19,663 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 9, 2019 9:27:39 GMT
Manchester is the original song.
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367 posts
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Post by Jonnyboy on Apr 9, 2019 12:18:28 GMT
Most of the second half is the hallucination. But I think it's a show you need to have seen more than once to follow it properly, particularly with the minimal set. Surprised people are seeing it for the first time, considering this production had a long run in Manchester before. I guess this says something about how people compare fringe theatres to mainstream venues. Not at all. I simply missed it first time round because I couldn’t fit it in. Always prefer Hope Mill if poss. And yes, the sound was not good at times. Not being able to hear lyrics in a show without much visual plot is not ideal! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 13:28:17 GMT
Not being able to hear lyrics in a show without much visual plot is not ideal! Oh I don't know. It was all rather visual when I saw the last production of it with Andy Coxout.  |
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421 posts
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Apr 9, 2019 14:22:25 GMT
Here's to make your day @ryan
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 19:58:32 GMT
A good measure of a show is the audience response. Most in the circle are unengaged, with a lot of toilet trips and phone checking.
This is like a sub-standard college production.
Lots of flailing arms and skipping nowhere.
Choreography is sloppy and cliched whilst the blocking is a mess.
Sound design is also questionable, trading volume for clarity.
Chap playing Burger demonstrates a naivity on stage and misunderstanding of the role.
Going to stay for act 2 out of curiosity but not enjoying this evening.
All in my opinion, of course.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 20:03:33 GMT
What on earth did I just watch? Visually it’s strong and the production itself is decent enough but as a musical... it’s like being the non-drinker at a party where everyone is wasted. Do you need to be on drugs to connect with it? So little plot, and characters I didn’t care about. Okay, the ending is strong but there’s so much WTF in this, I was waiting for it to end. I think anyone who’s ever been stoned, dropped pills or tripped on lsd watching this would probably be just as isolated as a straight edge audience member, if not more so. |
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367 posts
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Post by Jonnyboy on Apr 9, 2019 21:26:03 GMT
A good measure of a show is the audience response. Most in the circle are unengaged, with a lot of toilet trips and phone checking. This is like a sub-standard college production. Lots of flailing arms and skipping nowhere. Choreography is sloppy and cliched whilst the blocking is a mess. Sound design is also questionable, trading volume for clarity. Chap playing Burger demonstrates a naivity on stage and misunderstanding of the role. Going to stay for act 2 out of curiosity but not enjoying this evening. All in my opinion, of course. How did you find the second half? I spent tonight at the Opera House watching Abigail’s Party, far more pleasurable an evening. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2019 8:55:13 GMT
How did you find the second half? I spent tonight at the Opera House watching Abigail’s Party, far more pleasurable an evening. Do you know what, I think I enjoyed the second half a bit more than the first. With the majority of the second half being a trip/hallucination you could forgive the jolted transitions between songs more so. I think first and foremost the issue is with the haphazard book, which forgets to let characters develop in any substantial way. The poor direction over exposes this though. Why does Burger seem like the principal in the first act for Claude to take the spot in the second? Why did it rain upwards? So many other questions. Is this version of the show really relevant or necessary? Black Boys/White Boys felt incredibly dated and the two black ladies sat in front of me physically recoiled at the use of the N-word. Credit where its due, the ensemble were very vocally strong, especially in the finale acapella, but that's really the only positive I could find. There were snapshots of potential but these were marred by sloppy positioning and a misunderstanding of the text. The blocking was so messy it was distracting. The Umbrella scenes could have worked but just executed badly and looked slapdash. Worth seeing to tick off the list. Cheaper than at the Hope Mill too. |
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3,325 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 10, 2019 10:08:49 GMT
Is this version of the show really relevant or necessary? Black Boys/White Boys felt incredibly dated and the two black ladies sat in front of me physically recoiled at the use of the N-word. One thing I picked up on is that they're using the original book. A lot of performances cut out the controversial parts, as well as trim the hallucination. But this must end up as a very short show. I do think it's a dated show, but it must have had quite an impact in the 1960s. I don't think anything comes across as particularly shocking, but I guess if people go in without knowing what the show is about, or think all they have to worry about is a bit of nudity, they'll be quite taken aback. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2019 17:19:34 GMT
Worth seeing to tick off the list. Cheaper than at the Hope Mill too. I was here on the same night. Went in knowing virtually nothing about the show. Very unimpressed with the sound design, struggled to make out quite a lot from front-ish in the stalls. Some of the quieter moments were pleasant. The ending was strong, most of the cast were quite good. I've been listening to the London cast album and I feel I might enjoy it more on a second viewing having the songs already baked into my brain. Overall I'd give this a miss if you're not familiar with the show already. Was disappointed given how the Hope Mill reviews went. |
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Post by steg on Apr 13, 2019 9:33:16 GMT
Worth seeing to tick off the list. Cheaper than at the Hope Mill too. I was here on the same night. Went in knowing virtually nothing about the show. Very unimpressed with the sound design, struggled to make out quite a lot from front-ish in the stalls. Some of the quieter moments were pleasant. The ending was strong, most of the cast were quite good. I've been listening to the London cast album and I feel I might enjoy it more on a second viewing having the songs already baked into my brain. Overall I'd give this a miss if you're not familiar with the show already. Was disappointed given how the Hope Mill reviews went. I saw this on Thursday evening and too went in knowing fairly little about the show. About a third of the way through the first act I gave up trying to work our what was going on and decided to just enjoy it as a performance. The second act seemed to make rather more sense and the finale is excellent fun. I too struggled to make out the words being sung during a number of songs due to the vocals being overwhelmed by the music. I left the theatre thinking that I would probably have enjoyed it more knowing what was going on a bit more, and that a second viewing would be worthwhile. I'll see if any good deals come up for Liverpool next month. |
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Post by kzf on Apr 13, 2019 14:29:54 GMT
I'll see if any good deals come up for Liverpool next month. I'm planning on doing the same. Selling poorly so I think there's a good chance. Post back here if you hear anything! [This is @nolion who posted above, I had managed to register two accounts and have deleted the second one] |
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122 posts
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Post by kirstylovesmusicals on Apr 24, 2019 9:43:14 GMT
Had an email from Sunderland Empire that the Wednesday evening performance is cancelled and they want to refund my ticket. Tickets still available for the matinee. But I guess it isn’t selling well. I’m still seeing it the Monday, Thursday and Friday so it’s not like i’m Missing out but I always think it’s such a shame when tours have to do that 😕
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3,325 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 30, 2019 8:23:39 GMT
Caught the first night at the Alexandra in Birmingham yesterday.
Excellent as always and this came across as an intimate venue. I only ended up on the second row despite booking well in advance. Had a good chat with people around and some got the discounted front row at the last minute. I need to learn to play the dynamic pricing at the Alex a lot better, where they now tend to start off the front row at premium prices (and ineligible for discounts). The view is still good from the second row and you're less likely to be involved in the audience interaction.
Only the Stalls and Dress Circle were open, although the Stalls seemed fairly full from what I could see.
Tom Bales was away, so David Heywood covered a lot of his track, with Bradley Judge taking the role of Margaret Mead (as well as his usual Woof). He was very funny as Margaret, although the elderly gentlemen he picked to play Hubert seemed completely mortified. To be fair to Bradley, it would have been difficult to find anyone else suitable who wasn't also of pensionable age.
Still lots of availability for the rest of the week, including some bargain seats if you have a TheatreCard and book in pairs.
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Post by xanady on Apr 30, 2019 16:09:45 GMT
Thanks for this Dr Tom,am seeing it later in the week.Am expecting an half-empty house.Will have to practise clapping like a crazy seal to support the performers.
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16 posts
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Post by robmac on May 1, 2019 18:06:11 GMT
I'll see if any good deals come up for Liverpool next month. I'm planning on doing the same. Selling poorly so I think there's a good chance. Post back here if you hear anything! [This is @nolion who posted above, I had managed to register two accounts and have deleted the second one] £15 quote FLOWER |
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Post by steg on May 2, 2019 5:16:33 GMT
Thanks. Booked my trip down to Liverpool to see if it makes more sense this time! Having looked through the availability for the week it is selling very poorly. Hope it fills up a bit. |
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Post by xanady on May 3, 2019 22:25:24 GMT
Took a trip(!) to the Alex in Brum and paid £13 in the front stalls slips and had one of the best nights in the theatre for a long time.Seen HAIR many,many times over the years but this is the definitive version in my humble opinion.Flawless from start to finish and I even got on the stage at the end for a boogie with Jake and co.The cast were amazing and obviously loving every minute.Loved the set with the multi-coloured streamers everywhere and the bamboo houses for the band.Real sense of Eastern(Tibetan?) mysticism in the design.Loved the references to Trump at the beginning and in a world full of anger and hatred thought the message of peace,love and understanding in the show shone really bright.The plot is paper-thin but the soundtrack has a good dozen bangers at least.An easy 5 stars.
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122 posts
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Post by kirstylovesmusicals on May 6, 2019 18:44:25 GMT
Press night here in Sunderland and never seen a theatre so dead. Top two levels are closed and coming up to now 15 mins late. Not sure what the reason is. Will report back further later
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 18:51:30 GMT
Does every tour have a press night at every stop off, or is it just Hair milking it?
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Post by firefingers on May 6, 2019 19:01:23 GMT
Does every tour have a press night at every stop off, or is it just Hair milking it? No it's pretty standard. Most will do a big press night in a venue near London early-ish in the run (where national papers etc come) but first performance at each venue will have a regional press night so the Whitstible evening courier and the Sundertown bugle can have a free glass of wine and write a minimum of three star review, to keep the wine and tickets and advertising revenue coming in return for the publicity. |
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Post by xanady on May 6, 2019 19:29:00 GMT
^Really sad about the situation in Sunderland.As posted a few days ago this was a fabulous version of the show imo and deserves a big audience.
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3,304 posts
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Post by david on May 6, 2019 19:43:36 GMT
Just had a look at ticket sales for Liverpool. I’ve booked for the Monday night and there are still large areas of the auditorium unsold both for that night and the rest of that week. Ok, there is still a fortnight to go before the tour arrives, so hopefully sales will pick up beforehand.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on May 6, 2019 19:59:54 GMT
Press night here in Sunderland and never seen a theatre so dead. Top two levels are closed and coming up to now 15 mins late. Not sure what the reason is. Will report back further later That is really sad. It just has not sold. I'm going tomorrow but I have barely seen any advertising or buzz for the tour. It's a real lull time of the year for Sunderland Empire. This, Hormonal Housewives, an Elvis tribute night, a Spice Girls tribute night and then, when you are really wanting something in next to boost sales... Club Tropicana. Save us all. When up the road in Newcastle in the last few weeks they've had Annie, Joseph and Swan Lake. People don't have endless money and they have to make choices. |
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19,663 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 6, 2019 20:04:22 GMT
Very disappointing for Aria/Hope Mill not t9 mention the losses. Do producers take out insurance against bad sales?. I don’t think this was the right show to send out on a large tour. Yes, the 50th anniversary was a landmark and enough to sustain a run at The Vaults but clearly Hair doesn’t have the appeal needed to fill large theatres nationwide. The hippy movement doesn’t have (in my opinion) the nostalgia factor that you need for a period piece to draw people. Having seen it at the tiny Hope Mill and enjoying the raw, quite gritty approach I didn’t feel the need to see it again in the glossed-up, sized-up version.
Aria/Hope Mill are running another fundraiser for Mame with Tracey Bennet.
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