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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 9, 2016 22:48:03 GMT
I know I'll sound like a broken record, but it is really good and I'm so happy with the response it got this evening
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Post by caa on Feb 9, 2016 23:03:53 GMT
As I recall the comedian role was the weakest part of the show. Has the comedian role changed much since Bath?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:08:29 GMT
Emma and Traciee are just stunning. That final number is a showstopper if there ever was one. Emma is surely giving Lara a run for her money for that Olivier?! She has to win! This show was brilliant. I loved it, from the music, to the design... everything was just delightful. And the audience in the packed stalls seemed to agree. Eruptions of laughter and applause throughout, with the cast treated to TWO standing ovations from many members of the audience at the end. Emma even shed a few tears from the response. I can't wait to go back!  |
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Post by stageyninja83 on Feb 9, 2016 23:10:23 GMT
Just saw the first preview having missed it in Bath. Really enjoyed it but they need to drop the comedian, every joke fell flat. Samuel Holmes as Bertie was brilliant, I'd previously seen him in White Christmas in Leeds and so glad to see him getting a bigger part in this.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:13:29 GMT
Just saw the first preview having missed it in Bath. Really enjoyed it but they need to drop the comedian, every joke fell flat. Samuel Holmes as Bertie was brilliant, I'd previously seen him in White Christmas in Leeds and so glad to see him getting a bigger part in this. Agreed completely, the actor playing Bertie was fantastic tonight! He needs to be a permanent fixture on the West End! Whereabouts were you sat? |
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Post by stageyninja83 on Feb 9, 2016 23:15:29 GMT
Just saw the first preview having missed it in Bath. Really enjoyed it but they need to drop the comedian, every joke fell flat. Samuel Holmes as Bertie was brilliant, I'd previously seen him in White Christmas in Leeds and so glad to see him getting a bigger part in this. Agreed completely, the actor playing Bertie was fantastic tonight! He needs to be a permanent fixture on the West End! Whereabouts were you sat? Row S stalls which was close enough lol! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:20:05 GMT
For a first outing in London it is in very good shape. Other than a few mic cues and minor set mishaps (Mrs H broke her glasses in one scene but covered it hilariously). There are a few reprises of songs which were not present in Bath, and the big act two ensemble number has been expanded massively (where Mrs H broke her specs) with totally different choreography. Again the comedian character falls flat, he really has lousy material. However in the first Bath preview it was the same situation and when I returned a week later the actor had settled into the role more. Since Jamie Foreman has only just taken over the role and this was his first outing in front of an audience I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he settles into it like the previous actor after a few more shows. I hope this doesn't close early and gets support as the audience tonight seemed to love it. Long Live Henderson. I was sat with someone who was friends with the Musical Supervisor and apparently the Overture was written this morning just to try it out tonight and see if it is needed. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:21:31 GMT
Agreed completely, the actor playing Bertie was fantastic tonight! He needs to be a permanent fixture on the West End! Whereabouts were you sat? Row S stalls which was close enough lol! Oooo wow you wouldn't of been far off from me thern, I was in Q! |
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Post by stageyninja83 on Feb 9, 2016 23:27:38 GMT
Row S stalls which was close enough lol! Oooo wow you wouldn't of been far off from me thern, I was in Q! I feel like I'm forever a few rows away from a fellow forum member! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:30:01 GMT
We all need to start wearing badges or something with our screennanes on them so we can all recognise one another at the theatre haha
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 9, 2016 23:31:47 GMT
More of us in tonight than I expected. Well done forumites on the support we showed.
Sadly I don't see much they can do with the comedian, maybe better material to work with if they can think of jokes that'll make the audience laugh.
I knew I wasn't going mad about the overture. I liked it, it should stay. I think every show should have one.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 9, 2016 23:33:34 GMT
We all need to start wearing badges or something with our screennanes on them so we can all recognise one another at the theatre haha I recognised you  , just didn't want to look like a crazy waving guy from the front. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 23:35:44 GMT
I liked the Overture too, I had no clue it was new until the interval when the woman told me!
But that last scene, the If Mountains Were Easy To Climb scene, holy crap I had chills, shed a few tears and my jaw nearly hit the floor with the level of belting coming out of those two women!
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Post by Michael on Feb 10, 2016 5:14:52 GMT
Front row is C as they've removed two for the orchestra. So I'm front row now. It wasn't when I booked my ticket, but actually, I don't mind being up front. I was sat with someone who was friends with the Musical Supervisor and apparently the Overture was written this morning just to try it out tonight and see if it is needed. I love Overtures. Really hope they keep it. And yes, it is needed. Every show needs an Overture. @all: Thanks for posting your thoughts. Looking very forward to seeing this on the 27th |
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Post by viserys on Feb 10, 2016 6:22:09 GMT
Thanks for the first reviews, keep 'em coming.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 10, 2016 8:03:16 GMT
Front row is C as they've removed two for the orchestra. So I'm front row now. It wasn't when I booked my ticket, but actually, I don't mind being up front. I took a seat in the front row during the interval to gauge the view and the stage is low enough to get a good view from there. However beware that the whole stage has old stylee shell looking stage lights across the front. Wasn't an issue when I sat there briefly and the sort of thing you'd get used to after a while. |
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Post by Michael on Feb 10, 2016 8:22:56 GMT
I took a seat in the front row during the interval to gauge the view and the stage is low enough to get a good view from there. However beware that the whole stage has old stylee shell looking stage lights across the front. Wasn't an issue when I sat there briefly and the sort of thing you'd get used to after a while. Maybe I should ask them to move me to 3rd or 4th row as originally booked. I just realised that I've never been to the Noel Coward before. Another first and one more theatre to tick off my list... |
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 10, 2016 8:36:52 GMT
I took a seat in the front row during the interval to gauge the view and the stage is low enough to get a good view from there. However beware that the whole stage has old stylee shell looking stage lights across the front. Wasn't an issue when I sat there briefly and the sort of thing you'd get used to after a while. Maybe I should ask them to move me to 3rd or 4th row as originally booked. I just realised that I've never been to the Noel Coward before. Another first and one more theatre to tick off my list... If you prefer to be a little further from the stage. Be mindful that the Noel Coward doesn't have much of a rake at the front of the stalls, so personally for my taste I prefer not to have others heads in my way. |
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 10, 2016 9:29:11 GMT
Emma and Traciee are just stunning. That final number is a showstopper if there ever was one. Emma is surely giving Lara a run for her money for that Olivier?! She has to win! This show was brilliant. I loved it, from the music, to the design... everything was just delightful. And the audience in the packed stalls seemed to agree. Eruptions of laughter and applause throughout, with the cast treated to TWO standing ovations from many members of the audience at the end. Emma even shed a few tears from the response. I can't wait to go back! The Olivier is pretty safely Lara's. Mrs H isn't eligible until 2017, so Emma can be a contender then. Hopefully people will remember the show by the time nominations for 2017 are revealed. |
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Post by horton on Feb 10, 2016 9:59:05 GMT
The problem the the stand-up is that he also has to carry the rather cumbersome narrator role. It will be difficult to simply cut him, or cut the jokes as it would make the narrative device even more exposed.
Better option is to write funnier material and integrate him more centrally into the actual plot.
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Post by liverpool54321 on Feb 10, 2016 11:25:28 GMT
I need to get my booking in for this. Out of interest what are the sight lines like? I think we normally end up in Box M at the theatre which is at the end of dress circle on left side. Works fine as long as stage use not too deep.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Feb 10, 2016 13:23:12 GMT
I think the stage goes quite a way back.
I can't comment on box views, but mine was fine in row H and the trial I took in row C.
Not the whole stage is used across though. For a good portion there's a second proscenium arch on stage since they are performing a show in a show and recreate the Windmill stage.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 10, 2016 14:00:40 GMT
So here are my thoughts from last nights first preview - for what they're worth!
Overall I enjoyed this. It's great to see a new musical in the WE that isn't some juke box show and a pleasure to support it! Some lovely songs and witty lyrics from George Fenton and Don Black. Terrific performances from Tracie Bennett and Emma Williams and Samuel Holmes (who has a lovely bottom for those of us who are interested in that sort of thing!) All three had great voices and Tracie Bennett leads the company with gusto!
The show was in very good shape for the first preview with only minor sound and scenery issues which I am sure will be sorted. It needs a little trimming - the first act runs 1.15 - just a shade long.
The show was received rapturously by the (slightly partisan?) audience at the first preview with lots of laughter and applause one minute and rapt silent attention the next.
One of the best moments of the show for me was when Mrs Henderson on complaining about the huge costume bill for the review suddenly has a "light bulb" moment when she comes up with the idea of having no costumes for the girls at all! Plus of course the scene where the girls refuse to strip at the rehearsal until the guys strip as well with a very clever choreographed scene preventing them from showing too much!!!
However, the show not without its longeurs and faults. The narrator/compere character is dreadful. Poor material delivered badly. Jamie Foreman struggling to land the material. It needed Roy Hudd a few years ago to pull off this role. Played like a Max Miller (cheeky chappy) type one minute playing to the Windmill audience and then having to play narrator playing to the Noel Coward audience the next. It simply did not work at all! I would have preferred perhaps a radio announcer in clipped BBC English to announce times/places/events etc. I could not decide if it was the material or the actor which did not work for this role.
Incidentally there was a man next to me in the mid stalls who had brought a small pair of binoculars with him and kept squinting through them at opportune moments - rather creepy!
Running time 2.40 - this will tighten a little I suspect. I do hope this show finds an audience.
3.5 stars.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2016 15:32:25 GMT
The Olivier is pretty safely Lara's. Mrs H isn't eligible until 2017, so Emma can be a contender then. Hopefully people will remember the show by the time nominations for 2017 are revealed. Are we sure about that? Seeing this tonight. I know nothing! Exciting! |
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Post by Michael on Feb 10, 2016 15:38:48 GMT
I feel like I'm forever a few rows away from a fellow forum member! I guess the basic rule is: There's always one of us in the audience. |
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, just didn't want to look like a crazy waving guy from the front.
