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Post by anthony40 on Jun 11, 2023 16:17:14 GMT
Googling and researching the individual Assassins- their back story and their motivations to what it is that they did (either successfully or not)- makes for some interesting reading.
For me the two most interesting were John Hinkley who's obsession with Jodie Foster became dangerous and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme who, if I am correct- despite his recent death- is still incarcerated and sill devout to Charles Mason.
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Post by Mark on Jun 11, 2023 18:41:27 GMT
I saw this on Thursday and enjoyed it a lot, although it didn't quite match the Menier production which for me was 5 stars all around. This I put at 4 stars - I liked the concept a lot, but it didn't 100% resonate. The ending though, I really liked. A production of great performers for sure. It's big! Will it transfer? Who knows, it's certainly not the easiest show to sell - but it seems a lot for all of three weeks in Chichester.
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Post by nottobe on Jun 11, 2023 18:47:07 GMT
I could see it transferring but not to the west end. Maybe somewhere like Young Vic or even Almeida with a obvious smaller design. The bridge would be a great fit but alas that atleast wouldn't be for a while.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 11, 2023 19:59:21 GMT
I could see it transferring but not to the west end. Maybe somewhere like Young Vic or even Almeida with an obvious smaller design. The bridge would be a great fit but alas that atleast wouldn't be for a while. The bridge would not accept a transfer |
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 11, 2023 20:30:51 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer
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Post by Rory on Jun 11, 2023 20:34:44 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer Hopefully not the same producers as Bath's Into the Woods! |
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 11, 2023 21:07:59 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer Hopefully not the same producers as Bath's Into the Woods! well...no...it's isn't because this was produced by Chichester? |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 11, 2023 21:09:15 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer Not sure I believe that. It’s not selling well at all currently. |
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Post by Rory on Jun 11, 2023 21:19:49 GMT
Hopefully not the same producers as Bath's Into the Woods! well...no...it's isn't because this was produced by Chichester? I meant Second Sight or whatever they're called |
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 11, 2023 21:25:15 GMT
Only repeating what I've been told.
Like I said, in talks, doesn't mean it's going to happen, but I know it's being discussed with various London people.
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Post by singingbird on Jun 11, 2023 21:27:10 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer I hope so. It's probably my favourite musical, although I doubt anything could equal the Jamie Lloyd production for claustrophobic intensity. I was interested to read the Sussex Express review. I think the key is that this show is about the assassins, and pays no mind to the victims (or extended victims) of those assassinations and attempts. I can see why that might make for uncomfortable viewing for some people, but I guess one just has to accept this was never the creatives; intention. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2023 9:11:48 GMT
Some posts have been edited. Can we steer away from discussion/speculation of a reviewers personal circumstances please.
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 12, 2023 10:01:39 GMT
This is in talks for a 2024 transfer I hope so. It's probably my favourite musical, although I doubt anything could equal the Jamie Lloyd production for claustrophobic intensity. I was interested to read the Sussex Express review. I think the key is that this show is about the assassins, and pays no mind to the victims (or extended victims) of those assassinations and attempts. I can see why that might make for uncomfortable viewing for some people, but I guess one just has to accept this was never the creatives; intention. Lee, when you kill a president, it isn't murder. Murder is a tawdry little crime; it's born of greed, or lust, or liquor. Adulterers and shopkeepers get murdered. But when a president gets killed, when Julius Caesar got killed—he was assassinated. |
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Post by garethg on Jun 12, 2023 13:47:31 GMT
I find the economics of Chichester a bit baffling. How do they afford to put on such a huge production with a large cast for just a 3.5 week run? Most of the reviews in the national newspapers have been very good to excellent. Was bemused by the Sussex Express review - just didn't seem to get it at all - felt a bit embarrassed for him. Like many I had mixed feelings about the production, and it's slightly concerning when the main thing posters on here and the press rave about is the set! But it did work brilliantly in the Chichester space.
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Post by highonahill on Jun 12, 2023 15:02:00 GMT
Some posts have been edited. Can we steer away from discussion/speculation of a reviewers personal circumstances please. the information is out there in the public domain, he has been open in articles about his experience and even written a book about it. My intention was to offer a possible explanation for his scathing review, not to speculate, apologies. |
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Post by profquatermass on Jun 12, 2023 15:52:02 GMT
Googling and researching the individual Assassins- their back story and their motivations to what it is that they did (either successfully or not)- makes for some interesting reading. For me the two most interesting were John Hinkley who's obsession with Jodie Foster became dangerous and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme who, if I am correct- despite his recent death- is still incarcerated and sill devout to Charles Mason. Anyone who wants to know more about the actual assassins might want to read Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. www.amazon.co.uk/Assassination-Vacation-Sarah-Vowell/dp/074326004X |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2023 15:55:25 GMT
Some posts have been edited. Can we steer away from discussion/speculation of a reviewers personal circumstances please. the information is out there in the public domain, he has been open in articles about his experience and even written a book about it. My intention was to offer a possible explanation for his scathing review, not to speculate, apologies. No apologies needed, and thanks for clarifying 🙂 |
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Post by Jay on Jun 12, 2023 16:16:38 GMT
I thought it was wonderful and the entire cast were superb. I had a lot of fun and would love to see it again if it does transfer.
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Post by solangelafitte on Jun 13, 2023 23:46:13 GMT
Saw this at the weekend. Loved it. Granted, not as much as the Menier production but they're such different approaches it's hard to compare. Friends I went with who weren't at all familiar with the show really enjoyed it too, particularly, and I quote, "the Santa guy."
Every time the balladeers were on stage I spent it wishing it was just Liam Tamne's role but that's probably my only gripe. Was very pleasantly surprised by Danny Mac. While I felt he wasn't vocally as strong as Tveit, Xavier & Pasquale (the three I've seen/heard most recently) I thought he did a really excellent job. Thought the whole cast were solid. Would love to see this one transfer. Already trying to figure out if I can make another matinee before the end of the run.
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 14, 2023 7:42:36 GMT
I am at the matinee this Saturday.
It's my first time at Chichester
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Post by theatrefan62 on Jun 14, 2023 14:22:47 GMT
Trailer released
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Post by Steve on Jun 15, 2023 17:16:34 GMT
Saw today's matinee, and really enjoyed it. The political elements of Polly Findlay's vision are terrific, but the spare staging of some of the book scenes do show up some static passages of the book. Peter Forbes, who always excels at projecting preening and/or flailing masculine narcissism, is an actor who can walk from one Sondheim to another and always fit in, and he does so majestically here. Amy Booth-Steel breathes so much (comic) life into the role of Sara Jane Moore, she almost steals the show. . . Some spoilers follow. . . I remember the first time I saw the (superior) Menier production of this, the book writer, John Weidman, was seated near me, proudly and justifiably receiving so much love from admirers approaching him that he was practically holding court. I think what Jamie Lloyd did to make his book work so consistently and so well in that production was to meld it into something bigger, never to abandon the book on stage alone: after all, all the actors were trapped as "freaks," in a carnivalesque freak show, with no escape except for the demon mouth of a gigantic freaky clown lol. Consequently, when the music went quiet, and the actors were gabbing away in character with their self-justifying drivel (if they were capable of expressing themselves profoundly, they'd hardly have turned to murder, after all), you could always see the reactions of all the other attempted murderers, nodding, relating, egging each other on, magnifying each others' grievances and narcissism: a perfect reflection of how all evil acts have to be bounced off other misguided human beings before they become possible. There was so much meaning in this interaction, so much to look at, the book was just the dumb thrumming background noise of huddled grievance, bonding and building towards evil. Here, actors left alone with the book alone on that vast stage feel abandoned to the pathetic grievances of their all too human flaws, leaving dull patches. When actors do share the stage, too often they look more like students, lounging around a capacious Oval office on a school trip, rather than deadly and banal conspirators. The actors that thrive the most are those gifted by Findlay with what amounts to fully formed variety acts to perform for the audience: Consequently, Harry Hepple's Guiteau's whole performance, book and song - dancing cheerily back and forth towards a stairway to his own gallows, surrounded by news anchors chiming in and echoing his movements as they dance around him - is immensely entertaining, a show and a spectacle that fill the space, even as Hepple fills his frame with Guiteau's ridiculous gleeful naiveté and neediness. So too do Jack Shalloo's Hinckley and Carly Mercedes Dyer's Squeaky Fromme, forming a double act, fill the space with their perverse love duet. Shalloo, one part John Denver style crooner/one part gawky high school student about to commit mass murder, is particularly compelling. One detail of the performance I loved was the red Maga-type hats on all of the orchestra, a wonderful background detail even as Peter Forbes swelled up and swaggered around in full Trumpian glad-handing glory. Another maga-style detail I enjoyed was Lizzy Connolly's pink-purple pant-suit and garish makeup, reflecting the colourful way right wing TV stations decorate their female presenters. But simply seeing Lizzy Connolly again, after a while, as one of the Balladeers was even more of a delightful surprise, as she has long proved herself to me a superb stage comedienne, and she is again in this, albeit in a criminally small role. The funniest comedy on stage, though, was definitely in everything Amy Booth-Steel brought to Sara Jane Moore, lighting up the stage with recognisably human, yet larger than life, comedic and klutzy instinctive reactions in the moments. It's funny to think that she massively out-funnies here the celebrated comedienne who took the role at the Menier, and was mistakenly focused, in my opinion, on more naturalistic dramatic acting in that production. Danny Mac was impassioned and commanding as John Wilkes Booth, never better than when he shared the stage with assassin protégés, egging them on with fire. And I could listen to Liam Tamne singing for hours. And Sam Oladeinde brings an affecting vulnerability to his Czolgosz. All in all, while this does not match the 5 star majesty of the superlative Jamie Lloyd production, this is nonetheless great 4 star fun, and in its political maga rally type setting, prescient and illuminating.  |
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Post by singingbird on Jun 15, 2023 18:51:28 GMT
Saw today's matinee, and really enjoyed it. The political elements of Polly Findlay's vision are terrific, but the spare staging of some of the book scenes do show up some static passages of the book. Peter Forbes, who always excels at projecting preening and/or flailing masculine narcissism, is an actor who can walk from one Sondheim to another and always fit in, and he does so majestically here. Amy Booth-Steel breathes so much (comic) life into the role of Sara Jane Moore, she almost steals the show. . . Some spoilers follow. . . I remember the first time I saw the (superior) Menier production of this, the book writer, John Weidman, was seated near me, proudly and justifiably receiving so much love from admirers approaching him that he was practically holding court. I think what Jamie Lloyd did to make his book work so consistently and so well in that production was to meld it into something bigger, never to abandon the book on stage alone: after all, all the actors were trapped as "freaks," in a carnivalesque freak show, with no escape except for the demon mouth of a gigantic freaky clown lol. Consequently, when the music went quiet, and the actors were gabbing away in character with their self-justifying drivel (if they were capable of expressing themselves profoundly, they'd hardly have turned to murder, after all), you could always see the reactions of all the other attempted murderers, nodding, relating, egging each other on, magnifying each others' grievances and narcissism: a perfect reflection of how all evil acts have to be bounced off other misguided human beings before they become possible. There was so much meaning in this interaction, so much to look at, the book was just the dumb thrumming background noise of huddled grievance, bonding and building towards evil. Here, actors left alone with the book alone on that vast stage feel abandoned to the pathetic grievances of their all too human flaws, leaving dull patches. When actors do share the stage, too often they look more like students, lounging around a capacious Oval office on a school trip, rather than deadly and banal conspirators. The actors that thrive the most are those gifted by Findlay with what amounts to fully formed variety acts to perform for the audience: Consequently, Harry Hepple's Guiteau's whole performance, book and song - dancing cheerily back and forth towards a stairway to his own gallows, surrounded by news anchors chiming in and echoing his movements as they dance around him - is immensely entertaining, a show and a spectacle that fill the space, even as Hepple fills his frame with Guiteau's ridiculous gleeful naiveté and neediness. So too do Jack Shalloo's Hinckley and Carly Mercedes Dyer's Squeaky Fromme, forming a double act, fill the space with their perverse love duet. Shalloo, one part John Denver style crooner/one part gawky high school student about to commit mass murder, is particularly compelling. One detail of the performance I loved was the red Maga-type hats on all of the orchestra, a wonderful background detail even as Peter Forbes swelled up and swaggered around in full Trumpian glad-handing glory. Another maga-style detail I enjoyed was Lizzy Connolly's pink-purple pant-suit and garish makeup, reflecting the colourful way right wing TV stations decorate their female presenters. But simply seeing Lizzy Connolly again, after a while, as one of the Balladeers was even more of a delightful surprise, as she has long proved herself to me a superb stage comedienne, and she is again in this, albeit in a criminally small role. The funniest comedy on stage, though, was definitely in everything Amy Booth-Steel brought to Sara Jane Moore, lighting up the stage with recognisably human, yet larger than life, comedic and klutzy instinctive reactions in the moments. It's funny to think that she massively out-funnies here the celebrated comedienne who took the role at the Menier, and was mistakenly focused, in my opinion, on more naturalistic dramatic acting in that production. Danny Mac was impassioned and commanding as John Wilkes Booth, never better than when he shared the stage with assassin protégés, egging them on with fire. And I could listen to Liam Tamne singing for hours. And Sam Oladeinde brings an affecting vulnerability to his Czolgosz. All in all, while this does not match the 5 star majesty of the superlative Jamie Lloyd production, this is nonetheless great 4 star fun, and in its political maga rally type setting, prescient and illuminating. Such a smart, intelligent post. |
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 18, 2023 14:47:56 GMT
So I saw this yesterday afternoon- wow! Nothing could have prepared me for what I witnessed.
I know this show well. I have two cast recordings and have seen several productions, both professional and amateur.
The Donmar Production was the first time I actually (truly) understood the show.
And as brilliant as that production was, yesterday's just blew everything I've seen before out of the water!
That was a large auditorium and as far as I could see, it was full. I loved the use of the screens as a roulette of former Presidents.
The whole ramping up of the audience was so clever! I actually though that this must be a slither of what it must be like to be a politically enthused American at a rally!
The positioning of the orchestra- didn't even realise that's what they ere till they started playing. Given the theme of the rally, I thought that we recording tallys! Lol!
I don't necessarily disagree with a lot that has been said however Lizzy Connolly- didn't even realise it was her. Same with Luke Brady as Giuseppe Zangara.
Having each assassin sitting amongst the audience was (truly) inspired.
Not gonna lie- I was uncertain about Sam Oladeinde as Leon Czolgosz but he actually grew on me.
I though Danny Mac as John Wilkes Booth was just outstanding!
I loved the way the roles of the Balladeers, spit and television journalists really worked.
Amy Booth-Steel as Sara Jane Moore stole every scene she was in.
For anyone else whose seen it, did anyone else think that the bearded Harry Hepple as Charles Guiteau with the hat looked like Fagin from Oliver?
For me, the only 'weak' performance was Samuel Thomas as Lee Harvey Oswald. He just wasn't 'strong' enough. That said, I did shed a tear when they showed the famous footage of JFk being shot and Jackie climbing over the back.
Having read through the previous posts, I note various comments about Nick Holder as Samuel Byck. As I say, I know this show well and all of the characters and for my money, that was the best Sam Byck I've ever seen.
Someone commented in a previous post the length of his speeches; that's how they're written in the book. And if you understand the character, you'd understand why.
There's actually a film called The Assassination of Richard Nixon with Sean Penn as Byck
You sit back and think of all of the assassins as nuts, or crazy. However, regardless of your personal opinions, they all had their own beliefs and motivations for doing what it is that they did.
I beg that this transfers- and if it doesn't that someone, somewhere- somehow captures this on film
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jun 18, 2023 15:49:13 GMT
Concept 10
Musical staging 10
Band 10
Book scenes 4
The pacing is really uneven and two of the men in pivotal roles are weak. Thankully Lizzie Connolly, Harry Hepple, and Peter Forbes are the opposite and are smashing.
The creativity of the pre show, use of tickertape and the insurrection all shine new light on this masterpiece of a musical.
I'd like for this production to have another life, preferably in a venue that does not have the charisma of an areoplane hanger. With directorial focus on the book scenes it could be as strong as the Menier and Watermill productions but at the moment it's very uneven.
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