Light in the Piazza In Concert - Alexandra Palace

Agreed, the venue is terrible for acoustics and is a trek to get to but to hear this score live again will be fab. Also wit this being Quick Fantastic, we’ll probably have another great cast so keen to see who Margaret Johnson will be tomorrow. That being said, a 15piece orchestra seems rather small for Alex Parker? There’s usually at least 30 of them on stage…

Unlike other shows Alex Parker has done, the largest orchestration for this is written for 15 players. And he did a My Fair Lady concert a couple years ago with only 18, when the score calls for 26.

Such a small orchestra considering in 2019 we were treated to a 44 piece

*Check back here tomorrow at 11am where the casting of Margaret Johnson is revealed*
From WoS

Looks like Liz Truss will be busy so are we ready for Rishi's Margaret ?

Tickets from £29 to £133.50!! Wow

I think she did the US National Tour of Bridges of Madison County. Not massively familiar with her other than that though

I'm sure she is very good but not a name I know. Not that I would go anyway but was expecting someone more well known to Jo public to get them to flock to the venue.

We can offer you a semi-staged version next February 1-5 in the States as a part of the Encores series. www.nycitycenter.org/About/our-programs/encores/

I think there's a couple of problems with this musical- it's not a problem for me (I love this show)- I'm just saying generally, is that it's not well known enough.

It's not a long runner like Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera with as much exposure.

Even if you asked the most non-theatre person if know of either of the above they'd say yes; and they don't even need to have seen it, but at least they're aware of either of them.

Also there is a song or two sung in Italian which can be a turn off in a similar way that some people can't watch a foreign film and read subtitles- and this could be for a whole host of reasons.

A lot of people also don't know that it's based upon a 60's film of the same name, starring Angela Landsbury (another film adaptation)

It was Olivia de Havilland not Angela Lansbury who played Margaret in the film. Angela would've been slightly too young at the time, (though still old enough to play Elvis's mum).

I'm a big fan of the Elizabeth Spencer novella on which the film and musical are based. It comes in an edition with Spencer's other writings (mainly short stories) on Italy. They form part of a wider tradition of American writing about how the new world of America encounters the old word of continental Europe. Spencer's novella originally appeared in the New Yorker. It's worth seeking out.

The constant drip feed of casting announcements from shows drives me bonkers. Just announce the cast already. Don't say you'll announce 'something' at 13 o'clock on the 100th of the month. Don't then only announce one name and follow it up with another name or two a few days/weeks/centuries later. This 'ooh we have something to announce but not YET' shows do lately is maddening.
Right, glad I've got that off my chest. As you were.