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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 24, 2021 15:52:04 GMT
I think that they are taking the mickey. You booked a front row seat. The price is irrelevant. I’m quite sure that the t&c’s cover them but it really sucks that they aren’t doing more to give people what they booked. I’m going next Wednesday and STILL have tickets. Just got the email. Sadly I’ve also been moved from the spinning front dance floor to the front of the circle. Still, I’m VERY glad I’m still going to the ball. See you all there!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 21, 2021 23:29:51 GMT
I’ve seen a photo of the masking on the Coliseum stage for Hairspray. It looks lost and tiny on that stage.
How sad they didn’t use the full proscenium and added a huge border to the sides.
I feel it will be lost in this theatre no?
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 20, 2021 14:20:22 GMT
I think maybe he should stop. And nurture upcoming musical writers instead. His last 4/5 shows have been… rubbish. School of Rock though musically bland and stonky was a super show. Love Never Dies Oz version though the story was questionable sounded gorgeous I think he has 2 more shows left in him. A luscious romantic score with hard hitting book and story.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 19, 2021 9:12:19 GMT
so what are the big changes for london? They’ve cut that horrible ballad True Love thank goodness. Let it go end of act one gets a staircase Ice spikes removed from monster (maybe rolled on instead?) A new duet song for Anna/Elsa called “I Can’t Lose You” Kristoff is also given a reprise of “What Do I Know About Love?” to better express his growing feelings for Anna. The second-act opener “Hygge” is trimmed down (or maybe cut?) And hopefully MUCH more A good read www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/news/post/frozen-musical-london
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 23:27:11 GMT
Reading today ALW says that he wants a serious next musical? Maybe on a subject like refugees? Any suggestions fellow board members? I’m still intrigued what he would do with Master and Margarita or the idea of him writing a musical on the true-life romance between Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of Bechuanaland (later Botswana) and his white british wife Ruth Williams Khama.
A serious Lloyd Webber musical with a controversial political figure would be good. Maybe with tragic ending. (Thinking Evita vibes)..... Harvey Milk? JFK? Martin Luther King?
Thoughts?
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 23:22:17 GMT
Sleepless? Ride? Lady Chatterley's Lover? You can’t compare them either? I suppose if they are not “full blown” West End musicals they aren’t so important? Hm. I’m not making any kind of judgement on the quality of the material. I just think you have to take into account the huge success ALW has had. He calls it a “world premiere,” which is used to promote all kinds of new writing, most of which only has a very limited run and isn’t seen again for years, if at all. The term has become somewhat meaningless. But in this case unless it’s another disaster he’s almost certain to try to take it to Broadway and beyond. It will literally premiere here before going on to the rest of the world. If it’s a success there’ll be productions of it here, there, and everywhere for the best part of the next decade. Those other shows can’t say that. That’s the difference. It could be the next Beautiful Game or Stephen Ward and finish after a year or so and never be heard of ever again!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 20:45:44 GMT
I just hope the staging for Monster is the same as it was on Broadway. The US tour and Australian productions (and I'm guessing all future productions) obviously had to remove the growing ice spikes since they couldn't have trapdoors but the way they replaced it was horrendous. The ice spikes in monster was one of the very FEW good things I saw watching the show on Broadway.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 20:42:42 GMT
It’s pretty narcissistic to compare a verbatim musical with a small cast that only played 5 performances to a full blown West End musical by a world famous composer and an Oscar winning writer. Sleepless? Ride? Lady Chatterley's Lover? You can’t compare them either? I suppose if they are not “full blown” West End musicals they aren’t so important? Hm.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 15:27:11 GMT
Actually the world premiere of new musical Lady Chatterley's Lover will open at the Shaftesbury Theatre tonight. I’m sure there are others too. Cinderella is NOT the first pandemic musical.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 8:08:43 GMT
Well that was... that was something. As always it’s incredibly commendable trying to put something on during these times, I’ll leave it at that! I left at the interval last night. IT WAS DREADFUL
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 18, 2021 6:37:39 GMT
The musical and physical style of this show is all over the place!!!
It’s not a bad tune - shame like Far Too Late is goes nowhere. Hm
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 17, 2021 13:40:22 GMT
Perhaps they will add an ice castle? Haha
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 17, 2021 12:55:13 GMT
I’m more excited to see the revolving seats than the show haa
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 14, 2021 17:10:01 GMT
Well Boris’s announcement has buggered this show!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 14, 2021 11:46:04 GMT
I am WORRIED about this show
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 11, 2021 22:57:00 GMT
Well .... I saw this tonight.
I was disappointed. The cast is great and it looks super - but it all falls a little flat. The singing was obviously all done in a studio beforehand... and there are no breaths/etc and it doesn’t look or sound natural, more like a lip sync recording. It’s all a little “plastic” if that makes sense and a tad over produced.
Next up the book / changes. The story is thin anyway, but there were many times during the film where I was, well, bored. It’s almost 2 1/2 hours and it sadly dragged. I didn’t like the abstract drawing in mid air, that idea was never followed through. That said, the group street dance sections and montages are magnificent (though perhaps a tad busy and again over produced). The rap to pop to Latino melodies of this musical pre Hamilton are glorious as we all know. The music and dancing is what saves it - it was after all a wonderful stage show but this stage to screen version sadly lost its magic for me.
Coming to the original stage show.... I was angry that they ramped up all the social division, politics and race issues too. Why? At one point I thought it was like watching social justice the musical. Also when was it meant to be set? 2015? 2020? Would there really be no white, Arab, Russian or Asian people living in the far upper east side area Washington Heights? Not ONE? Really? I thought this obvious Latino division meets ghetto made the film divided / especially the downtown scenes “where she met the white folk” and added sub text to characters journeys. Cringe. Empowerment and the fight for inclusivity I’m afraid can come across that you’re just fighting discrimination with discrimination. Ugh.
For these book changes I sadly felt that it became a racially loaded musical about immigration, xenophobia (both ways), socio-economic tension in modern day NYC and racial division that it never EVER was on stage.
Such a shame as the cast were superb. The book should have been left alone.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 9, 2021 15:53:43 GMT
I believed too. Whistle was on the line and then came The Woman in White and THEN Stephen Ward.... Eek. The re-staged Woman was utterly fantastic though. The original was sunk by a misconceived production. Putting an intimate show like that in a barn of a theatre didn’t help either.... Agreed ok. WOMAN IN WHITE in Charring Cross was MUCH better without the Microsoft works 2003 digital set. Ha... On another note ALW should be ARRESTED and locked up if he breaks the law.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 9, 2021 15:51:50 GMT
But the “star of asteroth” is on the tiger kings medal! That’s part of the story. The penguins in poppins didn’t add to the story. Hmmm
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 8, 2021 12:01:59 GMT
I wonder how they will do the underwater sequences, flying bed and famous cartoon football match wifh animals - it’s quite the challenge!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 8, 2021 12:00:00 GMT
Has everyone seen the video of Sutton that’s recently resurfaced on twitter where she’s performing And I Am Telling You in a concert and doing a pretty offensive Jennifer Holliday “impression”, and effectively making fun of black voices? I’m definitely not a fan of “cancel culture” and the way people seem not to be allowed to make a single mistake for fear of being mauled by the social media mobs but what Sutton’s done was tone-deaf at best, and I think it’s completely understandable that many black actors in the industry are finding it offensive. It was supposedly about 10 years ago when this was filmed but as others have said online, I still don’t really see how she would have viewed this type of micro-aggression as acceptable even in 2010. Hopefully she can try to make amends for this because it seems many of the theatre people who were initially very excited to see her West End debut are now wishing she wasn’t coming at all! This is why I just hate living in the UK in 2021. Woke cultural nonsense. Of COURSE she’s not being racist signing a famous Broadway belting song which had a signature theme and tone. Exactly the same way Somewhere Thats Green has a signature sound. For people to go back to social media messages and recordings from over a decade ago is also foolish - go back far enough and you can see homophobic AND racist comments from every leader on the planet. She was singing a song not in the KKK. I despair......
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 5, 2021 9:16:36 GMT
I'm booked in to see this twice - once on the twirly seats and once on the bog standard seats. No idea why, other than I'm curious and I believe in ALW's talent. I believed too. Whistle was on the line and then came The Woman in White and THEN Stephen Ward.... Eek.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 5, 2021 9:13:44 GMT
THERE WAS NO NEED FOR A NEW SONG FOR ELLEN IN ‘MISS SAIGON’! ‘Her or Me’ was one of the stand out moments so quite why they felt the need to scrap it and replace it with the inferior ‘Maybe’ is beyond me. This. 1000 times. THIS! 10000000 times. What a stupid decision to cut Her or Me.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 4, 2021 19:58:10 GMT
I loved this show on Broadway. The only problem was that Cher’s life isn’t THAT dramatic
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 4, 2021 19:57:30 GMT
Imagine if this is actually superb. Oh I DO hope SO! We don’t want another Stephen Ward!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 4, 2021 19:56:58 GMT
God I hope it’s good. You are right above that money doesn’t always work. I thought Frozen was average and lacked creativity.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 4, 2021 19:55:45 GMT
Wicked in the UK with the English accents adds class to the story and makes glinda a toff and it doesn’t work. “Darrrncing through life?” It’s PAINFUL. Terrible decision. It totally ruins the show in comparison to Broadway. I personally prefer Glinda having a British accent, it's closer to how she sounded in 'The Wizard of Oz'. As for the others, I don't mind if they're either British or American, but I can see why people have their preferences. But Wicked was written for an American accent, “DANcing through life”, “The WizaRrrd and I”, “Popularrrrrr” etc. With Glinda as a clueless cheerleader type American student it works with the setting and character. The trite staccato English clipped vowels and short consonants (water v waaadddter) changes the sound of the song, length of notes, vocal placing as well as adding class into the whole story. Is glinda upper class? From a wealthy family? Having a generic American Wicked sounds much better, is funnier, connected to the dream of Oz (that is Dorothy’s in Kansas not Cambridge) and most Elpheba’s slide into it when singing the songs anyway - Kerry Ellis and Louise Deadman both did.
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 4, 2021 11:06:03 GMT
Well I’m worried about this. It won’t be the production standards of Mackintosh or Disney on Broadway. Even the casting video sounds and looks touring cheap if you ask me.
I think it will be a regional cheesy 8/10 standard and good attempt at the film on stage using a cherry picker type Chitty arm for the bed (they did that on tour). BUT.... as it’s not having millions thrown at it or staying in one location it won’t be the marvel or Harry Potter 10/10 it could be.
I hope I’m wrong!!
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 3, 2021 8:21:37 GMT
I’ve seen better amateurs than Sheridan Smith and Amanda Holden.
Hamilton is generally not a great show. It was the hype and subject matter in America that made it a hit (and his previous shows).
Love Never Dies Australia (characters aside) is a gorgeous show.
Carrie, Dogfight Big Fish and Eugenius are better than most West End shows.
It’s a travesty that we haven’t had a Frank Wildhorn show on the West End, Scaet Pimpernel on Broadway was sensational.
Hello Dolly is a weird show with dated material.
Grease is misogynistic. Why should Sandy conform?
Les Mis and My Fair Lady are painfully long. No one wants a first act more than 1 hour 15.
Waitress is dull with 3 decent songs.
Six is too short and needs 3 extra songs now it’s more of a success.
Kinky Boots is a average show with 3 songs and doesn’t end properly.
Harry Potter the play could have been done in one part.
Wicked in the UK with the English accents adds class to the story and makes glinda a toff and it doesn’t work. “Darrrncing through life?” It’s PAINFUL. Terrible decision. It totally ruins the show in comparison to Broadway.
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Post by musicalmarge on May 17, 2021 7:31:36 GMT
With a 28 piece orchestra, cast of 16, director, choreographer and production team, I don't see it as a rip off when they're only selling 300 seats at each of the two performances. The people ripping very little profit from this are the stoic producers. I wonder how long they're rehearsing for? How much does the venue take (hire or % of box office)? Perhaps this is a prototype for some further dates; if not I can't see how it can do much more than break even - so good luck to them. Is it too much to pay though? Yes, for me - though with regret as I liked the early preview video of Mazz Murray.
I do wonder if post pandemic theatre is going to be priced out of reach for the average theatre goer....
The average theatre goer in London (you only have to look) is white, middle aged and the upper working/middle class that have money and mostly live in places like Surrey/Essex. The next are tourists that also have money (as it’s a one off annual event). Tickets in the UK are half the price (or more) of what they are on Broadway and their shows (pre covid) sell out every night. Also important to note that London theatre (unlike the regions) is full of sales; 2for1, lotteries, deals, discounts, solt’s TKTS, theatre weeks, day seat deals and gallery seat sections with tickets in most theatres for 20 pounds.
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Post by musicalmarge on May 14, 2021 9:17:43 GMT
I saw this on Broadway and although the book was rather vanilla and bland the performances, music and costumes ACE. I preferred it to many new show like Tina. I presumed it would come the the UK eventually
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