Show Boat

[mrbarnaby]

Oh well that is sad..

Any news on a cast recording? I'm assuming the chances are very low but I live in hope

[cathyfromlex]

Wonderful live performance of "Ol' Man River" by the cast this morning on Radio 2!
bbc.in/29AASwj

[stompboy]

I've had a quick flick back through the topic but can't see anything specific about the seats in row AA - just bought some for a week Saturday. Theatre Monkey have them listed as green which is obviously a good sign for value for money but I'm curious as to how side on they are. Any help greatly appreciated. Cheers
:-)

[demelza]

Jul 13, 2016 16:09:10 GMT stompboy said:

I've had a quick flick back through the topic but can't see anything specific about the seats in row AA - just bought some for a week Saturday. Theatre Monkey have them listed as green which is obviously a good sign for value for money but I'm curious as to how side on they are. Any help greatly appreciated. Cheers
:-)

I sat in AA4 when I saw the show on Wednesday night and I thought it was excellent! Obviously being on the side you don't get the full effect (especially when it comes to the projections in act two) but I couldn't complain for the price! I have a sneaky picture of the view from my seat - I can upload that if it would help you?

[demelza]

Jul 15, 2016 11:49:11 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Jul 15, 2016 2:09:17 GMT demelza said:

I can upload that if it would help you?

Not on here, please, thanks.

Woops, sorry!

Also I just realised that my post probably made it sound like the picture was during the show - it wasn't. (That's the last time I post on here at 3am) Again, sorry :S

[Hamilton Addict]

Saw this over a month ago (the time went by so quickly) and thought I'd post some thoughts of mine about the show...

First of all, really glad this had a Wednesday matinee, as it seems most shows have moved their matinees to Thursday. Read a few posts on here really hyping it up, so was very excited. The New London was the perfect theatre for it. The theatre isn't quite in the round, it's a semi-circle (not sure what seating that is called?), but it was fantastically staged so that every seat in the house had a good view. The show features a strong cast, including two understudies (the characters of Julia and Joe). You could tell they were all trying so hard. Gina Beck gave a great performance and was very well cast. Her vocals are very suited for the character. Was pleasantly surprised by Chris Peluso, wasn't overly keen on him in Miss Saigon, but thought he was really good in this. I found this show to be so unique, there really isn't much like it and it is a shame to see it go early. The only fault to the show is there were a few actors, who I won't name, that seemed to struggle with accents which were also sometimes hard to understand. 4 Stars

I hope a cast recording comes out. Would've got an older recording of the show, but have been holding off in the hope of a new recording. 

[Deleted]

Film is on BBC2 at midday on Friday

[wavingthroughawindow]

I feel quite mixed after seeing the show tonight. New London seems to be too big a house for this production to work. The size works pretty well with some big numbers but very quickly loses it charm in intimate scenes. There's something odd about the direction or set. In "You Are Love," Gay and Magnolia are literally singing in the sky, the distance of which pulls the audience away from the scene. The lighting is also a bit problematic. The stage is too bright in the first half of the first act, and this sometimes it confusing to find the "right" place to look at. The material is strong, but the production leaves more to be desired.

[Deleted]

Back from seeing this again - quite a full house and a very loud and appreciative audience.

I could happily listen to Rebecca Trehearn sing 'Bill' over and over. She's utterly sublime.

Very sad that such a wonderful production has only got two weeks left, I'd urge you all to catch it.

Maybe in a different theatre, it might have done better?

[wavingthroughawindow]

Aug 9, 2016 22:11:06 GMT wavingthroughawindow said:

[CG on the loose]

Saw this for a final time last night - I loved it in Sheffield and thought it transferred amazingly well barring some 'muddy' sound issues at the beginning of the run, which (to my ear anyway) were completely resolved last night. Very sad it's closing - it's a show I could happily keep going back to every month or two if it were staying, just to hear that score sung by those voices.

Ah well... what's next?

[BGLowe]

I saw this last night for the forth and final time. I loved it at the start and I loved it last night. Everytime I write on here I say I could listen to Rebecca Trehearn's 'Bill' everyday; it's still true! The new Joe was fab too.
Absolutely love this show and very gutted it's leaving!

[cmcphail]

I was there last night, for the fourth and final time as well. I really love this production, it's the first time I have really felt truly sad about something having to close so early.

[Pennywise57]

I saw this about a month ago and really really enjoyed it. The whole cast were excellent particularly Rebecca Trehearn who was phenomenal as Julie. Tosh Wanogho-Maud was also brilliant as understudy Joe. It was great to see a piece of real musical theatre history performed so well!! Such a shame it's closing so early as I would have loved to see it again, but glad I got the chance when I did.

[westendwendy]

Rebecca Trehearn is sensational in everything she does. Wonderful that she is finally seen as a leading lady and not an understudy. Broadway should snap her up, she's on the Cythia scale!

[Ade]

Saw this for the first time tonight. Just wow! Gutted I didn't see it earlier in the run so I could have seen it more than once now.

[Deleted]

Well we did try and tell you it was worth seeing...  ... but at least you got to see it!

[cathyfromlex]

I loved this show and was so lucky I got to see it when I came to London in April - my highlight of the year! I hope they all have a great last day and am jealous of any of you going to see it!

[zak97]

Shame they never did a cast recording

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2016 11:56:29 GMT zak97 said:

Shame they never did a cast recording

Just to hear Rebecca Trehearn and Gina Beck over and over again! 

[Deleted]

It was an amazing audience last night and looked like a full house! Rebecca Trehearn damn nearly stopped the show with 'Bill'.

Whole audience on their feet before the lights came up!

[Dawnstar]

It wasn't full in the circle, there were a lot of empty seats up there & as soon as the overture started I saw a number of people scuttling from the sides to sit more centrally, but at least it did look pretty full in the stalls. The audience were certainly very enthusiastic & I hope the cast were pleased by the standing ovation. A pity the show couldn't have run until the originally-scheduled January but I suppose it is a big theatre to fill. Last night was my 4th time seeing it, including once in Sheffield.

[Nicholas]

Saw this in its final week, and thank goodness I managed to squeeze it in. What a production, just what a production. A delight, with the depths of this iconic show honoured. Such a lovely watch, such a wonderful production.

The thrill of an actor’s life, the restlessness of the river, the inevitable passage and changes of time; because those are the predominant senses when watching this beautiful production, the fact that this is one of the deepest musicals in London almost passes you by. Almost. The wonder of Evans’ production is that Evans’ sense of musicality gives this a lightness, a simplicity, a watchable-ness that belies its reputation as a piece of history, and puts character over context – this isn’t to say the historical context is in any way sidelined, as in fact the reality of the book’s look at race and sex is far more interesting when the characters in the middle of the fractious time come first. The simple, streamlined set gives such a streamlined sense of time and place which works a charm, and with time and place effortlessly established the transgression of the script is good to go, Evans' primary innovation being to bring the women wholly upstage and make this all about them, hardly at all about the Gaylords of the world. By putting the women first and foremost, it manages to say as much about society’s treatment of gender at the fin de siècle as it does about society’s treatment of race. It’s so elegant that it’s so easy to watch, and that makes it so powerful.

The ideas of the strength of these women in a much weaker time, and the racism so accepted it’s terrifyingly everyday and almost mundane, surprise and shock, respectively. As Evans directors, this is still relevant as emotional entertainment, as opposed to merely musical significance. It’s nice that Evans has the confidence in his audience to work this out for themselves. It snaps along – as does life, as does showbiz – so, more strikingly than hammering home the point, the casual nature of these attitudes comes across so terrifyingly with hindsight. Having said that, some moments were depressingly, unforgivably modern – a bit like Les Blancs, lines that should be dated weren’t, and like Les Blancs they were given fair prominence and had time taken to shock us not just in their content but in their modernity. Evans brings out the best of Hammerstein’s book, but he does so with such subtlety and musicality that all I thought when watching was “Blimey, I’d forgotten how many great songs are in this show”.

Enough has been said about what a uniformly wonderful cast it is, but let’s just repeat it. Dramatically, the characters are fleshed out with sensitivity and understanding. Musically, blimey they can’t half belt! Uniformly, what a wonderful cast.

Show Boat may occupy such a serious slot in musical theatre history, but this production was full of lightness and life. Evans does wonders through simplicity and wonderful casting. This production did justice to the great depths of this great musical, but it equally did justice to its theatricality and musicality. It was just a glorious watch, just glorious, absolutely glorious.  It sits somewhere alongside She Stoops and Nell Gwynn as one of those shows I'll turn to when I'm low on Vitamin D, which is not to say it undersold the poor treatment of race and women, but it over-emphasised the togetherness, warmth and humanity.  I suppose what I'm saying is there's a Gaylord in us all.

And let’s start calling her Dame Rebecca Trehearn, shall we?

[Deleted]

The show has got a great look in at the UK Theatre Awards with four nominations this year, being nominated for Best Musical Production, Best Supporting Performance (Emmanuel Kojo), Best Supporting Performance (Rebecca Trehearn) and Best Design!

[Mr Snow]

Love Showboat one of the very best musicals withone golden moment after another. However when we saw this production in June we were disappointed.

Firstly whoever sang Old Man River was not up to the standard of a school production and secondly

We had seats in the back row of the Stalls and there were definitely sound problems, a sort of echo. This really marred our enjoyment. We should have complained and afterwards my wife and I thought we'd experienced exactly the same at another production some years ago.

I wonder if there is room on here for a separate forum on here where each thread is just to talk about a different Theater? I know for example not to book an Amphitheater ticket at the ROH beyond the first 5 rows as the sound is dead. While the Upper Slips offer great sound but limited visibility at a great price. At the Coliseum I think the best sound is in the Dress Circle. It would be great if this kind of information was easy to access. Many WE theaters suffer form lack of legroom (among many other problems). I can't recall off hand the worst offenders so to share this would be invaluable. ( instantly the pain of watching Wolf Hall from the gods comes back to me). We could also add positive news like best local bars and eateries. Just a thought.