2,706 posts
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Feb 16, 2020 11:53:58 GMT
I really regret not having seen Lord Of The Rings. I’ve never read the books/seen the films and wasn’t massively moved by the cast recording so decided not to.... As well as my Back To The Future hopes, I also wonder if Prince of Egypt might provide some breathtaking spectacle. I think Lord of the Rings was the last time I thought "wow, I've never seen so much money on a stage"- and yes the fireflies were gorgeous. 42nd was sumptuous, but of course it was very nearly a straight revival from the 1980s- but that staircase was genuinely a coup de theatre. The use of projections can never have the same visceral impact as actual scenic items. Lord of the Rings had the same problem as the His Dark Materials stage version, too much story. Good theatre revolves as much around character as plot and there was little time to go beyond ‘this happens, that happens, this happens.....’. To me, the 42nd Street set was tacky, nothing like the stylishness of the early 30’s, more like a trashy 70’s version of what we imagined the 30’s were like. Reminded me of Saturday night TV variety shows that we used to get! It comes down to a successful balance of plot and character. If a show needs a flashy design to work, then you haven’t got a good show, just a good spectacle. The way that we’ve seen more intimate versions of shows in the last few decades has exposed many as being severely lacking in that regard. Some, surprisingly, improve such as The Color Purple. Did anyone see the fringe revival of Time? I’d love to know how that worked without the technology.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2020 12:11:31 GMT
LOTR to this day is still one of my all time theatre highlights. It was immersive, spectacular and creative physical theatre. It was too ambitious in terms of story but I was never bored and it was at times breathtaking (literally at one point). The music was lovely and evoked the setting well.
It also showed up the ridiculousness of London theatre prices. I paid the same amount for LOTR as I did for Drowsy Chaperone. LOTR you could see where you're money went in the set, costumes, cast, effects etc. Drowsy was borderline am dram set and costumes, only about 1hr 40mins long and completely forgettable in every way.
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Feb 16, 2020 18:21:07 GMT
Where as for me LOTR, I'd forgotten the score by the time I set foot outside the theatre but I think Chaperone is one of the great underrated musicals (certainly in the UK) of the last 30 years.
The great thing about theatre going, everyone has different tastes! I'll never understand the praise for something like Hamilton or Wicked but I'll crack open Chaperone or Flora the Red Menace at the drop of a hat.
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529 posts
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Post by drowseychap on Feb 16, 2020 18:29:19 GMT
I saw Lotr too and yes the set was quite something but the songs I’d forgotten too by the end and found it boring tbh Chaperone I loved thought the set was very good definitely not am dram and such a great cast deserved a much longer run love the sound track ... really funny too ... sae a smaller production later upstairs at gatehouse which was really well done on a tiny scale soibhan McCarthy as chaperone was incredible I think a tour would do pretty well better than these wedding singer etc etc. Tours in my humble opinion
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Post by westendboy on Feb 18, 2020 14:01:14 GMT
It seems like we may be seeing the next big West End flop right around the corner. 'The Prince of Egypt' has been getting some mixed reactions from audiences who've seen it during previews. Some seem to like it, some seem to hate it. It's official opening night (press night) is on the 25th, so we don't know how the critics will feel about it. Sure these early responses from audiences may not affect the show much (there are already large ques outside the the box office of the Dominion!), but they could be a bad sign of some sorts. And if the critics slam the show, ticket sales may drop. Of course, this might not be the case and it may go on to be a success. We just need to wait until the 25th.
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Post by fluxcapacitor on Feb 18, 2020 14:13:52 GMT
LOTR to this day is still one of my all time theatre highlights. It was immersive, spectacular and creative physical theatre. It was too ambitious in terms of story but I was never bored and it was at times breathtaking (literally at one point). The music was lovely and evoked the setting well. It also showed up the ridiculousness of London theatre prices. I paid the same amount for LOTR as I did for Drowsy Chaperone. LOTR you could see where you're money went in the set, costumes, cast, effects etc. Drowsy was borderline am dram set and costumes, only about 1hr 40mins long and completely forgettable in every way. Talking about Drowsy Chaperone, that was an almighty flop in London. The broadway production was wonderful, what happened in translation? Possibly a simple case of the wrong casting bringing down the show?
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306 posts
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Post by MrBraithwaite on Feb 18, 2020 14:46:14 GMT
I doubt casting was the reason, the show appeals to theatre nerd like us but is difficult to market to a wider audience. They had a name in the cast with Elaine Paige, but that didn't help much it seems. Never saw it in London, pity really...
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 18, 2020 14:47:51 GMT
I did see Drowsy in London. I seem to recall enjoying it. But I can recall absolutely nothing specific about it - either in terms of songs, staging or performances.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2020 15:03:34 GMT
Drowsy came into town with no fanfare and apart from a few posters around town, very little marketing. It didnt stand a chance.
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Feb 18, 2020 16:05:37 GMT
The advertising campaign for Drowsy was rotten. Seemed to be based around Elaine Paige returning to the West End, which is nice if you are Elaine Paige but which was about 15 years too late for the casual punter.
It was one of those shows where they were advertising to the people who were going to see it anyway, it didn't jump out to anyone else at all.
Which was as a shame as the fridge opening and the plane were wonderful touches. Lovely lovely score and book combined with a superb staging and some great comic performances.
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4,967 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 18, 2020 16:33:51 GMT
Wasn't Elaine Paige one of the producers on Drowsy Chaperone, or was that a white lie for publicity purposes?
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2,706 posts
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Feb 18, 2020 19:37:38 GMT
LOTR to this day is still one of my all time theatre highlights. It was immersive, spectacular and creative physical theatre. It was too ambitious in terms of story but I was never bored and it was at times breathtaking (literally at one point). The music was lovely and evoked the setting well. It also showed up the ridiculousness of London theatre prices. I paid the same amount for LOTR as I did for Drowsy Chaperone. LOTR you could see where you're money went in the set, costumes, cast, effects etc. Drowsy was borderline am dram set and costumes, only about 1hr 40mins long and completely forgettable in every way. Talking about Drowsy Chaperone, that was an almighty flop in London. The broadway production was wonderful, what happened in translation? Possibly a simple case of the wrong casting bringing down the show? It’s a show that relies on the audience being in on the joke. In New York, I suspect that many more knew what was being spoofed but London audiences didn’t. The material, taken at face value, wasn’t strong enough.
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7,538 posts
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Post by alece10 on Feb 19, 2020 6:00:50 GMT
I loved Chaperone in London. Think I saw it 5 times. However each visit was on a highly discounted ticket.
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18,844 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 19, 2020 7:54:21 GMT
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749 posts
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Post by horton on Feb 19, 2020 8:13:11 GMT
Odd, isn't it?
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Post by westendboy on Feb 19, 2020 13:11:06 GMT
It's been like that since 2015. I wonder if they still have plans for the show? Maybe just wishful thinking on my part.
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316 posts
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Post by ABr on Feb 19, 2020 14:10:01 GMT
It's been like that since 2015. I wonder if they still have plans for the show? Maybe just wishful thinking on my part. I noticed that last year, I would love an arena world tour, which is what was rumoured at one point! But still gutted that I didn't see the London production, mainly for Laura Michelle Kelly as Galadriel!
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316 posts
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Post by ABr on Feb 19, 2020 14:13:02 GMT
Talking about Drowsy Chaperone, that was an almighty flop in London. The broadway production was wonderful, what happened in translation? Possibly a simple case of the wrong casting bringing down the show? It’s a show that relies on the audience being in on the joke. In New York, I suspect that many more knew what was being spoofed but London audiences didn’t. The material, taken at face value, wasn’t strong enough. I would have loved to have seen Drowsy in London! I was so surprised to hear that it didn't do well at all over here, I feel that it had a similar reception to Millie, granted that lasted much longer, but still didn't catch on like the Broadway productions did!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2020 14:45:27 GMT
Drowsy was very niche in its appeal, and lacked any stars to draw people in (sadly Elaine Paige wasnt the draw she was a decade or so earlier). It remains the most empty theatre I've been in, especially on a saturday night. If the audience hit triple figures I'd be surprised.
The cast were all solid west end talent (although John partridge I could have done without). A very thin plot that was very much an 'in joke' and to me the lead character was such a tired stereotype
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Feb 19, 2020 14:55:01 GMT
I'm sure if they did a complete 100% top to bottom rewrite on the dreadfully forgettable score, book and lyrics it may just have a chance. Has their been a bigger flop over the last couple of decades in terms of money lost? The likes of X-Factor and Spice Girls musicals surely wouldn't have lost as much for the suckers investors.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2020 15:11:30 GMT
Has their been a bigger flop over the last couple of decades in terms of money lost? The likes of X-Factor and Spice Girls musicals surely wouldn't have lost as much for the suckers investors. I cant imagine any of the recent shows like Bend It... Dagenham or Mrs Henderson made any money back at all. I'm sure there are plenty more.
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749 posts
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Post by horton on Feb 19, 2020 17:14:08 GMT
Mrs Henderson was dreary and amateurish, I found. Tracie Bennett was hopelessly mis-cast.
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Post by westendboy on Feb 19, 2020 19:36:28 GMT
It's been like that since 2015. I wonder if they still have plans for the show? Maybe just wishful thinking on my part. I noticed that last year, I would love an arena world tour, which is what was rumoured at one point! But still gutted that I didn't see the London production, mainly for Laura Michelle Kelly as Galadriel! Same! I wish I got the chance to see it back then! Would have loved to experience the set and the stage, but also Laura Michelle Kelly and Michael Therriault as Gollum! The soundtrack does have a few good numbers, but some are better than others. 'Lothlorien', 'Wonder', 'Star of Earendil' and 'Now and for Always' are highlights, whilst the rest are either hit or miss. 'The Cat and the Moon' is fun though.
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