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Post by ptwest on May 28, 2016 5:22:02 GMT
Spoiler alert! I've always wondered what Christine sees in Raoul - he managed to lose her in a locked room, formulates a plan that puts her in mortal danger and when he does come to rescue her he gets instantly caught in a trap! He's rich and handsome. Fair point, but once she sees past that and realises that he is completely useless there'll be trouble!!!
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Post by ptwest on May 27, 2016 22:41:56 GMT
Spoiler alert!
As well as that lack of plot logic, I've always wondered what Christine sees in Raoul - he managed to lose her in a locked room, formulates a plan that puts her in mortal danger and when he does come to rescue her he gets instantly caught in a trap! Not such a dashing hero after all....
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Post by ptwest on May 27, 2016 22:27:05 GMT
Just back from this, what a lovely show, beautifully performed. The music is perhaps not the most memorable but the stroytelling is wonderful. Shame the crucible was at best two thirds full as this show deserves a wider audience.
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Post by ptwest on May 24, 2016 8:34:35 GMT
I get the feeling that this is one of those occasions where the casting is going to be slated whoever gets it given then long debates about how performer X riffs on one particular note or pronounces one particular word... And then we will all go and watch the film anyway!
With the wonders of post production and / or miming to a different singer, anyone can be made to sound good. Unless of course you are Pierce Brosnan.
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Post by ptwest on May 22, 2016 18:07:43 GMT
I'm going on Friday night, it will be interesting to see this as I know none of the music and don't know the story at all other than the synopsis on the booking page. Have been tempted by the cast, but really pleased to read the positive comments on this thread.
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Post by ptwest on May 18, 2016 21:08:08 GMT
Loved her in Joseph - sadly have only seen her a couple of times since (Mary Poppins and Mamma Mia) but she was wonderful in both.
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Cats
May 16, 2016 14:06:47 GMT
Post by ptwest on May 16, 2016 14:06:47 GMT
Superb!
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Cats
May 15, 2016 16:33:08 GMT
Post by ptwest on May 15, 2016 16:33:08 GMT
I personally would like to see the production mentioned in "The Play That Goes Wrong" - Cat.
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Post by ptwest on May 15, 2016 16:27:28 GMT
Seeing the King and I with my mother sticks in my memory - we were in the second row of the Manchester Opera house, I have run the gauntlet a few times of her saying what she thinks at full volume, usually trying to clarify plot points. But this time, as Tuptim came downstage towards us I heard my mothers voice call out "ooh, what a pretty girl!". This in itself wasn't so bad, but then when another member of the chorus came and stood right in front of us a couple of minutes later, in a moment of quiet she called out "Oh dear, she's not as pretty is she? How unfortunate." There were a couple of glances from the stage, the show continued, I wanted the ground to swallow me up!
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Post by ptwest on May 8, 2016 9:12:50 GMT
Absolutely loved it last night - Glenn Close put in an extraordinary acting performance and thought her voice was in fine shape, "with One Look" in particular. Yes, I've heard Norma sung better, but I thought she was mesmerising.
Can't understand all the negativity towards Muchael Xavier - for a character that's both trapped and who can't believe his luck, thought he was superb.
And what an atmosphere - didn't think the curtain calls would stop!
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Post by ptwest on May 7, 2016 16:52:22 GMT
I finally get to go tonight, after all the comments and reviews on here I can't wait to actually see this for myself. Hope they all go out on a high!
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Post by ptwest on Apr 30, 2016 7:22:28 GMT
I think it's really unfair of them to use a photo of her crying, quite clearly during the bows - which none of the cast got to do on Thursday night - to make it look like she's a mess. Given that this is a "news"paper which thinks that this is the most important thing going on in the world right now, I shouldn't think fairness comes into it.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 29, 2016 20:27:10 GMT
I think my favourite productio was the first UK tour, with Rebecca Storm and Maurice Clarke (i think thats his name...what ever happened to him?) For some reason, it's the Danish Tour Recording that I listen to most. Just Googled Maurice Clarke and before I had chance to type "Chess" the words "vocal coach" popped up! That's him! This was my favourite version as well out of the ones I've seen- the clearest storytelling and the inclusion of "someone else's story". Loved Maurice Clarke too, last thing I saw him in was Martin Guerre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1998!
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Post by ptwest on Apr 29, 2016 20:06:44 GMT
I can't stand her lazy pronunciation. She always sounds like she can't be bothered to sing it properley. Thought her diction was really poor the night I saw her in Sunset, in fact it was echoed by many comments I overheard that night. Her autobiography is a fun read though!
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Post by ptwest on Apr 25, 2016 4:52:51 GMT
For my sake I'm still hoping Ms. Ria goes on anytime between the 5th-7th. Please please theatre gods do this one for me! Would really prefer not the 7th please!!!!
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Post by ptwest on Apr 23, 2016 20:05:03 GMT
Sorry Matthew, I've seen numerous understudies over the year and understood the whole "you bought tickets to a show" concept, but I honestly think this might be one time that can be legally challenged. The producers plainly weren't simply selling tickets to a production of Sunset Boulevard, they were selling tickets tickets to see Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard. As I posted earlier there is a legal concept that it doesn't matter what you state in a contract, if it's plainly something else, that's what matters (a five-pronged implement will always before a fork, even if you call it a spade). I would have thought that any legal challenge possibility is lost if you use the ticket to see the show. The producers could argue that despite being informed of the cast change, you still got a full performance of the show and by implication have given your consent to the changes. The lack of refund is well covered in the small print of the ticket. im not saying this is right, in fact given the way this has been marketed I think there should be a refund policy, but only if you choose not to see the performance. If GC is off in two weeks I shall be mightily disappointed as she was my main reason for booking, but it wouldn't occur to me not to go and see Ria Jones and the rest of the cast and orchestra.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 19, 2016 17:51:05 GMT
A beautiful recording - she was the standout for me at Sheffield.
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Post by ptwest on Apr 2, 2016 13:11:49 GMT
Booked for the very last show when tickets went on sale, now feeling very impatient!
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Post by ptwest on Mar 25, 2016 21:57:36 GMT
The American Dream - Miss Saigon. From a show which has some of my all time favourite songs, this is tedious, repetitive and unworthy of the score. Couldn't wait for it to be over last time I saw this!
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Post by ptwest on Mar 11, 2016 12:23:09 GMT
Another vote for Cats - went to see it in the late 80s with very high expectations and was bored silly. It really didn't help that the actress at the time playing Grizabella seemed to be playing it like Tina Turner at her most overwrought. However, I thought I must have missed something as everyone else raved about it so I went back a few years later and it was no better.
I have to add to the voices about Miss Saigon - there are some glorious tunes in the score, and act one is fabulous. I have a real problem with act 2 - I think for me it is the fact that the focus is taken away from Kim - and the whole hotel room scene with Chris, Ellen and John is just bad. I have such great memories of seeing Lea Salonga and later Joanna Ampil as Kim that I couldn't wait to see the most recent revival. I ended up quite wishing I had left at the interval. Maybe I have become more discerning as I have got older, or the faults weren't as apparent in the original show.
There are other shows that I have seen that are much worse in my opinion than the two mentioned, but these are the ones that were the most hyped. A lot of them are about time and place I think, for example, Phantom absolutely blew me away when I saw it in the 80s, but then the technology was cutting edge and I had never seen anything like it. Having gone back more recently with all the theatre going experience I have had in between, the flaws are much more apparent.
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Post by ptwest on Mar 8, 2016 20:01:03 GMT
I've never actually cried at a musical but the one that got me the most was the ending to "Once" - so real but so heartbreaking. However, the one that took me totally by surprise, although not a musical, was "The Curious Incident..." - far too many of my own personal triggers for comfort. Loved it but a very tough watch!
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Post by ptwest on Mar 7, 2016 21:36:48 GMT
Another vote for Alexandra Jay in My Fair Lady - just wonderful. Margaret Preece in Sound Of Music - cant compare her to Lesley Garett but she was faultless so very happy to have seen her. Loved Fiona Rees as the Narrator in Joseph at the Adelphi, so much preferred her to Jenna Lee James.
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Post by ptwest on Feb 26, 2016 6:28:23 GMT
It would have been the Wombles at Swindon's Wyvern Theatre sometime in the mid seventies. I remember being scared of the curtain because I thought it would make me jump when it opened! I think I got over that pretty quickly!
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Post by ptwest on Feb 7, 2016 18:43:08 GMT
I took a group of 70 children last week, they absolutely loved it. Booked to see it again in a couple of weeks without them! Fabulous production.
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