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Post by showtoones on Oct 17, 2024 15:46:20 GMT
I think the casting is very interesting but it’s just not a good show. The songs are not tuneful and the story is very hard to follow. Maybe the Donmar will do a better production that was on Broadway, but I was really underwhelmed and it was just quite boring.
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Post by frankubelik on Oct 17, 2024 16:14:50 GMT
I recall struggling with the score on first hearing it. Booked (as a Donmar Friend) but now on a second listen, might be returning tickets! It's not very good - can someone convince me otherwise?  ? |
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Post by Afriley on Oct 17, 2024 16:23:24 GMT
I recall struggling with the score on first hearing it. Booked (as a Donmar Friend) but now on a second listen, might be returning tickets! It's not very good - can someone convince me otherwise? ? Nah it’s awful. Can I buy your ticket? 😂 |
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Post by colorthehours048 on Oct 17, 2024 17:37:35 GMT
I found the score mostly impenetrable when I saw it off-Broadway in the tent on 45th Street, but thought the work done on it between then and the Broadway mounting (combined with the staging of it on Broadway) was a great improvement. Just small cuts and added music to make it a little less challenging on the ears. Now it’s one of my all-time favorite scores.
I will say that my enjoyment of it increased after seeing it on Broadway, so if you’re not sure how you’re feeling just based on a listen, the production could still win you over. The direction and performances may make all the difference.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 17, 2024 18:03:16 GMT
Delighted about Maimuna and Jamie Muscato. Less so Cedric Neal.
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Post by showtoones on Oct 17, 2024 18:12:21 GMT
Delighted about Maimuna and Jamie Muscato. Less so Cedric Neal. They could put Dame Judi and Johnny Bailey in the show and I wouldn’t go see it lol |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 17, 2024 21:27:49 GMT
Delighted about Maimuna and Jamie Muscato. Less so Cedric Neal. They could put Dame Judi and Johnny Bailey in the show and I wouldn’t go see it lol So the question is- why are you lurking in this thread? |
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Post by osdtdg on Oct 17, 2024 21:29:25 GMT
I think this is the type of show that requires a second viewing to get your head around it. Or, that is, the first time you will probably be quite confused but the second will give you a better understanding while you are able to focus more on comprehending everything already being familiar with the show. At least, thats how it was for me when I saw it in Sydney
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Oct 17, 2024 23:25:30 GMT
I think this is the type of show that requires a second viewing to get your head around it. Or, that is, the first time you will probably be quite confused but the second will give you a better understanding while you are able to focus more on comprehending everything already being familiar with the show. At least, thats how it was for me when I saw it in Sydney Agreed. Saw it in NYC and the story just felt odd. But the best sound design I’ve ever seen and the production design was opulent / gorgeous in the round. The cast recording make me really grow to love it. Are we supposed to like ANY of the characters? That’s my question…. |
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Post by osdtdg on Oct 18, 2024 3:44:31 GMT
I think this is the type of show that requires a second viewing to get your head around it. Or, that is, the first time you will probably be quite confused but the second will give you a better understanding while you are able to focus more on comprehending everything already being familiar with the show. At least, thats how it was for me when I saw it in Sydney Agreed. Saw it in NYC and the story just felt odd. But the best sound design I’ve ever seen and the production design was opulent / gorgeous in the round. The cast recording make me really grow to love it. Are we supposed to like ANY of the characters? That’s my question…. I think the point is - being based on a section of War & Peace - that they're all very flawed humans and none of them of all that likely. I think the one character you are supposed to like (or feel bad for) is Natasha and maybe Sonya? I really did with the aussie cast, but that may be my fondness for them as actors and people more than the show itself lol |
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Post by viserys on Oct 18, 2024 4:47:30 GMT
I think this is the type of show that requires a second viewing to get your head around it. Or, that is, the first time you will probably be quite confused but the second will give you a better understanding while you are able to focus more on comprehending everything already being familiar with the show. At least, thats how it was for me when I saw it in Sydney Very much this. I only started to pay attention to this because of Josh Groban back then (loved him as a singer, would have loved to see him on a Broadway stage) and I wasn't sure if the whole thing was a stroke of genius or treating Tolstoy with appalling lack of respect. Even then I thought I would need to see it live to judge it. But I didn't get around to it in NY and the CD gathered dust. I only picked it up again this year when the rumours for London started floating around and suddenly, from first listen, I loved it. Possibly because musical theatre has changed so much in the years since it opened - "meta shows" with modern sound and diverse casting are now very common and I've grown so endlessly tired of lame movie adaptations and shows with clunky bad lyrics, so all of a sudden I recognized what a stroke of genius it was to pluck one bit out of a huge novel and turn it into a musical of its own ad how clever the lyrics are and the whole conceit of constantly breaking the fourth wall. FWIW, I like almost everyone now except Anatole and perhaps Helene and of course Anatole serves a very important function. But yes, Natasha is a proper heroine in my book, young, innocent, let down by Andrey who's "not there" (in the words of the show), toyed with and dropped. And Pierre comes across as a curmudgeon first, but we realize that he's bogged down by a bad marriage ad perhaps early midlife crisis and sorting Natasha's affairs brings him back to life. These characters are so much better drawn and more complex than all the finger-snapping, yasss-kweeening bitchy teenagers of recent years. |
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Post by showtoones on Oct 18, 2024 5:03:28 GMT
They could put Dame Judi and Johnny Bailey in the show and I wouldn’t go see it lol So the question is- why are you lurking in this thread? Because as much as I don’t like the show, I’m interested to hear people’s reactions to the casting. But you make a valid point lol |
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Post by theatrefan62 on Oct 18, 2024 6:00:30 GMT
They could put Dame Judi and Johnny Bailey in the show and I wouldn’t go see it lol So the question is- why are you lurking in this thread? A tad hypocritical considering some of your past posts in other threads. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 18, 2024 6:45:33 GMT
So the question is- why are you lurking in this thread? A tad hypocritical considering some of your past posts in other threads. Hardly. I only comment on shows that I have an interest in of some kind. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 18, 2024 7:03:49 GMT
A tad hypocritical considering some of your past posts in other threads. Hardly. I only comment on shows that I have an interest in of some kind. Is that why you’re in the Devil Wears Prada thread saying how awful it looks hmmmm? Either way, people can post in whatever thread they want without being challenged by other members so let’s leave them to it eh. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 18, 2024 7:21:18 GMT
Barnaby, Bear and the Great Thread of 2024.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 18, 2024 8:43:19 GMT
Hardly. I only comment on shows that I have an interest in of some kind. Is that why you’re in the Devil Wears Prada thread saying how awful it looks hmmmm? Either way, people can post in whatever thread they want without being challenged by other members so let’s leave them to it eh. Yeah I wanted to see that show and was hopeful about it.. until I heard reports and saw the photos. Anyway Can’t wait for Maimuna to sing Sonya Alone and time stop |
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Post by MoreLife on Oct 18, 2024 11:11:44 GMT
I think Maimuna is very talented, though I'm not sure I quite join the chorus of excitement on this thread. Do you know for a fact that she has the composer's seal of approval? I do find it curious what the stardust is that Tim Sheader sees in Declan Bennett and Maimuna Memon. I'm not sure if it's a matter of "stardust", but I trust he has seen something in both that will allow them to shine in these roles and in this production. Personally, I am excited that we get to see this material come to life on a London stage, and very curious to see how that will look and sound like. I think both Declan Bennett and Maimuna Memon bring experience and an important set of skills to this, as they're both good musicians with a penchant for folksy / acoustic style of performing, which should be well suited in this context. I remember seeing Maimuna in Ghost Quartet (also by Dave Malloy, also heavily actor-musician) and thinking that she was perfectly cast in that sonic and emotional world. She has a very recognisable tone and style of vocal delivery, which can communicate emotion very well. I did feel that her Winehouse-esque touches were verging into gimmick territory when she was in Standing at the Sky's Edge. And yet, when she sang 'Open up your door' she very much held the whole audience in the palm of her hand, and so to me it's clear she can create something pretty special. I'd bet this is what Tim Sheader has seen in her. The first time I saw Declan on stage I had never heard of him, he was playing Roger in Rent on Broadway back in those prehistoric times called 2008. His attempts at masking his native accent behind a general American accent weren't really that successful, but boy did he pour his heart into the role. I had seen Rent several times before, and yet to me it felt I was actually seeing and feeling Roger's pain for the very first time. Ever since, I have kept an eye on his career, I've listened to his own music, etc. He may not always have been the most obvious/traditional choice for certain roles, and of course personal taste comes into play with judging that too, but I think he has always brought that heart-on-his-sleeve quality to his performances. There's a raw, unfiltered intensity in his vocals and acting. I believe this ability to be truthful coupled with his musicianship is what Tim Sheader has seen in him. |
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Post by Dave B on Oct 31, 2024 13:21:10 GMT
New performance added Monday 23 December at 2.30pm - on sale tomorrow.
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