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Post by viserys on Nov 8, 2023 11:24:23 GMT
How long will Ivano Turco be in the Jamie tour? I think he'd be a perfect Rusty
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Post by viserys on Nov 8, 2023 10:37:38 GMT
I am very lucky in that they hung on just in time for me to still catch it next week!
It's been an absolute bloodbath on Broadway this year, but then very few shows managed to capture the mainstream. Pseudo-feminist nonsense like Bad Cinderella and the Britney Spears thing died a rightful early death and Here Lies Love is just too special both in the way it's conceived and its topic to appeal to the general tourist demographic. Not sure why New York, New York didn't catch on, I personally enjoyed it.
There's a whole glut of new more "traditional" shows opening in the next months, I'm very curious to see which of these will make it. I'm mostly looking forward to "The Outsiders" and "Lempicka", but also "Water for Elephants" may have promise with its circus set-up.
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Post by viserys on Nov 7, 2023 8:07:55 GMT
Let's see if this works
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Post by viserys on Nov 7, 2023 8:05:58 GMT
I can't upload the screenshots either, but it says:
Performances will be on: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm Weekday Matinee Thursday at 2:30pm Sunday at 1:00pm and 5:30pm Saturday Performances between 20th July and 31st August will be at 1:00pm and 5:30pm
It says nothing about "regular" Saturday matinees, so I wonder if they axed that in favour of the Sunday matinee. I did see the other screenshot too that showed two Saturday performances in June, so here's hoping that they just forgot to mention it. I had very much relied on meeting a friend for a Saturday matinee in early July.
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Post by viserys on Nov 7, 2023 6:08:04 GMT
I've seen the screenshots that were shared... surely it can't be true that there won't be Saturday matinees?
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Post by viserys on Oct 27, 2023 15:13:27 GMT
I'm wondering how they, or if they, have updated the 'look' of each train or carriage in terms of the make up, wigs and costumes. Sadly in Bochum all the changes were for the worse, especially for Pearl and Electra who lost all their colour. I do hope we'll get something completely new in London.
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Post by viserys on Oct 27, 2023 10:13:18 GMT
I could get my skates on.
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Post by viserys on Oct 27, 2023 8:59:18 GMT
no, absolutely sick of them. Part of that is a 'me' problem because I can't travel to London at the drop of a hat, but I also find many of them pointless.
They CAN be good to either test the waters and gauge interest in new shows (such as Death Note, which became a surprise success) or to present shows that won't stand a chance to be done commercially (such as the upcoming Diana or older shows that won't be brought back as a regular production like Love Never Dies) but I feel they are scraping the bottom of the barrel now with random mediocre shows from the last decades like this or Bat Boy.
But there clearly seems to be a market for them, so... shrug.
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Post by viserys on Oct 27, 2023 4:38:05 GMT
Harmony was the first cast recording in ages that I fell in love with on first listen - so many songs are reminiscent of the 80s/90s style of musical theatre writing (the blockbuster area) which I much prefer to today's bland pop scores. Being German I am also familiar with the story of the Comedian Harmonists (we had a movie and our own musical about them).
I have already booked a ticket for my own upcoming New York trip and am very much looking forward to this!
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Post by viserys on Oct 24, 2023 15:39:38 GMT
Can anyone confirm that they are now also selling souvenir brochures or still only programmes?
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Post by viserys on Oct 19, 2023 16:06:03 GMT
Yea, they FRAME the face, they aren't IN the face. The picture proves my point
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Post by viserys on Oct 19, 2023 14:11:29 GMT
Earrings have a very long tradition as jewelry though and done well, they can beautifully frame the face without feeling intrusive - just like the necklace that sparkles in cleavage. They aren't directly in the face, so you don't really notice them as something "that doesn't belong there".
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Post by viserys on Oct 7, 2023 18:49:57 GMT
I booked for Harmony - the music sounds like such a lovely throw-back to the mega musicals of the 80s and the story of the Comedian Harmonists is such an interesting one, so as a German I'm keen to see how it's told in New York.
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Post by viserys on Oct 5, 2023 8:21:43 GMT
I assumed that maybe Eurydice would be Desmonda Cathabel since she’s only doing a short stint in Aladdin and then not joining the rest of the tour.. thought she must have another job booked plus I think she’d be great I would absolutely love for her to get this role, she deserves a "big break role" in the West End and it would also be great if Hadestown kept up its commitment to proper diversity on stage.
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Post by viserys on Oct 3, 2023 8:13:45 GMT
The orange/yellow with the palm trees perfectly conveys Southern California and its neverending sunshine and adobe architecture, imho. Also my favourite.
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Post by viserys on Oct 2, 2023 14:40:25 GMT
And what is that stupid implication to mean? How wonderful for you if you only ever care for a show's title/content and never for who's in it. Do you need to denigrate those who are keen to see their favourite performers and might take an interest in new shows they would not be interested in if it wasn't for them? Not that I need to explain myself to you, but I've booked plenty of shows and plays based on a subject that was of interest to me and without a care of who was in it. But similarly, I have booked for shows that didn't appear interesting to me because someone I liked was in them and discovered good shows (and some turkeys) this way. So get over yourself and let everyone make choices based on whatever matters to them, it's none of your business.
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Post by viserys on Oct 2, 2023 8:45:49 GMT
The analogy to flying is also not correct: Most airlines will open a new "booking window" at very reasonable prices, then based on demand prices will creep upward until they are extortionate at short notice, because they know that people who MUST catch a plane on the very next day are desperate to go where they need to be going and pay these sums. If planes don't fill up, there may be "flash sales" along the way to encourage booking. But generally speaking, plane tickets start very low when you book a good time in advance, then creep upward, just as train tickets where the "super saver tariffs" are offered early and snapped up.
I would like to see something like a "super saver tariff" for more new shows that are unlikely to become sell-out smash hits, the way "Newsies" did when they initially offered all previews at a super low price. This will have enticed many to book early and then ideally spread the word how good the show was (well, if they liked it).
Virtually all bigger shows have a "presale" now for fans, why not make this more attractive with "book in the presale at 20% off for 48 hours only" or something like that? That would reward the proper musical fans who often book in blind faith for new shows and also theatre lovers who travel far distances for their shows and need to plan in advance accordingly.
Right now all those "flash sales" only reward spontaneous people who live nearby and who are very flexible.
Ever since Covid, people are more and more reluctant to book further ahead (the train strikes and all that isn't helping), making it harder for producers to anticipate box office takings. This will mostly hurt shows that aren't that well-received. Take everyone's present favourite whipping boy (girl) Rebecca: After all the negative feedback Charing X can't hope to shift many tickets at short notice, even if they did offer discounts (which, strangely, they haven't yet). Had they lured people in early with a discount, those seats would be sold now.
At least back in the old days (tm) smaller concert venues especially would add a supplement on tickets "bought at the door" to encourage people to book earlier (and ensure a decent crowd that didn't depend on people spontaneously making up their mind to go on the day of).
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Post by viserys on Oct 2, 2023 6:37:05 GMT
I hope they will change the title, because I assumed this was a single concert (just for one day) of a Live Aid Musical and not a full run.
Can't say I'm excited about another jukebox thing, but at least this time it's my era/style of music. None of the cast members mean anything to me so aren't an enticement to book.
I'll wait and see how this develops, which songs/artists are actually warmed up for this and what people are saying about the show.
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Post by viserys on Sept 30, 2023 8:01:52 GMT
I saw a much smaller version at... I wanna say Southwark Playhouse? It was okay, but nothing to write home about and I definitely can't see this work in a large theatre.
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Post by viserys on Sept 29, 2023 18:22:41 GMT
A group of women left my screening too - just as the Caleb stuff was ramping up. That's around the time I lost interest in the play, too. Not because I was oh so shocked, but because it was simply ridiculous just how much misery was piled on Jude. I didn't leave because I hoped that it would be going somewhere with all its misery, so when it didn't, I really regretted wasting more time on it than had been necessary.
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Post by viserys on Sept 29, 2023 11:42:00 GMT
They did. I still regret I didn't seize the chance to bolt...
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Post by viserys on Sept 20, 2023 18:56:53 GMT
So what do we think the new plot will be if the “steam is old and old of date” narrative is gone? Presumably Rusty can’t be “rusty” anymore? What is Poppa/Momma/Themma’s role? He gets an overhaul and emerges for the final race as Sunny, the solar-powered train.
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Post by viserys on Sept 20, 2023 10:51:49 GMT
because technology and staging have moved on so much in 40 years. Well, in Bochum Mercury has certainly been in retrograde. The green laser beam from the 80s might not be as cool anymore as it was, but it was a million times better than Rusty looking like he swallowed a disco ball. That said, as long as there are skate tracks, I'm absolutely open to whatever they want to do. I think the "human factor" (performers doing amazing things on roller skates) is far more important than any overblown tech wizardry. Does the big bridge look cool? Yea. Is it necessary? Not really.
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Post by viserys on Sept 19, 2023 8:29:42 GMT
ALW mentions that some seats move, Could also simply be that they copy the front stalls seats from Bochum, which are basically turnable comfy office chairs.
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Post by viserys on Sept 19, 2023 8:28:51 GMT
Cast of 40 is insane. Will this actually sell well? Cast of 40 makes me think that my hunch is right that they will employ special skaters for the races to minimize risk of injury for the actual performers, who might not be on skates at all or at least won't need to perform any risky high-speed manoevres. Just before the races, they can skate or walk off the stage and get replaced by the skaters in exactly the same costumes, faces hidden under the helmets. It will make for a much more exciting spectacle (some of the things the stunt skaters do in Bochum are CRAZY) and may make it easier to find good performers. Back in the 80s being in an ALW show held so much prestige and Starlight Express was such a success that it meant steady employment for a long time, that young performers may have been more willing to take the risk of injury compared to today.
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Post by viserys on Sept 15, 2023 9:05:03 GMT
1 JCS 2 Evita 3 Cats 4 Starlight Express 5 Tell me on a Sunday 6 Phantom 7 Sunset Boulevard 8 Whistle Down the Wind 9 Joseph 10 School of Rock
I suppose Starlight Express didn't make the cut because most people in the UK would only know the 1984 OLC now, which sounds very... well, 80s and dated. I'd also place it at no.1 for me personally as a musical, because no musical did more for me than Starlight Express (in Germany) in the late 80s and early 90s, where it was my "safe place" and escape from a sh*tty world, closely followed by Cats, which did similar but was harder to reach in Hamburg.
But if I look at the objective quality, I'd have to place other musicals higher for coherence, good story, good lyrics, etc. I'd rate LND higher for the music, but can't get past the idiotic story.
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Post by viserys on Sept 8, 2023 8:39:08 GMT
It was referenced (with the 5,000 tickets info) when the show was first announced. They've just not put it on sale until now. Ah okay, then I apologize for my misplaced cynicism and say, well done.
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Post by viserys on Sept 8, 2023 7:31:35 GMT
Interesting comment someone made about them essentially just using this offer as a smokescreen to sell seats when it’s not booking brilliantly. That was me. Call me cynical but we're only two weeks from opening and it's not looking that full... That was my first thought, too, tbf If it had come from the generosity of Jamie Lloyd's and ALW's heart, it would have been announced much earlier.
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Post by viserys on Sept 8, 2023 7:25:35 GMT
Top price (and most of the decent seats) £210. It's worth noting that it's cheaper midweek than weekends and gets cheaper towards the end of the run (I guess dynamic pricing hasn't kicked in here yet). You can get those prime seats in the stalls for £166 then and fairly decent seats for £120. There are even still a few £90 seats in the front row of the Dress Circle available giving you a great overview of the stage. Naturally these went quickly on Wednesday already, but they are still there. And yes, that's still expensive, but for most people this is a one-off event like seeing a famous pop star live in concert (at similar prices) and you get a massive spectacle for it (I've seen the pro-shot from Tokyo, it's gorgeous) - I feel I'd get a lot more here for £150 or so than a premium priced Jamie Lloyd play at £95 where everyone loiters on plastic chairs in street clothes for the entire length of the play.
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Post by viserys on Sept 6, 2023 6:58:17 GMT
Will Lloyd just have Norma seated the entire show, like Chastain in “Doll’s House”? That looks to me like the scene where she makes Joe watch her old movies with her. There's a second chair (for Joe I guess) and someone (Max?) standing beside them with a movie projector.
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