87 posts
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Post by manu on Jun 9, 2018 22:33:17 GMT
Nicole Raquel Dennis
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 22:16:28 GMT
Nicole is also going to be doing the matinee on Saturday after West End Live as well. Her second show as Effie White.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 13, 2018 23:15:20 GMT
Another visit to this show on Monday evening - a front row Dress Circle seat for £42.50 from Today Tix rather than £99.50! A spectacular view!
An almost full house gave the show a standing ovation and it is still fabulous especially for a first time visit. All the computerised elements are intact - the sets, the costumes and the great lighting and incredible sound but for me the new principles have varying degrees of success compared with the original cast.
Marisha was on as Effie ( I have seen her before and being a Monday night I was rather hoping to catch either Moya or Karen in the role). She is good but hasn't got Amber Rileys voice. Two understudies on for Deena - Nicole Deon - very good especially in Listen and Jayde Nelson as Lorrell who's diction and comedy timing could have been better.
Another understudy on for Jimmy- Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton - a pale shadow of the original Adam J Bernard. Durone Stokes as CC, again a pale shadow of Tyrone Huntley. Knocking it out of the park though is still the gorgeous Joe Aaron Reid as Curtis. So, although the show was well received it is certainly a notch down in performance terms.
Clearly the Broadway transfer of this hasn't happened, for whatever reason and I think the UK tour might be tricky to cast. The show does not lend itself to "names" but needs some sensational vocal performances to pull off the show.
I enjoyed it hugely of course, and I will be back for another fix before it closes, but it's not quite as sensational as it was.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 1:21:16 GMT
Nicole will be doing both matinees next week, as well as West End Live and this weeks Saturdat matinee.
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Post by raiseitup on Jun 14, 2018 8:43:22 GMT
Marisha will also be doing West End Live.
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836 posts
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Post by duncan on Jun 14, 2018 11:19:19 GMT
Sonia is narked with one of the Ensemble for walking out with a days notice so that she could enter Love Island.
The Sun reports that she gave her Dreamgirls bosses just one day's notice, and now Sonia Friedman Productions is said to be seeking £3,000 in compensation.
An anonymous source told the tabloid: "She won’t walk into a job any time soon. Her name is mud and her behaviour totally unprofessional."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 11:51:37 GMT
And Sonia Friedman doesn't look like a woman you'd mess with to be honest. Oooh, 'ard as nails I bet.
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4,778 posts
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Post by Mark on Jun 14, 2018 15:08:19 GMT
If you screw over Sonia Friedman, you might as well kiss goodbye to a career in musical theatre.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2018 11:48:01 GMT
I have no sympathy for this girl who walked out to join Love Island. She could of worked her way up from Ensemble to potentially being a star, but no producer or casting director will touch her now.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 15, 2018 13:02:53 GMT
I have no sympathy for this girl who walked out to join Love Island. She could of worked her way up from Ensemble to potentially being a star, but no producer or casting director will touch her now. Well the reality is that actors can work for years in the ensemble and never get a break. They become too old for the ensemble or roles as newcomers from the drama schools come into the business, and just stop getting the work. It is certainly a gamble her leaving Dreamgirls - it depends how long she lasts in Love Island and how she comes across but her profile on leaving could be massive and if a theatre producer thought that people would pay to see her in a show they will cast her especially if she can deliver on the performance which I assume she can. She may come back and star as Deena in the tour.....over Sonia Friedmans dead body!! |
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Post by Seriously on Jun 15, 2018 14:38:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2018 15:15:37 GMT
Calculated risk? Great way to raise the profile of a relative unknown going in.
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129 posts
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Post by kulen on Jun 16, 2018 16:49:01 GMT
Just saw Nicole. Wow, wow, wow. She was fab!!!
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129 posts
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Post by kulen on Jun 16, 2018 16:49:13 GMT
Just saw Nicole. Wow, wow, wow. She was fab!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 7:43:26 GMT
Am I the only one who is reading the news of the tour more as a cover to hide the blow of the West End production closing rather than a reality in the near future? I can't see it touring for another couple of years yet at the very least, with so many tours already doing the rounds soon.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 23, 2018 9:54:35 GMT
Just saw Nicole. Wow, wow, wow. She was fab!!! I have just seen that WestEnd Understudies have tweeted that Nicole (1st Cover) is on again this afternoon. This brings to mind the depth of talent that appears to be needed to keep a show going today. I have not seen Nicole and I am sure she is splendid, but the show already has THREE Effie Whites! Now, back in the day to have three girls sharing a lead would have been unimaginable. I remember the fuss when Elaine Paige went from doing 8 shows a week in Evita, to 6 with "an alternate" for 2 nights - the alternate going on to take over from Paige when she left - Marti Webb. The point I am making is that the title role only had 1 lead, 1 alternate and I assume an understudy. Now we seem to have at least 4 girls (probably more) covering the leading role. So... the question I ask is - Is Effie White more vocally demanding than Evita? Or other leading roles for that matter... Kelli O'Hara will do 8 shows a week in the King & I barring illness for example. A 3 hour show where she is barely off stage. Or are the younger artists not as vocally trained / disciplined to deliver 8 shows a week? |
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Post by singularsensation10 on Jun 23, 2018 11:16:24 GMT
I have just seen that WestEnd Understudies have tweeted that Nicole (1st Cover) is on again this afternoon. This brings to mind the depth of talent that appears to be needed to keep a show going today. I have not seen Nicole and I am sure she is splendid, but the show already has THREE Effie Whites! Now, back in the day to have three girls sharing a lead would have been unimaginable. I remember the fuss when Elaine Paige went from doing 8 shows a week in Evita, to 6 with "an alternate" for 2 nights - the alternate going on to take over from Paige when she left - Marti Webb. The point I am making is that the title role only had 1 lead, 1 alternate and I assume an understudy. Now we seem to have at least 4 girls (probably more) covering the leading role. So... the question I ask is - Is Effie White more vocally demanding than Evita? Or other leading roles for that matter... Kelli O'Hara will do 8 shows a week in the King & I barring illness for example. A 3 hour show where she is barely off stage. Or are the younger artists not as vocally trained / disciplined to deliver 8 shows a week? We now live in a world where the strains on a performer are more than just being on stage every night. Fans are more demanding than ever and they do heaps of press stuff all the time. Not to mention the fact that everything is documented - so any bad performance can be posted to YouTube at the flick of a thumb. There is more riding on it being ‘right’ every night. Who’s to say Elaine Paige didn’t actually only do 4 shows a week, with the u/s going on twice as well? Twitter wasn’t around so there wasn’t as much of a community talking about it every night. I think the decision to have 3 leads and a plethora of u/s ready to go is really clever as it means the show will always go on and will always be flawless. Nothing to do with training or stamina - if anything there is more research around now about vocal health and the fact it’s not healthy or fair for these ladies to do it every night if they want a long career. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 18:48:03 GMT
Nicole has been on quite a bit as Effie so far, did the understudy in the old cast go on at all?
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 23, 2018 20:12:57 GMT
Nicole has been on quite a bit as Effie so far, did the understudy in the old cast go on at all? I don't think so, which was a shame because i'd have been interested to see her. |
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Post by sempala on Jun 27, 2018 13:31:33 GMT
Not sure when this change was put into effect but according to the cast schedule, Karen has now been moved to Wednesday matinees with Moya taking the Saturday matinee.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2018 17:47:43 GMT
Not sure when this change was put into effect but according to the cast schedule, Karen has now been moved to Wednesday matinees with Moya taking the Saturday matinee. interesting! |
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Post by tommy123 on Jun 27, 2018 18:15:59 GMT
Not sure when this change was put into effect but according to the cast schedule, Karen has now been moved to Wednesday matinees with Moya taking the Saturday matinee. I think all three ladies have had holiday (Moya and Karen last week hence why Nicole was on!) And this week Marisha is on holiday, with Moya doing the evenings so I assume Karen matinees? I reckon the new schedule will start next week... |
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Post by sf on Jun 27, 2018 22:07:31 GMT
Not sure when this change was put into effect but according to the cast schedule, Karen has now been moved to Wednesday matinees with Moya taking the Saturday matinee. I think all three ladies have had holiday (Moya and Karen last week hence why Nicole was on!) And this week Marisha is on holiday, with Moya doing the evenings so I assume Karen matinees? I reckon the new schedule will start next week... Nicole Raquel Dennis played Effie this afternoon. And very good she was too. |
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Post by ensembleswings on Jun 27, 2018 22:43:46 GMT
Finally went back to this show this afternoon, first time with this cast. Was originally hoping to catch Moya but Nicole was brilliant, glad I had the chance to see her as Effie. It was my third time seeing the show and most likely my last, although I enjoyed it I just can’t see myself seeing it again.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2018 21:39:18 GMT
Am I the only one who is reading the news of the tour more as a cover to hide the blow of the West End production closing rather than a reality in the near future? I can't see it touring for another couple of years yet at the very least, with so many tours already doing the rounds soon. I'm pretty certain the tour will probably start in late 2019. With Kinky Boots, Matilda, Les Mis, possibly WWRY and other major West End shows touring at the same time Dreamgirls might lose out a bit in terms of venues and ticket sales. I can see it doing the usual places like Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Sunderland/Newcastle, Leeds, Norwich, Bradford, Plymouth et al. Can't decide whether it would do the New Alexandra or the Hippodrome in Brum, same thing in Edinburgh with the Playhouse and the Festival. |
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