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Post by Being Alive on Nov 22, 2023 15:31:44 GMT
I’m hearing Michelle McManus at The Peacock, but won’t fight anyone who disagrees… oh this made me laugh - what a throwback! |
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Post by ceebee on Nov 22, 2023 15:33:49 GMT
I’m hearing Michelle McManus at The Peacock, but won’t fight anyone who disagrees… Nah, I just don't see this working in the Peacock... |
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Post by BVM on Nov 22, 2023 16:04:00 GMT
I’m hearing Michelle McManus at The Peacock, but won’t fight anyone who disagrees… Ahhhh, I still have the Pop Idol series 2 Christmas CD. Comes out annually. Don’t see her as Norma but more than happy to see her have a stab at a gender swapped Max. |
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Post by danb on Nov 22, 2023 18:05:13 GMT
Hmmmm, how do you feel about a gender swapped Jo(fromSclub7) 🤣
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Post by traveller15 on Nov 24, 2023 3:19:15 GMT
Could Scherzinger's performance ignite interest in a film version? I mean, Glenn Close's ship has sailed (and Scherzinger probably torpedoed it if it was still floating somewhere out there in dark), but Scherzinger... nobody's caused chatter or provoked a reaction like this about this part or this musical in a long time. I'm not arguing a transposition of Lloyd's staging or even Lloyd directing... but anybody thing Scherzinger might actually wind up donning the turbans in a film version?
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Post by apubleed on Nov 24, 2023 9:21:11 GMT
It’s a good question. I’m not sure but it does feel like this is just the beginning of something very special for Nicole’s career.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 24, 2023 11:34:27 GMT
Could Scherzinger's performance ignite interest in a film version? I mean, Glenn Close's ship has sailed (and Scherzinger probably torpedoed it if it was still floating somewhere out there in dark), but Scherzinger... nobody's caused chatter or provoked a reaction like this about this part or this musical in a long time. I'm not arguing a transposition of Lloyd's staging or even Lloyd directing... but anybody thing Scherzinger might actually wind up donning the turbans in a film version? Her bonkers casting only makes sense in the context of this production- and any film of this won’t be taking the Jamie Lloyd route. Plus they will have a much bigger selection of Hollywood names lining up to play this role on film… much bigger box office names than NS. |
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Post by normasturban on Nov 24, 2023 12:19:19 GMT
Agree that absolutely no one is financing a movie of this with Nicole but also agree that it’s put the nails into Glenn’s movie version.
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Post by Jon on Nov 24, 2023 13:50:09 GMT
All decisions about a film adaptation lies with Paramount and with the best will in the world, they aren't going to turn this into a movie.
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Post by danb on Nov 24, 2023 14:40:34 GMT
I’d really like this production to just burn bright and leave a fantastic looking corpse. Any attempts to extend it past its beautiful ‘now’ will surely dilute its brilliance. Capture it in situ on film by all means, but changing anything about this incredibly specific piece will just be a hiding to nothing.
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Post by chernjam on Nov 24, 2023 15:46:18 GMT
Around the 2017 revival the chatter about the movie version had really piqued again, with supposedly a fantastic script and director attached, with Glenn giving updates. COVID was one of the main excuses for it getting derailed again and I haven't seen or heard a word from Glenn in a long time.
If they did attempt a film, I think Jamie Lloyd has just shown that there's more to the story than just recycling the original with music from ALW. Leaning into the fame/popularity aspects of things and some further reworking of the lyrics can make this even more something a bit more original "based" on the Billy Wilder film.
Whether Paramount has the vision and desire for such - no idea. The feline mess of Cats I'm sure is still lingering for many a movie exec
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Post by chernjam on Nov 24, 2023 15:48:54 GMT
...in other news, it looks like tickets are really selling now for West End. It's had multiple sell outs in the last week. Could that be the Evening Standard award bump or just the reality that there's only 6-7 weeks left
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Post by partytentdown on Nov 24, 2023 15:51:38 GMT
For those who wanted a brochure, there is 30% off everything on the Theatre Shop site today so it's £7 plus postage.
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Post by danb on Nov 24, 2023 15:58:29 GMT
Still waiting for the one I ordered off them already!
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Post by gmoneyoutlaw on Nov 24, 2023 16:00:23 GMT
...in other news, it looks like tickets are really selling now for West End. It's had multiple sell outs in the last week. Could that be the Evening Standard award bump or just the reality that there's only 6-7 weeks left If you can wait for 10am the day of the prices drop. £295 is too expensive. £145 for the same seat, if available, while pricy on a budget is worth it. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 25, 2023 9:31:57 GMT
Well, there are bits of this that are 👌 far away from looking like they’re taking the piss, particularly some of Nicole’s affectations but it always stays just in the right side (apart from the entracte which despite reading so much here I hadn’t quite realised was being done with such obvious direct to camera humour which I loved).
It took about 15 minutes for me to adjust to it, again despite having read every post in this thread I wasn’t fully prepared, but after that I was all in. Leads all brilliant. I’ve never seen David Thaxton in anything before and I loved him. He really went for it in Greatest Star with the line “caught inside that flickering light beam is a youth that cannot FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE”. Wow. Thrilling.
There was a bit too much of my bete noir, the art of interpretive daaaaaance, for my liking but I can’t deny that it was the right thing for this production and totally worked. Any niggles are blown away by the overall fabulousness of it. Another five starts for the pot.
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Post by singularsensation on Nov 25, 2023 14:44:21 GMT
Realised I never came back to post my thoughts after I saw it last weekend with Rachel. Despite my obvious upset that I wanted to see Nicole and getting Rachel (and it turns out they had emailed my fiancé to advise of this the week before and he had just missed the email, so I’m more upset at him!), she is obviously a complete and utter sensation as Norma. I’ve seen her in a fair few roles now and she is probably my favourite of the current West End stars but this was streaks ahead of anything I’ve seen her do, the acting in particular felt like a major step up from anything else I’ve seen from her!
All the leads really gave terrific performances, not a weak link among them - a pleasure to see Tom Francis on a West End stage after last seeing him at the Hope Mill for RENT.
Direction-wise I had a fair idea of what to expect given who directs - my fiancé however did not and was somewhat confused to begin with but felt it really worked for the most part by the end. Personally loved the stripped back, modern approach to the production as opposed to the traditional/original staging - brings what I (probably unfairly) view as a somewhat dated piece of theatre into the 21st century. The anachronisms (such as the finishing the screenplay on the MacBook or picture of Rachel as Elphaba in the opening of act 2) did feel a bit iffy because as it’s still quite clearly set in 1949/1950 but I can overlook that as a choice designed to amplify the absurdity of the whole piece.
5/5 for me!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 25, 2023 14:55:36 GMT
I think high fiving the chimp was the zenith of what was reasonable to get away with in that sequence. I lol’d.
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Post by richey on Nov 25, 2023 15:51:27 GMT
I was watching a bootleg of this sequence the other day and the guy who has filmed it must have been so annoying to be sat next to. Every time there was a reference he put on a really false loud laugh and virtually shouted out each one.. "ooh turban HAHAHA...ooh chimp HAHAHA"
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 25, 2023 16:39:54 GMT
I was watching a bootleg of this sequence the other day and the guy who has filmed it must have been so annoying to be sat next to. Every time there was a reference he put on a really false loud laugh and virtually shouted out each one.. "ooh turban HAHAHA...ooh chimp HAHAHA" Oh he's UNBEARABLE on those clips |
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Post by chernjam on Nov 25, 2023 21:32:33 GMT
I was watching a bootleg of this sequence the other day and the guy who has filmed it must have been so annoying to be sat next to. Every time there was a reference he put on a really false loud laugh and virtually shouted out each one.. "ooh turban HAHAHA...ooh chimp HAHAHA" Thank you for saying it  Was losing my mind and getting further enraged that there's no news of a cast recording |
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Post by musicbox on Nov 28, 2023 0:00:21 GMT
I was determined to see Rachel tonight as it's the only Monday I have free until the end of the run, so I made the risky decision to wait until 10am today for a bargain - I somehow managed a seat very close to the stage that was £125 at the weekend, with dynamic pricing and the 'comeagain' voucher code that AGT emailed me for £50, I was absolutely delighted and the view was perfect!
I'll keep it short - Rachel blew me away tonight. I don't want to start a comparison debate here as both are great, but Rachel took it for me by quite a big margin tonight, having seen Nicole last month.
Her vocals are incredible and her acting is so believable that by the end of the show I actually associated her as Norma, whereas when I saw Nicole it very much felt like 'Nicole playing a role' if that's makes sense, as great as she was.
I didn't realise Rachel had such great comedic timing and she had everyone cracking up in the first act, but then nailed the crazed insanity in act 2 just as perfectly - Honestly I feel that having her for one show and any sickness cover is a total waste.
I feel that extending this in a different theatre with Rachel as the principal would be a huge success. She has been the headline principal actor in many shows on both Broadway and the west end, so I'm not sure why ALW might think she wouldn't sell tickets - surely the show itself would ensure that?
Anyway, if you've been considering seeing Rachel but not sure, make it your duty to do so before this run ends.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 28, 2023 0:26:21 GMT
With respect- there’s no way it would be a success in another theatre with Rachel. She isn’t a name outside of a very niche theatre community.
It just wouldn’t be financially viable to sell it with her as the star.
It also would have the problem that it’s a production that’s known for starring Scherzinger. They would have diminishing returns having anyone else headlining it, hence no plans to move it to another theatre.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 29, 2023 12:39:47 GMT
Lena Hall is my best guess for Norma standby on broadway. It seems more up her alley. I hear it’s Beanie… |
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Was losing my mind and getting further enraged that there's no news of a cast recording