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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2016 13:45:17 GMT
Clearly the question everyone wants to know though.
What does Mr Bailey wear in the show and is it tight?
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Oct 31, 2016 16:30:40 GMT
Clearly the question everyone wants to know though. What does Mr Bailey wear in the show and is it tight? Even better!!! He is topless during the whole waking up in bed scene! And doesn't wearing trousers for half of it
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2016 16:34:15 GMT
Clearly the question everyone wants to know though. What does Mr Bailey wear in the show and is it tight? Even better!!! He is topless during the whole waking up in bed scene! And doesn't wearing trousers for half of it
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665 posts
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Post by westendcub on Nov 1, 2016 9:41:00 GMT
Was at the show last night and absolutely adored the show.
I have only seen the film (where both characters are present in the musical numbers) and have listened to the Broadway cast recording many times and when listening I have imagined how you could you stage this and what better than for the direction of Jason Robert Brown to finally experience this on stage.
Firstly I adored my seat, Warren and I were in the £5 (£10 after previews which I understand are now sold out throughout the run) seats (A3/A4) side view to stage left. I can’t lie I booked this as soon as tickets went on sale and when I saw £5 I couldn’t resist snapping them up but then wondered if we were somehow going to be stuck behind set or a severe restricted view. I almost feel guilty I had the most perfect view last night (almost) and the whole things cost me £11 in total!
I loved being that close to the action (yes you do see every bit of spit when they are projecting and the sweat dripping of Jonathan) and it’s not always played out to you in every moment and the tiniest moments of blocking but this is staged to encompass everyone and they constantly use the stage (Johnathan does the most interaction with the audience and they were moments I could have reached out my hand and touched him) and no props/set obstruct any view at any point so was perfect seats (felt like I was with them on the stage!). I could only quickly glance at the screens but in my opinion they do not add anything and my focus was to the actors so that’s the only part you slightly miss out on but I don’t personally think I missed out not taking notice of the screens.
Both of the cast are excellent in this, Samantha Barks is the most polished performer but the fact that Johnathan Bailey is not as polished works well for the character ‘Jamie’ and both had some lovely character moments and great chemistry in that moment the stories collide in the middle (that was staged so beautifully and couldn’t have been more perfect with how they bookmarked it – no spoilers!). A shout out to the band too, the orchestration of the score sounded so beautiful throughout.
I agree that some of the set and transitions are a little clunky at times, that heavy sliding door can be loud (could be to how close I was to it though of course) and a little distracting but there were minimal mishaps (there was a moment a stagehand must have been in the wrong place and had to quickly dash across the back of the sliding back wall). I actually liked the moment with Johnathan jumping into the light boxes which I know some on here aren’t keen on.
I got misty-eyed at ‘Still Hurting’, ‘The Next Ten Minutes’ and ‘Goodbye till Tomorrow’ (this final moment was directly played to my side of the theatre which was lovely so if you are stage right and side they will have your back to yours I am afraid) there was a massive standing ovation and a lovely audience in last night too (felt all very stagey!). I wanted to be extra stagey and stage-door (well hang in the foyer) but Warren got a little embarrassed to fangirl with everyone else so we left in the end but I couldn’t stop talking about elements of the show on the whole journey back to East London which is always a good sign of just how much you have enjoyed the show.
The show flies by, it feels like the quickest 90 minutes. Once I heard the bars of its final song I just wanted it to somehow not end – for me it’s one of those shows you could watch and then go back again straight-away – which I had the foresight to book to see this again a little later in the run but alas it’s sold well and now only expensive tickets left (which I agree are a little steep even though it is a brilliant show) and if anyone has booked a matinee and evening performance then I salute you for your excellent choice.
Side-note the absolutely cutie Sam Thomas (just seen in ‘Floyd Collins’ and is the understudy) was in the foyer both at beginning and at the end. I do hope he gets a chance to do a show or two – wish this wasn’t a limited run as I would love to play this a little longer.
Oh Jonathan is handsome man indeed (I do miss the beard somewhat however, his understudy Sam has fuzz now) but he makes up for clean shave with the scene in his pants! ;-)
All in all it’s a great production, so glad I have now seen it on stage!!
Next show’s for me (things always crop up in between of course) are ‘School of Rock’, ‘Big the musical’ and then am back at St James for ‘Rent’ in December.
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240 posts
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Post by Anniek on Nov 1, 2016 9:50:23 GMT
Running time anyone?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2016 10:33:01 GMT
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Post by romeo94 on Nov 1, 2016 14:49:12 GMT
Just announced a 1 week extension - get on those £10 tickets!
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4,466 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 1, 2016 15:08:03 GMT
Just announced a 1 week extension - get on those £10 tickets! Got one for the 2nd! Result!
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426 posts
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Post by alison on Nov 1, 2016 15:29:21 GMT
Just announced a 1 week extension - get on those £10 tickets! Got one for the 2nd! Result! Thanks Jordan! I've just booked for both performances on the 3rd - stage right for the matinee, stage left for the evening.
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Post by charliec on Nov 1, 2016 15:47:43 GMT
Just announced a 1 week extension - get on those £10 tickets! Ah thanks for the head up, got one for the 1st December!
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426 posts
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Post by alison on Nov 1, 2016 16:09:29 GMT
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Post by freckles on Nov 1, 2016 16:22:44 GMT
Just announced a 1 week extension - get on those £10 tickets! Oh, thank you, grabbed a couple! (Seemed rude not to...)
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2,813 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Nov 1, 2016 19:21:19 GMT
Are all the new 10£ tickets sold? I can't find any
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 1, 2016 19:22:32 GMT
Are all the new 10£ tickets sold? I can't find any Neither could I when I looked
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Nov 1, 2016 21:10:53 GMT
Dammit, too slow
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3,784 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 1, 2016 23:09:34 GMT
Pretty good production shots methinks
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Nov 2, 2016 3:57:34 GMT
He is topless during the whole waking up in bed scene! And doesn't wearing trousers for half of it Lucky that Stasia will be returning to a Moscow winter, I think... I think you should start worrying about Ryan and not Stasya! P.S. and don't ever put "Moscow winter" abd "lucky Stasia" together ir I'll cry! Back to -5 degrees, 6 monyhs of snow, 4 hours of daily commuting and my 5 jobs
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Post by theatremadness on Nov 2, 2016 20:52:03 GMT
Didn't think I'd get round to seeing this, but had hoped in the back of my mind that the St James Under 26 £5 tickets scheme would kick in. Well, the email came today, valid for tomorrow afternoon only, but they're £10 instead for some reason. But they are Band A tickets, so saving myself £40!
So, I'm going tomorrow afternoon and I can see why the tickets were only available for then as I looks only half sold, if that. Shame - I hope the atmosphere won't suffer but still looking forward to getting to see the show for dirt cheap!
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372 posts
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Nov 3, 2016 0:08:27 GMT
Damnit, booked my ticket for tomorrow's matinee too early, could have saved myself 80% on my ticket price!
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Nov 3, 2016 17:36:45 GMT
Can anyone who has been confirm that this finishes at 9pm? I'm there in a couple of weeks and need to book my coach home, but since St James is so close to the coach station I can go for the 10pm one.
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3,784 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 3, 2016 17:48:05 GMT
Why not book the 10 one in case it starts late. And even if it does start and finish on time you can hang around and meet the cast, take a selfie, etc
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Nov 4, 2016 13:53:29 GMT
Why not book the 10 one in case it starts late. And even if it does start and finish on time you can hang around and meet the cast, take a selfie, etc That's what I intend to do, but I wanted to check they haven't somehow stretched this to 2 and a half hours and plonked an interval in the middle (despite what the St James website says). You never know with these theatre types.
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Post by alison on Nov 6, 2016 11:53:35 GMT
I've just been having a nosey at how the extension week has sold (only Thursday mat with any cheaper seats left) and noticed that there are now a handful of front stalls seats available for the 26th (the original closing night) that weren't there before. I guess those people changed their seats for the new closing show. If only more theatres would let you do that.
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1,209 posts
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Post by Steve on Nov 9, 2016 0:52:51 GMT
For me, this is wonderful. Some spoilers follow. . . Some things about this show I've liked for a decade: the luscious musicality, the Sondheimesque freeform lyrics, and, especially, the way it wraps up history like a present, with the outer wrapping of "The last 5 Years" enclosing the pivotal central moment of "The Next 10 Minutes," a shrunken perfect moment of time that represents the purest love at the heart of the piece. Originally, I took against what I perceived as shallow characterisations of shallow characters. This was the story of a peacock and a doormat, the former priapically obsessed with his own potency, the second defining herself only in relation to a man. He was unlikeable, she was uninteresting. In the film, Anna Kendrick brought so much sensitivity and heart to her part, as the doormat, that I changed my mind about her character, Cathy. I began to see her as someone who could speak for the doormat in all of us. But I still hated her wretched partner, the smug shallow peacock, who gleefully dismissed partners for their ethnicity, and who seemed singularly focused on himself. Then I saw Jonathan Bailey in this, and I was won over. Sure, he's shallow and egotistical, but he's funny too, and wistful, and well-intentioned. Bailey's "Shmuel Song" has many facets to it, but above all, he is playful in the part, magnetically funny: I loved him. Just as Cathy represents the doormat in us, Jamie represents the dork in us, and together they represent the dreamer in us. Samantha Barks was equally fabulous, as sensitive as Anna Kendrick was in the movie, eeking out Cathy's every tentative hope, bleeding emotion from every springy elasticated lyric. I welled up. This is a touching production of an exceptional show. The weaknesses in the characters, that I had previously perceived as weaknesses in the show, are in fact the production's greatest strength. We can all be flawed: egotists and doormats, shallow and whatnot, but we still deserve those ten perfect minutes of love regardless. This show embraces the imperfections of people. In my experience of the last ten years of this show, the last ninety minutes were what made it worthwhile. 5 stars
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1,199 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Nov 9, 2016 8:21:14 GMT
I was disappointed with this last night. The two actors are excellent but found the whole story shallow and difficult to care for. And the music is a bit meh. J R Brown wants to be Sondheim but he can't. For me he's a Salieri, he'll never be a Mozart.
I was surprised at how empty the theatre was considering that the run has been extended. Only 50% full.
2 stars
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 9:19:50 GMT
I was surprised at how empty the theatre was considering that the run has been extended. Only 50% full. I'm guessing those huge swathes of £50 tickets would explain why . . .
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 11:08:33 GMT
One thing to bear in mind is that the show is basically autobiographical, so if Cathy seems a little underwritten and Jamie seems a little arrogant.....
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2,452 posts
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Post by theatremadness on Nov 9, 2016 14:16:13 GMT
Anyone who is signed up to the St James Under 26 scheme, Band A tickets are £5 for this tomorrow afternoon when you log in!
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665 posts
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Post by westendcub on Nov 9, 2016 14:23:10 GMT
Anyone who is signed up to the St James Under 26 scheme, Band A tickets are £5 for this tomorrow afternoon when you log in! Under 26...I wish!!
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2,813 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Nov 9, 2016 14:43:59 GMT
Anyone who is signed up to the St James Under 26 scheme, Band A tickets are £5 for this tomorrow afternoon when you log in! I gave a look at the website and it says that the scheme is no longer running
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