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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 29, 2017 14:33:27 GMT
I'm going tonight. As I'm there anyway, I thought I'd also go beforehand to a talk on 25 years of the Cottesloe/Dorfman chaired by Michael Billington.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 29, 2017 13:43:30 GMT
I was at the Greenwich Theatre last night for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Unusually the theatre was packed (and is before the weekend shows when things are quieter). Several school groups were there - so a lot of teenagers in one space. I must admit that apart from a quick checking of one phone and couple of small bits of talking, they were all really well behaved (well from what I could see). Better than most WE audiences!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 29, 2017 13:32:47 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 21:07:18 GMT
Well that's one hell of an odd play. Some good laughs in act 2 but overall not one I'll probably see again. Performances not bad and will bed in.
Note that TRH website says 90 mins no interval. At theatre sign says 1h 50 mins no interval. Tonight it ran for 1h 55.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 16:08:30 GMT
Matt Henry as Miss Marple - I'd buy a ticket.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 16:00:42 GMT
Anyone seen this and also the Paris production and had thoughts on how they compare?
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 15:36:51 GMT
There are shows suitable for a one night stand and those deserving of a second date (or maybe more).
Then, for some, there are shows that, once they have revealed what is on offer, one quickly makes one's excuses and leaves.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 15:26:44 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 10:49:04 GMT
There was constant squeaking of leather shoes all through the start of act 3 until I had to get up and ask the usher to stop wiggling his super squeaky shoes during Meistersingers at the ROH. Not another squeak from him afterwards, but still, don't they learn how to sit quietly at usher school? I suspect all the talk of cobblers on stage was subconsciously getting this shoes excited!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2017 8:59:29 GMT
Legally Blonde. That said, I think it's more a question of chicken and egg and I think in many cases, the show's title was chosen first and a song of the same title was written later. Yes, I'm sure in some cases a good show title came first and a song title later. Jukebox musicals using a pre-existing song title are of course the most obvious.
Further, several show titles came from earlier works (books, films, etc.), so are not from the songs. For example: The Color Purple, Made in Dagenham, Carrie, Bugsy Malone, From Here to Eternity, etc.
Phantom's question does get the brain cells whirling!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 22, 2017 16:07:56 GMT
I have just traveled on tube through Westminster (closed) station and walked up from Embankment to the ROH. No problems at all.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 21, 2017 22:44:42 GMT
If I could be in any show Ever It would be this one I would dance about all over the stage Clapping and waving Is tap dancing hard? Do the shoes make the difference? I think the show will spark a frenzy of people wanting to learn There are several female BAME actors in the ensemble No men Please can we crowdfund this!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 21, 2017 20:59:48 GMT
I am sitting right now in AA13 and it's indeed a dream of a bargain, I can't imagine a better view than this Thats my seat tomorrow night! And me next week - look after it!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 17, 2017 10:20:14 GMT
I'm all for a bit of added extra at the end. Especially if it's something additional rather than a rehash of what has gone before, like in WWRY and Mamma Mia. However, sometimes a revisit is definitely called for, such as everyone doing the time warp again for Rocky Horror. It's not serious. It's a bit of fun. And I'm all for a bit of fun!
It's also not limited to musicals. Christopher does his explanation after the curtain call in Curious Incident.
As for clapping out of time - I'll have you know my clapping is syncopation (well that's what I tell those around me!).
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 17, 2017 8:58:40 GMT
Not sure if it's bad behaviour, but the couple in front of me tonight at An American in Paris looked like they were trying to conceive a child during the second act They were playing around with some test tubes and a turkey baster?
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 16, 2017 10:15:50 GMT
Just seen a guy who, instead of navigating the streets using maps on a smart phone, was finding his way around Victoria using only a compass. Proper old school! Excellent start to the day!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 16, 2017 10:09:57 GMT
It's got a TAP ROUTINE for heavens sake! What's not to love?? Does that mean they sing in faucet(o)?
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 16, 2017 10:07:24 GMT
At Partenope at the Coliseum last night I was seated near Bill Paterson. However, along the row was Mr Cool himself. The MP who is the hipsters' hipster - yes it was him: Jacob Rees-Mogg. On reflection I did wonder if Handel might be a bit avant-guarde for him.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 15, 2017 10:04:17 GMT
I went last night and also to the Platform beforehand with Rufus Norris and Padraig Cusack. The latter was mildly informative. Their attempt to capture the voices of Britannia deliberately excluded London and the South East (to avoid appearing too metropolitan) and the content of the play changed significantly till close to the first performance. Beyond that much of the discussion was about how to distil down hours and hours of recordings into a short play.
I found it fairly entertaining, but I fully agree that there was little new in the voices presented.
Note that the NT states a running time of 1h 30 mins, but even though we started 5 mins late, we were out by 9.20 - so a run time of 1h 15 mins.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 15, 2017 9:56:15 GMT
Fairly lukewarm reviews: 4 stars: Telegraph 3 stars: The Stage, WOS, Daily Mail 2 stars: Time Out 1 star: The Metro
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 13, 2017 10:22:18 GMT
I went for the final night (as I was spending the weekend in Colchester). Well, by this point Oliver Cotton clearly knew the script and any set issues were all resolved (to the point that it looked good and functioned well for changes). Farce is difficult these days to get right - the story lines (unless very cleverly done) feel dated (or simply done before in different variants) [married couple, attempted affairs, mistaken identities, losing trousers, hiding in wardrobe, some form of authority gets involved]. For this one I felt the set up was funnier than the pay off. Also the structure of the evening was uneven - first half 1 hour 15 mins, 20 min interval, and 2nd half 35 mins.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 13, 2017 10:13:20 GMT
Bob Carlton's Return To The Forbidden Planet, and lesser known From A Jack To A King were my introduction to what's now called the Jukebox Musical. Return To The Forbidden Planet won the Olivier Award for the Best New Musical in 1989 and 1990. Bloody hell really?! Is that the only musical to win two years running??? I think it was just an odd year in that there were no awards for 1989, so the 1990 awards covered the previous two years.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 11, 2017 22:24:23 GMT
The Yellow Pages? I bet Anya Reiss could have a crack at an adaptation. I'd buy tickets.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 11, 2017 8:57:34 GMT
I wouldn't mind actors breaking out of character if the character they break into is Kenneth Williams.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 8, 2017 20:02:26 GMT
I see a new musical on the horizon: Bend it Like the Oliviers.
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