5,262 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 16, 2016 5:37:08 GMT
I have nooo desire to see this at all. Terrible musical and I really hope they choose something a bit more exciting next year.
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115 posts
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Post by Peach on Jul 16, 2016 8:09:43 GMT
Does anyone have any idea what time the matinee is likely to finish?? I've booked for Saturday 23rd and I need to arrange trains. Can't see anything about the running time on the website! About 4.15pm.
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373 posts
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Post by Nelly on Jul 16, 2016 8:34:48 GMT
I was there. Thought the cast was very good. Not totally sure about the production. I usually like Drew McOnie's choreography but I felt there was too much of it in there. It was almost a bit distracting at times. Declan is very "folksy" as Jesus which works for me. Adored his Gethsemane. Tyrone is a great Judas in my opinion. Especially loved David's Pilate too. It's definitely a very gig-like production. I felt like I was watching a concert and not a musical at times. The characters sometimes appeared a bit disconnected to me - the acting was good but due to the concert-like staging I was missing interaction between the characters during some songs. Overall I enjoyed it for what it is. However, so much glitter. I've never seen such a glittery JCS in my life! Thanks for the review Steffi! I'm taking my mother who brought me up on JCS so am anxious about this production.
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833 posts
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Post by Steffi on Jul 16, 2016 9:12:03 GMT
I've slept on it andI have an urge to go see it again. The cast really does it for me. The production itself is interesting but unless you go in expecting a choreographed concert it certainly has a few flaws.
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Post by stanne on Jul 17, 2016 21:10:39 GMT
Does anyone have any idea what time the matinee is likely to finish?? I've booked for Saturday 23rd and I need to arrange trains. Can't see anything about the running time on the website! About 4.15pm. Thanks!
I see David Thaxton has tweeted that this is one of the best productions he has ever been involved in. He hardly ever tweets about "work" so I am very excited to see this on Saturday.
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Post by Peach on Jul 18, 2016 8:29:18 GMT
Thanks!
I see David Thaxton has tweeted that this is one of the best productions he has ever been involved in. He hardly ever tweets about "work" so I am very excited to see this on Saturday.
I'm seeing it tonight. I've heard snippets of rehearsals as I work nearby and it sounds amazing.
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Post by longinthetooth on Jul 18, 2016 19:57:58 GMT
Cancelled tonight, apparently. "No power for sound. Very cross crowd" according to Baz.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 12:45:28 GMT
No more news on this?
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Post by argon on Jul 20, 2016 13:48:39 GMT
felt much like a concert version with floor and hand mics being used, McOnie"s choreography solidified this making the experience as if watching a boy band ( take your pick Westkife, Take That ) with backing dancers.So I guess actors were not really needed.Improved in the second half by acting the narrative but seemed a bit too late. It a shame the cast are talented just the director decided obviously to go this way.
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373 posts
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Post by Nelly on Jul 20, 2016 13:57:27 GMT
I'm glad the cast seem to be up to the job as there's nothing worse than having a score you love, ruined. The production itself seems like a missed opportunity to do something creative with this unique space?
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jul 20, 2016 14:14:05 GMT
The prices are steep too for a "staged concert/gig". As Nelly said above a wasted opportunity to do something amazing in this unique space. I have had some enchanting evenings in this theatre but the show has to be special to make the schlepp there - it seems so far from the tube!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 14:21:08 GMT
Thanks for the feedback....
Not another dud production...! Seems such a waste of a really dramatic score. Will be praying for fine weather mid August when I'll be able to judge for myself.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 14:21:12 GMT
The prices are steep too for a "staged concert/gig". As Nelly said above a wasted opportunity to do something amazing in this unique space. I have had some enchanting evenings in this theatre but the show has to be special to make the schlepp there - it seems so far from the tube! So have I. I've seen some great theatre there too. Fnar fnar
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Post by rearstallsloiterer on Jul 20, 2016 15:00:49 GMT
it seems that all the posts that state that this is a semi staged production do so because hand held microphones are being used. but that is how it was originally done, 12 hand held microphones with LEADS thus meaning the whole thing had to be staged with cable management in mind. At least today there is the option of hand held radio microphones cutting this problem down. it is a fantastic score with probably the best lyrics from Tim Rice, it is a kind of hybrid between a theatre show and a rock concert hence why it is being presented this way in the park.
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373 posts
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Post by Nelly on Jul 20, 2016 15:41:08 GMT
it seems that all the posts that state that this is a semi staged production do so because hand held microphones are being used. but that is how it was originally done, 12 hand held microphones with LEADS thus meaning the whole thing had to be staged with cable management in mind. At least today there is the option of hand held radio microphones cutting this problem down. it is a fantastic score with probably the best lyrics from Tim Rice, it is a kind of hybrid between a theatre show and a rock concert hence why it is being presented this way in the park. I think the issue is, having seen some spectacular and ingenious uses of space at this venue, to do a gig style show seems a bit of a waste/odd choice.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 15:48:06 GMT
it seems that all the posts that state that this is a semi staged production do so because hand held microphones are being used. but that is how it was originally done, 12 hand held microphones with LEADS thus meaning the whole thing had to be staged with cable management in mind. At least today there is the option of hand held radio microphones cutting this problem down. it is a fantastic score with probably the best lyrics from Tim Rice, it is a kind of hybrid between a theatre show and a rock concert hence why it is being presented this way in the park. I remember the LEADS well from the original London production (which I saw many times!) but it never felt like a concert, it always felt like a full-blown stage production. It was incredibly dramatic!
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Post by max on Jul 20, 2016 17:14:49 GMT
Interesting. Twitter is mainly saying stunning / thrilling / sensational. Will be interested to see for myself.
I think I remember a mic lead in the original London production being used to lash Jesus. They didn't hide or excuse them. In the original Broadway production see YouTube for Yvonne Elliman's mic having a sort of art nouveau flower built around it (and her back singing IDKHTLH so far she's in the Old Testament!).
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1,445 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Jul 20, 2016 21:49:30 GMT
Saw the show tonight and thought it was breathtaking!
Not sure I understand why people aren't calling this a full production. Yes it was very simply staged, yes they used handheld mics a lot, but I wouldn't call it a "concert". I loved the staging, and like the incorporation of the microphones etc into the props and scenery.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were both in attendance, and I had to resist looking at them all the time to gauge their reactions, although I did sneak a look during "Herod's Song". Rice was smiling, ALW was scowling (but I think that's his default expression).
Tyrone Huntley is the best Judas I've seen since Zubin Varla. It's very reassuring at the start of the show to hear him begin "Heaven on Their Minds" and know immediately that you can relax for all his big notes throughout the night because he will hit them with ease.
Unlike Declan Bennett who didn't have any of the vocal power required in Act I. I was dreading "Gethsemane", and while his long note was as unimpressive as I feared, his intensity throughout the rest of the song made up for it. Combined with stunning lighting it made it a highlight of the show (as it should be).
The rest of the cast were great, although I wasn't sold on some of the choreography (especially the woman having a fit during "The Arrest"). And if I didn't know better I'd say Caiaphas was played by Grace Jones!
Best line of the evening came during a chat behind me at the start of the interval:
Christopher Biggins: "I'd forgotten what a terribly good lyricist you are"
Tim Rice: "I hadn't"
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Post by argon on Jul 21, 2016 4:09:20 GMT
'I was dreading "Gethsemane", and while his long note was as unimpressive as I feared, his intensity throughout the rest of the song made up for it. Combined with stunning lighting it made it a highlight of the show (as it should be).
The rest of the cast were great, although I wasn't sold on some of the choreography (especially the woman having a fit during "The Arrest"). And if I didn't know better I'd say Caiaphas was played by Grace Jones!
Best line of the evening came during a chat behind me at the start of the interval:
Christopher Biggins: "I'd forgotten what a terribly good lyricist you are"
Tim Rice: "I hadn't"[/quote]
The Gethsemane highlighted the concert feel for me, it's Jedus's Hamlet moment and he is standing in front of a stand/floor mic strumming a guitar not the emotive scene I've seen in the past.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2016 6:28:51 GMT
I told them that I was available, but they insisted on Grace...
(Thanks for your more positive comments, steve...)
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4,586 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jul 21, 2016 8:37:10 GMT
Suprised by the negativity on here - several groups of friends have seen it and loved it
I still have no desire to see it, one ALW a year is more than enough for me!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2016 12:24:51 GMT
Liking the photographs from the production... Some Lion King masks (for the soldiers?), a jumping Pilate, and a stunning set piece from The Temple. Also noted was an interesting looking Herod, with (John the Baptist-type) heads served on platters at his feet.
Perhaps it's not going to be quite so bad as some posters have led us to believe...
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Post by Seriously on Jul 21, 2016 13:10:08 GMT
Suprised by the negativity on here - several groups of friends have seen it and loved it I still have no desire to see it, one ALW a year is more than enough for me! "Surprised by the negativity on here... I still have no desire to see it" Way to go on the "positivity" front.
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Post by Steve on Jul 21, 2016 22:56:16 GMT
I was there last night too, and agree with Steve10086 and Steffi that this is terrific! Declan Bennett's disconnected Jesus did worry me at the start, especially since Tyrone Huntley, as Judas is electric. Bennett's underpowered diction was occasionally difficult to decipher, whereas Huntley's every word was crystal. But that initial imbalance in their relationship works thematically for me: Jesus doing his laid back thing, while the unhinged and explosive Judas circles him like a stalker. Judas' shrill and unreasonable expectations of his superstar idol seem typical of a stalker, and this theme of Judas being a stalker seems to fit like Michael Jackson's glove with the pop star trappings of the handheld microphones. Huntley's supercharged wild rasp was like a jolt of adrenalin for the audience as he tore through songs like a turbo-charged energiser bunny. Bennett's Jesus does ultimately emerge from his hippy coma, prompted to life by Anoushka Lucas' tender and emotive Mary. His Gethsemane is a showstopper. Herod's golden costume is so fabulous it needs to be seen to be believed, yet Peter Caulfield is so camp and crazy wearing it, that his inner glitter outgolds the gold. The staging is plenty original, with two giant wooden two floor platforms allowing the band and the Romans to dominate from on high, while singers and dancers dynamically scale ladders and dance a new dawn to Drew McOnie's exhilarating choreography. The pharisee Caiaphas comes across as a posturing phony, donning Matrix style shades, affectedly wielding his dual use microphone stand as a rod of power, which power is accentuated by Cavin Cornwall's voice of deep booming thunder. The presence of Lloyd Webber, in his luminous pink shirt, and Tim Rice, in the audience, albeit not sitting together, gave the night an added frisson. But as the sun set behind the trees in a moonlit cloudless sky, and chiaroscuro lighting dramatised the choreography and staging, it was Tyrone Huntley that brought this show storming home. 4 and a half stars!
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Post by lonlad on Jul 21, 2016 23:14:39 GMT
Just home from press night and this is far and away the best JCS I have seen (and I've seen at least a half dozen or so over the years) - profound bravi to all concerned! :-)
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Post by Steffi on Jul 22, 2016 6:02:16 GMT
I've booked to see this again in August. Declan Bennett's Gethsemane alone is worth the ticket price for me. :-)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2016 6:23:06 GMT
Hosanna Superstar!
Thanks for the comments...
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jul 22, 2016 7:11:56 GMT
I loved it too! The staging was just great, love the way the Apostles are arranged around the big cross during the Last Supper scene. Fantastic choreography beautifully executed. The cast were all spot on. Declan Bennett blew me away. This is IMHO a terrific production of a classic musical.
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Post by Nelly on Jul 22, 2016 9:08:09 GMT
This is more like it! Cannot wait for my trip!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2016 13:54:34 GMT
Positive reviews from the papers... (Tyrone Huntley seems to have received rave reviews. According to our friend mrmusicals he replaced the original Judas, moving up from the role of Annas.) And mrm still isn't revealing who Original Judas was...
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