1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 15, 2019 22:14:34 GMT
This is just a fun easy musical. Very traditional in style. I must admit, I was thinking I’d made a mistake booking this. I probably paid too much for front row, even with a discount. But it turned out good. There just aren’t enough musicals like this around. Singing, dancing, not too taxing. But everything needed to draw in the families. Apart from, there were few children there. But it was around two thirds full in the Stalls. A great cast. The kids on stage did well for what may have been their first show. Good applause for Matthew Kelly, who has real presence. Wendi Peters only really cameos, but sings well. Kimberley Walsh sings fine. And Jay McGuinness has a real childlike quality about him, dances well, mostly sings well and even has a scene in his superhero Y-Fronts. As a bonus Eddie Myles is on stage too, looking crisp with longer hair and even has a few lines. Finished about 10:15pm. It won’t win any awards and the plot is thin, but it’s a fresh fully staged musical and a pleasant night out. Something that’s really lacking on the West End right now. A big musical is lacking in the West End? I suppose Lion King, Waitress, 9to5, Mary Poppins and Joseph don’t count? Hahaha
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 15, 2019 22:11:46 GMT
The reviews for this have been sensational! 4 and 5 stars from all!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 13, 2019 23:23:45 GMT
Will we have English or American accents?
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 13, 2019 23:22:15 GMT
But isnt the purpose of this theatre to showcase new talent, new shows and stuff that's not been done before. It isnt there to produce well known shows and crowd pleasers. That’s why The Other Palace has failed and Paul Taylor Mills fired... The MAIN shows to come from there have been - BIG FISH, FALSETTOS, HEATHERS and EUGENIUS - which 3/4 are from America! Epic fail....
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 13, 2019 22:47:54 GMT
Hahahaha so so true. Or an all female cast? Or underwater? Carousel is a bad decision. I’m still trying to get over the tedious Colesium Alfie Boe And Kathryn Jenkins production!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 12, 2019 21:55:14 GMT
Hopefully the fact that no future venue has been announced means this will quietly go and never be seen again. Hopefully something good heads into the Lyric following the refurb! GOOD RIDDANCE - WHAT TOTAL TRASH!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 12, 2019 8:54:12 GMT
I was also there tonight! Obviously I’ve been very vocal about the situation surrounding this, but I really did want to see it to make up my mind. I thought, during the opening number that all my worst dreams were going to be realised. Four Jews In A Room Bitching is a great number, but I absolute hated it in this production. Full of all the stereotypes you can think of with extremely messy and clumsy staging. Luckily, the rest of the show didn’t completely follow suit, but I still wasn’t completely enamoured like others have been, but I feel more like the few posters above me. The Stage review does echo most of my thoughts, however I thought Act 2 was incredibly strong so I wouldn’t be as harsh as 2*. Quite an empty audience, rather muted reaction with only a small, partial standing ovation at the end. The cast are very good. Laura Pitt Pulford was made for Trina and Oli Saville also very enjoyable. Daniel Boys was incredibly strong with the vocals but I agree that he was lacking in the acting department, which actually I agree was lacking somewhat across the board. For me, Joel Montague was miscast. He did not inhibit even a little bit of who Mendel is. Very over-the-top acting and really no truth to his character at all. The band are surperb! Are there monitors for the cast? I was at the back so couldn’t see, but a lot of entrances and cut offs from the cast were very messy. Anyway, what I think what has let this production down the most is the direction. It’s not good. It’s muddled, it’s messy, it’s clumsy and honestly - it’s inauthentic. I know many on here may dismiss my comments because of my feelings towards the cultural representation in this show. I can only say that I went into this with completely unbiased views and with so many rave reviews I was really looking forward to it. But I did not see myself represented onstage tonight and it made me sad. I really do think this production could have benefitted from a Jewish director, or least with a lot more research than was evident here. It seems as if she watched the 2016 cast, tried to slightly copy that but had to make it different, so made it worse. I’m currently watching that production to remind myself; there is just 1 Jewish person in the cast (Mendel), but with that and a Jewish director (James Lapine), it seriously makes a world of difference to this show. Tonight it was laboured and muddy, Act 1 especially. It felt like the characters didn’t even scratch the surface of who they were. But this should not take away from a mostly brilliant cast, very well sung and a very strong Act 2! It just could have been so much better if they had cared to make it so! What a ridiculous comment - it needed a Jewish director. Can only a Scouser direct Blood Brothers? Trevor Nunn did a sensational job on so many shows and he wasn’t the same religion as the source material. Maybe a Jewish director would have made a worse show? You never know. Our theatre industry is in a slippery slope and doesn’t seem to know the difference anymore between acting and “let’s pretend” and real life authentic documentary.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 10, 2019 22:36:24 GMT
Moulin Rouge is definitely going in from March 2021. I quite like some of the music from this. Well, Samantha Barks numbers anyway but the whole production looks so cheap, and we are sure to get an even more basic version here. Hahaa this! The set is the WORST! Cut out palm trees hahah
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 10, 2019 22:35:18 GMT
Saw this tonight. First of all it is a rather strange abstract type of show with a mixture of a therapy session meets American vision of Russian classical and literary writers! I liked the staging at Southwark very much and the acting and direction was great / just that this show is not a commercial piece as such. It feels very lab and experimental and workshopy. Still glad I saw it. It’s very different that’s for sure!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 10, 2019 21:53:22 GMT
Was at the Southwark tonight. The move was meant to be Jan - which means March I was told.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 9, 2019 11:28:00 GMT
Guys guys..... I saw this on Broadway. Don’t worry about prices. It’s NOT worth seeing at all.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 8, 2019 20:50:03 GMT
^It needs to transfer...it just worked so well...a true highlight of my theatre-going year...so emotional and involving.A dream cast imo. A leading producer once told me “I don’t get people’s obsessions with transfers! Why do they? Why do shows HAVE to transfer? Maybe they are meant to be limited runs? Maybe they are meant to be in smaller spaces? Maybe they are produced small scale for production and emotional value? I TOTALLY understand this now.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 8, 2019 20:47:32 GMT
Ria Jones is the one who shrieks through most of her performances like an addict who has mislaid their crack pipe isn't she? Did the Sunset tour? Am afraid may have to swerve this. I saw Ria in Sunset and her voice is SHOT. I’m sorry but she was just bad.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 8, 2019 20:46:06 GMT
Hmm. Not terrible, but a bit anaemic compared to Crista Moore on the Broadway recording.
(Ms. Moore is one of those people who should have become a huge star, but didn't.)
Fabulous musical ruined by below average talent. She needs to learn about acting through song. Ugh
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 8, 2019 15:22:26 GMT
This is gonna sound a lot more mean than I mean it to, but I'm glad Luke Bayer seems to have not been cast. He's perfectly talented and I'm sure may have been fine in the role, but his incessant 'campaigning' on social media to be in this show was completely insufferable. Stuffy casting directors, snooty agents and gossipy producers would NOT have liked Luke’s approach. It’s a rather closed very small shop and the words social media, desperation, over eagerness is severely frowned upon.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Sept 4, 2019 21:18:39 GMT
This was AMAZING tonight. Gosh it is soooo good!! I’m booking to see it again. What SENSATIONAL performances. It’s a HIT! 10/10 from me
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 31, 2019 20:43:35 GMT
What was the point of the Flashmob? The exact reason why you are asking the question - marketing? PR? Social media exposure?
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 31, 2019 20:40:57 GMT
I agree it won’t be called Cinderella.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 30, 2019 11:20:01 GMT
A tad twee for my liking but I like the 2020 to 1920’s vibe
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 28, 2019 23:05:57 GMT
Flashy production which certainly entertains but the casting and costumes let this down badly. I know it's how the director wants to interpret it but it doesn't work for me. Evita, the character let alone the historical personage, is not a Britney Spears wannabe dancing about. Peron's relationship to her is meant to be of an older experienced man who needs glamming up (I remember Joss Ackland being convincing in the role), as has been mentioned on this thread Ektor Rivera is simply too young. He looks younger than his much-younger spouse. Samantha Pauly is, vocally, a good Evita and captures the strength and vulnerability of the role well. She is not helped by not being made to look like Evita until the last moment. It is a powerful tableau but comes at the expense of the rest of the evening, Evita did not become Evita just before she died, she grew into the role much as Elizabeth I gradually morphed into Gloriana. Trent Saunders started off with a quavery voice but he picked up and gave a high-energy performance before he was Jesus Christ Superstarred at the end. Che is, to me, an annoying character because even as conceived he is Che and not Che ie the visual trappings of the character but not much more. I suppose at the time the musical was written (this was before Maradona and Galtieri) Rice reckoned that apart from the Perons there was only one Argentinian recognisable by many in UK and that was Che. Maybe that's how he came to be "selected" for the role. Why did she have an American accent apart from the word “Argentina” where she put on a Spanishy accent? That made us a laugh...
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 28, 2019 22:02:17 GMT
I love Evita and it has such a brilliant score. Sadly this new production was over produced, over directed and the American girl who played Eva screeched through the entire show. (Don’t they have British actresses?)
Too many balloons, too many streamers, too many fireworks, too many bells and whistles and too much imagery and symbolism - in short it tried too hard to be different. An amazing ensemble, the atmosphere of the park incredible as always and a hot cast - but gosh I just wanted it to be still and simple. Don’t Cry For Me Argentina was sang in her knickers. hahaha.....
Still most of my friends in my group enjoyed it and most agreed about Eva’s voice - I just wish they had cast a different leading lady and calmed down on the streamers and confetti. 6/10
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 28, 2019 22:00:54 GMT
^Off with their heads for this crazy idea...doesn’t matter what they do,however, as this show is a juggernaut and will run and run... Agreed.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 27, 2019 9:24:20 GMT
"This person" isn't just one person. The letter has more than twenty signatories, not all of whom by any means are on social media. And it's hardly the first time a group of people have lodged a protest by writing an open letter to a newspaper. My point still stands. Next time I have a problem at work I'll just write an open letter to the Daily Mail instead of just going to talk to my boss about it. As a gay man I also wouldn't care if I went to see a production of My Beautiful Laundrette if there were no gays involved in the production, but that's just me x THIS!!!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 27, 2019 9:23:30 GMT
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 27, 2019 9:22:26 GMT
The problem with The Cher Show, Beautiful and On Your Feet - is that they all have stories that don’t really go far. They are young talent, find fame, a tiny twist then the end. They are all good shows but none of them are super complex or thrilling even with the odd car crash, death or divorce etc. Perhaps they should have all gone the Mamma Mia route and had an original storyline - THAT is the success of Mamma Mia. imagine the story of Abba’s rise to fame?
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 26, 2019 11:00:50 GMT
Such a slippery slope. Only gay people can play gay roles? Only Scousers in Blood Brothers? And I thought it was all acting and make believe! Oh thank goodness you're here marge! I knew we could count on you to actually read everything that's been posted and use your sensitivity and tact and not completely and ignorantly misconstrue a part of the debate that's been talked about 800 times! I think it’s total TOSH. It’s theatre NOT real life. Period
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 26, 2019 10:36:39 GMT
Such a slippery slope.
Only gay people can play gay roles?
Only Scousers in Blood Brothers?
And I thought it was all acting and make believe!
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 22, 2019 18:19:32 GMT
Maybe Pretty Woman will go here?
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 22, 2019 18:15:17 GMT
The issue with the West End is....
A; Cheap stunt casting and not going for talent B; Cheap sets as they cost money C; Wrong theatres D; Standard of production (dumbing down orchestra etc) E; Rising ticket prices and standards falling F; Not enough revenue/theatre angels or investment like Broadway G; Equity not being strong enough in the UK H; Show choices - going for cheap commercial musicals that don’t offer the best standard always. I; The audiences and demographic - say no more.
There are exceptions to the rule and I love BIG the musical - but I hope this isn’t just like a horrible tacky cheap panto.
|
|
1,210 posts
|
Post by musicalmarge on Aug 21, 2019 7:45:11 GMT
I wonder if the US producers are thinking about a Las Vegas production? I've read about Broadway productions being massively shortened for Vegas but presumably this is already the right length. I assume they will wait until they can legitimatly advertise it as "Direct from Broadway" Six will 100 percent play Vegas.
|
|