421 posts
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Jan 25, 2016 15:06:04 GMT
It's nice to be here on the new forum. I'm going to dedicate my first post to one of my favourite shows in the West End.
I saw the show last Thursday Matinee (21st January 2016) I saw all the main cast except an understudy for Madame Giry who was very good.
Just a couple of questions for people who've seen the show recently. Has anyone else noticed that at the end of 'The Music of the Night' JOJ doesn't pick up Christine and carry her to the boat? Also, JOJ didn't vanish through the trapdoor in the floor at the end of 'Why so Silent?'. Has this been redirected at all?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 15:19:49 GMT
I think the end of 'Why So Silent' depends on the Phantom. Apparently that drop is quite hard on the knees. This may also have something to do with JOJ not picking up Christine.
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19,652 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 25, 2016 15:33:28 GMT
I saw it on Saturday evening and also wondered why he hadn't dropped through the trapdoor. I didn't notice the other thing.
I DID notice JOJ looking like he'd had a rather good Christmas though!
There was a technical hitch which delayed the start of Act 2 by what felt like ages, May have been 20-25 minutes. Not sure what it was but when the safety curtain finally went up it was so slow it looked as though someone might have been cranking it by hand.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 17:18:38 GMT
Not sure what it was but when the safety curtain finally went up it was so slow it looked as though someone might have been cranking it by hand. Strange. That's how I got my part in 'Phantom' once. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 18:47:13 GMT
It's nice to be here on the new forum. I'm going to dedicate my first post to one of my favourite shows in the West End.
I saw the show last Thursday Matinee (21st January 2016) I saw all the main cast except an understudy for Madame Giry who was very good.
Just a couple of questions for people who've seen the show recently. Has anyone else noticed that at the end of 'The Music of the Night' JOJ doesn't pick up Christine and carry her to the boat? Also, JOJ didn't vanish through the trapdoor in the floor at the end of 'Why so Silent?'. Has this been redirected at all?
I was there on Thursday evening. I don't know if we also had the Madame Giry understudy - either way, she didn't make much impression on me I'm afraid! I actually thought the show was looking a wee bit ropey. The other people I went with were all first-timers (hard to believe with Phantom, I know!) and really enjoyed it. But as someone who's seen it a few times before, I wasn't terribly impressed. There were mic issues on the scene in the office where everyone is singing over each other (so you really couldn't hear anyone except the two more operatic voices, Piangi and Carlotta). I saw Raoul look over at Meg and nod towards the end of that section, just after the sound seemed to revive, so I guess they were aware onstage too. Meg sounded terribly 'stage school' twangy and Carlotta's comic timing felt a bit off. Mind you, so did a lot of people's timing. When Buquet first came on he seemed to spend ages waiting for the music to hit the right spot before he started singing/speaking. I wondered if there were a lot of understudies on, or if the conductor was new, or something. It was all just a bit odd. No problems with the three central performances, I must add (though Celinde was a bit heavy on the notes for my liking at times, at other times she sounded lovely). And the managers were funny (which was good, because that shtick can get old awfully quick). JOJ sounded perfect, as ever. I noticed he didn't pick up Christine - just assumed his back troubles had struck again. He did cover her up very tenderly with the cloak though, so that felt OK to me. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 25, 2016 19:24:32 GMT
Agree with you about Meg, JeanHunt. I couldn't make my mind up about Christine. Stunning in some bits but a bit dead in others. Her dancing was a bit clod-hopper in Masquerade too. Also the graveyard scene (my fave song) did nothing for me. And in Il Muto she didn't ham it up as the servant boy like she oughta. It was all a bit "phantom by numbers" for me, which was a shame. Saturday night in the west end I expect everyone to be on it 100%. Apart from all that it still looks beautiful. The costumes look like they were made yesterday. A bloke who was a first timer in front of me said to his party "there's a lot of singing in it, isn't there?"  What's JOJ going on to next? |
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 25, 2016 20:09:00 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 25, 2016 20:14:57 GMT
I saw him as Valjean in the 25 Anniversary Tour and he was incredible. Probably the best I've ever seen.
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1,013 posts
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Post by talkstageytome on Jan 25, 2016 21:56:14 GMT
When I saw Phantom a few weeks before xmas I was a bit disappointed to be honest. It was my second time seeing it live but I was a big fan of the 25th anniversary DVD and the olc so I was very familiar with how amazing the show could be. Unfortunately it all felt a bit dated and slow. I felt the set and costumes could have done with sprucing up a bit too.
The music sounded great and the cast was mostly fantastic (Phantom, Raoul and Christine were perfect), but overall I wasn't blown away.
Still, seeing it again on Saturday night. Hopefully it'll be particularly energetic etc as it'll be JOJ's last.
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 25, 2016 22:32:20 GMT
But is it ever really "JOJ's last"?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 23:33:07 GMT
Agree with you about Meg, JeanHunt. I couldn't make my mind up about Christine. Stunning in some bits but a bit dead in others. Her dancing was a bit clod-hopper in Masquerade too. Also the graveyard scene (my fave song) did nothing for me. And in Il Muto she didn't ham it up as the servant boy like she oughta. It was all a bit "phantom by numbers" for me, which was a shame. Saturday night in the west end I expect everyone to be on it 100%. Apart from all that it still looks beautiful. The costumes look like they were made yesterday. A bloke who was a first timer in front of me said to his party "there's a lot of singing in it, isn't there?" What's JOJ going on to next? I know what you mean about the graveyard scene, I felt the same. I also felt the lighting wasn't clear enough on the Daae gravestone for anyone unfamiliar with the story to fully clock what was going on! |
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Jan 26, 2016 16:29:38 GMT
Not to divert the discussion to Les Miz, but JOJ is a fine singer, but I think he is so dire and boring with zero facial expression.
I've never seen him in Phantom, but I just don't think he's a good fit at all. He's kind of a big husky guy. Works for Les Miz, but it isn't the Phantom look I am accustomed to. But I guess he must be doing something right for doing the role again and again. And again and again. And again and again.
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Post by Michael on Jan 27, 2016 15:27:31 GMT
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716 posts
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Post by indis on Jan 27, 2016 16:37:47 GMT
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4,369 posts
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Post by Michael on Jan 27, 2016 16:44:29 GMT
So you'll be temporarily relocating to Stockholm, right? |
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Post by CG on the loose on Jan 27, 2016 16:56:50 GMT
Ooh, that sounds like reason enough for another theatrical excursion to Paris! |
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Post by indis on Jan 27, 2016 17:01:03 GMT
So you'll be temporarily relocating to Stockholm, right? I wish i could - but i have 2 weekends planned - more is not possible - only when i win in the lottery  ) |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2016 0:20:18 GMT
Not to divert the discussion to Les Miz, but JOJ is a fine singer, but I think he is so dire and boring with zero facial expression. I've never seen him in Phantom, but I just don't think he's a good fit at all. He's kind of a big husky guy. Works for Les Miz, but it isn't the Phantom look I am accustomed to. But I guess he must be doing something right for doing the role again and again. And again and again. And again and again. He's very masculine, which works for me in a Phantom. ;-) I imagine the main reason for him being repeatedly cast, though, is the power and purity of his voice. Every note is perfectly controlled - not in a boring, mechanical, technique-y way but in a naturally gifted way - and I don't think I've ever heard anyone better his 'soar' in MOTN. Plus he has a great sense of humour that I think really comes across in the Phantom's baiting scenes - with other actors, these sometimes just come across as mean. |
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Post by theatremiss on Jan 28, 2016 6:57:23 GMT
I've seen JOJ a few times in this run and he has been suffering with his back. I wonder if he'll do the lift and the trapdoor on Sat with it being his last show.
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421 posts
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Jan 28, 2016 8:34:01 GMT
It was all a bit "phantom by numbers" for me, which was a shame. Saturday night in the west end I expect everyone to be on it 100%. Apart from all that it still looks beautiful. The costumes look like they were made yesterday. I agree actually, I've seen the show a few times before and I felt the impression was rather muted on me this time. I wish Earl Carpenter would return as Phantom. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2016 10:24:35 GMT
Fabulous! I loved Peter Jöback as the Phantom when he was here in London's glitzy West End. |
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 20:45:27 GMT
I've seen JOJ a few times in this run and he has been suffering with his back. I wonder if he'll do the lift and the trapdoor on Sat with it being his last show. Plausibly - although I doubt they'll change it for one performance, to be honest. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2016 22:09:35 GMT
Fabulous! I loved Peter Jöback as the Phantom when he was here in London's glitzy West End. I didn't catch him in the show but he appeared at the end of the 25th Anniversary Celebration, and I instantly fell in love with his voice (and taste in incredibly tight trousers) so I bought lots of his CDs. His version of Aznavour's (and Kretzmer's) "She" is the best! I'm a fan! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2016 22:47:54 GMT
Joback, everyone - really?! I thought his voice was incredibly thin and reedy when I heard him sing!
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Post by catqc on Jan 30, 2016 9:07:42 GMT
JOJ lifted + dropped when I saw him back in November!
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