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Post by alison on Aug 5, 2016 7:58:46 GMT
Was it really the plays logo on Delphis back. Did anyone sitting closer get a good look at it It was the wings from the logo, yes. They represent exactly what Delphi describes in that scene - an augurey (a magical bird that cries when rain is coming, but used to be believed to foretell death). They're described in the Fantastic Beasts book that was released years ago for charity, but Delphi's description gives everything you need to know. I think the gasps were partly caused by the reveal of her tattoo, and partly by her demeanor change as she takes the time turner.
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Post by alison on Aug 4, 2016 14:58:44 GMT
I saw it end of June and again beginning of July, still haven't got round to finishing the script yet but have they really cut Myrtle and Bane from the play? I didn't mind either of those parts, I think whoever played Myrtle as well was really good! I hated the duelling in the kitchen scene so I'm glad that's gone. Is the hogwarts express scene still in with the 'anything from the trolley' lady? I got down to like 2000 in the ATG queue before it sold out, now i'm 65000 in the Nimax queue, can't see me getting more tickets tbh hah I saw it last Thursday/Friday and both Bane and Myrtle were there, as was the kitchen duel. Tbh, the script reads *very* similarly to what I saw last week, just a few word changes here and there.
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Post by alison on Jul 29, 2016 11:19:40 GMT
Early/First previews people if I say fish fingers does that mean anything? I saw the show again yesterday and I'm not sure if the owl distracted me so much that I missed it but some of the conversation as they were taking/just after they'd taken the polyjuice portion seemed different, more dialogue maybe. Then right at the end of the Albus as Ron bit with Hermione and Harry she mentioned fish finger sandwiches. This seems so random that I'd have remembered it, am I going mad? Or has this changed? I'm guessing I may possibly be able to just check on Sunday though when I buy the script though, since if it's the rehearsal script it'll match the first preview right? The fish fingers line was there last night. That whole scene is very clever, particularly in moving the actors around to play different characters so smoothly. Even going in knowing what happens from having seen part two already, part one was thrilling. The flying dementor was almost close enough for me to touch its floating hem. Scorpius and Albus felt a bit more awkward than I remembered - I wonder whether it's that the actors are playing it up throughout the show more now, or just that they're naturally more awkward at the start of the story and I jumped in halfway through the journey last time. Guess I'll find out tonight.
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Post by alison on Jul 4, 2016 18:35:14 GMT
Woohoo! I've finally managed to pick up a ticket to see part one for the first time and part two again, on July 28-29. It offered me the very end of stalls row D (behind a pillar) first time, so I opened up another browser and tried again and this time got centre row J. And I've managed to pick up return trains for both days in the Virgin sale for £8 return each day. Result!
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Post by alison on Jul 2, 2016 23:46:42 GMT
Argh, I'm really irritated that code appeared now - I paid for it yesterday. Oh well, them's the breaks (and hopefully the more money they make from this one, the more likely it is we might get others in future).
I'm delighted that this stream happened - when this production was announced I was gutted there was no way I'd be able to see it. I love the show, was a big fan of Chuck (and saw Zachary Levi in First Date when I visited NY a couple of years ago), and a fan of Jane Krakowski from Ally McBeal back in the day. No, it's not the same as getting to be there in the theatre, but it's a million times better than not being able to see it at all. I may have watched the whole show twice in the last 24 hours. Thank you, BroadwayHD.
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Post by alison on Jun 26, 2016 11:12:55 GMT
I've only tried once midweek, and that was during June half term. I didn't win, but I was offered seats for £28 anyway, which turned out to be row O of the stalls and were great. I think it's half of the front row on offer for the lottery (stage left, I think - at least that's where I sat the one time I did win).
While I'm here, I was at the show yesterday to see Callum as Lola. He was wonderful, but my goodness he plays young. It made him seem even more out of place in the suit (which worked for me, I actually found his Not My Father's Son more affecting than Matt's). Now I can't help dream casting him in my head as Laurens/Philip when Hamilton comes over.
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Post by alison on Jun 18, 2016 20:11:01 GMT
Thanks. I wondered at the time, I just forgot to ask. It's cleverly done.
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Post by alison on Jun 18, 2016 20:07:24 GMT
Oh, the mention of prop malfunctions reminds me. When I saw the show (June 1st matinee), Natasha's moustache kept falling off during Rat Tat Tat Tat with some very funny comments from her. I'm guessing that's not scripted to happen? The whole audience was in stitches, or at least everyone in the front stalls where I was.
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Post by alison on Jun 17, 2016 16:34:16 GMT
I got two rear stalls on consecutive nights through the returns email I'm so confused! I feel like the ticketing system is needlessly complicated. As is the security at the theatre. What I particularly enjoyed was the way they searched bags if you had one and scanned you if you didn't. But nobody got both their bag and self searched. On that note - a warning to anyone trying to take food into the theatre. If you get a mean person at security they will make you throw it away. I had both my bag and myself searched for the first preview. And an argument about food - I had a brownie from Lola's Cupcakes in my bag (I'm dairy intolerant so get one whenever I'm in the area) and the security guard was insistent that I couldn't keep it to eat on the way home. I had to throw half of it out, it was too big for me to scoff the whole thing before going in. However, the faff with that meant he didn't finish checking my bag and so didn't make me throw out my water bottle, which was a relief since it spared me the job of waiting in the crazy queue to buy an extortionately priced one inside.
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Post by alison on Jun 15, 2016 17:06:26 GMT
On the doubling up of actors that we've been discussing in the non-spoiler thread ...
I think I've managed to figure out who plays most of the non-listed minor roles in Part Two, with the exception of Voldemort and James Potter Sr. Anyone else got any ideas?
Umbridge: Helena Lymbery (Petunia) Snape: Paul Bentall (Vernon) Dumbledore: Barry McCarthy (Amos) Hagrid: Chris Jarman (Sorting Hat) Krum: Jack North (Dudley) Cedric: Tom Milligan (James) Lily: Annabel Baldwin (Myrtle) James Sr.: ? Voldemort: ?
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Post by alison on Jun 15, 2016 11:43:23 GMT
You know what would be great? A paper insert they hand out at the end of part 2 that has full cast info of who plays which characters, for anyone who wants to know. Or update the cast board in the foyer during act 2 of part 2 so people can look at the end.
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Post by alison on Jun 15, 2016 6:22:05 GMT
Smollensky's (steakhouse) on the Strand is good too.
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Post by alison on Jun 14, 2016 16:38:00 GMT
{Spoiler - click to view} Harry doesn't have the Elder wand. He places it in Dumbledore's tomb in the books, or snaps it in half in the films. He doesn't want that responsibility. But it doesn't matter if he does or doesn't have the wand on him. Using the books (because snapping the wand isn't canon, that's the film) the wand still exits with Harry as master. Harry disarmed Draco even though Draco didn't ever even touch the wand, and its allegiance still changed to Harry. So if Delphi disarms Harry, the wand will pass to her no matter what ... But then once Harry got his wand back from her (which I assume he does after she's captured, although I don't remember for certain) it would return to him, so it's a moot point.
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Post by alison on Jun 14, 2016 13:35:22 GMT
Agreed, I thought the actress was poor. I didn't figure out she was the baddie (but then, I didn't actually see part one, I was running off dippy's 3000 words), and judging by the gasp from the audience when she pocketed the time turner, a lot of other people didn't either. From that point on, though, she was very panto. Hopefully she'll settle in and improve with time, it was only the first preview after all.
I'm looking forward to hearing from people tonight how the second performances were.
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Post by alison on Jun 11, 2016 21:49:34 GMT
Her name doesn't change other than she becomes 'The Augory'. She kills a head boy/prefect at Hogwarts because 'he was there'. It's sad but needs work because I don't think the actress pulled off the change from a good person to an evil person. She can fly because she's studied Voldemort. There's a lot of debate on another forum, so I decided to come back here and ask (again - sorry) because you people are all nicer and give answers easily instead of just mouthing off about what you don't like when you say she can fly, does this mean like Voldemort, or does she literally grow wings and feathers and become an Augurey bird (because some people are ranting about this happening though I haven't actually seen it confirmed anywhere ...?) She doesn't grow wings and feathers. Her costume is a sort of dark feathered cloak, but she's wearing it when she first appears in the owlery in the first act of part 2, before we have any idea she's not exactly who she says she is, so I don't think it's supposed to represent her literally having wings.
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Post by alison on Jun 11, 2016 11:56:12 GMT
The story comes across much better on stage. I've seen the hysterical posts and, yes, they do make it sound like bad fanfic. I can think of two possible reasons for that:
- Most of them were written by people who haven't seen the show and have got their information second or third hand from social media. They're not getting any of the dialogue, character, or any of the many other things that make up the story as a whole, just the bare bones of the plot written up rapidly by someone who has only just seen the show and is still giving their immediate impression. Which leads on to ...
- The eighth story wasn't originally planned, the book plot was tied up well, and the only way to tell a new story was going to be to unpick a bit of that somehow. On top of that there was SO much hype that the play was never going to live up to most people's high expectations immediately. I was unsure on Thursday night, but having had time to think there's one point I have an issue with but otherwise I'm happy with it. The Tumblr and Twitter posts, however, were written straight after the show, in the knee-jerk "freak out" period.
There's also possibly an element of people who know they're not going to be able to see it being relieved to be able to jump on the "Well, it's laughably bad so I don't want to see it anyway" train, even subconsciously. It'll be interesting to see how it changes as more info gets out from more performances and once the script is released.
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Post by alison on Jun 10, 2016 15:44:21 GMT
I assume Harry and Albus get a happy ending, I wonder who the mother of Voldemort's daughter is? They do, and it's Bellatrix. The actress plays her with some of Bellatrix's quirks, some folk around me guessed who her mother was before the reveal. Watching the leads watch Voldemort kill Harry (we heard the dialogue but didn't see it ourselves) was beautiful and sad. There was a similarly sad moment earlier in the play too, where Albus and Scorpius met Cedric in the maze and wished him luck. Two lovely quotes that stuck with me (I hope I'm remembering them right): Albus (to Snape in the alt timeline): Thank you for being my light in the darkness. Scorpius (about Bathilda, who has just walked past): my geekiness is a-quivering.
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Post by alison on Jun 9, 2016 22:12:28 GMT
As a piece of theatre, amazing. As a new HP story ... I'll get back to you on that when I've had time to process. My brain is still a bit melted right now. I love Noma as Hermione, she's perfect imo. The casting in general is very good. Edit: It was lovely to get to meet dippy, and we had a little adventure in the interval meeting Jack Thorne. Also JKR was in one of the boxes (and I didn't even notice until dippy told me).
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Post by alison on Jun 9, 2016 20:01:56 GMT
My mind is melting. The dementors are stunning, as is the patronus we got to see. Noma is easily my favourite of the principals, she just is Hermione.
There's another prophecy. I'm not sure I like the wording of it. We'll see where we go from here.
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Post by alison on Jun 8, 2016 18:11:11 GMT
So, thanks to theatremad I'm off to part two tomorrow. SO excited - this was going to be the first new Potter I hadn't had in my grubby little hands as soon as it was available.
Hopefully I won't be looking too lost - the Palace and I are old friends. Now to go haunt the spoiler thread to find out what I missed.
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Post by alison on Jun 7, 2016 16:36:13 GMT
A word of warning - I managed to get a seat in my basket for July 21/22 and figured with no timer I had time to work out whether I can really justify booking it or not. 15 minutes later when I tried to book it refreshed the page to say my basket was empty. I guess even though there's no timer it's still timing out after a certain period.
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Post by alison on Jun 3, 2016 9:12:24 GMT
Good grief, when I read this on Twitter I thought it was a joke. Seriously?
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Post by alison on May 30, 2016 17:45:55 GMT
I saw The Sound of Music in Birmingham on Friday night (front stalls) and was surrounded by talkers, sweet rustlers, a woman who checked her phone three times, a phone that went off during a quiet moment. I was about to add "all the usual suspects" to the end of that sentence and realised just how sad that is. And a large proportion of the audience insisted on singing along to the entr'acte. Is this a thing now?
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Post by alison on May 25, 2016 17:50:32 GMT
I just managed to pick up E33 for the first Thursday on Amazon Tickets, thanks for the tip Anita! Fortunately, it falls during half term so I can go. I was going to hold off until nearer the time, but I couldn't resist at that price.
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Post by alison on May 1, 2016 13:00:57 GMT
Only the Brave (I don't know where all the training etc is set, but Den and Maggie sing about going to the Savoy in the opening) A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder The Scarlet Pimpernel
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Post by alison on Apr 30, 2016 23:10:21 GMT
We Will Rock You (well, partially set under London at least)
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Post by alison on Apr 30, 2016 22:09:05 GMT
Billy Elliot. Jekyll and Hyde.
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Post by alison on Apr 30, 2016 22:05:51 GMT
I'll bite. My Fair Lady.
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Post by alison on Apr 27, 2016 17:34:39 GMT
I've been naughty - I just called up to check if there were any circle slips available for this weekend. I've got row A for Friday night. Either Glenn will be on and I'll get to see her after seeing Ria last week, or she won't be and I'll get to see Ria again. Either way I'm happy, and I get to hear the glorious orchestra again and see the show from a bit closer than last time.
Thanks to the people who recommended the slips. I found a photo on seatplan from the exact seat I've got - I'll miss the action that's further back on my side of the stage, but as a second visit I'm not particularly fussed about that, and certainly not when it only cost £55.
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Post by alison on Apr 23, 2016 9:27:00 GMT
I was there last night. I'll admit, on Thursday when Ria went on, I looked up the concert AIWNSG clip on YouTube and thought it was technically great but emotionally sterile. That wasn't the performance we had last night. There was nothing sterile about Ria as Norma (and of course, she sang it wonderfully).
Was I disappointed not to see Glenn? Of course. But I got to see a show I've never seen live on stage before with an all-round excellent cast, a glorious orchestra, and a wonderful atmosphere in the house come curtain call. I think Ria had won a lot of people round by the end of With One Look, judging by the applause - even the grumbler beside me was clapping enthusiastically.
I'm debating over trying to get a "cheap" upper circle ticket for later in the run to see Glenn if possible, but that would be naughty. And tbh, although obviously she has the "Glenn Close factor" I can't imagine enjoying the show any more than I did last night.
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