Cabaret - Rufus Norris Production / BK Tour

[xanady]

Could be some late deals on this...we are going Saturday but not booked yet...ticket sales are indeed ridiculously poor atm for the Grand

[ruggerlad]

Take it ‘Don’t Tell Mama’ is just the opening and then Sally turns round to face the ‘audience’ to deliver the rest off stage ?

[xanady]

At the half-empty Grand in Wolverhampton...and completely stunned by the power of this interpretation.From Anita Harris’s forlorn Frau Schneider to Charles Haggerty’s pitch-perfect playing of Cliff Bradshaw to John Partridge’s multi-faceted Emcee(sly,sinister,farcical,knowing,bewidered,aggressive and every trait in-between) to Kara Lily Hayworth’s fragile yet self-fixated Sally Bowles...this is a genuine masterpiece.
A brassy belting balcony band...a cleverly-adaptable set..a devastating ending...some realistic fight choreography...and on and on...absolute class imo.
One lovely story to end..a very,very elderly couple in front of us holding hands through the whole show and on the singing of ‘Cabaret’ near the end, the elderly lady turned to her partner and begin to sing in unison with Kara (just the first few bars)and he turned to her and beamed.It was obvs a memory song for them both.

[Dr Tom]

I was also there this afternoon, a late decision. Shame to have missed you xanady.

Ended up booking at the box office, despite a lot of seat choice being available on the website. The pricing bands and the "can't leave a single seat error were too problematic".

The box office staff don't have any flexibility on seat price bands at all, as I've found out before, but they do try and help. In the end, got a seat in the side Stalls a few rows back, slight restricted view due to the angle of the stage. Cost £35.50 (they charge the annoying £3 booking fee no matter what route you book by). I was able to move across one seat, still restricted, but not as bad. But this one is overpriced for the region, explaining the attendance.

I could have self upgraded further, but had a decent view with no one in front and a side row all to myself.

Anyway, this is a very good production. I saw it with Will Young and everything is largely the same. John Partridge is ideally suited for the MC role. He did rather rush through the cheesy lines at the beginning without giving them chance to settle, but that's likely deliberate.

I very much liked Kara Lily Haworth as Sally Boyles. I thought there was a real sense of vulnerability about her. And the role worked with her Liverpudlian accent.

Anita Harris played her part with a mixture of singing and sing talk, which was fine. One line slip at the start of Pineapple, which she then quickly sang again with the right lyrics.

Lots of nudity. If you like a flash of a full frontal naked man, you may want to sit near the front of audience right.

And, one thing I really appreciated, the audience treated the second half seriously and didn't try to turn it into a comedy. They have the emotional level just right for this one.

I think it's too strong a show to see twice in one day, but I will definitely catch it elsewhere on the tour.

[xanady]

Likewise,sad to have missed you,Sir...glad you have mentioned the pricing issues...what is the point of having the entire upper circle entirely closed and the stalls and dress circle half-empty because of poor ticket sales?Surely a packed theatre would mean more refreshments sales,programme and merch sales and be better for the performers.There were zero discounts on this anywhere...how do you keep live theatre alive for future generations if people cannot afford silly prices?...sorry,rant over!

[TallPaul]

So many good reviews, BurlyBeaR. You must be starting to weaken, surely? 🙂

[Deleted]

It seems to be selling poorly in Edinburgh so I will do my usual strategy of waiting until the day and asking for a student ticket at the box office.

I really want to see Kara, and the cast as a whole looks strong.

[BurlyBeaR]

Sept 7, 2019 17:55:15 GMT TallPaul said:

So many good reviews, BurlyBeaR . You must be starting to weaken, surely? 🙂

Mind reader. 

Seriously, this is at the Palace this time which is 2mins walk from my front door and I was looking at opening night offers earlier today. 

BUT. My problem is that I just don’t like this production. To be honest I don’t actually like this musical in its stage form. I don’t think it works (compared with the film) and this production gets nowhere near to convincing me. 

Its selling badly for Manc. I might go 😐

(self flagellates) 

[marob]

Sept 7, 2019 17:44:59 GMT xanady said:

Likewise,sad to have missed you,Sir...glad you have mentioned the pricing issues...what is the point of having the entire upper circle entirely closed and the stalls and dress circle half-empty because of poor ticket sales?Surely a packed theatre would mean more refreshments sales,programme and merch sales and be better for the performers.There were zero discounts on this anywhere...how do you keep live theatre alive for future generations if people cannot afford silly prices?...sorry,rant over!

I cannot agree more about the ticket prices. At Storyhouse in Chester it looks roughly half sold at most performances. The majority of the tickets are now priced at £48, regardless of where they actually are in the theatre, thanks to their dynamic ticketing system. (Is it classed as dynamic if the prices go up but don't come back down?) Charging the same for a seat in the gallery as at the front of the stalls just seems kind of unfair, especially in a subsidised theatre.

They mustn't have learned from having Avenue Q on there earlier this year, which obviously isn't as well-known as this. They had two mid-week matinees, which must have sold really badly because it's the only time I've seen them offer money off. Even then the one I went to was maybe a quarter full, if that. I felt sorry for the performers, who were giving it their all, and only getting a fairly muted response back.

But anyway, since it's already been mentioned, who's playing the clumsy "nephew"?

[newbie101]

Hi all

For those who have seen this, how much nudity is in it? Is there more than when it last toured with Will Young? (A couple of brief flashes of a topless lady and a naked man, and then the naked ending)

I’m thinking about taking my children who might be slightly shocked by too much nudity!! Thanks in advance.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2019 21:24:22 GMT newbie101 said:

Hi all

For those who have seen this, how much nudity is in it? Is there more than when it last toured with Will Young? (A couple of brief flashes of a topless lady and a naked man, and then the naked ending)

I’m thinking about taking my children who might be slightly shocked by too much nudity!! Thanks in advance.

Exactly the same amount.

[FrontroverPaul]

Agree about the nudity, it''s all over in a flash.

Not sure I'd recommend Cabaret for pre-teens though,

[Deal J]

Sept 9, 2019 0:39:06 GMT @brexiteer said:

Sept 8, 2019 21:24:22 GMT newbie101 said:

Hi all

For those who have seen this, how much nudity is in it? Is there more than when it last toured with Will Young? (A couple of brief flashes of a topless lady and a naked man, and then the naked ending)

I’m thinking about taking my children who might be slightly shocked by too much nudity!! Thanks in advance.

Exactly the same amount.

That must have taken some casting. By surface area, or by mass? 

[xanady]

^newbie 101,My young teenage daughter was with me and I went through the themes of the show with her beforehand...the nudity at the end is the inmates in a concentration camp...it is brilliantly directed and Partridge wrings every bit of emotion out of it in his final speech...not an easy watch at all...there is a brief topless female,the ‘nephew’ loses his towel and reveals his meat and two veg briefly but noticeably and of course you have the decadence of the Kit Kat Club dancers which didn’t shock my daughter as she has seen Chicago,Rocky and Sweet Charity etc..also Cliff’s sexuality is explored...to conclude, it would depend on the age of your youngsters and prior experience of live MT.
In terms of how it impacted my daughter,she felt it was close to the recent JCS at the Barbican,but not quite as powerful.
It is a brilliant show and one I have been raving about to everyone at work this morning.

[Jonnyboy]

I feel the descriptions of the ending should be spoilered.

[xanady]

Edited out...in hindsight I said too much about the detail of the ending...apologies

[Deleted]

Sept 7, 2019 18:55:40 GMT aingidh said:

It seems to be selling poorly in Edinburgh so I will do my usual strategy of waiting until the day and asking for a student ticket at the box office.

I really want to see Kara, and the cast as a whole looks strong.

Well this is what I TRIED to do today but I was told Bill Kenwright had withdrawn all discounting that the theatre usually offer. I then looked at the theatre’s website and there were rows and rows available. Went across town to the Playhouse instead to watch Priscilla which was fabulous.

It makes me wonder if the producers would rather have empty seats than fill seats for a discounted rate.

[BurlyBeaR]

You missed nothing.

[ampersand]

Saw the matinee in Sunderland this afternoon. Sold very poorly - the Gallery and Upper Circle were both closed. I didn't actually know much about the show other than the big numbers going in so didn't really know what to expect. It's very dark, the emotional scenes really pack a punch. The title number is a real showstopper (Kara Lily Hayworth was fantastic). Shame about the audience though - see bad behaviour thread.

[Being Alive]

Managed to pick up a £13 to this in the stalls in Oxford tonight so went along to final tick off seeing the Rufus production.

I thought John Partridge was great, and a lot better than I thought he might be. Funny but in a dark way and not camp, and very engaging. Anita Harris was fine and got round everything she couldn't quite sing by speaking which worked.
My problem was Kara as Sally. I didn't feel ANYTHING from her until she sang Cabaret, and by that point we've had Mein Heir and Maybe This Time (two numbers which are meant to make you FEEL something). She's vocally knocking the numbers out of the park, but the dots aren't connected for me, and she just isn't giving a complete performance...

Wonderful design, nice to have the band on stage, and that final scene will stay with me for a few weeks yet.
A totally unexpected 4 stars.

[Dr Tom]

I also nipped to Oxford to see this last night, mostly due to getting a £25 front row ticket from the Black Friday deal.

Very good again, with the experienced soured only slightly by the two women sat next to me, who were clearly after a girls' night out experience. Lots of eating, talking to each other, humming, laughing every time fruit was mentioned, commenting on the nudity and at climatic moments, then a loud "I don't have a clue what's happening" during the final scene, followed by "next time I'm choosing the show" at the end. Clearly had no sense of history or idea about the imagery.

I think the leads are very good here. Anita Harris does struggle vocally, but acts well. It's staged in a way where Kara as Sally is meant to be a struggling singer, but proves she has the voice at the end. Pretty full too.

Overran by about 10 minutes (ending at 22:15) so I missed the coach back to London (luckily I could use the one thirty minutes later). I'll see it again later in the tour.

[distantcousin]

Feb 5, 2020 10:16:01 GMT Dr Tom said:

I also nipped to Oxford to see this last night, mostly due to getting a £25 front row ticket from the Black Friday deal.

Very good again, with the experienced soured only slightly by the two women sat next to me, who were clearly after a girls' night out experience. Lots of eating, talking to each other, humming, laughing every time fruit was mentioned, commenting on the nudity and at climatic moments, then a loud "I don't have a clue what's happening" during the final scene, followed by "next time I'm choosing the show" at the end. Clearly had no sense of history or idea about the imagery.

I think the leads are very good here. Anita Harris does struggle vocally, but acts well. It's staged in a way where Kara as Sally is meant to be a struggling singer, but proves she has the voice at the end. Pretty full too.

Overran by about 10 minutes (ending at 22:15) so I missed the coach back to London (luckily I could use the one thirty minutes later). I'll see it again later in the tour.

Gawd. What can you do with such ingrates!?!?

[Dr Tom]

The Wednesday evening show in Wimbledon was packed. Maybe this show just doesn't appeal to a matinee audience? I had one of the price promise seats, a few rows back on the aisle. Apart from missing a small corner at the back of the stage (where nothing important happened), the view was perfect.

The audience were generally good. One phone went off. One phone near me on a long vibrate. A few people thinking this is a comedy all the way through, but that always seems to happen. Some parents bringing small children, which always surprises me.

Hopefully I'm not misremembering, but I think in Oxford they didn't have the big Cabaret wall with the peephole and they used the ladder much more instead. Perhaps it depends on the size of the stage.

Another very good show. Anita Harris was singing much better than when I saw this a few weeks ago. All the cast were on form and, as the Monkey said, they keep the energy up very well throughout.

[FrontroverPaul]

The front three rows of the stalls are only £13 (price promise) for all remaining performances of Cabaret at Wimbledon.

I assume they were held back until recently. I'd be peeved if I'd booked the fourth row for £67 months ago.

[FrontroverPaul]

Feb 20, 2020 10:45:05 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Go at least 2 rows back, it's a really high stage. I was in my usual end of row legroom stalls C25, missed nothing at all.

Going tonight on our way back from Guildford Yvonne Arnaud  with my partner*, it was going to be Blitz at the Union Theatre but other opportunities for that. 

Only the very front row still available tonight but I'm used to the high stage there. Got AA6 and AA7.

* By car for a change, she works most evenings but not today so I get chauffeured !