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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 14, 2022 22:02:06 GMT
Finished at 10:40pm, although I think the second half was trimmed a bit. Not everyone made it to the end and young Belle, dressed in her finest princess dress down the row, was rather tired.
The second interval, which was meant to be only 5 minutes, still went 15.
Great show in the circumstances. Everyone did well to keep the energy up.
Got a great third row Monday day seat as well. A long way to the side and missed the edge, but really nice to see everything up close and pick up on a lot of details I missed further back.
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Post by sph on Jul 15, 2022 1:08:55 GMT
I was there myself tonight and yes, as Dr Tom said, there was a big delay starting and a show stop halfway through Act 1.
Tonight was my first time seeing this particular production, although I did see the original UK tour back in 2002.
The most glaringly obvious cut made tonight was in the opening number. They did it with no set! Obviously the delay in starting must have related to this set piece somehow as the entire opening number was performed on a completely BARE stage! This was a bit disappointing, as judging from pictures I've seen, the village set is actually the most impressive piece in the whole show.
I can't comment on what was cut from Act 2, having never seen this production before, but to ask those who have: is there a sequence in this production where the household objects attack the villagers when they invade the castle? Tonight it went straight from the villagers in the forest to Gaston fighting the Beast. Is that normal? It's a bit abrupt if so.
The stage itself is very... bare. Costumes are not especially awe-inspiring. The screens are fine as backdrops, but at times they become a little ridiculous. The wolf chase scenes for example are just like watching a cartoon rather than a live show. One of the good things about seeing a film translated to the stage is seeing how they do the key moments theatrically. Simply doing them with screens feels like kind of cheating. You can see animated wolves giving chase in the movie.
Same with Gaston and the Beast fighting. They fight on a bare stage and then... Gaston screams and runs offstage and the projections are supposed to show he fell to his death? Hmmm...
Overall, it's a 3 star show in my opinion. Performances are good, but the show has been cut down and production values lowered too much to deliver the standard you would expect from Disney. The cast work very hard, Sam Bailey as Mrs Potts was the best for me personally. There were no weak links. It just felt like a bit of a subpar production by Disney standards. They would never let this production appear on Broadway without significant changes.
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Post by starlight92 on Jul 15, 2022 1:55:47 GMT
Why was there a show stop?
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Post by richey on Jul 15, 2022 6:09:23 GMT
I was there myself tonight and yes, as Dr Tom said, there was a big delay starting and a show stop halfway through Act 1. Tonight was my first time seeing this particular production, although I did see the original UK tour back in 2002. The most glaringly obvious cut made tonight was in the opening number. They did it with no set! Obviously the delay in starting must have related to this set piece somehow as the entire opening number was performed on a completely BARE stage! This was a bit disappointing, as judging from pictures I've seen, the village set is actually the most impressive piece in the whole show. I can't comment on what was cut from Act 2, having never seen this production before, but to ask those who have: is there a sequence in this production where the household objects attack the villagers when they invade the castle? Tonight it went straight from the villagers in the forest to Gaston fighting the Beast. Is that normal? It's a bit abrupt if so. The stage itself is very... bare. Costumes are not especially awe-inspiring. The screens are fine as backdrops, but at times they become a little ridiculous. The wolf chase scenes for example are just like watching a cartoon rather than a live show. One of the good things about seeing a film translated to the stage is seeing how they do the key moments theatrically. Simply doing them with screens feels like kind of cheating. You can see animated wolves giving chase in the movie. Same with Gaston and the Beast fighting. They fight on a bare stage and then... Gaston screams and runs offstage and the projections are supposed to show he fell to his death? Hmmm... Overall, it's a 3 star show in my opinion. Performances are good, but the show has been cut down and production values lowered too much to deliver the standard you would expect from Disney. The cast work very hard, Sam Bailey as Mrs Potts was the best for me personally. There were no weak links. It just felt like a bit of a subpar production by Disney standards. They would never let this production appear on Broadway without significant changes. It sounds like they didn't use some key scenery last night. When I saw it in Manchester, the Beast/ Gaston fight was on a balcony (which I believe was the reverse of the village set, or adapted from it?) Gaston falls off it,leading into the projection.
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Post by h86 on Jul 15, 2022 6:37:10 GMT
I was there myself tonight and yes, as Dr Tom said, there was a big delay starting and a show stop halfway through Act 1. Tonight was my first time seeing this particular production, although I did see the original UK tour back in 2002. The most glaringly obvious cut made tonight was in the opening number. They did it with no set! Obviously the delay in starting must have related to this set piece somehow as the entire opening number was performed on a completely BARE stage! This was a bit disappointing, as judging from pictures I've seen, the village set is actually the most impressive piece in the whole show. I can't comment on what was cut from Act 2, having never seen this production before, but to ask those who have: is there a sequence in this production where the household objects attack the villagers when they invade the castle? Tonight it went straight from the villagers in the forest to Gaston fighting the Beast. Is that normal? It's a bit abrupt if so. The stage itself is very... bare. Costumes are not especially awe-inspiring. The screens are fine as backdrops, but at times they become a little ridiculous. The wolf chase scenes for example are just like watching a cartoon rather than a live show. One of the good things about seeing a film translated to the stage is seeing how they do the key moments theatrically. Simply doing them with screens feels like kind of cheating. You can see animated wolves giving chase in the movie. Same with Gaston and the Beast fighting. They fight on a bare stage and then... Gaston screams and runs offstage and the projections are supposed to show he fell to his death? Hmmm... Overall, it's a 3 star show in my opinion. Performances are good, but the show has been cut down and production values lowered too much to deliver the standard you would expect from Disney. The cast work very hard, Sam Bailey as Mrs Potts was the best for me personally. There were no weak links. It just felt like a bit of a subpar production by Disney standards. They would never let this production appear on Broadway without significant changes. yes so there is normally the village set in the song Belle, which is also normally used in the beginning of the song Gaston. Mob song does normally go straight into the fight with Beast so that seemed to be the same. Gaston’s death is on a tower/balcony normally and he falls of it flying on the stage. Seems like there were issues with the tracks possibly as the village set and balcony/tower use the same tracks near the back of the stage. Act 2 is normally much shorter than act 1 anyway.
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Post by chels on Jul 15, 2022 12:36:54 GMT
I saw it last week, definitely had sets for the village and Gaston/Beast's fight, same as there was on tour - I assume there must have been an issue with those and they defaulted to the show must go on attitude?
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Post by jacob on Jul 15, 2022 15:43:23 GMT
I saw it last week, definitely had sets for the village and Gaston/Beast's fight, same as there was on tour - I assume there must have been an issue with those and they defaulted to the show must go on attitude? not to be funny too, but without that one main set piece it just highlights how little set there is for this production .,, also glad they went on with the show regardless
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Post by sph on Jul 15, 2022 21:56:58 GMT
Ah I see, thank you for clarifying everyone. I thought it a little strange that Beast and Gaston's fight would be so... underwhelming.
The show stop was probably because they were going into the tavern scene in act 1 and the village set still wasn't working.
Knowing that this piece is used for the end fight scene too explains it all. I'm not sure if anything else was cut, but without the show's main 3-dimensional set piece the whole show felt very... empty. A few staircases and flying candle things for the castle... and a rather plain small platform for the west wing.
The costumes didn't do much for me either. In the original production the household objects were "gradually changing" from humans to objects, so their costumes became more elaborate and object-like in Act 2. Here they just remained pretty much the same throughout. All of the costumes looked more high-end panto than Disney musical to me.
Also, strange little change I noticed: they call the Beast "His Highness" and not "The Master" as they always have in previous versions. Wonder why they made that switch?
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Post by h86 on Jul 16, 2022 0:47:59 GMT
Some incorrect information being posted here.
The set piece for the Beast/Gaston fight is the tower/balcony of the castle, this is not the same set piece as for the village (or the reverse of it, despite some people thinking it is) Two completely different sets.
Just to elaborate on the other set pieces used as well - Belle’s cottage (upgraded for the palladium run) Well Dungeon Belle’s bedroom West wing incl Rose Beast’s throne Dinner table Library Stone door (used for transformation)
So much talk in this thread about the set!
You all know that Gavin Lee is in this production correct? Tap dancing with two large candlesticks as hands!!
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Post by danb on Jul 16, 2022 4:57:21 GMT
Some incorrect information being posted here. The set piece for the Beast/Gaston fight is the tower/balcony of the castle, this is not the same set piece as for the village (or the reverse of it, despite some people thinking it is) Two completely different sets. Just to elaborate on the other set pieces used as well - Belle’s cottage (upgraded for the palladium run) Well Dungeon Belle’s bedroom West wing incl Rose Beast’s throne Dinner table Library Stone door (used for transformation) So much talk in this thread about the set! You all know that Gavin Lee is in this production correct? Tap dancing with two large candlesticks as hands!! Yes, but it’s irrelevant if those sets don’t immerse you or effectively convey what they are trying to…. I may give it another try when it comes back to Bristol as I’d like to see Shaq Taylor. Gavin Lee was fine; his costume was not. That looked cheap too and only one ‘candle’ ever lit at a time.
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Post by h86 on Jul 16, 2022 10:44:23 GMT
Some incorrect information being posted here. The set piece for the Beast/Gaston fight is the tower/balcony of the castle, this is not the same set piece as for the village (or the reverse of it, despite some people thinking it is) Two completely different sets. Just to elaborate on the other set pieces used as well - Belle’s cottage (upgraded for the palladium run) Well Dungeon Belle’s bedroom West wing incl Rose Beast’s throne Dinner table Library Stone door (used for transformation) So much talk in this thread about the set! You all know that Gavin Lee is in this production correct? Tap dancing with two large candlesticks as hands!! Yes, but it’s irrelevant if those sets don’t immerse you or effectively convey what they are trying to…. I may give it another try when it comes back to Bristol as I’d like to see Shaq Taylor. Gavin Lee was fine; his costume was not. That looked cheap too and only one ‘candle’ ever lit at a time. I was merely pointing out as a fact what sets are included as there was some incorrect information being shared. I find it interesting actually how generally in musical theatre the trend has been for physical set pieces/scenes to be reduced or not used at all in newer musicals (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away some examples) and Beauty has a lot more set scenes than these musicals yet it is getting heavily judged on not having lots of set pieces! How do I know all those chairs lined up in Come From Away are supposed to be a plane…. Oh I suspend my disbelief! I was never a fan of the big castle set in the original Beauty production at the Dominion, to me everything was squeezed into that set and it made it seem like a dolls house. I find this one much more immersive actually, it gives a sense of scale and allows you to focus on each scene. Each to their own. I do agree regarding Gavins candle costume!
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Post by jacob on Jul 16, 2022 11:49:07 GMT
.. because DEH / CFA / Hamilton rely on a real world setting. Minimal works there !!!! BATB is a fairytale .. it’s magic .. it’s Disney .. can I not expect a lavish design 😭😭 ?
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Post by hadeswasking on Jul 16, 2022 16:06:28 GMT
Saw this show not too long ago and would love to share my thoughts. Overall my expectations were surpassed and I was plesantly surprised.
This show was very low on my priority list after the disappointment I felt after seeing Frozen. I actually didn't think I was going to see it until tickets popped up in the front row at a great price.
The cast are worth the price of admission alone. Courtney Stapleton as Belle is perfect. Her voice is out of this world! I thought Shaq's comedic timing was great. Every time Gavin Lee was on stage my eyes were glued to him.
I didn't see the original production so I don't get a lot of the complaints people have about this show on here.
I loved the simplicity of the set, I thought it was just enough. Occasionally the digital backdrop looked a little cheap but the talent distracted me from that.
Sometimes less is more and when you have that calibre of talent performing in front of you, you're always going to be in for a treat.
I can't wait to revisit this eventually. You guys on here are sometimes just way too negative, letting expectations overcome your feelings on a show. It's okay just to enjoy what you're given sometimes.
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Post by sph on Jul 16, 2022 22:08:17 GMT
I enjoyed the show, the cast were great, but I guess I can only report on my own experience... and not only was the overall design underwhelming, key pieces were missing from it on the night and entire scenes and numbers were performed on bare stages, just not what I was hoping for from a Disney show.
I understand the circumstances of course - live theatre, technical faults etc, I was just unlucky, but hey, that's the experience I had and this board is here for us to share our theatrical experiences.
I have to say, the cast handled the bare-stage scenes exceptionally well. You would think the opening number was always done without a set by how well the ensemble did it. The same for the Beast and Gaston's fight scene. I didn't know it was supposed to have a set piece until I read it here! Although it did strike me as odd that Gaston's death was just him screaming and running offstage before a projection of him falling.
I'd be tempted to revisit just to see the "full" show, but we'll see what happens.
A shame they cut the scene with the enchanted objects fighting the villagers - going straight into the Gaston/Beast fight is very abrupt.
Again, I honestly can't fault the cast, all turning out wonderful performances and handling the technical issues brilliantly.
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Post by danb on Jul 17, 2022 6:27:22 GMT
Are they giving you tickets to see it again? I remember when we saw Mary Poppins on its very 2nd preview in Bristol, and Mary didn’t fly. They didn’t give us free tickets but we were invited to go and just watch the end scene again if we liked.
When my wife & daughter saw BATB on tour in Bristol way back when, the set stuck in the transformation and the show was cut short, so they get free tickets to see it again. .
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 17, 2022 13:56:47 GMT
The design of both set and costumes looks horrible. It’s absolutely out me off seeing this. It reeks of nothing more than not wanting to spend the money. Ironic considering the ticket prices are astronomical.
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Post by SuttonPeron on Jul 17, 2022 15:33:25 GMT
You guys on here are sometimes just way too negative, letting expectations overcome your feelings on a show. It's okay just to enjoy what you're given sometimes. By marketing the production as "top-notch theatrical magic", Disney makes us expect such from the production. Those expectations grow even more when the ticket prices are so high. So obviously I´ll be dissappointed if the set is a screen to fill out the space and some individual set pieces, the music is 60% pre-recorded and the costumes look cheap and flat. The cast may still be fantastic, as I think everyone agrees, but the show can still feel empty. If Disney didn´t highlight so much how "spectacular" the physical production was and charged cheaper prices, it´d be a different story.
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Post by danb on Jul 17, 2022 15:53:59 GMT
It's okay just to enjoy what you're given sometimes. Oh believe, I go to everything with the hope of enjoying it. Sometimes I minimise expectation when something looks ropey to avoid dissatisfaction. But when I’ve been charged £60+ for a Disney spectacular and I actually get some dodgy cgi behind some poor faux wooden structures to suggest the village, I think I’m allowed to express a little unhappiness? “I bought this gold necklace from you but its actually just some screwed up tin foil sprayed gold. I realise I should just get over myself & enjoy it because it looks a bit like a gold necklace, and I should be grateful that you went to the effort, but I just want the gold necklace that I paid for.”.
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Post by hadeswasking on Jul 17, 2022 16:52:33 GMT
Trust me I had the lowest of expectations going into this, maybe that's why I happened to enjoy it so much. For me, it still had some "top-notch theatrical magic" with that gorgeous transformation scene.
Of course, it's okay to express unhappiness that it didn't meet what you believe is the cost of your ticket. Isn't that why reviews exist? So you can set expectations going in. It's not like they are hiding this from you. It's not like more than 50% of threads like these are talking about the "basic" set.
I just wanted to share my somewhat unpopular opinion and add some positivity to this otherwise quite negative thread. I thought a lot of the simplicity elevated the material and the performances led me to actually enjoy it.
I believe different interpretations of material should be celebrated. Can sometimes it be cheaper? Yeah. It is disappointing they are limiting the number of people playing the music. From where I was sitting I thought they sounded fantastic as I was right next to the pit.
Sorry I struggled to type this up. At the end of the day, it really is all about your experiences and expectations and I can't change that with a paragraph.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 17, 2022 18:08:39 GMT
I agree with you hadeswasking. I hadn’t seen it before and I thought it was great in Manchester. Nothing to compare it to is sometimes a happy place to be.
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Post by alece10 on Jul 17, 2022 18:21:58 GMT
Same here. I thought it was pretty impressive. I had no expectations as had never seen it before but no way did I come away thinking this was a cheap production.
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Post by danb on Jul 17, 2022 18:24:58 GMT
…and that is why this board exists. To discuss and share opinion. Not blandly agree with each other and share no critical thought. The previous tour, however unreliable, was a spectacular and the premium price that you paid was up there on stage. This was a catalogue of get rounds and screens.
Apologies if I sounded crass, but I don’t normally so rigidly attach a value to things. But when something is so disproportionately priced vs the spectacle it provides it has to be mentioned.
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Post by h86 on Jul 17, 2022 18:54:46 GMT
…and that is why this board exists. To discuss and share opinion. Not blandly agree with each other and share no critical thought. The previous tour, however unreliable, was a spectacular and the premium price that you paid was up there on stage. This was a catalogue of get rounds and screens. Apologies if I sounded crass, but I don’t normally so rigidly attach a value to things. But when something is so disproportionately priced vs the spectacle it provides it has to be mentioned. [br To me it is very spectacular. I don’t see the issue with the screens, it allows for moving images which is utilised well. The transformation looks great, the enchantress flying, Gaston’s death are all showcased well. It’s a family show and that is who Disney really want to impress. Does it work for them. Yes. It’s had a lot of really good reviews and it’s great to see it back in London even if it is only for summer.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 17, 2022 19:42:05 GMT
This shows reliance on a video screen is an absolute cop out. It’s not good enough. Also the new costumes are terrible.
If you saw the original London production, you can’t help but compare them, especially when ticket prices are so high.
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Post by mattnyc on Jul 17, 2022 19:42:19 GMT
I can forgive a lot with this show but the one thing they did in their quest to save as much money as possible was put The Beast in that ridiculous childrens Halloween mask at the end for the fight/transformation. It was one of the absolute stupidest looking things I’ve maybe ever seen.
And why no dancing cutlery?? It’s now “Be Our Guest” with Las Vegas showgirls singing and dancing? Disney - you have the money. Spend it.
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Post by danb on Jul 17, 2022 19:53:41 GMT
…and that is why this board exists. To discuss and share opinion. Not blandly agree with each other and share no critical thought. The previous tour, however unreliable, was a spectacular and the premium price that you paid was up there on stage. This was a catalogue of get rounds and screens. Apologies if I sounded crass, but I don’t normally so rigidly attach a value to things. But when something is so disproportionately priced vs the spectacle it provides it has to be mentioned. [br To me it is very spectacular. I don’t see the issue with the screens, it allows for moving images which is utilised well. The transformation looks great, the enchantress flying, Gaston’s death are all showcased well. It’s a family show and that is who Disney really want to impress. Does it work for them. Yes. It’s had a lot of really good reviews and it’s great to see it back in London even if it is only for summer. Having ‘really good reviews’ means nothing. I’m really pleased that you enjoyed it.
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Post by h86 on Jul 17, 2022 20:55:27 GMT
[br To me it is very spectacular. I don’t see the issue with the screens, it allows for moving images which is utilised well. The transformation looks great, the enchantress flying, Gaston’s death are all showcased well. It’s a family show and that is who Disney really want to impress. Does it work for them. Yes. It’s had a lot of really good reviews and it’s great to see it back in London even if it is only for summer. Having ‘really good reviews’ means nothing. I’m really pleased that you enjoyed it. It’s a shame that you did not.
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Post by craig on Jul 18, 2022 11:33:24 GMT
Saw this on Saturday night as a birthday treat for my partner, who loved the original production and is a much bigger Disney fan than me. I ended up enjoying it more than him, though we both had a really good time. He found it hard not to compare it to how lavish the original production was but I was pleasantly surprised by the staging after what I had heard. He hated the wolf projections, I thought they were effective; he hated that the angry villagers song went straight into the Gaston/Beast fight scene, I had no idea it wasn't written that way.
We both thought there was some really impressive staging though with some of the magical transformations, the Beast levitating etc. I also thought there were some amazing performances going on here. Gavin Lee was an absolute STAR. Very impressive. Courtney Stapleton's acting was fine but her singing was exceptional. Sam Bailey really impressed me too and the ensemble were so committed and also very impressive.
We bought the cheaper front row seats directly in front of the orchestra pit and would recommend if you're over 5 ft 8 or so. We're a shade over that and the stage did feel pretty high.
Be Our Guest was spectacular.
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Post by richey on Jul 18, 2022 12:58:41 GMT
The Beast levitates? That didn't happen when I saw it in Manchester. The transformation was the only thing I was disappointed with,as you could clearly see him pull off the mask whilst stood next to the throne.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 18, 2022 13:16:05 GMT
He went up when I saw it in Manc. I thought it was a fantastic effect.
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