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Post by ptwest on Apr 6, 2024 22:20:39 GMT
Great tonight at the Novello, free drinks, pin badges and programmes for alll, an audience filled with ex cast members and the creative team. The early start was due to a short “history of Mamma Mia” film, then the show and finished with speeches from Mass Murray, Judy Cramer, Catherine Johnson and finally a very touching speech from Bjorn Ulvaeus. Fantastic atmosphere in the theatre. A special night.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 6, 2024 22:17:50 GMT
Well, the gift turned out to be a pin badge and a free drink, we had Jenny Powell doing a DJ set in the lobby, but nothing different or special about the show in terms of marking todays date. . Good job it was as dazzling as ever, and a great atmosphere in the arena. I was at the afternoon performance then Mamma Mia this evening.
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Post by ptwest on Mar 13, 2024 16:24:22 GMT
Couldnt actually stand up in the gents at the Fortune. It was like being in a plane!
I have to say the worst offender for me is the Victoria Palace - after the renovation it looks absolutely stunning, but was a massively missed opportunity for comfort. Legroom in the stalls was impossibly tight. After experiencing the generosity of the space in the Prince Of Wales after refurbishment I had hoped for something similar. I appreciate its a balance between number of seats / comfort / revenue but this could have been the Rolls Royce of theatres in London but once you get past the decoration it is sadly lacking. I find this harder to forgive than the theatres which haven't (yet) had money spent on them.
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Post by ptwest on Mar 13, 2024 16:20:01 GMT
Love the Crucible at Sheffield. The steep rake means every seat gets a good view of the stage and legroom is much better than many older theatres. The thrust stage makes it feel very intimate.
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Post by ptwest on Mar 4, 2024 11:12:52 GMT
25th anniversary performance booked. This will probably be my last visit to this show but couldn’t resist. Voyage in the afternoon and then this in the evening so a proper Abba day to mark both anniversaries.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 27, 2024 18:19:48 GMT
I was there last night too and really enjoyed it, thankfully spared the chatterers but noticed a lot of toilet visits during the show as the shafts of light were distracting. The audience around us was generally well behaved apart from checking messages on phones, smart watches lighting up, crunching water bottles etc… but thankfully not to the detriment of the show so it can’t have been as often as it felt as I am usually hyper sensitive to this kind of thing. I feel for the ushers though, trying to deliver those bags right up to the end of the interval. No wonder there are distractions through the show if people aren’t getting them In time to enjoy them in the interval. They must be a nightmare for the staff.
The show itself? Really enjoyed it, my third time overall but first time in 4 years, cast overall very strong although I didn’t enjoy the actress playing Angelica I’m afraid, although others with me loved her so that must be personal taste as opposed to any fault in her performance. I’m really pleased I went to see it again but now won’t feel the need to go back:
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Post by ptwest on Jan 3, 2024 20:18:12 GMT
Just back from this, really enjoyed it overall, Hugh Grant steals every scene he’s in.
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Post by ptwest on Dec 14, 2023 7:05:24 GMT
I saw this back in September when it was still in previews so things may have slightly changed since I saw it but I honestly found this one of the hardest shows to rate ( other than Bat Out Of Hell which was a straight choice between deciding if it was genius or the most appalling thing I’d ever seen) . The cast: easily worth 5 stars, Nicole worth the price of admission on her own! . How it sounded, easily worth 5 stars, how it looked including the video and the showpiece moments , easily worth 5 stars. And yet, for me the elements of the cast, the set and the directorial choices didn’t fully gel, I found myself being taken out of the world of Sunset Boulevard rather than immersed in it. It all felt a bit jarring. So I came out feeling a little bewildered. I knew what I’d seen was brilliant so why didn’t I enjoy it more? Probably if I’m being honest with myself what would have made me happy would have been this cast using something similar to the original staging, although I got past that with the very stripped back Coliseum version. I guess what I’m saying is I can see why the majority of people on here are raving about it and im delighted that it’s become so successful as the cast and team deserve it to be, but for me it didn’t quite hit the mark.
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Post by ptwest on Dec 10, 2023 16:06:13 GMT
1. Operation mincemeat 2. Old Friends 3. Standing at the sky’s Edge (Sheffield) 4. Sunset Boulevard 5. Next to Normal
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Post by ptwest on Dec 6, 2023 11:15:49 GMT
Hopefully she’ll sing the songs in full that she brushed over last time but she’s always worth seeing. Booked for Manchester.
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Post by ptwest on Nov 21, 2023 6:19:07 GMT
Planning to book to see this gem again and hoping for any advice on the dress circle boxes/slip seats - I'm 6'7" and not sure on leg room (even with the moveable chairs)... As an alternative, try stalls N1. I sat there and could stretch out (6’5” +). You miss a tiny bit of the near side of the stage but it was used so infrequently it didn’t matter.
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Post by ptwest on Nov 19, 2023 18:28:06 GMT
It never actually started. We sat waiting and then the announcement was made. I honestly don’t get people sometimes; yes, I can understand disappointment but surely people realise that sometimes things cannot be helped.
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Post by ptwest on Nov 19, 2023 16:34:05 GMT
Cancelled this afternoon due to cast illness and one cast member being taken to hospital. Wishing them all a speedy recovery. Also I hope the foul woman who yelled abuse whilst the official was reading the (very well written) statement is proud of herself. As if they would cancel if it wasn’t a last resort.
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Post by ptwest on Oct 15, 2023 10:51:57 GMT
Had a great time last night. Madonna was in good form, a spectacular show and a great set list overall. I was surprised at some of the omissions given that it was billed as greatest hits, but in the most part she delivered.
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Post by ptwest on Sept 30, 2023 21:57:05 GMT
Also there tonight. Cast sensational. Staging has some incredible moments. But not entirely sure the two go together. I loved how it sounded, and Nicole is worth the price of admission. Can’t quite make up my mind about the whole though.
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Post by ptwest on Aug 15, 2023 20:43:51 GMT
Every time I go to the Crucible in Sheffield it makes me want them to revive Chess. That stage would make a perfect chess board!
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Post by ptwest on Aug 15, 2023 20:37:29 GMT
Tour rescheduled to start in London on 14th October (I’ll be in Vegas seeing U2 at that time or I might have looked at getting tickets) I'm there on the 14th but very envious of you seeing U2 at Vegas!
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Post by ptwest on Jul 13, 2023 13:35:00 GMT
We must have been close - I was also able to g through the red door! It would have been good to say hello! But given that I’m also called Paul and am also tall it could have been confusing!!
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Post by ptwest on Jul 13, 2023 10:38:10 GMT
I saw this last night and was left both entertained but also completely unmoved. Having a female engineer really works and Joanna Ampil gives it her all. I did find myself longing for an opportunity for her to really soar as that’s what I love about her singing but she nails the balance of sleaze and desperation that the character needs. The staging is completely different to any version of the show I have seen before and this had mixed results; the storytelling was clearer in act one without the distractions of big set pieces, but there were also some fairly bizarre directional choices across both acts; the progression from therapy session to conference worked well for Bui Doi, but the two deaths in particular were robbed of any emotion or impact by the static / ghostly nature of the way it was staged. If I didn’t know both characters had died I might have needed it explaining. The word “sanitized” has been used a lot to describe this production and I think this sums it up very well. The use of projections was excellent throughout and the relative lack of scenery was never an issue. The Crucible space is used well throughout. But, I come back to what I felt when I saw the London Revival; the first act moves at a pace and you get wrapped up in Kim’s journey, the second she is reduced to statically standing for most of her stage time and simpering and warbling over Chris whilst all the other characters tell the story around her. Her character seems underwritten until we get to the ending. It doesn’t help that in my opinion The American Dream is a dreadful song, albeit well staged and performed in this version. So much time in act two is given to the Engineer it almost feels like they forgot who we are watching. The finale is a lot less tragic because it feels like a rushed ending when our focus has been taken away from the lead character. Overall, the performances are good, credit needs to be given to Shanay Holmes as Ellen as it’s the first time I’ve actually not despised the character. Jessica Lee sings the role of Kim well but (as I’ve already said) she is hobbled by extremely static direction which makes her seem almost aloof at times – lots of standing still away from other characters with her arms firmly by her side. However, I had the same complaint about the London revival so maybe it is as written. There is good work too from Shane O’Riordan as John, Aynrand Ferrer as Gigi and the ensemble work hard throughout. So for me this was a moderate success. A successful revival in so many ways, really my reservations stem from the source material itself. A shame because when the score and book are good, it really is very good indeed. Its just that for me the weaknesses are too hard to ignore. If you love the show and are prepared to let go your memories of the original then its worth a look.
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Post by ptwest on Jul 8, 2023 11:42:08 GMT
Is anyone there for opening night tomorrow? I'm there Monday night Two days ahead of me. I’m there on Wednesday.
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Post by ptwest on Jun 30, 2023 14:38:56 GMT
We are in an era where both word of mouth on social media and brand recognition are extremely powerful. This makes it harder for producers to take risks with material - hence all the film adaptations and jukebox musicals. A lot of these are very entertaining but it’s not a fertile ground for anything a bit more risky. Occasionally something breaks through, for example on paper Hamilton sounds like a terrible idea, but I would imagine that familiarity is an extremely powerful marketing tool these days.
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Post by ptwest on Jun 30, 2023 10:04:33 GMT
Just received a email from Nimax. Now ending on 19th August.
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Post by ptwest on Jun 11, 2023 14:09:05 GMT
Any thoughts on stage height at the Savoy? I know some previous productions have had high stages but would you guys agree this one is unlikely to if it’s a basic set? I've not generally had a problem from the second or third row but then I am very tall so I guess that helps. I am expecting prices for this to be stupid so I will be looking there again if it is cheaper.
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Post by ptwest on May 23, 2023 9:24:08 GMT
Lion King in Bristol on Saturday night.
Apart from the rush to the bar / toilets from about 8 people just as Hakuna Matata started, disrupting several rows, special mention to the couple behind who firstly joined in very loudly with the opening notes (before being shushed by several people) , and then spending multiple times checking their phone through act one, which they then dropped under the seat in front ensuring that the person next to me got the 4D experience through the stampede scene. Thankfully they were much better behaved after that.
The children around us were immaculately behaved and engrossed by the whole thing!
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Post by ptwest on May 2, 2023 18:00:55 GMT
Daniel Day Lewis and Amanda Root in an RSC tour of Romeo and Juliet some time in the 80s. James Cordon in Martin Guerre. Luke Evans in Avenue Q. Clutching at straws here a bit, but Tamsin Outhwaite in Oliver at the Palladium.
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Post by ptwest on May 1, 2023 6:32:53 GMT
A casual peruse of the ATG site shows me that the single seats left for the Lion King in Bristol are down to £20; and they are everywhere! Good luck bargain hunters! Thanks for the heads up! Just picked up a couple for the first Saturday.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 18, 2023 18:23:56 GMT
I can agree with that, and personally would prefer not to have too many revisions, more like a few tweaks here and there, But I can’t see it happening, especially as ALW seems particularly sensitive to criticism. Whatever happens, this version if / when it happens will be touted by RUG as definitive and the best ever, and if it proves to be entertaining I shall most definitely be booking.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 18, 2023 14:45:25 GMT
Starlight Express must be the most meddled musical in history. I do wonder why they keep tinkering with it? One of the big problems would be that there is absolutely no way the original version would be acceptable in todays climate. Frankly, it’s surprising that some of those lyrics got passed in the 80s. The engines being male and the lead carriage roles being female would also be problematic. As one of my friends said upon hearing the cast recording, it gives a whole new meaning to pulling a carriage! A big scale revival would be fantastic; I haven’t kept up with all the revisions over the years but changes would need to be made for it to be acceptable today. I suspect that a lot of the revisions made have this in mind.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 16, 2023 12:41:50 GMT
I saw the advert for this and was interested but for me the issues were: 1. A great list of performers but not necessarily ones I would want to stand in a field to listen to. 2. Location - not the easiest to get to, limited public transport options and would probably mean an overnight stay somewhere close by, but that then would be a car ride. 3. Timing - hold an outdoor festival in late June / July / August and you have a fighting chance of the weather being warm and dry. Less so in April. 4. The names on the bill were ones known to us who have a knowledge of musical theatre. Not well enough names to appeal to the non core audience, and also, out of those of us who are in the target demographic, how many of us are fans enough of the individual performers to overlook all the other issues?
I really do applaud the promoters for trying this and there probably is a time and place for this kind of festival. I just don’t think this was it.
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Post by ptwest on Mar 27, 2023 18:37:43 GMT
Was lucky enough to see Beverley Knight at the Adelphi and her performance completely made the show. Can’t imagine how it would be with a less than stellar singer and have no intention of finding our!
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