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Post by Being Alive on Nov 4, 2024 14:34:40 GMT
A number of big disappointments for me for different reasons:
Hello, Dolly - it wasn't a production of the musical, and Imelda was miscast
Time Traveller's Wife - unbearably boring and tuneless music
Becoming Nancy - the potential is huge, the current shape of it is...quite embarrassing.
Hadestown - largely miscast across the board.
Just For One Day - might as well have been just a concert, because it's woefully written as a musical.
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Post by doctorshaw on Nov 4, 2024 15:02:47 GMT
Biggest disappointments for me this year have been tours - Rocky Horror (Jason Donovan was a huge disappointment), the recent Wizard of Oz that toured before going into the Dominion (costumes looked cheap, some of the video projections were very poor graphics), and actually Disney's Aladdin on tour - not enough grandeur of set pieces and forgetful leads as Aladdin and Jasmine. Most disappointing show in London for me was Sister Act - no specific reason, just very underwhelming.
Contrary to what some others have said, Dolly and Kate were absolute highlights for me - Imelda brought exceptional emotional depth to the role in Dolly, and Kate (for which I had low expectations) delivered on every level except Adrian's singing (but he can act well so I'll forgive him).
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 4, 2024 15:50:55 GMT
I totally forgot Starlight Express.
Felt like watching a student show. Amateur singing and acting..terrible staging too (except the title number)
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Post by blamerobots on Nov 4, 2024 16:27:20 GMT
Time Traveller's Wife - unbearably boring and tuneless music Second this... some of the most baffling lyrics of all time also. |
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Post by pineapple4you on Nov 4, 2024 16:40:02 GMT
I think my biggest disappointments have been: "Fantastically Great Women", "Hadestown", the tour of "Oh, What a Lovely War!" and "Songs for a New World" at the Gatehouse because I found these quite underwhelming either in the production or the material.
"Opening Night" and "Why Am I So Single" I've not included because the bar was already low going in.
To spin this thread into something more positive, my biggest surprises of the year were: "Starter for Ten", "Two Strangers...", "Passing Strange", "The Children’s Inquiry" and "Your Lie in April". These are all quirky shows I had no hype for going in but really enjoyed for their own separate reasons. I know not everyone enjoyed these shows and they are certainly not my favourites from the year but I liked them more than I thought.
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Post by fluxcapacitor on Nov 4, 2024 16:41:39 GMT
Another vote for "Hello, Dolly!" here. It could have been magnificent, but the set and flat choreography let it down whilst the changes were unnecessary. Staunton's central performance lifted it and gave it heart, but otherwise I found it disappointing.
Opening Night was more than disappointing. It was barely ready for a table read, let alone a West End house. Sheridan Smith worked so hard, but was severely let down by the material. The biggest disappointment from that production is that it may well put producers off staging big, new, experimental work when the issues here were really down to its core creative team: Van Hove and Wainwright lacked any experience of new musical theatre development, and they (rather naively and/or arrogantly) didn't see fit to bring in anyone familiar with the medium to help shape their show.
Sister Act was rather disappointing, too, but I think that's because I was spoilt having seen the original production at the palladium which still shines in my memory. Whilst it's still a fun show, the current version just pales in comparison.
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Post by matthew90 on Nov 4, 2024 16:46:31 GMT
I think my biggest disappointments have been: "Fantastically Great Women", "Hadestown", the tour of "Oh, What a Lovely War!" and "Songs for a New World" at the Gatehouse because I found these quite underwhelming either in the production or the material. "Opening Night" and "Why Am I So Single" I've not included because the bar was already low going in. To spin this thread into something more positive, my biggest surprises of the year were: "Starter for Ten", "Two Strangers...", "Passing Strange", "The Children’s Inquiry" and "Your Lie in April". These are all quirky shows I had no hype for going in but really enjoyed for their own separate reasons. I know not everyone enjoyed these shows and they are certainly not my favourites from the year but I liked them more than I thought. Two Strangers was one I got dragged to go and see, then I ended up going back myself a handful of times as it was so enjoyable. My favourite new musical of the year. |
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Post by BVM on Nov 4, 2024 16:50:04 GMT
Interesting thread!
The biggest recent disappointment for me I think is Aspects of Love at The Lyric. I think it's such a great musical with one of ALW's finest scores and a decent narrative (the "problematic" themes people talk about are massively overstated if you ask me). Dissected on the relevant thread, but this production just totally failed to capture the essence of the show and what makes it so great. When a version in a teeny theatre with only a piano as an accompaniment is much much better (Hope Mill/Southwark) that's a pretty suboptimal inditement on a version that had much more money.
Starlight Express I dunno. It was a bit disappointing to me but reflecting I think that's far more to do with my personal relationship to the show and attachment to the original rather than the production. I totally think they have succeeded in what they wanted to achieve and have delighted the majority of old fans (the FB masses rather than the theatre geeks) and new fans alike. And it's selling brilliantly.
Closer To Heaven could have been a bit better but it met my expectations as you know what to expect at The Turbine. I do think the Above the Stag version was more impressive and cohesive though. But still enjoyed it.
And then, not productions, but scores - the entire slew of recent Broadway new musicals. Have listened to OBCs of Notebook, Outsiders, Water for Elephants, Suffs, Gatsby, Lempicka. This is a comment purely on the scores as I have neither seen nor know the productions - but the music is so unremarkable. Gatsby was my fave and I enjoyed it while listening to it. But could I hum a single thing after listening twice? Nope. This is a general theme for me these days though. So many new scores that simply do not move me. Plan to go over to see Tammy Faye and Sunset (both fantastic scores IMHO) and kinda struggling with what else to see that excites me musically!
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Post by BVM on Nov 4, 2024 16:53:05 GMT
Hello Dolly I enjoyed contrary to many opinions here! It seems somewhat divisive for such a seemingly non controversial musical lol.
(I had never seen it before though).
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Post by ulti53 on Nov 4, 2024 17:42:08 GMT
You guys are making me feel a bit better that I missed Hello Dolly! lol. Was a little gutted that I missed it because I wanted to see Imelda Staunton.
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 4, 2024 17:52:37 GMT
You guys are making me feel a bit better that I missed Hello Dolly! lol. Was a little gutted that I missed it because I wanted to see Imelda Staunton. You didn't miss much tbh |
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Post by ulti53 on Nov 4, 2024 17:54:09 GMT
You guys are making me feel a bit better that I missed Hello Dolly! lol. Was a little gutted that I missed it because I wanted to see Imelda Staunton. You didn't miss much tbh Sounds like Next to Normal was definitely the better choice. |
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 4, 2024 18:09:45 GMT
Sounds like Next to Normal was definitely the better choice. Correct. |
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Post by adamkinsey on Nov 4, 2024 18:16:55 GMT
Another vote for a disappointing Hello Dolly from me, too.
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Post by flouise on Nov 4, 2024 18:33:03 GMT
I wasn't overly impressed by Hello Dolly either, but I can't say the same for the rest of the audience! The atmosphere made it a more enjoyable experience than it would have otherwise been.
I booked Opening Night before it's first performance as a big fan of many members of the cast, but what made it particularly disappointing was that I'd used my theatre tokens that I'd been given as a leaving gift from an old job on it (I know that you could say that at least I didn't spend my own money on it, but now I'll always associate leaving a job that I loved with that terrible musical!).
Little Piece of You last week was probably the least enjoyable thing I've seen since Opening Night. I'm just glad that I got very cheap tickets for it!
I agree with PaulW- I continue to be very disappointed by Cake's run being cut so short! It's been my favourite off-West End thing in a while!
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Post by Paulw on Nov 4, 2024 18:55:39 GMT
I wasn't overly impressed by Hello Dolly either, but I can't say the same for the rest of the audience! The atmosphere made it a more enjoyable experience than it would have otherwise been. I booked Opening Night before it's first performance as a big fan of many members of the cast, but what made it particularly disappointing was that I'd used my theatre tokens that I'd been given as a leaving gift from an old job on it (I know that you could say that at least I didn't spend my own money on it, but now I'll always associate leaving a job that I loved with that terrible musical!). Little Piece of You last week was probably the least enjoyable thing I've seen since Opening Night. I'm just glad that I got very cheap tickets for it! I agree with PaulW- I continue to be very disappointed by Cake's run being cut so short! It's been my favourite off-West End thing in a while! I loved Cake and that cast I saw that in its concert format then a year later at TOP (the night after seeing the other PTM production that I have forgotten!) and this should have had a far greater life that it was given it had so much more than a lot of things that were given better status, I was listening to the cast recording again today and still feel gutted for that cast (which I can’t see happening again) and the audiences that it was swaying in its favour! PTM has a lot to answer for as far as this is concerned! As a side note I can’t believe how mad I get over this show closing early! |
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Post by flouise on Nov 4, 2024 20:36:21 GMT
I do get a bit sad every time I listen to the cast recording! I'm so grateful that we have it, I'd be gutted if I could never hear Zizi Strallen sing Champagne Dreams again. I only saw it at TOP but did squeeze three visits into a week and a half! The final performance in particular is going to be one of my theatre highlights of the year. I'd have LOVED to have seen what they could have done with a big budget!
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Post by andypandy on Nov 4, 2024 20:54:35 GMT
Hello Dolly - such an average unfunny show with terrible choreography in comparison to the recent Broadway production with Bette that was so lavish and hilarious!
And
Starlight Express - it was a cheap looking sci fi woke-fest version of a show I used to love so much. The costumes! Ugh! They removed most of the decent songs and all the magic from the show. No Bridge, no decent skating - and I didn’t have one goosebump
I can’t wait to see Devil Wears Prada!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 4, 2024 21:01:49 GMT
OPENING NIGHT!
I’d forgotten all about that fiasco. Truly the worst show I’ve ever seen. Not one redeeming feature.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Nov 4, 2024 22:21:34 GMT
As a big fan of the SpongeBob Musical, the recent UK tour production was a bit of a let down. The show itself is great, but they needed a more artistic director because the pantomime style took away from it
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Post by annette on Nov 4, 2024 22:48:37 GMT
A Face in the Crowd at The Young Vic. It had all the components for great expectations,but in reality it was an amateurish mess which needed a complete rethink in almost every department.
The Witches at the NT. An ill conceived, charmless and painfully overlong bore.
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 4, 2024 23:09:46 GMT
I'll still defend Opening Night - and Steve will do it a lot more eloquently than me!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 4, 2024 23:21:53 GMT
I'll still defend Opening Night - and Steve will do it a lot more eloquently than me! Don’t do that. |
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Post by Paulw on Nov 5, 2024 16:30:17 GMT
I do get a bit sad every time I listen to the cast recording! I'm so grateful that we have it, I'd be gutted if I could never hear Zizi Strallen sing Champagne Dreams again. I only saw it at TOP but did squeeze three visits into a week and a half! The final performance in particular is going to be one of my theatre highlights of the year. I'd have LOVED to have seen what they could have done with a big budget! Yes that was one of the things they got right with the studio cast recording, that is a great part of the show but I’m convinced that if Zizi was cast in Watching Paint Dry she would make it entertaining! There are not many like her around these days! I still think they got the theatres wrong for this and that Gwyneth Paltrow one and this should have gone into the Criterion. Sadly I think this is the last we will see of this in its current format and score |
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Post by knutinkerbell on Nov 5, 2024 17:22:14 GMT
Hadestown - and I don’t know where to start. Maybe I should have seen the original production.
Starlight Express - a bit, cause of the cramped set. But I really liked female Greaseball.
And I liked Dolly also. I don’t think the Broadway production was anyway much better. Bette Midler had a weak voice. And I really loved Imeldas Dolly cause it was not totally overacted.
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