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Post by distantcousin on Apr 18, 2024 21:57:35 GMT
For anyone keen to catch the outdoor scene, it occurred at 21:47 last night. You had to laugh at the footage of punters entering Broadway's "Orpheum Theatre" for the opening night, replete with black cabs and red double-deckers, all driving on the left. I guess no more suspension of disbelief required than when listening to some of the on-stage accents. I did wonder why van Hove didn't simply make everyone British and have the Gielgud play itself. Exactly what I felt. It would have gelled far better being set in the West End
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 19, 2024 8:35:17 GMT
So overall, I found it unfocused, too many undeveloped threads. It was an incredibly frustrating piece, as there was a lot of interesting stuff in there.
I didn't really like the music at all - not my style, and not immediate enough for musical theatre.
It felt like a work in progress - the type of show I've seen at Edinburgh Fringe, but on a big budget.
Sheridan was solid, but miscast. She didn't for once convince me that she was playing a huge American star. The piece needed an actor with the megawatt star aura of a Nicole Scherzinger or similar for the whole thing to hang together more convincingly. She excelled in the quieter emotional scenes, but I didn't buy her as 'Myrtle, the massive celebrity'.
I found the open set and cast moving around distracting and fussy.
As others have commented, it was tonally all over the place, almost cringingly so at times, Veering from subtle to overblown from one song to another.
There were lots of lovely and beautiful moments, but it didn't hang together for me.
I've read all the reviews now and I can equally see why some gave it 4 stars and some gave it one.
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Post by osdtdg on Apr 19, 2024 9:18:12 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 19, 2024 9:21:50 GMT
Having now seen both 2:22 A Ghost Story and Opening Night, I know firmly which one I enjoyed more and would happily sit through again. A real shame ON is closing to make way for this tired old tale.
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Post by bigredapple on Apr 19, 2024 9:21:58 GMT
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Post by ladidah on Apr 19, 2024 9:23:17 GMT
I would rather Opening Night stayed, at least it's new and has a point of view.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 19, 2024 9:41:31 GMT
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 19, 2024 9:58:58 GMT
I would rather Opening Night stayed, at least it's new and has a point of view. That’s like having the choice of drowning or being set on fire. Neither are great options.
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Post by ladidah on Apr 19, 2024 10:35:56 GMT
No, agree - the show isn't for me at all - but I would take originality over a celebrity based show.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 19, 2024 10:55:37 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general.
New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time.
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 19, 2024 11:26:57 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general. New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time. Sidenote: I read an article the other day complaining about how millennial tastes/nostalgia has a chokehold over the TV/theatre getting produced and prominence right now. Heathers, Mean Girls etc etc.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 19, 2024 11:35:48 GMT
Sounds like I could have written that article 😂
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Post by Rory on Apr 19, 2024 11:40:16 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general. New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time. Totally this. I agree wholeheartedly. Opening Night closing early to be replaced by 2:22 really saddens me.
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Post by theatrefan62 on Apr 19, 2024 11:41:50 GMT
And before that it was the generations before. It's nothing new. In a decade it will have moved on to the next generation
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 19, 2024 11:44:13 GMT
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Post by theatrefan62 on Apr 19, 2024 11:54:26 GMT
I don't get this thinking as you've had all your nostalgia too? Mamma mia, jersey boys, wwry, tonight's the night, Saturday night fever etc etc. The 00s were all about gen x nostalgia. Now we are on the elder millennial/millennial era.
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Post by sph on Apr 19, 2024 11:56:01 GMT
I mean yes, you could say that Opening Night being replaced by 2:22 is a blow to creativity and originality, but really is it? I mean 2:22 has been around the block a few times in its relatively young life, but it's still a new-ish original play that does well commercially, neither of which can be said about Opening Night.
It's just a filler anyway.
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 19, 2024 12:42:09 GMT
I don't get this thinking as you've had all your nostalgia too? Mamma mia, jersey boys, wwry, tonight's the night, Saturday night fever etc etc. The 00s were all about gen x nostalgia. Now we are on the elder millennial/millennial era. I think all that passed me by. I see all those as PEAK Gen X, which I came along a bit after!
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Post by danb on Apr 19, 2024 13:02:39 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general. New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time. Sidenote: I read an article the other day complaining about how millennial tastes/nostalgia has a chokehold over the TV/theatre getting produced and prominence right now. Heathers, Mean Girls etc etc. It’s down to who is buying theatre tickets at the moment though surely? Heathers & Mean Girls are not new properties by any means, but obviously key into a cash rich theatregoing generation. As theatrefan62 said the previous generation were all about the jukebox musicals. At least the current crop are keen to grab hold of the new like ‘Hadestown’ & ‘The Little Big Things’ showing that they aren’t completely governed by ‘teen girl theatre’. ‘Bold & Fresh’ is another mans bete noir. 2:22 is just another ‘bought & paid for’ production that can be thrown up at a moments notice, just like ‘Heathers’ at very minimal expense & technical demand, to fill a gap.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 19, 2024 15:23:53 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general. New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time. Opening Night IS rubbish though. And it tortures its audience. I hated 2:22, but clearly some people like it- so would rather that does 2 months at this theatre than letting the misery of ON carry on. I would bet the cast feel the same, they must be desperate for the exit
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 19, 2024 15:35:38 GMT
I think what's happened here is exactly how I feel about the state of London theatre in general. New work like Opening Night that is (in my eyes) bold and fresh can't succeed and we have to endure rubbish like 2:22 and Heathers until the end of time. Opening Night IS rubbish though. And it tortures its audience. I hated 2:22, but clearly some people like it- so would rather that does 2 months at this theatre than letting the misery of ON carry on. I would bet the cast feel the same, they must be desperate for the exit If you swapped the positioning of Opening Night and 2:22 over in your reply, youd have my exact feelings (although i didn't hate Opening Night!)
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Post by Rory on Apr 19, 2024 15:39:24 GMT
Opening Night is miles better than 2:22, far superior. And I will die on that hill!
I am however bemused by the suggestions on social media of casting Sheridan and Hadley in the new iteration of 2:22 (obviously he's done it previously).
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Post by scarletmood on Apr 19, 2024 16:56:41 GMT
Ironically Sheridan would be perfect casting for 2:22. Does anyone think this could happen?
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Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2024 16:59:37 GMT
Would we rather than empty dark theatres rather than have shows that can fill in at short notice? For all other things to transfer, they need time both in terms of having a chance to recoup and also marketing. Something like Just For One Day is not going to be able to come in for eight weeks because it is financially unviable in the timeframe of making the show suitable for the Gielgud and getting a cast ready by the end of May, start of June.
Opening Night is closing because audiences aren't interested and the ones who did go for the most part didn't like it. It's show business at the end of the day and Delfont Mackintosh can't be choosy at the end of the day since they had it booked out until the end of July. In terms of Heathers @sohoplace, it's on Nica Burns for having to scramble to find a show to replace Red Pitch not the producers of Heathers.
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Post by danb on Apr 19, 2024 17:42:58 GMT
Exactly. We can bemoan things that we like not finding an audience, or compare them to their replacements, but the numbers don’t lie. Our critical minds mean nothing if nobody is interested in the product. Big names guarantee nothing; Michaels Ball & Crawford have both had Shaftesbury Avenue flops recently and now Sheridan.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Apr 23, 2024 13:42:02 GMT
I didn't massively enjoy this, but I am glad I saw it. I liked the Act 1 closer and the Next to Normal ghost hand held microphone number Nancy does in Act 2.
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Post by Steve on Apr 27, 2024 17:17:06 GMT
The critic, Lizzie Loveridge posted the full song-list on her blog: theatrevibe.co.uk/2024/03/27/review-opening-night-gielgud-theatre-2024/I think it helps to know it. . . Spoilers follow. . . Act One:- Overture One Shot Magic One Shot (Reprise) Talk to Me Humming Chorus One Trojan women Humming Chorus Two A Change of Life I Forgive you Meet Me at the Start Life is Thin Act Two:- Trying To Makes One Wonder Moths to a Flame Married Humming Chorus Three This Isn’t A Game Anymore The Pantomime The Second Woman There Is Something to Be Said For Being Young Ready For Battle Magic (Reprise) Finales
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Post by Steve on Apr 27, 2024 17:52:56 GMT
I just love the songs for this show. I think Rufus Wainwright is the star of this production, along with the cast who sing these songs. I saw the show again on Thursday night, and the songs are just magnificent, in my opinion. Some spoilers follow. . . Van Hove's direction is still tilted toward intellectualism over emotionalism, brilliantly Brechtian in the way he stages life as a boring sh*t show. Like looking at the Earth as a blue dot from outer space, it all looks like nothing much is happening, characters milling around with their back to you much of the time, in the wings or back stage. So if you paid the big bucks to see the stage up close, of course you're saying "WTF!" But like on the blue dot, if you look closer, there are big emotional moments happening everywhere, and that's what the big screen predominantly does, it shows you that other perspective where all the dots on the dot are involved in what they consider big moments, noone more so than Sheridan Smith's Myrtle. Of course, the Documentary Crew is just an excuse to set this up, because in fact the screen documents the big moments and revelations whether the Documentary Crew are present or not. Maybe it would have been better to scrap the Documentary altogether, and just acknowledge that the stage/screen contrast is to represent the dichotomy of the way we look from space versus how we seem to ourselves. It's a brilliant idea, but for audiences who come in knowing nothing about Cassavetes' difficult-but-rewarding navel-gazing art film, about creativity and the aging process, it's a bit rich to make the theatre show even more alienating than it needs to be. I think it's an idea that improves every time you rewatch the show, but with 80 percent (a guess based on the poll above) of audiences getting alienated, it's unlikely they'll be back for that. But getting to hear the songs again, they just get better and better and better, and I thought they were great to begin with lol. They are songs of survival: how to deal with lost youth, how to face death, what role art plays in life, how to be vulnerable, how to communicate, how to face loneliness, how to psyche yourself up. I really love them. If I can't bring myself to give the show 5 stars, I can certainly say Wainwright's songs are in the 5 star category for me, because the music and the lyrics are in such symbiosis, and the meaning is so vastly more useful to me than in so many other musicals I've seen.
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Post by bigredapple on Apr 27, 2024 18:06:27 GMT
The critic, Lizzie Loveridge posted the full song-list on her blog: theatrevibe.co.uk/2024/03/27/review-opening-night-gielgud-theatre-2024/I think it helps to know it. . . Spoilers follow. . . Act One:- Overture One Shot Magic One Shot (Reprise) Talk to Me Humming Chorus One Trojan women Humming Chorus Two A Change of Life I Forgive you Meet Me at the Start Life is Thin Act Two:- Trying To Makes One Wonder Moths to a Flame Married Humming Chorus Three This Isn’t A Game Anymore The Pantomime The Second Woman There Is Something to Be Said For Being Young Ready For Battle Magic (Reprise) Finales Humming Chorus One, Two, and Three. Christ.
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Post by Steve on Apr 27, 2024 18:47:48 GMT
Here's my Numbers 6-10 of my Top 10 songs in this show, in case anyone wanted to know lol:- 8 - 10: Shira Haas's Nancy's songs:- She sings "I Forgive You," "This isn't a Game Anymore" and "There Is Something to Be Said For Being Young." 10. "This isn't a Game Anymore:-" Since Nancy only exists in Myrtle's head, this song is about Myrtle grasping for her youthful confidence in the midst of middle-aged paralysis. The key line I remember is "I'm a train you either ride Or get out of the way of" lol. 9. "I Forgive You:-" Myrtle has her psychotic break during this song (Nancy actually sings "Myrtle, you deserve a break"), in which, like a child with an imaginary friend, she imagines Nancy comforting and protecting her, and generally making like a haunting imaginary Bob Marley, as the key line I remember is "Don't you worry about a thing." 8. "There Is Something to Be Said For Being Young:-" In this song, as Myrtle finally decides to grow up, the Peter Pan side of herself decides to play her fiercest cards, summoning up all the best things about youthful bravado ("There is something to be said for being wrong") and experimentation ("trying to figure out Where you belong"). It's a fiercely heavy reverb-heavy rock song, which involves screens within screens that replay and replay the motions of Myrtle's mind. Haas is so impish and ferocious, representing the youth we want to hang on to! 7. "Moths to a Flame:-" John Marquez's compassionate Producer character muses with Myrtle on what it is about creativity that draws them both to being artists, despite getting burned again and again and again. He suggests that:- "Underneath the fires of hell Is a little heaven Underneath the pit of despair Is a little haven" Marquez really nails a compassionate human being who doesn't have all the answers. The beauty of the song is that he doesn't know what or where that "heaven" is, leaving his "moths to a flame" metaphor lingering mysteriously and magically in the air. 6. "Ready for Battle:-" "The World is Broken, My heart is open" sings Myrtle, as she tries to summon up the energy it takes to battle her demons. She finds strength ultimately in other people, especially her ex-husband who she loved and lost. She kisses him on the cheek as a mark of letting byegones by byegones, and releasing negative energy. A key line I remember is "It's only together That we can save each other" And only after reconnecting with other people is she "Ready for Battle." Gotta watch a show. Back later for my Top 5 lol.
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