during the show, without disturbing anyone - which is something we would never do at the theatre.  My daughter did say midway through Act Two: But, she enjoyed how it was dealt with.  And was also really glad to watch it with me, and I with her.  (I enjoyed having her critque and translate the French also - who says a university education doesn't have a payoff) We will probably watch it again with my bride, once she gets through teaching this term at University. 

We did see The GoBetween during its short run in London and sort of enjoyed it.  I recall getting mid-stalls tickets for not a lot of money (15 pounds?) but the woman next to us was there as part of a papering group and broke the rules by telling us!  Still, we went to see Michael Crawford and he was much of the reason we did enjoy that show. 

But, Flowers for Mrs. Harris is a better show - maybe it's the themes and characters who, while a bit cardboard, seemed more lifelike, and certainly more relatable. Once, the show gets going, the musicalization becomes almost secondary.  It would be nice to have a few more "songs" - there certainly are places for it. But, that is not the show Mr. Taylor chose to write and Mr. Evans chose to stage. I'm guessing Mrs. Harris was written after The Go Between?  It's not clear to me.

Also, interesting that this was the "archive" edition, because there was camera work and editing.  The sound was an issue. We kept turning the volume down for much of the music and having to increase the volume when there was dialog/singing. The music did, at times, overwhelm the singing so it was hard to discern what was being said. 

This was such a dreary show with a terrible score. I cannot imagine sitting through it again- life is bad enough at the moment!

Just a quick question, I saw this at Sheffield but cant for the life of me remember who played the part Joanna Riding plays in the Chichester production, Does anyone recall?

Ah thats it, I knew it was someone well known in theatre! Thanks