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Post by greeny11 on Apr 11, 2024 12:46:44 GMT
I think Johannes is a great casting choice for this. My only 'concern' (and I'm using that work very loosely) is that, unless they've changed the show significantly, is lack of dance for Lola's character. In the opening number we get to see Lola strutting, more than dancing. Her back up do more dancing that she does! But maybe that's the point? Johannes has established that he can dance and he doesn't have to prove anything but may he now wants to show off his other acting and singing skills? That's a great poster design BTW! I'm not sure - Lola does a fair bit in Sex Is In The Heel, and some in Land of Lola and the finale number. With it being a brand new production, they could tailor it for Johannes' strengths.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 10, 2024 11:13:21 GMT
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 8, 2024 18:31:36 GMT
Is Beverly doing the wednesday matinee shows? I went to last Wednesday matinee and Beverley was on.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 7, 2024 16:15:31 GMT
Among the shows I saw at the beginning of this week - I would say only MJ had any issues, and compared to some reports, it was very mild. The number of people getting up to go to the toilet mid-show was astonishing and quite distracting. The family I was sat by (all adults, the youngest being about 30) could not sit still and kept chatting to the family members in the row in front. The father left at one point because he was claustrophobic (why book a seat in the middle of a row if you're claustrophobic?). However, there was no singing along, no dancing (though people in front said they were going to dance along, they never did), and no shouting out.
I would put Choir of Man in here, but the rules for this show are very different - they allow photography during the show, lots of audience participation and interaction. One woman with a particularly annoying laugh did kind of steal the limelight at times, and she kept gesturing to the cast saying she would hold their glass for them. Thankfully their interactions with her were limited, and she wasn't chosen to go up on stage, which was a relief.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 5, 2024 15:21:55 GMT
I would be very surprised if Operation Mincemeat performed that song at the Oliviers. I would expect God That’s Brilliant but would rather it was Glitzy Finale or a shorter version of Making A Man.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 5, 2024 15:14:27 GMT
Physically (and a little bit facially), he reminds me of J Harrison Ghee who was a brilliant Lola. If he can sing and act, I would say he would be a decent celebrity signing
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 4, 2024 6:07:45 GMT
I was a bit surprised when I looked in the programme and saw the role of MJ only has 2 people covering; an alternate and a standby, but no other understudies. Most of the more demanding roles usually have 3 (a standby or alternate and then a further 2 understudies).
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 3, 2024 21:49:16 GMT
I only included Lesley in the understudy list because she's listed as Alternate Superior (having seen Ruth, I can't imagine Lesley in the role). Caroline is not listed as a Mother Superior understudy (she was Mary Patrick this afternoon, excellent).
There are understudies listed for all roles, but I was in my seat waiting for Choir of Man to start when I typed out the list, so didn't have time to do any more.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 3, 2024 18:06:45 GMT
Assuming the programme order is correct:
Deloris: Claudia Kariuki, Natalia Brown Mother Superior: Lesley Joseph, Lori Haley Fox Mary Lazarus: Lori Haley Fox, Anne Smith Curtis: Graham Macduff, Castell Parker Eddie: Graham Macduff, Jermaine Woods Mary Robert: Emma Ralston, Chloe Hopcroft Mary Patrick: Caroline Bateson, Emma Ralston Monsignor O’Hara: Graham Macduff, Jermaine Woods TJ: Castell Parker, Michael Ward Pablo: Jermaine Woods, Michael Ward Joey: Castell Parker, Michael Ward
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 3, 2024 16:41:58 GMT
They do, but my guess is all the MJs are unavailable. Kieran posted on IG after Monday he had the flu. Presumably Myles and the other cover MJ (apologies I’ve forgotten his name) are not available.
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Post by greeny11 on Apr 2, 2024 6:43:46 GMT
I'm not quite sure what to think of this. The musical numbers are excellent, especially Thriller and Smooth Criminal, and Kieran Alleyne's vocals were excellent - especially as he's currently ill judging by his IG stories (even if I don't think he was always singing live). Similarly, the choreography was spectacular, delivered really well by the ensemble. I also really enjoyed Mitchell Zhangazha as middle Michael.
Where my problems lie are in the book - it's really quite dull. I didn't really see much conflict at all - I think more could have been made of his relationship with his father, and MJ quite straightforwardly shoots down any sort of conflict with the interviewer. It's all a bit predictable.
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Post by greeny11 on Mar 31, 2024 16:23:55 GMT
I too was there last night - I couldn’t see how Eurydice was a part worthy of winning any awards. I thought every other principal character was way more interesting than Eurydice. Thought Donal Finn was great, and really enjoyed Melanie LaBarrie and Gloria Onitiri as well.
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Post by greeny11 on Mar 30, 2024 22:46:22 GMT
I was at the show this afternoon - understudy Poppy was the only noticeable one, all the other covers were in minor roles.
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Post by greeny11 on Mar 26, 2024 19:33:01 GMT
Sam Freeman (joining & Juliet) posted he's leaving May 12th.
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Post by greeny11 on Mar 26, 2024 11:03:01 GMT
I’ve seen Matt Cardle in all 3 of his MT ventures and thought he was great in all of them, so very happy with his casting.
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Post by greeny11 on Mar 10, 2024 12:13:54 GMT
Stephen Leask's Instagram suggests Mondays and Sundays are his normal days - I know he normally goes on with Elliot as Marty.
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Post by greeny11 on Feb 22, 2024 17:27:34 GMT
Just finished listening to this,and this is now on my to see list when it transfers - I really enjoyed the recording. Funnily enough, 'New York', which most people say is their favourite, wasn't one that stood out to me - 'This Year' was the one that did for me, already on repeat listening for me.
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Post by greeny11 on Feb 22, 2024 15:46:03 GMT
Simon Oskarsson just posted he is on as Orpheus for the rest of this week for anyone interested in seeing him.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 26, 2024 17:37:26 GMT
Peter Lockyer is not too dissimilar to Peter Joback as is a previous Valjean.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 14, 2024 14:11:50 GMT
I think Charlie was just there to see Jack as Sky rather any sort of casting - I don't think Charlie is a Sky type at all. I liked Owain so would not be opposed to him returning. I'm intrigued to see who is cast for this, I wouldn't be surprised if they went in a different direction with casting for the new cast. The understudies I've seen in this cast (Lydia Bannister as Adelaide and Robbie McMillan as Nicely-Nicely) are very different to the principal actors they cover for, so it does work with very different interpretations.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 9, 2024 19:31:45 GMT
I caught Ryan Molloy only once in about 10 visits to the Prince Edward, and he was the worst Frankie I've seen - clearly bored, and a lot of corpsing/messing around on stage. It was about 5/6 years in, so presumably he was going through the motions, but I was so disappointed as everyone raved about him. The best all round Frankies I've seen were Tom Oakley, John Lloyd Young and Michael Watson (both in London and on tour). Scott was my first Frankie, and thought he was excellent, but not quite as convincing as the names previously mentioned. When I saw it again at the Trafalgar, I didn't feel the same excitement that I felt in previous productions, which was disappointing. The last run of it that I enjoyed was the tour Michael led.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 5, 2024 15:46:28 GMT
I went to quite a lot of shows over the last week or so, and other than some extra heckling over and above where it's expected at Peter Pan Goes Wrong, I didn't really see any bad behaviour at all. Choir of Man had some cheering for places during the monologue where they talk about the performers, but that's it. Moulin Rouge and Mamma Mia, both shows where I'd expect it, had excellent audiences (both matinees to be fair). Both shows had very clear pre-show announcements about no singing to the end, and this was kept to.
I would say that some people are very messy with the popcorn/sweets/chocolate, some of which ended up on the floor, and that's an issue, but in terms of actual disruptive behaviour, I witnessed very little across 15 different shows.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 5, 2024 8:10:50 GMT
Saw it last week and really enjoyed it. Listening back to the cast recording made me realise that I actually enjoyed most of the score, more so than other recent new musicals - Miles and Miles is probably my favourite song, but there are quite a few of the songs from this that I will listen to again.
I really enjoyed all the performances, particularly Jonny Amies, Alasdair Harvey, Amy Trigg and Linzi Hateley. I also really liked how it was staged, and don't think this would suit a restaging in a traditional proscenium setting, which means this will probably struggle to be staged again once this run is over. It was pretty much sold out the night I went, so hopefully it's found something of an audience towards the end of the run.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 5, 2024 7:26:55 GMT
It was busy the night I went, albeit this was last week when all theatres were busy. Even so, there was still a fair bit of space to move around if people needed a quieter area of the floor.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 3, 2024 22:11:16 GMT
Been on a bit of a theatre binge this past week (which ended this evening) - it included:
27th Dec - Peter Pan Goes Wrong 28th Dec - Hamilton and Little Big Things 29th Dec - Back to the Future and Guys & Dolls 30th Dec - Mamma Mia and Six 31st Dec - Crazy For You and Operation Mincemeat 1st Jan - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (both parts) 2nd Jan - Sondheim's Old Friends and Wicked 3rd Jan - Moulin Rouge and Choir of Man
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 3, 2024 13:12:23 GMT
Bradley Jaden coming back as Javert for 2 weeks from 15th January - Jordan is on this week, and I assume next week. I wonder why Jordan isn't being used for the month until Stewart returns - I assume it's either Jordan (or his other cover) has holiday booked, or they don't want to go a month with only 1 understudy for the role.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 2, 2024 22:53:39 GMT
Just out of tonight’s show and Alexia and Lucy were both back. Alexia, in particular, was a fierce Elphaba, with an incredibly powerful voice (something that gets lost in audios). She stuck mainly to score (as I expected from her - the last Elphaba I saw was very riffy - Nikki Bentley in Liverpool), apart from a riff at the end of No Good Deed instead of her usual growl.
I really liked Lucy as Glinda, and she did get laughs at some of her line deliveries. She was vocally very solid as well.
I was expecting worse from Ryan Reid based on what I’ve read on here, though his high notes in As Long As You’re Mine were very strained. I don’t think he’s a great Fiyero, but he was fine.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 2, 2024 19:27:16 GMT
Also caught this afternoon's performance, and was well worth the admission to see Bernadette live. What an amazing performer. The rest of the cast were great as well. The Sweeney Todd section as a highlight - even with a slightly familiar looking section of 1830s Paris stepping in as London! Thought it looked familiar! I too was at this afternoon’s performance, though I was there more out of curiosity as I am not on a Sondheim fan particularly (loved Company but fell asleep during Follies). I really enjoyed it, Lea and Bernadette were both superb. Janie’s solo number made me laugh (what show is it from?), and also enjoyed Bonnie’s solo. Loved the orchestra as well. Joanna Riding was terrific as well.
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 2, 2024 10:06:05 GMT
The London production of Strictly Ballroom had almost all the singing done by Wally, with the leads doing the smallest amount of singing, but doing a great deal of dancing.
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Post by greeny11 on Oct 26, 2023 11:11:11 GMT
UK Tour cast has been announced: comefromawaylondon.co.uk/cast-creative/#the-castSara Poyzer as Beverley should be good (and nice to see finally do something which isn't Mamma Mia) A few other names I recognize from various West End shows - Oliver Jacobson, Rosie Glossop, Natasha Barnes, Alyn Hawke. Mark Dugdale is the only returning cast member from the West End production.
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