1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 11, 2017 18:50:46 GMT
I wasn't massively impressed by Zoe in Les Mis or Death Takes a Holiday - there was nothing wrong with her performances but she didn't blow me away. Ellen is a very different role to those characters so it will be interesting to see how she handles it!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 11, 2017 17:56:25 GMT
I believe the £35 seats in the Grand Circle for 42nd street are decent value for money, but if they're all gone then I don't really know what to say. 42nd Street is, in my opinion, unmissable, but The Life is excellent (especially considering the price) and its worth it just to see Sharon D Clarke's performance. I can't comment on The Girls as I haven't seen it, but I'd say definitely go for 42nd Street and then look at The Life if you can still afford it and can fit it in.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 11, 2017 17:15:53 GMT
I would definitely recommend 42nd Street, but if you want something a bit different then I'd say head to the Southwark Playhouse and see The Life. Tickets are super cheap compared to West End prices, and the space is very intimate, plus the show itself is amazing.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 11, 2017 14:31:51 GMT
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 9, 2017 20:46:27 GMT
So so happy about the Olivier wins - both New Musical and Andy Karl for Best Actor. Plus Tim Minchin seems pretty determined that it'll be back in London within a year, which is fantastic news!!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 9, 2017 20:28:44 GMT
Very happy with the results for the musical categories, especially the wins for Groundhog Day. I personally would've picked Glenn Close for best actress, but from what I've heard Amber is a very worthy winner. Still very annoyed that Andrew Wright wasn't even nominated for his Choreo in Half a Sixpence.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 8, 2017 21:52:43 GMT
So I had an unexpected visit to Wicked tonight after a friend phoned saying he had a spare ticket. It was my first time back since Rachel's last show and also my first time seeing Willemijn...
... and boy, she didn't disappoint. As per usual, YouTube clips really don't do her voice justice. Her belt was much more powerful than I was expecting it to be, and she has such wonderful control and a beautiful tone to her head voice. It took a bit of time to get used to her acting choices after having gotten used to Rachel's performance, but I definitely liked her portrayal - slightly less hot-headed than Rachel, and a very good 'I'm so not impressed by this' face. I know some people don't like discussing it, but her r*ffing tonight was tasteful and well-executed. I liked everything she did - intricate riffs really suit her voice. For me, she's second to Rachel, but only by a fraction.
Brief comments on the rest of the cast: LOVED Sue Kelvin, the best Morrible I've seen and ironically she really nailed the 'wicked witch' vibe. Sarah McNicholas is wonderful as Nessa - I really hope she stays through this cast change. Joe Toland was on for Boq and I'm afraid I preferred him to Idriss, who in my opinion still hadn't quite got the role right the last time I saw him. Neither of them compare to my fave Boq, Daniel Hope, though. James Darch is a good Fiyero but not a patch on Oliver.
I shall definitely be returning to see Willemijn again, and try not to mentally compare her to Rachel the entire time 😂
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 7, 2017 13:58:07 GMT
Oops, I'm afraid that went completely over my head 😂
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 7, 2017 11:04:37 GMT
On another note, it was a nice surprise to be sat just metres away from both Rachel Tucker and Sir Trevor Nunn! Board members are politely reminded of our rule against discussing the private lives of others without permission. My apologies! I didn't realise that was a rule, but I shall stick to it from now on 😊
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 7, 2017 10:41:51 GMT
Went into the matinee yesterday completely blind, having heard of the play before but knowing no details about it. Thought it was wonderful, and I see why many consider it to be one of Tennessee Williams' greatest works, as the writing is fantastic. I was most impressed by Cherry Jones and Kate O'Flynn - the two men were very good, but I felt the women hit the nail on the head with their characterisation slightly better than the men. Whether that's down to direction or acting I don't know. From the Royal Circle I could fully appreciate the design, and it was beautiful - both the set and the lighting were simple and elegant yet extremely effective. It's a shame that patrons in the Stalls wouldn't get the full effect of the black lake, and correct me if I'm wrong but I reckon the 'shark fin' was meant to be the moon - from my seat, it was reflected in the water so that the object was the top half of a crescent moon, and the reflection was the bottom half. Plus it seemed to appear in scenes that occurred at night. I could be completely misinterpreting that, but that's what I took from it.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 23:03:37 GMT
The Life at Southwark Playhouse tonight - both Rachel Tucker and Sir Trevor Nunn were in the audience!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 23:01:34 GMT
Absolutely loved this tonight! Wonderful music and very well put-together production. The intimacy of Southwark Playhouse really helped the atmosphere, but there were moments where it felt like the show wanted to be bigger. That's the trade-off I guess. I agree that it could do with having 10/15 minutes shaved off it, and I felt that Act 2 didn't flow as well as Act 1.
Extremely good cast - loved the performers playing Jojo, Queen and Mary, but Sharon D. Clarke as Sonja is just in a different league. She is perfect in that role, and what a voice! She impressed me so much that I might have to look into Caroline, Or Change at Chichester now...
On another note, it was a nice surprise to be sat just metres away from both Rachel Tucker and Sir Trevor Nunn!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 10:11:55 GMT
Something I found interesting when I went to see The Lion King - the person I spoke to at the Box Office told me that they had to stop offering a Student discount when they started running Day Seats. I wonder if that was a Disney decision or an ATG one - Wicked is in an ATG theatre and does both Day Seats and a Student rate, so that makes me think it's the Disney producers that decided they should only offer one of the two.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 10:07:38 GMT
It doesn't say anything about Entry Pass and Amex Pre-sale Anything on entry pass dates, or is it a case of tweeting them the question? If memory serves, Entry Pass tickets usually go on sale the Wednesday before the Public release, so this time round it'll probably be on the 3rd of May. I haven't seen any official word on it from the National, though.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 7:47:25 GMT
I loved this yesterday night. Dayseat G34/G35 in stalls absolute bargain. Going to see this at least one other time for shure! I didn't know they were doing dayseats - if you don't mind me asking, how much were they?
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 6, 2017 0:54:35 GMT
Interesting watching West End Wilma's most recent video and seeing him say that there are murmors of it coming to the West End again, at the earliest, late 2017! Especially as it hasn't been setting Broadway alight quite how expected in terms of box office (note it hasn't officially opened yet though), they may well bring it back to the place where it really was a hit of the season. And if it wins a few Olivier's, that wouldn't hurt too. It certainly generated a lot of buzz during the Old Vic run, and as you say, if it had some Oliviers behind it too I think it wouldn't do too badly over here. Finding the right man to follow on from Andy Karl would be the big challenge though - that performance could make or break the show.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 17:21:03 GMT
Ima just leave this here... I mean, that's just thrilling isn't it? As much as the music is stunning, some of the most breathtaking moments in the show are the 'acoustic' moments when the band stops and everything focusses on that massive cast all tapping in perfect unison. Just wonderful.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 17:08:50 GMT
slightly perplexed as to why its £15 when the seats behind a pillar in the same row are £25, but I figured it will probably be better than the £15 seats in the higher levels. It's their "scatter £15 seats everywhere, so it looks like we are being kind to the poor" policy. I like row F dress circle, well done. Ooh fantastic! Very happy that they're being kind to the poor, as I missed out on the week at the Almeida that was for young people specifically, so was looking at the seating plan for the Harold Pinter with a student budget in mind!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 12:07:32 GMT
The only roles I can think of in long-runners that (to my knowledge) haven't had black women play them yet are Fantine (assuming we count Rachelle Ann Go as asian rather than black) and Donna in Mamma Mia, but I think she's still a bit young for the latter!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 12:04:38 GMT
I think it's a legroom issue, I had a thorough read of TheatreMonkey.com and it sounds like tall people find row F a painful experience. I'm not super tall so I'm hoping it'll be just a bargain for me, but I'll find out when I get there I guess. Visibility should be okay at least... I was worried that might be the case. Oh well, this seems like the best of the recent Hamlets (still miffed I didn't see Rory Kinnear's) so I'm sure I can find a way to pretend I'm not 6'2" for a few hours
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 12:01:19 GMT
Excited by this - a lot of things in there that will be good to check off my 'must-see' list. Will definitely be booking for La Boheme and Die Zauberflote. Will be interesting to see what Liam Scarlett does with Swan Lake!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 5, 2017 11:55:07 GMT
Just nabbed a seat in the middle of Dress Circle Row F - slightly perplexed as to why its £15 when the seats behind a pillar in the same row are £25, but I figured it will probably be better than the £15 seats in the higher levels.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 4, 2017 17:18:16 GMT
On Thursday I'll be at the matinee of The Glass Menagerie and the evening performance of The Life!
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Apr 3, 2017 19:46:40 GMT
How was Danielle's 'Hopelessly Devoted' and 'Sandra Dee reprise?' Both really good - I knew she was a good belter after seeing her as Eponine, but she showed off a really beautiful and controlled head voice in Hopelessly Devoted. Some solid acting in Sandra Dee reprise, clearly trying to bring the best interpretation out of the slightly dodgy 'I'm going to change myself so the boy likes me' plot, plus a nice 'let it rip' moment towards the end. My only comparison here is the movie, so if you've seen the stage version a lot you may have a different opinion, but I thought she was really excellent.
|
|
1,038 posts
|
Grease
Apr 3, 2017 19:01:57 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Apr 3, 2017 19:01:57 GMT
I did end up seeing this in Oxford - you're bang on, Danielle is excellent but Tom is quite poor. He doesn't act at all and just about manages with the vocals but isn't particularly strong. The girl playing Rizzo (can't remember her name, sorry) acts well but needs a bit more oomf in her voice. Ensemble are brilliant though, particularly the T-Birds - Kenickie and Doody are particularly notable for their amazing vocals. The show is pure cheese, with choreography to match, but that's kinda what I expected from Grease. I'm glad I saw it as it was really good fun and did actually have moments where the show was very strong, but I wouldn't hurry back unless someone good was cast as Danny.
|
|