ALW's Cinderella - Gillian Lynne / U.K. Tour (rumour)

Helen of Troy wasn't even a goddess in the first place, but is that the ignorance of the character or the lyricist? Hahaha.

That's how it appears to me and it shows the very worst aspects of social media in that people day things without thinking through the consequences and once they are in writing then damage is done. It does the show no favours either.
As to the offer for December I'm sure there are a lot of shows that will suffer this December more than the average December due to the reduction in tourizst numbers. There aren't going to be vast numbers here as is normal.

As mentioned above, it takes a particular 'talent' to turn the good news stories of the charity benefit performance and the Grammy nomination into a VERY bad news week. Looking at the Twitter 'likes' CHF has given to various tweets, some are quite extreme from others in the industry.  It's v much a 'so it is to be war between us' moment. At least two other 'Cinderella' cast members have commented on or retweeted CHF's repeat of her earlier statement.

It's clear that a number of people are not scared, and would take being sacked if it came to it - probably with an awareness that there would be an unfair dismissal process to follow if so.

This feels like ALW, unable to apologise for his phoned-in cast critique of a few weeks ago, has committed to doubling down on those comments instead. Either to make himself believe they were justified, or because he genuinely believes they were. Even if the latter, this is never how it should be handled. I should think the staff director, and any staff producer from RUG must feel very aggrieved it didn't go through them instead, and that their skills could have saved this.

CHF and the others have absolutely nothing to fear re career damage. There's a new breed of performer: in-tune / self-care aware / too fragile / millennial / up themselves, call it what you will; but they're going to set the future of how relationships are contracted in the theatre, for good or ill.

With great irony, I expect many of them to find a warm home at The Other Palace, and plenty of opportunities from a new breed of producers there and beyond.

I picture Debbie Allen in the opening frames of the TV show 'Fame', banging her dancing stick fearsomely. "You want fame, well fame costs, and right here is where you start paying - in sweat". Today a student would grab it off her, snap it in half, and tell her to "do one".  Before marching of to the principal's office to get the relevant policy and complaint form.

ALW's behaviour (whether his views are right or wrong) is idiotic. I find it very sad that so late in his career/life he's burned his reputation with the current/future crop of performers, but he clearly has.

I can imagine this being his last show.

Ok so this is what the actual article said. Wonder how many on Twitter have read it or just reacting?

‘Andrew Lloyd Webber has accused younger cast members in his musical Cinderella of failing to remember they work in the “service industry”, adding that “nobody has a right to be on the stage”.

In what appeared to be a criticism of the attitude of actors in his show, he addressed claims that he had “berated” the cast following a bad review in the New York Post, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

Lloyd Webber told Samira Ahmed on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row that he did address the cast, but that it had “nothing to do with the New York Post”.

“What I was saying to everybody is, the younger cast don’t really realise all the time [that] we are a service industry, and nobody has a right to be on the stage. I don’t have a right to have my musicals in the theatre,” he said, adding: “What we have to do is try to give the best performances possible. All I was saying is, that is what we have to do and the cast we have at Cinderella are really wonderful and are well capable of doing that. But this has been wildly exaggerated.”

He denied that there would be major changes to the musical following the review in the New York Post, but said there would be some tweaks, amounting to cuts of about two or three minutes.

He added that the Broadway version of Cinderella would not be able to be staged as it is in London, because the Gillian Lynne Theatre has a revolve, of which the musical makes use.

He said in New York it would be performed in a “different configuration”.

Neither, it's the other meaning of "goddess" that is being used here, a woman who is greatly admired for her beauty and influence. It's also very much in keeping with Cinderella's character that she would see her as one. 

You are so knowledgeable about this show Oliver
I would love for you to reveal you’re Andy Himself.
Can you let us know what the focaccia is going on?
Because this drama is shaping up to be better than the show script.

This show will die a death in NYC , they are mad to take it there.

His comments on masks in theatres are absolutely spineless. He could absolutely enforce it. So could Moulin Rouge- and they aren’t. It’s all hot air, and desperately frustrating considering the tough time theatre has had.

Look. I know this probably won't make any difference and I'm wasting my time. But I'd really love to see less of the crowing at the possibility of the show not doing well. You don't like it fine, but plenty do. And more importantly: these are people's jobs. For many they are living their dream, some of the cast are in their first west end roles. Gloating at any possible misfortune is just petty and unfair.
And yes ALW has clearly been an idiot and disrespectful, and yes CHF has most likely brought all this about and is continuing to make it worse with every liked tweet. We don't all need to pile on though.

I struggle to see where on Broadway it could go as it would swallowed by the likes of the Broadway Theatre and the St James Theatre which are the only decent sized theatres available. 

I've seen what I felt were pile ons in this place, and have spoken up - but I don't see one here really.

ALW has gone onto BBC Radio 4 and told potential audiences that he reckons sometimes his 'Cinderella' cast don't give it their all.  He's piled on.

Also - I think this does have a material effect on the West End & Broadway transfer success/failure, because HE has made it a subject of speculation, that the show is volatile.  He's pinned that on the cast, but investors, critics, and audiences in New York will now be attuned to looking at whether the cast really were the problem.  As a frothy night out, I'm not sure there ever was a big problem. I've been on here many times citing ecstatic tweets from audience members.  I read them daily.  

I think it's mainly long standing ALW fans on here (rather than his serial detractors) who were disappointed (even angry) the standard wasn't higher.  I don't want to insult other people's favourite shows on here, but I see other similarly commercial work getting what feels like a free pass (or at least an easier ride).  BUT he has now created a situation where it will need to be BRILLIANT to counteract the negative spotlight and scepticism that he is most responsible for casting onto it.  That may now prove too much to get it to Broadway.

Changes made post-gala night are minimal:
- Pre show pre-recorded message from ALW. Gives background on Belleville being full of beautiful people (never a good sign when your show needs pre-show material to make sense *cough* Bat Out Of Hell *cough*...) and very strongly expressing that there IS a live orchestra even if you can't see them...
-Line changes in Act 1. Largely to the Queen's dialogue. Clearly they caught on that there are plot holes, but it doesn't feel like they were really listening. The line changes are all stressing the link between losing the prize for most picturesque town and then having no money and needing some good PR. But no one was ever confused about that. Now it just feels like they're treating the audience like they're stupid and hitting them over the head with the message, but they're also leaving in all the actual plot holes, e.g.: the Godmother, and the Queen and the Stepmother knowing each other
-No real changes to any of the songs in Act 1. Dialogue cut from the scene just before So Long (a mistake. you lose a lot of their friendship). Some lines of the Godmother's cut before Beauty Has A Price (probably for the best. she did go on a little). Most of the line changes don't achieve much, if anything. Many are actively worse.
-Very few changes in Act 2. Everything is pretty much exactly the same until the Cinderella Soliloquy, which cuts the I Know I Have a Heart section.


Edit: you also now get emailed a survey asking you why you saw Cinderella, what you thought of the show, and what newspapers you read and radio stations you listen to?