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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 10:14:37 GMT
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Jan 18, 2017 10:18:05 GMT
Saw this yesterday and enjoyed it; I think some of the criticism is excessive- it's a pleasant enough show, without being breathtakingly good. Most of the problems with it come from the material, which is terribly dated in tone, and for me was just a little too inappropriate, and dark at times, to allow for the charming, whimsical show I was expecting. The score was a bit disappointing, not Bacharach & David's finest work, with the odd exception. I found A Young Pretty Girl Like You particularly uncomfortable. The two main leads are great, and the rest of the cast good. Loved Alex Young in the bar scene. It's VERY long (3 hours) and the transitions become a bit tedious. But Act 2 is good, so stick with it. On balance OK, I certainly would check it out if you haven't already. I didn't get that Casablanca reference either! I suppose it is dated, as is The Apartment, the movie it's based on, in the logistical sense - it's much easier to find a place to have sex after work these days. And the men-on-the-prowl tone comes with all that. But the hero's predicament, his willingness to be used while trying to balance infatuation with ambition, is, IMO, very strong and well worked out in the course of the story. Yes, it's an apparently pleasant musical with a dark cynical heart which is one of the reasons I have always liked it. I'm seeing this production later in the week and looking forward to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 10:26:44 GMT
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4,588 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jan 18, 2017 10:29:05 GMT
Eugh! I saw it years ago in Sheffield and didn't like as a piece so I'm staying well clear - plus paying the credit card post Crimbo !
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1,718 posts
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Post by stevejohnson678 on Jan 18, 2017 10:51:00 GMT
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357 posts
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Post by JJShaw on Jan 18, 2017 10:53:38 GMT
i saw it yesterday matinee, so the final preview and i did enjoy it but goodness me a 3 hour musical is a lot! While it dint drag it did make me restless when we were reaching the ends of each act which is a shame.
I saw in the programme Say A Little Prayer and House Is Not A Home (Reprise) were listed but not performed, have they now been cut since the programmes were made I'm assuming?
I enjoyed the show very much, Chuck's constant talks to the audience were sometimes grating but it was a very enjoyable show with a great score (not sure what the ES were listening too but i loved it!) Always impressive to see how much set they're storing in the SP, and i liked the projections and nods to movies i.e the ends of each act with it circling to black.
For me, another great musical at SP but they need to be much zippy-er, especially the first 15/20 mins which could have been slicked up much more! lets get the running time down to a reasonable hour please!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 11:10:40 GMT
i saw it yesterday matinee, so the final preview and i did enjoy it but goodness me a 3 hour musical is a lot! While it dint drag it did make me restless when we were reaching the ends of each act which is a shame. I saw in the programme Say A Little Prayer and House Is Not A Home (Reprise) were listed but not performed, have they now been cut since the programmes were made I'm assuming? I enjoyed the show very much, Chuck's constant talks to the audience were sometimes grating but it was a very enjoyable show with a great score (not sure what the ES were listening too but i loved it!) Always impressive to see how much set they're storing in the SP, and i liked the projections and nods to movies i.e the ends of each act with it circling to black. For me, another great musical at SP but they need to be much zippy-er, especially the first 15/20 mins which could have been slicked up much more! lets get the running time down to a reasonable hour please!! Blimey, that means Daisy Maywood had hardly any songs. A House is Not a Home ended Act 1 too. Strange move to cut them, when other lesser songs could have been given the chop.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Jan 18, 2017 11:17:16 GMT
I believe that Say a Little Prayer and House is not a Home are not in the original score, but were added for the Broadway revival a few years back. So if you cut anything, I guess it makes sense to cut those.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 11:20:47 GMT
I believe that Say a Little Prayer and House is not a Home are not in the original score, but were added for the Broadway revival a few years back. So if you cut anything, I guess it makes sense to cut those. I appreciate that, but they are the best songs in it. Glad I saw a preview now.
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665 posts
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Post by westendcub on Jan 18, 2017 11:22:02 GMT
I saw in the programme Say A Little Prayer and House Is Not A Home (Reprise) were listed but not performed, have they now been cut since the programmes were made I'm assuming? I can't recall if 'House is not a home (Reprise)' was in the show when I saw it, it closed Act 1 and just can't recall if the reprise happened in Act 2 but I think cutting 'Say a Little Prayer' is a shame, that was performed in the preview I saw and was one of it better moments.
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Post by alece10 on Jan 18, 2017 11:41:37 GMT
I'm confused!! Easily done with me though. Sat night came in at 2hrs 50 as it went up 10 mins late with those 2 songs. So if as people are saying it's now 3 hours long minus 2 songs arent they going in the wrong direction. And what's been added?
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18,777 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 18, 2017 11:43:04 GMT
I saw in the programme Say A Little Prayer and House Is Not A Home (Reprise) were listed but not performed, have they now been cut since the programmes were made I'm assuming? I can't recall if 'House is not a home (Reprise)' was in the show when I saw it, it closed Act 1 and just can't recall if the reprise happened in Act 2 but I think cutting 'Say a Little Prayer' is a shame, that was performed in the preview I saw and was one of it better moments. It was a better moment but I do remember thinking it wasn't really in context. Seemed. Like they crowbarred it in. Now they've crowbarred it out again.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Jan 18, 2017 11:45:49 GMT
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540 posts
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Post by freckles on Jan 18, 2017 12:18:16 GMT
So long as there's lovely Bacharach and David music in it, I'm not worried. Looking forward to probably my only chance to see this show on stage. The songs are below par for that duo, IMHO. . House is not a Home was in Act One when I watched the final preview yesterday matinee, no reprise though. No sign of Say a Little Prayer at all. Never Fall in Love Again was wonderful. The only other one I knew was Turkey Lurkey Time, I think the less said about that, the better... Was three hours for us, although may have gone up 5-10 mins late.
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540 posts
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Post by freckles on Jan 18, 2017 12:23:26 GMT
I suppose it is dated, as is The Apartment, the movie it's based on, in the logistical sense - it's much easier to find a place to have sex after work these days. And the men-on-the-prowl tone comes with all that. But the hero's predicament, his willingness to be used while trying to balance infatuation with ambition, is, IMO, very strong and well worked out in the course of the story. Yes, it's an apparently pleasant musical with a dark cynical heart which is one of the reasons I have always liked it. I'm seeing this production later in the week and looking forward to it. I don't mind dated, in the context of a musical. And I'm not horrified and outraged at the idea of affairs at work or finding a place in which to conduct said affairs etc, but felt the whole subject matter could have been handled with a bit more wit and charm than it was. Hope you enjoy it, let us know what you think.
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 12:29:49 GMT
Now I have a dilemma, as I am due to see it this week and had already run out of patience with disappointing musicals at this venue (most of which of late I have either sat through doggedly or left at the interval), to the extent that I simply didn't go to the last, wasting my ticket cost, and swore not to book any more. So this was the last one I'd booked for and I was already concerned by the long running time which has been mentioned; now there are some adverse reports above. I know theatreian counsels us not to be deterred by the negative comments but there are so many other productions I want to see, all of which have a much shorter run, so I'm wondering whether I would do better to ditch this and make other plans while I still can. I can assure you that you will either sit through doggedly or leave at the interval if you are out of patience with disappointing musicals at this venue.
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 12:31:57 GMT
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 12:34:22 GMT
Now I have a dilemma, as I am due to see it this week and had already run out of patience with disappointing musicals at this venue (most of which of late I have either sat through doggedly or left at the interval), to the extent that I simply didn't go to the last, wasting my ticket cost, and swore not to book any more. So this was the last one I'd booked for and I was already concerned by the long running time which has been mentioned; now there are some adverse reports above. I know theatreian counsels us not to be deterred by the negative comments but there are so many other productions I want to see, all of which have a much shorter run, so I'm wondering whether I would do better to ditch this and make other plans while I still can. Please do let us know what you thought about it...I am hoping I am not just being overtly critical.
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 12:40:45 GMT
I believe that Say a Little Prayer and House is not a Home are not in the original score, but were added for the Broadway revival a few years back. So if you cut anything, I guess it makes sense to cut those. These were literally the only good songs in the entire show. Turkey Lurky and Basketball were super eyerolls and added ZERO to the plot- at least the two additions in the Broadway revival gave the flimsy plot some substance!
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3,470 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jan 18, 2017 13:06:48 GMT
Now I have a dilemma, as I am due to see it this week and had already run out of patience with disappointing musicals at this venue (most of which of late I have either sat through doggedly or left at the interval), to the extent that I simply didn't go to the last, wasting my ticket cost, and swore not to book any more. So this was the last one I'd booked for and I was already concerned by the long running time which has been mentioned; now there are some adverse reports above. I know theatreian counsels us not to be deterred by the negative comments but there are so many other productions I want to see, all of which have a much shorter run, so I'm wondering whether I would do better to ditch this and make other plans while I still can. Please do let us know what you thought about it...I am hoping I am not just being overtly critical. I'm sure you're not, japhun - and I risk becoming notorious for railing against productions which everyone else loved, e.g. Jerusalem, School Of Rock, etc.
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665 posts
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Post by westendcub on Jan 18, 2017 13:36:07 GMT
I still think that 'Glee' got 'Turkey Lurkey Time' so right in this camp mash-up with 'Let's have a Kiki' that captures the crazyness but fun element of the song, it's a daft song but I had been looking forward to it but seem lacking on stage and should have been a big fun moment!
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577 posts
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Post by lou105 on Jan 18, 2017 13:47:29 GMT
The songs are below par for that duo, IMHO. . At least they don't use "Three Wheels on My Wagon" (yes, he wrote that too, and sang it at the Festival Hall concert last year). Oh goodness! Junior Choice..
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Post by boybooshka on Jan 18, 2017 14:11:43 GMT
Really wanted to see this, as I love Bacharach and The Apartment is one of my favourite ever movies. However so much negativity is putting me off, I think i'll wait for another opportunity.
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 14:18:56 GMT
Really wanted to see this, as I love Bacharach and The Apartment is one of my favourite ever movies. However so much negativity is putting me off, I think i'll wait for another opportunity. I don't think there will ever be another production of Promises, Promises on the West End. The material is so dated and archaic and it just does not work...so if you want to see it, now is your chance!
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185 posts
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Post by boybooshka on Jan 18, 2017 14:21:43 GMT
I'm still relatively young, and it doesn't have to be west end. As for financial reasons my trips to London have to be rationed this year, i can probably use the slot for something better.
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 14:23:08 GMT
I'm still relatively young, and it doesn't have to be west end. As for financial reasons my trips to London have to be rationed this year, i can probably use the slot for something better. Oh for sure! Haha
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 15:05:50 GMT
Love Southwark. Between this and Working, it should be a really exciting year!
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 15:07:37 GMT
Love Southwark. Between this and Working, it should be a really exciting year! I love Southwark too! Have booked The Life and Working for later this year...but this one was a miss.
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2,452 posts
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Post by theatremadness on Jan 18, 2017 15:10:40 GMT
Love Southwark. Between this and Working, it should be a really exciting year! I love Southwark too! Have booked The Life and Working for later this year... but this one was a miss.Was it?? Gosh, you haven't mentioned it much!
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133 posts
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Post by japhun on Jan 18, 2017 15:28:16 GMT
I love Southwark too! Have booked The Life and Working for later this year... but this one was a miss.Was it?? Gosh, you haven't mentioned it much! aww sorry! Did not mean to annoy.
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