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Post by Oleanna on Jan 16, 2018 11:35:23 GMT
Why employ a younger person just because they’re younger?
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Post by Oleanna on Jan 12, 2018 23:18:53 GMT
Aren’t they likely to just use the touring set?
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Post by Oleanna on Jan 8, 2018 11:09:17 GMT
Sam O’Rourke gets my vote.
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Post by Oleanna on Jan 5, 2018 12:28:38 GMT
My main thought of why I don't think it'll be Peter Pan is that Qdos are doing it in Birmingham next year. Not impossible, but would Michael Harrison do the same show for his two flagships? I'd put my money on Snow White - the only reason I'd put that ahead of Jack and the Beanstalk is that Jack has just been done in Wimbledon - I don't think Snow White has been done close to London this year? (Happy to be corrected!) Above The Stag are doing “Snow White: Rotten to the Core”! 😛
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Follies
Jan 3, 2018 1:32:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by Oleanna on Jan 3, 2018 1:32:16 GMT
Will be back.
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 30, 2017 15:19:51 GMT
ALW has done dumbas*sh*t over and over again, so I'm not sure that holds. Having said that, you're entitled to like/love her all you want. Don't think the ALW comment is fair at all. You might not appreciate his music, but it has given pleasure to millions all over the world. Many who never saw Petula play Norma live put her down because of her perceived 'pop singer' background. Any research would show she has had a long and varied career.......including, as another poster has said, performing Norma more than any other singer! Ali973 said nothing about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s compositional output...
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 29, 2017 14:06:08 GMT
As far as the note before Prima Donna is concerned jgblunners Thanks for your input and insight into the show! When I saw Phantom the other month, Lara Martins sang the C rather than the E. As far as I can remember, the previous Carlotta that I've seen also opted for the C (can't remember who it was, but it was around the end of 2015/start of 2016 when JOJ made his brief return) - that's what made me think it was a permanent change. I actually find the RAH 25th anniversary recording disappointing for many reasons, one of which being the omission of this E. Delighted to confirm that at a performance at Her Majesty’s last week, Una Reynolds (as understudy Carlotta) sang the correct note at this moment (the high E). It seems Lara Martins has been responsible for singing the top C in this chord instead of the E as written.
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 23, 2017 13:09:51 GMT
Any further thoughts on whether or not EP is singing live in this? she 100% is. I say this with such confidence as when I saw it the other week, one of the big notes she went for was so horrendously flat we all winced. Brilliant! I’d rather that than a perfect click!
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 23, 2017 13:04:46 GMT
Any further thoughts on whether or not EP is singing live in this?
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 23, 2017 2:39:38 GMT
I think, as punishment, they should return to the NT and be made to rehearse the mirror number.
A 5-6-7-8...
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 22, 2017 16:36:00 GMT
I’m not sure about the official line put out by the RUG, but Andrew Lloyd Webber has always seemed to make the Ken Hill connection clear in interviews, as it is in all ALW biographies that I can think of.
It will be interesting to see how Lloyd Webber recounts it in his memoir, though we’ll have to wait for Vol. II for The Phantom of the Opera.
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 22, 2017 2:27:15 GMT
Thanks for your post, tonyloco, that is how I understand the history. Could you please tell us how WestEndProducer tells his version? OK. I'll précis it for the bones rather than the funny bits: "In 1984 after parting with Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber contacted Cameron Mackintosh to discuss a new musical based on The Phantom of the Opera and they both watched the two movie versions of Phantom (1925 Lon Chaney and 1943 Claud Raines) but realised it would be difficult to turn the story into a musical so put the idea on hold. Not long after, ALW was in New York and found a copy of the Gaston Leroux novel which inspired him to begin developing the show. In 1985 ALW held a private preview of the first act in his house and the finished show opened in the West End in 1986." The WEP's version is taken from the Wikipedia entry for The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber with some funny bits added. Thanks for this, tonyloco, seems like our WEP skimped on the detail here in order to make the story easier to tell! I should point out that, personally, I have little to no interest in Ken Hill’s adaptation, but interested to read about how each one came about and how they have (sort of) existed alongside each other for so many years!
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 21, 2017 20:02:24 GMT
May I change the direction of this thread and return to the show itself: The Phantom of the Opera. I am enjoying a West End Producer's new book but I was disappointed to find him telling an incorrect version of how Andrew Lloyd Webber hit upon writing Phantom and I thought I would set out the true story here so that readers of this estimable website will know what really happened. I give below an edited version of what currently appears in Wikipedia. I know this is correct because I was the person who advised Ken Hill on the selection of the operatic material that he used in his revised 1984 version of the show. KEN HILL’S PHANTOM OF THE OPERAKen Hill’s Phantom of the Opera was the first musical version of the story by Gaston Leroux and it inspired the award-winning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. While rummaging through a used-book shop, theatre director and writer Ken Hill picked up a copy of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera and eventually produced it as a stage musical. The first performance, at The Duke’s Playhouse in Lancaster, was on 26 July 1976, where it proved to be a hit. It was directed by John Blackmore, designed by Clare Lyth, with musical direction by Gary Yershon. It differed from the later version of Hill’s musical in having a modern musical score by Ian Armit (who also worked with Hill on other productions) in addition to excerpts from the opera Faust by Charles Gounod. In 1984, Hill revived his musical version of The Phantom of the Opera. This time however, he wanted to add the kind of music that would have been heard at the Paris Opéra (Palais Garnier) in the late 19th century. Consequently, he discarded the modern score by Ian Armit and fitted his original English lyrics to opera arias by Gounod, Offenbach, Verdi, Weber, Mozart, Donizetti, and Boito, thus creating a musical that reflected the era in which the original novel was set. This revised version of The Phantom of the Opera was put on as a joint production by the Newcastle Playhouse and the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and premiered at the Newcastle Playhouse on 3 April 1984, before shortly moving to Stratford East. The Theatre Royal Stratford East was opened in December 1884 and Phantom was presented as part of its centenary year celebrations. When the show got to Stratford East, Sarah Brightman, who later created the role of Christine in the Lloyd Webber version, was asked to perform the role of Christine in the 1984 cast but she turned it down, leaving the part for the opera singer Christina Collier. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who at the time was married to Brightman, and Cameron Mackintosh attended a performance of Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Prompted by the good reviews, they approached Hill about the possibility of their collaborating on developing a grand scale version of his Phantom in the West End, and offered to produce it. In fact, Hill and Lloyd Webber had worked together earlier on a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Winchester Theatre. Lloyd Webber and his producer, Cameron Mackintosh, had been highly enthusiastic when they broached Hill about his Phantom of the Opera but in the end, Lloyd Webber chose to pursue the musical without Hill. Productions of Hill's Phantom of the Opera in the USA in St. Louis and San Francisco were so successful that Hill was asked to mount a national tour of the United States. Jonathan Reinis (who later produced Ken Hill’s The Invisible Man in London) formed Phantom Touring Company Inc. who acted as the producers for the tour, along with Electric Factory Concerts. The tour began in 1989, with musical arrangements and designs by the original Newcastle Playhouse team. It performed to packed houses all over America for several years and travelled to approximately 110 cities. In 1991, Phantom of the Opera returned to the United Kingdom where it embarked on a national tour produced by Stewart Macpherson and then transferred to London’s West End. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 18 December 1991, with a similar cast to the 1984 production - Peter Straker was The Phantom and Christina Collier was Christine. But despite positive reviews, the West End production did poorly at the box office at the time of IRA bombings, and closed earlier than expected, on 11 April 1992. A West End Cast recording was released. Thanks for your post, tonyloco, that is how I understand the history. Could you please tell us how WestEndProducer tells his version?
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 7, 2017 21:11:12 GMT
Not to mention the Leicester Curve and Wales Millennium Centre.
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 6, 2017 14:16:44 GMT
Interesting that none of the reviews mention the Chichester production/UK tour but speak of the original production as being the most recent one.
Wonder how Cameron feels about the Menier doing their production now, so close to his...?
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 6, 2017 11:45:40 GMT
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 5, 2017 12:28:03 GMT
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 5, 2017 1:41:20 GMT
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 3, 2017 0:11:11 GMT
Could somebody please confirm whether this production uses the original Broadway “chase” overture, or the more common West End “duelling pianos” overture?
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 19, 2017 22:40:58 GMT
Neither of those things have been cut, they’re both still in the score. As for Carlotta’s reaction to Piangi’s death, dawnstar, I assume you mean where she says “What is it? What has happened? Ubaldo! Oh my darling, my darling. Who has done this...? You! Why did you let this happen?” (Wonderful dialogue btw). Again, it’s still in the score, and I’m not sure what Lara Martins does nightly at Her Majesty’s, but again, I’m not sure why Wendy Ferguson didn’t do it in The RAH production. In that moment in that production, there is a lot of extra screaming/shouting/dialogue anyway (to the detriment of the scene IMO, so perhaps, Carlotta’s line wasn’t deemed to be as important as the other things that were going on at the same time. Again, wild guess. I've seen *checks list* 9 Carlottas at Her Majesty's from 2008-16 & none of them did that dialogue so it may still be in the score but I've never heard it done onstage in 30 viewings of Phantom London. I can't speak for any other productions as I've only seen the London one. It’s very mysterious, and I’d certainly be interested to find out what’s going on (i.e whether it’s just the decision of one person, or if there’s another reason for it.) By the way, I’m not just a person with a score trying to prove a point. I am connected to the production, and these small differences in performances of the piece do interest me. It’s clear that neither of these 2 specific moments have been deleted permanently from the work, it just happens to be a recent thing within the production.
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 19, 2017 20:20:33 GMT
Apologies for the overuse of the word “again” in that post!
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 19, 2017 20:16:59 GMT
1) I will never forgive whoever made the decision to cut Carlotta's high note in the climactic chord just before 'Prima Donna'. The chord just sounds incomplete without it. Listen to the original cast recording and then the 25th anniversary and tell me it sounds anywhere near as good without that high note. I don't care if it's a bitch to sing, all ALW scores are. If it's the same person who also cut Carlotta's reaction to Piangi's death then I'm never forgiving them either. Neither of those things have been cut, they’re both still in the score. As far as the note before Prima Donna is concerned jgblunners, I assume you mean in the measure where Raoul and the Giry’s sing “What new surprises lie in store”? Carlotta sings “non vo’ cantar” and the phrase ends on a high E, which is the note Rosie Ashe sings on the OLC and the note Maggie Preece sings on the OST. Why Wendy Ferguson doesn’t sing it on the Albert Hall recording is a mystery, but it’s not because it’s been cut. I’m not sure what Lara Martins sings nightly at Her Majesty’s. On the Albert Hall recording, Wendy Ferguson sings a top C instead of the E. At a wild guess, I wonder if it’s because Wynne Evans doesn’t really have a top C in him, and it was preferable for a strong C to be at the top of the chord, even if it meant sacrificing the E above? As for Carlotta’s reaction to Piangi’s death, dawnstar, I assume you mean where she says “What is it? What has happened? Ubaldo! Oh my darling, my darling. Who has done this...? You! Why did you let this happen?” (Wonderful dialogue btw). Again, it’s still in the score, and I’m not sure what Lara Martins does nightly at Her Majesty’s, but again, I’m not sure why Wendy Ferguson didn’t do it in The RAH production. In that moment in that production, there is a lot of extra screaming/shouting/dialogue anyway (to the detriment of the scene IMO, so perhaps, Carlotta’s line wasn’t deemed to be as important as the other things that were going on at the same time. Again, wild guess.
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 17, 2017 8:18:22 GMT
This seems to be getting consistently great reviews and comments from local bloggers and newspapers! Local press and bloggers are probably just celebrating the fact that it’s happening on their doorstep, regardless of the quality of the actual content.
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 16, 2017 14:58:57 GMT
Is this show in a position where bad casting can really affect ticket sales now, though?
And, are most (tourist) audiences aware of what makes a good cast and what makes a bad cast?
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 16, 2017 14:54:32 GMT
Saw this tonight for the first time. I enjoyed having a good laugh, but don’t think it’s a very good musical. Unfortunately, the lack of skill the writers possess to craft musical comedy in a truly effective, sophisticated way is very evident (I’m thinking specifically of some structural elements as well as the repetition of ineffective jokes and especially the poorly rhymed and stressed lyrics). In addition, the specific references made by each number in the score makes you yearn for those original numbers and works. I found the first ten minutes the most effective. The idea of this being a great buddy comedy and the set up of the two opposing characters was strong, but unfortunately, once the idea of cheap culture gags presented themselves, the writers seemed to leave the development of this to chance and coincidence. It’s a good night out, and as said above, a great laugh, but there was an opportunity here to make something more sophisticated which, through lack of skill and technique, was not fully realised. I don't think it was through lack of skill and technique. They just didn't want to. Or need to. It is what it is. A silly, rude, not to be taken seriously show. Are you trying to suggest that the writers have the skill to write good lyrics, but just chose not to? I think it’s missing the point to suggest that good musical comedies need only be throw away and not utilise strong content to boost the comedy to higher levels. The Producers may be throw away, rude and not to be taken seriously, but it’s still constructed with great skill in order to make the most of the form and make the comedy as effective as possible. In other media, see Noises Off, The Simpsons and early Woody Allen.
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 16, 2017 0:20:02 GMT
Saw this tonight for the first time.
I enjoyed having a good laugh, but don’t think it’s a very good musical.
Unfortunately, the lack of skill the writers possess to craft musical comedy in a truly effective, sophisticated way is very evident (I’m thinking specifically of some structural elements as well as the repetition of ineffective jokes and especially the poorly rhymed and stressed lyrics). In addition, the specific references made by each number in the score makes you yearn for those original numbers and works.
I found the first ten minutes the most effective. The idea of this being a great buddy comedy and the set up of the two opposing characters was strong, but unfortunately, once the idea of cheap culture gags presented themselves, the writers seemed to leave the development of this to chance and coincidence.
It’s a good night out, and as said above, a great laugh, but there was an opportunity here to make something more sophisticated which, through lack of skill and technique, was not fully realised.
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Post by Oleanna on Oct 23, 2017 5:50:45 GMT
Lauren samuels is a swing in this?! Wow.. what a comedown. She’s a working actor...
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Post by Oleanna on Oct 20, 2017 20:56:26 GMT
Yes! Excellent!
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Post by Oleanna on Oct 19, 2017 14:38:15 GMT
Love going back and reading the first page or two of this thread now!
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Post by Oleanna on Oct 18, 2017 19:32:41 GMT
Was surprised to see only 2 levels open at the matinee this afternoon! Expected this to be full house (or near to) every performance.
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