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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 25, 2018 18:58:03 GMT
Will that also star Will Young? And that choice of facial hair? because I might be in. Even if 50 Shades the musical has LONG been copywrighted by me and @theatremonkey except our version is actual filth. If Will Young was in the 50 Shades musical he would be cast as someone who waltzes in for no apparent reason when Christian and his lady friend are having a "moment". Sing something random, then waltz out again. Perhaps he would have to touch them with his magic finger before *ahem* “proceedings” could commence. |
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 26, 2018 7:47:46 GMT
This is another show that has really divided opinion. I saw it last night and it was better than I expected.
My background to this is that I saw the original run in Sydney a few years back and hated it. Didn't get the humour at all.
In this version, it's still not my style of humour, but I enjoyed it much more. The audience reacted to a lot more of them than I did, but I suspect also they're lines they know from the film.
Most of the funny lines went to Will Young, who is easily the star of the piece and I suspect the lack of a narrator was why it didn't work so well in its previous incarnation. A lot of the audience are there to see him as well. He is on stage most of the show, apart from a few costume changes and gets a huge reaction every time he comes on stage, particularly when he was roller skating. Also the biggest reaction during the bows, although he is not last to bow. Feels like he includes a lot of ad-libs, although they may be there every night.
Vocally, he probably sings about a quarter of the show. Most of the songs are just short segments. There are some sung in unison by the ensemble and some short snippets by other members of the cast. It works well. Will singing Time After Time is easily the highlight.
I hadn't twigged before the show that Will would be singing everything with an Australian accent either.
One near miss during the bows when one of the ensemble worked backwards and nearly took out Eve Polycarpou (Abuela) during her entrance. Luckily they recovered well.
I think the other thing I didn't understand when I saw this before is, despite the name, it's not really a dance musical. At least not in the way that a 42nd Street or a Top Hat is a dance musical. It's more a comedy musical, with dance as the background. With that in mind, it works much better.
There is a forced standing ovation at the end. Will did his best to get everyone on their feet for the dance number, but it did take a few tries. To me, it's an easy evening out for a show, but it's not quite standing ovation level. But most people did end up on their feet at the end, just so they could see.
Run time is longer than advertised at 2 hours 35 minutes.
That is a downside in the Circle seats, where I was, as they were very uncomfortable. They were TodayTix Rush Seats and they're always seem to be in that area. If I saw it again, I'd definitely sit in the Stalls.
The audience was primarily female. I only spotted one child in the whole place and this is a big adult themed for children. I don't know if it's the Will Young demographic, but this does attract some fuller figure women, so do bear that in mind as the seat spacing is already small. Thankfully there were a few spare seats (not many), so one of the larger ladies near me was able to move across one space, which made the show slightly more comfortable.
A few people have mentioned replacements for Will Young on the thread. This is definitely a show based around having a star in that role and I think you'd be very disappointed to catch it on a day he was off. Ray Quinn was mentioned as an option, but I don't see him having quite the right mix of camp and sinister. The comedy ability is probably more important than first class singing for this one, as very few songs are sung in full and it's mostly just the band playing. Will be interesting to see who gets the nod.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 7:54:02 GMT
Camp? Sinister? Australian? Jason Gardiner, this is your agent. We think you’d be perfect for...
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Post by horton on Apr 26, 2018 9:25:05 GMT
I suspect the vitriol comes from this being a much-loved title, and the general feeling it's a missed opportunity. The original movie was silly and camp, but it also had a strong emotional core and great performances, especially from Scott's parents.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 9:40:46 GMT
Opening night for this one it appears. All the big names were out in force to support it. That singer from X Factor, that judge from Strictly Come Dancing and stars Zizi Strallen and Jonny Labey showing us that they aren't afraid of a pattern. Bravo.  Other people were there too. Including Luke Evans, who after 'Beauty & The Beast', Her Maj's birthday and now this is clearly angling for a return to London's glitzy West End. 'The Music Man' anyone? I Will Always Love You |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 23:02:40 GMT
Opening night for this one it appears. All the big names were out in force to support it. That singer from X Factor, that judge from Strictly Come Dancing and stars Zizi Strallen and Jonny Labey showing us that they aren't afraid of a pattern. Bravo. Other people were there too. Including Luke Evans, who after 'Beauty & The Beast', Her Maj's birthday and now this is clearly angling for a return to London's glitzy West End. 'The Music Man' anyone? I Will Always Love YouWell Zizi always looks stunning and pulls thst dress off. Jonny would look amazing had he had about a metre cut off the bottom of that jacket. But hes beaut anyway so it doesn't matter! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 15:30:25 GMT
Well not unless the reason you don't like Will Young is because he's a gayer of course . . . Oooh, now you've made the show sound interesting. 'Fifty Shades of Foxtrot'! Oh dear lord, don't let EL James hear you say that! We'll end up with the Fifty Shades of Grey musical that no-one is asking for! I can just imagine this; a Kenwright production clogging up the Phoenix for ages and starring Will Young and Sarah Harding. |
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 27, 2018 21:46:34 GMT
It sounds terrible and cobbled together.
My friend saw the final preview the other night and waxed lyrical about it. He's seen quite a lot of musicals, but is not a connoisseur and when I challenged the point that no one was singing except Will Young, it hadn't occurred to him that that was unorthodox in a stage musical.
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Post by ctas on Apr 27, 2018 22:40:22 GMT
I saw this tonight! While I didn’t like all the music choices, the arrangements were mostly really good. I’m not entirely sure if the singer/narrator thing worked, but the show overall was good fun. Anna Francolini and Will Young chewed up the scenery a fair amount but Zizi Strallen was so damned charming I couldn’t help liking the main love story. A few really lovely moments (Time After Time was a highlight for me, I love the film so that iconic moment dancing on the roof was one I was really looking forward to) but also a few terrible Aussie accents. It really captured the surreal feel of the film and also the light and colour with all the costumes and lighting.
Oh and the legroom in the middle of the royal circle was unexpectedly bad, considering I’m a mere 5’5”. Not a full house though so room to move around a bit! I hope this one picks up in audience numbers as it has a lot of heart.
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Post by kathryn on May 4, 2018 22:18:25 GMT
Well, as expected we were upgraded from our grand circle seats to the Royal Circle, central row B. So that was a result!
We had an enjoyable enough time. It’s a fun show; sparkly, perky and ultimately superficial. Don’t look for emotional depth.
Zizzi Strallen is excellent and it’s a great shame that she only gets to sing one line in the whole show.
Will Young appears to be doing his best Dale Winton impression, except with a (bad) Aussie accent. The campiness made his singing seem fundamentally insincere, which really undermines the emotion the show strives for. But the audience did seem to enjoy his concert-style approach and he was warmly received at curtain call, so I guess people aren’t looking for emotional connection as much as a fun night out with some dancing and familiar songs.
Don’t think it will run for long.
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Post by musicalmarge on May 5, 2018 7:26:44 GMT
Well, as expected we were upgraded from our grand circle seats to the Royal Circle, central row B. So that was a result! We had an enjoyable enough time. It’s a fun show; sparkly, perky and ultimately superficial. Don’t look for emotional depth. Zizzi Strallen is excellent and it’s a great shame that she only gets to sing one line in the whole show. Will Young appears to be doing his best Dale Winton impression, except with a (bad) Aussie accent. The campiness made his singing seem fundamentally insincere, which really undermines the emotion the show strives for. But the audience did seem to enjoy his concert-style approach and he was warmly received at curtain call, so I guess people aren’t looking for emotional connection as much as a fun night out with some dancing and familiar songs. Don’t think it will run for long. How a leading lady can sing ONE line in a show staggers me! |
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Post by showoff on May 5, 2018 8:01:52 GMT
I went to see this again in the week. It was due to the first show being cancelled before the first half had concluded.
I have to say I am glad I went back, mainly because of the finale of act one. By far it was the best part of the show and I actually really loved that part, it's exactly what I love about musical theatre, and stand alone, for me it's one of the best things on any stage, it's just such a shame the rest of the show doesn't match it at all.
I also loved seeing Zizi really dance, because all I saw was her developing the last time, she's an amazing dancer and her hearing her sing her one line was actually awful because it made you realise what you've been missing the whole bloody show! What a ridiculous choice to not utilise such talent! The person who made that decision deserves to never work again! But I cannot wait to see her again in a role where I get to see her sing and dance, it's a shame it's not here as she is adorable as Fran.
Also, while I noted a couple of improvements in the first half, the second half is really quite awful, especially one number with the bed and dancers coming out from underneath it, I'm not even sure what that was. Will didn't get in the way as much as the first show, especially during the Dancing With Myself number, he stood to the side and sang, last time he was hopping around being quite distracting.
I also thought it would be easy to finish on a good note, but they managed to screw up the finale, and took it away from what it was originally, a perfect ending. There was too much to it, and Fran and Scott most of the time were standing around.
When I went there was a block of empty seats. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it, but it's not something I want to see again.
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Post by kathryn on May 5, 2018 9:35:02 GMT
My friend - who is a huge fan of the film and a lot less critical generally than me - commented that the choreography is just too busy. Particularly when Fran and Scott are really dancing for the first time, you want to be able to just focus on them, not have a bunch of people whirling around them.
I think overall that sort of sums up the show. Fran is by far the most compelling character in the show, and she should be the focus, but in reality she is the third lead.
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Post by ellie1981 on May 5, 2018 9:40:37 GMT
Well I enjoyed it overall. We went on Thursday and were front of the Royal Circle. Rows B-G were half empty so I wondered why people in the Grand Circle couldn’t have been upgraded.
You are all right about Will Young and my two mates were also in agreement. But all in all the 80s jukebox element to it wasn’t quite as bad as I was expecting. It really would have been so much better as a play with music, much like the film. The non-Will performances were all excellent. I didn’t even know a Richard Grieve was in this and I thought he was fabulous as Les.
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Post by fridayfan on May 8, 2018 14:01:26 GMT
I’ve seen it three times now and have enjoyed every time. It’s changed a fair bit since the early preview I saw.
Will Young’s voice is just gorgeous and he’s funny and entertaining, Zizi is a very decent actress (and dancer), Jonny’s dancing is great. Strong cast supporting them too.
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Post by zak97 on May 9, 2018 22:45:42 GMT
Understudy on for Wally (Will Young) so far this week
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Post by fridayfan on May 11, 2018 22:15:35 GMT
Will’s got a throat infection and not expected back before next Tuesday or Wednesday.
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Post by showtoones on May 11, 2018 23:42:44 GMT
I’ve seen it three times now and have enjoyed every time. It’s changed a fair bit since the early preview I saw. Will Young’s voice is just gorgeous and he’s funny and entertaining, Zizi is a very decent actress (and dancer), Jonny’s dancing is great. Strong cast supporting them too. Baz - is that you? (Lurhmann - not Bamigboye) |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2018 9:47:52 GMT
Will’s got a throat infection and not expected back before next Tuesday or Wednesday. Oh cripes! I better get myself ready. I've not really learned the part properly, I hope I can remember the words. |
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Post by fridayfan on May 12, 2018 13:52:55 GMT
Will’s got a throat infection and not expected back before next Tuesday or Wednesday. Oh cripes! I better get myself ready. I've not really learned the part properly, I hope I can remember the words. Too tardy I’m afraid, Ivan de Frietas has beaten you to it. |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2018 16:20:33 GMT
Oh cripes! I better get myself ready. I've not really learned the part properly, I hope I can remember the words. Too tardy I’m afraid, Ivan de Frietas has beaten you to it. Damn him. He's always stealing my jobs. |
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Post by showoff on May 13, 2018 17:12:30 GMT
Has anyone seen any feedback on Will's stand in?
I can't imagine those who bought tickets for Will will be happy. There seemed to be a lot of them both times I've been.
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Post by theatrefan12 on May 13, 2018 19:11:01 GMT
Hi,I went to see the show last week. I knew nothing about the show, having never seen the film, but was interested to see Will Young, having never seen him live and thought it would be worth a punt.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself - was very impressed with Zizi Strallen, having never seen her before. Show was good fun, flawed, but if you accept it as it is, you can have a good time. I had no idea that Will was ill, so was a bit surprised to see a bald man appear, who clearly wasn't Will Young lol. By the reaction, I don't think I was the only one! However, I thought Ivan was fantastic. You would never have known he was the understudy and I was so pleased to see him get such a great reception at the end of the show.
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Post by anthony40 on May 13, 2018 20:42:26 GMT
Welcome to the board theatrefan12
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Post by Kim on May 13, 2018 21:45:20 GMT
I saw Ivan on Wednesday having seen both him and Will I prefer Ivan, he’s not as showy, and therefore the focus is where it should be (in my opinion) on Scott & Fran. He made a couple of ab-libs mainly at the beginning when he basically got a very quiet reception about how there must be some Will Young fans in and that seemed to do the trick with the audience, then at the end thanked everybody for being so wonderful to him.
Box office did say that people had been very nice the night before about Will being off but I did hear a few complaints about it, looking at Twitter it seems people weren’t happy that they couldn’t get exchanges including one person asking will to sort them out tickets for a future show.
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