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Post by HereForTheatre on Dec 7, 2018 17:10:40 GMT
Kaisa Hammarlund will star as Violet.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Dec 7, 2018 17:31:32 GMT
Final casting is announced for VIOLET, a multi award-winning musical with Music by Jeanine Tesori (Tony Award winner for Best Original Score with Lisa Kron for Fun Home, and Tony-nominated for Caroline, or Change and Shrek the Musical), and Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley (The Little Princess).
VIOLET will gets its UK premiere at Charing Cross Theatre (Thom Southerland, Artistic Director, Steven M. Levy, Managing Director) for a 12-week season from Monday 14 January - Saturday 6 April, 2019 in an international co-production that will see it transfer to Tokyo.
Press night is Monday 21 January at 7.30pm.
Kaisa Hammarlund (Violet) has just played Alison Bechdel in the acclaimed UK premiere of Fun Home at the Young Vic. Her other major roles include Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity, Royal Exchange Theatre, Petra, A Little Night Music, Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick
Theatre, and Elle Woods, Legally Blonde, Nöjesteatern, Malmö Sweden.
Jay Marsh (Flick) was Schultz/1st cover John in Miss Saigon, Gregory Piven, Sunny Afternoon, Sammy Davis Jr, Christmas With The Rat Pack, 1st cover Porgy in Porgy & Bess, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre).
Matthew Harvey (Monty) was Francis in Loserville at the Union Theatre.
The cast also features Simbi Akande, Angelica Allen, Kenneth Avery-Clark, Keiron Crook, James Gant, Danny Michaels, Janet Mooney with Amy Mepham, Rebecca Nardin and Maddie Sellman as young Violet.
1964. Somewhere between North Carolina and Oklahoma, we find Violet, a young woman who was facially disfigured as a child. She hopes her life savings will bring her a miracle halfway across the country. Reflecting on her childhood, and shaped by the reactions of the people she encounters, Violet embarks on a life-changing personal journey.
VIOLET, based on the short story The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts, premiered Off-Broadway and won the Drama Critics' Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Best Musical, before transferring to Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony awards.
Creative team: Directed by Shuntaro Fujita, Choreography by Cressida Carré, Set Design by Morgan Large, Costume by Jonathan Lipman, Lighting by Howard Hudson, Sound by Andrew Johnson, Music Director Dan Jackson, Associate Music Director Chris Ma. Associate Director Abigail Pickard-Price Production Supervisior Thom Southerland.
Producers: Steven M. Levy and Vaughan Williams for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited in a co-production with Umeda Arts Theater Co, Ltd., Osaka, Japan
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Post by stagemanager on Jan 14, 2019 0:46:48 GMT
1st Preview tonight. Is anyone going?
I am really intrigued as I really like the cast recording and thought Kaisa was great in Fun Home.
A friend was in the bar the other day and when he was going to the toilet the door to Theatre was open and he said the transformation of the auditorium was impressive.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 1:05:34 GMT
The stage looks really interesting. I've seen an image of it and it's circular, which based on the seating plan I didn't expect!
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Post by dippy on Jan 14, 2019 1:06:41 GMT
I really want to see this, fingers crossed I can make it in my next week off.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jan 14, 2019 8:40:30 GMT
Looks interesting. Think i'm going to see this along with the first preview of Come From Away at the end of the month.
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Post by raiseitup on Jan 14, 2019 9:37:31 GMT
Glimpse of the set here.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jan 14, 2019 9:39:21 GMT
No idea really about this show. I've only heard Let It Sing because Dex Lee sang it at a concert, so really i have to say i'm only really going based on enjoying that song! haha! Looking forward to it though.
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Post by jgblunners on Jan 14, 2019 9:47:49 GMT
Wow, that’s quite the transformation! I know nothing about the show other than it’s composer and a couple of cast members, but I’m rather excited to see it now.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 9:59:39 GMT
That set looks real interesting to me for a traverse stage show! I'm thrilled it seems they have put the time and money into this show, considering the size of space and it's never been considered a guarantee to be a hit. Like a fair few shows this year, this one will rely on word of mouth and reviews. I just love when we get these shows we never thought we'd see!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jan 14, 2019 11:22:20 GMT
Super set design - love the ceiling.
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Post by Mark on Jan 14, 2019 11:23:47 GMT
Any offers about? I usually get my Charing Cross tickets from Todaytix but nothing on there.
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Post by sf on Jan 14, 2019 12:39:23 GMT
Any offers about? I usually get my Charing Cross tickets from Todaytix but nothing on there. Not an offer, but they've built the set out over where the side bench seats in the stalls are usually located (those are the cheapest seats in the house), so the back row of the stalls is on sale at the same price (I think £21 including the booking fee). Usually watching a show from that row is like looking down a tunnel, but for this, because they've built the stage out over what is usually the front block of stalls seats, it shouldn't be. Keep an eye out for offers, though. I'm seeing it this week and I got the ticket (a few weeks ago) via a Whatsonstage offer - but if you don't find a discount, that back row would be a reasonable choice. |
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jan 14, 2019 14:08:17 GMT
I'm seeing this tonight. Really curious about this one
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Post by jollyblacksmith on Jan 14, 2019 14:37:50 GMT
Any offers about? I usually get my Charing Cross tickets from Todaytix but nothing on there. There is an offer on londontheatredirect.com - £35 tickets reduced to £20, currently until 26th January. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 14:45:01 GMT
Brilliant, thanks very much! I had an awkward gap in my theatre schedule but a £20 ticket will fill it up nicely.  |
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Post by jollyblacksmith on Jan 14, 2019 15:10:47 GMT
Brilliant, thanks very much! I had an awkward gap in my theatre schedule but a £20 ticket will fill it up nicely. Cool! Visiting London in March and really want to see it, so trying to monitor different offers. No luck for me yet, but at least I can share the knowledge |
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Post by japhun on Jan 14, 2019 23:12:28 GMT
Watching Wednesday. Saw the Broadway production with Sutton a few years back and was beyond underwhelmed (and I love Sutton!)
Just wondering- does anyone know if Violet will have the scar visible on her face? Sutton didn’t and I felt so disconnected from her trauma and plight that she was suffering...
Looking forward to seeing it!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 23:16:59 GMT
Watching Wednesday. Saw the Broadway production with Sutton a few years back and was beyond underwhelmed (and I love Sutton!) Just wondering- does anyone know if Violet will have the scar visible on her face? Sutton didn’t and I felt so disconnected from her trauma and plight that she was suffering... Looking forward to seeing it! Neither Sutton or Lauren Ward when she originated the role had a visible scar, so I imagine it will keep the scar invisible to the audience. I remember watching an interview where they said the reasoning was that the scar wasn't visable so that you can see the emotional scars something like that can leace, rather than the face value, literal scars. |
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Post by Seriously on Jan 15, 2019 0:27:40 GMT
I felt so disconnected from her trauma and plight that she was suffering... #MiddleClassProblems |
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Post by japhun on Jan 15, 2019 12:58:24 GMT
I felt so disconnected from her trauma and plight that she was suffering... #MiddleClassProblems Middle? Ha!  |
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Post by japhun on Jan 15, 2019 13:01:25 GMT
Watching Wednesday. Saw the Broadway production with Sutton a few years back and was beyond underwhelmed (and I love Sutton!) Just wondering- does anyone know if Violet will have the scar visible on her face? Sutton didn’t and I felt so disconnected from her trauma and plight that she was suffering... Looking forward to seeing it! Neither Sutton or Lauren Ward when she originated the role had a visible scar, so I imagine it will keep the scar invisible to the audience. I remember watching an interview where they said the reasoning was that the scar wasn't visable so that you can see the emotional scars something like that can leace, rather than the face value, literal scars. Yeah I didn’t figure they would. I am looking forward to seeing the show again. I thought it would be a new twist on previous productions, but would be a leap from before. Thanks for the reply |
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Post by apubleed on Jan 17, 2019 9:18:43 GMT
Is it me or are sales absolutely abysmal?
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jan 17, 2019 10:11:28 GMT
Yes, it's not selling at all and previews are heavily papered. Hopefully it will change if it gets good reviews.
I thought that overall this was better than Fun Home, which for me it was just ok.
Similar themes as Fun Home in some way, childhood traumatic events having their effect on adult life. Very nicely staged with good acting and singing. A few bits needed to be ironed but I only saw the first preview and it can only get better.
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Post by japhun on Jan 17, 2019 13:35:34 GMT
Saw it last night- half empty.
I enjoyed this more the second time around (after being underwhelmed by the Broadway production) and understood it’s
complexities a bit more.
If you aren’t in the right frame of mind, you will be bored (and I was bored during the choir scenes), but it is a lovely piece of theatre.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2019 13:55:00 GMT
Asking those who have seen it, how is the set in a theatre usually designed for a standard, end stage design? Does the seating work? Any set blocking areas of the seating? |
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Post by japhun on Jan 17, 2019 18:40:43 GMT
Asking those who have seen it, how is the set in a theatre usually designed for a standard, end stage design? Does the seating work? Any set blocking areas of the seating? The seating seemed far away for such a small theatre. I (luckily) booked a balcony seat and had a bird's eye view directly above the stage- LOVED IT (even though you miss a couple of entrances) |
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Jan 17, 2019 20:54:02 GMT
Is it structurally similar to Caroline or Change? Considering going but I found Caroline incredibly boring so if it's the same composer I might not like this either. Though I do enjoy Jay Marsh in anything
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Post by melly on Jan 17, 2019 22:14:33 GMT
I would be wary of being cheap and booking the back rows. I was row T, and the angle you're watching at is much steeper than it was designed to be, because the stage is so much further forward. So every head, in every seat, in front of you is potentially an issue. I was much more aware of the rest of the audience than I should have been, because I was looking down across them, rather than over.
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Post by sf on Jan 18, 2019 17:36:28 GMT
Saw this last night. I've loved the score for a long time - since the first recording came out - and the production lives up to my expectations. There are still some places where the pacing needs to be tightened a little, and they need to get off the fence about whether they're going to allow applause after individual musical numbers (there was one point where people started to applaud after a song and an actor picked up his cue, stopping the applause - either he picked up his cue too quickly, or he didn't pick it up quickly enough to prevent the audience from beginning to applaud). Good direction, fine supporting performances, excellent work from the girl playing Young Violet (Amy Mepham last night). Kaisa Hammarlund is absolutely heartbreaking.
It's very, very good indeed. I hope it gets the reviews I think it deserves, because it really needs them. A glance at the website suggests advance sales are pretty dismal.
The reconfigured seating plan for this is a BIG improvement, and significantly reduces the sense you used to get in there of looking down a tunnel at the stage.
And a suggestion for the Charing Cross Theatre: if you're going to allow agencies like Whatsonstage to sell print-at-home tickets that need to be scanned on entry by a wifi-connected device, MAKE SURE YOUR WIFI ACTUALLY WORKS.
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