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Post by HereForTheatre on Jul 11, 2018 7:38:32 GMT
I'm going to back in a couple of weeks after seeing the dress rehearsal at the very start of the run. I'm pleased it's started getting some better reviews both on here and elsewhere. I'm also pleased to hear Ray Shell seems to be getting some positive reviews lately as when I saw it he was really quite poor and tripping over his lines.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jul 26, 2018 7:15:10 GMT
I caught up with this yesterday in Nottingham. Obviously much slicker and bedded in than the dress rehearsal at Curve I saw 3 or 4 months ago. I think all the actors have settled, including I'm pleased to say, Ray, who now seems to have mastered his lines....
I stand by what I said before though in general. Good show, enjoyed it, good use of projections, liked the songs abs new arrangements for them, thought they fitted in Cleverly in most places, liked the band, some amazing voices on display, Iain Macintosh
is the standout, especially his big number towards the end which is my favourite scene.
I also stand by that I think the 2nd act is quite a lot better than the first, it's aot darker and more gritty, more of the story, more of the impactful songs.
Negative is the fight scene which honestly is not good. I feel they could have done something different here. With their heavy use of video and projections through the piece it might have been an idea to just play a video of the fight or something and do it in an arty way that looks more real. Or else they could have maybe done something with the lighting on the scene to mask the fact they hardly ever even made contact.
But overall still a good show overall to me that I enjoyed a lot.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2018 15:20:07 GMT
Could this go to london
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jul 26, 2018 15:44:28 GMT
I wouldn't have thought it will be going there no, but you never know. |
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Post by djp on Jul 31, 2018 1:00:57 GMT
I wouldn't have thought it will be going there no, but you never know. its much better than a lot that's on in London . Its got a stronger story, its not an obvious crib of something else, , its got the audience tearing up , and on their feet, at the end, and its got some of the top songs of a decade , and its sung really well by some really good singers playing Sid, Lynette and Paula, and in the ensemble. I would prefer that any day to some of the stuff on with at best one good song, a thin or derivative story, one good singer, and a mediocre name. And the American tourists filling the streets , will recognise it . There's a reason why so many big , successful. new musicals are following where major 20th century films went before, and why the music of a period, is the best way to define a period. I dread to think what a dirge the current british crop of songwriters would make of creating a new US 80s hit - leave it to Madonna.
I saw it again in High Wycombe and its really tightened up - with a few exceptions that could be remedied . As someone said, the fight scene is still incredible when contact is being simulated by non contact - if Heathers, and Strictly ballroom can get ia fight scene right, so can Officer. The marching now looks precise enough - the rifles drifting around at all angles less so. And i would redo the video so it didn't look like the cameraman was drowning , and out of focus ,as she shot the underwater scenes. I would recast a couple of roles, which are stronger in the film, and may need to be, but thats probably too late to play with.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jul 31, 2018 11:12:07 GMT
I wouldn't have thought it will be going there no, but you never know. its much better than a lot that's on in London . Its got a stronger story, its not an obvious crib of something else, , its got the audience tearing up , and on their feet, at the end, and its got some of the top songs of a decade , and its sung really well by some really good singers playing Sid, Lynette and Paula, and in the ensemble. I would prefer that any day to some of the stuff on with at best one good song, a thin or derivative story, one good singer, and a mediocre name. And the American tourists filling the streets , will recognise it . There's a reason why so many big , successful. new musicals are following where major 20th century films went before, and why the music of a period, is the best way to define a period. I dread to think what a dirge the current british crop of songwriters would make of creating a new US 80s hit - leave it to Madonna.
I saw it again in High Wycombe and its really tightened up - with a few exceptions that could be remedied . As someone said, the fight scene is still incredible when contact is being simulated by non contact - if Heathers, and Strictly ballroom can get ia fight scene right, so can Officer. The marching now looks precise enough - the rifles drifting around at all angles less so. And i would redo the video so it didn't look like the cameraman was drowning , and out of focus ,as she shot the underwater scenes. I would recast a couple of roles, which are stronger in the film, and may need to be, but thats probably too late to play with.
Oh i'm not saying it's not good enough, i agree there are worse things been in London in the past and currently, just don't think it's really headed there. The fight scene really is too bad. I don't know why it's so bad. If it's because Ray is getting on then why not, as i suggested, they film it in an arty way where you can't see it properly and just play that video? Or else why not just make the scene really dim so it's not so noticeable? It's easily remedied so surprised it's still as bad. Funnuly enough i just saw Heathers and my first thought watching the fight scenes in that was why did they manage to look good and this one didn't? |
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Post by djp on Jul 31, 2018 19:30:45 GMT
its much better than a lot that's on in London . Its got a stronger story, its not an obvious crib of something else, , its got the audience tearing up , and on their feet, at the end, and its got some of the top songs of a decade , and its sung really well by some really good singers playing Sid, Lynette and Paula, and in the ensemble. I would prefer that any day to some of the stuff on with at best one good song, a thin or derivative story, one good singer, and a mediocre name. And the American tourists filling the streets , will recognise it . There's a reason why so many big , successful. new musicals are following where major 20th century films went before, and why the music of a period, is the best way to define a period. I dread to think what a dirge the current british crop of songwriters would make of creating a new US 80s hit - leave it to Madonna.
I saw it again in High Wycombe and its really tightened up - with a few exceptions that could be remedied . As someone said, the fight scene is still incredible when contact is being simulated by non contact - if Heathers, and Strictly ballroom can get ia fight scene right, so can Officer. The marching now looks precise enough - the rifles drifting around at all angles less so. And i would redo the video so it didn't look like the cameraman was drowning , and out of focus ,as she shot the underwater scenes. I would recast a couple of roles, which are stronger in the film, and may need to be, but thats probably too late to play with.
Oh i'm not saying it's not good enough, i agree there are worse things been in London in the past and currently, just don't think it's really headed there. The fight scene really is too bad. I don't know why it's so bad. If it's because Ray is getting on then why not, as i suggested, they film it in an arty way where you can't see it properly and just play that video? Or else why not just make the scene really dim so it's not so noticeable? It's easily remedied so surprised it's still as bad. Funnuly enough i just saw Heathers and my first thought watching the fight scenes in that was why did they manage to look good and this one didn't? indeed it can't be too difficult to change the viewing angle, and have someone off stage clap in sync - which is how several current shows manage larger blows arriving.
I thought O and G was a rather short tour otherwise- and i think its avoided the obvious London outskirts stops, while selling out some days in Canterbury already . It may be like the films where you can be good, but if the distributors don't like you, your audience never gets to see you amidst the latest US blockbusters. . Given the dross filling many weeks in those theatres, and the audience figures for successful musicals, this looks inexplicable - if its not going to mine the London market later?
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Post by djp on Aug 8, 2018 16:43:10 GMT
Saw this again in Canterbury - full house massive standing ovation.
They have tweaked the fight scene so it works much better. Oddly by making Foley more acrobatic, or just moving better. they have also cottoned on that material girl should be made more of- Ms s Daley and Williams are excellent in this. Foley has his lines down, and seems to look more confident - possibly as a result.
Overall its looking more and more polished.
I still find the opening videos annoyingly pointless and repetitive. i would redo that with scenes that actually had some historic point, or cultural reference. You don't get someone with no idea of the political setting, who chooses unrecognizable cultural references to choose your clips. Youtube is your friend, Ronald Reagan was made for soundclips,and the age is full of iconic pictures.
Listening to the audience the same two problems also emerged again.
Act one is a bit too dull- that might be helped by making more of the songs, and giving the audience the chance to get involved clapping by putting in the requisite gap after the best songs , it might also require some red pen in some scenes.
And whether its Leicester or High Wycombe or Canterbury, folk are still coming out saying the music- particularly the backing to key songs in act one is far too loud. They need to get a sound crew thats not deaf,or change the band members who think they are in a rock concert, not supporting some excellent singers in a small space. This is a self inflicted wound, and its ridiculous that two, top, very good, very powerful, singers like Jessica and Emma are struggling to sing through it , while the weaker male vocals just vanish into the loud background mush. When people everywhere are noting it, there's a real problem, and part of the reason why act two does so well, is that the songs there come with/demand more restrained backing- that allows the lyrics to do their emotional job.
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Post by paddy72 on Aug 11, 2018 20:53:59 GMT
Caught this in Canterbury this week. (Definitely one of my favourite theatres. So much leg room, big stage, happy audience). Full house, standing ovation, lots of tears all round. I would say audience was 90% women. But we all loved it. Way better than my expectations which were based on some dodgy reviews way back at the start of the tour.
After seeing some seriously dodgy shows this year - Miss Littlewood was an all time low - this has restored my faith in musicals. The whole show is really tight. The cast terrific all round with Emma Williams being sensational. She gave me chills in the second half when she rips the roof off. The songs are all brilliantly chosen and fit the dialogue and story as though they were written for it. I’m no fan of jukebox shows but I make an exception for this one. All the singing is ace and the choral pieces thrilling. Maybe ‘cos nearly every song took me back. By the time the big number and title song comes around I was completely sucked in. Loved it!
PS Why is this show avoiding London? Is it fear that it’s not sophisticated enough? A show and cast with such a big heart would do well right now.
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Post by paddy72 on Aug 11, 2018 20:59:07 GMT
PPS. Disagree totally with earlier comments that the sound is too loud and that the performers are struggling to sing through. It was at pitch perfect volume and every word of every song was crystal clear at the performance I saw. I certainly only heard people coming out saying how fantastic it all was. No complaints.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Aug 12, 2018 13:16:42 GMT
I can't say i had any issues with the music drowning anyone out either. Maybe a few times but that happens in most shows. Not a problem IMO. I agree that the second act is the better one and some scenes feel a bit long in the first act. I went when it was in Nottingham only a few weeks ago and couldn't see a difference between the fight scene then and the very first dress rehearsal in Leicester that i attended, so if it's changed, well good and about time, but that must have only been in the last couple of weeks.
I'm really pleased anyway that's it's really starting to get some good reviews and reports back now after a rocky start.
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Post by richey on Aug 12, 2018 20:14:01 GMT
Managed to get a cheap ticket for £14 this week in Manchester so giving it a try. Still loads of seats available
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Post by justafan on Aug 14, 2018 18:10:36 GMT
Managed to get a cheap ticket for £14 this week in Manchester so giving it a try. Still loads of seats available im there tonight there must be a maximum of 50 of us in the gallery which could be easily accommodated in dress circle but no upgrade |
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Post by richey on Aug 15, 2018 5:57:10 GMT
Managed to get a cheap ticket for £14 this week in Manchester so giving it a try. Still loads of seats available im there tonight there must be a maximum of 50 of us in the gallery which could be easily accommodated in dress circle but no upgrade You must have been sat near me then! I was in row C. It was pretty empty, to be honest I noticed that when I booked and hoped there may be upgrades. Some poor organisation from Opera House too, shutting off one stairwell so people were climbing across seats to get to the other side |
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Post by richey on Aug 15, 2018 6:11:56 GMT
Really not sure how I feel about this having watched it last night. It was an ok midweek night out but I'm glad I only paid £15 for a ticket. Anything more and I would have felt cheated.
I'd seen the film years ago and didn't remember much of the plot but ontage the characters seemed one-dimensional and it was hard to feel any empathy with any of them. The projections were a bit naff at times, especially the one at the back which kept rippling, giving a weird effect when there were buildings or solid objects on it. They certainly got full use out of the iron staircase which is used in almost every scene and got tiresome after a while.
The saving grace for me was the songs. Yes they are very loud, but once I got used to that it wasn't a problem. I love me an 80s power ballad so enjoyed hearing them belted out live. The only one I didn't like was kids in America which had a very dubious arrangement.
All in all I'd give it a 5 out of ten, mainly for the great music and lots of men in white vests and boxers
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 15:54:12 GMT
Leaflets for the tour have recently been saying "prior to London" on them, so it appesrs a London run is on the carda. I know some may argue the likes of 9 to 5 did the same, but it is coming to London, just this January rather than following the tour directly.  |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 10, 2018 15:55:09 GMT
Leaflets for the tour have recently been saying "prior to London" on them, so it appesrs a London run is on the carda. I know some may argue the likes of 9 to 5 did the same, but it is coming to London, just this January rather than following the tour directly. That's been on the leaflets since before the show even opened. |
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Post by daniel on Sept 10, 2018 15:55:11 GMT
Leaflets for the tour have recently been saying "prior to London" on them, so it appesrs a London run is on the carda. I know some may argue the likes of 9 to 5 did the same, but it is coming to London, just this January rather than following the tour directly. in fairness, the leaflets have said that since day one of the tour. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 10, 2018 16:52:44 GMT
Shows say Prior to London all the time- it doesn’t mean it will be coming to the west end. It’s a selling gimmick.
I certainly can’t see this show getting a much sought after west end theatre.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 17:48:38 GMT
Ah. Who knew. Either way, I expect a filler situation is on the cards, mainly due to the amount of theatres becoming availible.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 17:50:51 GMT
I’d say this could probably only manage a few months at a smaller playhouse e.g. the Haymarket, but The Band is going in there after Heathers.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2018 10:48:32 GMT
... and for now.
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Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Sept 16, 2018 19:47:38 GMT
I saw this last weekend in Bradford, not really knowing what to expect as I've never seen the film, but thought the soundtrack looked great. I ended up really enjoying it. Men in uniform plus 80s music - what more could I want?!
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Post by djdan14 on Jun 22, 2023 10:23:32 GMT
New tour for 2024
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Post by Rozzi Rainbow on May 20, 2024 20:09:33 GMT
I saw this on Saturday and really enjoyed it again. I'd seen the previous tour once, and have since seen the film, but couldn't remember much except the basic gist. I thought all the cast were excellent and I love the soundtrack - there was a bit of a crossover with Rock of Ages, I counted at least 3 songs that are in both shows. A very enjoyable afternoon out.
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