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Post by ncbears on Jun 6, 2020 4:00:51 GMT
We Will Rock You is not the worst “popular” show I have ever seen. Close, but not a champion.
Stephen Ward was not that bad. Neither was The GoBetween.
I enjoy proseco at the interval.
West End Live performances overall are disappointing.
Laurence Connor is even less original of a director than his critics claim
Scarlett Strallen is the most talented Strallen sister.
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Post by ncbears on Jun 4, 2020 21:53:32 GMT
So, this American watched and was able to follow the show and was thoroughly entertained. I'm not sure there is any overarching message or theme - just a very well put together, scripted, acted, lighted and designed lightly/heavily fictionalized bit of UK Parliamentary history. There is nothing wrong with an entertaining evening. True, I had no idea where the various areas were as announced "the member of ….." or what the quality of life was in those areas. But, I could get the gist of it from the immediate dialog after the statement. This House was much easier to understand/relate to than Great Britain was when I saw the premiere at the NT.
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Post by ncbears on May 31, 2020 22:22:14 GMT
My only complaint was that he didn't encourage people to get ice cream during the interval. He mentioned many other things to do during the interval - but not that tradition.
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Post by ncbears on May 27, 2020 23:20:56 GMT
My question: will this be viewable in the States?
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Post by ncbears on May 18, 2020 20:45:57 GMT
Well, we made a small donation.
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Post by ncbears on May 17, 2020 18:30:58 GMT
The live commentary has about fifteen minutes of introduction and background - so if you are just trying to match up the filmed version - start the filmed version when the commentary is at about fifteen minutes. There are various places in the commentary with a specific reference so you can coordinate.
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Post by ncbears on May 16, 2020 19:56:50 GMT
In his "live" commentary, he did hint that he might do something online with Cinderella.
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Post by ncbears on May 16, 2020 18:57:51 GMT
I was able to put up two tabs - one for the Cats and one for the commentary - not too bad on the coordination. I wonder if they will leave up ALW's commentary on YouTube when Cats comes down.
Some notes on his commentary - some of which was new to me.
1. The Americans wanted Michael Bennett to re-choreograph the show for Broadway. Bennet came to London, watched the show and told ALW, et al that he wouldn't change the choreo (maybe a small bit here and there) and wrote a lovely letter of congratulation to Gillian Lynne. And the American producers wouldn't believe that Bennett had written the note!
2. ALW says a British author could not/would not have written the Eliot poems - at least in the way they were written
3. Eliot wrote Skimbleshanks to a 1930s song - and ALW thinks he knows which one - but he wouldn't disclose it! ALW's music is different.
4. John Mills did his scene in one take.
5. Others here knew - I did not - that Stoppard had written a screen treatment.
6. ALW dedicated this showing to his cat Mika that just died. I think he really loved that cat.
7. Mr. Mistoffeles was the first poem set to music.
8. I don't think ALW liked the Hooper film...…
9. I really enjoyed ALW singing along at the end.
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Post by ncbears on May 13, 2020 21:17:31 GMT
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Post by ncbears on May 11, 2020 22:06:59 GMT
He hasn’t released anything. Universal released the ALW videos in their catalogue, just as ALW said they would in his initial announcement. Not sure where people suddenly got the idea ALW would be releasing private archive recordings of shows never previously made public. Seems a lot of people misunderstood “The Shows Must Go On” series. As much as I would like it to be different, but I agree with steve10068. The "The shows must go on" program is not intended for us hardcore fans, but rather as an advertisement for musical theater for people who have not yet gone to the theater. More specifically, an advertisement for people to buy DVDs/CDs from Universal....
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Post by ncbears on May 8, 2020 18:52:30 GMT
So, is By Jeeves worth the time to watch - asking for an American family.....
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Post by ncbears on May 7, 2020 13:29:40 GMT
My daughter was/is hoping for The Light Princess. I know it was not an NT Live. But there must be an archive filming. This announcement may give her hope!
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Post by ncbears on May 3, 2020 16:52:17 GMT
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Post by ncbears on Apr 29, 2020 7:31:55 GMT
Quick bump as we watched the free stream tonite and laughed a lot. But also felt the immense cruelty played against Malvolio. If a different time, Shakespeare would have written Malvolio’s revenge. Loved most of the cast although Chris seemed to still be in One Man Two Guvnors. And marveled at the set and stagecraft. These NT Live selections all seem to show off what NT can do. Next is the heavily anticipated battle of the Sherlocks!
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Post by ncbears on Apr 25, 2020 16:56:52 GMT
I just learned that Cypress Avenue is streaming for one more day. Is it worth watching as a play or just for a Stephen Rea performance.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 22, 2020 16:18:11 GMT
We watched Treasure Island last night. That was fun. And I've never read the book, but this adaptation has prodded me to, at least, get a copy to stay on the nightstand (or Kindle). The set was the star - even on a television screen. And we had a big bold laugh at how the play ended.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 20, 2020 17:39:25 GMT
Apparently available until 10 p.m. NY Time on Monday, April 20.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 20, 2020 3:54:01 GMT
Mr. Urie performed the play in his apartment and streamed it on April 19.
I don't know how long it will be up on YouTube.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 19, 2020 15:38:10 GMT
I'm pretty sure I read that The Miss Saigon final version was very much altered. Lots of pick-ups for close-ups, audio remixed, etc. But, I'm in the states, and I don't have the DVD to compare.
The Phantom streaming as of 4:30 London time on Sunday (even if the UK was actually blocked starting yesterday - we watched last night in the States) - has now topped 11M views. That's five times the viewership for Joseph or JCS. I think those numbers are astounding.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 18, 2020 19:59:04 GMT
Wow. At 9PM Saturday London time, Phantom is over 6.5 million views on YouTube. Joseph and Jesus ended about 2.1-2.2 million.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 15, 2020 14:59:56 GMT
I wonder if Hampstead’s Sunny Afternoon was filmed. That would be an appropriate spirit lifter! (If rights can be worked out)
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Post by ncbears on Apr 14, 2020 21:22:00 GMT
Cameron Mackintosh should arrange for streaming Miss Saigon, the 10th Les Mis and Moby Dick. Plus, who knows what other videos are hanging out in his cabinet?
I also wonder if Branagh will release the videos of the Branagh season at the Garrick.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 14, 2020 14:40:13 GMT
We watched this last night in the States. What a treat. Yes, the first act is a big of a slog. Maybe more than a bit. But, the Act Two payoffs - the costumes, the actors transitioning to other characters that are connected to their Act One roles, more variety of music and some explicit humor. It was delightful, and maybe there was a tear or two at the end. Ms. Burt's final smile as the lights go out was marvelous. Such an uplifting show. Uplifting then, and even more so today. I understand those that would have been tempted to leave at the interval - but that is not something I generally follow through on. And I'm glad I didn't turn off the video - but continued through to Act Two. So, thank you to the posters here about the show - which I relied upon to continue the viewing. Also, thank you to the posters here for not spoiling the events of the show. I didn't know the novel or prior productions. So, it was all new to me. It is a little fun at home - where, yes, we could talk a bit during the show, without disturbing anyone - which is something we would never do at the theatre. My daughter did say midway through Act Two: {Spoiler - click to view} Nothing better happen to that dress! But, something's going to happen to it, and that won't make me happy. But, she enjoyed how it was dealt with. And was also really glad to watch it with me, and I with her. (I enjoyed having her critque and translate the French also - who says a university education doesn't have a payoff) We will probably watch it again with my bride, once she gets through teaching this term at University. We did see The GoBetween during its short run in London and sort of enjoyed it. I recall getting mid-stalls tickets for not a lot of money (15 pounds?) but the woman next to us was there as part of a papering group and broke the rules by telling us! Still, we went to see Michael Crawford and he was much of the reason we did enjoy that show. But, Flowers for Mrs. Harris is a better show - maybe it's the themes and characters who, while a bit cardboard, seemed more lifelike, and certainly more relatable. Once, the show gets going, the musicalization becomes almost secondary. It would be nice to have a few more "songs" - there certainly are places for it. But, that is not the show Mr. Taylor chose to write and Mr. Evans chose to stage. I'm guessing Mrs. Harris was written after The Go Between? It's not clear to me. Also, interesting that this was the "archive" edition, because there was camera work and editing. The sound was an issue. We kept turning the volume down for much of the music and having to increase the volume when there was dialog/singing. The music did, at times, overwhelm the singing so it was hard to discern what was being said.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 11, 2020 17:08:25 GMT
Meanwhile, in 23 hours, JCS has hit 1.2M views. But, the bigger question is (no, not what was Laurence Connor ingestging or thinking when he staged the show as he did) but what will be on the channel next Friday? ALW promised "By Jeeves" at tomse point in time, but I'm thinking it might be Cats.
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Post by ncbears on Apr 7, 2020 1:54:08 GMT
So, is Wonderland worth viewing? I did a search and did not find a thread about it here.
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