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Post by TallPaul on Jun 29, 2019 12:17:01 GMT
Let’s face it, if Hair can carry limping round the country (sorry xanady I know you loved it) then Curtains should at least get a chance. I'm sorry if I keep labouring this point, but the reason these tours can run with (often) quite small audiences is because we're all supporting them via Theatre Tax Relief, and nothing wrong with that. If the huge American studios can claim Film Tax Relief, why shouldn't productions like Curtains also receive taxpayer funding?
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Post by horton on Jun 29, 2019 12:38:12 GMT
It is a very important support for commercial theatre!
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 29, 2019 12:55:10 GMT
I've always had the mindset that if i'm not interested in a show then it's irrelevant to me and i'm quite happy for it to run and entertain the audiences it does attract and give vital employment the actors and creatives involved. It always makes me highly uncomfortable to see people actively wanting a show to close or be cancelled. Why? If you don't want to go to the show or it doesn't interest you, what impact does it have on your life if it exists or not? You don't need to be wishing for closures or cancellations. It's just disrespectful and a bit self centred.
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Post by xanady on Jun 29, 2019 18:09:06 GMT
This is a hard-sell to the public and imo,K&E’s worst show by a country mile.If it didn’t exist on the touring circuit those dates would be freed up for a different show and hey presto...employment opportunities.Stunt casting has been employed here to sell a turkey to the masses.If the show is a horror-show,said masses might vote with their feet when another show comes along? Of course it’s all ifs and buts and maybe’s atm.Will probs go and see it for curiosity-value as I know comps will come up and it’s an oddity of a show.Laughing at it and not with it,I would guess?As much as I think that Manford is a two-bit comic and damn irritating and Oduba merely famous for being famous,I do wonder how desperate they must have been to take on this spanner of a musical.....
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Post by xanady on Jun 30, 2019 7:55:06 GMT
^Spoke to one of my ex-students very late last night who is now a professional in the business with Qdos,Flying Music,WE,touring,cruise ships etc and after discussing various bits and bobs,I mentioned this thread and after speaking to her mates,she texted me back and I have had a bit of a reprimand with one rider...The message is...if a show is set in stone and contracts are signed,everybody should get on board with it.Work is work,I was told,so my bad on that one!The worse case scenario,though,is if a tour launches and then crashes suddenly,like Dr Dolittle,Millie and Wonderland.Being left high and dry with bills to pay is a no-win situation.She agreed too that there is a lot of worry about the state of regional touring MT.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 30, 2019 9:04:10 GMT
And while it might not be considered a great musical, or K&E’s best, it’s something I’d never even heard of and is a change from yet another tour of Spamalot, Cabaret, Evita (although I 💖 Evita), Sound of Music, Bodyguard and the others that come around again and again. And while I’m not that keen on the idea of Ore finding out if he’s any good at MT at my expense, there will be people in that audience who have seen his name associated with the show and will see it for that very reason.
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Post by crabtree on Jun 30, 2019 9:40:47 GMT
come n, it's Kander and Ebb, and even lesser Kander and Ebb is good. I wish someone would be brave enough to stage The Visit. Never has a Cast recording intrigued me so much, and left such a taste of warm melancholy. I'll go to curtains if just to see exactly how the plot pans out as the songs don't give much away. And yes I want to see In the Same Boat staged.
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Post by drowseychap on Jul 1, 2019 1:37:08 GMT
If they wanted to tour a kander and ebb I’d have much preferred the Rink Coventry did a production year ago which was great and southwark playhouse last year with Caroline o Connor deserved a larger production and tour
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Post by xanady on Jul 1, 2019 6:45:46 GMT
^Totally agree...The Rink is a wonderful show...
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jul 1, 2019 7:00:21 GMT
come n, it's Kander and Ebb, and even lesser Kander and Ebb is good. I wish someone would be brave enough to stage The Visit. Never has a Cast recording intrigued me so much, and left such a taste of warm melancholy. I'll go to curtains if just to see exactly how the plot pans out as the songs don't give much away. And yes I want to see In the Same Boat staged. Curtains is a a brilliant musical and I'm delighted it's getting produced in the UK. I would 'kill' to see The visit 😉
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Post by gra on Jul 1, 2019 17:29:45 GMT
come n, it's Kander and Ebb, and even lesser Kander and Ebb is good. I wish someone would be brave enough to stage The Visit. Never has a Cast recording intrigued me so much, and left such a taste of warm melancholy. I'll go to curtains if just to see exactly how the plot pans out as the songs don't give much away. And yes I want to see In the Same Boat staged. Curtains is a a brilliant musical and I'm delighted it's getting produced in the UK. I've seen Curtains five times, and agree it's a great, fun musical. I'm really looking forward to seeing it at Wimbledon in January. It's really depressing to read negative comments by posters who have never seen the show. (Man of la Mancha and Light in the Piazza have received similar treatment recently.)
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Post by theatregod on Jul 1, 2019 17:39:47 GMT
Ever think it’s bitter industry people who haven’t had the call for the work so find pleasure in sending bad vibes.
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Post by Fleance on Jul 1, 2019 17:44:19 GMT
When I first saw this thread (this being a British board), I thought it was about a play by Stephen Bill, presented at the Hampstead, ca. 1986.
Curtains (the musical) is perhaps not the greatest musical, but it's a lot of fun, with a good score. Here's Debra Monk from the original production, singing about the realities of producing shows on Broadway and in the West End:
"Shaw and Ibsen, take them away. And don't bother me with Voltaire, those Russians never pay."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 18:14:04 GMT
I might try and see this in Glasgow as I want to see Carley Stenson after enjoying her in Les Mis.
I'm annoyed that they're missing off Edinburgh, so Glasgow will have to do. It isn't really that much further from me anyway.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jul 1, 2019 19:39:27 GMT
The majority of the comments have centred around the fact that this is a very little known musical - which is undeniable.
It is a risk to do it. And in the current climate probably too big a risk.
The casting isn't encouraging or enough to overcome the lack of audience awareness of the show.
V v v few of us have ever seen the show. I own the OBC. And whilst it is decent, it doesn't have many standout numbers.
I don't want shows to fail (there are notable exceptions) but we have to be realistic about the prospects for this venture.
I may be proved wrong but things are tough out in the provincial theatre scene. Lots of shows just aren't selling..
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Post by robertb213 on Jul 1, 2019 21:48:14 GMT
If I wasn't getting it for free at the Derngate next year, I'd totally be booking to see it. I love any chance to discover a new musical. But then I'm weird 😀
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Post by xanady on Jul 2, 2019 6:45:30 GMT
^What ‘notable exceptions’ would you want to fail...out of curiosity?
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Post by Baemax on Jul 2, 2019 7:54:08 GMT
I don't think there's a single person here who would mourn the passing of Thriller Live.
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Post by xanady on Jul 2, 2019 7:56:31 GMT
A closing of a show would put people out of work.
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Post by NorthernAlien on Aug 30, 2019 16:34:21 GMT
Well, my mum has booked to see this! Apparently it was right at the front of the brochure for The Palace in Manchester and she's taken herself into the city centre to buy her preferred seat (yes, my mum is old school, she gets the brochures sent to her through the post, and then goes to the theatre to book in person at the box office!). She's decided that she quite likes Jason and she very much likes Ore from his time on Strictly!
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Post by danb on Aug 30, 2019 16:45:00 GMT
Well, my mum has booked to see this! Apparently it was right at the front of the brochure for The Palace in Manchester and she's taken herself into the city centre to buy her preferred seat (yes, my mum is old school, she gets the brochures sent to her through the post, and then goes to the theatre to book in person at the box office!). She's decided that she quite likes Jason and she very much likes Ore from his time on Strictly! Exactly. There is still a generation of people that ‘theatre’ like this and that is why producers will take a chance on it. Jason Manford sells out stand up tours so is worth a punt. There is enough MT talent in there to peak our lots interest (Becky Lock? Hello! Carley Stenson? Don’t mind if I do). Get on Granada Reports and the like to get it out there...jobs a good ‘un.
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Post by danb on Aug 30, 2019 19:22:36 GMT
Well, my mum has booked to see this! Apparently it was right at the front of the brochure for The Palace in Manchester and she's taken herself into the city centre to buy her preferred seat (yes, my mum is old school, she gets the brochures sent to her through the post, and then goes to the theatre to book in person at the box office!). She's decided that she quite likes Jason and she very much likes Ore from his time on Strictly! Exactly. There is still a generation of people that ‘theatre’ like this and that is why producers will take a chance on it. Jason Manford sells out stand up tours so is worth a punt. There is enough MT talent in there to peak our lots interest (Becky Lock? Hello! Carley Stenson? Don’t mind if I do). Get on Granada Reports and the like to get it out there...jobs a good ‘un. “Jobs a good ‘un” ? I can’t apologise enough, I’m so sorry
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 30, 2019 19:32:17 GMT
Exactly. There is still a generation of people that ‘theatre’ like this and that is why producers will take a chance on it. Jason Manford sells out stand up tours so is worth a punt. There is enough MT talent in there to peak our lots interest (Becky Lock? Hello! Carley Stenson? Don’t mind if I do). Get on Granada Reports and the like to get it out there...jobs a good ‘un. “Jobs a good ‘un” ? I can’t apologise enough, I’m so sorry What have you become? 😐
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Post by danb on Aug 31, 2019 4:10:01 GMT
“Jobs a good ‘un” ? I can’t apologise enough, I’m so sorry What have you become? 😐 Perilously middle aged!
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Post by impossibleprincess73 on Aug 31, 2019 20:16:33 GMT
come n, it's Kander and Ebb, and even lesser Kander and Ebb is good. I wish someone would be brave enough to stage The Visit. Never has a Cast recording intrigued me so much, and left such a taste of warm melancholy. I'll go to curtains if just to see exactly how the plot pans out as the songs don't give much away. And yes I want to see In the Same Boat staged. I saw The Visit in a half empty theatre on Broadway - it had friggin' Chita Rivera in it, that auditorium had no business being half empty. The show was certainly unique and I really enjoyed it. As for Curtains, I plan to see it based on the fact that I've never seen a production of it before and I adore Becky Lock, but it's not coming to my local theatre til March and I never book tickets that far in advance as my circumstances are always really unpredictable.
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 3, 2019 12:30:32 GMT
I'm conflicted. Kander and Ebb have never really been my cup of tea, and the male leads 'concern' me, but I like Carley Stenson, Rebecca Locke and Emma Caffrey.
At least it looks like a goodly amount has been spent on the costumes. I suppose the more you spend, the more you can reclaim in tax credits!
(There is also a Jason Manford video, but I'm not sure it adds anything.)
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 3, 2019 12:56:27 GMT
All looks rather brash and camp.
Can’t wait!
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Post by sophie92 on Sept 3, 2019 13:48:34 GMT
Andy Coxon is playing Aaron Fox at the venues that Ore Oduba isn’t doing
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 13, 2019 9:15:15 GMT
Selling terribly for Manchester. Just checked the availability, opening night looks best but still swathes of empty seats. Rest of the week it’s central front stalls and central front circle that’s sold, that’s all. How depressing for the cast. So much for the allure of Ore Oduba and Jason Manford. If they can’t sell this even with stunt casting what does that say? .
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 13, 2019 9:44:40 GMT
Touring theatre at the moment seems in an awful state generally to be honest.
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