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Post by wickedgrin on May 10, 2018 8:48:59 GMT
I was considering asking for an upgrade but the woman in front of me in the box office queue also asked and was basically told no, so I didn’t bother even asking. But being far more attractive and flirtatious than the woman in front I am sure you would have got upgraded!
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Post by wickedgrin on May 10, 2018 8:42:47 GMT
Aladdin (like The Lion King and Matilda) taps into that hugely lucrative family ticket market. A show that can benefit from dynamic pricing during school holidays and weekends. There aren't many such shows in the West End - I've already named them. Plus of course the Disney brand! Like the Lion King it could run and run - well until Frozen comes over.
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Post by wickedgrin on May 8, 2018 20:42:55 GMT
Dull. One boring ballad after another. Awful staging. No one can predict who will go through as they are all pretty awful.
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Post by wickedgrin on May 4, 2018 13:51:06 GMT
Mark Shenton finds himself swimming against the tide on the side of "professional newspaper reviews against internet bloggers/forums etc. Everyone is entitled to their subjective opinion of a show especially if they have paid for a ticket!
I have no issue with opinions being subjective but I do have an issue with biased "fan" based reviews. Clearly you have to be passionate about theatre to attend and review it but if you are reviewing especially in a "professional" capacity a certain distance had to be maintained between artist and critic. Mark clearly enjoys meeting actors and interviewing them prior to appearing in a show when they are charming and professional. He would claim to be personal friends with them. This clearly influences the "review". With the best will in the world it is extremely difficult to meet delightful Actor A for a coffee and a chat about the show and then give Actor A less than rave review!
I have found reviews and comments from board members here far more useful. We have paid our money, don't have personal friends in the cast and regardless of how nice (or not) they may or may not be off stage, just comment on their work on stage.
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Post by wickedgrin on May 4, 2018 0:26:53 GMT
Quite honestly it wouldn't surprise me if Lulu had vocal issues. She really struggled vocally with the score even though it had been adapted to suit her style/range when I saw the show. I thought at the time her voice did not sound strong enough to complete the run.
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Post by wickedgrin on May 3, 2018 19:58:51 GMT
My last visit was slightly disappointing. I couldn't put my finger on it but the show lacked something. It was not as "tight" as it was. The creatives need to return and kick some ass!
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Post by wickedgrin on May 3, 2018 19:54:06 GMT
"and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
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Chess
May 2, 2018 12:48:33 GMT
Post by wickedgrin on May 2, 2018 12:48:33 GMT
The reviews on the negative side I would say.... 5* Daily Express 4* Mark Shenton (who likes everything) for London Theatre 4* WOS (who we don't mention). 3* Mail 3* Broadway World 2* The Stage 2* The Times 2* Time Out 2* Evening Standard 2* The Indy Arts
No reviews (as yet) from the Guardian or Telegraph.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 30, 2018 21:55:11 GMT
Nothing to do with the share price going up 20% then and CEO's normally having shares as part of their pay deal??
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 26, 2018 22:22:37 GMT
Well as much as I really enjoyed last years panto the casting here seems to be a total repeat with the switch of Dawn French instead of Elaine Paige. Lets hope Paul Zerdin for example comes up with a fresh act. Seems a bit like Groundhog Day.
I suppose it is very much a case of "if it aint broke don't fix it"!
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 26, 2018 15:01:41 GMT
LOVED this at the Dominion - a real guilty pleasure. Will have to book for this - very excited!
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 24, 2018 13:09:39 GMT
Top of my list would have to be West Side Story with or without new choreography. The Jerome Robbins choreography is so iconic and spectacular and intrinsic to the piece but equally it could be completely re-imagined. But it is (IMO) one of the very best musicals of all time.
Speaking of one of the best musicals of all time - My Fair Lady surely is due for a major revival - does Cam Mack still hold the West End rights?
Plus I'd love to see Camelot and Brigadoon - wonderful scores although the books may need some tweaking.
Plus - completely off the wall but as juke box musicals can be so popular I am amazed someone hasn't done a new show based on the music of Ivor Novello like they did with Gershwin Girl Crazy/Crazy For You. Some of these old shows could be very successfully revived with a new adaptation like Stephen Fry did with Me & My Girl.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 23, 2018 8:51:34 GMT
Yes, I enjoyed it too. Of course it's not the greatest play ever written but it's entertaining and does make you think about media manipulation and how the public can be so easily influenced. I was astonished that 40% of the audience changed their minds at the end and how consistently close the audience vote was re guilty and not guilty. Sometimes is just good to kick back and enjoy something. I thought the staging and the cast were excellent.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 22, 2018 20:41:54 GMT
I don't know King and I that well other than the Shall We Dance sequence (although I'm sure I'll know more parts of it when I see it), but are either of the lead roles that vocally or physically demanding? I mean, I'm sure those dresses are heavy on the actresses of course, but otherwise? The roles will not be an issue for musical theatre trained performers and barring illness I would have thought the leads will do 8 shows a week. Anna is rarely off stage throughout the long show and then it really is a two person affair as the title would suggest. Other roles having little stage time and underwritten. The show is about Anna and her relationship with the King and they have to do all the heavy lifting.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 22, 2018 20:27:49 GMT
Yes, loving this series - it's very bitter sweet.
Some inevitably come out better than others in the edit of course. Loving Sue Pollard.
I also love Anita Harris who I saw many years ago at Leeds Grand Theatre as Peter Pan - she was excellent. I feel that she never got the big breaks in her career really. That's show business of course you either get the break or you don't - lady luck plays a huge part.
The bits I most enjoy though are Frank Moreno rehearsing with them. Las Vegas is very different to the UK and some of the British acts will undoubtedly struggle but then I think he would probably struggle here - mime drag isn't big in the UK with audiences preferring live singing. Frank would probably just be working the drag pub circuit here!!! Again lady luck plays a big role.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 21, 2018 8:14:44 GMT
All that highly unnecessary “riffing” can go for starters. What is it with these performers who insist on embellishing in this way? You’re already on stage, you already have everyone in the room looking at you. It’s really not necessary. I blame the X Factor effect. All this talk of contestants "making the song their own" and "putting a unique spin on it". Just dreadful.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 20, 2018 16:34:08 GMT
I found it very slickly done and very well performed by all the principles who were perhaps trying too hard with the material. It just isn't as funny as The Producers. I enjoyed it but wouldn't necessarily recommend it or repeat visit.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2018 16:39:10 GMT
Gary Wilmot had a huge success with the Dame last year - it wouldn't surprise me if he returns.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2018 9:19:36 GMT
Lulu was on. I always appreciate the way she makes it look as if the standing ovation is only for her. Oh, yes indeed! She looked very pleased with herself at the curtain call!
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2018 9:18:11 GMT
It would be great if they could get Elaine Paige to do this for a stint. I think she would be great in the part and it would be lovely to see her in a musical again. She'd play the diva very well and of course sing the hell out of it! It isn't too taxing a role in that she is barely in Act 2 but is enough of a "star" role to be attractive.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2018 0:35:10 GMT
Saw this tonight for the first time with the new cast after multiple visits with the originals.
A few thoughts....it is still a FABULOUS show with the ensemble being the true stars - the new members seem to have joined seamlessly! The sets are still great and the spectacle of the Dames number when the girls keep appearing from the double doors and of course the STAIRCASE is still INCREDIBLE.
I loved Ashley Day as Billy ( perhaps even more than Stuart) great dancing and singing with a lovely smile and lots of charisma.
Clare Halse is still INCREDIBLE - another seemingly flawless, effortless performance. It is utterly disgraceful she didn't at least get nominated for an Olivier Award for this performance.
Matthew Goodgame is totally wasted in the thankless part of Pat Denning. No doubt he will get his chance to shine as Julian as and when, although Tom Lister is still excellent.
The audience was rather sparse - certainly a lot quieter than my previous visits. Swathes of empty seats in the Stalls and Dress Circle, so if the casting of Lulu was meant to give sales a boost - it does not seem to be working.
SO.... we come to Lulu! What can I say? In all my years of theatre going in the West End have I rarely seen such a risible performance which quite frankly is not up to standard. She cannot act (lets not mention the accent)stumbling over several lines, and her voice, to be kind, is simply not suited to this material. Frankly her voice sounded shot - gravelly and husky - she really, really struggled vocally with it, despite taking huge liberties with the score! I truly have no idea why she was cast. Like Dorothy Brock she clearly refused to "audition"! Her costumes too, for some reason were dreadful and didn't seem to fit and she kept fiddling with them - hugely annoying.
Thankfully the part is not big enough to wreck the show but it IS a part that can make the show, and be a HUGE star turn in the right hands. Patti LuPone, for example, would be sensational!!!
So, thanks to Lulu this was my least favourite visit to my favourite show.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 16:39:01 GMT
£20 front row rush ticket from TKTS for this afternoon. Seemed very busy on 3 levels.
Enjoyed it. Great set. Very well acted. Thought provoking regarding media manipulation. Very apt! An entertaining couple of hours.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 14:46:58 GMT
Oh God - I didn't realise row C was the front row!!! But really enjoying it!!
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 11:38:16 GMT
Seeing this, this afternoon. Hate audience participation! I will be keeping my head down!!
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 17, 2018 17:12:51 GMT
Underwhelmed by this. Most/all of the Queens bits had been heavily trailed beforehand so you felt like you were watching a repeat.
It was really rather dull. Here's a tree and here's another tree, oh and look there's another tree.
But perhaps David and Liz could be the new Ant & Dec? The Commonwealths Got Talent!
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