|
Post by profquatermass on Jan 3, 2018 11:44:18 GMT
Before Hamilton which were the most eagerly anticipated West End shows and did they live up to their hype? The only musical that I recall being similar to Hamilton was Rent just short of twenty years ago. The London run fell far short of the Broadway one and I thought the imported Broadway cast was a mistake, I thought it had much more life and energy wth the British replacements. It was well received but I thought they looked tired/complacent. I think Hamilton did the right thing in recasting it completely. Dirty Dancing had absolutely huge advance sales despite complete indifference from the critics. There was a lot of excitement about Book of Mormon. And people went crazy over The Producers once Nathan Lane was announced
|
|
653 posts
|
Post by ptwest on Jan 3, 2018 11:48:47 GMT
This year I was very pleasantly surprised by 42nd Street, Young Frankenstein and Everybody's Talking About Jamie. The latter in particular was the closest to going into a show knowing nothing than I have done for years - the opening number had me absolutely hooked. Biggest disappointments were Bat Out Of Hell and Pinocchio. I enjoyed BOOH much more out of the two but thought it was and utter mess, albeit an entertaining one.
Going back a few years, I think Matilda was the most overhyped for me - enjoyable yes, but not the second coming of musicals that it was hyped up to be by a long shot. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't gone in with such high expectations. Likewise when Caroline Or Change was at the National - the reviews and word of mouth made it seem unmissable - I came away having admired both the show and the performances but I cant say I enjoyed it.
In terms of going to something with no real expectation and being blown away, the one that comes to mind is Memphis.
|
|
494 posts
|
Post by ellie1981 on Jan 3, 2018 11:50:58 GMT
I saw Oslo less than two weeks ago and still can’t for the life of me figure out how it won over critics and audiences.
I agree about some older plays feeling stale too, particularly The Glass Menagerie.
Apologia far exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed it far more than even the great reviews suggested.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 11:57:03 GMT
The only musical that I recall being similar to Hamilton was Rent just short of twenty years ago. The London run fell far short of the Broadway one and I thought the imported Broadway cast was a mistake, I thought it had much more life and energy wth the British replacements. It was well received but I thought they looked tired/complacent. I think Hamilton did the right thing in recasting it completely. Dirty Dancing had absolutely huge advance sales despite complete indifference from the critics. There was a lot of excitement about Book of Mormon. And people went crazy over The Producers once Nathan Lane was announced None had anywhere near the reach of Rent or Hamilton, students of the time that I had were indifferent to those but Rent (and now Hamilton) became a cultural phenomenon. As I say, it fizzled out within a year or so for Rent but you couldn’t escape it in media outside the usual theatre bubble and from people who would never usually know about a new musical. In comparison I think that Hamilton will have greater staying power.
|
|
494 posts
|
Post by ellie1981 on Jan 3, 2018 12:04:40 GMT
I was only 16 when Rent came to the West End and seriously never even heard of it. I didn’t really know much about it until the early 2000s when it started to become parodied.
I’ve never seen a professional production, only the below par film and an amateur production. It has a handful of good stand alone songs but as a musical I’m really underwhelmed by it as I generally disliked the characters. Maybe I need to see it properly on stage to appreciate it.
|
|
2,676 posts
|
Post by viserys on Jan 3, 2018 12:06:54 GMT
Personally I think Hamilton is a wonderful piece of work, but it's not a religious experience for me like it is some people...but I don't feel disappointed by it either if that makes sense? I think a lot of it comes down to how much one gets "involved" in the hype. I enjoyed Hamilton a lot on Broadway and knew I would be wanting to see it again once i came to London. But I consciously avoided most of the hype in-between, like the endless stream of Ham4Ham-Videos from Broadway, interviews, clips, the "mixtape" versions and the chatter about potential casting in London. I kinda pretended that the show didn't exist until it did finally open in London when I read the reviews and all the comments here on the forum and got really excited about my return visit instead of feeling "over" the show already. It was much easier to avoid hype back in the days of "Rent" when the internet was still very young and most people only had dial-up to pay by the minute (if that). So I knew that Rent was a huge success on Broadway and I loved the cast recording, but it was still super fresh when it arrived in London (and personally I was very very glad that at least some of the Broadway cast had come over and I got to see them live). At least Hamilton and Rent both are deserving of hype in my opinion, both for their innovation and topicality. I find it far more frustrating here in Germany where nonsense like Tanz der Vampire and the drippy Rebecca got hyped beyond belief for years. Seeing Bat out of Hell rekindled my love for Steinman though, so I've made a conscious decision to completely shut myself off from the tedious blather about the show here for months and will try and see it fresh in spring.
|
|
4,153 posts
|
Post by kathryn on Jan 3, 2018 12:33:49 GMT
I was only 16 when Rent came to the West End and seriously never even heard of it. I didn’t really know much about it until the early 2000s when it started to become parodied. I’ve never seen a professional production, only the below par film and an amateur production. It has a handful of good stand alone songs but as a musical I’m really underwhelmed by it as I generally disliked the characters. Maybe I need to see it properly on stage to appreciate it. I re-watched the film - which was my first proper encounter with the show - last night. Now that I know and love the musical the film really does look awful. The director didn’t get it at all!
|
|
4,153 posts
|
Post by kathryn on Jan 3, 2018 12:37:42 GMT
Hype is a funny thing. I saw quite a few films at the London Film Festival last year that are currently being hyped up on the awards circuit, and it’s a weird feeling. Most of them have sort of faded out of my brain by now and it’s strange to see them being talked about as exciting and new. I don’t know how actors do it - they must be so over their own films by the time they’re doing their hundredth interview about them, and they have to keep it up for months!
|
|
1,064 posts
|
Post by bellboard27 on Jan 3, 2018 12:52:03 GMT
Obviously it is hard for something to have quite a lot of hype, but it still to seem to exceed that (not just live up to it). For me such productions include 42nd Street, Mathew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Opera North’s Ring Cycle and The Flick (to give examples of musical, dance, opera and play).
Lots of hype can lead to disappointment when I finally get to see something. Examples are Mosquitoes, Dreamgirls, Lazarus and Hamilton. The latter two I felt were fine, but way over-hyped. The former two I felt were actually not very good, so way below the hype given them.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 12:55:31 GMT
Personally I think Hamilton is a wonderful piece of work, but it's not a religious experience for me like it is some people...but I don't feel disappointed by it either if that makes sense? I think a lot of it comes down to how much one gets "involved" in the hype. I enjoyed Hamilton a lot on Broadway and knew I would be wanting to see it again once i came to London. But I consciously avoided most of the hype in-between, like the endless stream of Ham4Ham-Videos from Broadway, interviews, clips, the "mixtape" versions and the chatter about potential casting in London. I kinda pretended that the show didn't exist until it did finally open in London when I read the reviews and all the comments here on the forum and got really excited about my return visit instead of feeling "over" the show already. It was much easier to avoid hype back in the days of "Rent" when the internet was still very young and most people only had dial-up to pay by the minute (if that). So I knew that Rent was a huge success on Broadway and I loved the cast recording, but it was still super fresh when it arrived in London (and personally I was very very glad that at least some of the Broadway cast had come over and I got to see them live). At least Hamilton and Rent both are deserving of hype in my opinion, both for their innovation and topicality. I find it far more frustrating here in Germany where nonsense like Tanz der Vampire and the drippy Rebecca got hyped beyond belief for years. Seeing Bat out of Hell rekindled my love for Steinman though, so I've made a conscious decision to completely shut myself off from the tedious blather about the show here for months and will try and see it fresh in spring. It's true- I saw Hamilton in the November before the Tonys and before the BIG hype had taken hold so I was excited to see it/see what the fuss was about but hadn't been beaten over the head with it. I really enjoyed it and it was by far the best thing that trip, but in the coming months I became very very 'over it' through the constant hype. I'm now excited to see it in London, but equally was happy to wait until March to do so. Weirdly with Rent I missed the initial hype- was a bit too young and not into Musicals etc then, so by the time I 'discovered' it there wasn't such a fuss. And as you say it was 'another time' when it was easier to avoid!
|
|
|
Post by profquatermass on Jan 3, 2018 12:57:56 GMT
Dirty Dancing had absolutely huge advance sales despite complete indifference from the critics. There was a lot of excitement about Book of Mormon. And people went crazy over The Producers once Nathan Lane was announced None had anywhere near the reach of Rent or Hamilton, students of the time that I had were indifferent to those but Rent (and now Hamilton) became a cultural phenomenon. As I say, it fizzled out within a year or so for Rent but you couldn’t escape it in media outside the usual theatre bubble and from people who would never usually know about a new musical. In comparison I think that Hamilton will have greater staying power. I was a theatre-going, internet-using adult (though older than student age) when Rent came out and I have absolutely no recollection of it having any more hype or interest around it than any other musical transfer. Certainly no more than Wicked or Book of Mormon. I certainly don't remember anyone I knew seeing it while I know lots of people who have seen all the ones I've listed. Did anyone over the age of 25 care about Rent? The difference about Hamilton and Book of Mormon is they appeal to grown ups too (BTW, I'm not talking about the quality of these shows, most of which I haven't seen)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 13:22:35 GMT
None had anywhere near the reach of Rent or Hamilton, students of the time that I had were indifferent to those but Rent (and now Hamilton) became a cultural phenomenon. As I say, it fizzled out within a year or so for Rent but you couldn’t escape it in media outside the usual theatre bubble and from people who would never usually know about a new musical. In comparison I think that Hamilton will have greater staying power. I was a theatre-going, internet-using adult (though older than student age) when Rent came out and I have absolutely no recollection of it having any more hype or interest around it than any other musical transfer. Certainly no more than Wicked or Book of Mormon. I certainly don't remember anyone I knew seeing it while I know lots of people who have seen all the ones I've listed. Did anyone over the age of 25 care about Rent? The difference about Hamilton and Book of Mormon is they appeal to grown ups too (BTW, I'm not talking about the quality of these shows, most of which I haven't seen) I think Rent's reach was older than twenty five (I was in my thirties then) but definitely around London it was inescapable. Its eighteen month run suggests that the audience was initially energised but dwindled and didn't bring in the casual theatregoer to add to that. Book of Mormon is just another American transfer and hasn't had much cultural resonance even as it runs longer. Hamilton is of another order entirely, people who don't know theatre know about it (I have no idea how but that extends to my mother too!)
|
|
4,970 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Phantom of London on Jan 3, 2018 13:44:53 GMT
The most underrated show of the year was La Strada at The Other Palace, which I thought was beautiful, the diminutive Audrey Brisson, who proved to be a real force of nature and in another high profile show she will become a star.
|
|
494 posts
|
Post by ellie1981 on Jan 3, 2018 14:21:46 GMT
Hype is a funny thing. I saw quite a few films at the London Film Festival last year that are currently being hyped up on the awards circuit, and it’s a weird feeling. Most of them have sort of faded out of my brain by now and it’s strange to see them being talked about as exciting and new. I don’t know how actors do it - they must be so over their own films by the time they’re doing their hundredth interview about them, and they have to keep it up for months! How true. I did the same for the LFF, although it’s equally disappointing when you see something great and then expect it to be huge, only for it to fizzle out without any fanfare at all.
|
|
|
Post by profquatermass on Jan 3, 2018 14:34:56 GMT
Goodness. I was around London when Rent was on and vaguely remember it as another musical but it really made no impression on me at all except for knowing what it was about and a couple of lines from One Song Glory. Was it just me walking around in a daze or were others similarly oblivious?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 18:42:31 GMT
There was one thing that really lived up to all the hype for me last year. Her name is Bette Midler. Bette?! Where did you see her? I am a big BM fan. How did I miss this?!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 18:56:19 GMT
There was one thing that really lived up to all the hype for me last year. Her name is Bette Midler. Bette?! Where did you see her? I am a big BM fan. How did I miss this?! Hello, Dolly!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 19:02:46 GMT
For me An Octoroon didn’t live up to the hype and neither did Grimly Handsome. I wondered if the fact that both shows were big hits before they got to London skewed opinions about them. Both shows also made me wonder if Theatre audiences are so deprived of “spectacle” that when they get it it blows their minds. And I wondered (in the case of Grimly Handsome) if when people don’t understand something they think must be clever they say how wonderful it is because they don’t want to look stupid. In the case of An Octoroon the lead actor was amazing and did indeed exceed the hype. I quite enjoyed both shows but overall they did not live up to the hype for me.
The shows that for me were were lovely discoveries were Jam at the Finborough and Assata Taught Me at The Gate. I love to see the work of first time writers. Even though it is often flawed it can have an emotional intensity and rawness before the writer develops more “sophisticated” techniques. I think they both got OK reviews which were fair, I suppose.
For me Ferryman was a bit like being a middle aged woman who is completely bowled over by a man a third her age who professes to be in love with her. I saw it twice. The first time I thought it lived up to the hype. The second time I was immune to its attempts to charm me with its theatrical tricks and realised I had been somewhat hoodwinked the first time.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 19:09:39 GMT
For me Ferryman was a bit like being a middle aged woman who is completely bowled over by a man a third her age who professes to be in love with her. I saw it twice. The first time I thought it lived up to the hype. The second time I was immune to its attempts to charm me with its theatrical tricks and realised I had been somewhat hoodwinked the first time. ahaha this is my favourite review of The Ferryman! I love that analogy but it also echoes something of what I felt, you know when everyone thinks a guy or gal is the hottest most charming and you meet them and are like 'meh they're alright but nowt special' that's what I felt about it!
|
|
8,094 posts
|
Post by alece10 on Jan 3, 2018 19:10:25 GMT
The show that didn't live up to the hype for me was Dreamgirls. Apart from 3 or 4 decent songs the rest of the music was unmemorable and just a lot of flashing lights with ear bursting noise coming from the speakers. Amber Riley.... mehhhhh. ....
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 19:38:28 GMT
For me An Octoroon didn’t live up to the hype and neither did Grimly Handsome. I wondered if the fact that both shows were big hits before they got to London skewed opinions about them. Both shows also made me wonder if Theatre audiences are so deprived of “spectacle” that when they get it it blows their minds. And I wondered (in the case of Grimly Handsome) if when people don’t understand something they think must be clever they say how wonderful it is because they don’t want to look stupid. In the case of An Octoroon the lead actor was amazing and did indeed exceed the hype. I quite enjoyed both shows but overall they did not live up to the hype for me. The shows that for me were were lovely discoveries were Jam at the Finborough and Assata Taught Me at The Gate. I love to see the work of first time writers. Even though it is often flawed it can have an emotional intensity and rawness before the writer develops more “sophisticated” techniques. I think they both got OK reviews which were fair, I suppose. For me Ferryman was a bit like being a middle aged woman who is completely bowled over by a man a third her age who professes to be in love with her. I saw it twice. The first time I thought it lived up to the hype. The second time I da of was immune to its attempts to charm me with its theatrical tricks and realised I had been somewhat hoodwinked the first time. What was difficult about Grimly Handsome? Three scenes, one with men preying on a young woman, one about detectives and their immediate circle on what appeared to be the same case and a coda of animals, making the analogy clear as to the nature of the previous. If anything I was disappointed it was so clear, I’d been led to believe it was going to be ‘Lynchian’, someone whose surrealist and dream imagery is far more of a challenge. It was fine for what it was, I suppose.
|
|
2,389 posts
|
Post by peggs on Jan 3, 2018 19:39:28 GMT
I tend to feel happier going to something that has mixed reviews especially on here as i'm expecting less, quite often when everyone has raved over something it just can't live up to it all. I was worried harry potter wouldn't live up to it's hype and it did but I had deliberately avoided hearing anything much about it. I wasn't wowed by The Glass Menagerie having gone after mass praise on her but I think I probably picked the wrong seat, the floor of the production certainly was not as amazing as i'd imagined. It's a while back but was disappointed by the Barbican last Hamlet.
|
|
|
Post by profquatermass on Jan 3, 2018 19:55:21 GMT
I tend to feel happier going to something that has mixed reviews especially on here as i'm expecting less, quite often when everyone has raved over something it just can't live up to it all. I was worried harry potter wouldn't live up to it's hype and it did but I had deliberately avoided hearing anything much about it. I wasn't wowed by The Glass Menagerie having gone after mass praise on her but I think I probably picked the wrong seat, the floor of the production certainly was not as amazing as i'd imagined. It's a while back but was disappointed by the Barbican last Hamlet. If that was Cumberbatch, I think plenty of people were disappointed by it. Also Glenda's Lear.
|
|
4,153 posts
|
Post by kathryn on Jan 3, 2018 20:17:12 GMT
I tend to feel happier going to something that has mixed reviews especially on here as i'm expecting less, quite often when everyone has raved over something it just can't live up to it all. I was worried harry potter wouldn't live up to it's hype and it did but I had deliberately avoided hearing anything much about it. I wasn't wowed by The Glass Menagerie having gone after mass praise on her but I think I probably picked the wrong seat, the floor of the production certainly was not as amazing as i'd imagined. It's a while back but was disappointed by the Barbican last Hamlet. If that was Cumberbatch, I think plenty of people were disappointed by it. Also Glenda's Lear. Glenda’s Lear had me genuinely wondering if the critics had seen the same production! At least with Cumberbatch there was general consensus that it wasn’t all that good.
|
|
4,020 posts
|
Post by Dawnstar on Jan 3, 2018 20:46:19 GMT
I wouldn't exactly say 42nd Street didn't live up to the hype, because I saw it early in previews before there was much hype, but I came out of it thinking "Great production of a so-so show" & then found almost everyone but me raving about it on the board. It makes me feel guilty for not loving it like may people do but, having revisited twice, I still feel it lacks the depth of characters for me to really love it.
|
|