1,905 posts
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Post by LaLuPone on Oct 19, 2022 8:11:16 GMT
I did wonder if he would bring the Cinderella audience with him All 5 of them?!
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Post by cezbear on Oct 19, 2022 8:49:42 GMT
I must have been sat pretty close to you Dr Tom! I don't know how I felt about the show really, I could use another visit to take it all in probably. I enjoyed some of it but a lot felt a disjointed, the end and beginning were odd, and sometimes there was almost the effect of making me feel excluded, as an audience member, from the cast and show in places. For example, at the beginning and end I could clearly hear the cast chanting behind the curtain for quite a while, I don't know if that's usual but it was slightly offputting. I might not be explaining myself well here. As a show it felt a bit Jersey Boys in style to me, but not executed quite as well. Some great performances though, and I felt very lucky to catch Ivano's debut, which was stunning. He does come across a little too young visually, particularly in comparison to some of his cast members (Intermediate Bob for example), but he pulls it off as his performance is so strong. I wasn't honestly sure what to expect from him but it was a very confident, energetic debut, and he definitely sold it. There's nowhere to hide in this role, it's very intense and I'm not surprised it needs an alternate. I don't know how these things work, but if Ivano can get seen in this role by the casting powers that be, I imagine MJ will surely be his now.
I think there might have been another debut on as well (for Chris Blackwell?), but will have to check that. Special mention for No Woman, No Cry being stunningly sung by Cleopatra Rey.
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3,073 posts
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Post by david on Oct 23, 2022 17:51:27 GMT
Glad to finally have the OCR on itunes to purchase. I'm really happy that Gabrielle Brooks' "No Woman No Cry" is now available to listen to again. For me her singing the song on stage was just one of those WOW moments watching the show and a real showstopper performance. Overall, a really good recording of the cast.
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1,510 posts
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Post by anita on Oct 24, 2022 9:23:59 GMT
Anyone know when Ivan Turco is on as Bob?
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3,059 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Oct 24, 2022 9:28:21 GMT
Anyone know when Ivan Turco is on as Bob? Tuesday and Sunday evenings.
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Post by cezbear on Oct 24, 2022 9:29:28 GMT
Anyone know when Ivan Turco is on as Bob? Tuesdays and Sunday evenings I believe.
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1,510 posts
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Post by anita on Oct 24, 2022 10:00:18 GMT
Thank you to Dr Tom & cezbear.
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Post by cezbear on Dec 22, 2022 14:27:00 GMT
Both performances cancelled for this today (sickness).
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3,059 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 22, 2022 15:07:25 GMT
I nipped back for a sixth viewing on Tuesday evening and there was first and second covers on for a lot of the roles. All very good, but not surprised to hear they can't quite get a case together today and have had to cancel (although it's a real shame).
A big surprise was Ivano nearly walking into me in the lobby as he is normally on in the lead role on a Tuesday. He had been moved to the matinee (also, I believe he's scheduled for tomorrow and Tuesday if anyone would like to see him). I do want to catch him again before closing night. Ivano now has a fake beard for when he's on as Bob Marley, so he is no longer knwon as "babyface Marley".
Can never complain with David Albury on as the lead though as he's just so utterly convincing. Cleopatra Rey was as fabulous as ever as Rita Marley.
Even better, I managed to get a front row centre seat through rush and it was a very well behaved audience (with the exception of some poor taste laughers). One more visit due anyway, or possibly two, depending how well I can decipher Ivano's schedule.
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Post by cezbear on Dec 22, 2022 15:15:00 GMT
I saw both David recently & then Ivano for the second time (despite my previously saying I didn't really like the show!). I didn't much enjoy David, nothing he actually did wrong, his performance style just wasn't for me. I would have very much liked to see Michael Duke in the role, from bits I've seen on YT I really like him. There were various covers on for both shows, all very good. This show has grown on me a lot and it seemed fairly full on both recent visits, with fairly excitable audiences, so I'm surprised it's closing. I've been in far emptier theatres for shows that have no end date in sight. Ivano did have the fake beard when I caught him the second time and it does help to age him up a bit! I'm still surprised and impressed at how good he is as Bob. It's the perfect showcase for him if he's hoping to land MJ, I think. Agree with Dr Tom - Cleopatra Rey is stunning as Rita, and her No Woman, No Cry is one of the most gorgeously sung moments I've heard in a theatre.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Jan 6, 2023 13:46:42 GMT
So glad to have caught this show before it closes on Sunday. Full house and the performance was being filmed for archival purposes. I really enjoyed the main cast, especially David and Cleopatra. The show itself felt a little disjointed and I didn't always understand what was happening, but I enjoyed myself anyway. I wish I had seen this when Arinze Kene was originally Bob as I love everything he's done.
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249 posts
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Post by gmoneyoutlaw on Jan 6, 2023 20:26:55 GMT
So glad to have caught this show before it closes on Sunday. Full house and the performance was being filmed for archival purposes. I really enjoyed the main cast, especially David and Cleopatra. The show itself felt a little disjointed and I didn't always understand what was happening, but I enjoyed myself anyway. I wish I had seen this when Arinze Kene was originally Bob as I love everything he's done. The original cast was amazingly good. I saw the show a second time with new cast and it was just as compelling
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Post by cezbear on Jan 6, 2023 20:29:30 GMT
Any whispers of a tour for this?
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Post by musiqualetheater on Jan 6, 2023 23:52:07 GMT
Any whispers of a tour for this? When it was announced to be closing, they said there’d be a tour. But no details have since been released as far as I can tell.
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5,272 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 7, 2023 0:32:08 GMT
I suspect anyone and everyone involved in this show just wants it to end immediately. Don’t hold your breath for a tour
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Jan 7, 2023 14:12:36 GMT
I suspect anyone and everyone involved in this show just wants it to end immediately. how come?
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3,059 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 8, 2023 20:29:24 GMT
Three visits this week, all through rush (on the days I got lucky). Tickets otherwise surprisingly hard or expensive to come by and there weren't as many rush tickets released as normal. All excellent shows, as you'd expect. I did try and guess when Ivano would be on, with the end result being two David shows, then Ivano's final show today.
I couldn't afford the closing performance tonight (which is going on as I write), so I hope everyone there has had a good time.
It's very hard to choose a favourite between David and Ivano as they perform the role so differently. But Ivano did manage to bring a tear to my eyes with Redemption Song. He got rather emotional at the end of the matinee today, which is no surprise. I want to give a shout out to Jacade Simpson as well. Always on form and it's so good to see him on stage.
Audience quality, never great at this one, but better this week than at earlier visits. Lots of talkers Today, had a group behind me in the second row who complained at the "no singing" announcement that they'd paid £80 a ticket and weren't allowed to have fun (but at least they didn't sing). Yesterday, a group of loud inappropriate laughers in the rear stalls. Today, there were hecklers at different points (multiple people, especially in the second half), even one "get on and sing, boy" type yell to Ivano during one of the emotional speeches. The strangest comment I overheard earlier in the week was someone looking up David in the programme during the interval and announcing "he's very posh" (I'm not sure how they could tell).
I was sat a few seats along from Ivano's partner this afternoon and Ivano flashed him a heart right at the end, which I thought was really sweet. Thankfully, the show the partner is in doesn't have performances on a Sunday. I did spot a few musical theatre actors in this week.
I do wish I'd been at the final show tonight so I could have given Cleopatra Rey a standing ovation after No Woman, No Cry, but it's would have looked too out of place at the matinee.
Anyway, it sounds from mrbarnaby that the closure is no bad thing, but from a perspective purely as an audience member, the cast all seem united, professional and jubilant. There's lots of on-stage noise before the start and end, with a triumphant sound to it. I do still need to fill in some gaps in my knowledge, but I appreciate Bob Marley's music and contributions to the world far more now than I ever did, even though his character is portrayed from being far from angelic. I do hope that there is an opportunity for this to tour without any unnecessary drama as I'd love to see the show a few more times.
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Post by keekio2 on Jan 14, 2023 1:29:24 GMT
Can’t get the cast for it to tour apparently
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Post by partytentdown on Jan 26, 2023 6:49:30 GMT
Now this is closed, are we allowed to hear the backstage gossip?
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