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Post by raiseitup on Jan 8, 2020 12:04:45 GMT
Love Schwartz, but £60 is a lot to take a chance on with no cast announced yet. Alice Fearn, Emma Hatton, Carolyn Maitland, Natalie Green, Simbi Akande, Soophia Foroughi, Laura Harrison, Luke Bayer, Genevieve Nicole |
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Jan 9, 2020 19:18:49 GMT
Anyone else here tonight? I'm completing a Hope Mills transfer double bill following Mame at Northampton this afternoon.
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Post by raiseitup on Jan 9, 2020 23:48:24 GMT
I was there tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it! Was gutted the transfer wouldn't include Rebecca Trehearn but Carolyn did a wonderful job. Was quite teary-eyed throughout the second act. It's a powerful story that still resonates today.
We were central stalls, but just wanted to post a warning about the extreme side stalls seats, they seemed particularly restricted for this production. Large grates/fence panels are slid around the stage and left facing the audience for several parts of the show, so those at the ends of the side stalls are left to watch the show through them. This was evident mostly on the right side, the left side is left behind the family dining table so stuck with the cast blocking lots of the show. I sat in them for Gently Down the Stream and thought they were great value, less so for this show.
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Jan 10, 2020 1:37:25 GMT
I was there tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it! Was gutted the transfer wouldn't include Rebecca Trehearn but Carolyn did a wonderful job. Was quite teary-eyed throughout the second act. It's a powerful story that still resonates today. We were central stalls, but just wanted to post a warning about the extreme side stalls seats, they seemed particularly restricted for this production. Large grates/fence panels are slid around the stage and left facing the audience for several parts of the show, so those at the ends of the side stalls are left to watch the show through them. This was evident mostly on the right side, the left side is left behind the family dining table so stuck with the cast blocking lots of the show. I sat in them for Gently Down the Stream and thought they were great value, less so for this show. I thought this was a superb show and firmly intend to see it again. Would love to see it transfer to the West End. All the cast performed so confidently I would never have guessed it was the first preview but Carolyn Maitland was just wonderful and the lad playing young David is a future leading man. Engaging, thought-provoking story and some beautiful musical numbers. I was sitting centre stalls front row and the view from there was perfect. While the audience are on three sides the show is mainly played to the front and I wouldn't choose any part of the side stalls over the central block. First visit to the Park Theatre, nice intimate venue and it took me no longer to get back to Victoria than it does from a West End venue. Left the theatre at 22.13, on a tube at 22.18 and back at Victoria 22.33 |
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 10, 2020 8:28:40 GMT
Also enjoyed this last night and I echo much of what paul26 and raiseitup have said. Carolyn Maitland was excellent and the only giveaways it was a first preview were the odd near miss with people walking across the stage (and a trip in the dark), suitcases falling over etc.
You definitely want to sit in the three rows at the front. I could see some people at the edges and they must have spent most of the show looking at actors from behind. I did sit upstairs for another show and wasn't too keen on that view either (but this does look to be selling well, so you may not have that much choice).
If, like me, you saw this at Hope Mill, everything is essentially the same. The sound quality at the Park Theatre is very good and I think they do as well as they can with this particular show. It's worth heading the few stops out of central London to visit.
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Post by cheri78 on Jan 10, 2020 23:23:08 GMT
Fully endorse the last post. Superb production of a show with a troubled past. I saw a production many years ago in a temporary theatre in Spitalfields, and though the score is strong, the book wasn't. This rework messes with your head if you're used to the OBC recording, as songs are given to others, some missed out totally, some with just snippets or themes heard and some new ones added, but it's all the better for it. Having Children of the Wind as the 11o'clock number is inspired and it's delivered with spine tingling emotion. A stunning production of a rarely seen show, I feel a lot of love and thought it has gone into the Hope Mill's version and would urge you to go. Beautiful lighting design and use of simple set. 2nd preview and in very good shape. Cheers at the bows says it all. BTW, although Dave Willetts doesn't get much chance to show off his powerful voice, hang onto your wigs for the line in Act 2 which blows the roof off the theatre!
Mame in Northampton tomorrow, so I'll be faced with Tracey doing the same I think.
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Post by theatre241 on Jan 10, 2020 23:41:54 GMT
Also enjoyed this last night and I echo much of what paul26 and raiseitup have said. Carolyn Maitland was excellent and the only giveaways it was a first preview were the odd near miss with people walking across the stage (and a trip in the dark), suitcases falling over etc. You definitely want to sit in the three rows at the front. I could see some people at the edges and they must have spent most of the show looking at actors from behind. I did sit upstairs for another show and wasn't too keen on that view either (but this does look to be selling well, so you may not have that much choice). If, like me, you saw this at Hope Mill, everything is essentially the same. The sound quality at the Park Theatre is very good and I think they do as well as they can with this particular show. It's worth heading the few stops out of central London to visit. The space seems quite different to the hope mill because the stage at the park seems wider, are there any subtle differences? |
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 11, 2020 19:27:49 GMT
The stage is a different shape but the staging is true to what they did in Manchester. I really can’t remember all the details. There are some scenes played from the Circle level by the two singing antagonists, which I think were on the ground at Hope Mill but nothing else stands out.
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Post by gussiemwra on Jan 15, 2020 0:42:32 GMT
For those that have seen this new production of Rags... how long is the first act?
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2020 8:12:01 GMT
For those that have seen this new production of Rags... how long is the first act? I think it was 70 minutes, but there’s a chance I might be thinking of another show I’ve seen recently. It wasn’t overly long. |
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Post by theatrescribe on Jan 15, 2020 22:48:42 GMT
Saw this tonight, thought it was wonderful - loved the on stage Klezmer band and thought Dave Willetts and Jeremy Rose had great comic timing as the two older male leads.
Got the song 'Greenhorns' stuck in my head - loved the choreography for that one!
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Post by robertb213 on Jan 18, 2020 21:17:53 GMT
For those that have seen this new production of Rags... how long is the first act? It was about 1hr 20, the interval came around 8.50pm 😀 |
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Post by tmesis on Jan 26, 2020 13:25:20 GMT
I really enjoyed this at yesterday's matinee. The whole thing begins with a beautifully played solo violin, a second then joins in counterpoint, followed by clarinet and accordion, evocatively setting the scene. It's an extremely good score with great variety and depth. The last twenty minutes or so has great musical and dramatic clout and most around me were in tears at the end. Much as I enjoy Fiddler on the Roof, as currently structured, this is a much more satisfying afternoon/evening in the theatre.
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Post by mrdanvers on Feb 1, 2020 18:41:58 GMT
Agree, this was outstanding. Best musical yet at The Park
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Post by ABr on Feb 7, 2020 12:15:36 GMT
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Feb 7, 2020 22:36:45 GMT
Fantastic news!
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 9, 2020 9:47:49 GMT
My seat, stalls A2 was not sold as a, restrictive view seat. The stupid director decided to block my view for serval scenes in the first act. In the interval I asked to be moved and got a much better seat.
I'm apparently not the first to complain, BO and FOH staff knew this seat had difficulty and decided to do nothing about it. Very poor customer service.
Even with a much better seat this love child of Fiddler and House of Eliott was a real snooze fest for me.
The most un klezmer bad I have seen. Characters destiny's become so obvious before they walk onto the stage, lots of musical climaxes that are anti climatic and a sewing machine is wheeled around about a lot.
Although I did like Carolyn Maitland, so not a totally waisted evening.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 9, 2020 10:16:01 GMT
Even with a much better seat this love child of Fiddler and House of Eliott was a real snooze fest for me. I was beginning to think I was the only person in the world who didn’t like it. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 9, 2020 10:43:03 GMT
Even with a much better seat this love child of Fiddler and House of Eliott was a real snooze fest for me. I was beginning to think I was the only person in the world who didn’t like it. The book is so obvious and the score is bland. |
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Post by TheOneOnTheLeft on May 2, 2020 7:41:52 GMT
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on May 15, 2020 16:03:01 GMT
Out today!
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Post by originalconceptlive on May 17, 2020 12:11:44 GMT
Not really loving the changes from the original recording here  I'm only comparing album to album; I've never seen a production. It's possible that the rewritten book makes all the changes to the score worthwhile. But a lot of my favourite moments are lost, both musically and dramatically. I won't catalogue them all, but the original recording gave certain of our most likeable immigrant characters, moments that made them seem like real people and not just Good Immigrant Characters. There, the song 'Rags' is pretty much a tantrum from a daughter to her father, saying all the things that grateful immigrant children should never say to their self-sacrificing parents: "I know how much you wanted to be free. Just don't say again how you did it all for me." And in 'Easy For You', Saul sings "Trouble's something you can't outrun. The difference is, back there you had to take it. Here, here you get to [slyly] make it." It's interesting to have an immigrant character unabashedly say that they get some enjoyment out of shaking things up in their new home. On the new recording, it feels as though the characters have got a bit 'nicer' and a bit blander. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 17, 2020 12:50:33 GMT
I was unfortunate to see it and I can confirm the characters were bland and very one dimensional
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I'm only comparing album to album; I've never seen a production. It's possible that the rewritten book makes all the changes to the score worthwhile. But a lot of my favourite moments are lost, both musically and dramatically. I won't catalogue them all, but the original recording gave certain of our most likeable immigrant characters, moments that made them seem like real people and not just Good Immigrant Characters. There, the song 'Rags' is pretty much a tantrum from a daughter to her father, saying all the things that grateful immigrant children should never say to their self-sacrificing parents: "I know how much you wanted to be free. Just don't say again how you did it all for me." And in 'Easy For You', Saul sings "Trouble's something you can't outrun. The difference is, back there you had to take it. Here, here you get to [slyly] make it." It's interesting to have an immigrant character unabashedly say that they get some enjoyment out of shaking things up in their new home. On the new recording, it feels as though the characters have got a bit 'nicer' and a bit blander.