1,102 posts
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Post by zak97 on Mar 15, 2017 22:17:06 GMT
To anyone who has seen the show, is it normal for two of the cast members to fall over during the show. This happened twice on Friday and I wasn't sure if it was a first week error as they get to grips with the show, or a choreographed error.
Even if it were two errors they were handled brilliantly and professionally, both actors just got up and kept going as if nothing happened.
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1,351 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 15, 2017 22:18:28 GMT
Show stop last night, when the primary sound system failed. Impressive it took only 10 minutes to switch to a backup. For those considering rows A and B, I tested them. A has the usual unlimited legroom, and from the centre blocks if you are 5ft 6 and over you should see feet, no problem. Even the first 2 seats over the centre aisle will. Behind A and B, C will also probably see feet and D almost certainly will - at third price, more bargains. The HUGE bargains are B 5 and 32 at bottom price. It's a "false proscenium" in front that shaves around a metre off the view of the side of the stage for those bunches of 4 seats. Those on the "high numbers" side I think may see a tiny bit more, but the "low numbers" side has a slightly better overall angle on centre-stage, I thought. The seats to go for are B 6 and 33, then B 5 and 32, then A 6 and 33, then A 5 and 32, which really don't have quite as good a view. I almost forgot about the stop... when it happened, I was thinking how I didn't remember the old bloke in the dickie bow coming on last week, d'oh! The precise timing of the stop led to a concerned gasp then sigh of relief from many around me when we reached the same point on the re-start... {Spoiler - click to view}In the show, the power goes out with a bang at the end of a certain rhythmic number - and it was then they chose to 'pull the plug' on the action, so when the band and lights out happened again some people obviously thought we were back to square one! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 22:23:20 GMT
So Leslie Caron casually walked out on stage tonight...  |
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385 posts
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Post by Ade on Mar 15, 2017 22:29:40 GMT
To anyone who has seen the show, is it normal for two of the cast members to fall over during the show. This happened twice on Friday and I wasn't sure if it was a first week error as they get to grips with the show, or a choreographed error. Even if it were two errors they were handled brilliantly and professionally, both actors just got up and kept going as if nothing happened. Pretty sure they were errors. I also wondered about the chair being swapped by Fairchild. Seemed a really odd thing that he fell on the chair and then ran off, got another chair in a different style and then carried on with that one - seemed an odd choice if it wasn't an error. |
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1,351 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 15, 2017 22:32:13 GMT
Was Theatremonkey there too on 14 March? I am worried you are man whose programme I nearly knocked off the table (If so, sorry I am a clumsy arse and was overexcited by my free beer). An American in Paris is very low energy and the presence of Adam's character is baflling. Who gives an F? I just wasn't convinced any of them should be with anybody and there were a few interval walk outs. It felt more like a Sadler's Wells show, with the basic, video design dependent set and minimal items plus all the dancing. There was no high energy song, the only time it looked nice was the dream sequence. This sort of thing may go down well in Broadway but if I had paid for my ticket (I sound like Parsley) I would have been furious with how lo-fi it was. I wrote a full review for London Theatre Direct www.londontheatredirect.com/post/931/review-an-american-in-paris.aspxJust shows how subjective is our view of theatre... I adored this show and am heartily glad it is nothing like Aladdin, which is far from being the yardstick of what I want from a West End show! I was moved almost to tears by the beauty of what I was watching - that intensity of feeling when everything else fades away, when I'm truly lost in the world before me is perhaps the exception rather than the rule, but knowing that it's out there to be found, maybe at 'this' show or 'that' show, is what keeps me going back to the theatre  |
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5,062 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 15, 2017 22:46:38 GMT
So Leslie Caron casually walked out on stage tonight... Gasps at the end when her name was mentioned by the choreographerDirector, but not by me - as I have never heard of her. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 22:47:38 GMT
So Leslie Caron casually walked out on stage tonight... Gasps at the end when her name was mentioned by the choreographerDirector, but not by me - as I have never heard of her. SHE'S A LIVING LEGEND!
... I mean, I'm surprised she is still living, but she is a legend!
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5,062 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 15, 2017 22:54:00 GMT
My opinion hasn't changed from New York, where I found it to be a long tedious show, with little to say - for example the last 4 songs took 50 minutes to complete. Then the set designerer, thought this must be the days the Dominon was a cinema, when South Pacific sat down there for 4 years, they need everything projected, which become very weary some. Even at the end the ballet seemed unrelenting, should instead of had one or two special moments in the show.
But saying that Leanne Cope made a big impression on New York, I have a feeling it is going to get much worse here and very much deserved.
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5,062 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 15, 2017 22:55:13 GMT
Gasps at the end when her name was mentioned by the choreographerDirector, but not by me - as I have never heard of her. SHE'S A LIVING LEGEND!
... I mean, I'm surprised she is still living, but she is a legend!
So the audience confirmed, thank god for Wikipedia. |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 15, 2017 22:55:26 GMT
Snciole, I'm sorry, but that is a terrible review. Implying that to be a musical in the West End you have to be super flashy just like Aladdin? Some of the most stunnning moments in this are when two of them are left alone on that huge stage... that is gorgeous design I found none of it breathtaking and at West End prices I want to be gasping at the sets, the costumes and dance numbers. The choreography is stunning but it is not West End quality. As I said people walked out because it was "boring" and I feel it is marketed as glitz and glamour. To be honest it looks like a Fringe show with low budget most of the time and doesn't fill the, admittedly massive stage. As a story it sinks as it approaches the bigger numbers in the second act, relying too much on the dancing and not enough on the songs. Do all shows need magpie attracting shine. Absolutely not but they need something going for them beyond 2/3 dance numbers |
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Mar 15, 2017 23:24:36 GMT
I think seats do affect how much you enjoy a show, and you have to work harder if you are further back but used to being closer.
That said, I was on row T for this, and enjoyed the "overall view" I had. The only problem was seeing faces - but I had that problem in the same theatre on row J for "The Bodyguard," and at the Dominion, past about row F, you take your chances anyway on that issue, LOL. I now infamously didn't rate this but was in the circle (D 49) and looking on the website earlier I couldn't connect a lot of those faces with what I thought I saw! I think if this had been in a smaller space I might have connected with it better but it was a delicate show on vast stage. Perhaps it was my similar dislike of the set but it reminded me of the recent Promises, Promises. Dominion is great for the full dance numbers but terrible when it came to intimate scenes. It feels cold and musicals should be warm and huggable. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 0:05:41 GMT
Snciole, I'm sorry, but that is a terrible review. Implying that to be a musical in the West End you have to be super flashy just like Aladdin? Some of the most stunnning moments in this are when two of them are left alone on that huge stage... that is gorgeous design I found none of it breathtaking and at West End prices I want to be gasping at the sets, the costumes and dance numbers. The choreography is stunning but it is not West End quality. As I said people walked out because it was "boring" and I feel it is marketed as glitz and glamour. To be honest it looks like a Fringe show with low budget most of the time and doesn't fill the, admittedly massive stage. As a story it sinks as it approaches the bigger numbers in the second act, relying too much on the dancing and not enough on the songs. Do all shows need magpie attracting shine. Absolutely not but they need something going for them beyond 2/3 dance numbers How is it marketed as glitz and glamour? All I've seen in terms of marketing is the posters, which suggest neither glitz nor glamour (see Dreamgirls for that), but instead are simple and sophisticated. Just because you want to be gasping at the sets etc. and you weren't doesn't make this a bad West End show. It makes it one you don't personally like, and there's a difference. There is no set formula for a West End show, so a show doesn't have to be all pizzazz and over the top sparkles to be a good show - there have been plenty of examples of understated shows in the past (Once springs to mind, but I'm sure there are others). It is perfectly acceptable to have a show that is more focused on dancing than lyrics/music, just as the other way around is equally acceptable (there's not a lot of dancing in Les Mis, after all). There's also no such thing as West End quality choreography, as the requirements of each show are vastly different. Again it's a matter of personal taste in choreography, nothing more. Everyone's entitled to their opinion of course, but it's not right to apply a set of arbitrary rules to test whether this passes the test for a West End show or not, because they simply don't exist. |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 16, 2017 0:22:52 GMT
The whole MGM Hollywood association was the glitz and glamour. I certainly didn't expect basic staging for such a hotly anticipated show too. To be honest it is how I imagined what the ENO "Semi-staged" shows look like.
The issue is that something, to me, is missing to make this a must see. Personally I think the venue is a poor choice and makes the show feel incomplete. I might have liked it in a more intimate space but I do think you need something exceptional to click with audiences in the West End (We are ignoring Thriller Live). This has interesting touches, like the ballet pieces, but it will (has?) divided audiences (don't all shows) because the expectations are bigger than the show is.
I think it will do brilliantly for the reasons I was bored by it; story told simply through dance (that first scene is stunning for its story telling) so foreign tourists will love it and if you hate big, shiny song and dance numbers then this hardly has any.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 8:56:03 GMT
It's got a TAP ROUTINE for heavens sake! What's not to love??  |
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 16, 2017 10:09:57 GMT
It's got a TAP ROUTINE for heavens sake! What's not to love?? Does that mean they sing in faucet(o)?
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 16, 2017 10:28:20 GMT
I'm going tonight and, after last night's disappointment at the Phoenix, I can't wait.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 16, 2017 12:06:59 GMT
I normally love a big old fashioned musical with jaw dropping choreography (I’m a big Wheeldon fan having seen DGV 4 times and Winters Tale twice plus countless others …), big cast, band and great sets (yes I actually liked them) but generally it didn’t hang together and I felt my mind wondering a lot.
I failed to see how the men could fall for the woman. I failed to see how the all these relationships had suddenly developed during the interval and then suddenly we have some depth of narrative. How the classical songs are shoehorned in is painful. The book is not dramatic enough for it to be moving nor is it entertaining enough for it be a bundle of joy.
Crazy for you did Gershwin Jukebox so much better.
I’m really glad I’ve seen it but didn’t pay full price for it. Interested to see how this compares with 42nd St and On the Town
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 17, 2017 16:12:29 GMT
I saw it last night and loved it! Gershwin's score is amazing and the ballet sequence is to die for. Robert Fairchild is a dream of a leading man, an extraordinary dancer and has a very charming stage presence. It's a shame he's not staying for longer, he's truly sensational in the role. Leanne Cope was good as well, but she doesn't really have a chance to shine until the ballet. I was absolutely in love with Zoe Rainey's Milo Davenport, what a charming performance and - again - I wish she had more to do.
I wasn't very keen on Haydn Oakley, he kept forgetting he was French and I thought he was even blander than his character. His singing is serviceable, but clearly he is no Max von Essen. On the other hand I loved David Seadon-Young's warm, heartfelt performance. I really liked the costumes, the scenery, the design, the choreographies and the projections, it was all very elegant.
The book has some issues, the whole "is Henry gay?" situation felt kinda forced and the discussion on the role of the artist was so shallow that they could have just avoided it in the first place. But I really really liked the show overall, great dancing, great score and amazing leading man
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Post by mallardo on Mar 18, 2017 11:44:08 GMT
I don't get to the ballet much so I have never encountered dancing like this, certainly not in a musical. And I'm speaking of the entire ensemble, not just the amazing leads. This was a brand new experience for me - and I found it absolutely stunning.
Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope astonished me over and over again with their grace and elegance and their athleticism - and with their sheer stage presence, their singing! I kept thinking, how did they find these people, actor/dancers who could handle the challenges of this choreography and yet sell their songs and give solid winning performances, bringing their roles to such fully fleshed life? The level of talent here is mind-boggling.
The whole show is amazing. Craig Lucas's book is a big step up from the movie which, musical numbers apart, didn't really amount to much. Here we have, not some generalized Paris, but Paris in a specific post-war moment with the residue of recent events hanging over it. We have well thought out characters and back stories - a real plot! Lucas, let it be remembered, wrote the book to The Light in the Piazza, and the same attention to detail and nuance is in evidence here.
Christopher Wheeldon's direction is as slick as it gets. Transitions and scene changes are handled with the same precision as the dance steps, full of stage magic. The flexible set is perfect for a dance show with its peripatetic panels and projections, constantly shifting perspectives, reflecting the moods of the moment, yet always allowing space.
And, apart from Fairchild and Cope, the rest of the cast is top drawer. I liked Haydn Oakley's Henri, he was sympathetic and credible playing a guy difficult to pin down, unresolved. And David Seadon-Young was a terrific Adam - the Oscar Levant part - who doubled as an effective narrator. Zoe Rainey was a delicious Milo, the lady with the money, who sang my favourite song in the show, "Shall We Dance", and brought real warmth to a character that needs it.
Finally, kudos to the orchestra, so important for this big Gershwin score. The thirteen players sounded like twice that many thanks to the inventive orchestrations of Christopher Austin and Bill Elliott
I'm trying not to gush but I can't help it - the show just blew me away. When the bows came I was the first one on my feet - something I never dreamed I'd do. Like the show itself, unprecedented.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 18, 2017 12:04:54 GMT
mallardo, your reviews are always a joy to read
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Post by mallardo on Mar 18, 2017 12:27:17 GMT
Very kind of you, couldileaveyou. Thank you.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 18:38:02 GMT
Do people this is going to be a commercial hit
Given the high prices once it opens after press Night
And the lack of mainstream appeal?
I do wonder who decided on this venue
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Post by eulaliaq on Mar 18, 2017 21:29:12 GMT
Hello, I will bein the near future in London and I wonder how long in the play?
and I found ticket Stalls B5 or Q 33 circle. Which one i should choose?
Thaks for advice
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 18, 2017 21:59:05 GMT
Hello, I will bein the near future in London and I wonder how long in the play? and I found ticket Stalls B6 or Q 33 circle. Which one i should choose? Thaks for advice I was sitting in B9 and the view was fantastic. I think it's around 2 hours and 40 minutes |
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Post by Steve on Mar 19, 2017 13:32:22 GMT
Saw this last night, and absolutely loved it. Spectacular, colourful, enchanting and above all, romantic. I completely agree with Mallardo's eloquent spot-on review, so I'll just say a few quick things: Some spoilers follow. . . First, the book is a million times better than the disaster that was the film. In the film, a 40 year old man meets the loneliest woman in the world, flirts, takes her to dinner, then brazenly pounces on a teenager half his age in front of the lonely woman's face. It's an awful story, even if Vincente Minnelli made hay out of it in an incredible ballet sequence. Here, everything is different, from the order he meets the women, how he meets them, what he says to them, the ages of the protagonists, the emphasis on the post-war context, everything. Simply put, this new plot is depth, charm and romance personified. Second, the sets are visually stunning, even if a lot of what you see are projections. The radiant colours, in particular the blues, made my visual senses reel with delight; Third, the dancing was so well-choreographed, so athletic and elegant and expansive, and so moving to watch, to all those luscious Gershwin tunes; Fourth, the players in this are adorable across the board. Talented dancers, also emotionally expressive. I was thrilled to see the effervescent Zoe Rainey, who usually plays small parts in big shows or big parts in small shows, get a big part in a big show. She is incandescent, her full-throated singing, combining with her impish sense of humour. As are the two incredible leads, Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope, both so charming and sensitive and all-round brilliant. Haydn Oakley brings humour, while David Seadon-Young brings humanity, it's all so lovely. And even if it would appear from this show that French accents are more difficult to flawlessly perfect than American ones, that didn't affect my enjoyment at all. This show had me in tears (of joy) from first to last. If you want romantic escapism, here's your show! 5 stars |
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