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Post by steve10086 on Mar 24, 2019 0:15:35 GMT
Wonder how you felt it compared? I’d say it’s a broader comedy than the film, but it deals with all the same subjects and gives you the same feelings the movie does. I loved the film, and I love the show. |
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Post by nash16 on Mar 24, 2019 1:18:39 GMT
Wonder how you felt it compared? I’d say it’s a broader comedy than the film, but it deals with all the same subjects and gives you the same feelings the movie does. I loved the film, and I love the show. That's great to hear. Going to book now. Thank you. |
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Post by westendcub on Mar 27, 2019 14:05:54 GMT
Saw this last night, it was cute & well crafted but not that memorable!!
The simple set design works well in the space & their camper van works (there is a resolve!!).
It’s only 2 hours including interval which I think why it lacks something, whilst the actors are good I never got fully invested in the characters & they felt at arms length - some development in the book needed. There is a moment for the gay uncle with other characters that came from nowhere and whilst there is a farce moment that could be cringe (that worked well & laughter ensued).
Whilst I enjoyed it enough for an evening seeing new emerging work, the score is one note (most songs sound the same) although I did like the reprise of the sunshine song st the end & all the pageant stuff was great fun (the highlight of the show).
It’s pleasant & not too expensive to see however despite some of my points.
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Post by danieljohnson14 on Mar 30, 2019 10:01:19 GMT
I'm seeing this today so I'll be sure to report back.  |
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Post by David J on Mar 30, 2019 15:03:44 GMT
I'm seeing this today so I'll be sure to report back. Are you here this afternoon? |
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Post by David J on Mar 30, 2019 17:33:33 GMT
As west end cub says this is cute and inoffensive but nothing to praise about with some unmemorable songs
Potential dramatic moments feel artificial and unearned. Whilst the family give their all I never felt a connection with them that the production was vying for
Characters and attempts at humour come out of nowhere and feel hit and miss. The unemotional lady with the forms was the highlight, but what was up with that Miss California?
Average for me
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 31, 2019 10:04:05 GMT
I saw this show twice at Second Stage in New York and was totally blown away! Wonderful score, really funny and very moving. I saw the second preview at the Arcola and was equally blown away. Some changes from the original but still a fantastic piece of musical theatre. And the Arcola cast are superb. I will be seeing it again in 2 weeks.
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Post by squidward on Mar 31, 2019 18:30:17 GMT
Scratching my head about this one. I saw it in the US and thought it was completely underwhelming. I'm wondering if this version is significantly different? If not, it's an odd choice for both The Arcola and definitely for a tour, as I would classify the film as a cult rather than mainstream hit.
I also wonder about the Watermill choice of importing Amelie, which also left me cold when I saw it in America.
I would imagine the rights for shows that haven't been particularly successful in the US are probably not hard to secure for the UK, but apart from Legally Blonde and Heathers (which was never likely to end up on Broadway for obvious reasons), have there been many imported shows that have done much better here than in the US where they started?
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4,804 posts
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Post by Mark on Apr 8, 2019 13:49:44 GMT
Anyone able to advise on the £10 restricted view seats in the circle and what the restriction is?
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Post by Someone in a tree on Apr 14, 2019 9:50:17 GMT
It's very much the same story of the excellent film but with none of the sutitittles. Cast are all great especially the girl who played Olive. However a great cast canot polish a ...
According to Wiki the original score was scrapped bar three songs. Makes you wonder why they just didn't give up
Lapine wrote the books for Sunday, Woods and Passion and then without uncle Steve this happens. I find it unbelievable that this has come from the same pen
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Post by bobwordsmith on Apr 14, 2019 11:57:19 GMT
Saw this again a few nights ago and it was even better this time. (Saw it previously in previews and also saw it twice in New York.) Really love this show! Hilariously funny and heartbreakingly moving in places - wonderful writing by James Lapine and William Finn's score is packed with his usual biting wit, subtlety of emotion and beautiful melodies. (Days later I am still walking around with some of the songs in my head!)
And every member of the Arcola cast delivers a brilliant performance. If I lived in London I would definitely be back again. Will have to settle for seeing it somewhere on tour instead .
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 12:53:28 GMT
Going to wait until it hits Brum in the summer as I am sure there will be deals.Excited to see this with my daughter and thanks for the positive thumbs-up on this show.Really impressed that Selladoor are branching out into less mainstream fare such as this and Amelie.
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Apr 14, 2019 15:32:18 GMT
There's already a special offer (2 4 1) on tickets at one of the touring venues. Is it permissible to post the promotion code here ?
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Post by theatre241 on Apr 14, 2019 16:21:43 GMT
Yes please!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 16:26:36 GMT
I really enjoyed this at the Arcola. It's very slight, and I can only really remember one of the songs (obviously the one that you should least like to find yourself singing in public), but the cast were terrific and I'd consider seeing it again on tour if the price is right. I think the second half was far stronger than the first, so if you're wavering at the interval, you may as well hang in there.
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Post by theatre241 on Apr 14, 2019 16:49:32 GMT
How do you think it will adapt for a bigger stage?
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Post by sf on Apr 14, 2019 16:51:15 GMT
Lapine wrote the books for Sunday, Woods and Passion and then without uncle Steve this happens. I find it unbelievable that this has come from the same pen Lapine had worked with William Finn before he worked with Sondheim - he directed the original production of March of the Falsettos - and he has a co-writing credit on Falsettoland and A New Brain. Those shows are terrific, and Finn at his best is a unique, distinctive talent; I do think, though, that Lapine is better at structure than at dialogue, and that he's a better director than writer. I'm seeing this in a couple of weeks. I'm familiar with some of the music, I'm not absolutely sure this particular film needs to be made into a musical, and the people involved are interesting enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. |
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Apr 14, 2019 18:27:04 GMT
2 for 1 offer for Little Miss Sunshine at the Churchill Theatre Bromley. Valid all performances Thu 16 - Sat 18 May. Use code LMSUNSHINE when booking online, at box office or over the phone. Offer valid till 23.59 on 30/4/2019.
Churchill is first venue of the tour. I saw this show at the Arcola and enjoyed it very much but I think it's going to struggle sales-wise at some of the (sizeable) venues booked. Sincerely hope I'm wrong.
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Post by xanady on Apr 15, 2019 7:41:05 GMT
paul26,thanks for this.I think it might discount throughout the tour as it is not a very well known piece
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Post by sf on Apr 26, 2019 17:36:35 GMT
Saw this last night.
Charming show, although it's minor William Finn. Lovely performances. Some quibbles with the direction (I understand the constraints involved in working in a smaller space, but it makes no sense to use the truck unit for the VW all the way through Act One, then NOT use it in Act Two until the very last scene). The girl who played Olive was an absolute star.
The overall experience... oy. Box office staff surly - basic courtesies like 'please' and 'thank-you' are not optional - and the woman on the door to the auditorium was downright rude (she told me to go back outside, pushing my way through a long line of people behind me, to enter via a door from the outside; there'd been no instruction to this effect on the ticket itself, and the request was not made politely).
There were cigarette ends on the floor of the auditorium near my seat. The view from my seat - D1 - was not worth the price I paid for it, based on the prices of seats elsewhere in the auditorium; the £10 restricted view seats in the balcony would have had a less restricted view than the seat I sat in.
The cubicle I used in the Gents before the show was filthy - a urine-up-the-walls nightmare that made me want never to touch anything ever again.
And at £5 the programme for this production is an absolute ripoff - a glossily printed but VERY thin booklet including the cast bios, some rehearsal photos, an indecently short interview with James Lapine, and short articles - not credited to any particular author, which isn't surprising because anybody with any integrity would be ashamed to own up to it - about the VW Type 2 and adapting films into stage musicals that seem to be based more or less entirely stuff the anonymous authors remembered from a ten-minute trawl of Wikipedia several months ago. The author of the VW article doesn't know how to use an apostrophe, the author of the article about screen-to-stage adaptations seems to have somehow formed the impression that Maury Yeston's 'Nine' premiered in 1973, and the person responsible for putting the programme together clearly couldn't be bothered to proofread it.
I did enjoy the show; every other part of the experience, I'm afraid, was unacceptably poor.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2019 11:57:37 GMT
Anyone know who's meant to be taking over from Laura and Gary for the tour? If they announced them, it'd definitely help with ticket sales.
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Post by xanady on Apr 27, 2019 12:25:01 GMT
sf,sounds like the theatre you saw this at need to get their act together.
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Post by Mr Snow on Apr 28, 2019 21:08:10 GMT
Not a bad night out but....I couldn't hum you a single song from this.
Well cast and directed it followed the film plot more closely than just about any adaptation from one form to another, that I've ever seen.
Also - spoiler alert - did we imagine it or was the ending far more upbeat than the Film, which seemed to be far more nuanced?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 1, 2019 17:45:40 GMT
Tour cast
Mark Moraghan ('Coronation Street', 'Holby City', '9 to 5'), Lucy O’Byrne ('Evita', 'Les Misérables', 'The Sound of Music'), Paul Keating ('Little Shop of Horrors', 'The Full Monty'), and Gabriel Vick ('Sunny Afternoon', 'Les Misérables' stage & film, 'EastEnders').
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Post by tmesis on May 11, 2019 17:48:45 GMT
I really enjoyed this today. True it's not a particularly memorable score but it's very effective with witty lyrics. Excellent cast - they struggled a bit with pitching in the quite complex ensembles but otherwise excellent.
Olive was sensational.
It was a very clever, inventive production, using the tiny Arcola stage to great advantage.
Also excellent sound-balance (are you listening Southwark Playhouse?)
The audience lapped it up.
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