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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 13:18:04 GMT
Well that comment is nonsense. Beauty and the Beast was a great commercial success all around the world and ran for over a decade on Broadway. The several UK tours I agree were more successful that it’s shorter West End run. The amazing Aida did over 5 years on Broadway and was very popular in Europe. Tarzan too now has amazing success in Germany. And there are little shows called Aladdin and Mary Poppins that both ran for years on both the West End and broadway with tours all over the world that still continue to play. It’s not just Lion King that had been a success. Success in Germany is hardly a benchmark, after all even Frank Wildhorn is usually a roaring success over here Because Starlight Express in Germany which has run for decades isn’t a benchmark of success? Sure.... Have you seen the price of tickets for musicals in Germany? Your UK centric view on theatre not being important in Europe is wrong. Stage Ents based in Holland in turn brings shows to the West End, so the success of Europe greatly impacts our London theatre scene.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 12:49:30 GMT
You can never have enough Dick. Wonder if there are any scenes when Dick is behind you. Will have to see on Tuesday. Ironcially the line “dick is behind you” isn’t in it. I think the funniest dick lines come from Elaine Paige! Just brilliant. It’s the best panto I’ve ever seen.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 12:46:56 GMT
Well. I thought it was just gorgeous. The puppets were brilliant and no-one can tell me that mini Grinpayne wasn't real. I gasped, yes gasped (ask the woman next to me) when the wolf first appeared. And the whole thing looks like a storybook come to life. The cast are sensational, Louis Maskell is a delightful hero and he's ably supported by Amanda Wilkin as the sex mad Duchess and Sean Kingsley as Ursus. Sanne Den Besten is lovely and coped magnificently with a rogue contact lens in the second act. But the two standouts for me are Mark Anderson as Dirry-Moir and especially Julian Bleach as Barkilphedro. If he features on the Olivier list next year, it'll be more than deserved. Go see it and in the words of Dirry-Moir, prepare to sh*t kittens. The random modern expletives were hysterical! I’m booking to see this again!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 10:31:32 GMT
Razzle bloody dazzle ........ ugh!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 8:48:59 GMT
Not sure why anyone is surprised at the meh reviews. Ive said before that Disney dont actually have a good track record on stage. If you take out the mega hit Lion King, its v patchy indeed. Tarzan and Little Mermaid flopped in NY, Hunchback and Jungle Book havent even made it to Broadway. Beauty and Beast did ok. Aladdin may buck the trend. Certainly Pinnochio will see out its NT run and fade. Frozen looms large on the horizon of course, but you feel they should have done better. Well that comment is nonsense. Beauty and the Beast was a great commercial success all around the world and ran for over a decade on Broadway. The several UK tours I agree were more successful that it’s shorter West End run. The amazing Aida did over 5 years on Broadway and was very popular in Europe. Tarzan too now has amazing success in Germany. And there are little shows called Aladdin and Mary Poppins that both ran for years on both the West End and broadway with tours all over the world that still continue to play. It’s not just Lion King that had been a success.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 0:20:50 GMT
Exactly. There's that, and the stink in this rumor (I honestly don't think it's a rumor as much as someone just pulling this out of their ass) is that you'd need to seriously scale up the production if this were to happen at the Palladium. The Shubert is a much smaller stage and theatre than the huge Palladium. With just over 1400 seats, they'd have to worry about selling additional 800 seats at the Palladium and scale up the sets, re-stage and re-choreography. And while Londoners would like Midler, these star vehicles don't work as much in London as they do in New York (sans shows with Sheridan Smith, go figure). I'd just like to personally make a point that I definitely did not "pull this out of my ass", I heard from it somebody in the biz. Now whether they, or the person that they got it from did, I cannot possibly say. What I can say is that the tone of this chat needs to come down a couple of notches & people need to stop being so bloody outraged that it was even suggested for a second that the hottest ticket on Broadway might find its way to the West End. It's not the strangest suggestion that we've ever mulled over. Now, let's chill & dream of Bette. Maybe some of us know the producers on broadway! It’s never ever going to open in London. Sorry, End of dream.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 23:21:14 GMT
I also ADORED this tonight. Wow what a show. I must preferred this to last years. So many amazing effects, fireworks, no expense spared and Julian is worth the ticket price alone. hysterical.
Elaine Paige was a good sport and did her various MT known songs. What a riot, one of the BEST evenings entertainment I’ve had for ages. You must all see it!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 16:08:18 GMT
It is NEVER going to happen people. STOP. Bette is on 150,000k a week and also on ten percent.
The maths for ticket prices in the West End unless they charge 300 pounds a ticket do not work out. Plus she’s been in it in broadway for a long time. Gig is done.
She can do concerts and get a months pay in one night.
NEVER HAPPENING.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 11:38:46 GMT
I happened to love this show...clever, creative and wonderful performances. The storytelling is a bit on the nose and some of the backstory with the Fox doesn't work, but no one ever promised Disney here - it is a Tiffany/NT production. OIs it dark, yes - but i was crying toward the end. Do we think it will get a transfer? Definitely no transfer for this. It's got to survive it's reviews as well... Press Night tonight. The show isn’t transferring. My mole inside the NT said the internal response to the show is not good. They basically admit the show doesn’t go anywhere, no big numbers, doesn’t know if it’s a play or a musical, the creatives have issues with the book and direction and hasn’t been the creative success they wanted it to be. Such a shame. Still, I look forward to seeing it in January, and hope they continue to work on it.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 14, 2017 0:48:25 GMT
So, I just looked back at my previous #receipts, and hasn't there been an announcement that Chenoweth was also involved a musical adaptation of Soapdish (that was supposed to try out at the Other Palace)..and somehow that fizzled out. emhm. And: "A spokesperson for Universal Theatrical Group confirmed there is no creative team—including a composer, book writer, or director—attached to the project at this time." So it's looking even more remote! They could have attached Meryl & Goldie to it for all this announcement was worth. Great well that’s another 5 years then. I’m still waiting for The Devil Wears Prada
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 13, 2017 22:33:52 GMT
Shouldn’t this be in international?
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 13, 2017 22:29:07 GMT
Saw this tonight.
I thought it was creative, haunting, unique, amusing and very entertaining. A tad long and it’s rather dischordant but that’s part of its charm. The puppets are a charm.
It is very different yes, but everyone in my group enjoyed it very much.
Some wonderful performances and voices. A really enjoyable, dark and alternative show - especially for non musical lovers. Really worth seeing.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 19:03:16 GMT
...an overpriced basement fringe theatre experience in south London... It isn't a basement (though the toilets are in the basement). Have you ever been to the Menier? Ah yes you’re right. I always think of the wooden stairs and walking down into the auditorium.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 11:02:17 GMT
Saw Woman in White matinee yesterday and was blown away. Focussing the action back on the actors rather than the gimmicks of projection and fat suits was absolutely the right move. My friend described it as the best singing she had ever seen on stage and I would have to agree. Only issues I had was the lack of focus from Chris Peluso's Sir Percival Glyde. It felt more like he was charming himself rather than his targets: his aggressive outbursts seemed out of place and forced as a result. Castilligios's (Fosco) italian accent inexplicably slipped from time to time but the intent of his two big numbers complimented the story so much better and his 'Get Away With Anything' was a genuine showstopper (no mice in sight). The trio of ladies were completely in sync and the relationship between Laura and Marion was convincing and moving. I was disappointed by O'Byrne's Christine Daae in Love Never Dies. As Laura, however, she is just outstanding. See it before it's gone. Given that Greg was born in Italy and was brought up in Milan, I'm not sure that it was an accent? Hehehehe..... I was about to say the same thing. Greg IS Italian! His accent is real! I thought he was sensational. I’m going to return.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 10:56:04 GMT
Did you go and see it or not Marge? Seeing the masterpiece that is Barnum next week! Hoorah... “The colours oooooof myyyyyy lifeeeeeeeee!”....
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 10:36:26 GMT
The point I made, which was ignored, is that the cost of the Newsies trip was far more than the ticket price. On the other thread, it was said that people couldn't afford to pay the Menier ticket prices and yet they can afford to fly to New York for a theatre jaunt. This doesn't make sense to me. And people on this thread have clearly explained that the ticket price is based on the costs of the production, which seems a fair and sensible pricing policy, so the issue is just that some individuals don't want to pay a fair price because they'd expect to derive insufficient personal benefit from attending. Hold the front page. Then just don't go... So you wouldn’t complain if a bottle of water at a theatre was 20 pounds? Of course you would! “Don’t like it? Don’t buy the water!” Nonsense....
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 1:13:54 GMT
I swear issues with health is getting more and more common it feels. Its like when I went to Les Mis and someone had a heart attack in the interval. And then there is an audio on YouTube of at Wicked, during For Good, some audience member yelled continuously HELP, HELP because someone had got ill. Just me? It’s just you and the fact that we now have social media I think. I’m sure people died watching Shakespeare 400 years ago at the original Globe.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 11, 2017 1:11:09 GMT
The music is really only about 50% rap. It is super accessible! The rap is only a part of it; Lin has crafted some fantastic melodies. Don’t be put off. If I’m really honest I preferred In The Heights and I thought Hamilton had too much rap. A little less would be better. 40 percent? It’s too fast to constantly listen to and digest all the clever text and lyrics. It’s amazing yes - but I was so glad every single time when a song came next. It gave pace and added a more dynamic output to engage with.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 10, 2017 0:26:00 GMT
Because the mainly middle/upper class successful white audience can afford it so they don’t care! If they cared about students, working class communities of Lambeth or the theatre community they wouldn’t charge those prices or at least have a proper concession scheme. What they offer doesn’t cut it for me. The prices have doubled in recent years. Are you the same musicalmarge who just said on another thread that they saw Newsies in New York? I guess that trip cost more than £47.50. I’m not sure you can compare an overpriced basement fringe theatre experience in south London with a trip to New York where I got tickets to the major new Broadway show Newsies for 60 dollars or whatever I paid. Next you’ll want to know where I buy my grocery shopping I suppose? Maybe what area I live in? Annual salary? Weird....
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 21:54:05 GMT
It drives me mad this has done so well in Europe and along with Aida has never been in the UK. I saw them both on Broadway and loved them! Little Mermaid was the Disney flop for me! We get them BIG or not at all. Shame.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 21:24:57 GMT
I saw this twice last week while on holiday in Australia, and I loved it. The way they’ve combined the new music with the ABBA songs works really well. A week later many of the new songs are firmly stuck in my head - I wasn’t familiar with the composers before, but I loved what they’ve done with it. I was a bit dubious beforehand about the story being updated to the present day, but it totally made sense when I saw it. The cast are excellent - and what an impressive debut from Maggie McKenna. It deserves to have a long life beyond Sydney, and I hope it makes it over to the UK at some point. Definitely see it if you have the chance - I left with a huge smile on my face and promptly rebooked for the next day. So good to read!!!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 21:02:39 GMT
I just saw the first half of this. Dreadful. I can’t believe they charging around £40 for these tickets - I only paid a fiver, thank god. What can I say? I cant believe Sheffield Theatres conjured up something this tacky. I’ve seen amateur productions with more aesthetic appeal. Slippers that were more white than red. A blue dress that turned green under the lighting... haha. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe the munchkins and the witch. The whole thing was so poor for Sheffied - I wish I could praise the direction or cast or something, but sadly I can’t. Interesting to know what others think. Hopefully I haven’t turned into Scrooge. I love the film. I’ve hated every single stage version. I just don’t think it works!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 20:50:33 GMT
I've seen it too...i wouldn't class it as lavish in terms of physical production in the same.way other Disney Broadway shows have been I must have dreamt the various rotating split level metal towers that depicted Manhattan then. My fault!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 20:36:14 GMT
I fully agree with Daniel above. Marcus isn't awful or a disgrace, just not as good as the cast around him. He does a passable attempt. I heard he did the tightrope successfully on Thurs & Fri night. The rest of the cast are incredibly talented, and the design, direction, choreography, magic tricks and lights are all incredible. I really had fun at the show, it's not perfect but it's a really fun night out. So intimate too. I’m sorry but is this honestly what audiences are expected to pay for now then? “A passable attempt”? Looking at the Menier website, standard tickets are £47.50! Their premier seats (and there looks to be more of them than ‘standard’) are a whopping £49.50! I can see four restricted view seats on sale at £25 per performance... I call that a lot of money for something that is, in your words, “not perfect”. Shouldn’t we have higher expectations of professional shows at such high prices? I know I do... Because the mainly middle/upper class successful white audience can afford it so they don’t care! If they cared about students, working class communities of Lambeth or the theatre community they wouldn’t charge those prices or at least have a proper concession scheme. What they offer doesn’t cut it for me. The prices have doubled in recent years.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 20:32:15 GMT
Because that's the benchmark that Disney has set; The Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, AIDA, Aladdin. And that's the way they're going with Frozen. Basically recreating the cartoon image on stage so given this, it's not unrealistic to expect something of a similar nature. But those are big West end and Broadway shows, this is being done at the national for a limited run and isn't being marketed as 'Disney's Pinocchio'. Also those movies were big lavish fairytales. Pinocchio has always had a different feel and is a different type of story so sorry yes I think it is unrealistic to just assume all Disney shows are the same. Newsies, jungle book, hunchback, Peter and starcatchers...none were big or lavish. Newsies was very lavish actually! A big huge dance musical on Broadway. I saw it!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 8:29:40 GMT
Parsley said the singing was bad? I thought it was just superb! Utter nonsense.... It wasn't bad it just wasn't good. All 3 female leads struggled with the score @ times. Occasionally shouting which is not ainging[/quote] A rock belt, smooth opera soprano, choir boy falsetto, musical theatre twang, a deep jazz bass voice, Mongolian throat singing, crazy squeals of Carol Channing - it’s all just vibration in the vocal folds to produce sound and noise. It’s all a form of singing. The cast of Woman in White are some of the best singers on the West End stage.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 8:24:53 GMT
No song for the first HOUR??? No BIG set pieces?
Eek
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 8:17:53 GMT
I read in Forbes that Lin makes on average 107,000 dollars a week alone off the broadway show. He’s on 7 percent taking! There are now 5 companies right?
KACHING!!!!!!!!!
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 8, 2017 16:20:29 GMT
I'm heading there on Monday and looking forward to it. Just incase anyone else has booked row AA and was wondering what was happening with their seat based on earlier comments in this thread saying the row had been removed - I just had a chat with the theatre and they informed me it's only the seats on the end of this row that have been removed. The seats in the middle of the row are remaining. I got a phone call and was moved to seats mid stalls from the AA I had booked
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 8, 2017 15:08:39 GMT
I enjoyed this more than Hamilton!
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