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Post by xanady on Oct 15, 2024 19:04:58 GMT
I wonder if this will transfer to the glittering WE?
A lot of people who fell in love with the fabulous,’What’s New Pussycat’ at the self-same venue a few years ago,were convinced that that show would head South, but it never happened.
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Post by ruggerlad on Oct 15, 2024 19:22:51 GMT
How do we feel about 2 straight actors playing the 2 gay leads? Doesn't sit massively well with me - all the gay boys in this industry and they couldn't find even one who could play one of the leads? Got to say the relationship between the two of them never felt anything less than authentic. |
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Post by ruggerlad on Oct 15, 2024 19:24:52 GMT
I saw this last week and whilst i enjoyed it, It did seem a bit cheap and the themes of it were nothing new. But thats not to say that it's not needed. Shows about acceptance and visibility will always be needed. What shows don't need is a force you to get up on your feet finale... What with Prada about to open, you wonder how much Jerry Mitchell put into it, because it wasn't his best work. Since the Atlanta production they have cut a few Stiles and Drewe numbers. Interestingly, the writer of the original book Terry Ronald, is now on the creative team and written some new songs for the production. I bet Stiles and Drewe loved that. Yes some of the songs are very S&D, On The Nightbus sounds very similar to Wishing For The Normal from Soho Cinder, but they do write good tunes. It seems Terry Ronald does have alot of experience in the music industry, though after what he did with Rent Remixed he should never have been let near a show again. In his bio he talks about his hit records and albumn, but i've never heard of any of them. www.terryronald.com/classesI bought a cd if his at the time of him being signed to MCA He's quite renowned in the field of British Pop. And a successful author too. I'd be more than happy to have achieved a tenth of what he has |
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Post by benj on Oct 15, 2024 19:45:32 GMT
"All the gay boys" probably comes across worse than 2 straight actors playing the leads in this show! Does it? They are gay and male? The roles should go to the best actors, not those with a certain sexual orientation. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Oct 15, 2024 20:33:32 GMT
How do we feel about 2 straight actors playing the 2 gay leads? Doesn't sit massively well with me - all the gay boys in this industry and they couldn't find even one who could play one of the leads? There you go, I have a good answer to this. When I saw the Menier’s production of La Cage Aux Follies I saw all four Albins: Douglas Hodge, Graham Norton, Roger Allam and John Barrowman, in real life two are straight and two are gay - I know what two I would pay to see again. Conversely when I saw Kinky Boots on Broadway with Billy Porter who identifies as being gay and should also identify as being excellent, I certainly was the one putting on social media that we need Billy Porter to bring the show over, but just who knew we had Matt Henry who was superb, I don’t know what Matt identifies as and to be honest I don’t really care, I just know my eyes and ears didn’t deceive me he was the real deal. So there is a great case study where two actors identify as straight, played a gay role superbly in Albin as they played the role with restrained and nuanced, John and Graham certainly was the opposite to this and seemed to over compensate. John McCrea and Layton Williams who are both gay we’re excellent in Jamie, Ivano Turco was very enjoyable but not as good John and Layton, not sure on Ivano sexuality though. So the answer is depends, straight actors can play gay roles, the exact answer is really how good of an actor they are, Douglas and Roger are award winning actors and are both as good as it gets and are top of their game. One day we might talk about Priscilla and the excellent Tony Sheldon! However we don’t need to talk about Jason Donovan. I did see Douglas and Roger or really several times. |
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Post by fiyerorocher on Oct 15, 2024 20:58:56 GMT
As long as the actors aren't homophobic and are doing a good job, I don't see the problem with straight actors playing queer roles. Not least because you never actually know how someone identifies. Consider, as a case study: Kit Connor of Heartstopper fame being pressured into coming out because of similar 'straight people shouldn't play gay' rhetoric on social media.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Oct 15, 2024 21:16:56 GMT
My preference would always be for queer stories to be told by members of the queer community.
But I would always cast the best performer for each character.
It is important that the production is a safe and supportive place. So all involved must be allies of one another.
Yes, I would do all I could to recruit a representative pool of auditionees. But after that, talent and fit for the role are the only determining factors.
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Post by David J on Oct 15, 2024 22:12:27 GMT
How do we feel about 2 straight actors playing the 2 gay leads? Doesn't sit massively well with me - all the gay boys in this industry and they couldn't find even one who could play one of the leads? When I saw the Menier’s production of La Cage Aux Follies I saw all four Albins: Douglas Hodge, Graham Norton, Roger Allam and John Barrowman, in real life two are straight and two are gay - I know what two I would pay to see again. And I think we're all glad Stanley Tucci got the role of Nigel in the Devil Wears Prada over Graham Norton. As Oxfordsimon says, gay roles played by gay people is great but a at the end of the day the best actor for the role should be considered |
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Post by drowseychap on Oct 16, 2024 1:00:39 GMT
I wonder if this will transfer to the glittering WE? A lot of people who fell in love with the fabulous,’What’s New Pussycat’ at the self-same venue a few years ago,were convinced that that show would head South, but it never happened. What’s new pussycat was fabulous far better than a lot of the rubbish I’ve seen go to the west end in recent years … I could never work out why it didn’t make it ? Such a shame …. And now Tom Frances is in sunset Blvd. Brontë was in newsies then her Stella show with another pussycat cast member. , lem is in Hamilton Dominic …. Swoon … done lots of WE. Such a fabulous cast all round it deserved a proper WE run |
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Post by thedrowsychaperone on Oct 16, 2024 10:15:26 GMT
I wonder if this will transfer to the glittering WE? A lot of people who fell in love with the fabulous,’What’s New Pussycat’ at the self-same venue a few years ago,were convinced that that show would head South, but it never happened. What’s new pussycat was fabulous far better than a lot of the rubbish I’ve seen go to the west end in recent years … I could never work out why it didn’t make it ? Such a shame …. And now Tim Frances is in sunset Blvd. Brontë was in newsies then her Stella show with another pussycat cast member. , lem is in Hamilton Dominic …. Swoon … done lots of WE. Such a fabulous cast all round it deserved a proper WE run and the uber talented Nathan Rigg now in Guys and Dolls too! |
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Post by stevej678 on Oct 16, 2024 10:28:43 GMT
Two stars from The Guardian.
"Contains plenty of energy but this show about a drama club production of Oliver! has a school play quality itself."
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Post by Afriley on Oct 16, 2024 10:49:06 GMT
Every review I’ve read makes me think that Guardian reviewer just hates any fun.
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Post by FairyGodmother on Oct 16, 2024 11:17:42 GMT
Can anyone explain why in a co-educational school a boy would be cast as Nancy, particularly without his prior agreement? Is the teacher trying to make a point with it? As it's one of the few female roles in 'Oliver!' it seems very unlikely. I guess it's only froth, but you've got to have a foundation of reality if set in 'ordinary world' - or have you? I think at most schools the girls would complain! In real life boys playing Nancy would pretty much be confined to productions at all boys' schools. It's a tricky role to do it with though, because she's an alto so it wouldn't work for a treble without lowering it. For boys whose voices have changed you'd need a countertenor I suspect — you'd have to be an exceptionally well-trained teenage tenor to be hitting her top notes comfortably, or it would be falsetto which is a possibility I suppose. I can't really imagine a baritone in the role. You'd have to change the keys for all the part songs as well as the solos, so I suspect most boys' schools would just ship in a few girls. In musical land though, I'm sure it works fine in their production. Out of interest, how old is he supposed to be, and how high is he getting? |
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Post by Afriley on Oct 16, 2024 11:25:24 GMT
Meant to be just turned 17.
I’ll need to re-listen to the belty numbers but he did hit an E5 I think and it seemed comfy.
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 16, 2024 12:15:19 GMT
Two stars from The Guardian. "Contains plenty of energy but this show about a drama club production of Oliver! has a school play quality itself." Agreed. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 16, 2024 12:34:50 GMT
If the sour puss afriba akaba doesnt like the show then it is excellent
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 16, 2024 12:52:42 GMT
I mean taking my feelings on this particular show aside, that isn't remotely accurate.
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Post by theatreian on Oct 16, 2024 14:52:05 GMT
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Post by SilverFox on Oct 16, 2024 15:10:49 GMT
If the sour puss afriba akaba doesnt like the show then it is excellent For my (many) sins, I am a Guardian reader, but find Akaba a very useful indicator to whether I should book - or not - when undecided.
If she likes it, I tend to avoid, and vice versa!
I also disliked Billington (particularly after meeting him) - maybe it is something to do with the Grauniads selection process for theatre critics!
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Post by max on Oct 16, 2024 20:13:33 GMT
What is this, a Trump rally?
Her name is Arifa Akbar.
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Post by AddisonMizner on Oct 19, 2024 12:43:27 GMT
I saw last Saturday’s matinee (12th October) of BECOMING NANCY and absolutely adored it. The events of the show are so far removed from my personal experiences, but I found this funny, hard-hitting, tender and emotional in equal measure. It was a lovely surprise!
The score by Stiles and Drewe is brilliant. The songs hook you in on a first listen and are also pure musical theatre. The only negative I would have is the heavy reliance on synths in the band, and in some cases this was glaringly obvious. Proper acoustic instruments would have been much better. I also felt the music to be slightly over-amplified (as everything seems to be nowadays). That being said, I really want a full cast recording, so hope that this is in the pipeline.
The cast bring incredible energy and attack to the material, and I liked the production.
Here’s hoping for a West End transfer.
4 stars
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Post by jamesd123 on Oct 21, 2024 12:26:40 GMT
I saw this last Friday and feel like I must have been watching a different show to others in this thread… it was truly dreadful. The songs were not remotely catchy, the lyrics some of the worst I’ve heard on a stage in my thirty years of theatregoing. The projections looked like clip art, the sound was loud but muffled, the actors grasping for straws in a book that delivered bad joke after bad joke, with an occasional slur thrown in for shock factor. Such lack of imagination in the staging - quite why the show has an enormous ensemble that exist to do nothing but move some chairs and populate a club scene I will never understand.
Judging by audience reaction, it definitely does find popularity - though whether that would be enough to sustain a run in London, I very much doubt. There were lots of empty seats… and quite frankly, mine should have been empty after Act 1.
All of that said, the performances were almost globally strong. Joseph Peacock was particularly good (though definitely not believably 16) and I enjoyed Stephen Ashfield too, though he’s always good.
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Post by stokerob on Oct 22, 2024 7:19:20 GMT
It appears that since I saw the show in preview, Paige Peddie has a new number added just before opening night 'Who I Am'. Does this replace one of her numbers or is it in addition to the score already in place?
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Post by xanady on Oct 22, 2024 17:14:55 GMT
stokerob-the song is not mentioned in the programme I bought but is indeed now in the show.
I’m back there again on Saturday for the third time and looking forward to it.
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Post by macksennett on Oct 23, 2024 12:13:09 GMT
Anyone know of any ticket offers for this weekend? Am tempted to travel for this but trying to keep costs down...
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