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Post by max on Feb 20, 2024 13:21:59 GMT
I wouldn't read too much into anything at this preview stage. I remember some said Jamie Parker was struggling in previews of 'Next To Normal' but into the run I thought he was the best thing in it. Partly due to the writing, the character most required to act through song.
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Post by max on Feb 20, 2024 13:24:35 GMT
recast?? what a cruel thing to say when as andrew has mentioned they’ve been doing very intense rehearsals whilst also starting to perform the show. other cast members have said Dónal is ill, maybe remember that performers are indeed human beings working hard and get sick, before throwing around accusations that they’re ‘not good enough’ Unfortunately it is a tough and ruthless industry which has no room for mediocrity (or at least shouldn't). If the main cast is not up for the task they will very likely be recast (I am not talking about being off sick, that happens. I am talking about not being able to sing the songs you are meant to.) The previews are very important because they set up the entire run. Can you imagine this happening on Broadway? It would close after a month, if not sooner. Just look at what happened to ALW's Cinderella. It did happen on Broadway with the first casting of 'Funny Girl's. She still made it through, though with probable shortened first contract by mutual agreement.
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Post by forfivemoreminutes on Feb 20, 2024 13:41:03 GMT
None of us know anything about the industry and all believe that performers are robots. We also lack any compassion. 2 posts in and you’re being quite incisive Mrs Finn. yes saying someone should be fired for missing 3 performances does completely lack compassion i’m glad you see sense
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Post by BVM on Feb 20, 2024 13:51:29 GMT
I feel quite sure people are reading too much into this. In my opinion Donal will be back and everything will be fine. There are a cornucopia of reasons actors can be off which are generally none of our business (though of course I recognise the frustration of wanting to see someone who has not appeared!)
Before the internet we wouldn't even have known and there wouldn't be any of this speculation. Previews are a settling in period for everyone and everything (and leading into that other debate, yes, for this reason they should be cheaper - but producers will always charge what they can, so that sadly is that!). Let's wait for a decent chunk of time to pass before we judge.
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Post by danb on Feb 20, 2024 14:23:17 GMT
None of us know anything about the industry and all believe that performers are robots. We also lack any compassion. 2 posts in and you’re being quite incisive Mrs Finn. yes saying someone should be fired for missing 3 performances does completely lack compassion i’m glad you see sense I merely asked the question. This is a big new show for London and one would hope that they had cast someone that could sing it with ease from the get-go. If not they should do all they can to get him there. I never once used the word ‘fired’ nor anything so melodramatic, and quite frankly all you are doing is drawing attention to the issue. That is all. Now I’m off to drown some kittens or something of equal malevolence.
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 20, 2024 14:33:45 GMT
Poor chap could have a bad cold or anything! Give him a minute!
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Post by hamiltonstradition on Feb 20, 2024 15:52:27 GMT
yes saying someone should be fired for missing 3 performances does completely lack compassion i’m glad you see sense I merely asked the question. This is a big new show for London and one would hope that they had cast someone that could sing it with ease from the get-go. If not they should do all they can to get him there. I never once used the word ‘fired’ nor anything so melodramatic, and quite frankly all you are doing is drawing attention to the issue. That is all. Now I’m off to drown some kittens or something of equal malevolence. On Broadway we were subjected to Reeve Carney's shrill vocals for 2+ years post-pandemic. They've been in rehearsals for 2+ months now, if it really wasn't working out they would've recast ages ago.
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 20, 2024 16:02:16 GMT
Also every single person I know in London has this awful cold/cough so like, give him a break 😂
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Post by moonoverwater on Feb 20, 2024 16:46:42 GMT
I wouldn't read too much into anything at this preview stage. I remember some said Jamie Parker was struggling in previews of 'Next To Normal' but into the run I thought he was the best thing in it. Partly due to the writing, the character most required to act through song. I’ve heard some of the audio from the performance before I saw it, and I was struck by the differences in Grace’s Eurydice. Previews are, after all, for trying new things! @therewillbesun - thank you so much for your kindness, I’m doing a lot better
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Post by Dave B on Feb 20, 2024 22:28:26 GMT
Full cast on tonight for first of two press nights.
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1,277 posts
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Post by Dave B on Feb 20, 2024 23:18:04 GMT
If anyone could get me a badge I'll be ever so grateful! My better half was told to take a few as it was the last night they were being given out. Drop me a private message with your details and I can pop one off in the mail (probably next week, rest of my week is busy!).
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 21, 2024 0:19:05 GMT
Full cast on tonight for first of two press nights. Press night already? They aren’t hanging about!!
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 21, 2024 0:59:19 GMT
That's come around quick 😅
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Post by minion on Feb 22, 2024 10:45:42 GMT
Reviews are out.
★★★★★ Times ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ TimeOut ★★★★ WOS ★★★ Telegraph ★★★ Stage ★★ ES
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 22, 2024 11:00:23 GMT
I love this show, but fear it may struggle.
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Post by ladidah on Feb 22, 2024 11:02:43 GMT
What a difference, 2 star and 5 star.
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Post by shownut on Feb 22, 2024 11:10:08 GMT
I love this show, but fear it may struggle. You may be right. It was hardly a knock-out hit at The National and the Olivier was half empty when I saw it. The love for this show and need to bring it back completely evades me but I wish them well.
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Post by Matt on Feb 22, 2024 12:40:46 GMT
Reviews are out. ★★★★★ Times ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ TimeOut ★★★★ WOS ★★★ Telegraph ★★★ Stage ★★ ES I've read some of the reviews, starting with ES. That review makes absolutely no sense to me. Or maybe I am missing something. Is anyone able to share The Stage review if they have access? Keen to read what they had to say.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 22, 2024 12:58:00 GMT
Reviews are out. ★★★★★ Times ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ TimeOut ★★★★ WOS ★★★ Telegraph ★★★ Stage ★★ ES I've read some of the reviews, starting with ES. That review makes absolutely no sense to me. Or maybe I am missing something. Is anyone able to share The Stage review if they have access? Keen to read what they had to say. If it’s behind a paywall then The Stage obviously don’t want people who don’t pay to see it so I’d ask that our members don’t copy/paste the review here please. Summarise it by all means though! Also I think if you register for a free account with The Stage you get access to three articles per month free of charge. Used to be the case anyway.
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Post by budd on Feb 22, 2024 13:27:29 GMT
I've read some of the reviews, starting with ES. That review makes absolutely no sense to me. Or maybe I am missing something. Is anyone able to share The Stage review if they have access? Keen to read what they had to say. If it’s behind a paywall then The Stage obviously don’t want people who don’t pay to see it so I’d ask that our members don’t copy/paste the review here please. Summarise it by all means though! Also I think if you register for a free account with The Stage you get access to three articles per month free of charge. Used to be the case anyway. Yes, you can still read 3 at The Stage with a login. Essentially, reviewer felt that it was An undernourished parade of numbers rather an achieved theatrical work.
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Post by viserys on Feb 22, 2024 13:28:02 GMT
The WOS review was a fun read, too. Sounded like a Five-Star-Review, except that she was miffed by the ending... which she could/should have seen coming.
I have no idea what the ES's writer's problem with the Wall was or why it bothered him so much in a show that's overall so very meta.
Ah, well, happy overall with the reception.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 22, 2024 15:07:32 GMT
The Evening Standard gave it 4* back in 2018, although that production had a much better cast
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Post by max on Feb 22, 2024 15:36:28 GMT
How does 'using our own natural accents' work with the logic of the music in this? It looks like the set references old-America speakeasy or plain church meeting hall (am I right?) which I get with a USA setting. Is there any attempt to explain the sound and look with non USA accents, or is it just natural that this music is everybody's worlwide, and it mythological anyway? I get that American popular music is easily adopted by us since Cliff Richard and others 'sang American' in ways Tommy Steele and Adam Faith hadn't; so perhaps it's a non issue....except...
There's a patina of impressiveness that comes from American musical theatre imports I think - just by being 'not us'. The production is quite brave if they've given that up that easy win.
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Post by greeny11 on Feb 22, 2024 15:46:03 GMT
Simon Oskarsson just posted he is on as Orpheus for the rest of this week for anyone interested in seeing him.
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Post by MoreLife on Feb 23, 2024 11:51:20 GMT
Reviews are out. ★★★★★ Times ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ TimeOut ★★★★ WOS ★★★ Telegraph ★★★ Stage ★★ ES I have yet to see this production of 'Hadestown' so I can't comment on it and/or say that I agree/disagree with the critics' opinions about this specific cast's performances, sound design, etc. However, I saw the NT production and I have listened to the recording enough times to be more than fairly familiar with the material. I have read the majority of these reviews (not a Stage or Times subscriber, so didn't even try) and I am rather disappointed to see that some of them show a really lazy and/or self-centred approach which isn't in any way helpful for an audience or an example of good, professional writing. Most name a lot of the people involved in it, cite a few song titles, and primarily include generic-sounding comments, using adjectives like "brilliant", "stupendous", "formidable" - which may more or less be used by anyone to describe anything, but don't provide any insight as to what makes this a show worth seeing / a story worth looking into / music worth listening to. But the worst of all has to be the ES one! " Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end happily for Orpheus and Eurydice because of his lack of trust. Theirs is a sad song [...]" Erm... pardon me, in which world have you - a journalist writing for the "Culture" section of a newspaper - been living if you aren't familiar with how the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice goes? I first heard that tale when I was maybe 9-10 years old. And it's one of those that stick with you precisely because it dares to say that destiny and "the gods" can be cruel, and you won't always get what you want. It talks about human vulnerability, of how our will is not always strong enough... " Every time this wall is mentioned – it’s the subject of the Act I curtain-closer and crops up a lot – the blatant illogic smacks you in the face and snaps you out of the action." Well, it's pretty much the same illogic of leaving the EU and wanting to reduce immigration as much as possible, whilst at the same time desperately needing foreign workers - both with "higher" qualifications and not - and having to trade with the same foreign countries you tried to separate yourselves from... Its repeated mentions is in fact there to smack you in the face repeatedly, because good theatre should also make you think, and if it destabilises you for doing so, well, it must have hit close to home! " Melanie La Barrie’s patois-accented Hermes, silver-suited like a riverboat gambler, swaggeringly narrates as if the whole show is about her." " Personally, I don’t get it." " Well, it does me." " Please, I muttered under my breath – don’t." It looks as though you're very good at making the whole review of a show about you, so... is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Fare thee well, Mr Nick Curtis, I will certainly steer clear of your non-informative, poorly researched and self-centred reviews in the future!
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Post by mrnutz on Feb 23, 2024 18:33:10 GMT
" Personally, I don’t get it." " Well, it does me." " Please, I muttered under my breath – don’t." It looks as though you're very good at making the whole review of a show about you, so... is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Fare thee well, Mr Nick Curtis, I will certainly steer clear of your non-informative, poorly researched and self-centred reviews in the future! Critics are surely employed to give a personal opinion, whether you agree with it or not?
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Post by danb on Feb 23, 2024 18:42:38 GMT
" Personally, I don’t get it." " Well, it does me." " Please, I muttered under my breath – don’t." It looks as though you're very good at making the whole review of a show about you, so... is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Fare thee well, Mr Nick Curtis, I will certainly steer clear of your non-informative, poorly researched and self-centred reviews in the future! Critics are surely employed to give a personal opinion, whether you agree with it or not? They are, but the better critics are able to frame things without sounding like a conceited pr!ck 😀
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 24, 2024 7:45:32 GMT
Simon Oskarsson just posted he is on as Orpheus for the rest of this week for anyone interested in seeing him. Gosh. He’s sure missing a lot of shows isn’t he?
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Post by Dave B on Feb 24, 2024 9:16:25 GMT
Simon Oskarsson just posted he is on as Orpheus for the rest of this week for anyone interested in seeing him. Gosh. He’s sure missing a lot of shows isn’t he? Long booked time off. Everyone has holidays or family commitments or whatever.
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Post by moonoverwater on Feb 24, 2024 13:00:42 GMT
Those who know the topography of theatreland better than I - are we in with a chance of getting a London cast recording on top of the OBC/live album/concept album?
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