Company

[Deleted]

Sept 29, 2018 20:40:40 GMT @eldermillan said:

Are you gonna use it @ryan? If not, I will! 😂

Nooooo I like your pic! Relationship goals! 😍

[melly]

Saw it tonight and loved it. Not Getting Married was definitely the highlight for me, and Richard's very small pants!

Would recommend avoiding the extreme sides for this, as the 'rooms' create a lot of extra corners so you miss more than you normally would. I was in the dress circle slips which were still great for the price, but people being hidden in corners, even when right in the middle of the stage, got frustrating.

[BurlyBeaR]

Well tonight I lapped this up like a cat with its head in a big bowl of jersey cream. 

I suppose not having seen much Sondheim has its advantages and so seeing this cold,  without the preconceived notion of the male version or even listening to a cast recording meant all that worry and confuddlement about lyrics and partners and who says what to whom just wasn’t there. Which meant I could just sit back and enjoy it. Which I did. I was surprised how funny it is! 

The design is gorgeous, the choreography is fast and contemporary, the cast sound perfect, Rosalie Craig is totally believable, Jonathan Bailey is brilliant as Jamie and Patti is, well, everything you want Patti to be (and rocking an asymmetric bob, thank you). 

Extended applause after most of the numbers, the audience absolutely loved it. I’d see it again tomorrow. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[sherriebythesea]

I'm seeing a matinee so I'm assuming that they won't go to stage door on 2 show days?

[latefortheoverture]

Sept 29, 2018 22:04:33 GMT melly said:

Would recommend avoiding the extreme sides for this, as the 'rooms' create a lot of extra corners so you miss more than you normally would. I was in the dress circle slips which were still great for the price, but people being hidden in corners, even when right in the middle of the stage, got frustrating.

I'm in the slips when I go- are they extremely bad? I've been hesitating in paying a bit more for a better seat, think I might have to!

[pollster]

Does anyone have a photo of the song list? I would love to see who sings what. Thanks!

[BurlyBeaR]

At the curtain call someone handed Patti a bunch of flowers. I say “bunch” but that’s a stretch. They looked like they’d been picked up at the local Esso Quickstop. In a sale. 

Patti accepted them gracefully. Looked at them...

Then gave them to Rosalie. 🙂

[Deleted]

I am wondering if this is going to Broadway. There are so many revivals this season though (sarcasm)

[melly]

Sept 30, 2018 0:00:58 GMT latefortheoverture said:

Sept 29, 2018 22:04:33 GMT melly said:

Would recommend avoiding the extreme sides for this, as the 'rooms' create a lot of extra corners so you miss more than you normally would. I was in the dress circle slips which were still great for the price, but people being hidden in corners, even when right in the middle of the stage, got frustrating.

I'm in the slips when I go- are they extremely bad? I've been hesitating in paying a bit more for a better seat, think I might have to!

I wouldn't say extremely bad. I was in A3, the one closest to the stage so had the 'worst' spot and it was more annoying than bad, and I don't think I missed anything important. And I was also really close and had paid way less than the people basically directly below me.

Personally I'd say more avoid ends of rows that are still full price and you're missing all those moments, but for slips price it's fine.

[Steve]

Sept 30, 2018 0:00:58 GMT latefortheoverture said:

Sept 29, 2018 22:04:33 GMT melly said:

Would recommend avoiding the extreme sides for this, as the 'rooms' create a lot of extra corners so you miss more than you normally would. I was in the dress circle slips which were still great for the price, but people being hidden in corners, even when right in the middle of the stage, got frustrating.

I'm in the slips when I go- are they extremely bad? I've been hesitating in paying a bit more for a better seat, think I might have to!

I thought the slips were unbeatable for the £25 they cost a year ago, but not for the dynamically increased price of £79.50 (which I noticed on the website yesterday).

I was in A4, and can comment on the views from A3 to A6.

Drawbacks of the slips:

Due to proximity to the wall, A3 has a more restricted view of the far right of the stage, that A4 to A6 do not suffer from. On the other hand, A3 has the concomitant benefit of not needing to lean forward at all to see over the safety rail, as the rail abruptly turns diagonal at the end, as if for the specific convenience of A3.

Since A4 draws half the benefit of the sudden turning of the rail toward the wall, yet is unrestricted by the wall, in seeing the right hand side stage activity, I would order the slips in terms of value: A4, A6, A5, A3. The reason I place A6 ahead of A5 is that being the endmost slip, you can lean however you like, without any fear of being antisocial in your leaning. That said, all the slips are phenomenal value.

Seeing the far right of the stage is not the only restriction on the slips. The Angels-in-America reminiscent staging, which there isolated singles in lonely rooms (Denise Gough, in particular), hear reappears in a more friendly iteration, a series of moveable rooms that can link and allow movement from one to the other, but which highlight the beauty of rooms to stage cosy safe spaces where the joyous hosting of friends and huge parties can take place. The centre room in particular gets massively crowded at times, with the cosiness of the rooms enforcing togetherness, as opposed to the isolation of Angels.

What this means for the slips is that the centre room itself can store bodies in it's right-most crannies that may not be visible at times. Luckily, at a key moment of a character hiding, that character was in the visible leftmost cranny, which however, might mean a restriction for the slips on the other side at that brief moment.

Overall, I was not perturbed by the to-my-mind minor restrictions, because the benefits of the slips are huge too.

Benefits of the slips

For those who like to see faces and expressions, the slips are MUCH closer to the actors than the vast bulk of the dress circle. For example, in the fifth row of the dress, I'd say Sondheim himself was sitting twice as far away from the actors as myself. A4 lines up with about the 5th row of the stalls, I recall. This is an enormous benefit of the slips, to be able to see the tears in Rosalie Craig's eyes at critical points of the action.

The other benefit of the slips is that of the dress circle generally, which is that you can see the floor, and thus the movement of feet and staging, more clearly than you ever could in the stalls. So in the slips, you combine the key benefit of the stalls (closeness) with the key benefit of the dress (scope).

When I weigh up the benefits against the restrictions, I'd say that for £79.50 I'd take Row E of the Stalls instead, to bypass the restrictions, but for the £25 I paid, the slips are unbeatable, infinitely preferable to anywhere in the circle in my estimation.

[couldileaveyou]

So, I was at the first preview last Wednesday, and I really enjoyed it. For the purists, you won't find this production that different from any other revival of the show, because at the end of the day all the changings are pretty superficial. If on the one hand this production is not nearly as brave and groundbreaking as it could have been (or as it claims it is), on the other it preserves the meaning and dynamics of this beautifully written show withouth the cringiness often associated with the retelling of classics. A part from a couple of scenes still too focused on Bobbie not being married at the venerable age of 35, the show works well with its 21st century setting, so well that you can mostly forget it was written in the 70s. As others have pointed out, Elliott recycled a few elements from Angels in America and - I agree - they worked better here than in Kushner's epic.

Rosalie Craig is a very solid Bobbie, she might not be a vocal powerhouse, but she found a lot of emotions in scenes that might otherwise be a bit of a chore. Her bench scene with Theo (aka Kathy) was intense and moving, and her Being Alive was deeply felt without being suicidal. Besides, she looks terrific in red and has great chemistry with the whole cast. Speaking of Theo, Matthew Seadon-Young was very good and underused; the best of the gentleman callers was Richard Fleeshman's Andy/April, who makes a great impression with and without his clothes in the bedroom scene and Barcellona. George Blagden's PJ (Martha) was by far the weak link (of the whole cast), partly because *she doesn't have the range* for Another Hundred People, and partly because he was trying to make some accent but God knows what it was. Still, the three of them work really well together and their "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" was brilliant.

The highlight of the evening was, imho, Getting Married Today: Jonathan Bailey is fantastic, but the whole scene is hysterical. It got the biggest ovation on the first preview (except for a few people standing after Being Alive), and it was truly marvellous. But the production is really full of great momoments and gems, both in the book scenes and the songs, with other highlights being Side By Side and Marry Me A Little.

Patti is very Patti, but she found some moving depth in the scene before Ladies Who Lunch and her offering up Larry to Bobbie (a potentially cringy moment in this gender-swapped reading) came across as Joanne giving voice to her fear of being left. Patti looked fabulous, but she has sounded better. Oh, and the "And here's to the girls who just watch-- Aren't they the best?" suddenly became very poignant and aimed at Bobbie.

On the whole, it's a hugely enjoyable production, with a fantastic cast and that balanced mixture of novelties and conservativism that will satify both innovators and purists. It's not as brave as you would expect, but still a shiny, fun, moving and thrilling night at the theatre.

****

PS: The three suitors really cannot hold a candle to ali973 's wit and charm, another highlight of the night.

[BurlyBeaR]

I liked how all of the rooms, including the carriages of the subway train were a cool, minimal, flat grey. Totally at odds with the description of “cosy” or “homey” from Andy (who is an airline pilot, not cabin crew which might be deemed a bit of a cop out) but they’re lit with beautiful pastel coloured borders. All of the cast are in very muted tones except Bobbie who is flouncing around in almost neon orange and red all night. The centre of attention of course. I thought it looked stunning.

[Rory]

Does anyone know if you can buy posters at the theatre?

[Mr Snow]

Mr S in the house last night moving better than he was attending Gypsy a couple of years back

I hugely enjoyed it and will see it again to see if it’s as much of a game changer as my first impression suggests

[Deleted]

Coming from the States in late Nov for a theatre binge and already have the famed E24 seat for one performance. If I was to do another, any suggestions on where to sit to have a different experience of the show given how it is staged?

[melly]

Sept 30, 2018 11:59:08 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

I liked how all of the rooms, including the carriages of the subway train were a cool, minimal, flat grey. Totally at odds with the description of “cosy” or “homey” from Andy (who is an airline pilot, not cabin crew which might be deemed a bit of a cop out) but they’re lit with beautiful pastel coloured borders. All of the cast are in very muted tones except Bobbie who is flouncing around in almost neon orange and red all night. The centre of attention of course. I thought it looked stunning.

I'm pretty sure Bobbie said at least once he's a flight attendant. His costume is confusingly more pilot like, but I don't think they gave him a 'male upgrade' to pilot.

[BurlyBeaR]

I could SWEAR they said pilot! Someone will confirm for us next week hopefully.

[BurlyBeaR]

Sept 30, 2018 14:55:11 GMT @jbc said:

Coming from the States in late Nov for a theatre binge and already have the famed E24 seat for one performance. If I was to do another, any suggestions on where to sit to have a different experience of the show given how it is staged?

I was in E24 last night. Brilliant recommendation by youknowwho 🐒🍌. Legroom for days, didn’t need the butter either. 

[stuartmcd]

Yeah I remember him being referred to as a flight attendant as well. Richard Fleeshman was fantastic in it either way!

[BurlyBeaR]

He does look very good. And no underpant stuffing going on from what I could see (with my binoculars), unlike some I might mention

*coughHeatherscough*

[Mr Snow]

So I'm sure I didn't imagine this, but there are deliberate visual references to,

Marx Brothers - Cabin scene
Leonardo - Last Supper
And several others I’ve already forgotten.

What else….?


(I think Mondrian is stretching it a bit)

[Deleted]

Sept 30, 2018 16:32:03 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

He does look very good. And no underpant stuffing going on from what I could see (with my binoculars), unlike some I might mention

*coughHeatherscough*

Wait, Richard appears in his pants?! Fabulous, I'm there. This show just gets better and better. 😂😂

[BurlyBeaR]

He looks look like a proper grown up man without the need for mysterious pant-stuffing so total credit where due.

My pals met him at The Lowry after The Last Ship recently and got a pic, they said he was charming so well done him

[lonlad]

Airline pilot makes a lot more sense in this iteration than flight attendant. I mean, in what corner of the western world are there any STRAIGHT male flight attendants LOL?

[Mr Snow]

Sept 30, 2018 23:39:06 GMT lonlad said:

Airline pilot makes a lot more sense in this iteration than flight attendant. I mean, in what corner of the western world are there any STRAIGHT male flight attendants LOL?

Well if we're going into stereotypes...I did think his nervy slowness in engaging on the bed, was possibly a hint that he may have other preferences?