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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2017 15:12:11 GMT
This must be the best set of reviews a new West End show has got for a while?! What Since 42nd Street An American in Paris The Girls Bend it like Beckham The theatre is not even 2/3 full and the capacity is under 700 The show is entertaining At the prices they are touting It’s not going to last It’s a boutique musical in a tiny venue With a very talented cast With moderate production values Modest budget And they are pushing £70 for most of the house It’s not going to last long I found it fun I wouldn’t pay to see it And I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone to pay anything more than £40 Value for money Credit crunch People tight Expenses rising Salaries falling It’s the TV equivalent of Allo allo Charming for a diversion Hardly worthy of most peoples entire daily wage I don’t think long until they will be papering I would also add 3 stars Time Out As well as the 2 from The Stage Most of the broadsheets are 4 stars It’s hardly anything to match reviews of AAIP And we all know what happened to that 😂😂😂 |
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Post by showgirl on Oct 11, 2017 15:16:24 GMT
Well from the first half, it's one of the best and most entertaining musicals I've ever seen & a perfect Xmas alternative to panto for those wanting light-hearted fun.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2017 15:18:28 GMT
Well from the first half, it's one of the best and most entertaining musicals I've ever seen & a perfect Xmas alternative to panto for those wanting light-hearted fun. And can afford £70 to have light hearted fun Which isn’t that many people And nothing about the show justifies those prices Nothing in the casting or production values Even most of the upper circle is priced at £50 It’s f***ing sick People are barely managing to make ends meet |
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Post by showgirl on Oct 11, 2017 15:20:43 GMT
You don't have to pay anything like that & most here neither could nor would.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2017 15:25:22 GMT
You don't have to pay anything like that & most here neither could nor would. And it’s still nowhere near full Which addresses my point It ain’t gonna be around for long The audience at the royal ballet as a comparison Can pay £120 a seat And will and don’t mind They don’t sit waiting for handouts and discounts A show where people are looking for offers and freebies and day seats from the outset Less than a month after it’s opened And the show is still not full Tells you all you need to know |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2017 15:27:03 GMT
You don't have to pay anything like that & most here neither could nor would. Most people here should probably spend nothing on the theatre And invest in a new wardrobe |
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Post by Phantom of London on Oct 11, 2017 15:28:49 GMT
It garnered 5 star reviews from the Daily Mail and the Guardian, Mel Brooks is well respected and has a notable star Ross Noble.
Regarding the Stage review, which smells like she read the Broadway reviews from those years back and hedged her bets and went with those and expected other reviewers to follow suit instead of reviewing the show at the Garrick, instead she went in with preconceptions. We now know her colleague Mark Shenton reviewed this and gave this a superlative 5 stars, so already there is conflict between 2 reviewers form the same publication.
I saw Ross Noble on Saturday and he was fantastic and in a year I expect it to be all about Follies and Hamilton, I am afraid Ross has just gatecrashed the Oliviers.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 11, 2017 16:05:34 GMT
To be fair, Mark Shenton gives 5 stars to everything, it means nothing.
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Post by alece10 on Oct 11, 2017 16:09:30 GMT
I like the Times review apart from the bit where it says "the relatively unknown Hadley Fraser".
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Post by andromedadench on Oct 11, 2017 16:54:53 GMT
I'm sympathetic to the general concerns that Natasha Tripney is raising, but I think this is a strange place to dwell on them. I've only seen the film, not this adaptation, but everything that's in bad taste in Young Frankenstein is knowingly and overtly in bad taste. It's unconsidered misogyny or the stealthy abuse wreaked by the powerful that needs exposing. Exposing the not PC values of Mel Brooks is like complaining that there's blood in a steak. I haven't seen the show (so I'm basing this on the film version) and am not exactly familiar with Natasha Tripney's views in general, but I also find her comments odd and misplaced. She might have as well complained about the perpetuation of stereotypes about Germans, Jews, Eastern Europeans, people with deformities and probably another half a dozen various groups of people. As much as she has every right to be upset about the way the society (mis)treats women and even to feel personally irritated by the fact that all female characters in YF are unpleasant, insulting cliches - a brainless bimbo, an old hag and a frigid bore, I still don't think it should have ended up in the review as it's completely taken out of context of the show and Brooks' particular brand of humor. I mean, it's not as if the male characters get off lightly? On the other hand, how many current WE shows are both directed and choreographed by a woman? From what I gather, the stage version of YF is as much Susan Stroman's brainchild as it's Mel Brooks'. And finally, regarding the ongoing abuse scandal, if Madeline Kahn is to be believed, Brooks was one of few men in Hollywood who treated his actors of both sexes with respect (unlike Peter Bogdanovich, but she wouldn't go into any details). |
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Post by musicalmarge on Oct 11, 2017 17:27:26 GMT
Well from the first half, it's one of the best and most entertaining musicals I've ever seen & a perfect Xmas alternative to panto for those wanting light-hearted fun. And can afford £70 to have light hearted fun Which isn’t that many people And nothing about the show justifies those prices Nothing in the casting or production values Even most of the upper circle is priced at £50 It’s f***ing sick People are barely managing to make ends meet Isn’t 60/70 percent of Theatre takings from tourists? If that’s the case then who cares about poor people? They can do the lottery... you might be poor but I would say most of my circle in London can afford 70 pound theatre tickets. |
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Post by gra on Oct 11, 2017 18:36:51 GMT
Ticket prices start at £20, then 45, 60 and 70. Definitely not excessive for a musical of this quality.
To criticise the production values is to misunderstand the 'B picture' and vaudeville concepts of the piece.
Natasha Tripney's review is a disgrace. Why she was sent out to crit this show when the management of the Stage must have been aware of her generally politically correct attitude is beyond me.
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Post by shady23 on Oct 11, 2017 18:53:14 GMT
Thankfully it's hidden behind a pay wall so the average theatre fan won't see it.
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Post by callum on Oct 11, 2017 23:51:45 GMT
Nice to see you back parsley bringing all of your positivity, warmth and sunshine.
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Post by showgirl on Oct 12, 2017 4:14:28 GMT
We are not all going to agree and given that no-one here seems to share my taste in theatre, my opinion may be worth nothing to others, but as someone who not only leaves at the interval if really disappointed but who has reported doing so on no fewer than 4 consecutive occasions recently, I can say only that I loved every minute of this and would happily return. I heard other audience members saying the same thing and I thought early in the performance that this was one of those shows which some people would even choose to see multiple times.
More to the point, there is obviously considerable enthusiasm from some posters so if anyone wanted advice (!), I'd say see it for yourself but try to do so as cheaply as possible, via the lottery or day seats (which I know are not options for all) or wait for the offers, which will probably appear as usual once this has been running for a while.
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Post by dani on Oct 12, 2017 13:44:37 GMT
I like the Times review apart from the bit where it says "the relatively unknown Hadley Fraser". He's much important in my eyes than the other people in the cast, but I suppose one could make the case that he is "relatively" unknown compared to TV stalwarts Ross Noble and Lesley Joseph. I get the impression with Anne Treneman's reviews, when I see them, that she thinks she is writing for a broad general public rather than an audience of theatre fans. |
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Post by Seriously on Oct 12, 2017 13:53:14 GMT
This must be the best set of reviews a new West End show has got for a while?! What Since 42nd Street An American in Paris The Girls Bend it like Beckham The theatre is not even 2/3 full and the capacity is under 700 The show is entertaining At the prices they are touting It’s not going to last It’s a boutique musical in a tiny venue With a very talented cast With moderate production values Modest budget And they are pushing £70 for most of the house It’s not going to last long I found it fun I wouldn’t pay to see it And I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone to pay anything more than £40 Value for money Credit crunch People tight Expenses rising Salaries falling It’s the TV equivalent of Allo allo Charming for a diversion Hardly worthy of most peoples entire daily wage I don’t think long until they will be papering I would also add 3 stars Time Out As well as the 2 from The Stage Most of the broadsheets are 4 stars It’s hardly anything to match reviews of AAIP And we all know what happened to that 😂😂😂 I've just realised that Parsley sounds like Trump. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2017 13:54:09 GMT
Sad!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 12, 2017 15:31:04 GMT
I agree with Parsley.. the pricing of this is outrageous- it certainly looks like they haven’t spent lavishly on the production.
£59.50 for the upper circle! A scandal.
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Post by theatremadness on Oct 12, 2017 15:34:59 GMT
I agree with Parsley.. the pricing of this is outrageous- it certainly looks like they haven’t spent lavishly on the production. £59.50 for the upper circle! A scandal. It's a hard one - I know it looks 'budget' or whatever term you like, but it really didn't look or feel cheap at all when you're there. I thought they balanced that line very well. Sitting on the front row, the many, many front cloths and back cloths used were some of the most exquisitely painted/made I've ever seen and surely that can't have been that cheap? Or could it? And I wonder what the likes of Lesley and Ross are on a week, too. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2017 15:54:38 GMT
I agree with Parsley.. the pricing of this is outrageous- it certainly looks like they haven’t spent lavishly on the production. £59.50 for the upper circle! A scandal. It's a big musical in a modest sized theatre, typically reserved for plays. The weekly breakeven must be tight. |
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Post by JJShaw on Oct 12, 2017 15:58:39 GMT
Saw the show on Wednesday afternoon and the audience ate it up! It seemed like there were very few empty seats which is always nice.
A great show with a really fun enjoyable score, I thought Joseph and Strallen were wonderful. I have always enjoyed Hadley Fraser's performances but felt confused with his character; he walked the line of being the straight man to send up most of the jokes or trying to be the funny one too (fortunately I still enjoyed him!)
I think I might be alone but I found Ross Noble's performance a little too wink wink nudge nudge if you know what I mean. He had great moments and then some moments that made me cringe.
I agree that pricing for this theatre is criminal and I hope that they can alter that because based on the reaction in the theatre and how full it was this could have a nice respectable run. It feels fresh and new and in the west end a musical like that is always greatly appreciated!
Also nice to see they had an array of merchandise which is always fun to look at.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2017 16:12:36 GMT
I agree with Parsley.. the pricing of this is outrageous- it certainly looks like they haven’t spent lavishly on the production. £59.50 for the upper circle! A scandal. It's a hard one - I know it looks 'budget' or whatever term you like, but it really didn't look or feel cheap at all when you're there. I thought they balanced that line very well. Sitting on the front row, the many, many front cloths and back cloths used were some of the most exquisitely painted/made I've ever seen and surely that can't have been that cheap? Or could it? And I wonder what the likes of Lesley and Ross are on a week, too. Oh my god They aren’t Beyoncé You do realise They really aren’t all that Or they wouldn’t need to be appearing In a musical at The Garrick |
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Post by theatremadness on Oct 12, 2017 16:13:46 GMT
Why do they need to change the 'criminal' prices if the theatre was full and the reaction was fantastic? Surely a full theatre means that most of the almost 800 people there weren't put off by price (if they all paid), and their reaction shows that they felt it was good value for money?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2017 16:15:09 GMT
I agree with Parsley.. the pricing of this is outrageous- it certainly looks like they haven’t spent lavishly on the production. £59.50 for the upper circle! A scandal. It's a big musical in a modest sized theatre, typically reserved for plays. The weekly breakeven must be tight. It’s a small musical Cast of less than 20 I think In a small theatre There is nothing big about this show It would have worked better in The Menier I think Although it is diverting I can’t remember a single song from the show They all sound the same |
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