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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 15, 2022 12:24:09 GMT
In and looks like it's sold out (even the £1250 seats).
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 15, 2022 10:53:33 GMT
I saw this last night and thought it was good, but not outstanding. Ran almost exactly three hours.
I was in Row N Stalls with an excellent value £15 Rush seat. The seats showed sold out initially (despite my attempts at split second timing) but some more became available a few minutes after 10am.
I'm not quite sure how this became such a runaway success in New York, but maybe it's a cultural thing. I have read the book (and I saw the previous play at the Birmingham Rep a decade or more ago), but this is changed around so much and refocused on the adults, it's almost as if it's a version for people who remember the book from when they were a child and now want to see the grown-up version. Not too sure how well this will play to the GCSE crowd, if that is the intention.
It wasn't completely full and some people (like the lady next to me) didn't return after the interval. There is a chance she moved to a better seat. There were just so many coughers (and so few other people wearing masks) that I'm expecting to get my ping from the NHS app any time now. And the staff leave the side Stalls doors without them being covered by curtains so the glass reflects light from the stage all the way through, which is very distracting (not as bad as the person near me with a light up watch, although thankfully the usher stepped in there).
I also cannot understand why people laugh at the most inappropriate times, but this is far from the only play where that happens.
The performances are all strong, although I didn't warm to Atticus as a character (perhaps how this was intended). Glad I saw this, but I would say don't rush out to buy premium priced seats. I imagine there will be plenty of offers.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 14, 2022 14:48:09 GMT
I managed to get down to Leicester to see this on Friday night, from the prime position of the centre of the front row. A great half price lottery sponsored ticket as well (I did buy a lottery ticket just in case, but no one checked and unfortunately I didn't win). The theatre was pretty full.
This is one of my favourite shows, having seem the original production in the UK, US and Australia. The Curve production looks rather odd in comparison, which is not to say it's bad, but they do have to cast people who can play multiple instruments, who can play multiple roles, who can potentially cover multiple ethnicities, as well as ensuring that actors with disabilities are heavily featured. This does mean that not everyone is always perfectly vocally suited for the roles and there are some odd visual choices, like having a "bearded genius" who is clean shaven.
A few odd line changes too, like referencing Lollipop by the Chordettes. Then the use of a ladder to represent the roof. So this is one to look past the visuals for.
It is good to see a different production. Molly Grace-Cutler is strong as Carole King. I've liked Jos Slovick ever since Brief Encounter and it's great to see him on stage again. And they have chosen a particularly handsome set of Drifters. But I do hope the original production of Beautiful gets at least one more chance to tour, after the previous run was cut short.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 14, 2022 14:31:11 GMT
Nipped back yesterday with a rush ticket for the 4pm performance, in the hope of perhaps seeing the 2nd or 3rd cover Frankie (since they'd been resorting to all kinds of unusual cover arrangements this past week, including bringing back former cast members).
As it happened, Ben Joyce was back, who is very good but I do have a slight preference for Matteo.
Otherwise, it was many of the same cast I saw a few weeks ago, just with very few of them in the same roles. Ben Irish was really good as Bob Gaudio. Mark Isherwood likewise as Nick Massi, which is a role I presume he's been playing off-and-on for over ten years.
It was a very odd mix of heights and ages visually. I liked Elliot Allinson as Bob Crewe, really embracing the camp feel, but it does look rather odd when he has to comment how young somewhere looking at least 10 years older than him is!
Three Bens (or Benjamins) in the four lead roles! Some occasional weird sound combinations where the lips and vocals just don't match up, but perhaps that's just more evident from the fourth row (nice Rush aisle seat).
The audience could have been worse, but a group of middle aged women arrived about an hour late into the seats directly in front of me. The usual rustling and comments. One of them complained to her friend there was swearing in the show. During the interval, they purchased drinks and crisps for each of them, no guesswork required to work out which of those items didn't get opened until the second half started. And, toilet breaks needed during the second half. Still, at least they refrained from singing!
Otherwise, with the cast all slipping into whatever roles are required, it just shows what a well-oiled machine Jersey Boys is!
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 14, 2022 13:45:32 GMT
Plus, it's a relatively short show. 2h45 isn’t exactly short! It’s on the longer side… It’s only 2 hours 30 (and they have a long interval). I was at the 1pm show yesterday and was out at 3:30pm (which meant I could walk over to the 4pm showing of Jersey Boys with 10 minutes to spare).
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 13, 2022 22:40:45 GMT
Does anyone think it’s weird how they turned it into a 4 show weekend after cast change? Like I get it, it makes sense in terms of more people generally being able to visit on the weekend. But when you think about the cast that must be exhausting and a quick route to burnouts and illness? They have the Monday off but that last Sunday show must be a killer It makes perfect financial sense. The Sunday show was selling out in advance and they don't have a midweek matinee. Plus, it's a relatively short show. I've no doubt it's tiring though. I hope the cast are compensated for the extra show. I made the 1pm performance today (front row rush). Fairly full, although there were two empty seats on the front row (not together) and other scattered around. They may well been sold and had people not turn up. I did think there was a chance of catching the whole Class of 2022, but Jermaine Woods was on as Kurt's Dad/Big Bud Dean etc. It was his role debut and unannounced. He was very good. Tom and George were on fire. Loads of new moves in the background and I'm sure they managed to do even more crotch feeling than usual (not that there's a good reason why they would turn that down). It was a very quiet audience, with barely a reaction for Ms Fleming in a Shine A Light. The people next to me were discussing possible choices for "Steve" during the interval (yes, I had good enough hearing to hear them suggesting me, although I know they would never choose someone in the front row). There were actually very few suitable men anywhere in the first few rows, but the bearded Steve they did select looked suitably surprised and embarrassed. Very good show as always and the perfect pick-me-up at the end of a busy week.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 13, 2022 22:22:59 GMT
"I always end up as a prostitute"
Young lady sat near me at Heather today.
I wasn't listening to the rest of the conversation, but I think she might have been an actor (or acting student).
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 11, 2022 23:53:51 GMT
Does anyone know the chance of this being extended again? I've got tickets for the May closing show that now isn't closing and wonder if that's gonna happen a 3rd time! P.S. Yes to SWINGS !!!!!!!! Very high I’d imagine, so long as it keeps selling. It’s (relatively) cheap to run, popular and they don’t need to keep paying to rehearse new casts. So why go to the expense of replacing it?
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 11, 2022 9:34:01 GMT
I have ticket for tomorrow matinee and I just can’t believe I tested positive yesterday! I have failed to get in touch with ATG tickets and I wondered if anyone had a contact number for them that’s good for returns. I usually wouldn’t worry and just write it off but it said on their site you could possibly get a credit and £90 is a significant amount. I don’t even feel unwell but of course wouldn’t dream of sitting in a theatre right now. Thank You Sorry to hear that. I bet ATG will snap your hand off for a return and it will be back on sale at £250 within minutes!
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 7, 2022 11:47:37 GMT
I made my second viewing of this last week, once again from the cheap seats. Covers on for five roles, although it wouldn't be obvious if you didn't check for these things.
Emily Benjamin was excellent as Sally Bowles and I'm very glad I got to see her. Ditto for Anna-James Casey as Fraulein Schneider. Josh Andrews was fine as Ernst Ludwig too. Plus we had Sally Frith as Fraulein Kost and Ela Lisondra as the second cover Frenchie. Everything is so polished that (putting star power aside) most of the audience would have no idea they weren't seeing the permanent cast.
A few changes since I saw this in previews, mostly tightening things up. They've simplified the second half opening. I didn't spot anyone from the cast coming upstairs to speak to the audience and they didn't have as many audience members on stage. Although I presume this is still considered part of the interval and not something to pay attention to as it didn't spot the two musical theatre performers sat next to me talking all the way through this section.
Looking forward to seeing what the next cast do with this. Fra Fee is very talented.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 7, 2022 11:20:30 GMT
I nearly managed to get the full class of 2022 at the Saturday matinee, but Hannah Lowther was on Heather McNamara. She was very good.
A record number of people dressed in costumes and a full house, although they were much quieter than normal.
They managed to find a Steve in the audience with a female friend (as opposed to going for a Steve less obviously interested in women, as so often happens).
A fun afternoon in the front row as always. I expect they'll be announcing an extended booking period before too long. I'll have to try again to see if I can get the full cast experience.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 6, 2022 20:52:01 GMT
I'd say it generally depends on the promoter of the individual show and their own policy.
I've certainly seen offers for some shows on sites like TodayTix. This isn't always last minute, as sometimes they do 24 hour offers well in advance to fill up a lot of seats.
There's also occasionally dynamic pricing (as with so many shows), so it's a case of watching the ticket prices directly.
Some shows even end up on papering sites, although the forum policies don't allow us to share which shows or sites (and, personally I haven't spotted these very often, but it tends to be more classical concerts rather than those with a musical theatre connection).
In general though, I'd say the odds of heavy discounting for Cadogan is not that high.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 4, 2022 19:05:39 GMT
Been a while since I entered a Cock lottery Were you a winner before? Or did your dreams come to a premature end?
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 3, 2022 15:21:00 GMT
This is surely planned to come into London. Just a thought - wouldn't the Gillian Lynne be perfect for a Chichester transfer to preserve the open staging! Lots of people said that last year with South Pacific, but the Gillian Lynne just wasn't an option. I suspect that theatre is reserved now for ALW revivals.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 3, 2022 11:14:01 GMT
More news no doubt released earlier than originally planned following the TB detective work yesterday!
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 2, 2022 19:06:22 GMT
Charlie Stemp as Bobby Child, and Tom Edden as Bela Zangler. Was that common knowledge? I don't think Charlie had even been announced as leaving Mary Poppins, so looks like another TB exclusive!
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 2, 2022 19:05:08 GMT
Removed now. Did anyone capture the text with all the secret news?
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 2, 2022 10:08:03 GMT
An excellent show, packed full with good music and performed with enthusiasm.
This is very much Jay Osmond's story of his family and how he perceived them. He comes across very much as the sensible member of the group.
Jay was also watching from the box at Woking last night and got a very enthusiastic response from the (mostly older and female) audience.
It was an interesting audience. On the way in, I heard some people talking who I'm sure were expecting to see the original Osmonds, not a musical. There were people sat behind me who had managed to watch the entire first half of the musical talking about the family, then found out more information from Wikipedia and seemed surprised at the information that had already been presented. I do think some people tune out of the dialogue and only want the music.
I was sat in the middle of the front row, so a perfect view, although the tears of the cast members really do get to you, especially Ryan Anderson's struggles as Merill. All five leads were excellent and Alex Lodge, who has made a career out of playing Mormons, really shined in the central role as Jay.
Running time, 2 hours and 40 minutes. The audience was really enthusiastic for the mega-mix at the end.
This isn't as dynamic as many other musicals of the type, but the Osmonds certainly had an interesting career, much of which I wasn't aware of. You certainly got the sense of the Osmonds having been a music making machine. Definitely more than just a tribute show and I think this would do very well in the West End.
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 28, 2022 10:19:07 GMT
I have managed to get through the queue, but looking at the prices, I think I'll take the risk that there will be some discounted single seats available nearer the time.
Opening night looks to be Wednesday 14 December for anyone interested in possibly getting to sit near The Krankies and the other celebrities. Most of the Stalls are blocked out for that night.
Prices near the start of the run (weekdays) are £22.50 to £165. You're really looking at £89.50 up for anything half decent in the Stalls (there are some cheaper ones right at the back and at the extreme sides).
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 27, 2022 13:17:30 GMT
Popped back yesterday to see this at the matinee (for the first time seeing this version of the show since the first preview).
Got a perfect Rush seat at the end of the front row, which only appeared about 2 hours before the show time.
I got to see Matteo Johnson as Frankie and he was excellent. It is such an intimate theatre from the front that at times it feels like he's singing right at you (and Matteo is very easy on the eye as well). The sound was also much better than last time I saw this, but I don't know if they've adjusted things or if the sound is better in certain parts of the theatre than others. They still over-sweeten the sound in parts, but maybe that's necessary.
The audience was pretty full, but also well behaved, which helped a lot.
Charlie Allen was on as Franchine and also very good. One nice thing about this theatre is they do have signs up showing which covers are on.
No real need to rush back and see this again too soon (unlike the lady next to me who sees this once a week, but I can understand the appeal). But glad to say this is in good shape, with everything bedded in and always an entertaining and uplifting show.
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 27, 2022 13:02:43 GMT
Two questions, do we think heathers need to have swings for future productions? And will this run at TOP ever have a full cast again? Well, it is the kind of news that had me looking for a ticket for 5pm, but £70 is just too much for me (if anyone reading this has any other ideas, do let me know). No, I think the current level of cover is as much as we'll see, especially when there are so many available actors in London who know the roles and are available at short notice. I don't envy the cast though, even if it keeps things interesting. We haven't had yet seen the "class of 2022" on stage together, have we?
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 25, 2022 9:00:55 GMT
The Mountview productions for Legally Blonde and Carrie have quietly gone on sale.
I did read somewhere that Legally Blonde is going to be a radical reinvention, but that's quite common for Mountview.
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 23, 2022 9:25:46 GMT
Outstanding performance yesterday from the new cast, which I got the pleasure to see from the (side of) the front row. A perfectly behaved audience too and audience participant Steve even got into the swing of things.
Alisa and Jacob are excellent together (I think, by now, that goes without saying).
We had the new leads, including Maddison Firth as Heather Chandler, Andy Brady as Ram's Dad. Then the delightful Benjamin Karran back in the cast, I do hope that I get to see his JD.
Jordan Cunningham was covering for Kurt's Dad and Big Bud Dean and did a great job.
Then, the surprise special guests.
Merryl Ansah was on as Heather Duke and Liam Doyle as Kurt Kelly. Both previously played the roles on the tour, but were announced very late in the day, so I imagine they had very little notice (and may not even had had chance to rehearse). Very fluid considering, especially considering the slightly different shape of the Other Palace stage compared to that on the tours. Some minor things out of place, but not so much the majority of audience would notice.
So, there was the dream pairing of Liam Doyle and Tom Scanlon on the stage in their underwear together, at the same time, which I doubt any of us ever expected to see.
Anyway, a fantastic cast. No pictures or video to share, as I was about the only person on the front row whose phone was still in their pocket, but I'm sure there are lots on social media.
I do, of course, hope that everyone who was off recovers quickly, but who knows what interesting combinations of the current and previous casts will be performing tonight?
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 22, 2022 20:49:33 GMT
Even Hamilton has been closing the Grand Circle for the weekday matinee.
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 22, 2022 12:57:39 GMT
I was speaking to someone on Zoom yesterday who kept using the word "myriad". I didn't find a way to ask her if she was a Heathers' fan.
Couldn't resist booking a Rush ticket to see the new cast tonight!
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