25 posts
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Post by hoopoe on Sept 20, 2024 15:46:18 GMT
Saw this last night and went in only knowing the basics of the plot. From the little I knew I'd always thought I probably wouldn't like it because it sounds like it would lead to a lot of cringe-inducing scenarios and Evan wouldn't be very likeable, but it was much more nuanced than I expected, so that was a pleasant surprise.
The music I found pretty forgettable and samey, and several songs are just sung out to the audience with nothing much happening on stage. It's appropriate, but not very interesting. Sincerely, Me was the highlight for me for being the most entertaining. We had Will Forgrave on as Connor and he was great throughout.
I thought the cast was very strong on the whole. I wonder if Ryan Kopel could pull off Orpheus in Hadestown. I'd been looking forward to seeing Lauren Conroy again after her performance in Babies, and while she does a good job here too, it's a much less interesting character without a real chance to shine.
I can't imagine it ever being the most visually exciting show, but I like this production's use of sliding glass and screens.
I went for 4 in the poll, but maybe I have to acknowledge part of that is subjective satisfaction at a local evening out with excellent seats for £32 and that I went in being okay with the possibility it might be really not for me. I'm very glad I saw it, but I don't imagine I'd ever feel a need to see it again. It felt more like an interesting play supported by some songs, so I'm satisfied now I know the story.
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 11:31:53 GMT
Saw the matinee performsnce of this and it was genuinely abysmal. I am so upset because this is one of my favourite musicals and they have completely ruined it with soulless performances from most of the actors, confused direction and pointless and distracting choreography. I would give it two stars purely because the songs and the script are obviously still great despite them being disastrously executed by both the director and the actor playing Evan.
The direction was completely different to the original production and it was worse off for it - some of the choices made felt like they were just trying to be different from the original production without any thinking behind them. For example when Evan is speaking to other characters it is really confusing trying to work whether they are supposed to be in the room with Evan or if they’re chatting online. Jared would be sat at his computer chair and then cross over into Evan’s bedroom and make eye contact with him. In one scene Alannah was just stood in Evan’s kitchen. It did not work. There were many messy moments such as when in the scene in the principals office, Evan just turns his back to the audience to quickly roll his sleeve up so that Connor’s mom would see his cast when he hands her the letter. Why not just put him in a short sleeve???
The most offensive mistake made by the director was that all of the songs were sung out to the audience instead of to the characters, even the first part of Words Fail and So Big So Small. WHY??? It took all the emotion out these performances and makes no sense. Why would Heidi tell Evan she’ll never leave him and then walk away and sing out to the audience???
So many simple mistakes were made by the director which just made Evan come off creepy, and unlikeable. For example, the first time Evan tries to kiss Zoey he is supposed to misread the situation but because they’re sat three feet away from each other he just lunges at her. This makes Evan come across really creepy and feeds into the narrative that Evan is purposefully lying to sleep with Zoey.
I could go on about the direction but this brings me to the acting performances. I saw the alternate Sonny who was way out of his depth in this role. I feel bad because he was stunt casted from TikTok and was clearly not ready but it was actually appalling. The performance completely lacked any emotion and he was simply just reading out the script with some awkward Ben Platt-esque hand movements dotted in for good measure. Evan lies a lot in this musical but when he does he’s ultimately to make others feel better about a horrible situation and should not be comfortable with any of his lies. However Sonny was too quick and confident in responding so it made Evan look malicious as if he was enjoying this awful lie he has found himself in. He jumps into For Forever as though he had had this whole lie planned out before the dinner when he was supposed to be telling the Murphy’s the truth. A huge mistake that completely changed the tone of the musical and made me root against Evan. Additionally he was completely unable to reach the emotional place required of an actor playing Evan therefore big moments such as Words Fail felt hollow and fell completely flat. Even the singing wasn’t great, even forgiven some shaky moments which are to be expected, so it’s not like he was just cast for his voice. There were just so many missed details and the whole things felt rushed.
I did enjoy the actors playing Jared and Zoey in spite of the confused direction and the rest of the actors were okay. I was really disappointed by Alice Fearn, she is certainly a singer not an actress.
Finally, I will turn to the ensemble and choreography. This musical absolutely does not need an ensemble and their presence completely ruined some big moments such as Waving and You Will Be Found. The choreography was genuinely the worst I’ve seen in a professional stage to the point I was laughing. The ensemble were just acting the words? On “falling in a forest…” they would pretend to trip and then cover their ears? Does the choreographer actually understand the purpose of choreography in musical theatre? Ultimately it was just an unnecessary addition and really distracting. No hate to the ensemble themselves who were just doing the best with what they were given. Also maybe this was a problem with the sound mixing, just I thought You Will Be Found would sound awesome with the added ensemble but it sounded hollower that the West End production without the ensemble?
Sorry for the rant but this was one of my favourite musicals and it’s really sad to see it be completely ruined by this production. If this was my first time seeing Evan I would come out thinking it was tasteless. I didn’t feel any of the emotion I felt seeing it on the West End. I even felt something watching the movie and you can guess how I felt about that!
Honestly anybody who enjoyed it just enjoyed hearing the songs they like being sung. If you saw it in the West End, do not see this production. If this is your desperate to see this musical for the first time, honestly I wouldn’t bother with this production but if you are gonna go I would bare in mind that this is not how it is supposed to be performed.
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19,650 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 22, 2024 11:54:07 GMT
Isn’t it more interesting if not every member of the audience comes away with the exact same conclusion about Evan and his motivations as the next person?
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 12:28:22 GMT
Isn’t it more interesting if not every member of the audience comes away with the exact same conclusion about Evan and his motivations as the next person? not when it fundamentally undermines the message and intention of the show |
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Post by danb on Sept 22, 2024 12:50:01 GMT
So we’re not allowed to reinterpret productions any more? Somebody better tell Starlight & Sunset as they’ve spent big coin on new productions which might fail horribly if this is the case. 🙄😂
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Post by blamerobots on Sept 22, 2024 13:07:01 GMT
So many simple mistakes were made by the director which just made Evan come off creepy, and unlikeable. For example, the first time Evan tries to kiss Zoey he is supposed to misread the situation but because they’re sat three feet away from each other he just lunges at her. This makes Evan come across really creepy and feeds into the narrative that Evan is purposefully lying to sleep with Zoey. In the West End production I swear this could still be the interpretation, seeing is this is right after a song where he makes up things her dead brother has said about her to get closer to her? But if not, God forbid that already selfish characters have selfish, shallow motivations, like a teen having a crush. Evan just turns his back to the audience to quickly roll his sleeve up so that Connor’s mom would see his cast when he hands her the letter. Why not just put him in a short sleeve??? If this is as directed, it could be pretty intentional to show Evan basically appealing for sympathy or trying to play up the narrative again by deliberately making his cast more visible.
Whether or not you forgive Evan is up to the audience themselves and that then decides their view of his character. Of course, it can impact the opinion of the show, but what would be interesting in a show about a goody two-shoes boy who does nothing wrong? There's no reason there'd be a show in the first place. The entire show is catalysed on the fact Evan is a flawed person with selfish intentions, who then has to find his way out of the lie he's created.
Just because the direction is new and different doesn't mean it's wrong. I think you're placing too much stock in the direction on the WE when this is supposed to be a fresh take that can show different angles to the characters. It's alright to like the original direction, but weaponising it is never good and inhibits growth. |
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 13:19:17 GMT
So we’re not allowed to reinterpret productions any more? Somebody better tell Starlight & Sunset as they’ve spent big coin on new productions which might fail horribly if this is the case. 🙄😂 Do you honestly believe that the director decided do make Evan look like a dick on purpose and it wasn’t just bad direction and acting choices? If he did try to make Evan look like a dick on purpose then the ending really needs to be reworked… |
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Post by danb on Sept 22, 2024 13:21:42 GMT
No, I honestly believe that you don’t like change. The original production was massively flawed and a major disappointment in places. As great as the score is I found it severely underpowered at the Noel Coward.
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Post by blamerobots on Sept 22, 2024 13:22:46 GMT
In what world is putting words in a dead teen's mouth not a bad thing?? I feel there's some serious misunderstanding here of uh.. what happened in the show!
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1,441 posts
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Post by theatrefan62 on Sept 22, 2024 13:28:19 GMT
So we’re not allowed to reinterpret productions any more? Somebody better tell Starlight & Sunset as they’ve spent big coin on new productions which might fail horribly if this is the case. 🙄😂 Do you honestly believe that the director decided do make Evan look like a dick on purpose and it wasn’t just bad direction and acting choices? If he did try to make Evan look like a dick on purpose then the ending really needs to be reworked… Evan looked like a dick in the original so not sure what you're getting at. Many people thought and said that. The show itself has always been problematic |
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1,441 posts
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Post by theatrefan62 on Sept 22, 2024 13:28:50 GMT
So we’re not allowed to reinterpret productions any more? Somebody better tell Starlight & Sunset as they’ve spent big coin on new productions which might fail horribly if this is the case. 🙄😂 I mean many didn't like both of those so... lol |
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Post by danb on Sept 22, 2024 13:29:31 GMT
It’s a work of fiction. People behave badly in fiction all the time. People idolising them is where the problems start.
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 13:29:39 GMT
No, I honestly believe that you don’t like change. The original production was massively flawed and a major disappointment in places. As great as the score is I found it severely underpowered at the Noel Coward. Yeah I never said this show or any other show can’t be taken in a new direction lol. However, I have seen nothing to indicate that it was the directors intention to make Evan seem more malicious and if that was his intent then it really doesn’t work with the shows message especially as Evan doesn’t get his comeuppance for it. At the end of the day. The whole thing screamed amateur production. Like people had learnt the words and that’s where the worked stopped. People talking and facing out the the audience when having private conversations. Just constantly turning out like it’s a panto. Just a complete lack of detail and depth. And after having seen the west end production, it was glaringly obviously that this hadn’t been entirely thought through, nor the actors cast being to of an acceptable acting standard. That’s the point I was making. Not that the original production is sacred and should never be touched. |
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5,138 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 22, 2024 13:30:45 GMT
So we’re not allowed to reinterpret productions any more? Somebody better tell Starlight & Sunset as they’ve spent big coin on new productions which might fail horribly if this is the case. 🙄😂 Do you honestly believe that the director decided do make Evan look like a dick on purpose and it wasn’t just bad direction and acting choices? If he did try to make Evan look like a dick on purpose then the ending really needs to be reworked… This is exactly the take I came away from the London production with, so it actually just sounds like more of the same to me 🤷🏻♂️ this show has a great score but is fundamentally flawed in every other way... |
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 13:32:04 GMT
No, I honestly believe that you don’t like change. The original production was massively flawed and a major disappointment in places. As great as the score is I found it severely underpowered at the Noel Coward. Evan didn’t want to. He immediately tried to shut it down but saw how happy it made Connor’s mum, that she had something to hold onto that her son wasn’t lonely. He just wanted to make them feel better and for it to stop at every single moment. But his anxiety, neediness to make other people feel better causes things to snowball and he loses sight of it until it’s uncontrollable. If the actor playing it screws that up, then that’s where we find “Evan is a dick” It’s incredibly hard role to play and Sam Tutty didn’t do a particularly good job at it either but the good direction from the original show hid a lot of his shortcomings. It wa brilliant when I saw it in broadway for example. |
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197 posts
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Post by dan on Sept 22, 2024 15:04:19 GMT
Even if somebody does something with good intentions and kind of stumbles into it… if it’s despicable, it’s despicable! His actions are awful. His intentions may not be (although I do think he enjoys aspects of it too).
Contrary to dissuading people from seeing it… I’d not seen the original production and I really enjoyed this and would recommend people see it, even if it’s to form their own conclusions and judgments. There’s quite a lot of vitriol going on in some comments. We can’t all love everything, and the original production still existed and can be stored in a memory without it be trashed by something different.
For those who didn’t enjoy, I’m sorry you had a bad experience with it and hope your previous experiences of it maintain a place in your mind.
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343 posts
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Post by properjob on Sept 22, 2024 18:21:18 GMT
In what world is putting words in a dead teen's mouth not a bad thing?? I feel there's some serious misunderstanding here of uh.. what happened in the show! Ever told a white lie to make someone feel better? It is so common it has its own phrase "white lie" Do you think Evan should have said no actually your dead son had no friends threw me into a locker and stole this private letter from me? Do you think obituaries should be warts on all? It is a small arguably kind lie that gets further and further out of control until it is a very horrible thing, Greek tragedy style. The moral ambiguity is what makes it a fascinating piece of drama. Very few of the characters are pure of blameless. |
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343 posts
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Post by properjob on Sept 22, 2024 18:24:25 GMT
Evan just turns his back to the audience to quickly roll his sleeve up so that Connor’s mom would see his cast when he hands her the letter. Why not just put him in a short sleeve??? Sorry if I have broken the quotes above. It is a bit clumsy but it is so the parents don't see Conor's name on the cast until that exact moment. |
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Post by valantisma on Sept 22, 2024 20:19:45 GMT
Evan just turns his back to the audience to quickly roll his sleeve up so that Connor’s mom would see his cast when he hands her the letter. Why not just put him in a short sleeve??? Sorry if I have broken the quotes above. It is a bit clumsy but it is so the parents don't see Conor's name on the cast until that exact moment. I understand that but they could have done that by having Evan taking his jacket off or playing with his sleeves because hes nervous. Just turning from the audience and wuickly rolling up your sleeve while another character is talking is extremely amateur. |
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5,138 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 29, 2024 12:55:36 GMT
Had a lovely time in Nottingham yesterday.
I was able to find a seat for the whole journey, there and back; the sun was shining; I bought a stylish new pair of pumps in the M&S sale; the city centre was busy and buzzing; I even found time for a trip to the Playhouse.
Despite, I suspect, not being the target audience, I really enjoyed this, which I hadn't seen previously on either stage or screen.
5⭐ for Act I, which has all the best songs; 3⭐ for Act II, because of the flawed ending; 4⭐ overall feels about right.
Best seen from the stalls, I think, house left/stage right.
Not quite a full house, but not far off, which bodes well for the future.
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19,650 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 29, 2024 13:08:07 GMT
Pumps? ? ?
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5,138 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 29, 2024 13:28:16 GMT
They're what us humans wear on our feet, BurlyBeaR. Young Evan wears a pair throughout! |
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Post by xanady on Oct 26, 2024 22:15:48 GMT
Saw it at the Friday matinee at the Alex in Birmingham and loved the new staging…still has that emotional impact that I remember from way too many visits to the London version.
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