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Post by distantcousin on Mar 13, 2020 23:18:35 GMT
Well, I went to see it on Friday night. Now - a slight disclaimer - I was lucky enough to see the original London production of City of Angels which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately I can't say the same of this production which is hit and miss. First the good : The staging / set and lighting is fabulous - there were a few teething troubles as others have alluded to above, but by and large it worked very very well. The orchestra were also great. The cast that remained from the Domnar production were all excellent. Hadley Fraser was outstanding as Stein. Rebecca Trehearn and Rosalie Craig were also great as Oolie and Gabby (although I still prefer Haydn Gwynne as Oolie - sorry!). Newcomer Theo James did a very creditable job of Stone, despite looking a little too fresh and young (but then I am comparing to Roger Allam who does dishevelled brilliantly). Then there are some remarkably "odd" casting choices. Vanessa Williams and her massive Biog promised a lot, but delivered little, and frankly her age made Stone look like he was molesting his grandmother (if you don't know who she is you won't be able to find her easily from her picture in the programme - some serious vanity photography in use there...). There was absolutely no chemistry on display and little to suggest that Stone would be believably attracted to Alaura. The Tennis song was flat as a pancake and very uncomfortable. Similarly rather than a slick suave but thick Jimmy Power, we had Rob Houchen who seemed like he was visiting from Me and My Girl. He sang nicely but has quite a strong vibrato - he's not a crooner and Jimmy Power is supposed to be a crooner. He also didn't come across as the sex symbol that could carry the movie, and that Alaura would be infatuated with. The whole dynamic just failed for me. Then we move to Nicola Roberts. She sang nicely, but she is not a jazz singer and she couldn't deliver alluring blonde bombshell for Mallory or thick blonde bombshell for Avril. She was also the victim of a really odd directorial decision (unless it was her idea). The line in Stein's novel in this production alludes to Mallory not wearing much more than a sheet (it was changed from the original script). In this show however "not much more" comprises a full set of underwear and a shirt. In the original production Mallory was naked (although her nudity never shown to the audience except for the back) and used a sheet throughout the song to cover her modesty. This sets up the staging for the framing of Stone and sets up the joke - "I don't remember you coming back with those sheets from the laundry..." . Much more importantly, Stone is *not* supposed to be seduced by Mallory, but caught off guard for the incriminating photograph. In this production Stone seemed quite happy to get it on with everyone be it grandma or grand-daughter, thus ruining the narrative and making him look stupid. Stone isn't supposed to be stupid. The archetypes are really important to make this show work and the casting needs to be done carefully. Dropping big names in to sell seats that don't fit the roles does no-one any favours. Then we move to Jonathan Slinger. Maybe he was having a bed night, or was under rehearsed. He seemed to be nervous and seemed to be reading lines from his desk at one point. He was average vocally, and his acting was hit and miss. I wish they could have got Peter Polycarpou. Another issue I couldn't quite pinpoint was with the Angel 4. They are used a lot to carry set changes and scene changes, which means that they are often quite distant from each other whilst trying to deliver what should be their very tight close jazz vocals. They were slightly off on occasions. I'm not sure if it was the bigger stage or if Manuel Pacific (Tenor) just wasn't quite on it sometimes. Their voices didn't quite gel as the vocal group. I imagine they will improve with time however - this was only the second preview. So - generally a good show but I'd go see it after 25th July and hope they don't parachute more famous people in to fill seats. Agree on so many of these points. So much of it didn't gel and just became baffling and threw me off
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Post by kathryn on Mar 13, 2020 23:39:11 GMT
Enjoyed this tonight. I saw it from the Donmar, but from an extreme side seat so missed most of the projections - they do work superbly from the front.
I am not quite sure that it manages the balance between noir and comedy - certain bits did get some laughs, but it rarely feels like you should be laughing. Maybe it’s the effect of the lighting - which is absolutely gorgeous, and works incredibly well to delineate the characters and the story of the film script from the real people. But it’s really evoking Noir, which is antithetical to a light comedic or farcical tone.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 14, 2020 16:10:46 GMT
I don’t ever remember this musical going for an overtly Comedic or farcical tone?!
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2020 16:52:06 GMT
I don’t ever remember this musical going for an overtly Comedic or farcical tone?! It’s not farcical, but there’s more than one kind of comedy. The first paragraph of Frank Rich’s New York Times review of the original Broadway production: “ There's nothing novel about show-stopping songs and performances in Broadway musicals, but how long has it been since a musical was brought to a halt by riotous jokes? If you ask me, one would have to travel back to the 1960's - to ''Bye Bye Birdie,'' ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and ''Little Me'' - to find a musical as flat-out funny as ''City of Angels,'' the new show about old Hollywood that arrived last night at the Virginia Theater.“
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Post by kathryn on Mar 14, 2020 17:04:42 GMT
I don’t ever remember this musical going for an overtly Comedic or farcical tone?! There’s a bit that is definitely referencing the Keystone Cops! Ok, technically that would be slapstick rather than farce.
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Post by distantcousin on Mar 14, 2020 18:13:25 GMT
I don’t ever remember this musical going for an overtly Comedic or farcical tone?! It’s not farcical, but there’s more than one kind of comedy. The first paragraph of Frank Rich’s New York Times review of the original Broadway production: “ There's nothing novel about show-stopping songs and performances in Broadway musicals, but how long has it been since a musical was brought to a halt by riotous jokes? If you ask me, one would have to travel back to the 1960's - to ''Bye Bye Birdie,'' ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and ''Little Me'' - to find a musical as flat-out funny as ''City of Angels,'' the new show about old Hollywood that arrived last night at the Virginia Theater.“ But the audience barely laughed last night.
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Post by intoanewlife on Mar 14, 2020 18:20:34 GMT
It’s not farcical, but there’s more than one kind of comedy. The first paragraph of Frank Rich’s New York Times review of the original Broadway production: “ There's nothing novel about show-stopping songs and performances in Broadway musicals, but how long has it been since a musical was brought to a halt by riotous jokes? If you ask me, one would have to travel back to the 1960's - to ''Bye Bye Birdie,'' ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and ''Little Me'' - to find a musical as flat-out funny as ''City of Angels,'' the new show about old Hollywood that arrived last night at the Virginia Theater.“ But the audience barely laughed last night. Honestly my mate and I (who had never even heard of it before let alone seen it) laughed all the way through it and thought it was very funny. But it became obvious rather quickly that we were alone in this because no one else in the theatre was getting the jokes. I think maybe because most of the humour is quite sly and not overly exaggerated most of it flew right over the audiences head.
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2020 19:52:11 GMT
It’s not farcical, but there’s more than one kind of comedy. The first paragraph of Frank Rich’s New York Times review of the original Broadway production: “ There's nothing novel about show-stopping songs and performances in Broadway musicals, but how long has it been since a musical was brought to a halt by riotous jokes? If you ask me, one would have to travel back to the 1960's - to ''Bye Bye Birdie,'' ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and ''Little Me'' - to find a musical as flat-out funny as ''City of Angels,'' the new show about old Hollywood that arrived last night at the Virginia Theater.“ But the audience barely laughed last night.
Blame the production, not the script.
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Post by distantcousin on Mar 14, 2020 21:02:49 GMT
But the audience barely laughed last night. Honestly my mate and I (who had never even heard of it before let alone seen it) laughed all the way through it and thought it was very funny. But it became obvious rather quickly that we were alone in this because no one else in the theatre was getting the jokes. I think maybe because most of the humour is quite sly and not overly exaggerated most of it flew right over the audiences head. I certainly recognised where the humourous lines were, but they just weren't laugh out loud funny to me. Just mildly amusing.
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Post by Jane Parfitt on Mar 15, 2020 8:51:59 GMT
Two tickets for sale for 7.30pm show on Weds 18th March, end of row A in stalls. Bought from TodayTix sale for £70, will accept £50 for the pair. Obvs money will be refunded if theatre closes before Weds. Also listed on Noticeboard.
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Post by happytobehere on Mar 17, 2020 15:38:30 GMT
I’ve got a ticket for the 20th, It hasn’t been cancelled (yet), do we think it will be? If so am I likely to be refunded?
As much as I would like to help out the theatre industry by letting them keep my ticket cost, i’m quite short on money right now, so would prefer a refund if it is cancelled.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 17, 2020 15:47:06 GMT
I’ve got a ticket for the 20th, It hasn’t been cancelled (yet), do we think it will be? If so am I likely to be refunded? Yes, unfortunately it will be cancelled. I also have a ticket for the same night. I presume the theatres that are only announcing cancellations on a night-by-night basis are doing this in the hope that there's an official closure notice given by the Government (and they can claim on their insurance etc). Or this might be to just manage cashflow, so they don't have to pay out a lot of money all on the same day.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Mar 17, 2020 15:47:56 GMT
I’ve got a ticket for the 20th, It hasn’t been cancelled (yet), do we think it will be? If so am I likely to be refunded? As much as I would like to help out the theatre industry by letting them keep my ticket cost, i’m quite short on money right now, so would prefer a refund if it is cancelled. You will be receiving an email from your point of purchase most likely - they are obligated to refund or exchange. A lot of agencies including the one I work for are still receiving information from various theatres in terms of how they want us to proceed. (compared to how it has been, absolutely hell on Earth, bar this morning - it has been very calm)
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Post by Jane Parfitt on Mar 17, 2020 16:45:41 GMT
The Garrick/Nimax website confirms it's closed
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Post by musicalmarge on Mar 17, 2020 20:27:55 GMT
Damn. Did this even open?
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Post by sf on Mar 17, 2020 20:29:13 GMT
Damn. Did this even open?
Press night was supposed to be March 24th.
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Post by anthony40 on Mar 17, 2020 20:38:38 GMT
You know every now and then this random thought of empathy for Vanessa Williams pops into my head. All pumped up for this show, only to find the she's stuck over here with her family back in America and not being able to leave.
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Post by theoracle on Mar 17, 2020 20:44:49 GMT
Damn. Did this even open?
Press night was supposed to be March 24th.
I booked especially for the 25th... having to miss a Rob Houchen show pains me. And yes, Vanessa Williams must be having a hard time right now^^. This must be scary
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2020 20:54:59 GMT
Got to be one of the shorted west end stints then? So sad not to have seen this - I love most of the cast in their individual projects and to see such a talented bunch of people putting on a show would have been a joy.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 17, 2020 20:56:21 GMT
Really sad, a wonderful cast and I was hoping for a cast recording. So glad I caught one of their previews
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Post by princeton on Mar 17, 2020 21:50:47 GMT
I don't think there's been any announcement about it being cancelled altogether, in fact the official twitter feed only mentions performances this week.. At the moment Nimax (along with Delfont Mackintosh and LW Theatres) is cancelling performances on a week-by-week basis (tickets still on sale for performances from 23 April) - and whilst in reality it may be some time before it's business as usual, and City of Angels may be one of the casualties that don't reopen, I think it's premature to write it off altogether.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Mar 17, 2020 22:12:50 GMT
If anything this seems unlikely to close outright compared to most shows since it's supposed to close in September.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 17, 2020 22:41:58 GMT
Is something else already booked for the theatre afterwards? If not, it could continue.
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Post by mrbluesky on Mar 17, 2020 22:52:56 GMT
Is something else already booked for the theatre afterwards? If not, it could continue. The Drifters Girl is booked in, but I suspect we may see a few theatres rejigging dates in the coming weeks. Hopefully this’ll get back on track soon.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2020 23:22:15 GMT
You know every now and then this random thought of empathy for Vanessa Williams pops into my head. All pumped up for this show, only to find the she's stuck over here with her family back in America and not being able to leave. I’d imagine she’s in conversations to leave ASAP. There’s no reason for her to stay if she cannot do the job and her home country is looking at closing it’s borders. Her understudy might just need to step up.
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Post by theoracle on Apr 6, 2020 14:21:11 GMT
With the show now postponed until June, will this mean any adjustment to the casting? Will Rob Houchen, Rosalie Craig and Theo James now be staying beyond the 30th May date or be returning on later in the run? I really regret not booking to see this on an earlier date now
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Post by couldileaveyou on Apr 6, 2020 14:33:08 GMT
With the show now postponed until June, will this mean any adjustment to the casting? Will Rob Houchen, Rosalie Craig and Theo James now be staying beyond the 30th May date or be returning on later in the run? I really regret not booking to see this on an earlier date now If Chichester's South Pacific hasn't been cancelled there's no way Rob Houchen can return, he'll need to start rehearsals in June
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Post by theatrefan77 on Apr 8, 2020 23:27:47 GMT
Nimax has refunded me for the performance I was due to attend in two weeks. Really quick service. I only applied a few days ago. A big thank you to them! Much appreciated. This is the quickest refund I've got during this period.
I must say that most of my other bookings have been refunded/exchanged or they are in the process. The exception is ATG, the only ones still pending, and they are not replying my emails or answering the phone.
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Post by longinthetooth on Apr 9, 2020 10:13:07 GMT
I was very impressed with their refund process too. I was due to go on 20th May. Had the email on the 6th, replied, and received refund on the same day. Wish the same could be said for ATG.
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Post by lou on Apr 9, 2020 10:32:39 GMT
Did Nimax contact you? I was due to go on the 2nd May but haven’t heard yet.
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