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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 18:14:50 GMT
Oh fab, I haven't yet seen him in the role. And I love seeing different actors in roles Nobody has at a paid performance yet, it will be his debut! Even better!
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 18:13:05 GMT
I have very fond memories of the previous revival with Ruthie and Ute (well, you know someone has made it when they feature in a Fascinating Aida song): loved that production. Well until some of the “celeb” casting became the order of the day
But sadly this production left me quite cold, despite an almost fully strong cast: I am trying to wipe out Cuba Gooding Jr from my mind!
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 17:52:17 GMT
I sat next to Su Pollard at Avenue Q years ago...lovely woman and a real hoot. Delightfullly fun!
And, if it counts, I walked past Una Stubbs the other week on my way to Kinky Boots: I sneezed (not a reaction to her!), she said “bless you dear” - and that made my night!
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 17:47:49 GMT
Off to see Hamilton again with a friend who has only just “discovered” the original cast recording. There is always an extra thrill to experience a show with someone’s first visit. And hiding behing cushions watching myself cook on telly this Thurs eve.How exciting! I’ve already set this to record... Mary Berry AND Claudia, you lucky chap!!! I do hope you’ll be doing your coconut macaroons! 😂 Oh it was BEYOND a dream. Seriously beyond. Oh yes, every dish is an opportunity for coconut macaroons.....
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 17:45:23 GMT
Sifiso is on as Hamilton on Monday if anyone is interested Oh fab, I haven't yet seen him in the role. And I love seeing different actors in roles
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 28, 2018 17:34:27 GMT
Off to see Hamilton again with a friend who has only just “discovered” the original cast recording. There is always an extra thrill to experience a show with someone’s first visit. And hiding behing cushions watching myself cook on telly this Thurs eve.
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 8, 2018 23:41:27 GMT
I enjoyed it on tv, for the most part, but tv-wise it still comes across as a poor cousin to the Tony Awards. Partly the significant edits giving it all a fragmented feel, and sometimes the staging from the shows not coming across well when cameras go a touch mad. Not sure Catherine Tate was needed ( and I am a fan of hers) but it was nonetheless enjoyable.
I rarely worry to the point of obsession who the winners are (nobody was robbed, the world still turns....) but I was pleased for Giles Terera who shines in a very strong cast each time I have seen Hamilton.
Wonderful to see Linzi H again.
But the thrill of seeing Patti LuPone walk out on the stage. Last time I saw her was in a restaurant in New York at the next table: (I even had to point out to my hubby who she was....!). Call me an old theatre queen, but I practically gave her a standing ovation in my lounge when she came onstage!
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 29, 2018 21:00:37 GMT
The National Theatre’s A Little Night Music (beyond sublime); the Japanese cast recording of Aspects of Love; Ragtime
And Ragtime is one of a few shows I come back to again and again, without ever tiring of.
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 25, 2018 16:05:11 GMT
Not from from Guildford, so a quick drive into London for my weekly London theatre fix. Though the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford is terrific, and the New Victoria theatre in Woking are popular haunts of mine!
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 25, 2018 15:20:34 GMT
Oh my word, for me Hamilton just gets better and better. I am one for whom the original cast recording did very little nitially, but I ate my words upon first seeing it live. And for me, that final song/scene is especially stunning. Saw it for the 4th time recently and I still keep picking up on little things I hadnt noticed before.
Lovely to see youngsters genuinely enjoying live theatre, too. That seriously makes me happy. But I will try to block out of my memory that girl who tried to sing The Schuyler Sisters along with the cast with mum practically encouraging her. Ugh! Maybe me leaning over to her mum with a load of money as refund for daughter’s less-than-effective singing lessons was a touch naughty!
And as magnificent as the leads are, I have loved seeing others covering roles over my visits: of particular note, Miriam-Teak Lee as Angelica was exceptional...a tall powerhouse of total “wow” (love, love, love her!); Sifiso Mazibuko as Burr was superb, and I loved Marsha Songcome’s Eliza. Mind you, I have always loved seeing undertudies in my 40-odd years of theatre-going
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Post by BoOverall on Nov 16, 2017 22:25:16 GMT
I seriously felt like crying so many times during the live broadcast at the seriously poor sound of the spoken dialogue and the barely audible sound of this sublime cast during the songs at our cinema.
None of the songs carried even close to the impact they should have had throughout the song: most of the voices were just swallowed up by the music.
But for a symphonic production it was stunning: I mean, that amazing score loud and clear...wow, a real treat. I just wish we could hear the words in the songs clearly.
I think it was our cinema (Vue) so we were just unlucky.
But what a joy to see that phenomenal cast and this exceptional production.
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Post by BoOverall on Jul 13, 2017 17:41:01 GMT
Fab review, thank you! I thought the show was terribly boring, despite a few good tunes and decent staging here and there. Ovenden did play the piano. Best thing about the show was the curtain showing Ruthie's face filling the stage and occasionally winking. oh yes, the winking face on the curtain. How I recall my bemusement at that at the time! i actually enjoyed Marguerite and saw it several times: mainly for the score which I found glorious: ok, a few songs didn't really fit it felt, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. And the totally sublime Julian Ovenden: WHAT a performer. But yes, the show was somewhat clunky and needed a lot of tightening up. Funnily enough I dug this CD out yesterday, along with another gem (IMHO): "Spend, spend spend". And fell back in love with the score. Especially great to hear "The Face I See" again.
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 14, 2017 15:38:54 GMT
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" tomorrow for the first time. Cannot wait. So a good book and a cafe pre- and between shows I think!
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 14, 2017 14:50:51 GMT
Off to see both parts tomorrow for the first time, after snagging a ticket the other day. Cannot wait! I enjoyed reading the play so I am excited to see it all come alive on stage
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 14, 2017 14:44:31 GMT
Lol. The irony of one of the auditions is you are advised a most emphatica "no" to making cupcakes! Quite right, too...
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 14, 2017 14:40:25 GMT
Batch of blackcurrant and mint fondant fancies made and planning tomorrow's trip to see "Cursed Child"
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Post by BoOverall on Apr 7, 2017 18:49:29 GMT
An afternoon on the allotment, listening to several cast recordings on the ipod. Trying hard not to sing out loud!
Total bliss.....
...apart from getting stung a few times by nettles: the tiny, almost hidden ones are such bitches! So my arms and hands have that odd tingly sensation at the moment!
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 26, 2017 18:44:56 GMT
I did enjoy the ITV Marples, and their slightly over the top tone lent itself to Christie. I even enjoyed some of the story embellishments and significant changes to the original stories (with several episodes that were not originally Marple stories) I hated the changes ITV made. I stopped watching after an episode when they changed the identity of the murderer! Ah now I liked the ITV ones purely because they were different to the definitive Joan Hickson ones. The serious, faithful perfection of the 80s ones, yes always. But the often hammy "inspired by" ones on ITV are great "chocolate box" entertainment. But I didnt quite take to the Tommy and Tuppence story the other year. And don't get me started on Ustinov's Poirot.
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 26, 2017 18:33:08 GMT
Bo....are you really a 37 year old man called andy?? as you sound SCARILY like my fiancé!!!! x Lol. Well I will take 37 and a man.......
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 23, 2017 22:01:46 GMT
I rarely mind who is cast, famous or otherwise, if they can truly deliver.
But from time to time nowadays, I am dragged back to those dark, dark days in musical theatre when Caprice "did" Rent, with advertisements around London proudly boasting the fact. Oh that was a grim performance. Even Jeanette Crankie having a bash at Christine Daaé was a much more enticing prospect.
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 23, 2017 21:47:19 GMT
I loved Joan Hickson. Totally the definitive Marple for me, and so true to the original novels. Those series just oozed class. Oh and SUCH a wonderful theme tune.
Now Margaret Rutherford's Marple was a total hoot: beyond dotty, in totally butchered stories in terms of plot and length, but really quite charming to watch.
I did enjoy the ITV Marples, and their slightly over the top tone lent itself to Christie. I even enjoyed some of the story embellishments and significant changes to the original stories (with several episodes that were not originally Marple stories), but that hardly mattered to me as they were done well and with heart. But everytime I saw Julia's episodes, I kept waiting for her to burst into Sondheim. How I wish she did.
If they were ever to more TV Marples, I think slightly tongue in cheek is the way forward. As a real twisty quirk, David Suchet (by far the definitive Poirot) as Marple would be my dream. Mad idea, of course, but then after his wonderful Lady Bracknell turn.......
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 20, 2017 19:38:14 GMT
I sat next to Andrew Lloyd Webber late into the London Aspects of Love run, still one of my favourite ALW musicals. In the interval he talked about Sunset Boulevard that he was working on: talk about a teaser!
After the performance I told him how much more I preferred "There is more to love" as a duet between Rose and Giulietta, rather than just as a solo of Giulietta.
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 20, 2017 17:41:17 GMT
As we were leaving the cinema, a young girl told her mum it was sad Gaston didn't love LeFou back and asked her mum if she thought LeFou would find a boyfriend. A really heart-warming thing to hear, which kind of made my evening!
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 19, 2017 23:57:11 GMT
Intrigued to see how this series pans out. Particularly loving the idea of Sandi T. GBBO has always been of an annual pleasure, and I hope it remains so this year...despite me fluffing up a key audition for it!!
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Post by BoOverall on Mar 19, 2017 23:47:42 GMT
Oh Audra McDonald. Wow. So pleased she got to sing at least some of the title song: but the snippet she had oozed class. Boy did I have goosebumps at that point. I can only imagine her singing the whole song. Sigh!
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Post by BoOverall on Oct 17, 2016 5:34:44 GMT
Bless the dears next to me who were certain that it was broadcast direct from the theatre last night and how hard on the actors that they not only had to do a show on Sunday but they only got 5 minutes break before Act 2! And the woman afterwards who said to her friend "well it's basically the same as Les Mix but with sex!"
Yes the sound in the cinema we attended was not that strong or loud, and at times some of the dialogue was barely audible.
But I really enjoyed it; I loved a lot of the close-ups and the other moments when the cameras were not whizzing around at a ridiculously fast rate, so you could finally focus on what was being sung. It is a shame, though, that you rarely got to see more of the stage and even then for hardly more than a moment, but I get that...for the most part.
The sometimes insane camera work, cutting from here to there and back again, lost impact in places but worked well at other times: the approach in The Fall of Saigon was excellent.
And maybe I am a bit fussy, but I did miss the fact that we didn't get the curtain call!
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 12, 2016 18:25:01 GMT
One of my guilty pleasures is Priscilla....saw it many times during its London run. Loved the last UK tour, despite the naffness of the bus (a blingified coat hanger affair) but that hardly mattered as the costumes were fabulous and the show was a riot
Looking forward to seeing this tour
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 12, 2016 18:19:35 GMT
I did enjoy WoS.....always an must-pop-by! Fairly rare poster on there - but formerly a regular on Dress Circle (earlier incarnations) which got me into online theatre forums!
But I am liking this.......
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 12, 2016 18:15:26 GMT
This was a stunning production. I actually preferred it to the Broadway production I saw years ago. Last Sat night's performance was stunning: I can watch Jenna Russell over and over again in the role! " Another Winter..." always moves me to tears...not that I need much to set me off!
I do love the atmosphere you get at a final night...despite the tinge of sadness, but oh the klutzes wh kept kicking over their glasses of drink again,
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 12, 2016 18:10:35 GMT
I absolutely adore "If Mountains Were Easy To Climb". Quite quite splendid!
Am looking forward to seeing this in April, followed by Sunset in the evening.
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