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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 16, 2024 14:33:56 GMT
Looked for tonight, it's easily half empty. I’m probably missing something, but isn’t the first performance on Saturday?
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2024 20:57:49 GMT
Neil Diamond is a hometown boy, isn't he. I can see him being wheeled out for the promo ...what price a stage appearance? Sadly, I don’t believe he’s able to make public appearances any more.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2024 15:38:53 GMT
As someone who has never seen a student production before, what should my expectations be in terms of the quality of the overall pieces? Mountview, Arts Ed and GSA will all be high quality. CSSD, I don't know so well, but I've also booked for Merrily so I'm keen to find out. GSA I find a bit tricky to get to, but they're doing The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which I've never seen.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2024 13:10:02 GMT
Well, I got the Thursday and Friday matinees, so (work permitting) will hopefully get to see both casts. Very few seats left now and most shows sold out, so anyone who is at all tempted by Rent may want to get onto the Arts Ed website now.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2024 13:02:38 GMT
Rent (Arts Ed) is on sale now, but I'm stuck in the ticket queue. Hopefully it doesn't sell out before I get to the front of the line.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 15, 2024 12:21:37 GMT
There's no shortage of talented dancers in the UK, and nowhere near enough work for most of them. I really don't think that was ever an issue.
Personally, I would see them staging this in a traditional theatre, with a set that is ready to tour. There are some parts of the Wembley production that just wouldn't be easy to tour, but the essence of all this can be captured.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 13, 2024 18:37:37 GMT
I was there on the front row for the final matinee today. A few empty seats around me, but not sure if this was because people had asked to move or if they’d taken the seats off sale. I still think this is an excellent view.
The cast were having a lot of fun. I think there were a few muckup changes but I can’t remember this well enough to say for sure. Even some interaction with me. A polite audience too.
I hope the current cast all get to go to Broadway. It may be a difficult sell over there and I suspect jokes about Dudley will go over the heads of many, but football does have a worldwide following. Let’s not forget this replaced a big money Broadway jukebox musical transfer, has sold very well, and is in one of London’s largest theatres. I’m sure there will be another London run in the future.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 13, 2024 18:30:55 GMT
Sorry, I think it was a 9:50pm finish. From memory, the information outside said 45 minute first half, 40 minute second half, but I think this ran slightly longer. Or maybe it took more time to get seated than I wrote.
It could easily be presented without an interval.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 13, 2024 12:26:37 GMT
Let me add the first set of comments on the London production.
I got a Rush ticket yesterday (second preview), row K of the Stalls, a good clear view of both the stage and the people dancing in their seats, taking video, shouting random objections at the on-stage activity etc. This is more jukebox musical crowd that Heathers crowd.
This was sold out, and I arrived at 7:25pm to join a packed front of house area. They started letting people in around 7:40pm and the show started around 7:50pm. Finished around 9:10pm (with an interval).
There's a lot to this show thematically that matches Heathers. Partial nudity, themes of sexuality, a setting before most of the audience were born, tragedy, alumni in the cast etc. There's even a diary/journal (and you can scramble around to complete your collection of souvenir promotional pages at the end). If you ever thought that Heathers set took up too much of the stage, this is solved here, as everything is minimalistic, allowing the revolve to be used. The style does suit the production. You can see the band at the side of the upper level (smaller than Heathers, I think).
Where this doesn't match is Heathers is that show has its witty moments and aspects of black comedy. Here, the laughs come when the audience recognise a song that has been slotted into a rather odd position in the show.
I have no recollection of ever having seen the film, so I got rather confused by the cast and hadn't realised they were all playing teenagers until near the end. There was one point where I assumed there was a mature music teacher taking advantage of an underage girl, when the music teacher casually announced he was 19. I also struggled a bit about when this was meant to be set. This was an age where some people were apparently just getting used to AOL, but others were on email all the time, and mobile phones were much more portable than I remember. Dramatic licence, perhaps?
I was a teenager in the 1990s, but I can't say I took to a lot of the music. I did expect to recognise more than half of it. That's probably my failing though, as I say the same thing about other jukebox musicals.
The highlight is easily Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky. She has a powerful voice and it's a joy to listen to her sing. Josh Barnett lights up the stage and looks fabulous with his new blond hair as well.
Otherwise, I would be quite keen to see this again now I've figured out what's going on, but I didn't feel an emotional connection with any of the characters. Everything is serviceable, but the limitations are with the material. Hopefully the sound team will have had a bit more chance to practice the microphone cues as well.
I'd go with 3 stars. This has a chance of getting an audience and becoming another long-runner, but my bet would be slightly against that happening.
I did feel a bit sorry for the crew member who was poised at the front with a camera at the end ready to capture the instant standing ovation for the publicity videos. He had to stick with filming the stage instead.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 12, 2024 8:46:00 GMT
Good to see they’re finally advertising Marley Fenton as the Tin Man. I guess he isn’t fully ready yet as his previous show only closed last Saturday.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 11, 2024 14:08:05 GMT
What sort of offers do you get through DMT+? Would you say it's worth the membership fee? Earlier this year, I went to the DMT+ performance of Mamma Mia (Thursday matinee). Free sparkling wine before the show (they weren't stingy), plus a programme, and two interval drinks vouchers. A very interesting Q&A with the musical director and some of the technical team (held in the Dress Circle). We saw the start of the cast vocal warmup as well. Plus a second row Stalls seat for the show. I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it was around £50, less than a ticket alone in that location usually costs. They also found people a room to wait in between the end of the Q&A and the start of the show (if they didn't want to go out into the rain). So, I thought that was a good deal, the organisers made an effort (and thankfully I could get that afternoon off work). Now, I've just checked the DMT+ members area and I can't see any special events advertised at the moment, but they come and go. If you buy programmes and drinks at the venues, the vouchers that come with the membership cover most of the cost by themselves.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 10, 2024 17:27:28 GMT
I almost always use them on online on TKTS, or on the DM site (which sometimes throws up good deals with dynamic pricing, as well as the members only offers if you're part of DM+ - you may well be able to pay for DM+ membership with theatre tokens as well).
If you really want to sell them, CardYard pay 80% of face value, which is likely better than eBay (after eBay fees, and without the risks of selling tokens there).
You may well be able to sell them in Classifieds as well (this doesn't directly mention Theatre Tokens, but this seems reasonable enough to me).
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 9, 2024 21:54:52 GMT
I want to take my daughter to this with the cheap standing tickets but she isn't 12 until April, does anyone know if they are likely to quibble the age restriction or let it go as she's mature and only a few months off. They will probably trust you if say she's 12. How tall is she though? The raised areas where the action takes place go quite high, and I presume she'll need to stand at the front, rather than being blocked by standing behind other people.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 7, 2024 14:01:53 GMT
Glad that everyone enjoyed the final performance. I couldn't make that one, but I did make both Friday evening and the Saturday matinee, and both were phenomenal.
I was a bit skeptical at the start about how well this would find an audience, but this ended up being occasion theatre, and I know people were paying a lot of money for their tickets (the person next to me on Friday said as much, I answered diplomatically, of course). I was on Rush both performances, but it took me to the second release on Saturday to get a ticket. Dress Circle Row C both times, excellent view both times (in fact, I was in seats next to each other), the leg room is good there, the audiences better behaved than most theatres, plus always fun to see several actors in prime seats (although the only one I could immediately name was Giles Terera).
There were changes on the Saturday matinee, but I was hoping someone else would point them out as I just don't know the production quite well enough. Various different costumes. Endless enthusiasm. Now, I know that Bernadette Peters might not sound exactly the same as she did in her prime, but she was having a lot of fun. I felt she was singing Send In The Clowns looking right at me, and I really felt the emotion. I did expect some mid-show standing ovations, but no one wanted to start them. Thankfully, people stayed standing at the end, so we didn't have to sit down and stand up again four times like on Friday (which I don't mind in the Stalls, but I never feel as steady in the higher tiers).
This is a cast who all gel perfectly together. I'll also reiterate what I've said before, which is Marley Fenton is going to be a future star. Glad to see the hints that this may return, I can see it easily slotting into a free theatre for a future season.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 4, 2024 22:10:33 GMT
Why on earth is this closing on a Thursday night?! I think they decided it was the 1,000th show. It's a shame this is closing, although it did go through periods when it wasn't selling very well. I couldn't make either performance today, although I may well have been several times in the past week. I can now say that the actor I've seen the most times in the same role anywhere is Karl James Wilson (as Nick Massi). I did see two of Joey Cornish's final three Frankie shows - and he was tearful at the end both days, so I don't know how he will have been at the matinee today. He is delightful to watch and will go places. And the current (final) Four Seasons, led by Luke Suri, are as good a combination as there's been at the Piccadilly Theatre. I do have to mention how well Pearce Barron's smile in the background always lights up the stage when he swings on. And apologies to putting Declan off his closing speech recently when I tripped up a man who was desperately trying to leave the row I was in at the same time. Actually, there are lots of stories I could tell about this show, but that's no surprise as it looks like I did go to over 5% of the performances. This is probably at the bows about now, so hopefully anyone in attendance can report back. I'm sure Jersey Boys will be back out on tour soon!
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 2, 2024 22:48:15 GMT
Too late to the party, but I've just been through my records for the year - and apparently I saw 105 different shows in 2023 (best not to say how many total shows I saw - as there were repeats).
But if I rank these solely based on the number of times I've seen them (in 2023), my top five were: #1 Newsies #2 Jersey Boys #3 Heathers #4 Oklahoma! #5 42nd Street
(I did have to break up some ties)
That's a pretty good assessment of my likes, although I probably should have seen La Cage Aux Folles more than five times (hopefully it will return), and I also have to flag up the excellent and intimate Mountview production of Once which I would have seen more if it had run for longer.
My scores wouldn't change anything. Thanks n1david for all the calculations. I can see why the winners got the scores they did.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 2, 2024 22:25:00 GMT
1) Have they ever not gone outside? It occurred to me watching it that they specifically guard and have the option of walking out the stage door, going up the stairs that lead to the Savoy entrance road and doing a much truncated but very safe wander. Has it ever happened. 2) I can't remember ever seeing an answer to the question about what happens on Mondays with him crouching down in front of the Sunset Boulevard A-Board, is there a Rachel Tucker one? 3) During the overture when Tom walks out of his dressing room, the last time I went there was a swing who came out without his top on and then acted all surprised and covered his nipples, is this a different gag every time? I can't remember what happened the first time I went but don't think it was this 4) Has ALW ever posed for real instead of the cutout? 5) Am I right in saying there's more security now than there was at the start? Understandable if so. 1) Not that I'm aware of. 2) First time I saw this, he stopped in roughly the same place, but the camera showed a different angle and missed the picture of Nicole. Second time, if I remember correctly, Tom didn't stop there at all. 3) They definitely change the gags about, although some are repeated. I don't remember seeing nipple guy. 4) I just can't imagine ALW doing that! 5) Definitely seemed like more people about in general last time I went, but it was also packed on the streets before Christmas.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 2, 2024 21:39:20 GMT
I made the trip over to Oxford last Friday evening to see the new tour. A fantastic deal as well, as all single seats were reduced to £13 on the day (there were very few other empty seats) and I just managed to slot myself into the second row of the Stalls.
This used to be one of my favourite shows when it was in London, although I didn't take to the tour cast quite so well. The new tour is very much on form and I got chills during the performance. Plus, the pupils all seemed age appropriate (and I must flag up that Joshian Angelo Omana is a fabulous dancer).
There are a lot of alumni back in lead roles and they know exactly what they're doing. Rebecca McKinnis was born to play Margaret New. Darren Day was serviceable as Hugo too. Harriet Payne was back as Miss Hedge, and it's incredible really to think that she dates right back to being a pupil at the start of the show. She's really aged into the Miss Hedge role well. Different shoes (quite literally, based on the red "Jimmy Choos" she was wearing).
There are a lot of wording changes for the latest tour. The Covid references have all gone. There are updates like Jamie wanting to marry Harry Styles, rather than Prince Harry (although somehow in 2023/24, he still isn't allowed his own mobile phone). The football references have gone and Jamie's dad's motivation has changed a bit. Hugo's speech to Jamie near the end is completely rewritten. And there's more. A lot of the Margaret/Ray jokes seem sped up, but the show still ran until 22:25. The show didn't start late and the interval didn't seem long, so I'm not sure where the extra time went. Thankfully, I didn't have to run for the last train.
Finton Flynn was on as Jamie. I do want to see Ivano, but I'll get that opportunity in London, so very happy to have seen Finton. He was excellent, great voice, just the right level of campness, and the line about big feet applied more to him than most. I hope to see Finton again as well.
5 stars from me. Will see how John Partridge and Giovanna Fletcher do in London. I also see that Rebecca McKinnis and Shobna Gulati are leaving after the London dates, so will await the news about who is going to be replacing them.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 24, 2023 11:33:10 GMT
I ventured to the Crucible last night, getting the last remaining ticket about a week ago (although a few extra did appear and disappear during the week). I was right towards the back where I’ve never sat before, but the view was clear. Would be the equivalent of front row Dress at some theatres.
Audience, the usual mixed Sheffield bag. I was amused by the young guy (20s) who was sat between what I presume were his parents and asked “is this a musical?” at the start, then confessed to not recognising any of the songs at the interval. I’m not sure of the wisdom of adding a singalong component at the start, as a few people then assumed the whole performance was singalong.
This is a good production, with an excellent orchestra. The vocals were far too quiet, but now I’ve sat in a few different parts of the theatre, I’m convinced they just can’t get this to work anywhere. Main problems are the stage is too large/sparse for the show and number of performers. Everything just felt lacking in energy until Piano. Lots of individual performances I liked and the songs are timeless, but this can’t compare with the Curve production (and multiple tours).
This may actually work better touring on smaller stages.
Very happy we got Danny Collins as Phil Davis. He is such an excellent dancer with perfect comic timing. To see him tapping on a piano is quite a sight. Hopefully he gets many more lead roles as he never disappoints.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 12, 2023 9:45:22 GMT
I normally react to bangs and I didn't find these anywhere near as bad as previous years. The pyro is more visual than noisy.
The main bangs are during the song, I've forgotten what is was, but 12 Days of Christmas style. Those ones were annoying, although after the first one, you know when they're coming.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 11, 2023 12:28:44 GMT
For my £20 seat, you can see one third of the stage, but you see much more than one third of the show (especially as most of it plays out at the front of the stage). Personally, I like to be able to see faces. So I consider this good value for money (standing the back of the Stalls is a cheaper option as well).
Plus, one advantage of being at the end of the third row is being just outside the audience participation range. Hint, don't sit in the expensive seats on the front row and wear a hoodie.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 10, 2023 19:21:33 GMT
Second half was a bit shorter, so it was finished at 3:35pm (1pm start for the Sunday matinee). Rob Madge makes most of the fairy jokes himself. He also got most of the songs (including a great version of a Spamalot favourite). But it's non-stop innuendo in this one. Paul Zerdin almost had some new material as well, until he couldn't help going back to the old stuff at the end. Good to know, thank you. Are there big flying sequences for the journey to Neverland, or have the Darling house scenes at the beginning been axed? (feel free to put response in spoilers) {Spoiler - click to view} The story is all very abbreviated. Someone else may correct me, but I think everyone was already in Neverland at the start. There is a bit of flying. The bigger flight scene comes at the end of Act 1. There is a lot to cram in. I was a bit surprised the Timbuktu Tumblers were only on for about three minutes, and that included a joke with a member of the cast (ok, they were in the background earlier, but not in a way that would have been missed). They were good. From the seat I was in, I felt I missed a bit more of Act 2, but that's because there was a visual gag at the back of the stage that I couldn't really catch. There were also stagehands coming on twice to sort things, but it's one of those shows where this could well happen every single performance. Enjoyable anyway. I don't think I'd feel the need to see this particular show twice, but I can understand why people go back for multiple visits.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 10, 2023 19:12:04 GMT
In theory, you could see 104 shows (a maximum 2 per week, but only West End shows, and no repeat shows). Let's assume that's impossible for most people (work/holidays away from London etc), and I'm not even sure there will be 104 different shows running. There are also date restrictions.
I'm also not clear which level of tickets you're getting "Band A" is mentioned, but most shows now have options above that (I doubt this will include the levels that come with drinks packages).
I expect even the most organised theatregoer (who is willing to put with phoning to book a ticket each time - and people with £10K to spend on theatre tickets are not going to be doing this) is going to struggle to book more than 50 shows. Yes, some shows are expensive, but the average price for Band A is going to be below £100 a show. So, I'd say the most value you could get out of this of £5K.
If you have that level of disposable income, you've likely got a PA who can arrange all of that for you. And you're probably working hard enough that you don't have that many free evenings to put that into.
Maybe I'm completely wrong, and there are loads of people reading this who have £10K a year for their theatre tickets, and just want to pay this to someone to make their arrangements for them. If that's the case, let me know and I'll set up a new business. I might even be able to buy tickets from multiple agencies, and allow two people to sit together!
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 10, 2023 14:33:38 GMT
C3 absolutely fine for the price. You can see about a third of the stage, but this includes all the important bits at the front. Great view of everyone hovering in the wing and to see how the special effects are done too.
For the plot questions, this bears little resemblance to the traditional Peter Pan story, so the Act 1 close (the act is very long at 85 minutes) is quite different.
All good fun, packed with all the innuendo, in-jokes and fake ad-libs you’d expect. But I still don’t understand why people bring young children. The ones around me have no idea what’s going on!
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 6, 2023 21:34:19 GMT
You have to keep checking with the link. The tickets dynamically price, so the extra discount starts working when the ticket hits the right value. I’d not expect much to reduce before the day (although oddly, tickets dynamically going up in price can sometimes make the discount appear).
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 6, 2023 19:57:19 GMT
Restricted view front extreme sides of stalls have just been put up for sale - £20 each. Have grabbed one as sat in them for Jack and the Beanstalk last year and was very good value. Yes you're extremely close and do miss the rear of the stage, but compared to the prices elsewhere I recommend them. Thanks, just booked. There's only one seat available for single theatregoers (the rest are only available in 2s), so no prices for guessing where I'm sitting.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 6, 2023 19:50:48 GMT
Does anyone know how much tickets tend to be reduced by if you wait until day of to book? Hoping to catch Rachel next Monday but there’s very few tickets left so wondering if it’s worth taking the risk of cheaper tickets at all. I got a £30 ticket (with the discount code) on Monday morning, row F of the Dress Circle, perfect view. So, there is still a chance. (the downside of the seat was being bitterly cold during the interval when they opened the nearby door to street level) The biggest surprise to me is they are still making changes and restaging things. I doubt I'll get chance to go back and see this again before it closes, but this is really an excellent production.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 6, 2023 10:42:05 GMT
I've had the Bush Local presale link come through. £5 off all seats for the next two hours (£35 instead of £40), but the front rows aren't on sale. I'll hold off for now, but I missed this before, so I'll likely see it.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 6, 2023 10:09:19 GMT
Anyone booked in the presale yet? Rather expensive (to be expected) and the front and side seats aren't on sale yet, so I've held off for now. One of the easiest queues I've ever been in.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 3, 2023 0:03:08 GMT
I mean, I’m biased as Heathers’ fan, but Tobias is so natural. He deserves to win, but at the same time, Sky is such a limiting role.
It’s bizarre to see the judges looking for original acting performances, whilst knowing that the person eventually cast will have to follow the script as originally devised.
The sound sweetening on the show is horrible.
Still, there’s a lot of talent here. Very different to the weekly live and voting shows of yesteryear, but good Sunday entertainment.
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