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Post by alicechallice on Jul 23, 2024 8:56:35 GMT
Some like it Hot would be a perfect show for the Prince Edward (it was in fact there years ago in a different version)- but it would die a death I fear. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Death Becomes Her is a hit in NYC and that may come over and slip into the PE! Do you have intel on what's due from Broadway soon, particularly next year? It seems to have gone v.quiet on the Shucked/Some Like It Hot front. And surely Beetlejuice will be coming to capitalise on the new movie... |
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Post by A.Ham on Jul 23, 2024 10:59:54 GMT
I didn’t like MJ and would go as far to say that I preferred Thriller, I didn’t really like that one much either but Thriller had more heart. Nothing about MJ wowed me apart from Miles Frost. I completely agree, I definitely enjoyed Thriller more even though I only saw a regional touring production. At least it mostly stuck to the concert performance format and so felt more cohesive. And I didn’t even get to see Frost as he was out the night I went, so maybe he’d have elevated it. Finally - Water For Elephants, I loved the book and film but know nothing of the musical, but would book straight away based on those. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 23, 2024 20:39:56 GMT
Some like it Hot would be a perfect show for the Prince Edward (it was in fact there years ago in a different version)- but it would die a death I fear. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Death Becomes Her is a hit in NYC and that may come over and slip into the PE! Do you have intel on what's due from Broadway soon, particularly next year? It seems to have gone v.quiet on the Shucked/Some Like It Hot front. And surely Beetlejuice will be coming to capitalise on the new movie... I’m afraid not. The last I heard was that Some Like it Hot and Shucked announcing London was completely jumping the gun, and Beetlejuice currently has no London plans. |
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Post by blamerobots on Jul 23, 2024 21:36:05 GMT
Big shame. All three of those I were totally looking forward to, though I get it. All three are on national tours and all of them are making pretty good money so the idea of installing a new permanent production is probably not at the top of the list. There's always a year from now! Though, if Beetlejuice can open up on a tiny stage on a cruise liner, there is no place it can't go... (seriously, that set is TINY!)
Haven't seen MJ, but how tourable is this show? That has to be in the future plans, right? That'd make a genuine killing.
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Post by Ade on Jul 27, 2024 17:52:25 GMT
Saw this at the matinee today.
The good:
- Almost across the board the performances are decent and Miles Frost is exceptional
- The staging of Smooth Criminal, Thriller and Earth Song/They don’t care about us all just about justify the price of the ticket. Overall the design is decent.
The less than good:
- Just about everything else really but the book really is appalling. The narrative is all over the place/non-existent and does nothing to come to any kind of dramatic conclusion. It honestly feels like they spend two hours jumping around semi-staged scenes from his life, random performances and a half-baked documentary idea, then realise they need to end it and chuck Thriller and Man in the Mirror into the mix.
All in all, I’m glad I’ve seen it for the more concert-like moments but as an exploration of who he was or even just a good musical… meh
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Post by longinthetooth on Jul 29, 2024 16:56:33 GMT
Cancelled again tonight - cast illness!
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Post by argon on Jul 29, 2024 17:03:35 GMT
Cancelled again tonight - cast illness! With 3 MJs it's might strange this happens so often in this production. Anyone seen middle Michael's alternate yet? |
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Post by unseaworthy on Aug 1, 2024 22:45:39 GMT
We had Myles Frost tonight and he did a great job as did everyone else on stage. The show has more plot than I thought it would have, although was set early enough to miss out some of the allegations that came out later in MJ's career. One thing I was surprised about was how many empty seats there were, perhaps this isn't attracting tourists in the way some people predicted.
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Post by A.Ham on Aug 3, 2024 10:47:58 GMT
Box office for this does seem to be slowing down now. And judging by my email inbox, there’s already a fair few offers appearing. Quite surprising really given how successful Thriller was, and this hasn’t been on 6 months yet!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 3, 2024 12:24:58 GMT
Is it?
Thriller was well established before the full scale of the allegations about Jackson's behaviour came into the mainstream media.
The Jackson brand has since been tarnished and whilst there are hardcore fans and those who still enjoy the music, it would seem that regular theatregoers are now not as keen to celebrate Jackson's life.
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Post by Phantom of London on Aug 3, 2024 17:22:26 GMT
Thriller was a circumstantial hit. Just as was Chicago.
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Post by Matt on Aug 3, 2024 21:04:00 GMT
Wasn’t thriller also one of those shows that you could ALWAYS get cheap tickets for? Tourists roll up to TKTS, cheapest option, good availability.
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Post by unseaworthy on Aug 3, 2024 23:01:06 GMT
Is it possible this might not last once the summer is over and tourists go home?
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Post by danb on Aug 4, 2024 8:04:28 GMT
Thriller was a circumstantial hit. Just as was Chicago. How so ‘Chicago’? I remember it being a huge deal when it opened; even got a bbc documentary about the lead up. Surely it was a hit because it had a great cast and phenomenal dancing? |
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Post by theatrefan62 on Aug 4, 2024 8:24:10 GMT
Yeah I don't get the Chicago comparison at all. If anything it broke the mould at the time as it was still a time of the mega musical with big sets etc.
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Post by Phantom of London on Aug 4, 2024 12:59:14 GMT
Thriller was a circumstantial hit. Just as was Chicago. How so ‘Chicago’? I remember it being a huge deal when it opened; even got a bbc documentary about the lead up. Surely it was a hit because it had a great cast and phenomenal dancing? Murder trial of OJ Simpson. |
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Post by theatrefan62 on Aug 4, 2024 13:03:47 GMT
That's a reach!
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Post by danb on Aug 4, 2024 13:30:30 GMT
I guess it was a bit closer to it in the States but it was 3 years later over here. I don’t see it really.
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1,484 posts
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Post by theatrefan62 on Aug 4, 2024 13:59:16 GMT
I guess it was a bit closer to it in the States but it was 3 years later over here. I don’t see it really. Even in America it opened a year after trial. You could broadly use the rise of celebrity culture maybe. But society and timing could be used for most shows and their relevancy |
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Post by westendboy on Aug 4, 2024 14:20:45 GMT
Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that this doesn't seem to be doing as well as expected! You would think that with the MJ brand and how dedicated and diehard the fanbase is, this would be selling exceptionally.
Maybe it's due to the cast availability, or the allegations against Jackson, as others here have pointed out, but it feels like this show has been cursed since opening!
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tcb
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Post by tcb on Aug 4, 2024 15:01:36 GMT
Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that this doesn't seem to be doing as well as expected! You would think that with the MJ brand and how dedicated and diehard the fanbase is, this would be selling exceptionally. Maybe it's due to the cast availability, or the allegations against Jackson, as others here have pointed out, but it feels like this show has been cursed since opening! I wonder about the fanbase here these days. He was a huge star internationally and had a massive fanbase in his day but it’s been 40 years now since Thriller was released and 35 since Bad and a lot of allegations since then. |
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Post by danb on Aug 4, 2024 15:14:21 GMT
…and it isn’t very good. I think that might be part of it.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 4, 2024 15:21:07 GMT
That would explain it not picking up a fan base of repeat attendees
Considering the reputation of the book writer as a playwright, it does seem to the script that holds this back
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Post by danb on Aug 4, 2024 15:39:24 GMT
It’s the pointless framing device that drags it down. Far too much talky exposition with bad accents instead of showing us more of the show he’s crafting.
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Post by joonas on Aug 4, 2024 15:43:00 GMT
The script is not very good but apart from a few spectacular scenes, the show was quite disappointing visually too. The volume was also so loud that it was impossible to actually enjoy the music and appreciate the 12-piece band. This problem applies to most West End shows though.
I’m glad I saw the show but I kind of regret paying full price and I don’t really have any interest in seeing it again.
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