524 posts
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Post by callum on Apr 9, 2017 16:53:20 GMT
I think the only person that could sell it better than Bette would be Babs herself! Can see it doing a month long Coliseum run, though none of that 'semi-staged' nonsense this time...
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 14, 2017 13:26:13 GMT
Sooooo with wide eyes and a gleaming smile I sat on the front row tonight in anticipation for "Hello Dolly!" on Broadway. Oh and a little person called Bette Midler was playing the lead role! Wow... An incredible atmosphere of excitement in the theatre and the second the orchestra started the audience went wild. I admit I had tears down my face a few times, The show is great, I loved it but - I don't think that it's the best musical ever. The director knows it too and every single line was said for laughs (trying to make it funnier than it actually is). That said, this new production with a steam train on stage and other gigantic moving set pieces is breathtaking and looks a million dollars. The supporting cast (with Frasier's David Hyde Pierce) is almost flawless (Kate Baldwin is a tad old in comparison to Gavin Creel) and the big routines sublime. Bette is fabulous (I cried again during the famous "Hello Dolly" waiter number which received a standing ovation in the middle of the second act) but at 70 I think she's a tad old, her singing isn't what it used to be, she was obviously pacing herself and it took her to act two to really work the audience (she was also wearing a suspicious earpiece). Maybe she should have played this role a decade ago? Slight negatives aside, I fee privileged to have watched her perform live just two meters away from me. A wonderful revival of a classic Broadway show and a night to remember. 8/10.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 14:01:52 GMT
Kate Baldwin is only a year older than Gavin Creel?
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 14, 2017 20:34:41 GMT
Kate Baldwin is only a year older than Gavin Creel? Well that may be but he looks early 30s and she looks early 40s |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 20:37:17 GMT
Still...it's not an unrealistic age difference.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 21:03:26 GMT
If a year is a tad then sure.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 21:35:12 GMT
If a year is a tad then sure. What did you think when you saw it? If you did.... I haven't seen it. But I personally would never complain about an age difference of one year, particularly when I'm used to seeing age differences of ten+ years in films. I think if anything it's good to have representation of couples where the woman is the older party, even if that's not really the case here...because she's only one year older. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 23:55:27 GMT
My point is is that if Gavin weren't gay and Kate weren't married, they could easily be a very plausible couple and nobody would be shocked at the age difference in either looks or literal terms. So I don't see why they wouldn't be a plausible couple on stage. I've seen Gavin in Book of Mormon and Kate in Big Fish so I know what they look like.
But we'll have to agree to disagree.
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 15, 2017 0:01:55 GMT
My point is is that if Gavin weren't gay and Kate weren't married, they could easily be a very plausible couple and nobody would be shocked at the age difference in either looks or literal terms. So I don't see why they wouldn't be a plausible couple on stage. I've seen Gavin in Book of Mormon and Kate in Big Fish so I know what they look like. But we'll have to agree to disagree. I find it rather odd that you have an opinion on casting and a show you haven't seen! It's like Eponine being ten years older than Marius, or Christine being older than Phantom. The casting (whatever the age of the actor in real life) is what it is.... To have a slight difference changes the whole character/motivation/sub text and back story to the roles. Anyway it's no big deal as it was a minor comment. It's a super show. Go see it |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 0:20:13 GMT
But the age difference isn't ten years...it's one. I know the actors and I know the show. If I could afford to see it or had time to I would but my next trip to New York is already packed with 4 other shows. But yes it was only meant to be a minor rebuttal to your minor comment so let's move on.
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 15, 2017 1:24:07 GMT
But the age difference isn't ten years...it's one. I know the actors and I know the show. If I could afford to see it or had time to I would but my next trip to New York is already packed with 4 other shows. But yes it was only meant to be a minor rebuttal to your minor comment so let's move on. BUT THEY LOOK TEN YEARS DIFFERENT ON STAGE!!!!!!!! Forget the real ages!!!!!! Being one year or one hundred years in reality has nothing to do with it. I really don't know why you can't accept it, she looks older, I said it's not ideal, she looks a tad older, move on.... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 1:51:09 GMT
Sigh, I'd already said to agree to disagree and then a second time to move on. You seem to be someone that requires a much more visually satisfying form of casting than I do whether it be complaints about weight or age etc. For me, as long as it's within reason, it's much more about the acting and the singing. This is the last post I'll be making on the matter, so please don't reply to me with another caps lock post telling me to move on. I'm trying to!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 21:29:24 GMT
I am
Seeing this
In 15 days
👯👯👯👯👯
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Apr 16, 2017 9:58:55 GMT
In about a month for me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 11:01:12 GMT
I am Seeing this In 15 days 👯👯👯👯👯 Weak story, shallow characterisation, undramatic songs, all gussied up by throwing money at it and plonking in an aging star so the audience are supposed to ignore all of that? All it needs is for you to have invested money in it and you'll be claiming that it's the most important work of art ever.  |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 16, 2017 14:24:40 GMT
Your comments are slightly ageist. This aging star is somewhat of a superstar, and is doing wonders in the role according to just about everyone who has seen it. It's not the deepest, most meaningful or most sophisticated show. But it's a great piece of entertainment and one of the most beloved classical musical comedies.
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 16, 2017 14:29:21 GMT
Your comments are slightly ageist. This aging star is somewhat of a superstar, and is doing wonders in the role according to just about everyone who has seen it. It's not the deepest, most meaningful or most sophisticated show. But it's a great piece of entertainment and one of the most beloved classical musical comedies. They aren't ageist. I saw the show two days ago. She's fabulous but too old for the role. Her voice isn't what it was and she wings it. The night after I visited the show she had a coughing fit on stage and had to stop the show. Gavin Creel came on stage with water and throat sweets (she pretended to choke and fell on the floor). Talking about the correct casting ages any ageist. It's casting, type and suitability and in this case - can the talent deliver the goods night after night. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 14:37:42 GMT
Aging does not equal incapable! My point being that their high level of experience is used to compensate for the piece's shortcomings. It's good producing and not always about age (see Sheridan Smith helping to paper over the weaknesses of Funny Girl from the same year as Dolly).
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Apr 16, 2017 14:45:51 GMT
Aging does not equal incapable! My point being that their high level of experience is used to compensate for the piece's shortcomings. It's good producing and not always about age (see Sheridan Smith helping to paper over the weaknesses of Funny Girl from the same year as Dolly). With Chita Rivera no - with Bette Midler yes |
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Post by crabtree on Apr 17, 2017 15:56:32 GMT
I guess time has denied us the chance to see Ms Midler as Desiree in Little Night music. I'd rather see her play that part, regardless of her age, than Dolly. Oh she would tear your heart to pieces with Send in the Clowns, and do the wit beautifully.
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Apr 17, 2017 18:12:50 GMT
I don't know if Midler has the subtlety and finesse to do a Sondheim. A big, brash musical comedy, yes. Midler is a larger than live character, and she simply does the same thing over and over again- and that works. I don't think the Divine Miss M as Desiree Armfeld would work.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2017 17:23:51 GMT
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Apr 20, 2017 17:24:54 GMT
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Apr 20, 2017 17:30:31 GMT
I'm curious to read the reviews tomorrow, but I'm sure they will be very positive
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2017 17:32:17 GMT
I'm curious to read the reviews tomorrow, but I'm sure they will be very positive Oh, no question about it they will be overwhelmingly positive. I expect glowing reviews for Bette and big shout-outs for the Supporting Cast, as well as the Choreography at the very least. |
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