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Post by phantom1986 on Jun 26, 2021 11:49:29 GMT
Have to agree with SingingBird (except the lyrics most of which I found banal and often really bad - Cinderella/Salmonella). Musically it’s all over the place and the show grinds to a halt during many of the musical numbers. I don’t really get who this is for? Tonally it’s so strange. Is it a panto? Modern day?
The weirdest thing is Cinderella disappears into it all and has huge chunks of the show off stage. When she is on she’s just moody and has no agency / surprising seeing as this was written by Emerald Fennell. Also except from her entrance at the beginning she doesn’t seem to be that ‘bad’ - she just mopes around and pines after her man. Hardly a feminist re-imagining of the story. The end of the Act 1 also very strange with a terrible “quick change” and no magic. A clearly talented cast but a total misfire.
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3,347 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jun 26, 2021 12:09:03 GMT
Yes, the ending of Act 1 is very strange. No big moment or dilemma, the curtain just comes down.
Has anyone mentioned ALW’s speech at the start yet? He mentioned Cats (in the same venue) and how that was untested in previews. It is the same here. This will improve.
He also said how good it was to be in a theatre, having last seen Evita at Regents Park last summer. It is getting to the stage where he can’t tell his shows apart!
One of the biggest problems of the theatre is how the orchestra are hidden away in a back room somewhere. So the sound never comes across the same.
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Post by newyorkcityboy on Jun 26, 2021 12:35:13 GMT
There's a very good book called SMASH by Garson Kanin.I don't know if it's still available but it's about the trials and tribulations of putting a musical on from it's out of town tryouts to Broadway and is based on the author's own experiences with Funny Girl.It was also the basis for the TV show - although they changed the musical to be about Marilyn Munroe. Didn’t realise the show was based on a book! Loved Smash. I gave the dvd to my niece who wants to be in musicals - but its portrayal of extreme bitchy competitiveness (and gruelling hours) may have put her off! Oh well. Some really great songs in the Bombshell musical (Don’t Forget Me always gives me goosebumps). |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 12:58:33 GMT
2 questions. 1. Is there a lot of dialogue or is it mostly sung through? I am hoping it is the latter. /quote] The latter I'd say there was lots if dialogue |
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Post by sph on Jun 26, 2021 13:14:42 GMT
It sounds like it should be given a more suitable name than Cinderella, since it clearly isn't the story people are going to expect when they hear the title.
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287 posts
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Post by singingbird on Jun 26, 2021 13:26:43 GMT
I'd say there was lots if dialogue It's not so much the amount of dialogue as how it's used. It's not through-sung (I wish it was - I love ALW recitative!) but there's probably not much more dialogue than there is in Phantom, say. However, because the dialogue and songs aren't integrated very well, it feels like a an old-fashioned book musical. It feels clunkier than Carousel, for example. A lot of the songs are stand-alone 3 minute songs, rather than extended musical scenes. |
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287 posts
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Post by singingbird on Jun 26, 2021 13:27:49 GMT
There's a very good book called SMASH by Garson Kanin.I don't know if it's still available but it's about the trials and tribulations of putting a musical on from it's out of town tryouts to Broadway and is based on the author's own experiences with Funny Girl.It was also the basis for the TV show - although they changed the musical to be about Marilyn Munroe. Didn’t realise the show was based on a book! Loved Smash. I gave the dvd to my niece who wants to be in musicals - but its portrayal of extreme bitchy competitiveness (and gruelling hours) may have put her off! Oh well. Some really great songs in the Bombshell musical (Don’t Forget Me always gives me goosebumps). Me too! I had no idea. I'll have to get a copy of the book. |
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287 posts
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Post by singingbird on Jun 26, 2021 13:33:51 GMT
Have to agree with SingingBird (except the lyrics most of which I found banal and often really bad - Cinderella/Salmonella). Musically it’s all over the place and the show grinds to a halt during many of the musical numbers. I don’t really get who this is for? Tonally it’s so strange. Is it a panto? Modern day? The weirdest thing is Cinderella disappears into it all and has huge chunks of the show off stage. When she is on she’s just moody and has no agency / surprising seeing as this was written by Emerald Fennell. Also except from her entrance at the beginning she doesn’t seem to be that ‘bad’ - she just mopes around and pines after her man. Hardly a feminist re-imagining of the story. The end of the Act 1 also very strange with a terrible “quick change” and no magic. A clearly talented cast but a total misfire. Absolutely agree. Cinderella is actually a bit of a non-character. She sings about having a 'sky-high IQ' but we see no evidence of it. I recently saw the movie Cruella, which I loved, and I thought that the character of Cinderella would have some of Cruella's bite, wit and genius, but sadly not. Cruella shows that you can be mainstream and yet still be creative and uncompromising. Cinderella in this could easily have stepped out of a panto at your local village hall. {Spoiler - click to view}
I was also disappointed in the ending. I honestly thought for one minute, at the end of Cinderella's soliloquy, that the final statement of the musical was going to be 'I don't need a man - I'm going to live my own life free and independent.' If that's where we'd left the story, I'd have felt this show was properly radical! |
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1,481 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Jun 26, 2021 13:43:47 GMT
ALW already has a musical based on the Cinderella story (has he forgotten Starlight Express?) so I don’t understand why he bothered with this.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 14:25:26 GMT
I've just read the synopsis and trying to figure out what is so special and fresh about this version and what the surprising twist is. The story sounds like loads of other variations on cinderella and if the twist is the Prince Charming bit then tbh it's a bit offensive, especially for a supposedly modern 2021 musical. That shouldn't be classed as a novelty. And if he is being played as a stereotype that's even worse, why is musical theatre so insistent on always portraying stereotypes.
I've seen complaints about the language uses in Bad Cinderella too as some of it is linked to negative mental health stereotypes.
For a musical claiming to be fresh and modern and 'woke' (for want of a better word) They seem to be very outdated.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 14:33:14 GMT
She comes across better here than a lot of her social media in the last year but she seems to have completely missed the point of cinderella the fairytale. It's not about changing yourself for a man. She wants to dress up for a fun night out, to escape the drudgery of her daily life. It's about having courage, hope, faith and kindness in the face of adversity. In fact the Prince marries her even when he finds out her humble background. |
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Post by inthenose on Jun 26, 2021 14:34:46 GMT
So a question for those in the know, the day after a first preview what will be happening? Lots of meetings presumably but would we expect any changes in the first couple of days or will they assimilate lots of notes over several performances before changing things? I haven't seen the schedule, so this is assuming there are two shows today and nothing tomorrow, then back on Monday night. Only from my own experience, last night they'd have gotten a very brief "I'm so proud of you" speech on the stage once the house was empty from the director, ALW et al. This morning the cast will be called around 10-11am and given notes. SM and crew a little earlier to preset scenes which might be briefly marked through if there were problems last night. No changes will be implemented, as there isn't time. The notes will be minor and mostly technical, usually. Then they'll warm up and run the matinee, have a bite to eat, then more notes. Then run the evening. Tomorrow will be a day off, assuming there is no show. Monday will be a full day, early call, where changes will be implemented. This is where work on cuts, additions and major changes will begin, then these will be implemented in Monday's night show. This pattern will continue until the end of previews. |
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1,481 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Jun 26, 2021 14:49:17 GMT
For a musical claiming to be fresh and modern and 'woke' (for want of a better word) They seem to be very outdated. Like when ALW “modernises” a show by sticking an awful rap in it. |
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352 posts
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Post by Raven on Jun 26, 2021 15:17:12 GMT
For a musical claiming to be fresh and modern and 'woke' (for want of a better word) They seem to be very outdated. Like when ALW “modernises” a show by sticking an awful rap in it.
*shudders* Don't remind me of that ridiculous idea.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 15:17:46 GMT
For a musical claiming to be fresh and modern and 'woke' (for want of a better word) They seem to be very outdated. Like when ALW “modernises” a show by sticking an awful rap in it. I generally find that nothing makes a show feel more dated than an obvious attempt to make it feel contemporary. |
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Post by stagebyte on Jun 26, 2021 15:53:09 GMT
Do 'work in progress' previews normally have a properly printed programme? Will it become a collectors item if everything changes before opening night proper? Will it be worth £600 in a few years time...or 60p? If you pause this clip between 6 and 8 seconds, it gives a very, very rough idea of what merchandise is available. Far too small to see prices, of course, but better than nothing. 🙂 And why us no one, apart from the ushers, wearing a tie? So many questions! And why feature a person filming the performance on her phone? #nohope #classy Also saw Carrie posted the bows on her story. I remember School of Rock ending the show wanting audience members to get their phones out for the ‘rock concert’ at the end but when did this become the norm? Can’t imagine an announcement was part of the show like in School of Rock. Have the ushers just given up now at the end? Filming before? Filming after? Only one short step to filming the show? Time was when they wouldn’t even allow you to take a photo of the set in a theatre? 🤷🏼♀️ |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 17:25:05 GMT
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE END OF ACT 1:
The more i think about it, the more confused i am by the Act 1 ending. The Godmothers dress shop is presented as some kind of dark, hi-tech space. For some reason the Godmother is randomly measuring the mannequin's arms. I guess because she's been given no direction.
She tell's Cinders that everyone in the town comes to her, and it made me think that maybe the town was like Westworld or Stepford (if only it was that interesting) She asks Cinders what she wants, no, what she REALLY wants. Cinders wants to be beautiful, she wants to be loved, she wants to be happy. Godmother says she can give her all that and more. Cinders offers her money, but says no, she needs something important from her and zooms in on the necklace that Cinders has. The necklace was a big deal earlier in the show, because it was the only thing she had from her mother. Cinders readily hands it over to her.
Then there is a terrible 'quick change' because when they drag a huge screen across the stage,its clearly obvious its a double. The white mask has led lights all around it, kinda creepy looking. This is dragged out while Cinders changes off stage. The big screen comes out again for what is not a big reveal, of cinders in her new look for the ball.
The Godmother tells her numerous times, you must be home by midnight. Cinders sings a few lines and walks upstage, and then the Godmother, silhouetted in a spotlight,centre stage, holding up the necklace Cinders gave her, cackles 'you must be home by midnight' BLACKOUT. END OF ACT 1.
And the none of this is mentioned again in the show, until the Godmother walks across the stage to literally just give Sebastian the necklace.
HUH??
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348 posts
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Post by properjob on Jun 26, 2021 17:27:40 GMT
Do 'work in progress' previews normally have a properly printed programme? Will it become a collectors item if everything changes before opening night proper? Will it be worth £600 in a few years time...or 60p? If you pause this clip between 6 and 8 seconds, it gives a very, very rough idea of what merchandise is available. Far too small to see prices, of course, but better than nothing. 🙂 And why us no one, apart from the ushers, wearing a tie? So many questions! And why feature a person filming the performance on her phone? #nohope #classy I think based on having just been in the matinee and where that clip appears in the video it was proably someone filming ALW's welcome speech. Not the show. For those asking about merch there is a QR code on the merch stand that points to araca-ijomm.formstack.com/forms/cinderella_qr_menu |
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Post by stuartmcd on Jun 26, 2021 17:30:23 GMT
Yeah this confused me and I thought I may have missed something. As far as I’m aware at the ball nothing happens at midnight. Nothing!
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761 posts
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Post by FairyGodmother on Jun 26, 2021 17:31:44 GMT
This is what it says on the about page:
"All looks lost for the blossoming romance, until Cinderella meets The Godmother, who can fix any problem with a little incision and a couple of broken ribs. Maybe the answer lies where Cinderella has been refusing to look: in becoming the identikit beauty that everyone has always told her to be."
Which definitely has vibes of the Godmother having some sort of dark and in control of townspeople side!
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7,138 posts
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Post by Jon on Jun 26, 2021 17:42:15 GMT
I'm surprised anyone is surprised that ALW's Cinderella is more edgy than what we are used to, it's written by Emerald Fennell!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 17:44:11 GMT
I'm surprised anyone is surprised that ALW's Cinderella is more edgy than what we are used to, it's written by Emerald Fennell! But isn't that the point...its not edgy or modern? Its a rehash of multiple cinderella adaptions with stereotypical and outdated themes and characters |
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Post by inthenose on Jun 26, 2021 17:50:15 GMT
I'm surprised anyone is surprised that ALW's Cinderella is more edgy than what we are used to, it's written by Emerald Fennell! But isn't that the point...its not edgy or modern? Its a rehash of multiple cinderella adaptions with stereotypical and outdated themes and characters This does appear to be what everyone is saying on here and social media, yes. I think perhaps the above poster misunderstood. |
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Post by steve10086 on Jun 26, 2021 17:50:35 GMT
I'm surprised anyone is surprised that ALW's Cinderella is more edgy than what we are used to, it's written by Emerald Fennell! But it doesn’t sound edgy at all. It sounds like a mess. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2021 18:03:57 GMT
With a cut song about a sea witch, a character called Sebastian, maybe ALW really wanted to write his own version of The Little Mermaid.
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