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Post by JJShaw on Aug 5, 2018 9:48:48 GMT
Here is a video of a local US production being done this month on an actual lake, so when the cast falls overboard ... . The last two minutes are a bit of the show in action. The first 14 are about how they designed things. that looks like an incredible production!!
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Post by JJShaw on Jul 11, 2018 16:07:46 GMT
if anyone wants to see this at TOP before its transfer there are some seats available for tomorrow and next week on their website, including a couple pairs of £29 seats!
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Post by JJShaw on Jul 6, 2018 15:34:10 GMT
Seen quite a few self-righteous twitter posts about how this show and TOP have been encouraging young people to go to the theatre more and about how many tickets are priced at £25 and under (when theyre just £25... not under) and it just bothers me because they havent done any of that!
The success of this show is that it was an already established show in the MT niche, and it was headed by a celebrity who has a predominantly young fanbase. This isn't a brand new musical even if its a UK premiere as its based on a cult film too! Yes it could have flopped and not done well, but on paper putting those things together is a rather solid recipe for at least a modest success.
Happy for its success, not happy about the delusion.
As far as the "ready for W/E" debate, I think it comes down to the show not feeling like a west end show, and it feels more like an off west end/off-broadway show, which I do agree with.
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Post by JJShaw on Jul 4, 2018 22:55:20 GMT
great to see its still got demand, but WOS and theatrecafe websites show plenty of availability, however that's what happens when you put tickets on sale at 10pm with no prior announcement! Couldnt they have waited and said they'd be on sale 10am tomorrow? Same thing happened when it was announced for TOP. Whoever is deciding to release news this late should reconsider their marketing plans as it just seems messy!!
Having said that I hope it is still successful for its transfer!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 28, 2018 22:50:49 GMT
excited to see Richard Fleeshman and Matthew Seadon-Young, loved them both in Urinetown!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 22, 2018 11:57:19 GMT
You do make a good point there, but this one says its based on a true story about a boy taking his school to court over him not being able to take his boyfriend to prom, sounds like an interesting story and not just a gay story where the plot is about coming out (ala Love Simon).
Its being presented in the main space, with a monday matinee too!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 21, 2018 22:48:08 GMT
my only knowledge of the show was the new broadway cast recording and watching the proshot old vic production from 2001 on youtube (correct me if i am wrong on date/theatre) so i was looking forward to seeing a production in person.
While I thought the performances were fine there just seemed like a lack of drive and energy from the production, like it had been put on sleeper mode, could have been to do with direction, or as previously stated just being on a stage that was too big for their set, or the distinct lack of brass that i was accustomed to from the versions prior. I wasnt a fan of how Too Darn Hot was staged and was a little disappointed with Tom, Dick, Harry (one of my faves, again there was just a lack of brass instruments to give it that old school JAZZ vibe!)
Sadly it then felt quite long (and at 2hr 50, it is!) it was lovely to have all the encores, transition music and such, i wish I had enjoyed it more. Surprisingly so, so so many people were leaving at the beginning of the bows, just seemed rather rude at the Droves of elderly people leaving (i was at the matinee!), and they say the young generation is rude!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 19, 2018 22:55:59 GMT
Very happy to hear the positive reviews but have booked a ticket for row A seat 30 and am slightly worried it may not be the best view. Is it possible to change where I am sat as the date hasn’t others avalibility or is this seat actually not too bad? I sat in A32 and it was still a good view, its quite a wide stage but they do a good job of keeping the action centred and varied on the sides, you should be fine. its great to be so close with them practically on ground floor level.
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 19, 2018 15:40:46 GMT
Also....its not like they took a brand new musical into a workshop and rewrote loads in a year. Its not amazing to take a pre-existing musical/book/score and get it staged in a year is it? this is why it doesn't feel right that they are championing it as a brand new musical which has found success (ala Jamie), this show already had a built-in fanbase in the MT community, plus a built-in rabid fan base with their lead actress, PLUS a sold-out workshop preview run last year (fair enough their studio space is incredibly small but still they sold out in record time) Having said that, its always wonderful to see shows succeed and this has such positive buzz around it (for the most part) and that's never a bad thing! Despite some of the negative press (i.e when they announced it, this recent preview/not preview debacle)
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 18, 2018 21:28:45 GMT
Ok..i am sold...is it a standard seating arrangement? Only ever been in the round at the young vic.. yes standard seating, very low stage! I would say the lower numbers would be a tad better than the higher ones but every seat is a good one
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 18, 2018 21:16:12 GMT
Saw the first preview tonight, managed to bag a front row seat on the end for £10 so I thought why not!
It is staged wonderfully, very nice set and creativity. The kids were really good and got a big applause after the title song (as did the other "moment" songs). The show is in great shape and didn't seem like a preview at all, I think the cast's performances will only deepen as they settle into them.
I will put the rest in a spoiler in case people want to form their opinions on their own:
{Spoiler - click to view} I didn't really like the actor playing Bruce, his accent was very mush-mouthed and was rather quiet (and i was front row!!) but he did capture the aloofness, rigid and secretive nature.
I forgot that Jenna Russell's part didnt have as much stage time as I remembered but when she is on she is great. Adult Alison (im so sorry her name escapes me!) did a great job of keeping the show together.
Medium Alison seemed a little... amateur I hate to say. Her mush mouth is clearly hereditary from her Father but she did do a good job of being a college kid on the verge, I just wish her voice matched her acting skill.
Joan and Roy/others filled out the cast nicely and added some great moments to the show.
There was a great set reveal I didn't see coming!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 7, 2018 23:27:03 GMT
While its a shame theyre doing the super reduced version, it seems that SP always seem to do a kids show during christmas so this is sort of a happy medium?
Looking forward to seeing what they do with it!
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 5, 2018 22:41:17 GMT
I really enjoyed this, a score I hadn't heard anything from but was humming a couple of them once I left.
This absolutely is Caroline O'Connors show her voice is just something else, quintessentially Broadway and sounds like its had been through the sweeteners in the studio!
The show reminded me sort of Grey Gardens-esque, not the most compelling plot and I think it could be trimmed a little bit (it was longer than the stated 2 hr 10min, I think it could do well as a 1hr 45 no interval) a very enjoyable afternoon and nice to see something that is so rarely done unearthed!
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Post by JJShaw on May 26, 2018 10:17:35 GMT
I am very happy to see this is extending! Always great to see new musicals succeed with original scores and stories!
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Post by JJShaw on May 21, 2018 12:32:38 GMT
how exciting! With this and Hadestown at the NT its nice to see we are getting to see some of the more experimental theatre. (Cue cries of "but why arent we supporting new British work"? My answer is I dont know but is nice to see new work wherever its origin!)
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Post by JJShaw on May 18, 2018 22:36:13 GMT
Listening to the cast recording... Not the best score. I think it probably works on stage, but as a cast recording, the music is pretty samey and just not that tuneful. Tina's husband isn't one that chugs out great tunes. The beginning of "A Cautionary Tale"reminds me of the Prelude of Next to Normal followed by "Just a Perfect Day". I do enjoy "Apex Predator" and "I See Stars" (the latter for some reason reminds me of the way No Day But Today is done in the Rent film). I too listened to the CR today and was a little underwhelmed, unfortunately. I so wanted to like it as I think the movie is very well written and "gets" it. You can tell its the same composer for 30 Rock; lots of similar orchestrations. I really liked Karen's song, Sexy, and Meet the Plastics (for the most part), I felt like they had the right tone for the show and understood it the most. Perhaps its a score that needs to be seen rather than heard, but it felt a little too pop-punk for me and disconnected. I would happily go and see it to be proven wrong about it being lackluster!
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Post by JJShaw on May 11, 2018 12:46:59 GMT
For me one of them is 'All You Have To Do Is Wait" from City of Angels, completely breaks up the flow of an otherwise nearly perfect score. Plus it is very odd to have this song sung by characters we dont really know much about/need to care about. Plus it's irritatingly catchy!! In fact... I think it's a great song, but it doesn't belong in that musical. Ah thats a better description of it i think! Youre right, its not a bad song, but being in that particular show (which is one of my favourites so thats probably why i feel more negative towards it), its merits are weakened.
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Post by JJShaw on May 11, 2018 9:53:22 GMT
For me one of them is 'All You Have To Do Is Wait" from City of Angels, completely breaks up the flow of an otherwise nearly perfect score. Plus it is very odd to have this song sung by characters we dont really know much about/need to care about.
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Post by JJShaw on May 5, 2018 10:00:11 GMT
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Post by JJShaw on May 1, 2018 22:53:46 GMT
I saw the matinee today, and it was interesting to see something with such mixed responses, I was glad to say that id be more in the "i enjoyed it" camp.
The play reminded me of The Wild Party; lots of stories going on at the same time, unfortunately, I was a little annoyed by Hugh(? the main male character) constantly babbling and interrupting his own sentences it did get a little grating, wasn't sure if that was the writing or direction. I loved Christine and wanted to spend more time with her.
While not an awful lot happens, it could be a little shorter but i didn't think there was anything that was dead text. I thought the set for it was really nice, an awfully large cast for the show though! cant imagine the costs for that, and perhaps the boredom for some of the silent roles.
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 28, 2018 22:19:50 GMT
Oh yeah the story leaves much to be desired! The main thing that stood out for me was the performance of Two Out of Three Ain't Bad with no introduction to these characters or their relationship, am I supposed to care about this situation? Luckily it's a great song and enjoyable anyway which goes for the whole show. I plan on going back for the music and the spectacle. I feel exactly the same way about that! great song, performed well, but who are they (at that point)?!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 25, 2018 23:11:50 GMT
I went to the matinee today after hearing good word of mouth and was interested after hearing that it was originally written as a musical before becoming pop songs.
Unfortunately, it's not the show for me. The script is absolutely awful and I found myself rolling my eyes multiple times. All the jokes not getting Tink's very easy name right, really? Leave that for pantomime! The girl playing Raven; I wasn't sure if it was her acting or her character but she was very whiny and annoying. Why are she and Strat in love? when did they meet? Why do we follow the other Lost couple? Why does she work for Raven's family?
Undeniably the vocals for the principals and the cast were amazing and very impressive to be doing that once let alone 8 times a week. I did like the character of the Mother and I thought the actress playing her was great, she got me invested in her story and character arc and it was always better when she was on stage, for me.
This show has stupid amounts of money, i cannot imagine the budget for this show! A huge ensemble that doesn't double up as anything really, when the flaming heart came down for the finale (for no reason!) my mouth dropped open! Most shows would kill for their marketing budget alone.
Also, I was "forced" to stand for the end because i wanted to watch the finale and curtain call but who knows at jukebox musicals how long they can go on for so i sat for as long as i could before feeling awkward and joining in.
It was nice to see such a splashy, spectacle of a show but with the empty vessel of a story that I just didnt care for it didnt really satisfy me. I dont mind being in the minority and clearly the show has lots of fans who enjoy it!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 24, 2018 10:02:38 GMT
But it does mean some of the songs can be quite wearing, and the whole show is very 'full on' in general. I saw the show last night and this point is something I agreed with. While I enjoyed all the songs it did almost a little same-y in the score and a little difficult to distinguish them, but I did enjoy all the songs! I enjoyed the show but its quite a tightrope walk between being campy, over the top, and trying to not let that schtick be too grating. It didn't quite sit right with me and I think it might have been to do with the length. Before I checked i assumed it would be a one act musical around 90 mins - 1hr 45mins (Which upon research post show they did adapt it to that in 2015) and I think I would have preferred that. As the plot doesn't quite demand the length it is. All the performances were good everyone's vocals were wonderful! I think the Arts is a great venue for the show, a good size for it. The set was good and I enjoyed the lighting particularly the final moments.
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 21, 2018 10:32:48 GMT
Same! My interest has been peaked just by the poster, that's good advertising!
The synopsis of it being a comedy won me, and seeing it was KP absolutely sold me on it, cant wait to see it!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 20, 2018 13:34:02 GMT
I certainly am. I do this embarrassingly stupid thing every so often when I want to see a show a lot more than my friends. I’ll get the tickets and will lie about the cost, as I know they would never come otherwise. Then they pay me and I subsidise the difference. I’ve done that before. glad im not the only one! although also sad that we do this sometimes
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 20, 2018 9:22:32 GMT
As well as 1000 extra tickets released tomorrow, starting from June 1st more tickets will be released every Friday Crazy. They have probably only sold about half the tickets across the entire run and make this announcement all over social media like it’s a brilliant thing they are doing for people who missed out. Ridiculous marketing it does appear to have been quite a messy announcement/booking what with the social media controversies. Perhaps this was to combat the backlash of people not being able to get a ticket? (Although they sold lots of tickets i didnt think it was a sell out) But this does seem like a good point to make. If I had forked out more money than I wanted to to then only a week later hear theyre releasing more tickets at an affordable price, id be annoyed!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 14, 2018 9:06:33 GMT
Surely people are jumping to see this because it’s an already established musical based on a cult classic film? Not because it originated in America? That’s where I find the argument gets tricky.
I do applaud the work of PTM and TOP for presenting new matierial so much and have always enjoyed their offerings of new work.
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 14, 2018 8:53:01 GMT
As for PTM saying people are really complaining it’s not a british musical?! To quote Bianca Del Rio “Really, Queen?!” (Oops sorry she’s American he probably wouldn’t appreciate that ) Not just playing Devil's advocate but I did see a couple of Twitter threads where people were complaining that it wasn't a British musical, and from what I remember the tone of it was pretty aggressive! Oh really? That’s interesting thanks for letting me know that. Didn’t realise that was true. I prefer to support new musicals, I don’t care where they’ve come from (and since grinning man and romantics anonymous and their lack of nominations it seems like people really pick and choose when to support NBM)
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 14, 2018 8:37:09 GMT
It wasn't in the Olivier, it was in the Lyttelton. That makes much more sense, thank you for correcting me!
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Post by JJShaw on Apr 14, 2018 8:23:57 GMT
I’m in the side that fully agrees you don’t have to tag someone in a negative comment, it’s just rude and asking for trouble. You probably wouldn’t say it to them in person to their face so why actively make sure they get a notification to see what you’ve said isn’t something nice. However it’s almost laughable at the response this has gathered from people in the industry why are complaining about the negativity. People are allowed to be upset! Theatre fans are usually upset when a subpar television star is cast in shows and they can also be upset when a performer is not their favourite is cast (at least I’m gatheringg that’s a complaint somewhere based on their reactions?) As for asking people to not complain about prices? HA! That’s one of the most talked about topics in theatre constantly; outpricing people so only the wealthy can afford to go, and Darren Bell is out here saying “If you can’t afford it don’t go”?!?! What if people wanted to go?!?! The responses from professional people in the industry is just as childish as... well the childish small minority of people who have upset them. I’m sure lots of people were happy to see Heathers is going to be put on (like me) and no doubt lots of people are excited for the one person announced in the casting so far. As for PTM saying people are really complaining it’s not a british musical?! To quote Bianca Del Rio “Really, Queen?!” (Oops sorry she’s American he probably wouldn’t appreciate that )
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