1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Feb 12, 2017 21:26:44 GMT
Going to see this in 2 weeks and really looking forward to it. I have seen it before in a Guildford School of Acting student performance at Yvonne Arnaud. Loved the songs then but found the plot bizarre.
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Post by theatre-turtle on Feb 12, 2017 21:31:39 GMT
Today's matinee was sold out! I turned up at 2.15pm and they put me on a returns queue.. I was fifth in the returns queue... oh wow i didn't know they did returns! did you get to see the show? i knew it was low a few weeks ago they were only taking phone reservations, then sold out, then checked yesterday and it said low i must say i called to reserve one, then just emailed to confirm it, they replied on the email saying they had got my call but wanted to make sure it was one ticket, not two, then when i got there they had misheard my name on the phone and had a 'Jake' down. So Jake if I accidentally brought your ticket I'm very sorry! But I wish the Union didn't go to phone call reservations only because just leaving a message to reserve a ticket worried me, and sometimes things get misheard! Nope I'm not Jake! I didn't get in unfortunately, but I bought a hand written ticket for Thursday evening's performance  . I needed to go into town anyway so it wasn't a wasted trip. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 21:39:10 GMT
Is this professional or amateur? Professional company - Amateur Wages That may well be the case, but almost everything else about the Union otherwise is a bit amateur. They really need to sort this out, in my opinion. They are charging a fair whack for an all-round amateur package. (A bit like my experience of the NHS where the doctors and nursing care is top-notch but the admin and everything else is appalling...) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 21:55:18 GMT
We were there this afternoon, a fine production of an average show. At least with the traditional seating you can hear the cast over the band. If they do traverse again (see Soho Cinders) they really do need to think about investing in some mics. Glad I got to tick it off my Sondheim list.
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Post by JJShaw on Feb 12, 2017 23:31:46 GMT
We were there this afternoon, a fine production of an average show. At least with the traditional seating you can hear the cast over the band. If they do traverse again (see Soho Cinders) they really do need to think about investing in some mics. Glad I got to tick it off my Sondheim list. i think fine production of average show is a good summary of it i didn't catch Soho Cinders, but i was glad that for 90% of the time you could hear the cast and the lyrics over the small band, i wish there was some brass for this show! |
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Post by theatre-turtle on Feb 16, 2017 20:32:48 GMT
Here at the interval. Quite entertained though I have no idea what's going on. I think it may be more confusing than even Travesties.
Curious how act 2 will go.
I think this score wins the award for 'worst score to have on while making love'. It's very jarring and not particularly melodic.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 21:17:23 GMT
Here at the interval. Quite entertained though I have no idea what's going on. I think it may be more confusing than even Travesties. Curious how act 2 will go. I think this score wins the award for 'worst score to have on while making love'. It's very jarring and not particularly melodic. Can't believe you were shagging during act one. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 17, 2017 11:55:10 GMT
Generally a very good production. Great central trio (loved the red dress) and the chorus are great with some stunning choreography but not that keen on the portrayal of disabilities - as someone who works with learning disabilities it was all a bit dated and broad brush
Does anyone else find Simple goes on for ages? - its way too clever and i can't help thinking it would be better as a ballet section that would mirror the Cookie Chase
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Post by mallardo on Feb 17, 2017 12:20:38 GMT
Yes, Simple is much too long and repetitious. It's the track I tend to skip over. How was Come Play Wiz Me?, a personal favourite.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 12:33:26 GMT
Generally a very good production. Great central trio (loved the red dress) and the chorus are great with some stunning choreography but not that keen on the portrayal of disabilities - as someone who works with learning disabilities it was all a bit dated and broad brush Does anyone else find Simple goes on for ages? - its way too clever and i can't help thinking it would be better as a ballet section that would mirror the Cookie Chase My husband works for a charity supporting people with learning disabilities and I volunteer there. We were both uncomfortable with it too. We put it down to the period it was written, but the directorial decision to have the "cookies" arm flailing & gurning was dreadful. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 17, 2017 12:39:11 GMT
Yes, Simple is much too long and repetitious. It's the track I tend to skip over. How was Come Play Wiz Me?, a personal favourite. And mine It was good. Perhaps not chariacature enough |
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Post by liverpool54321 on Feb 19, 2017 12:34:55 GMT
Saw this yesterday and it definitely goes down as one of the strangest musicals I've ever seen. Even more strange than the Landor's infamous musical on ice. Credit to the cast and especially the chorus line for doing a really good job with what is a terrible script. It really does bounce all over the place. For a brief while it feels a bit like West Side Story but then it suddenly jerks into something completely different.
2nd half was an improvement on first and with careful concentration I was able to follow the plot. Glad it was un mixed as the acoustics in the theatre meant some of the chorus Cookie moments were too loud for me.
Good use of the stage using limited props, supplementing this with a very good lighting set up. A number of the critics have rightly made reference to the relevancy of the show at the moment with comparisons to what is happening in America. Maybe one day Sondheim will re-visit his nightmare and update it to create an up to date paradoy on middle America.
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Post by theatre-turtle on Feb 19, 2017 12:53:15 GMT
I think the score has some really strong moments, and the musical as a whole has some very tender moments, however as a package it's a total mess. Some of the songs, especially the titular song are fleshed out and gorgeous, and could have been repurposed into a more coherent musical. Others, such as 'Simple' are just bizarre and chaotic.
The story isn't sign-posted well. With musicals because you can't possibly hear every lyric they need to be a bit more obvious as to what's happening. With some heavy editing, I think this could be a very good musical. The character arcs are also not very well developed. The two main characters don't even get introduced properly until second half.
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 25, 2017 18:30:58 GMT
Saw this at the mat today. What an odd show? Central trio very good, Cora is obvs the star part! I loved the dress too.
Not really surprising its not revived often. A curio and def one for the Sondheim completists like me.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2017 9:23:55 GMT
Word up sisters, I'm going to this tonight and I'm a massive control freak so does anyone know the running time (it don't say on their website)? Thanks tulips
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 3, 2017 10:36:38 GMT
Trying to remember what time I got out... I caught the 10.37 from Marylebone with around 15 mins to spare, so I'm guessing about 10.00 (though that's unlikely to be precise enough to appease your control freakery, sorry!) |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2017 22:57:20 GMT
What
The
Dickens!?!!
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Post by theatre-turtle on Mar 3, 2017 23:04:52 GMT
It made sense after I read the synopsis on Wikipedia 5 times after getting home. |
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Post by Mr Snow on Mar 5, 2017 8:48:11 GMT
Another who's very pleased to have seen it but that's most likely that for me. The only song I knew was the title one - did Maria Friedman incude it in her show at he Trafalgar a few years back?- but the rest wasn't that strong. Sadly the only cast members who really impressed were James Horne as Jusge Schub and Christopher Laishley as the crricature gum chewing dumb cop. All the rest seemed a little bit lacking to really convince. Maybe it was the produciton? Hard to be sure but as others have said, if it was satire what was it satirising? Americans, the American political system, our views on madness (it was very 60's on that one)? If you dont take careful aim at your target you're unlikely to score a hit. For a revival of a poitical satire that I'd love to see, you have to go much further back to a Pulitzer prize winner. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Thee_I_Sing |
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Post by tmesis on Mar 5, 2017 13:07:19 GMT
Saw this a few years back in a GSA student performance at the Yvonne Arnaud. I was baffled then but thought a professional production would clarify matters... it didn't. The story is easy enough to understand, just pointless.
Some great songs and some good performances with all words completely audible (unlike at Soho Cinders)
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Post by herrstiefel on Mar 5, 2017 13:27:55 GMT
Opera North did that and it's sequel a few years back. I absolutely loved "Of thee I sing", a couple of great songs and a hilarious plot. "Let em eat cake" was definitely weaker, but still an enjoyable evening. But hey, was there ever a Broadway or West End sequel that actually worked? |
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Post by Mr Snow on Mar 5, 2017 16:53:41 GMT
Meant to add, what a joy to hear voices with no amplification. Viva small spaces.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2017 18:44:17 GMT
Well. What a hot mess. No wonder it bombed.
Some nice enough songs but the book is a mess and it's way too long. I liked Oliver Stanley as Hapgood. Hated the portrayal of the 'Cookies'.
Oy oy oy.
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Post by mallardo on Mar 11, 2017 18:48:44 GMT
Saw the second last performance and thought they made a pretty good case for the show. People find the plot confusing? It's really not, everything is explained, perhaps a bit too much. But it's satire with a very broad brush and not nearly as funny or as clever as Arthur Laurents thought it was. It's saved by Sondheim's gorgeous score. Me and My Town, There Won't Be Trumpets, Anyone Can Whistle, Come Play Wiz Me, I've Got You To Lean On and, especially, With So Little To Be Sure Of - all great songs, worthy of a better show.
I liked Oliver Stanley's nerdy Hapgood and loved Rachel Delooze's feisty and super sexy Fay Apple. Didn't care much for Felicity Duncan's Cora Hoover Hooper, overdone and underpowered. The bare bones production did what it could in that not entirely sympathetic space. Glad I saw it.
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Post by mallardo on Mar 11, 2017 19:33:37 GMT
Well. What a hot mess. No wonder it bombed. Some nice enough songs but the book is a mess and it's way too long. I liked Oliver Stanley as Hapgood. Hated the portrayal of the 'Cookies'. Oy oy oy.
Ryan, you were there at the matinee? How did I not see you in that little place? Were you in disguise?
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. I needed to go into town anyway so it wasn't a wasted trip.
