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Post by viserys on Nov 27, 2017 5:53:29 GMT
Not yet. There's much lamenting in the land at the moment about the planned change from Papa to Mama. Some people even got a petition going to stop this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 10:27:42 GMT
So I saw a tweet from the official Twitter yesterday saying that the goodbye (departing cast last) shows are going to be early this year on 13th May. The show will then have a long break before the new version is unveiled. The tweet didn't say what date that would be, but a later tweet from Starlightified said it would re-open on the actual birthday, June 12th! starlightified.de/11151/
A months seems a very long time.
These dates also do not correspond to what Ticketmaster and KartenKaufen are currently selling (there are still performances beyond 13th May).
Anyway, makes me think is gonna be a bigger overhaul than we thought.
Have to say personally I liked The Other Palace version and I don't really mind what they do, APART FROM - I REALLY would like then to keep Girl's Rolling Stock and Right Place Right Time.
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Post by d'James on Jan 26, 2018 12:14:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2018 14:30:10 GMT
Nice. Think it's interesting that Jellicle Ball is referenced as from "Cats Motion Picture Orchestra". I'm assuming this means the recording made in 1998 as opposed to the movie version thats currently in the works. I always associate 'Motion Picture' with movie rather than Theatre recording release. Looking forward to hearing Gregory Porter's take on 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel'.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2018 12:48:28 GMT
Mica and George's version of I Am The Starlight is pretty great!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2018 0:50:12 GMT
Not sure if this is NEW news, but just listening to Lloyd Webber on Jonathan Ross' Radio 2 show from Sunday, sounds like there are plans to bring Starlight Express back to London (or possibly outside of London) in a purpose-built theatre, like the German production. No idea when.
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Apr 3, 2018 2:11:27 GMT
Not sure if this is NEW news, but just listening to Lloyd Webber on Jonathan Ross' Radio 2 show from Sunday, sounds like there are plans to bring Starlight Express back to London (or possibly outside of London) in a purpose-built theatre, like the German production. No idea when. This was the news and the plan 10 years ago! Andrew always wanted the Bochum staging done somewhere in the UK. There were talks of Battersea Power Station at one point! I hope it happens one day.....
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Post by gskater on Jun 9, 2018 16:37:20 GMT
Has anyone seen the 30th anniversary preview in Bochum this week? What has changed since the 2018 workshop version at the other palace?
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 10, 2018 8:03:40 GMT
Has anyone seen the 30th anniversary preview in Bochum this week? What has changed since the 2018 workshop version at the other palace? I’ve seen the costumes and they are mostly terrible. There is a You Tube link up also. Pearl is no longer pink and Electra is now all gray and no glitter! Sadly the horrible new carriage song I Got Me is now in the new show. Tassita the quiet carriage from the workshops is now “Carrie the bar car” and we now have Belle (with awful Ashley rip off costume). Mama looks like Papa in drag. Purse is replaced with Killerwatt and three new engines - Coco (female), Manga and Brexit haha.. zzzzzz The reports from the German fan page are mostly mixed to negative. WHY HAVE THEY DONE THIS!!!!
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Post by Raven on Jun 10, 2018 17:40:54 GMT
ALW speaks about Starlight quite fondly in his autobiography and states there are plans for a UK production as well as an Asian tour and to "watch this space".
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 10:26:52 GMT
Rumors of this returning - post workshop revisions...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 11:58:47 GMT
Glad the rumours of this are still going - had gone a bit quiet after the excitement of last year's workshop died down.
Wish there was something a bit more concrete though.
My hunch is that they still can't decide if to play it safe with a tour or take a risk and bring it back to London. Either way, be great to have Starlight back in the UK!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 20:19:27 GMT
I could see this in the dominion once Bat is finished with, along with race tracks (pretty please).
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Sept 18, 2018 22:47:00 GMT
I could see this in the dominion once Bat is finished with, along with race tracks (pretty please). Very much so yes. Not with all the weird changes - we are on starlight version 17!!!
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Post by Seriously on Sept 18, 2018 23:48:13 GMT
I always thought the reason they couldn't do it over here was because of changed Health & Safety regs? Maybe a post-Brexit West End will be able to accommodate it?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 0:53:48 GMT
I could see this in the dominion once Bat is finished with, along with race tracks (pretty please). Would LOVE to see this. I think sadly though we will never see race tracks surrounding the theatre as at the Apollo Victoria, a) due to health and safety regulations and b) nobody spends the kind of money that it would require on musical sets any more. Be great to be proven wrong though. What I think may be possible is a limited track extending from stage to front stalls. Like the paddock of the original set or the parkett track of Bochum. Don't really see how that would be enough for live races. Though with a stage as wide as the Dominion guess there could be an extensive (?multi level) on stage set.... Hmmmm. Wonder if plans have got as far as asking John Napier for some ideas. No doubt in this day and age there will be multiple projections for better or worse.
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297 posts
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Post by bengal73 on Sept 19, 2018 6:48:57 GMT
I was so disappointed with the last tour. The production had no soul. It was all about flashy projections and 3d glasses
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 7:41:29 GMT
I always thought the reason they couldn't do it over here was because of changed Health & Safety regs? Maybe a post-Brexit West End will be able to accommodate it? If the EU were to blame, how do they get away with it in Bochum?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 7:43:56 GMT
I could see this in the dominion once Bat is finished with, along with race tracks (pretty please). ... Hmmmm. Wonder if plans have got as far as asking John Napier for some ideas.... Well if, as choreographer, Arlene Phillips is aware of whats in the pipeline and dropping hint bombs then I'd guess theres a production/set designer on board* already. *oo, pun unintended, but I'll take that one.
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1,639 posts
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Post by fiyero on Sept 19, 2018 9:12:09 GMT
I always thought the reason they couldn't do it over here was because of changed Health & Safety regs? Maybe a post-Brexit West End will be able to accommodate it? If the EU were to blame, how do they get away with it in Bochum? I get the impression it is more along the lines of 'you wouldn't get away with that today'. Something that is already there is easier to keep than making something new. I'd imagine you could have a purpose built arena type theatre made but quite an investment!
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Sept 19, 2018 10:06:07 GMT
Having done the show 20 years later i am paying for it. My back is a mess. So many others I know who have done the show have had operations, back and hip issues too - not to mention the many many injuries cast members had each year. About 4 people left in my year.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 10:46:00 GMT
If the EU were to blame, how do they get away with it in Bochum? I get the impression it is more along the lines of 'you wouldn't get away with that today'. Something that is already there is easier to keep than making something new. I'd imagine you could have a purpose built arena type theatre made but quite an investment!
Indeed; and the Bochum theatre was purpose built from scratch. With the Apollo Victoria they literally tore apart an old London theatre and put a race track round it, even running up to the circle. I don't think either planning permissions or health and safety would allow it now as these buildings are old and protected. Something purpose built here would be great, but would just never happen as would need to run years to break even. The revivals of shows that were massive 1st time round (Evita, Cats, Sunset, Miss Saigon) don't run longer than a year or two when they come back and sadly I think Starlight would be the same. The above revivals were visited by people who had great memories the 1st time round but struggled to find a new audience to keep them going. Could Starlight find a new audience in the era of the jukebox, bio musicals, and the teenage angst soft pop American stuff? I'd LOVE it to, but I do doubt it sadly.
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Post by viserys on Sept 19, 2018 10:56:07 GMT
Could Starlight find a new audience in the era of the jukebox, bio musicals, and the teenage angst soft pop American stuff? I'd LOVE it to, but I do doubt it sadly. I love that description I think Starlight Express might well work still as a singular spectacle on roller skates, but it's hard to tell. Cats used to be a show that enchanted the masses and now it's being met with ridicule by many younger musical lovers (while I, as an oldie, fail to see what the fuss about many new shows is about). I don't think it would be worth completely redesigning a West End theatre the way they did with the Apollo Victoria in those days (even if a race track would get rid of those pesky hard-to-sell side stalls seats at the Dominion). They should consider a tour in a tent-like venue built for the purpose, which they could even take outside the UK later. Apart from Bochum Starlight Express has never been seen in continental Europe.
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Post by Seriously on Sept 19, 2018 11:06:04 GMT
I always thought the reason they couldn't do it over here was because of changed Health & Safety regs? Maybe a post-Brexit West End will be able to accommodate it? If the EU were to blame, how do they get away with it in Bochum? Because Bochum predates the law.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 11:20:02 GMT
Could Starlight find a new audience in the era of the jukebox, bio musicals, and the teenage angst soft pop American stuff? I'd LOVE it to, but I do doubt it sadly. I love that description I think Starlight Express might well work still as a singular spectacle on roller skates, but it's hard to tell. Cats used to be a show that enchanted the masses and now it's being met with ridicule by many younger musical lovers (while I, as an oldie, fail to see what the fuss about many new shows is about). I don't think it would be worth completely redesigning a West End theatre the way they did with the Apollo Victoria in those days (even if a race track would get rid of those pesky hard-to-sell side stalls seats at the Dominion). They should consider a tour in a tent-like venue built for the purpose, which they could even take outside the UK later. Apart from Bochum Starlight Express has never been seen in continental Europe. Haha - that's sort of how I see them. I find the music in these shows so mediocre, but so many people (vast majority younger than me at 41) are clearly connecting with them. One thing in Starlight's favour is that think will still be a family show - kids love the spectacle and the skates. Gosh you've got me thinking about the Dominion. Stalls are indeed very wide and rarely sell out so removing seats for a fab stalls track wouldn't lose much income from unsold seats. Hmmmm and could it pretty please have a bridge and rise to the circle? (Or am I just living in the past lol)
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Post by ada92 on Sept 19, 2018 11:22:48 GMT
Like tHe CATS German tour in 2012ish - it was a great venue - only problem sometimes you heard some external noise - but as long as it wasn't in the quiet bits it was very good. Saw this in a German Winter and it was also nicely heated!
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Post by viserys on Sept 19, 2018 11:26:56 GMT
Haha - that's sort of how I see them. I find the music in these shows so mediocre, but so many people (vast majority younger than me at 41) are clearly connecting with them. Indeed. I feel like Dear Evan Hansen has the heart in the right place, but I find it nearly impossible to listen to. Yesterday I gave Be More Chill a spin to see if it may be worth a punt when I'm in New York next spring and went "Hell, no!" after two songs. Gosh you've got me thinking about the Dominion. Stalls are indeed very wide and rarely sell out so removing seats for a fab stalls track wouldn't lose much income from unsold seats. Hmmmm and could it pretty please have a bridge and rise to the circle? (Or am I just living in the past lol) I don't see why not, considering how much of the Dominion they turned upside down for Bat now. And once Bat closes, it'll take some effort to reconfigure the theatre anyway, so why not take it one step further for Starlight? How about keeping Falco's pool and let a "train" derail into it during a race? Like tHe CATS German tour in 2012ish - it was a great venue - only problem sometimes you heard some external noise - but as long as it wasn't in the quiet bits it was very good. Saw this in a German Winter and it was also nicely heated! Haha, that was exactly what I was thinking of when I mentioned the tent!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 12:52:23 GMT
If the EU were to blame, how do they get away with it in Bochum? Because Bochum predates the law. My law knowledge is limited so forgive me for this, but is that how law works? Say a legal age for driving is 17 and a law comes into place to make it 20. Do the 17, 18 and 19 year old get to drive anyway because their age and right to drive predates the updated law? Also in regards to theatre, what law specifically prevents producers from installing race tracks for rollerskaters in auditoriums now? (I realise this sounds fairly contentious, but it's meant with the greatest of respect, out of curiosity!)
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4,962 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 19, 2018 13:22:51 GMT
^ I can't answer the second part of your question, but the first part is reasonably easy to answer. They are what is kown as grandfather or acquired rights.
There are some exceptions (often involving complex tax avoidance schemes) but new laws don't usually apply retrospectively.
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Post by Seriously on Sept 19, 2018 13:56:27 GMT
Britain has always had very strict Health and Safety Regulations.... and how you treat listed buildings has also been tightened up over the years. A production in another country that opened 30 years ago in a specially designed theatre is held to a different standard.
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