Groundhog Day the Musical - Old Vic

[asps2017]

Any recommendations for seats for restricted views/cheaper prices? Thanks!

[danb]

Jun 17, 2023 6:11:58 GMT asps2017 said:

Any recommendations for seats for restricted views/cheaper prices? Thanks!

Yep, we sat on the hard right of the d/c slips (Y35/6) and the view was fine. I’m 6’4” so that probably helped. They are high stools rather than chairs though. Think they were £25.

[asps2017]

Jun 17, 2023 6:47:52 GMT danb said:

Jun 17, 2023 6:11:58 GMT asps2017 said:

Any recommendations for seats for restricted views/cheaper prices? Thanks!

Yep, we sat on the hard right of the d/c slips (Y35/6) and the view was fine. I’m 6’4” so that probably helped. They are high stools rather than chairs though. Think they were £25.

Thanks so much! Much of the stage missed?

[danb]

Not for me, just the very corner.

[asps2017]

Jun 17, 2023 7:30:34 GMT danb said:

Not for me, just the very corner.

Not sure whether to go for these or back of the stalls... 

[robertb213]

I sat in B7 of the Dress Circle, sold as restricted view from a hand rail in front, but it blocks maybe 10% of the very front of the stage and you miss literally nothing. It helps that I'm tall but I think anyone would be fine there.

[Scswp]

Hello everyone.
I’ve just booked tickets for this and I’m hoping that I got a good deal. I bought a ticket for the stalls for £84 from London Theatre Direct. I have the email confirmation and the e-ticket, but I’m wondering why the seat shows as £140 on the Old Vic website (this was the price for the same seat for the same performance when I compared prices on the two sites).

I know ticket prices vary, but this seems such a huge difference. I guess I’m asking if tickets from London Theatre Direct are genuine or have I made a grave error in purchasing from this company?

A friend told me not to worry, but I am - simply because the price difference was so great. Does anyone have experience in dealing with this company?

[TallPaul]

Listen to your friend. London Theatre Direct is a subsidiary of Trafalgar Entertainment. You'll be fine.

[Dave B]

Yup, they are fine.

[HereForTheatre]

I went to see this yeaterday afternoon, it was my first time seeing a show in London for over a year so nice to be back.

I saw the original production a few years ago and loved it and I really enjoyed it this time too. I did miss the revolve to be honest, I did think it added a bit of magic and extra layer of emotion somehow to some scenes, which I felt was missing slightly in this version. It might just be that it was my 2nd time watching so I just didn't quite have the wonder of first time viewing but something felt a little less magic and emotional to me and maybe it was that. On the other hand, my seating was drastically different, first viewing I was first row, and whilst at times a lot was cut off from there ans you could only see the top half of people sometimes, obviously it was a very intimate experience, whilst this time I was at the other extreme in the Bayliss Circle, so it was nice to see the full stage and take the whole show in but obviously it was quite far away so didn't get that intimacy of the first viewing.

The show has some great songs in my opinion, One Day (if that's what it's called?) is actually up there with my fave theatre tunes, it's so beautiful to me with this harmonies. Andy Karl was great as per and I liked Tanisha Spring but I think i might have just preferred the lady who played Anita in the original production acting and chemistry wise with Andy Karl.

I'm glad it's back and that it's got another chance. I'd be quite interested to see someone else play Phil, I'm sure i'll get that chance if it tours or transfers to the WE.

[og]

Jun 16, 2023 22:28:43 GMT ceebee said:

Jun 16, 2023 19:53:14 GMT og said:

Wow thats some pretty horrendous editing and mixing

I think it was just cobbled together from a sitzprobe video - trying to distil an 8 minute track into a 2 min vid is probably quite tricky.

I thought they did an alright job of cutting it down from 8 to 2 mins to be fair.. its the rest of it. Showing a double bass whilst a solo violin is playing etc. Lack of continuity, some horrible jumps too. In the age of digital media, where content goes up and can last forever, for a professional company 'cobbled together' doesn't cut it.

[Dr Tom]

One thing I didn't know, if you book on the day through the Old Vic website, the ticket prices for all available seats are reduced to £40 ("Day Rate"). If you click on the seat, it will show the normal price (e.g. £85 Stalls), but the Day Rate price below it. It's not obvious from the index page and I suspect you don't get these prices through agencies.

Just sharing in case this is useful for anyone. Not sure what time the reduction happens.

[HereForTheatre]

That doesn't appear to happen on a Saturday though!

[sam22]

May 23, 2023 0:44:49 GMT capybara said:

May 22, 2023 22:39:53 GMT Matt said:

Saw this for the first time tonight, it was good but definitely overhyped by many over the years, and that meant that from the first minute I was waiting for something incredible, but at the end I just got a good show with some great quick changes and effects. It probably took 2/3 of the first act before I really started enjoying it. I couldn’t be sat any further away, so the only reason I’d go again was to sit a lot closer, but other than that I think I got everything I needed from it tonight.

I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I was also there tonight and thought it was fine and enjoyed some of it.

However, personally, I just never felt emotionally invested or connected with the story or its characters. And the score was pretty bland.

I don’t know, maybe I was just expecting something more and I totally get that I’m in a minority, but left feeling pretty underwhelmed.

Three stars.

I finally got to see the show today at the matinee. I was so excited and absolutely love Tim Minchin but I left disappointed. This review is pretty much how I feel about it.

The audience appeared to love it so I'm definitely in the minority but I agree about the score and feeling underwhelmed.

3 stars.

[annette]

Jun 24, 2023 17:45:48 GMT sam22 said:

May 23, 2023 0:44:49 GMT capybara said:

I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I was also there tonight and thought it was fine and enjoyed some of it.

However, personally, I just never felt emotionally invested or connected with the story or its characters. And the score was pretty bland.

I don’t know, maybe I was just expecting something more and I totally get that I’m in a minority, but left feeling pretty underwhelmed.

Three stars.

I finally got to see the show today at the matinee. I was so excited and absolutely love Tim Minchin but I left disappointed. This review is pretty much how I feel about it.

The audience appeared to love it so I'm definitely in the minority but I agree about the score and feeling underwhelmed.

3 stars.

You’re not alone. I felt the same. Andy Karl left me cold, I didn’t find it very funny, the music (apart from the final song) didn’t make much of an impact on me and I felt the adaptation had elements in it ( particularly the bed-hopping) which were quite unpleasant. I didn’t understand the need to graft that onto a plot that was so well honed in the film ( especially as the original writer was involved in the adaptation). Still, the majority of audience & critics seem to absolutely love the show, so us conscientious objectors are very much in the minority.

[theatrefan62]

Goad it's not just me who doesn't get the fuss on this.

Also if they do plan on touring it I think it will need some stunt casting. I can't see it being a big draw on tour based on name alone.

12 people so far have voted it 3 stars or below so maybe not a completely unpopular view.

[anthony40]

I appreciate that everyone's opinion can and may differ but for me, both Groundhog Day and most recently Assassins, are the best two things I've seen all year

[stuartmcd]

Finally saw this today at the matinee after seeing it a couple of times back in 2016 and loving it ever since. Definitely found some of the changes a bit jarring but anybody seeing it for the first time probably wouldn’t notice or care.

But the changes aside I still loved it just as much as I did the first time round. Andy Karl absolutely shines in this show. The show is still just as hilarious and also moving as it originally was. I thought the new orchestration and arrangement of “If I Had My Time Again” was fantastic and really felt like a big turning point in the show.

Hope I get a chance to see it again before it closes but if not then I hope this has a longer life beyond The Old Vic as it fully deserves it. As far as movie to musical adaptations go this really nails it.

[colelarson]

Saw this on Wednesday afternoon and kinda enjoyed it, the songs are not memorable, I could not hum you one! But I will say the show is a real homage to the funny film. If you love the film there are many moments similar to the film as the plot is basically the same as the book is by Danny Rubin who wrote the original 1993 movie.

I was pleased to see Andy Karl as heard him on recordings and seen YouTube videos before, he does play the role of Phil well and came across as an ass until he realised the errors of his way.

Tanisha Spring has a very nice voice and played Rita strong. Eve Norris also shines as Nancy the town tart, as people said about her song weird to start off the second part with her song after the interval but as someone on here put it made me realise she is stuck too and longs for real love.

Highlights for me were the magic tricks during "Hope" and the Groundhog playing the drums!

The audience was packed for a Matinee and the group next to me had travelled over from the US to specially see the show.

[danb]

Jun 24, 2023 19:46:20 GMT theatrefan62 said:

Goad it's not just me who doesn't get the fuss on this.

Also if they do plan on touring it I think it will need some stunt casting. I can't see it being a big draw on tour based on name alone.

12 people so far have voted it 3 stars or below so maybe not a completely unpopular view.

I don’t understand the need for reinforcement of your views? Some people like stuff, others don’t. Neither one is right or wrong. It is just an opinion.

[theatrefan62]

Jun 24, 2023 21:07:35 GMT danb said:

Jun 24, 2023 19:46:20 GMT theatrefan62 said:

Goad it's not just me who doesn't get the fuss on this.

Also if they do plan on touring it I think it will need some stunt casting. I can't see it being a big draw on tour based on name alone.

12 people so far have voted it 3 stars or below so maybe not a completely unpopular view.

I don’t understand the need for reinforcement of your views? Some people like stuff, others don’t. Neither one is right or wrong. It is just an opinion.

No 'need' for reinforcing my views. Its just sometimes nice when others share your view, espwlecially when you seem to be in minority, that's all. Nothing complex and no agenda. Never said others were wrong either so not sure where you're getting that from.

Not sure why you chose to pick on me when I've not stated anything others haven't done before in many other threads when they've been in the minority 🤷‍♂️

[lynette]

The board exists for people to state opinions, reinforced or not. Picking on wording/expressions and so on doesn’t help anyone.

[David J]

After so many years since the first run I saw it again with a friend

This time however I’m over the spectacle of the show and am actually joining the dissenting opinion

The main problem I have is the first act, which goes on too long with sequences and jokes they linger on too long

Jokes that my friend felt verged on vulgarity compared to the film. The Avenue Q kind of vulgarity. And re-watching scenes from the film I can see where he’s coming from

Sure this is a musical adaptation and you want to play up and make fun of Phil Connors behaviour. And Andy Karl’s interpretation of the role is still great. But the musical goes too far to show how much an asshole Phil is

There’s a groundedness to the films delivery, together with bill Murray’s natural performance, that is missing here. The first act works hard to bring you pizzazz, hijinks tricks and jokes but it gets tiresome and I could have cut 10 minutes out of it

Sequences like when Phil tries getting medical advice, where the musical extends the sequence from the film and includes a colonoscopy where I thought “did I really need to see that”.

It’s only in the second act that the musical finally settles down and we see character growth from Phil. It made me realise that this what what I like the most the first time I saw the musical. Especially the big dance sequence with the groundhog on the drumkit driving the story along and the very ending.

Still, I feel a play adaptation might have been better than a heightened musical. I can only vaguely remember the ‘There will be sun’ song

3.5 stars for me. Production values and performances great for me. It’s just the long first half that let it down for me

[mattnyc]

When I went into the first preview “Groundhog Day” on Broadway, I thought it was a stupid idea to musicalize. And even though that now infamous first preview was half performed as a concert when the set broke, Inwalked out knowing I’d seen something really special. It had a short life in New York but I did manage to see it 7 times, my love for it, growing each time.

So that said, the news of it coming back here, with Andy no less, was a dream come true that I was finally able to see today and I just feel so lucky to have been able to see it again. Everything I’ve loved and admired about it since 2017 was still there and while the revolve would have been nice, personally I was fine with how they restaged it. Yes it would have been nice in a few scenes, specifically “Night Will Come” but the scene and song are so strong that I couldn’t mind.

Going back in a few days and I can’t wait. Still a 5 star show for me only because I can’t give it 6.

[danb]

Jun 24, 2023 21:28:15 GMT theatrefan62 said:

Jun 24, 2023 21:07:35 GMT danb said:

I don’t understand the need for reinforcement of your views? Some people like stuff, others don’t. Neither one is right or wrong. It is just an opinion.

No 'need' for reinforcing my views. Its just sometimes nice when others share your view, espwlecially when you seem to be in minority, that's all. Nothing complex and no agenda. Never said others were wrong either so not sure where you're getting that from.

Not sure why you chose to pick on me when I've not stated anything others haven't done before in many other threads when they've been in the minority 🤷‍♂️

That’s what you’ve taken away from a ‘don’t sweat it, we’re all different’ message of support?