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Post by Michael on Sept 7, 2016 10:12:11 GMT
That's two christmas cards less to write then  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 10:55:04 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 11:48:57 GMT
Of course Shenton didn't like it, what else is new.
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Post by Michael on Sept 7, 2016 13:54:14 GMT
Only if you promise not to sing along during the show 😜😝 That'll be really hard if the entire score is as catchy as I Don't Wanna Miss A ThingCrap. It is. So if you catch me singing along, just kick me and I promise to stop for the next minute or two |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 14:01:13 GMT
Of course Shenton didn't like it, what else is new. I find Shenton to be rather unpredictable. But when he loves something he REALLY loves it! |
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Post by Snciole on Sept 7, 2016 14:48:00 GMT
Of course Shenton didn't like it, what else is new. Probably upset about the quality of interval wine! |
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Post by Phantom of London on Sept 17, 2016 20:35:56 GMT
Bloody hell monkey, someone who says they are on the more mature side and remembers when you can purchase theatre tickets from your ration book, you certainly are virile to get from the Trafalgar to the Dorfman so quickly. Usain Bolt eat their heart out.
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 17, 2016 22:51:54 GMT
Damn it, I was in the same theatre as the famous Theatremonkey & didn't know it! I could have at least geneflucted in passing!
I reasonably enjoyed the show. I thought it started off awfully bubblegum but fortunately it gained depth as it continued. I found Act 2 much more interesting than Act 1. I thought all 3 actresses gave very good performances. I couldn't understand why they felt the need to mike them in such a small space though.
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Post by mallardo on Sept 18, 2016 6:34:46 GMT
The use of microphones allowed the five piece band to play out and enhanced the songs considerably. I thought it was a good decision.
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Post by popcultureboy on Sept 18, 2016 8:21:56 GMT
You don't need microphones for anything in a space that small, no matter how loud the band.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 9:36:12 GMT
You don't need microphones for anything in a space that small, no matter how loud the band. The West End premiere of new amplification-based musical "The Microphone Men" probably would I think they benefit from using microphones, they're turned down very low and they give extra poignancy to big moments. |
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Post by Michael on Sept 20, 2016 18:59:42 GMT
Saw both shows last Saturday, but I was terribly busy in the last days, so I didn't manage to write my thoughts down until now.
As I've bought the cast recording several days ago and listened to it quite a few times before seeing the show, I was already familiar with it and knew I'd enjoy the songs. All very catchy, and my favourites are The Same Old Music and I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing. However, seeing the show live really helped putting the songs into context, as the cast recording left me somewhat clueless.
What a great and talented cast it is, these three ladies are all hugely talented. As much as I like Ashleigh Gray (it was so great seeing her on stage again after her last Wicked show in Bradford - and I didn't even know how hot she looked with short hair), my favourite of the three was actually Lizzy Connolly. She's hilarious and has such a great comic talent and timing. Anyone knows what she's up to next? I really think she'd be an amazing Glinda.
However, I thought the show lacked in pace - the set and especially costume changes took ages - and was slightly too long. And I was also disappointed by the band - I'd have expected a bit more oomph.
I was also disappointed to see that there was a noticeable number of empty seats both times, so I doubt there'll be a transfer.
All in all, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 20, 2016 22:39:45 GMT
my favourite of the three was actually Lizzy Connolly. She's hilarious and has such a great comic talent and timing. Anyone knows what she's up to next? I really think she'd be an amazing Glinda. I've only seen her in two things (Xanadu and DRS) but neither really showed ff her voice properly, what's it like? She was totally memorable in both though. A very Funny Girl |
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Post by mallardo on Sept 21, 2016 6:36:15 GMT
my favourite of the three was actually Lizzy Connolly. She's hilarious and has such a great comic talent and timing. Anyone knows what she's up to next? I really think she'd be an amazing Glinda. I've only seen her in two things (Xanadu and DRS) but neither really showed ff her voice properly, what's it like? She was totally memorable in both though. A very Funny Girl
She was pretty memorable in Mrs. Henderson Presents as well.
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Post by Michael on Sept 21, 2016 8:10:26 GMT
...and she was hilariously funny in Jest End.
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Post by freckles on Sept 21, 2016 10:15:56 GMT
Enjoyed this immensley last week, but have been too busy to post.A fun piece with an outstanding cast; three very talented and very funny ladies with great voices. Great to see Lizzie Connolly in a lead role at last, she has impressed me in everything so far, standing out even in minor roles. I loved all three of them and would recommmend catching it before it closes.
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Post by Steve on Sept 21, 2016 23:07:15 GMT
Saw this tonight, and absolutely LOVED it! I agree with everything Mallardo said, although perhaps I don't rate the book quite as highly. For me, it's a three star book, with 4 star music and lyrics, and an unmissable 5 star cast. The book trades in archetypes rather than fully realised characters, and certainly isn't as nuanced in it's depiction of the friendship and journey of three women through life, as, say, "Di, Viv and Rose." Nonetheless, I enjoyed this MUCH more than the aforementioned play, as the music and lyrics here are terrific, perfectly pitched between sincerity and camp, transparently aware of the limitations of the archetypes (reactionary, rebel, and control freak), exaggerating those archetypes for comic effect, yet completely sincere about the underlying sentiments of the characters. The reprised numbers, "Mystery" (sung 4 times with variations) and "An Organised Life" (sung three times, with variations) excellently sum up and structure the themes and progression of the characters over time. It is the perfectly cast performers who make this unmissable, however:- Lizzy Connolly has been amusing in her previous West End roles, but heretofore, only her fringe stints in "Jest End" and as the mischievous Calliope in "Xanadu" suggested how laugh-out-loud funny her comic timing and comic exaggerations can be. This is her breakout role, in which she takes an insufferable reactionary archetype of a lead character, Joanne, and alchemically turns her every smallminded utterance into hilarious oneliners. Her solo number, "The Same Old Music," in which she gets rolling drunk, uber judgmental, and heartbreakingly vulnerable, by subtlely incremental degrees, is an absolute tour de force, and had me belly laughing uncontrollably. Ashleigh Gray is astonishing in a different way. Her voice is like a caress. Even singing toe-curlingly awful lyrics about "cute boys with short haircuts," in her own solo, which she is compelled to dumbly repeat one too many times, she broke my heart, with her slow build of passion, and ability to stretch and deepen every sentiment of the song. If a song makes you cry, Ashleigh Gray and her magic voice will make you cry harder. Lauren Samuels was cleverly made the butt of a meta joke about her stint in the "Over the Rainbow" tv show, which flowed naturally from a reference in the musical's lyrics. But somehow, this joke felt unfair, given how far she has come since that tv show. Her ability to embody glacial bitterness, while simultaneously sympathetically suggesting how that ugliness stemmed from a tortured childhood, won me over completely. It's a seriously good dramatic performance, and her schizophrenic turns from ugliness to hope and back again, were beautifully embodied in her rendition of her solo, "Fly into the Future." Overall, due to the limited scope of the book, this production was more simplistic and silly than it could have been, but thanks to some apropos songs, that play on multiple levels (comic, dramatic, meta) and thanks to the best casting of a musical all year, this is one musical that afficionados of musicals should NOT miss! 4 and a half stars.  |
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Post by mallardo on Sept 22, 2016 12:44:19 GMT
Speaking of Lizzy Connolly, she has ben cast in Kaufman and Hart's Once in a Lifetime at the Young Vic. I predict she'll be hilarious.
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 22, 2016 18:59:38 GMT
People who have the cast recording, how are the performances on there compared to Trafalgar Studios? I'd like to hear some of the songs again but I'm not sure if I want to hear them sung by a different cast, especially as they might not be as good.
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Post by Michael on Sept 22, 2016 19:41:26 GMT
Equally good I'd say.
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Post by freckles on Sept 23, 2016 7:28:51 GMT
Lauren Samuels was cleverly made the butt of a meta joke about her stint in the "Over the Rainbow" tv show, which flowed naturally from a reference in the musical's lyrics I didn't pick that up at all. I remember the line, but didn't read anything into it. Interesting. Me neither, too subtle for me. How did it reference the TV show? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2016 13:22:57 GMT
I noticed more a line about Ashleigh Grey and being "green" or something like that. And several others in the audience noticed too as there was a smile and a few giggles from a couple of people in there.
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Post by charmedjean on Sept 23, 2016 14:06:54 GMT
I noticed more a line about Ashleigh Grey and being "green" or something like that. And several others in the audience noticed too as there was a smile and a few giggles from a couple of people in there. Unfortunately that line has been removed from the show...  Ashleigh Gray*  Also, if you look really closely, Ashleigh wears a pink flower in her hair #Popular |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2016 14:10:49 GMT
I noticed more a line about Ashleigh Grey and being "green" or something like that. And several others in the audience noticed too as there was a smile and a few giggles from a couple of people in there. Unfortunately that line has been removed from the show... Ashleigh Gray* Thank you for correcting me, I had only just woken up!
And on the subject of the line, that's a shame, I loved that little joke that only some would get hahah.
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Post by Steve on Sept 23, 2016 17:02:51 GMT
I didn't pick that up at all. I remember the line, but didn't read anything into it. Interesting. Me neither, too subtle for me. How did it reference the TV show? I'm doubting myself now lol, but here is what I remember: We are introduced to chatty Kathy's fetish for "Over the Rainbow" in her first rendition of "An Organised Life," in which she enthuses about decorating huge rainbows made out of chicken wire, her other fetish. She is chastised for the theme, on the grounds that it doesn't suit a football party. Later, in the show, I think in the book, the girls reminisce about "Over the Rainbow," but instead of Joanne and Mary rolling their eyes at Kathy, it is Kathy and Joanne who roll their eyes at Mary (Lauren Samuels, isolated on stage left), and they stage a big pause of a moment, staring at Mary until the audience laughs, except, the laugh can't be at Mary's expense, since "Over the Rainbow" was Kathy's thing, thus, the laugh must be a meta-easter-egg-of-a-joke at Lauren Samuels, a cheeky reminder at her having appeared in the "Over the Rainbow" tv show. Regardless of whether I'm right or wrong, I'm stocking up on chicken wire at B & Q to make my own rainbows. |
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