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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 18:44:52 GMT
I bet half the people booking this will think it's about Lewis Hamilton...
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 16:25:54 GMT
Same here, except that it's not just a ticket but a whole trip to London... not yet 100% convinced I'll spend that for her.
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 12:02:14 GMT
Same. The toxic mix of awful translation, incomprehensible foreign performers and ludicrous prices in combination with absolutely ZERO interest in Alexander Hamilton will kill this stone-dead within a month.
If anything, this should be sent on a continental European tour with stops in some big cities and done in English with subtitles, the way Book of Mormon is now gearing up to.
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 9:27:41 GMT
nm, read the news myself now!
Can anyone enlighten me why front stalls are cheaper than back stalls at the Royal Festival Hall?
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Post by viserys on Feb 18, 2019 9:20:19 GMT
Who's Rob Houchen playing then? Looks-wise I'd think Liam Tamne would probably be playing the Italian Romeo?
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Post by viserys on Feb 17, 2019 17:56:30 GMT
I always think some shows just ‘chance their arm’. They put seats at huge prices. If people pay that then great, if not they can reduce the price giving people the illusion of ‘this Seat is 50% off’. The seat should have always been the ‘discounted’ price but people then feel they are getting a bargain. I never understand how this logic is meant to work. A show that needs to be discounting 50% (or more) vibes that it's not doing well and this in turn vibes that it's not popular/not very good. A show that's selling out/has low availability for weeks to come vibes that there's a huge demand and thus "must be good". American shows seem to cleverly capitalize on this by keeping booking periods short - even Hamilton, by all counts a success, only just extended booking for one month - June. Book of Mormon has been doing the same. Dynamic pricing is far more subtle, but I also wonder how many people are scared off by checking new shows, see the initially very high prices, decide against booking and never check back. I think it would make far more sense to start low and only hike prices when there's a big demand. Also gives new shows a chance to get the punters in and then help to spread word of mouth.
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Post by viserys on Feb 16, 2019 8:26:20 GMT
I honestly don't get why this is singled out as a "cynical cash cow of a show" when so many shows these days are either milking old movies with more or less success or milking known songs in the disguise of biography musicals or jukebox musicals.
What's worse about Only Fools and Horses compared to, say, The Bodyguard, which rips off both an existing movie and existing songs, Dirty Dancing, which doesn't even bother with an original score or, Thriller Live, Motown, Tina and the list goes on and on.
Sure, it would be wonderful if the world (or at least the West End) was full of fresh, innovative original shows like Jamie, The Grinning Man, Romantics Anonymous and The Clockmaker's Daughter along with new imports like Hamilton, Come From Away, Evan Hansen or Comet, but even most of these are leaning on books or other sources and aren't completely new.
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Post by viserys on Feb 15, 2019 17:29:29 GMT
Surprised that some people on here have not seen Maggie Smith on stage previously, mostly as I expected nearly everyone to be a doddering geriatric like me! I looked it up and it's 12 years since her last London performances, that seemed a fairly short time but then I realised it really really isn't! I got into straight theatre too late, I suppose. I was able to catch Dame Judi in one of her (presumably) outings to the stage but Dame Maggie's absence has been too long. Now I can't make it during these dates. Which is a pity since, being German, I'd be interested in the play itself as much as in seeing Maggie Smith live on stage. Oh well. I guess the text will be available to buy.
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Post by viserys on Feb 13, 2019 15:56:40 GMT
Same as Steffi ^ Live in Germany, travel to London regularly for many reasons a) better pricing, b) better quality, c) meeting friends. About a six-hour-one-way-trip on the Eurostar (Edit: The Eurostar itself is 2 hours, the rest is getting to Brussels, lol) Also travel to the Netherlands, Belgium and France for musicals. Why see Anastasia for 140 EUR in Stuttgart when I can see it for 80 EUR in Scheveningen? (as just one of many examples) New York/the USA rarely, though this might be changing this year for reasons I don't want to get into. Ironically I can't be faffed to travel anywhere inside Germany. I only see shows in my own town, where I can reach the main venues by bicycle in 20 minutes
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Post by viserys on Feb 12, 2019 12:50:52 GMT
Mitts off. You can keep your Bateman, but D'Artagnan is mine.
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 16:15:06 GMT
Surprised to not see any mention of it here - I got a mail today that two extra matinees were announced and "as I had entered the ballot before" I was welcome to book.
Booking opened at 3pm and I found the mail just after 4pm British Time. Only 5324 people in the Queue ahead of me...
Not that I can attend anyway...
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 14:28:36 GMT
Fopp should still be open. They have a small selection on the upper floor. The shop itself is in the middle of the West End, roughly between Harry Potter and Matilda.
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 10:35:25 GMT
Che cazzo Thanks for the warning, lol, time to dig out my 20 year old "Italian for Beginners" book...
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 9:12:22 GMT
Has anyone here read "Space Opera"by Catherynne M Valente? It may be the maddest book I've ever read, about an intergalactic song contest (clearly modelled on the ESC) and the hapless Earthlings getting caught up in it.
It's screaming for a stage adaptation that would probably be something of a love child of Eugenius and SpongeBob weaned on Acid and babysat by the Rocky Horror Show.
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 9:06:10 GMT
I know the cast is mainly Italian, but... don't tell me they speak Italian except for the director? I booked this merely to indulge my crush on Luke Pasqualino, so please don't tell me it's going to be a dud
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Post by viserys on Feb 11, 2019 8:20:55 GMT
Justin Beiber making his stage debut.Trying to show his acting ability before being cast as Fiyero in Wicked. Will be difficult covering his tatoos. The tats will be his very unique coat of many colours then
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Post by viserys on Feb 10, 2019 17:24:25 GMT
I went to a Tim Hortons in Toronto Airport. The ...whatever it was (donut thingy?) with maple syrup was like the sweetest thing I ever encountered and I thought nobody could out-do the Americans in the sugar department. But yes, a few Tim Hortons amid the sea of Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Neros would be nice in London. Have you tried the sausage and egg bun? Delicious! (and unhealthy, but oh well) No, I was just in Toronto Airport on a stop-over, only chance I had to try fabled Tim Hortons at all. It was a tiny in-the-wall-place, too. Otherwise the whole airport seemed to consist of shops flogging maple syrup in all shapes and sizes.
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Post by viserys on Feb 10, 2019 17:08:19 GMT
I love Tim Hortons. There are a few in Madrid and I decided to give it a go last time I was there. Better than Starbucks in my opinion! And great breakfast deals! I'm surprised there's no Tim Hortons in London at all. I went to a Tim Hortons in Toronto Airport. The ...whatever it was (donut thingy?) with maple syrup was like the sweetest thing I ever encountered and I thought nobody could out-do the Americans in the sugar department. But yes, a few Tim Hortons amid the sea of Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Neros would be nice in London.
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Post by viserys on Feb 10, 2019 14:29:16 GMT
Can't read the one from the Times, but the story on Sky with all the photos is fantastic. Made me well up a little, actually. How I'll get through the show, I don't know.
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Post by viserys on Feb 8, 2019 19:50:18 GMT
I got the same - thanks for alerting me to it, as I had to fish it from the spam folder.
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Post by viserys on Feb 8, 2019 12:48:41 GMT
There was talks of that a long time ago when the mega-blockbuster-schmaltz-musicals were in their heydays in the 90s. Especially around the time Princess Diana died, because there were so many similiarities between her and Elisabeth.
I don't think today's cynicism would treat Elisabeth kindly. Yes, she didn't have it easy in her life, but she was still a hugely neurotic contrary mopey person, who hardly lifted a finger to help the people in her Habsburg Empire but spent most of her life just feeling sorry for herself. And I really don't think the Eurotrash pop music would go down well with the London audiences weaned on Broadway.
I loved Elisabeth back then and I still think it has some kick-ass good tunes, but just like Björn and Benny's Kristina it was a product of its time that I don't think would work well now.
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Post by viserys on Feb 7, 2019 14:36:03 GMT
I was able to get in just now and took a peek around. Sadly the slips seats where I sat for £25 for Company are either gone or not on sale. Cheapest I saw was £32.50 on the sides of the Upper Circle, classified as Restricted View. But there was lots of availability across the board, so no worries if you're stuck in a queue. Didn't book anything as I really can't be bothered. I loved Alfie Boe's Valjean (yea, so shoot me) and I like Michael Ball in general (shoot me again), but I'm just not that excited about it all.
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Post by viserys on Feb 5, 2019 7:12:31 GMT
If it follows recent patterns, this might mean it will move from Zürich to Cologne then. The UK-Tour of Miss Saigon also played exclusively in Zürich and Cologne. And it seems, mercifully, that Stage Entertainment haven't got their mitts on this show to ruin it like they ruin most everything in Germany. So perhaps don't hold your breath for the Mormons to visit other cities in the UK... producers are realizing there's money to be made from these international tours.
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Post by viserys on Feb 3, 2019 14:09:03 GMT
I was lucky enough to see The Fantasticks in its original home Sullivan Street Playhouse in NY where it ran for decades. I think its secret was its simplicity - very basic set, costumes, etc., making it all come alive through great lyrics (which are rarer than hen's teeth these days) and great performances in a very small theatre. I think it's probably too naive-sweet-innocent in its tone for today's cynic times and of course the whole "Rape" stuff is impossible to sing today (I think it was changed to "Abduction" at some point though) and I also can't see it work well in a bigger space/normal theatre. Southwark Playhouse thereabouts would be the right size for it.
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Post by viserys on Feb 3, 2019 3:50:39 GMT
Hmm...so Tom Burke plays Strike, and JK Rowling’s latest Strike novel quotes extensively from... Rosmersholm. I’m not a detective but my hunch is this casting may be more than mere coincidence. ;-) I JUST read the book on the beach, so that also stood out to me. Though considering that JKR worked on the novel for a very long time, I can't imagine this to be more than a very amusing coincidence. Waiting for dayseats on this one, but would love to see it if I get the chance.
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Post by viserys on Jan 29, 2019 0:56:33 GMT
Not surprising though, is it? Rent is much lesser known than any of the others and long past the time when it was a massive hype (like Hamilton is now). Plus, people may have become tired of the concept. I mean, I've been a musical lover for +30 years but even I couldn't be bothered to watch ALL of them because either the show or the cast didn't appeal to me (or both). The only one I enjoyed was The Wiz, I thought Grease was pretty awful. Anyway, still want to see Rent as it's been a favorite of mine ever since it came out in the mid-90s. I had hoped this would create enough buzz to get a new generation of musical lovers interested in it, but seems it's not to be. Glad to read a somewhat positive review though, thanks latefortheoverture
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Post by viserys on Jan 27, 2019 9:46:43 GMT
Could this become this year's Chess? High prices, higher anticipation about the cast, lots of rumours and then a "meh" announcement?
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Post by viserys on Jan 22, 2019 10:24:55 GMT
Each to their own. Forgive me for having a different taste.
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Post by viserys on Jan 22, 2019 9:48:04 GMT
Germany is just early when it's a show co-producted by Stage Entertainment, such as Anastasia and Pretty Woman. Stage also brings Tina to Hamburg and Utrecht first before it will open on Broadway. Basically they always develop their shows with their own primary markets like Germany and the Netherlands in mind.
Come From Away IS a Canadian show and I guess they never expected it to do as well as it has on Broadway or that it might travel to Europe.
What else? Frozen now? Well, a) it makes sense for them to wait for the theatre they want rather than try for another one and b) it's not the massive juggernaut people were expecting, so does it really matter? While Aladdin did okay now and Lion King is its own phenomenon, London has never been that big of a market for them, while Germany and/or the Netherlands (again, through Stage Entertainment) got all their mediocre shows like Tarzan, Little Mermaid and Hunchback - probably because they knew they aren't good enough for the West End.
London IS still the first to get "hot" new properties like Hamilton, Come From Away and soon Dear Evan Hansen.
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Post by viserys on Jan 17, 2019 13:56:43 GMT
Yea, it was definitely not a person attack, nor was it meant in some religious sense. But I'd rather see a ticket go to some massive Blanchett fan from, say, Newcastle, who spends a night in a hotel, so she/he can start queuing at 5am, enjoy her idol on stage, then take the night coach back or something than someone who just by luck lives in London and snatches up a ticket simply because it's the hottest ticket in town and they want to feel smug.
Thanks to living on the continent, I have also missed out on MANY things I would have loved to see and will continue to miss lots of things. Yet last year I wanted something really really badly, so I did throw a lot of money into the wind for it and I have no regrets.
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