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Post by FrontroverPaul on Mar 16, 2020 10:41:03 GMT
I've loved this show since its opening at Hornchurch Queens Theatre and saw it recently at Croydon and Woking, both venues being barely a third full.
So glad that it's now attracting a decent audience. Every performance at every venue deserves to be a sell out. Two further visits planned.
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520 posts
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Post by danielwhit on Jun 27, 2020 16:51:17 GMT
Reviving a thread somewhat...
As glad as I was to see Once back out on the road again, this production doesn't rise to the level of the original in my opinion.
The tour is more colourful/flashy in terms of costume/lighting, which isn't a problem in itself however feels as if it tries to detract from the score/book. The on stage musicians tend to be more visible than they were in the original production. Whereas before they sat in the "wings" of the bar, now they are there and also on a raised platform at the back of the stage (where the bar was).
Then there are some sequences which again add to a sense that someone thought the music wasn't strong enough in itself - Falling Slowly particularly suffers from this. Whereas before Guy and Girl were on the main stage by themselves and the ensemble swelled the music from the sidelines (which focused the audience on those two and their future relationship), in this production the entire ensemble finish the number distributed across the stage with lighting on all of them. Completely loses focus.
The final moments of Act One also suffer - now after the dance sequence within Gold, there's a delay while Guy goes back onto the "stage" to deliver the final two lines of the act "and I love her so, I wouldn't change her for gold" - before a very slow fade while he is looking straight at Girl. It hammers the point home a little too strongly and feels like the production doesn't believe by this point we've figured out that he is singing about her. The original production doesn't have that delay (partially as Guy stays away from the ensemble and watches them dancing) and the much quicker fade out after a brief glimpse towards Girl feels more realistic.
Admittedly there are huge sections which run well and are really strong, usually when the show allows the core cast to do their thing by themselves and not try to make it more visually interesting! It's cast well and everyone on stage is good, however I couldn't help but feel this production tries to fix a problem which wasn't there in the first place.
If this cast were lifted and dropped into the original production, it would have been a very good performance indeed.
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