Cabaret - Playhouse Theatre

first visit yesterday, overall very enjoyable! thank you jgblunners for the ticket. Aimee was a delight, not overly expressive in act 1 which nicely contrasted for Act 2. And a surprisingly beautiful voice too! Jamie New.. I mean, John.. as the Emcee was interesting, slightly less ‘out there’ than I’d thought he’d be. Listening to Eddie on the recording there’s definitely more seriousness with John . If anything the sinister portrayal was a clever contrast with his vocals just thought that the big numbers would’ve been pushed further if he did just a little more.
After seeing streetcar I cannot fault Rebecca’s push for in the round staging because it truly works. very cool to have other cast members watching in from the wings / aisles and playing around the audience.

cannot fault the venue too, staff were approachable and welcoming, although walkie talkie murmurs unfortunately echoed during act 2 from outside but these were minor. convinced that the alcohol sales also make the show more profit that ticket sales. And no one puked in the audience at all! ☺️Albeit some arguably tone death table occupiers on the tables who continue to clap after the anti-semetic remarks in some songs, everyone seemed well behaved

I've heard the new Emcee will be Mason Alexander Park (another American)

Probably because the Sam Mandes production run for years and it was again revived in 2014. Maybe Broadway producers think it's too soon for another Cabaret?

And also I remember reading around the album release when people asked him about it, Eddie Redmayne seemed to be carrying some guilt around, so seems unlikely that it's going to happen soonish at least (sounds very similar to why Billie Piper is reluctant to do a musical on stage).

I don't think they'll undertake the investment without his name there to kick things off at least.

“Doing theatre when you have young children is really complex,” he says. There is the need to be at the theatre early to warm up, then the late nights working. “Unless you get up in the mornings to take your kids to school, you’re not seeing your children, and then you’re working weekends…” he says in one exasperated flow. He slows down to add, lest he sound ungrateful, “and that is just our actor’s life, if we’re lucky enough to be working. So the answer to your question is I’ve had a thrilling experience, and theatre is in my DNA and blood. But it also takes a toll.”


inews.co.uk/culture/arts/eddie-redmayne-cabaret-greatest-career-toll-2113514

Didn't Teddy Kempner play Schultz in the Rufus Norris Lyric Theatre version? Or am I misremembering?

Not wowed by the two new leads. Going for very "niche famous" actors again.

And good old "Nepo baby" realness in the case of Apatow.

People didn't exactly fall over with praise for Apatow in her current stage stint, so this casting is extremely suspect. Not sure exactly who is going to be excited to see her.

Also, having been a couple of times, I don't think the demographic of audience is changing with these casts. I think the show sold exactly as it always does when the alternates were on for two weeks earlier this year. The show itself is the draw.

Hadn't heard of either actor, Googled them and still none the wiser. I haven't even heard of the TV shows they have been in.
I'm guessing a younger person will be aware of them but, at Cabaret prices, would they be queueing up to fork out £200 for a Cabaret table?
It's not as if they are even established MT performers which would get me to go for a third visit.

I mean the Emcee has to be white for the production to work. Sally they definitely could do better with.

Gosh darn it, and they were getting it so period-accurate with those handheld microphones. 

Did some Googling of my own and stumbled upon a few YouTube videos of Mason Alexander Park as Hedwig in the US national tour of the production that opened in NY with Neil Patrick Harris at the helm.  Based on that, I can definitely see why they'd be considered a good fit for the EmCee, and clearly they are a competent and reliable performer if they were chosen to lead the touring production stepping in the role that NPH had been spectacular in on Broadway. 

Besides, given the stamp that Eddie Redmayne - whose vocals are solid, but not out of this world good - has given the role in this production, the performer's charisma, energy and physicality count more than anything else, and someone who's played Hedwig should easily pass the test in those departments.  

On the other hand, I haven't been able to find examples of Maude Apatow's singing/performing.  The fact that the LSOH production has published videos with almost all the other actresses who've played / are playing Audrey, including Tammy Blanchard - who brought to life an unusual and interesting portrayal of Audrey, but wasn't quite vocally flawless - but not a single one with Apatow does make me wonder...  

Of course I also wonder whether these names are big enough to command the ticket pricing that was originally deemed "justified" when Redmayne and Buckley were cast, but the show has been running for a year and a half now and despite the cast having changed to include leads with maybe less of a resume/name it keeps selling reasonably well, the lottery remains super tough to win, there's still a certain buzz about it, it's a well-known title that can sell to tourists and those have been returning to London in recent months... so I feel that it can continue to run with that pricing for another while! 

Any news on a broadway transfer?