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Post by Jon on Sept 18, 2024 21:30:25 GMT
It's like Your Lie in April all again, a concert run is not an indication to whether a show can be successful as a full show and I suspect PTM likely thought Cake might become a cult hit like Heathers or Six but I wonder if many just saw it as a Six rip off and stayed away?
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Post by iantheknow on Sept 18, 2024 22:25:05 GMT
I am really sad this is closing, such talent and a fun show.
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Post by westendgirls on Sept 18, 2024 22:32:05 GMT
I am disappointed as I had recommended this to people after seeing it at the weekend. Also listened to the soundtrack and there are a couple of really good songs in there
I mentioned in my previous post that the story loses its way a bit towards the end but that’s an easy tweak to make
To cut losses so quickly seems very odd
Tempted to go back again, if anything to support the cast who were great in my opinion
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Post by khiar on Sept 19, 2024 8:07:55 GMT
I suspect PTM likely thought Cake might become a cult hit like Heathers or Six but I wonder if many just saw it as a Six rip off and stayed away? Yep, the first impression did not draw me in. I'm speaking only as someone who knew nothing about the show but historical pop musicals are getting tired so it didn't inspire me to dig deeper. Especially after perusing the previous feedback in this thread. For some reason 'Playlist' in the title had me mistakenly thinking this was a jukebox musical as well. I'm listening through the cast recording and there's several catchy songs on there. I feel for the cast & crew, and it's a shame the show won't even get a press night. |
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Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 19, 2024 8:52:03 GMT
Very sad for all the cast and crew. I happened to be going last night anyway and you could sense during the bows that they were upset about the early closing, so I'm assuming maybe they only found out yesterday too. The book of this show is confused and ill-informed and it's definitely seeking to emulate both Six and Hamilton, but it's far from the worst thing I've ever seen. I do think it worked better on a bigger stage. TOP's stage forces them to scale everything back and it makes the ensemble dance numbers feel rather weak.
(For those looking for more information on the actual story, I genuinely recommend the Puppet History series on the YouTube channel watcher and their episode 'Stealing The World's Most Expensive Necklace'. It's hosted by a small, blue puppet but it's rather entertaining and has a better grasp of the real history.)
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176 posts
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Post by unseaworthy on Sept 19, 2024 9:21:42 GMT
Cancelling the entire run before press night seems a crazy decision. If the reviews were good, lots more tickets would have been sold. Such a shame for everyone involved.
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Post by upintheclouds on Sept 19, 2024 9:25:14 GMT
I agree about the stage at TOP being too small for the dance numbers. I saw the show on Sunday and enjoyed it. I came away thinking I’d happily watch it again. As others have said it could do with being longer to actually tell the story. |
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Post by max on Sept 19, 2024 9:32:17 GMT
I suspect PTM likely thought Cake might become a cult hit like Heathers or Six but I wonder if many just saw it as a Six rip off and stayed away? Yep, the first impression did not draw me in. I'm speaking only as someone who knew nothing about the show but historical pop musicals are getting tired so it didn't inspire me to dig deeper. Especially after perusing the previous feedback in this thread. For some reason 'Playlist' in the title had me mistakenly thinking this was a jukebox musical as well. I'm listening through the cast recording and there's several catchy songs on there. I feel for the cast & crew, and it's a shame the show won't even get a press night.Oh, wow, it never occurred to me it was anything other than an artfully picked jukebox show! I think of 'playlist' to mean today's version of doing your own 'mixtape'. In terms of success / failure I'd think the jukebox would actually be more attractive to the target audience - and it's not been running long enough for those people to be disappointed and word to spread. So although I'm certain that's really bad and confusing marketing, I doubt it contributed to the failure. Then again - the absence of being able to say 'featuring the hit songs......' loses an easy selling point. Interesting that Drew McOnie was involved in the 'Strictly Ballroom' musical when it got revised to remove all the original songs (from the mixed old and new) of the Australian original production; so what was seen in Leeds and the West End was fully jukebox I think. McOnie is himself remixed out of The Other Palace version - perhaps just due to being busy with 'The Artist'; the direction and choreography at TOP are based on his work though. |
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Post by ladidah on Sept 19, 2024 9:41:36 GMT
When was the press night scheduled for?
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Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 19, 2024 9:52:02 GMT
When was the press night scheduled for? 24th September |
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Post by westendgirls on Sept 19, 2024 9:52:08 GMT
When was the press night scheduled for? Next week, 24th I think You would have thought they would have let that happen, get some publicity and take it from there They should have followed the WAISS? Marketing approach considering it will be a similar audience. As far as I remember there was no WEL performance of this, even though ZiZi was there as one of the presenters Ticket prices for the next two weeks have jumped up. I grabbed a £15 one last night for the last performance |
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Post by ladidah on Sept 19, 2024 10:00:16 GMT
They should have at least had their press night.
I agree, WEL would have been great promo.
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Post by westendgirl on Sept 19, 2024 10:24:21 GMT
Seems a bit drastic to cancel it before they’ve even had press night. I often wait for reviews before booking a show anyway.
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7,050 posts
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Post by Jon on Sept 19, 2024 10:26:24 GMT
Seems a bit drastic to cancel it before they’ve even had press night. I often wait for reviews before booking a show anyway. If the financials were really dire in terms of how much money they'd lose if they did the full run then it was likely cheaper to cancel the rest of the run. |
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Post by erik24601 on Sept 19, 2024 11:02:53 GMT
When was the press night scheduled for? 24th September Bizarrely, this performance still appears to have every seat blocked off. I wonder if they are still hoping to hold the Press Night? |
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Post by osbert on Sept 19, 2024 11:10:45 GMT
Sad news. I saw the show at the weekend and enjoyed it. Found the plot a bit patchy at times, but the music is great and I've been listening to the album on Spotify over the last few days.
They should have given it a run at the Edinburgh Fringe first like Six or Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
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Post by Seriously on Sept 19, 2024 11:21:32 GMT
Crumbs...
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1,120 posts
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Sept 19, 2024 11:45:31 GMT
They've moved press night to tonight, at least unofficially. Not sure what critics have been moved but the after party is tonight and the cast and creatives are treating it as their opening night and a chance to celebrate the show.
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Post by badlydrawnhamster on Sept 19, 2024 16:55:40 GMT
Wow, I'm really surprised by this, I presume The Other Palace must have a show ready to replace it? Or will they just go dark until they find one? Either way I enjoyed this more than Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World and thought it had catchier songs and a more interesting story. I'd agree with those that the final thirty minutes was rushed, but it's a real shame it won't be allowed to develop any further, at least for the time being.
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7,050 posts
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Post by Jon on Sept 19, 2024 17:45:13 GMT
I enjoyed it at the Lyric for £35? Top price but £72.50 at the Other Palace!Perhaps producers should start budgeting the price of the tickets for the audiences they want to attract. While I'm on the subject I can't belive how the price of seats are creeping up for fringe venues.£60+ for the Menier! I do think we need a better divide between actual fringe venues like Southwark Playhouse to what I would consider off West End which is things like the Menier, Almeida, TOP etc Even somewhere like the Orange Tree in Richmond I would not consider a fringe venue. Shows cost a lot to put on and you cannot make money or pay the cast and crew a decent wage if you price the tickets too low. |
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Post by erik24601 on Sept 19, 2024 21:47:48 GMT
I do think we need a better divide between actual fringe venues like Southwark Playhouse to what I would consider off West End which is things like the Menier, Almeida, TOP etc Even somewhere like the Orange Tree in Richmond I would not consider a fringe venue. Shows cost a lot to put on and you cannot make money or pay the cast and crew a decent wage if you price the tickets too low. But then you have to cancel the show completely - making cast and crew unemployed 2 months early - because you have overpriced it. That's a point - do they still get paid up to the original closing date? No - they will usually get two weeks notice and therefore two weeks pay. And remember that venues have minimum wage pricing bands based on their size of house. So it’s not (always) about whether they are considered Fringe or Off West End. |
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Post by capybara on Sept 19, 2024 22:04:11 GMT
Any merch or programmes?
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Post by westendgirls on Sept 19, 2024 22:49:39 GMT
Only programmes when I was there at the weekend |
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Post by flouise on Sept 20, 2024 20:35:37 GMT
Really enjoyed this tonight, I'm even more gutted for everyone involved now! One of the more enjoyable off-West End experiences I've had in a while.
I definitely agree with some of the criticisms in this thread (I do wonder how much has changed between the Lyric version and this one). I don't think that Jeanne's change of heart at the end was particularly well done, it seemed very random and sudden.
I think this is somehow the first time I've seen a Strallen sister on stage! I thought that Zizi was phenomenal. In fact I think the whole cast did a very good job.
Particular shout out to the Sunset Boulevard reference!
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166 posts
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Post by matty on Sept 21, 2024 7:44:57 GMT
I'm another who thought this was a jukebox musical so didn't book. But, I'm now intrigued so picked myself up a ticket for next week
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