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Post by blamerobots on Apr 22, 2024 8:21:38 GMT
A lot of the choices I think this production makes feels like an attempt to emulate the fire that made the Sam Mendes production as game-changing as it was (that's where the trend of shouty Cabaret comes from after all) and I think it comes from being based on the updated book that production had. In the two times I've seen the London production from wildly different seats it's still difficult to shake the influence of that 90's revival. It's probably still fresh in the mind of some reviewers since it was only in 2014 a staging of that was done on Broadway! Gathering from the reviews, I don't think the cast is doing it for a lot of people (sans Redmayne.) Across the board it seems it's just lacking a central chemistry. The second cast I saw (Jake Shears and Self Esteem) had more of a spark for me than the original cast in London too. Maybe it needs some time to grow.
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Post by thebroadwayboy on Apr 22, 2024 8:36:34 GMT
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Post by thebroadwayboy on Apr 22, 2024 8:38:30 GMT
Oh they were harsh on Cabaret never ever seen something so crazy hate over something
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Post by theatrefan62 on Apr 22, 2024 8:38:37 GMT
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Post by thebroadwayboy on Apr 22, 2024 8:39:39 GMT
its review of Nicole was like reading a love letter
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Post by shownut on Apr 22, 2024 9:00:32 GMT
Oh they were harsh on Cabaret never ever seen something so crazy hate over something I am not all that surprised. Broadway had the benefit of a very long-running revival of CABARET (the Sam Mendes Donmar production) which is likely still fresh on the minds of critics and audiences alike. This production pales in comparison and the fact that a very daunting story about a very dark chapter in history is given such gloss and been commercialised to the hilt for an 'experience' (and a very expensive one) has been seen as vulgar by more than a handful of critics.
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Post by interval99 on Apr 22, 2024 9:11:46 GMT
The Broadway reviews were awfully harsh, some are complete pans. From the broadwayworld review round up they do seem fair comments rather than just a put down. Most reviewers state why the show didn't work for them rather than just blind criticism. The several years since it opened likely has built up an expectation which any show would be hard to fulfill. As few mention it I presume the broadway theatre didn't go under such a transformation as the playhouse? Walking into the playhouse and the dramatic auditorium did make the visit memorable no matter how the show turned out for you. www.broadwayworld.com/article/Review-Roundup-CABARET-AT-THE-KIT-KAT-CLUB-Opens-on-Broadway-Updating-Live-20240421
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Post by blamerobots on Apr 22, 2024 9:21:26 GMT
I'm guessing it's tighter contractual obligations for the theatre, how much you can tear out of it before things start getting dicey.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 22, 2024 17:10:53 GMT
Although the Mendes production started out at the Donmar, London never had the full Studio 54 production which had two substantial runs in New York with Alan Cumming, Natasha Richardson and all the stars who followed them. Memories of that production do linger on Broadway, so it's not surprising that the reception of this new version has been mixed at best.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 23, 2024 12:37:28 GMT
Quite telling that the Huey Lewis jukebox musical where the hero's dilemma is choosing between a life of rock'n'roll and working in a cardboard box factory has had a somewhat warmer reception from the critics than Cabaret! "Eddie Redmayne wishes his Emcee were this bonkers" NYPost.
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Post by mrnutz on Apr 24, 2024 8:21:17 GMT
Having seen Cabaret both with Alan Cumming on Broadway in 2014 and with Eddie Redmayne in London - and though I enjoyed them both immensely - the Studio 54 iteration was certainly the better of the two.
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 24, 2024 15:10:37 GMT
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Post by Mr Crummles on Apr 25, 2024 12:11:37 GMT
Having seen Cabaret both with Alan Cumming on Broadway in 2014 and with Eddie Redmayne in London - and though I enjoyed them both immensely - the Studio 54 iteration was certainly the better of the two. I enjoyed both equally, with a slight preference for the hedonistic, almost orgiastic decadence of Rebecca Frecknall's staging. I found the Studio 54 a bit too glitzy and Broadwayish, which is not a good thing for me. However, I was very much impressed with the video of the original Sam Mendes version at the Donmar, and really wish I had seen that. It would probably have been my favourite by far.
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