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Post by notmymuse on Dec 18, 2018 8:56:06 GMT
I'm sure the upper circle level at the Dominion was closed in the super cinema days as it was used for the protection equipment? Trafalgar Studios used to be one theatre with two levels. I remember they "temporarily" made it into two stages years ago and never put it back again. If you look closely in Studio 1 you can see how they did it. It made the rake much better.
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Post by notmymuse on Oct 20, 2018 11:34:46 GMT
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Post by notmymuse on Oct 20, 2018 11:28:03 GMT
I've not seen any news articles about this one, but this is Waterloo East's Christmas Musical - and may explain why Hope Mill pulled it? www.waterlooeast.co.uk/a-christmas-story-the-musicalI came across the cast album of this a couple of years ago and it's not bad at all. I'm very tempted to give it a go.
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Post by notmymuse on Oct 18, 2018 14:14:34 GMT
Hi there - I'd say it's done every other year or so somewhere in London. Keep an eye out on fringe/off West End venues as one or the other of them tends to do Carousel every now and then. Try www.offwestend.com for listings, or londontheatredirect have pretty good listings too. It's been done a couple of times over the last decade or so in London (I can think of twice, but I may well have forgotten one or two short runs). I can't see a reason for it being done on the West End any time soon, but you never know! If you can see it on the fringe I would go for it - I've seen it three times, and the production I saw in the basement studio of a theatre in Catford remains by far my favourite performance of it. Good luck!
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Post by notmymuse on Oct 7, 2018 15:59:23 GMT
The last revival I know of was at the Watermill 3 or 4 years ago. I want amazingly blown away by it. I suspect it'll be lucky to have a fringe revival one day but that's probably it.
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Post by notmymuse on Sept 13, 2018 7:06:40 GMT
I saw the UK tour too and write enjoyed it. I think Bonnie Langford was in it and she was great.
I can't stand Brian Conley however, and if it is indeed him in it, I'll give it a miss. His turn in Barnum was the last straw.
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Post by notmymuse on Sept 12, 2018 6:55:54 GMT
I'd imagine it'll be the same version as the West Yorkshire Playhouse did in 2014 - which also featured Emma Williams as Betty. It reviewed well at the time so hopefully Curve will do as good a job.
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Post by notmymuse on Sept 1, 2018 20:53:59 GMT
I caught this afternoon and am really pleased I did. It's a great concept and has some really catchy numbers in it and is very different to anything I've seen.
Huge standing ovation from the audience afterwards, with the actors and musicians obviously genuinely pleased with the reaction (I guess this would have been the second performance?).
For me, this still would benefit from some work and some edits/re-writes - which would probably make it worthy to a bigger West End theatre and a longer run. I thought it ran out of steam for a while about 2/3 of the way through, and perhaps changing one of the queen songs might help. I also thought the ending was a bit clunky and rushed. I'd also like another song sung by all of the queens half-way through.
But that said, it was great and really fun and different and well deserving of the reaction. Let's hope it sees a life beyond what's been currently announced.
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Post by notmymuse on Jul 8, 2018 10:00:19 GMT
I caught this last night and really enjoyed it.
For me, I loved the performances of the two leads and the king's chief wife. I found the king really absorbing and convincing, and Anna was beautifully played and sung.
It's a bit of a museum piece in some ways and you have to view it as such, but having seen Fun Home just a few hours before, I was stuck by how easily this passes the Bechdel test, and is probably 60 years or so old now. There are interesting themes about the ridiculousness of both cultures, Anna is a strong and bold character (her scene with Tuptim towards the end I find genuinely moving and really believed her bravery), there was criticism of Western Imperialism and more.
I found the pace slower than I'd expected, and the spectacle less than I'd imagined, bit it was so engrossing I didn't mind and this didn't detract. I think young children will struggle though (at least the one behind me did...).
But so glad to have crossed this off the bucket list and it's hard to believe this could be done much better.
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Post by notmymuse on Jul 8, 2018 9:51:28 GMT
I can't believe TM was in the same audience as me and I didn't know! I feel almost famous by association! I would have said hi. Shame.
Anyway, having booked ages and ages ago, I enjoyed this yesterday. For me, it wasn't my favourite thing ever, but a solid 4 stars.
I loved middle Alison who was great, the kids were fab, and Jenna Russell was in it, which was reason enough to be very happy. She delivered a devastating "days and days". Someone needs to write her a great one woman show. Or re mount shows casting her in every role...
I was left a bit confused by the ending, and with TM, I wanted it to be a bit more clearly telegraphed. It left me with more questions than answers in a way - was the father bipolar? And was that supposed to be related to the stress he was under and the situation he felt himself in? Was the house a metaphor for his own life - potentially beautiful but falling apart due to its situation?
Seeing it on pride day, and comparing the freedom Alison had in her sexuality a generation later with her dad's likely experience and what that had meant for him was really sobering. I think we take our freedom for granted so much sometimes and it's been hard won and is very precious, I remembered, watching this.
I wasn't sure Kaisa Hammerlund's voice was ideally suited to the part of Older Alison as she seemed to struggle a bit with the highest notes.
Very glad I caught this.
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Post by notmymuse on Jun 30, 2018 9:47:26 GMT
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Post by notmymuse on Apr 28, 2018 22:28:06 GMT
Oh and why was there a Celine Dion song in the second act? I recognised it instantly, did Meat Loaf do a cover of Celine?! Yes and no. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_All_Coming_Back_to_Me_NowHe wanted to do it but Steinman wouldn't let him. Even took him to court to stop him! Gave it to Celine instead, but Meatloaf did it a few years later.
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Post by notmymuse on Apr 20, 2018 23:11:48 GMT
Ooh I've got tickets in the Grand for the Alex on Saturday. May have to ring up and see what's happening to them. I had grand circle seats booked tonight and was upgraded to row C dress circle in the middle, so hopefully you'll have similar! The set is amazing for this, considering it's a touring show. The projections are also lovely. But apart from the set, I didn't love it. 2.5 stars. It was pretty dreary for me, and my family are (were) Tyneside ship builders and I still wasn't very moved. The score has some nice moments, but generally I found it a bit mundane. The cast were fine but I couldn't understand most of what the drunk guy said/shouted and the sound levels weren't great, especially near the start. I'm glad to report though that I send to be the minority. Half standing ovation in the dress circle.
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Post by notmymuse on Mar 24, 2018 14:17:33 GMT
Interesting interview on Londontheatre.co.uk with Zizi Strallen. She talks a fair bit about the changes they've made from the Leeds production, including her character no longer singing at all, and the songs that are in it.
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Post by notmymuse on Mar 17, 2018 20:11:35 GMT
I caught this at the matinee today. I’ve never been to the Everyman before and it’s a nice theatre. Not particularly big, although there was much drama before we started with more people sitting in the wrong seats or having attended the wrong performance than I have ever known.
Anyway, I’m not sure what to make of this. For a Lerner and Loewe, I’m surprised this isn’t staged more often. It ran for a fair while in its day and had a good few famous songs in it - in fact, the score is generally very strong. I’d not seen it before so couldn’t pass up the chance of ticking a classic off my list.
On reflection, I really enjoyed this. I think If you take it on it’s own terms as a rep piece, with the strengths a cast that’s also performing A Clockwork Orange and Othello can bring to it, you’ll really enjoy it. The acting was just great, and not a dodgy accent in sight. After some of the hammy acting I’ve seen in the West End over the last couple of years, the cast were very strong indeed as actors. They were believable, nuanced and human.
The strange thing is doing a musical with a rep cast when most of them would never be cast even in a fringe production of a musical in London. Marc Elliot had the strongest voice by some way, and sang fine, but none of the rest of the cast appeared to be trained singers. They could hold a tune but I’d expect the same quality of singing from any decent Am Dram company. And the same on the dancing front - few of them were decent movers, and many were obviously struggling.
I can only think this is a choice of the director. In a way, like the Les Mis film, people singing like ordinary folk has a air of authenticity about it in a funny way. In the same way, people of all shapes and sizes dancing like normal folk is also more real, in a way. So it works, but don’t expect to hear beautiful MT voices soaring over the theatre. But the rep element really adds something. Most solo numbers involve many ensemble members, and few of them are off the stage for long at any point. It kept the production fast moving and interesting.
The libretto is also odd. Looking at the original cast, the film and the Encores revival, the songs performed seem different, as do elements of the plot (in some pretty big ways). I think they made changes to give the women more agency (which is a very good thing, given what happens even in this version), and to add more comedy, which was also welcome. But I think Julio’s ostracism is underplayed and there’s little violence like other versions have. The residents of this frontier town are remarkably well behaved.
So it’s very worth seeing and is really performed with heart and spirit. I’d like to see another cast of MT performers sing the heck out of it, but I doubt they could stage or act it better.
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 16, 2018 22:01:29 GMT
I didn't see this one coming! I didn't much enjoy this at the National, it just didn't work. The staging was interesting but the novelty wore off after a bit. The best thing was hearing Rosalie Craig sing the crap out of the score. She's probably my favourite West End singer - such an amazing voice. I like the score to hear live, but it's not one I want to listen to at home so I'd consider going to this for sure.
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 15, 2018 9:09:16 GMT
Just announced for Chichester, with Clare Burt returning. I was so going Daniel Evans would bring this with him to Chichester from a Sheffield. Such a lovely piece. Hopefully this will result in West End transfer...
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 9, 2018 19:52:51 GMT
I've seen this show three times, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) it's really how Charity is played and by whom that makes all the difference. I saw the West End version a few years ago and hated it. I had to see a friend in an Am Dram version a while later and loved it. The woman who played Charity was sweet, believable, vulnerable and you rooted for her.
So I'd usually give this a miss, but I can't wait to see what someone of Rebecca Trehearn's calibre can do with Charity. After her Show Boat I think she may make this really special.
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Chess
Feb 3, 2018 21:58:51 GMT
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 3, 2018 21:58:51 GMT
I wonder what Siobhan Dillon and Xavier are up to at the moment?
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Chess
Feb 3, 2018 19:41:01 GMT
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Post by notmymuse on Feb 3, 2018 19:41:01 GMT
Hilty has a concert and a 2 week residency in the US during the ENO run so she's out. Emma Williams hadn't announced what she's up to yet so she may be a possibility for Svetlana or Florence?
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Post by notmymuse on Jan 14, 2018 23:31:56 GMT
They've changed the height requirements for Glinda and Fiyero but forgotten to remove the old ones so the specification contradicts itself. GLINDA: female, 20-30, white, maximum height 5'8. The "good" witch. Pretty, charming, entrancing, ambitious, perky, vain, very "popular", but also vulnerable and sympathetic. This actor needs to have excellent comic acting skills and star power. Needs an effortless lyrical soprano to a TOP C, even a TOP E with a strong musical theatre belt. Must be a genuine top Soprano. Playing age 20 - 30. Height, 4'11-5'11FIYERO: male, 20-30, any ethnicity. Must be above 5'9. The Winkie prince, a wealthy party boy. Very handsome with striking presence. Not really shallow and self-absorbed as first impressions would suggest. Glinda pursues him, but he is intrigued by Elphaba. A good actor with an effortless contemporary tenor voice to a TOP B. Must have strong movement and dance skills. Tall, dashing and handsome, with edge. Playing age 20 - 30. Height, 5'5-6'5.Cast change is Saturday 21st July, 2018. The one after that is Saturday 20th July, 2019. I'm sure there's an answer, but I'm just wondering why Glinda has to be white? I'm mainly wondering as Fiyero can be "any ethnicity" so is there something in the script that means Glinda has to be white? I get that in order to contrast Glinda to Elphaba and to play on the themes of what is good and evil/popularity vs righteousness and integrity/things not being as they appear/exploring what appears dark and light vs what actually is, they need to *dress* Glinda in white clothes whilst Elphaba is in black, but what prevents Glinda being another ethnicity? On an entirely different note, I don't think I've noticed a Glinda sing a Top E - does it happen in Thank Goodness sometimes?
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Follies
Jan 7, 2018 9:12:26 GMT
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Post by notmymuse on Jan 7, 2018 9:12:26 GMT
So pleased to have had a chance to see this (at the cinema, a bit late to the party note but nevermind!). It's one of the few of Sondheim's I've never seen before and I'm glad to have caught it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. With such a strong cast is hard to pick stand outs, but I forgot what an amazing dancer Zizi Strallen is and really enjoyed watching her. Quite stunning.
My favourite moment was the operetta-style duet which I thought was quite wonderfully sung and very touching.
It dragged as little for me with the different Follies part for the main characters (I guess my short attention span would have liked an interval) but apart from that, I was pretty gripped.
The cinema was pretty packed too, and whilst I guess nothing can match being there in person, it's great to see NT using cinemas to make its work more accessible, to people outside London and on lower incomes - I guess cinema is helping NT be more "National" which is a good thing. I'm thankful to have had the chance to see it.
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Post by notmymuse on Dec 6, 2017 0:02:36 GMT
Can anyone give a bit more detail about the changes to the score? I'm curious since it was reported that ALW and Zippel had been working on and off again on this over the last decade what major changes were done to it (and even more, would that be enough to encourage a new recording with this cast that has universally been praised) There aren’t enough changes in my opinion. Some new songs, a new beginning (maybe stand out song) and cutting of the recitivie would really help. If they've been working on it for a decade they've not been very productive... Lammastide and Marion's Dream are cut along with perhaps a verse here and there, there aren't any new songs (although there may be some new incidental music or recitative but not that I noticed anything major). That's about it. I think there's a fair amount of dialogue cut. It seems to fairly gallop along now. It's hard to say for sure what's cut or not as they made reasonably significant changes when the original London cast changed over and it's hard to remember what changes they made then!! But it's nothing particularly dramatic. I wish I was able to go again though. It's a lovely score and really well sung.
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Post by notmymuse on Dec 3, 2017 11:49:01 GMT
Ones that spring to mind are Dusty at Charing Cross (several months of previews if I recall, and big changes) and Spiderman. Quite a few have had 2 or 3 weeks I think.
Are previews a fairly modern thing? I'm sure I don't remember them from more than 10 years ago it so. Things would tour or open in ab regional theatre before transferring I think, or is that my memory failing?
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Post by notmymuse on Nov 27, 2017 11:45:29 GMT
I saw the matinee on Saturday - about 4/5 full and the people sitting around me at least appeared to be genuine punters, so I don't think it was papered much (if at all).
I really really enjoyed this. I was listening to the OCR this morning, and I thought the singing was far better in this new version. I must have mis-read the news about this as I thought Greg Castiglioni was playing Hartright, so that caused me a bit of confusion for a while, but Ashley Stillburn had a lovely voice and sang beautifully. The three women were also all very strong, and there are some just lovely moments of harmony singing throughout. The cast coped really well with the score in general, and Caroline Maitland was able to belt higher than Maria Friedman could, so adds more power to All for Laura. Chris Peluso seemed to struggle at one point with a higher phrase or two which is odd as I was sure Glyde was a bass-baritone and it should be comfortably in his range, but I could be wrong on all counts. I didn't like him as much as I did in Death, but he was still fine.
The set is a step above the usual Charing Cross standards, and given the quality of the cast I didn't mind paying the higher price.
I saw (and loved) the original at The Palace and was trying to work out the differences. Lammastide has been cut, and the chorus don't have a lot to do in general. I also think there may be a scene or two between Count Fosco and Sir Glyde that has been cut, and the rats are gone. It works better without them, to be honest. The ending I'm not sure lands too well now, and the train scene needs to be re-staged - if he was standing just a few steps more upstage, it would work fine so it's an odd choice.
In general, I found all the characters pretty convincing and there's not really a weak link. The one thing I didn't like amazingly was the pace. The show rockets along (it seems a fair bit shorter than the original - maybe 15 minutes or so?) with barely a chance to catch breath. Which occasionally makes lurching from one song into another seem a bit jarring, and a bit of time to pause would allow it to seem more menacing and brooding. As it is, you've barely a chance to think before they launch into another song.
But that's a quibble really. A nice production of a very good show, with some beautiful songs and sung really well. I'll go again if I get the chance.
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