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Post by robertb213 on Jun 17, 2023 11:40:16 GMT
I sat in B7 of the Dress Circle, sold as restricted view from a hand rail in front, but it blocks maybe 10% of the very front of the stage and you miss literally nothing. It helps that I'm tall but I think anyone would be fine there.
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Post by robertb213 on May 31, 2023 13:41:41 GMT
Yeah she was fabulous, she's come on such a long way and her voice is so strong now. Really glad I went.
Could've done without The Overtones turning part of the second half into a naff 70s wedding reception though, it completely shattered the "musical theatre haven" she'd spent 90 minutes creating.
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Post by robertb213 on May 30, 2023 9:58:31 GMT
For anyone attending the Drury Lane concert tonight and needs to plan transport, the show will be two 1-hour acts and should finish around 9.50.
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Post by robertb213 on May 26, 2023 13:56:17 GMT
I agree with FrontroverPaul, I reviewed it at Curve on Tuesday and thought it was great. It was never going to top the scale and spectacle of Drury Lane but it's still really well done and the dance sequences are fabulous. The staircase still looks good, not as jaw-dropping but still a great moment. It was lovely to see Ruthie in a show again. The voice has lessened, it's definitely not what it was, but echoes of it remain and she's still good. She plays Dorothy more like Norma Desmond and if she could hit the big notes of Sunset Boulevard I'd love to see her in that. And Nicole is really good too, she more than makes up for the vanilla turn she gave in Anything Goes.
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Post by robertb213 on May 26, 2023 10:26:33 GMT
Does anyone have a list of the orchestra in this production? I do - 4 reeds, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 French horn, 1 double bass, and drums.
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Post by robertb213 on May 24, 2023 10:45:31 GMT
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Post by robertb213 on May 22, 2023 11:51:10 GMT
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Post by robertb213 on May 19, 2023 10:30:32 GMT
I'm still not sold on Nicole, she's too "obviously powerful" with no fragility, but always happy to be proven wrong. It'll be interesting to see who the understudy is, I suspect Nicole maybe won't do the matinées.
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Post by robertb213 on May 17, 2023 11:27:12 GMT
She has a great voice but reads very young for Eva.
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Post by robertb213 on May 16, 2023 14:53:29 GMT
Sounds fairly credible, but hopefully the talk of Nicole is just speculation. There are like a thousand better choices than her for this. She's great but she's not Norma. Satine in Moulin Rouge, absolutely.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 27, 2023 9:06:36 GMT
If there's a third season around 80s musicals, I would like to warmly invite you....Schmanadu 🤣🤣 Schmarlight Express Les Schmiserables Schmats Little Schmop of Horrors Schmonday in the Park with George The Schmantom of the Opera Schmiss Schmaigon Much as I like the last one, i think you win. Some excellent choices! It's annoying that it has to be named after a place rather than just a show! 🤣
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 26, 2023 15:34:31 GMT
If there's a third season around 80s musicals, I would like to warmly invite you....Schmanadu 🤣🤣
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 21, 2023 14:42:14 GMT
Not even that.... a video of one song from it... 🤣🤣
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 20, 2023 12:43:35 GMT
Careful robertb213 - they'll screenshot this, post it on socials and tell you they are at 94% capacity for the whole run! Haha! Brilliant 🤣
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 20, 2023 10:20:35 GMT
It'll most likely be the cast recording or the filmed release of the concert. It hasn't been selling well enough for it to transfer or tour.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 16, 2023 21:23:59 GMT
It didn't do much for me I'm afraid. Hardly an exciting plot and the twist didn't redeem it. It was nice to hear a big orchestra but there were very few memorable songs, and even a cast that good couldn't pump much life into it. I very much doubt we'll see it again in any major way.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 15, 2023 13:54:38 GMT
So glad this got a second season, it really is a massive step up. The references are brilliant and it's much more accessible with a wider appeal. Great to see Jane Krakowski featured more as well.
Very much hope they get an "80s mega-musical" third season 🤞
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 14, 2023 20:25:41 GMT
The review is pretty badly written, to be fair ("would of"..."rememberable"?). The show is much better than 2 stars.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 14, 2023 19:01:51 GMT
Felt more of a solid 3 to me 😀 I personally was leaning towards 4 stars. I adore the show but this production does have its flaws when compared to Broadway, but looking at it on its own merits I’d say it was a 4 star with the strength of the cast and costumes. (But then again it depends on if you read 3 stars as ‘good’ or ‘mediocre’. To me 4 stars = great with some flaws so not perfect. I know people class them differently.) Fair, and great that you love it so much. The cast and whole aesthetic of the show are brilliant, I just found the story and songs lacking a bit. Enjoyable fun though.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 14, 2023 18:53:15 GMT
Felt more of a solid 3 to me 😀
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 14, 2023 18:51:50 GMT
Lack of interest I suspect. There were deals on Travelzoo for it.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 14, 2023 9:43:57 GMT
She's back! Two shows, Sunday 29th October 😁
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 13, 2023 23:05:29 GMT
I can confirm Gareth was on tonight and danced with no obvious hindrance from any injury, he did fine. As for the show itself, it never really got past silly pantomime fun for me. With such minimal story they needed really strong songs to carry it, and most of them aren't. Maybe it's a grower. They need to be very thankful that they found Lewis Cornay, he really is a brilliant lead. I also followed Tom Read Wilson into the auditorium. Sorry but his voice doesn't half grate. I’ll admit that the tour doesn’t do the emotional beats as well as the Broadway version. (In my opinion anyway) you end up really feeling for Sandy being persecuted as an outsider and Squidward for not getting to perform until mid Act 2. If you can find the liveshoot or a bootleg then it’s worth checking out. Yeah I've got the proshot and 2 bootlegs (Chicago and Broadway) to watch over the weekend, I'll still give them a go. Just had the cast recording on while driving home as well, it's just not doing it for me. This production gets the characterisation spot-on and it's very bright and energetic, but the story and songs just aren't enough for me. "Just A Simple Sponge" was the only moment for me where it stepped out of pantomime and into musical theatre, it really delivered at that point.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 13, 2023 20:59:01 GMT
I can confirm Gareth was on tonight and danced with no obvious hindrance from any injury, he did fine. As for the show itself, it never really got past silly pantomime fun for me. With such minimal story they needed really strong songs to carry it, and most of them aren't. Maybe it's a grower. They need to be very thankful that they found Lewis Cornay, he really is a brilliant lead.
I also followed Tom Read Wilson into the auditorium. Sorry but his voice doesn't half grate.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 13, 2023 20:54:41 GMT
After the Reprise concert last week, Jessica Daley would be fab as Eva.
Unless maybe they're going colourblind casting following Sylvia's success?
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 13, 2023 12:59:08 GMT
I'm reviewing tonight, I'll report back 😁
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 10, 2023 9:36:59 GMT
Yes it's definitely worth remembering that the "badly-behaved" are in the massive minority, I'm coming up to 200 shifts and I can count the number of really difficult people on one hand. Most people once they've been told to stop filming or be quiet are completely fine afterwards. Definitely don't let these incidents put any of you off volunteering, it's a really tiny portion of audience behaviour overall.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 10, 2023 8:28:03 GMT
I volunteer at a regional theatre, and it's the production company for each show who decide everything around announcements, filming and photography, latecomers, signage etc, which is why there's such variation in rules between shows. We do whatever we're instructed to do by them, it's never our decision. Most companies are against pre-show announcements as they feel it sets the shows off in a "buzz-kill" tone. And yet they still want us to stop people from recording, taking photos and singing! It's really not an easy job to do sometimes.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 10, 2023 8:21:42 GMT
Did they include both of Tommy and Winnie's songs - 'I'll share it all with you' and 'Who do you love, i hope' ? I assume it was the 1999 version they did, with all the 'updates' such as including 'Old Fashioned Wedding' and cutting 'I'm an Indian too' I wish I had been able to see it. Yes to all of those inclusions and exclusions 😁
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 8, 2023 18:17:07 GMT
I loved it. I definitely felt this is the way to do the "old classics" now, skip the overly-long talking sections and replace it with snappy narration in order to get to the glorious songs played by a fantastic orchestra. Agree that the secondary couple didn't really add anything to it, but Oliver and Rachel were absolutely brilliant. Rachel in particular showed how well she can do comedy, aside from sounding phenomenal as always. Between Elphaba, Beverley Bass and Annie Oakley, she really is top-drawer talent and incredibly versatile.
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