260 posts
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Post by emsworthian on Aug 2, 2023 10:15:27 GMT
Two stars in the Times, which is about right Two in the Telegraph. Four in The Guardian.
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251 posts
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Post by teamyali on Aug 2, 2023 11:37:01 GMT
I don’t see photos of Dominic Cooke in the opening night, then he posted this on his Instagram that he was in hospital for 5 days because of a fracture. He also highlighted waiting for hours before being treated. Wishing him a speedy recovery! http://instagram.com/p/CvajESCIvcm
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4,513 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Aug 2, 2023 11:48:56 GMT
Two stars in the Times, which is about right I thought the cast were really talented, but the material really poor and so they just did the best with what they were given, which for me would even out at 2 stars
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Post by capybara on Aug 2, 2023 12:28:49 GMT
I’d be interested to know if the running time has changed now that previews have ended.
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4,513 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Aug 2, 2023 12:31:11 GMT
I’d be interested to know if the running time has changed now that previews have ended. I saw the penultimate preview on Saturday afternoon and it was still running at 2hrs 50
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748 posts
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Post by rumbledoll on Aug 2, 2023 16:15:18 GMT
Could anyone who've seen it please let me know if Sam Barnett is singing a lot in this? He is the only draw for me, but now reading the reviews I’m not sure if it’s even worth it..
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145 posts
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Post by meister on Aug 2, 2023 17:46:04 GMT
Could anyone who've seen it please let me know if Sam Barnett is singing a lot in this? He is the only draw for me, but now reading the reviews I’m not sure if it’s even worth it.. Lots of fake piano playing but hardly any singing IIRC
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3,481 posts
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Post by showgirl on Aug 2, 2023 19:17:57 GMT
"Re travel back towards London from Chichester, I made two bookings, all in the cheapest seats, to see both Rock Follies and Sound Of Music on the same day, when they first went on general sale. A Saturday day out by car with my driving partner and a weekday trip by train just for non-driving me. Return rail travel between London Victoria and Chichester on advance tickets works out under £8 return with my senior railcard. At the time I'm certain there was at least one direct train from Chichester to Victoria via Gatwick and East Croydon departing after 10 pm. With a 7.15 start for Rock Follies I foresaw no problem getting home to North Kent by train, albeit well after midnight which I'm used to doing. However when I came to book the travel in June the final direct train was and still is at 9.40 from Chichester. I would never have booked the Rock Follies evening performance on that basis. I think it's a service reduction because of the industrial action and overtime ban, which has led to a complete suspension of the Gatwick Express service also operated by Southern." FrontroverPaul the train times definitely changed, and for the worse, quite recently, even after the reduced (overtime ban) timetable had been published. When I checked last week, there was a 22.40 train back towards London and that would have been bad enough and led me to contact CFT as with the connection I'd've been home ludicrously late, but when I checked again earlier this week, the 22.40 had vanished and instead the journey planner said I'd have to get the 22.49 (very slow as stops at all stations) to Brighton, then another train towards London. Today - I still went for the matinee of The Sound Of Music - my 4-coach train was stuffed with people dressed up to the nines for Goodwood and all talking all the way or braying into mobiles and it was standing room only. I
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Post by emsworthian on Aug 3, 2023 7:50:50 GMT
Could anyone who've seen it please let me know if Sam Barnett is singing a lot in this? He is the only draw for me, but now reading the reviews I’m not sure if it’s even worth it..
According to my programme, Harry (Sam Barnett's character) sings Sugar Mountain with Anna, Dee, Q and ensemble. With ensemble, he sings Follies of '77. The Hype is sung by David, Kitty, Harry and ensemble. Looney Tunes is sung by Anna, Q, Dee and Harry. Harry, the manager, is a fairly central character.
Hope this helps.
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Post by corblimey on Aug 4, 2023 9:59:51 GMT
Ventured to Chichester yesterday and saw both shows and really loved the show. Cast were awesome I thought ,especially Zizi Strallen The matinee had a song reprise at the very end whereas the evening didn’t!!
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Post by bram on Aug 10, 2023 12:49:06 GMT
A strange piece. wonderful voices from the Little Ladies and their female manager But really too many songs and the ensemble work hard but basically wheel boxes around and change wigs ! wish the book had been better But more than worth alook.
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Post by nick on Aug 10, 2023 22:39:25 GMT
Just been to see this. Looking at the programme posted in the Julie Covington Facebook group there’s been at least one change - Loony Tunes was dropped. Also no Good Behaviour at the end as, I guess, an encore.
I enjoyed it. It a whistle stop tour of the tv series with a few additions to make it a little more current.
The songs are mixed right up from the tv series with some original Little Ladies songs being sung by other members of the cast.
Glen Miller is Missing is in totally the wrong place (the reason why it appears in the tv series has been totally removed so it’s strangely slotted in presumably because it’s a good song).
They’ve changed the plot considerably from the point Roxy appears. But it’s not a bad change. I think in some ways the writer has tried too hard to stick to the original and it was refreshing to see her trying to be different.
The three leads are such good singers but it feels like Carly (Anna) has the best voice which rather undermines an important plot point.
The actress playing the small role of Gloria stole her part of the show for me. But there were no weak links in the cast IMO.
Well worth a visit.
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Post by nick on Aug 10, 2023 22:41:00 GMT
Could anyone who've seen it please let me know if Sam Barnett is singing a lot in this? He is the only draw for me, but now reading the reviews I’m not sure if it’s even worth it.. He only sings one song as a solo (I’ve forgotten which one - Sugar Mountain I think). He does a very good job of it.
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Post by capybara on Aug 14, 2023 10:52:14 GMT
Caught the Saturday matinee of this as part of a two-show trip to Chichester.
To be honest, I don’t have loads to say on it. I’m not familiar with the original television series but this struck me as a safe and unadventurous stage adaptation.
The songs were fine but always seemed to lack any bite. Perhaps it was a victim of simply including way too many and quite frankly this show ought to have been at least 20 minutes shorter in run time.
I was there for Zizi Strallen really and, again, she was pretty good but Q never really gets her moment in the spotlight. I actually thought the piece would have worked better with Strallen and Carly Bawden (Anna) swapping roles.
Angela Marie Hurst stole the show as Dee, as you would expect, but I found the periphery characters really bad to the point of being irritating. The one-dimensional Kitty (Harriet Watson on Saturday) seemed entirely undeserving of her solo, while Sebastien Torkia was just ridiculous in his various roles (almost as bad as his portrayal of Berlusconi).
It won’t have another life and perhaps that’s for the best. That being said, I was able to enjoy it for what it was without ever wanting to see it again. A show to be enjoyed in the moment without any real scrutiny, maybe.
Three stars, just.
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1,233 posts
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Post by Steve on Aug 17, 2023 17:35:02 GMT
I agree with most of the comments here. The book is the primary problem, as it plods along and nothing surprises. It was plainly written in a more innocent age when the mere fact that record executives are exploitative and sexist is supposed to be a shocking revelation. Some spoilers follow. . . Nothing happens here that isn't ten times worse in "Ain't too Proud," and that has the frisson of being a "true story." I suppose this is a true story too, even though they didn't admit it, which is why the band it was based on successfully sued the TV show. Anyway, the main reason to see it is the incredible cast: I mean: Zizi Strallen, Carly Bawden, Samuel Barnett, Tamsin Caroll, Fred Haig, Sebastien Torkia - I've seen them all in better things, but I've never seen them all together. Angela Marie Hurst and Phillipa Stefani, who I don't recall seeing before, were pretty great too. For the first half, the three principals start a girl band and face some sexism. Pretty standard. They sing tons of songs, and "On the Road" is a great song that gets the elongated works, even to the extent of having a false ending and sparking up again! But the song is wasted: it sounds complex, a celebration but also a knowing weary nod to how difficult life on the road actually is, so why is it trotted out before anything on the road actually happens. Rather than strengthening the book at a critical point, it substitutes for the book when there isn't any book yet. Carly Bawden is the standout role, as, about half way through, she gets gifted a character: the middle class person who gets no respect cos coming from Dorking and having a bit of money makes you creatively unmarketable. In two seconds flat, Bawden is hilarious and tragic all at once, and you just wish the book writer would have focused on character like this much much more. Zizi Strallen makes something out of nothing. Although her character is supposed to be a porn actress, the play refuses to develop anything so uncouth, so Strallen takes the background and makes it feel outrageous and daring, even though the writing doesn't back her up. The idea in the book that Dee (Angela Marie Hurst) is head and shoulders a better singer than Strallen and Bawden is just plain contradicted by the performances, which are all equally great. After Bawden's character, Tamsin Caroll's music manager makes the second strongest impact, displaying all the cynical savvy you'd expect from a music manager. Carroll is ferocious, but once again, the writing isn't, and lets her down. All in all, I can only see this touring if there are enough people who remember and want to relive the original show. I doubt there are, but as I'm not one of them, what do I know? What I do know is that I felt a two and a half star show was propelled to 3 and a half stars, for me, by a peerless cast (for which I assume we must thank Dominic Cooke). Heck, I even got a frisson seeing Fred Haig and Zizi Strallen share a stage again, but that's only cos I remember how great they were as young versions of the principals in the brilliant "Follies" at the National (the one without the "Rock" in the title, a rock which weighs this show down like an anchor, so that it never really sets sail).
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Post by nick on Aug 17, 2023 20:58:44 GMT
Steve, am I right in thinking you haven’t seen the original series? If not then you should as your criticism makes me think you’d enjoy it. It is a character piece and the original Little Ladies are given space to develop as character and imo are well cast. I loved the three leads in this version but they don’t have the time (or the modern book is lacking) to make their characters shine. They’re also all great stage performers and singers whereas in the tv series Anna and particularly Q are not great singers unlike the incomparable Julie Covington.
In my opinion the book tries too hard to give edited highlights of the tv series and loses the heart of the original. I love the original but I feel Chloe Moss needed to reshape more forcefully it for the stage and modern audiences. There are faint sparks of her original voice in the latter parts when she deviates from the original story (after Roxy appears). I wonder if the production was hampered by having the original writer around. There was a Radio 4 feature with him, Andy McKay (the original composer), Chloe and Rula Lenska and I felt he dominated the conversation more then he should have done.
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Post by pws on Aug 20, 2023 0:00:50 GMT
Was supposed to be seeing this next Saturday but trains strikes... Theatre exchanged for yesterday (Saturday) but more train disruption. It is 2 hours 45 minutes but it zips along. Most of the songs are short, or even just snippets, and unmemorable. It has its moments. Cast are very good and the band brilliant. Was packed today, and only odd seats left for the last week.
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