1,210 posts
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Big Fish
Dec 21, 2017 7:54:16 GMT
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 21, 2017 7:54:16 GMT
I think I'm regretting not seeing this. I reckon I could last minute this on Saturday, but is the general mood that it's worth it? It'll cost me £55 for a ticket and travel... I say go for it, I think it’s such a charming show! I think you’ll have to be quick with a decision though - there aren’t many tickets left at all! Just go. I thought it was glorious.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 21, 2017 7:53:02 GMT
I finally got to see Scouse Nativity the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool (where Judi Dench made her professional debut) and it was the funniest musical I have ever seen in my life. The audience screamed laughing for 2 1/2 hours.
The run is pretty much sold out but I really recommend everyone to try and catch the Christmas comedy musicals they do there (maybe while catching the festive show they do at Manchester Royal Exchange). The shows at the Royal Court are a little Liverpool-centric, but I took a friend from London and she said it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.
A beautifully renovated theatre and cheap ticket prices too. Hilarious. Anyone else see it?
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 20, 2017 9:24:48 GMT
ATG have put the booking fee up to £3.65 for this one - guessing their other shows will follow suit. Prices Monday to Friday run £125 / £95 premium (D to K stalls), £72.50, £62.50 (back 3 rows), £52.50 (end 2s in B to L) in the stalls, same in the dress circle (only row K is £52.50) and upper circle is £52.50, £42.50 rows A and G, £32.50 H, £20 J. Saturday both is £150, £125, £79.50, £67.50, £57.50, £47.50, £39.50, £25. A lot more central stalls held off for "dynamic" I'd guess. Stalls row AA is held off... wondering about day seats there... Wow!!!! They are pretty steep. Let’s hope they do dayseats and we can all see for 25 pounds.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 20, 2017 9:05:32 GMT
Saw this last night. Gosh it’s still 100 percent and on top form. CJ was on for Dorothy and Graeme for Marsh, everyone else was on. My friends who I took for Xmas (was my 4th time) adored it and cried and tapped out of the theatre at the end. It’s still on fire!
Two things I noticed, yes they do have microphones down the legs so the tap is definately not click tracked and also since the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal it really did make me see the show in a different light when it comes to Marsh and Sawyer’s working relationship!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 18, 2017 11:36:06 GMT
And just how long before someone gets the idea to... put it on stage?! Tour anyone?! Starting in Southampton, of course... I’m sure old Billy K will take a chance on this... Kenwright will never get his hands on it. It belongs to the original Mamma Mia producers. I doubt they will make a stage version anytime soon. Especially with the potential Muriel’s Wedding expanding to other territories.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 18, 2017 7:28:37 GMT
What kind of idiot are you musicalmarge? A personal attack because I did not find it funny. As I said its my opinion. If you were screaming with laughter more power to you. You love smut. But afer a while it gets boring. And this forum shares opinions, not all will be yours, but you must have no class to lash out like that. To castigate me for an opinion. Oh wait, do you know what the word means? Actually I laughed mostly at the non smutty jokes - the 12 days of Christmas routine, Zerdin and his puppet (what’s a sh*tzu? A zoo with no animals in it), the musical theatre in jokes, all of Elaine’s new songs with lyric changes, the references to Half a Sixpense and Hello Dolly, the fact that they forgot their lines, the routine with the adorable children from the audience, Zerdins’s mask routine, the ridiculous large set pieces, the song about the London tube and 225 other non smutty reasons. Do I believe an actually living person sat there at the Palladium and didn’t laugh once? A stoney faced serious stern reaction to the entire show for 2 1/2 hours? No... and I/we/this board/critics/creatives have a right to evaluate and debate that. Boom
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 18, 2017 1:03:50 GMT
I just do not get the hysterically funny. Its certainly not a laugh out loud panto. Though a few of you will say it was, it is not. And if you saw it last year, you saw it this year with different costumes. As in Cinderella, Dick Whittington is just an excuse. Might as well call it the Julian in more and more outrgeous costume show. Julian is Julian and been saying those very jokes for years, nothing new. Paul has his routine and he does the entire of it. It seems more like a variety show than a panto. And in my opinion (obviouly not shared by many here) it should be geared a bit more towards children. If you wnt to see Julian or Paul's act go see them at their gigs. I really hope they do not do the same casting next year. But I do know they cannot possibly cast John Barrowman he will not share the stage with anyone but the Krankes. Well I saw it last week and screamed laughing along with my entire group who went and the surrounding audience. If you did not laugh out loud at the same show I saw you must be a real barrel of laughs to have as a friend! We thought it was the funniest panto we have all ever seen (old jokes or routines included). Stick to Chekhov. That’s hilarious...
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 17, 2017 14:22:23 GMT
How is the set and costumes Bright green stage floor and revolve with neon blue box wings on stage. The pros arch is BRIGHT pink strange coral looking spikes featuring 15-20 different looking iPads of various sizes. I have a photo but I don’t know how to attach it!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 17, 2017 14:14:26 GMT
On the Starlight Express website they have announced that there will be a cast change on 13th May 2018. I believe a lot of the ensemble cast members are leaving as well as Abigail Dever (Dinah). There's also a mention of a "world premiere" of some kind on 12th June so can only imagine it'll be the anniversary show. The world premiere is Mama who is joining the cast replacing Papa. I just pray to god they don’t include that awful new carriage song I Got Me. I’m going to Bochum in June so will report back.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 17, 2017 12:19:22 GMT
Can we move this to international please? And if anyone says “yes but it might come to London” then can we then merge the two threads or move the Broadway shows that “might come to the UK” to the musicals section? It’s not clear admin. Thanks.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 16, 2017 20:37:32 GMT
Saw the show on friday. For a foreigner like me the accents were difficult. Not a smart move for a musical in the west end. But I loved the show and I really hopes it will find his audience. I am definitely going to see it again! Because the Scouse accent in Blood Brothers or Cockney accents in Oliver made the shows suffer? Year right......
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 16, 2017 10:59:06 GMT
To those who have seen it...how loud are the pyros? I only ask because each night around 20 minutes before the end it sounds like a gun going off in the theatre! There is one VERY loud one stage left which is what you are hearing! That one almost gave me heart attack! Hahaha.... BOOM
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 20:00:19 GMT
I don't think it was about the kid section - I think it was: the section where he invites a couple on stage and performs human ventriloquism. Wendy's gripe was that he said "I need a heterosexual couple for this bit" and sent the gay couple back to their seats.
I don't think he was intending to be homophobic. It was evidently a wrong choice of words, and perhaps he should have had masks backstage of both male and female variety for if this situation would arise. Same thing! The mouths were for a man and woman! Simple. They would have complained more had he put a female mouth on a man. People are crazy. He simply didn’t have the masks for two men or two woman. I was in the audience!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 19:32:48 GMT
I don't want to post the link here in case it's a spoiler - but have a look at West End Wilma's Twitter...she's really not happy with Mr Zerdin. Think that’s such a stupid article. The comment about the little boy being called “Tracey” is a joke that has been done in panto for years and always gets laughs. I doubt the kid will even know what’s happening. I also doubt it was homophobia, probably just how the sketch works. It’s not something to be looking into so deeply.. Paul did both these jokes last year. Hop it’s not exactly the same. He is hilarious but I hope they get a new comedian like Bradley Walsh for next year Pathetic PC obsessed modern reviewers. These jokes have been done for 100 years. Zerdin is just brilliant and the children on stage adored every second of it - Tracy or not! As for Homophobia? He only had a male and female mask and I’m sure they are very expensive to make. Most on that stage are gay! Bah....
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 13:31:42 GMT
Any links to Pinocchio reviews?
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 13:18:04 GMT
Well that comment is nonsense. Beauty and the Beast was a great commercial success all around the world and ran for over a decade on Broadway. The several UK tours I agree were more successful that it’s shorter West End run. The amazing Aida did over 5 years on Broadway and was very popular in Europe. Tarzan too now has amazing success in Germany. And there are little shows called Aladdin and Mary Poppins that both ran for years on both the West End and broadway with tours all over the world that still continue to play. It’s not just Lion King that had been a success. Success in Germany is hardly a benchmark, after all even Frank Wildhorn is usually a roaring success over here Because Starlight Express in Germany which has run for decades isn’t a benchmark of success? Sure.... Have you seen the price of tickets for musicals in Germany? Your UK centric view on theatre not being important in Europe is wrong. Stage Ents based in Holland in turn brings shows to the West End, so the success of Europe greatly impacts our London theatre scene.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 12:49:30 GMT
You can never have enough Dick. Wonder if there are any scenes when Dick is behind you. Will have to see on Tuesday. Ironcially the line “dick is behind you” isn’t in it. I think the funniest dick lines come from Elaine Paige! Just brilliant. It’s the best panto I’ve ever seen.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 12:46:56 GMT
Well. I thought it was just gorgeous. The puppets were brilliant and no-one can tell me that mini Grinpayne wasn't real. I gasped, yes gasped (ask the woman next to me) when the wolf first appeared. And the whole thing looks like a storybook come to life. The cast are sensational, Louis Maskell is a delightful hero and he's ably supported by Amanda Wilkin as the sex mad Duchess and Sean Kingsley as Ursus. Sanne Den Besten is lovely and coped magnificently with a rogue contact lens in the second act. But the two standouts for me are Mark Anderson as Dirry-Moir and especially Julian Bleach as Barkilphedro. If he features on the Olivier list next year, it'll be more than deserved. Go see it and in the words of Dirry-Moir, prepare to sh*t kittens. The random modern expletives were hysterical! I’m booking to see this again!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 10:31:32 GMT
Razzle bloody dazzle ........ ugh!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 8:48:59 GMT
Not sure why anyone is surprised at the meh reviews. Ive said before that Disney dont actually have a good track record on stage. If you take out the mega hit Lion King, its v patchy indeed. Tarzan and Little Mermaid flopped in NY, Hunchback and Jungle Book havent even made it to Broadway. Beauty and Beast did ok. Aladdin may buck the trend. Certainly Pinnochio will see out its NT run and fade. Frozen looms large on the horizon of course, but you feel they should have done better. Well that comment is nonsense. Beauty and the Beast was a great commercial success all around the world and ran for over a decade on Broadway. The several UK tours I agree were more successful that it’s shorter West End run. The amazing Aida did over 5 years on Broadway and was very popular in Europe. Tarzan too now has amazing success in Germany. And there are little shows called Aladdin and Mary Poppins that both ran for years on both the West End and broadway with tours all over the world that still continue to play. It’s not just Lion King that had been a success.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 0:20:50 GMT
Exactly. There's that, and the stink in this rumor (I honestly don't think it's a rumor as much as someone just pulling this out of their ass) is that you'd need to seriously scale up the production if this were to happen at the Palladium. The Shubert is a much smaller stage and theatre than the huge Palladium. With just over 1400 seats, they'd have to worry about selling additional 800 seats at the Palladium and scale up the sets, re-stage and re-choreography. And while Londoners would like Midler, these star vehicles don't work as much in London as they do in New York (sans shows with Sheridan Smith, go figure). I'd just like to personally make a point that I definitely did not "pull this out of my ass", I heard from it somebody in the biz. Now whether they, or the person that they got it from did, I cannot possibly say. What I can say is that the tone of this chat needs to come down a couple of notches & people need to stop being so bloody outraged that it was even suggested for a second that the hottest ticket on Broadway might find its way to the West End. It's not the strangest suggestion that we've ever mulled over. Now, let's chill & dream of Bette. Maybe some of us know the producers on broadway! It’s never ever going to open in London. Sorry, End of dream.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 23:21:14 GMT
I also ADORED this tonight. Wow what a show. I must preferred this to last years. So many amazing effects, fireworks, no expense spared and Julian is worth the ticket price alone. hysterical.
Elaine Paige was a good sport and did her various MT known songs. What a riot, one of the BEST evenings entertainment I’ve had for ages. You must all see it!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 16:08:18 GMT
It is NEVER going to happen people. STOP. Bette is on 150,000k a week and also on ten percent.
The maths for ticket prices in the West End unless they charge 300 pounds a ticket do not work out. Plus she’s been in it in broadway for a long time. Gig is done.
She can do concerts and get a months pay in one night.
NEVER HAPPENING.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 11:38:46 GMT
I happened to love this show...clever, creative and wonderful performances. The storytelling is a bit on the nose and some of the backstory with the Fox doesn't work, but no one ever promised Disney here - it is a Tiffany/NT production. OIs it dark, yes - but i was crying toward the end. Do we think it will get a transfer? Definitely no transfer for this. It's got to survive it's reviews as well... Press Night tonight. The show isn’t transferring. My mole inside the NT said the internal response to the show is not good. They basically admit the show doesn’t go anywhere, no big numbers, doesn’t know if it’s a play or a musical, the creatives have issues with the book and direction and hasn’t been the creative success they wanted it to be. Such a shame. Still, I look forward to seeing it in January, and hope they continue to work on it.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 0:48:25 GMT
So, I just looked back at my previous #receipts, and hasn't there been an announcement that Chenoweth was also involved a musical adaptation of Soapdish (that was supposed to try out at the Other Palace)..and somehow that fizzled out. emhm. And: "A spokesperson for Universal Theatrical Group confirmed there is no creative team—including a composer, book writer, or director—attached to the project at this time." So it's looking even more remote! They could have attached Meryl & Goldie to it for all this announcement was worth. Great well that’s another 5 years then. I’m still waiting for The Devil Wears Prada
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