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Post by CG on the loose on Apr 23, 2016 23:23:49 GMT
Lack of prior rehearsal with orchestra presumably explains why the house was so late opening on Thursday evening (well that and the unseemly arguments still ongoing at the Box Office perhaps) - must have been 7.20pm before doors opened and show was c.15 mins late starting. Lack of prior rehearsal was nothing to do with it. Take it from someone who sits onstage! The delay was because of grumbling at the box office.... Fair enough - thought it might be a bit of both  |
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Post by sub37 on Apr 23, 2016 23:27:09 GMT
Lack of prior rehearsal was nothing to do with it. Take it from someone who sits onstage! The delay was because of grumbling at the box office.... Fair enough - thought it might be a bit of both There's no way to call the band in early at the last minute. Most players will be working elsewhere during the day anyway... Got to pay those bills :-) |
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Post by CG on the loose on Apr 23, 2016 23:30:42 GMT
Fair enough - thought it might be a bit of both There's no way to call the band in early at the last minute. Most players will be working elsewhere during the day anyway... Got to pay those bills :-) I appreciate that - which is precisely why I thought there might have been a last-minute run through of just one song perhaps |
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Post by theatre-turtle on Apr 24, 2016 0:07:44 GMT
Fair enough - thought it might be a bit of both There's no way to call the band in early at the last minute. Most players will be working elsewhere during the day anyway... Got to pay those bills :-) Interesting they need a second job. I presume playing instruments rather than say office work? |
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Post by Dave25 on Apr 24, 2016 0:27:53 GMT
Glenn Close's singing has never satisfied me, she sounds struggling when she does it and that makes the acting unbelievable.
Now clearly many people are very impressed with the fact that she is famous, but what can you expect from someone who does not master the fine craft of singing and acting through it? If the basis is not there, not much is needed for someone to not be able to go on. There is nothing for her to fall back on.
So I think it is silly to expect so much from an incapable person. And I think it is silly to pay so much money for the fact that she is a name, instead of quality. I have heard people say that when they saw Ria, for the first time the songs came alive. That is what you should want to pay for.
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Post by Kenneth_C on Apr 24, 2016 1:35:09 GMT
I would love it if they make an announcement that Ria will do all matinees going forward. Totally being selfish and masterminding a way for me to guarantee seeing her. Whereas I have ticket to a matinée, so am not too keen on your idea.  Seriously, even though Ria sounds wonderful, I would still be disappointed not to see Glenn in the role again. (In no small part due to nostalgia, having seen her in the original L.A. production.) But my biggest concern -- if I'm reading this thread correctly -- is that if ENO did institute such a change, they'd probably tell those of us holding matinée tickets to just get over it. And that bothers me because, being in the UK for only a couple weeks, there are other plays/musicals I could be attending in that slot (and at far less cost). Now, here in the States, the unwritten "rule" is that, if a name appears ABOVE the title, refunds are given if said name does not appear. So if, say, Bette Midler is listed ABOVE the title "Hello Dolly" next season, and she does not appear for a performance, I would expect refunds (or exchanges) to be given with minimum fuss. Whereas, if the understudy goes on for Lin-Manuel Miranda in "Hamilton", it is completely within the discretion of the box office whether they will refund/exchange or not. That's the way I've always heard it to work, at least -- never having been put in the position of having a Big Name not appear. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 4:25:41 GMT
I have only just heard that she is out tonight and the understudy is on. I'm not gonna lie, I would be gutted if this was my only chance to see the show and Glenn wasn't on. I usually don't care about it being an understudy or anything, but this show is being marketed as The Glenn Show, for a very limited run. All the reviews mainly speak about her and not much else. I am so glad I am seeing it at the end of the run and not tonight. I can understand she may be ill and needs rest etc... but I would be truly gutted. Granted it's only Thursday and I'm not due to go until Saturday but...I WILL be beyond truly gutted if she's not on. I booked to see Glenn, as splashed over every advertising feature/article available - just like Imelda in Gypsy although I accept the teenie tiny small print as a week get out clause.
If travelling to London from Glos wasn't such a faff for me (dog sitting arrangements, travelling time, fuel and parking cost, etc) then I'd gladly go and see Ria BUT.. .if Glenn's not going to be on the I won't be going. But over and above all that, I really hope Glenn feels better soon and returns when she's happy to. Sorry to drag up a post from the start of all of this (I've been away for a while), but this kind of hyperbole is what is so ridiculous about the whole debacle! The small print is not a 'weak' get out clause, it's on every single ticket for every single show because quite simply it's impossible to guarantee that someone will appear - no person on the planet can predict if/when they're going to be ill! So given Glenn Close is off with flu, there's absolutely no reason for anyone to feel entitled to a refund. You booked for a particular person, that's a risk you chose to take. You could have waited and got seats on the day if you were really that desperate to see a performer (and yes, anyone can day seat if they're that determined to see the 'star', there's nothing to stop you getting an early train or a hotel room). That is the only way to guarantee seeing a particular performer (and sometimes even that's not guaranteed). So certainly everyone's got a right to feel disappointed that they're not seeing Glenn Close, but anything more than that is basically throwing the toys out of the pram over something you were never entitled to in the first place. And that includes deciding not to go - presumably you'd made all the other arrangements anyway, so why on earth would you not still go? I really don't understand it at all. And if you didn't go, you missed out. I saw Ria at the matinee yesterday and she was (accent slips aside) pretty much perfection. I can't imagine Glenn Close singing it even 50% as well as Ms Jones did. Whether she acts it better is another thing entirely, but I doubt her performance can be much better than the one I saw today. I won't get back to see it before the end of the run, but I don't feel I've missed out in the slightest on anything other than being able to say "I saw Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard", which really isn't anything particularly unique anyway... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 4:31:31 GMT
Can anyone give a bit of advice on the balcony? I'm finally considering this, but am broke so can't really justify more than the £12 seats. What's better - the ones nearer the front (sides of Row A and B) that say 'partially restricted view and legroom' or the ones at the back corners, which are further away but don't state a restricted view or legroom? Don't sit in the side block £25 seats. I was a fair few seats in from the very end of row F and could barely see half the stage. Luckily it's predominantely set quite far back on the Coliseum's vast stage but the start and end scenes were almost completely invisible to me. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 6:20:23 GMT
I wasn't disagreeing with the legal part. I do think some people will have booked expecting to see her and no one else, and so the ticket sellers should've made it clear you might not see her. Part of what I'm saying is that if someone booked expecting to see her and nobody else then it's entirely their own fault because that's an insanely unrealistic expectation. People can get ill. Everybody knows that. What you, Phantom of London, FrontRowDress and others are saying is that when someone reaches a certain point of prominence in the publicity then you're entitled to assume that the production has somehow managed to set aside the possibility of illness, emergency or other misfortune, and if they haven't managed to do that then they should go to extra effort to make it clear that stars are as human as everyone else. Glenn Close is just as likely to get ill as J Random StraightOutOfDramaSchool. More, probably. The production erred in not having plans in place to deal with the inevitable disappointment, but that doesn't take away each ticket buyer's responsibility to have a basic understanding of human reliability and frailty. Deep down every single person here knows that sometimes things go wrong and something things go wrong for them and bad luck is nobody's fault. But they don't like that so they're making up stories about how they shouldn't be expected to know that stars can get ill just like regular people. That way they can convince themselves that it is someone's fault, and if that someone had tried harder then the bad luck wouldn't have happened. But that's not how reality works. |
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Post by max on Apr 24, 2016 7:24:40 GMT
I just received this feedback questionnaire from the ENO:
"How was your Sunset Boulevard experience?
A. Glenn Close
B. Glenn Close but no cigar
C. Cigar but no Glenn Close
D. Ria Jones"
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 24, 2016 7:28:50 GMT
Glenn Close's singing has never satisfied me, she sounds struggling when she does it and that makes the acting unbelievable. Now clearly many people are very impressed with the fact that she is famous, but what can you expect from someone who does not master the fine craft of singing and acting through it? If the basis is not there, not much is needed for someone to not be able to go on. There is nothing for her to fall back on. So I think it is silly to expect so much from an incapable person. And I think it is silly to pay so much money for the fact that she is a name, instead of quality. I have heard people say that when they saw Ria, for the first time the songs came alive. That is what you should want to pay for. No, we were impressed with her performance. You obviously don't like her which is fine. Personal taste etc. But that doesn't negate the opinions of thousands of people who have seen her (and are yet to see her) and thought it was brilliant. |
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Post by welsh_tenor on Apr 24, 2016 7:31:36 GMT
The adverts clearly state Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard and the ENO have priced it accordingly, if they charged £67.50 top price and the understudy has to come on, then people haven't got much to complain about, except give a sigh. Conversely if people paid a lot of money and then Glenn got terrible reviews, then that is tough. For the record I have seen Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close and didn't pay the top price, but feel for people who have and wanted to see Glenn, with travel, accommodation and food people may easily paid over a £1000 to see this. What about if you hire a car and you pay a lot of money for a Mercedes for example and you get to to customer service desk and they say "we only have Fiat Punto left", which is about 20% of the Mercedes price you stumped up, then for the agent says to say you, you haven't got a leg to stand on because in the T&C it say 'or similar'? I have seen a theatre make alternative arrangements (cannot confirm if it was a refund or exchange) when I passed it, when the star was out, this was Joseph at the Adelphi with Lee Mead. So it does happen. What if you bought your ticket from the box office, where you haven't physically agreed T&C. The Lee Mead example is the only time I've ever known it to happen - they offered refund or exchange in that case if memory serves. Yes this happened to me with Joseph, got to the matinee and informed he was ill. My mum nearly had a breakdown (lol) but we were told we could refund or swap to another performance, although it was limited availability and of course, not guaranteed again he'd be on! After travelling up from Cardiff I convinced her to go in and she loved the understudy! It was definitely a case of hype with Mum though after seeing the build up on the TV! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 7:38:41 GMT
The adverts clearly state Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard and the ENO have priced it accordingly, if they charged £67.50 top price and the understudy has to come on, then people haven't got much to complain about, except give a sigh. Conversely if people paid a lot of money and then Glenn got terrible reviews, then that is tough. For the record I have seen Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close and didn't pay the top price, but feel for people who have and wanted to see Glenn, with travel, accommodation and food people may easily paid over a £1000 to see this. What about if you hire a car and you pay a lot of money for a Mercedes for example and you get to to customer service desk and they say "we only have Fiat Punto left", which is about 20% of the Mercedes price you stumped up, then for the agent says to say you, you haven't got a leg to stand on because in the T&C it say 'or similar'? I have seen a theatre make alternative arrangements (cannot confirm if it was a refund or exchange) when I passed it, when the star was out, this was Joseph at the Adelphi with Lee Mead. So it does happen. What if you bought your ticket from the box office, where you haven't physically agreed T&C. The Lee Mead example is the only time I've ever known it to happen - they offered refund or exchange in that case if memory serves. When Acorn Antiques the Musical was on for its limited run, it was announced that Julie Walters would not play Mondays (as this was her "bingo night"!) Julie Walters was off for some other performances, I seem to remember, and I believe that the box office was happy to refund or exchange tickets for another evening if you didn't want to see Victoria Wood play Mrs Overall. |
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Post by timbo on Apr 24, 2016 8:00:43 GMT
When I went to see Evita at the Adelphi Elena Roger was "indisposed" and they allowed me to exchange my tickets for a future performance without any bother whatsoever.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 24, 2016 8:06:13 GMT
The Lee Mead example is the only time I've ever known it to happen - they offered refund or exchange in that case if memory serves. When Acorn Antiques the Musical was on for its limited run, it was announced that Julie Walters would not play Mondays (as this was her "bingo night"!) Julie Walters was off for some other performances, I seem to remember, and I believe that the box office was happy to refund or exchange tickets for another evening if you didn't want to see Victoria Wood play Mrs Overall. Wasn't VW playing Miss Berta? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 8:08:55 GMT
No. That was Sally Ann Triplett. VW was always scheduled to play Mrs O on Mondays, and was JW's understudy.
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Post by sub37 on Apr 24, 2016 8:15:06 GMT
There's no way to call the band in early at the last minute. Most players will be working elsewhere during the day anyway... Got to pay those bills :-) Interesting they need a second job. I presume playing instruments rather than say office work? Musicians regularly work 3 session days, ie. 10-1, 2-5 and an evening performance. The day could involve teaching, recording sessions or rehearsals for another performance. I'm yet to find a colleague of the standard required for a professional orchestra who holds down an office job! Reminds me of a story a friend told me about Tessa Jowell when she was culture secretary and visited the Liverpool Philharmonic. She asked one of the first violins what they did for a day job. Sheesh :-) |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 8:16:21 GMT
Glenn Close's singing has never satisfied me, she sounds struggling when she does it and that makes the acting unbelievable. Now clearly many people are very impressed with the fact that she is famous, but what can you expect from someone who does not master the fine craft of singing and acting through it? If the basis is not there, not much is needed for someone to not be able to go on. There is nothing for her to fall back on. So I think it is silly to expect so much from an incapable person. And I think it is silly to pay so much money for the fact that she is a name, instead of quality. I have heard people say that when they saw Ria, for the first time the songs came alive. That is what you should want to pay for. No, we were impressed with her performance. You obviously don't like her which is fine. Personal taste etc. But that doesn't negate the opinions of thousands of people who have seen her (and are yet to see her) and thought it was brilliant. In fairness to Dave25, he didn't say 'everybody' or even 'everybody on here'. He said 'many'. Based on what I saw last Tuesday, the audience's ecstatic reaction was way out of proportion to her croaky singing and inability to hold a long note without wavering. Now, on this forum we're the first people to grumble if we think a particular performer isn't up to scratch. So let's be honest, if any other 69-year-old woman had got up there and sung like that in a lead role in a musical, they'd be laughed off the stage. Ergo, her fame/connection with this role is blinding many audience members to her weaknesses, no? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 8:16:44 GMT
Now I can't get the tune of the Tip Top Tap out if my head, which is even odder when I am in the Sunset Boulevard thread! (Oddly enough I saw Ria Jones play Mrs O in the tour of AAtheM in Richmond, and VW was with Trevor Nunn in the audience...)
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Post by Dave25 on Apr 24, 2016 9:13:07 GMT
No, we were impressed with her performance. You obviously don't like her which is fine. Personal taste etc. But that doesn't negate the opinions of thousands of people who have seen her (and are yet to see her) and thought it was brilliant. In fairness to Dave25, he didn't say 'everybody' or even 'everybody on here'. He said 'many'. Based on what I saw last Tuesday, the audience's ecstatic reaction was way out of proportion to her croaky singing and inability to hold a long note without wavering. Now, on this forum we're the first people to grumble if we think a particular performer isn't up to scratch. So let's be honest, if any other 69-year-old woman had got up there and sung like that in a lead role in a musical, they'd be laughed off the stage. Ergo, her fame/connection with this role is blinding many audience members to her weaknesses, no? Thanks. I completely agree. If someone has such croaky singing with the inability to hold a note without wavering, then I see a person struggling with the material and there is nothing that takes me out of the acting more than that. You can argue that her "acting in spite of the singing" is somewhat good, which I disagree with per definition, because I see someone having trouble with singing so what is there to believe. So the definition "brilliant" is not really suitable here. That enthusiasm probably comes from the things jeanhunt describes. |
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Post by richey on Apr 24, 2016 10:14:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 10:30:04 GMT
Saw that too, richey. (Just listened to that audio of the booing. Ugly behaviour...) Can't help feeling that Ria Jones will come out of this very nicely. And a good thing too. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 24, 2016 10:39:58 GMT
In fairness to Dave25, he didn't say 'everybody' or even 'everybody on here'. He said 'many'. Based on what I saw last Tuesday, the audience's ecstatic reaction was way out of proportion to her croaky singing and inability to hold a long note without wavering. Now, on this forum we're the first people to grumble if we think a particular performer isn't up to scratch. So let's be honest, if any other 69-year-old woman had got up there and sung like that in a lead role in a musical, they'd be laughed off the stage. Ergo, her fame/connection with this role is blinding many audience members to her weaknesses, no? Thanks. I completely agree. If someone has such croaky singing with the inability to hold a note without wavering, then I see a person struggling with the material and there is nothing that takes me out of the acting more than that. You can argue that her "acting in spite of the singing" is somewhat good, which I disagree with per definition, because I see someone having trouble with singing so what is there to believe. So the definition "brilliant" is not really suitable here. That enthusiasm probably comes from the things jeanhunt describes. Nope. I've never seen a GC film apart from Fatal Attraction which I don't remember much about. I am not a "fan" blinded by my adoration however I AM a fan of the cast recording and I think she is perfect for the role. Personal opinion. And there was no croaky singing in the 2 performances I saw, she was brilliant both times. However it was the first week of the run. Things may well have changed and that's one of the reasons why I chose to see it early. |
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 24, 2016 10:51:22 GMT
Do you know what a 'momumental effort' it is? How rude of you! I have done my research, thank you. She hasn't performed in a musical in 22 years. Do you have any idea what a monumental effort that is when your body is not used to doing this most of the time. I know EXACTLY what she has done - sporadic theatre roles - none as demanding as this - over the past 30 or so years. having done years of amateur theatre, actually, yes. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 10:52:34 GMT
But surely people shouldn't have to choose to see something early purely to see a performer at their best?
The whole point of being a theatre performer (whether it's musicals or plays) is that you can sustain a high-level performance over a period of (usually) months. That's what's so amazing about it. Even talented and established film/TV actors who aren't keen to move outside that medium will say that's what they admire about their board-treading colleagues.
We all know there are certain days when a stage actor hits the heights, and others when they're not quite as good we've seen them be elsewhere. But that's probably only something those of us who go to see theatre a lot will notice - your average tourist/punter will still consider that they've seen a good show. Whereas if someone clearly can't hit the notes two weeks after opening night (which is when I went), then they're in trouble.
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