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Post by ronnette on May 25, 2022 10:00:18 GMT
I consider myself 'woke' - mainly because I don't think "being alert to injustice in society" is an insult - but my problems largely were with the production and not the cast Sorry to use the term ‘woke’ in a general way. I meant that say a critic mentions that the casting is off because someone can’t sing the score due to their vocal abilities… for instance…. That opens the door to those that want to point the finger and say you can’t be mean about non-binary people (if we’re talking about that particular performance, which plenty of people have discussed). Does that make sense? |
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Post by MoreLife on May 25, 2022 10:01:09 GMT
In my days of regular reviewing, I perfected the art of silent clapping if I felt I was likely to be noticed. But not clapping is a perfectly legitimate response to a show that has failed in some way. I don't believe in booing to show your displeasure. But sitting quietly and not joining in the applause is not disrespectful. I agree, there's nothing disrespectful in not joining a roaring applause / standing ovation. In the same way as stage door chats, signing autographs, taking photographs with a cast member are not something having paid a ticket entitles an audience member to, stepping on stage to do your job as a performer does not automatically mean you get everyone's applause if you have not "earned" it. It doesn't mean your performance was bad in absolute terms, it doesn't mean you can't do your job, it only means someone out there was not won over. It's only happened to me a couple of times, but I have found myself sitting in an audience leaping to their feet and cheering a performance that personally I didn't connect with and couldn't respond enthusiastically to. One of the two times, it was a very specific performance that had left me cold... and while I definitely cheered and clapped for the production and cast as a whole, I did not join in with the big cheer that the specific performer was welcome with. Mind you, the threshold past which I do respond showing warm appreciation is relatively low, so those two times I really felt something had not clicked at all. |
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Post by terrylondon79 on May 25, 2022 10:51:21 GMT
I wonder how much they paid What’s On Stage for that review lol! Why do people selling TKTS always pretend to be impartial when reviewing. Same with the bloggers with links to a ticket store. I wouldn't go to a car salesroom and expect the dealer to point out the faults on a car! |
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 25, 2022 11:17:47 GMT
Sarah Crompton used to be arts editor at the telegraph and has been reviewing longer than most people watching the show have been alive, so doubt she's being paid by them for it.
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Post by partytentdown on May 25, 2022 11:30:51 GMT
I saw it and it was not as bad as I anticipated, but I'm sorry there is no way on this earth that this show is a 5 star production. 5 stars essentially means it's perfect and can't be better. There are just fundamental flaws with this production.
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 25, 2022 11:32:34 GMT
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Post by inthenose on May 25, 2022 11:37:01 GMT
Whilst this was undoubtedly one of the worst productions I've ever seen, I don't want it to fail per se. I just want people to recognise a bad production from a good one. There are people who love everything (or at least pretend to, because they paid) and - wrongly I freely admit - I can't stand it, because it sets expectations so low that producers think trash like this is acceptable.
For me, this isn't a matter of taste or "not getting" what the show is trying to do. It is just plain bad in every way.
In this case, they have a set schedule at this venue so it's not like it's taking up a valuable West End space. It's playing the run and that's that.
That said, it would be impossible to recommend such a dire production even to the most Tumblrish of Gen Z superfans.
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 25, 2022 12:15:24 GMT
Let us not forget that a certain now infamous show got very positive reviews when it opened last year. That is now closing.
I am reminded of another show some 30+ years ago was hated by many critics. It is still running (albeit in a different form and in a different venue)
Critical reaction can often mean very little
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Post by sophie92 on May 25, 2022 12:17:37 GMT
The WOS review says “When Elle is on the verge of quitting Harvard, it's not love that holds her there, it's a woman who steps forward and tells her she is great.” as an example of something that Lucy Moss has changed to make the show better. I haven’t seen this production but if they’re talking about what happens post-“Legally Blonde”, it’s always been the case that a woman encourages her to stay.
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Post by ladidah on May 25, 2022 12:24:40 GMT
Yes, it was always the support of Paulette and Vivian.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2022 12:39:42 GMT
And in the movie it was a woman, it was the female lecturer that didn't like Elle to start with.
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Post by couldileaveyou on May 25, 2022 13:35:29 GMT
4* from The Guardian too. This revival got better reviews than My Fair Lady
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 25, 2022 14:49:22 GMT
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Post by Being Alive on May 25, 2022 15:18:39 GMT
4* from The Guardian too. This revival got better reviews than My Fair Lady ...which is absolute madness... MFL the absolutely superior show |
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Post by ronnette on May 25, 2022 15:25:32 GMT
Can just see the theatre critics whatsapp group:
4 or 5 stars only for this one right folks??
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Post by christya on May 25, 2022 17:01:16 GMT
Honestly, with what I'm hearing from people who have seen this, anyone giving it 4 or 5 stars loses all credibility for me. Frankly the set alone should lose it a star, as should what I've seen of the costumes. It sounds like a mess, I don't know what they're thinking.
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Post by stagebyte on May 25, 2022 17:04:05 GMT
Anyone got screenshots of the Times and Independent ones?
Absolutely gobsmacked by the 4 and 5 star reviews.
This really is a case of The Emperor’s New Clothes
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Post by stagebyte on May 25, 2022 17:07:34 GMT
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Post by stagebyte on May 25, 2022 17:09:50 GMT
Think Time Out are pretty much on the same page as most of us here www.timeout.com/london/theatre/legally-blonde-the-musical-review‘I sat gawping in a vague is this really happening befuddlement’ ‘Moss doesn’t necessarily have much to say with her version, beyond ‘let’s make “Legally Blonde” even camper’. In particular, casting a Black actor into a WASPy role feels like a missed opportunity to subvert the archetype of the poor little rich girl’ diversifying a comedy about a group of rich white people without really analysing the original story feels like a bit of a missed trick. Lastly there’s the regrettable matter of Laura Hopkin’s set. I think it’s meant to look like Elle’s hair, which is fine (though I’m not sure her blondeness actually feels desperately central here – her extreme love of pink is clearly the main signifier of her whole ‘vibe’). Dangling ropes that look like cornrows are fine, but the considerable areas of the set adorned with what look like photorealist images of hair just look… horrible, like something knocked up on the cheap in Snappy Snaps. |
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 25, 2022 17:10:31 GMT
Honestly, with what I'm hearing from people who have seen this, anyone giving it 4 or 5 stars loses all credibility for me. Frankly the set alone should lose it a star, as should what I've seen of the costumes. It sounds like a mess, I don't know what they're thinking. Costumes have been overhauled during previews. think a lot of work has been done to the show. that's what previews are for. |
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Post by robertb213 on May 25, 2022 17:11:21 GMT
I'm reviewing tonight, I'll help even the score I'm sure! 🤣
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 25, 2022 17:22:12 GMT
Honestly, with what I'm hearing from people who have seen this, anyone giving it 4 or 5 stars loses all credibility for me. Frankly the set alone should lose it a star, as should what I've seen of the costumes. It sounds like a mess, I don't know what they're thinking. Costumes have been overhauled during previews. think a lot of work has been done to the show. that's what previews are for. Is it normal for costumes to be changed as a result of previews though? Like the people involved can’t see the obvious until an audience comes in and tells them the obvious? |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 25, 2022 17:23:14 GMT
I'm reviewing tonight, I'll help even the score I'm sure! 🤣 I absolutely predict you’re going to come back here and tell us you loved it! |
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Post by robertb213 on May 25, 2022 17:28:15 GMT
I'm reviewing tonight, I'll help even the score I'm sure! 🤣 I absolutely predict you’re going to come back here and tell us you loved it! I don't know, I'm a big fan of the original version, and I have very high standards! |
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Post by LaLuPone on May 25, 2022 17:38:01 GMT
That Time Out review is very fair, definitely agree with a lot of the points. What on earth is a “gimp” though? Haven’t heard that word since high school, and didn’t really know what it meant then beyond that it was an insult.
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