Man of La Mancha - ENO 2019

Another 2 stars from The Standard - "A wearying evening"

www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/man-of-la-mancha-review-london-coliseum-a4131056.html

Most of the reviews seem to dislike the show itself as much as (or perhaps more than) the production

Also 2 stars from Time Out - "Kelsey Grammer stiffly soldiers on through this hopelessly dated ’60s musical"

www.timeout.com/london/theatre/man-of-la-mancha-review

There were a handful of 4-star reviews. And much better word-of-mouth.

Let's not forget these are co-productions with Grade Linnit who choose the shows - not ENO. ENO really only get share of ticket sales so on this they probably will not make anything!

This is the last show in the deal with no news of renewal. Shame they are not going out on a high!

Some of you might be interested to know that the second show they almost did (the year after Sweeney) was 42ND STREET, before Grade Linnit decided to produce their own fully staged revival.

Goes to show that they can produce quality

“I suspect this is a musical”...?

Go for the TodayTix rush, you'll get stalls for £25, and they are adding tickets to this throughout the day (currently some still available for tonight). 

Still not over the fact that there is a dance rape scene. wtactualf.

Those reviews were kind.

So I saw this on Monday and to be honest I had an enjoyable evening. I pretty much looked on it as a museum piece preserved in aspic. I’ve always wanted to see it as my Dad always used to be singing snatches of the score, so most of the songs are familiar. The set was okay, the lighting for Don Quixote’s world was quite evocative at times. The staircase was vertiginous and drowned any other sound as it was raised and lowered. I’d have loved to have seen Glenn have a go at it in Sunset. Mind you they’d need to put her on the final step down to start with otherwise she’d have no chance. The Orchestra was great. The overture was fab as was the playout music. The cast seemed to have gelled. The only person who seemed hesitant was Kelsey, but he settled in and his Impossible Dream was actually rather good. Danielle’s voice was as expected, in a different league. Nicholas Lyndhurst was good in his comedy role, not quite so menacing as he could have been in his serious role. There were bonkers bits - the mirrors in particular !!! As has been said before it’s really a chamber piece and putting it in the Coliseum is a bit like putting The Woman in Black in Wembley Stadium. The balcony was closed and you could certainly feel the tumbleweed blowing across the roof. The place must have been just over half full. There was definitely some warmth radiating from the audience, also a lot of sniggering. And Kelsey got a good reception for his curtain call. He looked quite touched, and surprised to be honest. So if you fancy viewing a museum piece with all its flaws go and see what you think. If you want something relevant and groundbreaking, maybe look elsewhere. That orchestra is gorgeous though. I was second row stalls from TodayTix for £25 and certainly wouldn’t pay the full prices. In fact I’d like to go see Cassidy take this on so I’m going again. I may be the only one.

I think Herr Flick was Hannibal Lecter in comparison.

I will if you will ! Highland Spring or Malvern - choices choices !

Re Watergate, I was there today and the notice displayed says you can take water in if the bottle is still sealed. If opened, then good luck!

As for Man of La Mancha, well, I have to say didn't know a great deal about the musical, other than the Impossible Dream. I sort of enjoyed it, but I started to drift off during the first half. The orchestra was wonderful, Kelsey Grammar better than I expected. I saw Cassidy Jansen as Dulcinea - is her accent meant to sound Glaswegian?!

I was in the Dress Circle. I would estimate it was about seven-eighths full, and from what I could see of the Stalls, that area looked pretty full too. There was a standing ovation from the Stalls at the end, and about a quarter of the Dress stood too, so it seemed to go down well.