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Post by distantcousin on Sept 23, 2021 17:01:31 GMT
The greed of promoters at present is shockingly shameless. Takes my breath away. I think they are banking on a middle class affluent market of theatregoers who've had the benefit of unaffected monthly salaries throughout the pandemic, and have lots of pent up spending potential due to their social lives and overseas holidays having been disrupted and cancelled, in order to claw back their losses.
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Post by distantcousin on Sept 23, 2021 17:02:35 GMT
It will sound incredible. Not in the RAH it won’t. Indeed. Any musical concert I've seen there was terrible for being able to discern the vocals!
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 24, 2021 9:14:04 GMT
Arena seats are usually priced lower than stalls at RAH but it's the reverse for Sunset Boulevard. The available seats in the front five rows of the Arena are "fine dining" costing £305 standard seating £135 or £93 further back. Stalls all £103.
Horribly overpriced in my opinion and I'm not booking.
Shame it's not at Cadogan Hall, they'd have sold out there and sound is generally superior in my opinion but at these prices at the RAH this will struggle.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 24, 2021 9:27:32 GMT
It’s obviously being marketed at the elite who wouldn’t dream of sitting on a chair at the ally pally but would like the kudos of going to the RAH for some “fine dining”. Good time of year for the corporates too.
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Post by richey on Sept 24, 2021 9:47:43 GMT
Totally ridiculous pricing. Unbelievable.
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Post by theoracle on Sept 24, 2021 9:48:20 GMT
Arena seats are usually priced lower than stalls at RAH but it's the reverse for Sunset Boulevard. The available seats in the front five rows of the Arena are "fine dining" costing £305 standard seating £135 or £93 further back. Stalls all £103. Horribly overpriced in my opinion and I'm not booking. Shame it's not at Cadogan Hall, they'd have sold out there and sound is generally superior in my opinion but at these prices at the RAH this will struggle. These would be my preferred seats but I cannot justify spending £305 on "fine dining" seats. Will these be reduced to a standard price in the coming weeks? I would like to sit on the floor but due to the absence of a rake, I can only justify spending £105 if I am closer to the front. I'm fairly tall as well and the stage from what I remember isn't that high so it's not a huge struggle for myself.
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 24, 2021 10:12:38 GMT
I think they knew they'd sell this out because it's basically been bought by the Alpha Club (a private member's club a bit like Soho House from what I understand).
They do Christmas concerts at the Albert hall with people like Mazz, Ruthie, Ben Forster etc and they're always expensive and sell out - so I guess this isn't aimed at us really, but at the elite who will pay the crazy money and not bat an eyelid.
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Post by steve10086 on Sept 24, 2021 11:03:39 GMT
While I agree with the previous comments on pricing, I have still booked for this.
Added to the prices, I’m not convinced about the sound quality at the RAH, and I’ve already seen this production at Ally Pally, but…
It’s Sunset Boulevard! It’s the RAH! How could I not go?
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Post by fiyero on Sept 24, 2021 11:25:18 GMT
I’m glad I’m already busy the 2 days following so wouldn’t want to go anyway. I justified the high price at Alexandra palace as they couldn’t sell 1/3-1/2 of the seats. Too much here!
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Post by ruby on Sept 24, 2021 11:47:17 GMT
I absolutely adore Sunset Boulevard and would have been keen to go but Ramin Karimloo leaves me cold.
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Post by justsaying113 on Sept 24, 2021 11:59:57 GMT
Yet again, ridiculous pricing. And that's now the fourth thing announced in recent weeks I've not booked for.
And, spot on, WireHangers (and no disrespect at all to Maz) but at those prices it needs one of the great ladies who've played this to reprise it.
I hope it sells for all involved and wish everyone the very best.
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Post by danb on Sept 24, 2021 12:07:24 GMT
I think I’d want guarantees that the sound design was for the room and not for some random recording never to be seen again other than on sky arts at 4am on a Tuesday night.
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 24, 2021 12:17:04 GMT
Arena seats are usually priced lower than stalls at RAH but it's the reverse for Sunset Boulevard. The available seats in the front five rows of the Arena are "fine dining" costing £305 standard seating £135 or £93 further back. Stalls all £103. Horribly overpriced in my opinion and I'm not booking. Shame it's not at Cadogan Hall, they'd have sold out there and sound is generally superior in my opinion but at these prices at the RAH this will struggle. These would be my preferred seats but I cannot justify spending £305 on "fine dining" seats. Will these be reduced to a standard price in the coming weeks? I would like to sit on the floor but due to the absence of a rake, I can only justify spending £105 if I am closer to the front. I'm fairly tall as well and the stage from what I remember isn't that high so it's not a huge struggle for myself. Exactly my view. I'm also tall and was prepared to spend around £100 to get the front or maybe second arena row at the RAH as the stage is indeed not particularly high. Very few seats have sold in the three hours since this went on sale and only two of the 40 priced @ £305 have gone. I think there will be deals nearer the time but probably not till November. I once got a seat in the front row for the Beach Boys at the RAH on the day of the show and was surrounded by people who'd paid three or four times what I did. In the interval they all disappeared to get their included refreshments leaving me alone there.
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Post by inthenose on Sept 24, 2021 14:49:04 GMT
Each to their own in terms of what they choose to do their money. But stuff like this sets a very dangerous precedent.
Anyone who has been to RAH can vouch for how terrible the sound is, especially those who have sat in the £66(!!!!) circle seats before.
I paid £90-odd for a seat to watch Glenn Close (a bona-fide film star reprising a Tony winning performance) at a much, much better venue in every single respect (Coliseum), doing what was billed as a "semi staged" concert but actually felt like a full production. It was a settled production with numerous chances to get things like sound balance and performance levels right.
Compare that to £105 for a cast of talented people, but no star power (and huge salary to match/justify the ticket price), at a terrible venue for sound (and sight lines) in a concert performance which may not even be rehearsed off-book. A performance likely to be recorded with more focus on delivering for that audience than the ones who paid, sorry but £105(!!!!!!!!) for the privilege of being there.
This absolutely reeks of price gouging and greed. Expect to see lots of people in tuxedos (not just for waiters) quaffing expensive yet cheap champagne.
It's not even for charity! It's pure absolute tone deafness.
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Post by theatreian on Sept 24, 2021 14:54:35 GMT
I was at the Albert Hall a couple of years back for Sarah Brightman and was originally sitting in the Arena. We asked to be moved due to poor sightline and sound and were moved to the circle near the stage which was much better. Agree the pricing for this is high given no superstar casting, although there is a 40 piece Orchestra and these one night only things can be costly to put on.
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Post by inthenose on Sept 24, 2021 15:02:24 GMT
Sorry for the above rant, genuinely angry about this one. It's everything I don't want theatre to become.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 24, 2021 15:17:21 GMT
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Post by alece10 on Sept 24, 2021 16:29:12 GMT
Each to their own in terms of what they choose to do their money. But stuff like this sets a very dangerous precedent. Anyone who has been to RAH can vouch for how terrible the sound is, especially those who have sat in the £66(!!!!) circle seats before. I paid £90-odd for a seat to watch Glenn Close (a bona-fide film star reprising a Tony winning performance) at a much, much better venue in every single respect (Coliseum), doing what was billed as a "semi staged" concert but actually felt like a full production. It was a settled production with numerous chances to get things like sound balance and performance levels right. Compare that to £105 for a cast of talented people, but no star power (and huge salary to match/justify the ticket price), at a terrible venue for sound (and sight lines) in a concert performance which may not even be rehearsed off-book. A performance likely to be recorded with more focus on delivering for that audience than the ones who paid, sorry but £105(!!!!!!!!) for the privilege of being there. This absolutely reeks of price gouging and greed. Expect to see lots of people in tuxedos (not just for waiters) quaffing expensive yet cheap champagne. It's not even for charity! It's pure absolute tone deafness. You make some valid points. I've been to many concerts at the RAH and almost always there are sound issues mainly with the singers rather than the orchestras. I think the worst was Chess 25th Anniversary concert but even the John Wilson Proms concerts there are issues with the sound mix When you hear the concert back on TV, or in the case of Chess the DVD and CD, they have been able to remix the sound and so the whole thing sounds totally different. The only exception was Shirley Bassey concert many many years ago and she sounded so clear. But then her voice could fill the hall without even having to use a mic.
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Post by scarpia on Sept 26, 2021 12:02:39 GMT
The sound was abysmal at Ally Pally and I can't see how it will be any better at the RAH based on previous experiences there. The only thing I've seen at the Hall that wasn't bad sound wise was Phantom's 25th, although the recording sounds nothing like what was heard live (think Karimloo had his pitch issues corrected in the post-production process).
I paid a little over £30 to see Glenn Close at the Coliseum with a 50-piece orchestra in a much more thought-through production that actually had costumes (and the seats were fine), and that was only 5 years ago. Inflation cannot account for these prices.
I get that live entertainment has had a devastating 2 years...but, really?
Let's hope they learn the lines for this one.
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Post by LaLuPone on Sept 26, 2021 13:08:39 GMT
The sound was abysmal at Ally Pally and I can't see how it will be any better at the RAH based on previous experiences there. The only thing I've seen at the Hall that wasn't bad sound wise was Phantom's 25th, although the recording sounds nothing like what was heard live (think Karimloo had his pitch issues corrected in the post-production process). I paid a little over £30 to see Glenn Close at the Coliseum with a 50-piece orchestra in a much more thought-through production that actually had costumes (and the seats were fine), and that was only 5 years ago. Inflation cannot account for these prices. I get that live entertainment has had a devastating 2 years...but, really? Let's hope they learn the lines for this one. And find a costume for Mr DeMille! Your “lost uncle” comment back in June made me laugh out loud on the way home from the show 😭
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Post by og on Sept 27, 2021 8:45:15 GMT
Sorry for the above rant, genuinely angry about this one. It's everything I don't want theatre to become. Legitimate points, playing devils advocate, whilst some of the prices are fairly egregious (eg the corporate boxes, which come with a dedicated member of staff) a quick compare with Phantom on the same night prices aren't that dissimilar (SB Mid/Front Stalls £135, Phantom £125 etc) the difference being that this is a one-off single performance. Every single aspect of the production needs to be paid for by ticket sales for that one performance; the performers, musicians, crew, equipement hire, venue hire, production rights, and so on. West End theatre has the opportunity to cost-average the production costs across 8 performances per week for the entire duration of the contract/run, it's a very different ball game. By all means, if you think you could produce the same concert for £20 tickets, have a go. Whilst it could be said it has the potential to set a precedent, arguably it's a Concert, not Theatre, so very different territory. Even if it were strictly theatre, at the end of the day it is what it is; Show Business.
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Post by max on Sept 27, 2021 12:08:36 GMT
Does anyone know what the status of this production is in ReallyUseful/ALW world? Totally legit for OG (in the post above) to compare to Phantom anniversary when thinking about pricing; but in terms of artistic/authorial overview that was a major production by the original producers, and a milestone moment in its history. Playing the RAH is quite a high status milestone moment for 'Sunset', but under whose ownership of the moment? I'd hope a custodian of the show's reputation would be aware that many core loyal audience were bitterly disappointed with the sound issues for 'Chess' (which got a few more 'goes' at it, rather than a one-off performance).
It's another of ALW's apparently 'big' shows, that is actually about a very small number of core characters. In a show where Norma asserts "we didn't need words, we had faces" how many of the audience will be able to see the detail of the actors' faces, in England's village hall?
Something feels out of kilter. A few performances at the Palladium might have given more confidence to book.
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Post by steve10086 on Sept 27, 2021 12:13:57 GMT
This concert has nothing to do with RUG.
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Post by og on Sept 27, 2021 12:33:29 GMT
Does anyone know what the status of this production is in ReallyUseful/ALW world? Totally legit for OG (in the post above) to compare to Phantom anniversary when thinking about pricing; but in terms of artistic/authorial overview that was a major production by the original producers, and a milestone moment in its history. Playing the RAH is quite a high status milestone moment for 'Sunset', but under whose ownership of the moment? I'd hope a custodian of the show's reputation would be aware that many core loyal audience were bitterly disappointed with the sound issues for 'Chess' (which got a few more 'goes' at it, rather than a one-off performance). It's another of ALW's apparently 'big' shows, that is actually about a very small number of core characters. In a show where Norma asserts "we didn't need words, we had faces" how many of the audience will be able to see the detail of the actors' faces, in England's village hall? Something feels out of kilter. A few performances at the Palladium might have given more confidence to book. To clarify, I was comparing Sunset @ RAH with Phantom at Her Majesty's on the same evening, not the 25th Concert.
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Post by max on Sept 27, 2021 16:02:51 GMT
Does anyone know what the status of this production is in ReallyUseful/ALW world? Totally legit for OG (in the post above) to compare to Phantom anniversary when thinking about pricing; but in terms of artistic/authorial overview that was a major production by the original producers, and a milestone moment in its history. Playing the RAH is quite a high status milestone moment for 'Sunset', but under whose ownership of the moment? I'd hope a custodian of the show's reputation would be aware that many core loyal audience were bitterly disappointed with the sound issues for 'Chess' (which got a few more 'goes' at it, rather than a one-off performance). It's another of ALW's apparently 'big' shows, that is actually about a very small number of core characters. In a show where Norma asserts "we didn't need words, we had faces" how many of the audience will be able to see the detail of the actors' faces, in England's village hall? Something feels out of kilter. A few performances at the Palladium might have given more confidence to book. To clarify, I was comparing Sunset @ RAH with Phantom at Her Majesty's on the same evening, not the 25th Concert. Ah, thanks OG. So as it compares okay with some price brackets in the West End, it could be a chance for some to venture to the RAH for the first time - I've never been. I'd want to be confident of sound and vision ("faces") before talking to my bank account. I liked what I heard of Mazz Murray in this, and at another venue would probably have booked already.
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Post by max on Sept 27, 2021 19:16:14 GMT
Was aware this isn't a RUG production, but interested in what kind of input they have/had beyond 'no changes without consultation' - if anyone knows how these things tend to work. Perhaps once happy with musical forces and casting, they're hands off. Though I think the esteem of RAH may make it a one-off case.
On concerts: The Petula Clark/Michael Ball concert version at Cork Opera House years ago (broadcast on BBC Radio 2) was strong - Clark's finale easily findable on Youtube is very well sung, and her acting some of the best I've heard of that section. There's a good moment when Norma's voice becomes girlish at the end of her speech to 'Mr DeMille/people in the dark', and then goes back into Norma's deeper adult voice. So she was even acting a role during part of her sincere speech. Nice choice I thought.
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Post by theatreian on Sept 27, 2021 21:44:39 GMT
An interesting compilation of finales with lots of Normas!
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Post by danb on Sept 28, 2021 4:55:05 GMT
Not a chance, no.
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Post by alece10 on Sept 28, 2021 7:32:55 GMT
Also the boxes are privately owned so you can't count them unless the box owners release their seats back to the RAH to sell on.
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Post by danb on Sept 28, 2021 8:51:23 GMT
I think that the whole enterprise has been misguided from the start. Sunset was just done in the W/E and on tour so nobody was clamouring for a new production. There are no stars or big names, just reliable highly professional artists. Crazy trying to turn a profit from that starting point.
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