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Post by chauncy on Dec 1, 2017 17:40:32 GMT
Thanks for sharing. Has any spotted any well-known producers at the show? |
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151 posts
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Post by gra on Dec 1, 2017 19:16:57 GMT
Gosh, what is it that was "interesting" about the audience at yesterday's matinee? Were they dead? I was at the matinee. Did not notice anything particularly interesing about the audience. A typical matinee audience, mainly composed of mature age as typical. It's a difficult show to applaud. A lot of the musical numbers seque straight into dialogue or 'music under' I felt the audience reaction was appreciative but polite more than 'dead.' No whooping or standing ovation! |
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98 posts
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Post by paddy72 on Dec 2, 2017 19:17:41 GMT
Managed to get a £15 tkt for the Saturday matinee and you realise how good the seating is here. It a dull auditorium and this afternoon was appropriately chilly in there but you get loads of leg room and great sight lines and nice staff. Of the show there is little left to say. Yes this plot is much clearer but the songs are still resonate of so many of ALWs other tunes from JCS and Evita to Boys in the photograph and those reworked for the later Love never dies which I would argue is far superior. And yes I agree that in the end it is all rather grey. All these years later it's hard to imagine how our greatest theatre brains could have got so excited by it all as to believe it would be a worthy successor to the blockbusters like Les Mis and fill The Palace eight shows a week for a multi decades run. But the singing is first class and the production runs like clockwork and for this alone I take the shame of paying so little. Our theatre is worth so much more than the cheap prices we are all currently driving the market down to. I fear that as in retail, cheaper prices will ultimately leave us with poorer product.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2017 19:45:45 GMT
Managed to get a £15 tkt for the Saturday matinee and you realise how good the seating is here. It a dull auditorium and this afternoon was appropriately chilly in there but you get loads of leg room and great sight lines and nice staff. Of the show there is little left to say. Yes this plot is much clearer but the songs are still resonate of so many of ALWs other tunes from JCS and Evita to Boys in the photograph and those reworked for the later Love never dies which I would argue is far superior. And yes I agree that in the end it is all rather grey. All these years later it's hard to imagine how our greatest theatre brains could have got so excited by it all as to believe it would be a worthy successor to the blockbusters like Les Mis and fill The Palace eight shows a week for a multi decades run. But the singing is first class and the production runs like clockwork and for this alone I take the shame of paying so little. Our theatre is worth so much more than the cheap prices we are all currently driving the market down to. I fear that as in retail, cheaper prices will ultimately leave us with poorer product. Paying a high price does not mean good product Re: hamilton Most of the ROH new productions |
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1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Dec 2, 2017 22:46:16 GMT
Well I didn't expect how today turned out. I went to the matinee of Barnum and the evening performance of this. I expected to love the former and be a bit underwhelmed by the the later. Exactly the opposite happened. I was so disappointed by Barnum but really enjoyed this. I really am not a Lloyd Webber fan. In particular I hate Phantom but I greatly enjoyed this.
The music:
As others have said there's a lot of recitative and in the main it's pastiche opera recitative. To begin with he can't decide which type of opera to imitate; so we get Mozart 'secco' recitative complete with faux harpsichord accompaniment that morphs into a more Gilbert and Sullivan style. Later on it becomes a bit more Benjamin Britten with echoes (but not the genius) of Peter Grimes.Somehow this all works and didn't for me outstay it's welcome as in his other works. The ballads were perfectly pleasant, ALW can't let go of a number of musical traits, there's a four-squareness to his phrases that can be wearing at times, and he specifically likes a descending 9th appoggiatura that is ripped off from All I ask of You (although much more originally handled in the latter.) Fosco's main song is just a pastiche of a Verdi waltz from La Traviata. Despite all this it was way better than the sum of its parts with considerable dramatic drive and tension.
Production:
Although done on a shoe string it was absolutely excellent. Thom Southerland is a major talent and I have been extremely impressed by all his previous efforts. I'm surprised he's still on the fringe and not the West End.
Cast:
All were fantastic. - some gorgeous voices and, for once, impeccable diction, I could hear every word. The sound balance was also near ideal, beautifully judged between voices and band.
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134 posts
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Post by spendleb on Dec 3, 2017 10:57:11 GMT
Went to the Friday evening performance and absolutely loved it, beautifully sung by all and great performances, the staging is simple but being that the theatre is so small it worked and felt intimate, my only gripe was the benches, brilliant view but so uncomfortable, literally no leg room for big lads like us, we sneaked upstairs to the balcony at the interval which was a slightly worse view but blessed relief on the legs!
Even my other half loved it and he's not a big musical fan 😊
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 3, 2017 11:32:17 GMT
Isn’t it strange and amazing how a show can not work and be disliked by so many people in 2004 and the same score and story re-invisioned in 2017 can have so many favourable reviews. I’ve even been listening to the cast recording! Total success but just wish there was less recitative.
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1,578 posts
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Post by anita on Dec 3, 2017 11:42:13 GMT
I loved it in 2004.
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430 posts
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Post by alison on Dec 3, 2017 15:33:49 GMT
Went to the Friday evening performance and absolutely loved it, beautifully sung by all and great performances, the staging is simple but being that the theatre is so small it worked and felt intimate, my only gripe was the benches, brilliant view but so uncomfortable, literally no leg room for big lads like us, we sneaked upstairs to the balcony at the interval which was a slightly worse view but blessed relief on the legs! Even my other half loved it and he's not a big musical fan 😊 Ahhh, that's why I noticed a gap in the benches in the second half. I wondered if someone had walked out. I was in row G (upgraded from rear stalls when I arrived) and loved it, but then I'm another one who saw and enjoyed the original production. I thought the cast were all excellent, and definitely preferred the slightly "straighter" take on Fosco without the fat suit, mice and various accoutrements. I caught quite a few of the changes while watching (tbh, I was surprised by how much of it I remembered, and how much they jumped out at me), then I listened to the cast recording on the way home to see what else I could identify. Here's what I picked up: {Spoiler - click to view}* There were a few minor changes to the lyrics when Walter tells Marian and Laura about meeting the woman in white.
* Several sections have gone from Perspective, it now seems to be a cross between the original and Broadway versions.
* In place of Lammastide is a very brief scene with Mr Fairlie talking about the harvest festival, then it cuts straight to the scene with Walter and the corn dolly girl. While they're talking, we can clearly hear a hymn being sung in the church.
* Fosco's initial entrance is obviously a little different without the whole "mouse guest" thing - I can't remember the exact lines but something about being surprised there was no one to meet him, then Marian arrives.
* When Walter leaves, Marian sings the "unspoken, unexpressed" line before the usual "I close my eyes".
* Although Lammastide itself is out, the tune is still used for the wedding celebration.
* All For Laura has been taken up, so the high "I will live" at the end is now taken down.
* If I Could Only Dream This World Away is now a duet between Laura and Marian.
* Marian's nightmare is gone. After Fosco vists her room, we see Fosco and Glyde incapacitate both sisters then cut straight to the funeral scene.
* Fosco no longer tells Marian of Laura's death. The speech about her falling out of the window is done at her funeral (while Carolyn is getting changed, she then enters the scene slightly later).
* Lost Souls is out, although the musical underscore is still there before If Not For Me, For Her.
* The biggest change: Fosco is the one to tell Marian about Anne's identity. After The Seduction, before she leaves he tells her that if she wanted to know, she only had to ask. He then tells her the story, and adds, "Sir Percival Glyde, check mate." before singing his reprise.
* At the asylum, rather than saying they should stay together now, Walter doesn't make any response to Marian's admission.
* As they already know Anne's identity, after rescuing Laura our trio don't return to Limmeridge to see Mr Fairlie, we just go straight to the final scene with Glyde going to catch the train. There's now no mention of Glyde raping Anne, it's more ambiguous. The line has been changed to, "You kicked me and you beat me until my baby died." |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 16:36:10 GMT
I saw this on Friday and was pleasantly surprised how much I loved it. Thought it was a beautiful production. Really pleasant night at the theatre.
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 3, 2017 19:16:30 GMT
Surely you didn’t love the set?!! Lol.... |
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520 posts
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Post by anthony on Dec 3, 2017 19:54:01 GMT
Saw the matinee yesterday and loved it. Glad others have mentioned Love Never Dies and Stephen Ward... some bits are identical. Only downside is I thought the entire theatre smelled of urine  The auditorium was so cold that people were sitting around me in scarves and hat. They turned the heating up during the interval. |
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134 posts
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Post by spendleb on Dec 4, 2017 9:59:28 GMT
Hilarious chat between two young girls close to our seats, one was telling the other this was a SEQUEL to The Woman in Black but wasn't as scary in her opinion!!!
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1,578 posts
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Post by anita on Dec 4, 2017 10:34:21 GMT
Surely you didn’t love the set?!! Lol.... Actually I did , especially the scene where Marion is eavesdropping on Fosco & Glyde. - Much better than standing on a table. |
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520 posts
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Post by anthony on Dec 4, 2017 12:27:48 GMT
Also forgot -- they double booked our seats and we were moved closer (to the row that divides the two halfs of the auditorium, so a perfect view and unlimited leg room! I believe row K?).
Rush tickets now available via TodayTix. Will 100% be picking up tickets again in the near future.
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 4, 2017 15:14:07 GMT
Managed to get a £15 tkt for the Saturday matinee and you realise how good the seating is here. It a dull auditorium and this afternoon was appropriately chilly in there but you get loads of leg room and great sight lines and nice staff. Of the show there is little left to say. Yes this plot is much clearer but the songs are still resonate of so many of ALWs other tunes from JCS and Evita to Boys in the photograph and those reworked for the later Love never dies which I would argue is far superior. And yes I agree that in the end it is all rather grey. All these years later it's hard to imagine how our greatest theatre brains could have got so excited by it all as to believe it would be a worthy successor to the blockbusters like Les Mis and fill The Palace eight shows a week for a multi decades run. But the singing is first class and the production runs like clockwork and for this alone I take the shame of paying so little. Our theatre is worth so much more than the cheap prices we are all currently driving the market down to. I fear that as in retail, cheaper prices will ultimately leave us with poorer product. I agree with this about driving prices down. I go to the theatre once or twice a week and pay 15, 20, 25 pounds all the time and generally have the best seats in the West End to Fringe. Maybe it’s just because I know so many loopholes? Dayseats? Cheating seats like A0 in 42nd Street? Lotteries? Group booking discounts? Today Tix? Papering sites? In comparison to what people pay on Broadway to see shows it is rather shocking. In April I spent a fortune seeing 6 shows in New York. Do UK audiences earn far less than American ones? Have different spendin habits? Do UK audiences need bargains? (Tourists aside) |
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1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Dec 4, 2017 15:46:50 GMT
I got a TodayTix seat in row W for £15 which was then upgraded by the box office to an excellent row K seat. Since I loved the production it was an absolute bargain.
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660 posts
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 5, 2017 1:41:20 GMT
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134 posts
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Post by spendleb on Dec 5, 2017 9:53:50 GMT
Ridiculous, did they see a different show to me??? |
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371 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on Dec 5, 2017 10:05:41 GMT
The Stage sent someone who doesn't actually like the material, a move that never fails to baffle me.
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520 posts
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Post by anthony on Dec 5, 2017 10:21:35 GMT
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660 posts
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Post by Oleanna on Dec 5, 2017 12:28:03 GMT
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904 posts
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Post by lonlad on Dec 5, 2017 13:44:52 GMT
Hard to imagine this EVER getting 4 stars given how fundamentally ludicrous the creatives' treatment of the material is. You can't make a silk pursue out of an etc etc etc ..... :-)
As for the Standard 4 star review, it's from the same nitwit who also gave five stars to the Menier's truly execrable revival of ASPECTS OF LOVE, which had poor Kathering Kingsley speaking with a fake French accent and it was downward from there.
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 5, 2017 14:07:00 GMT
I would meet them in the middle and give it 3.5/5 it’s not a perfect musical but 1252 times better than the 2004 original. I might even go again despite its flaws. It doesn’t deserve 2 stars at all. The cast alone are 5/5. I agree about the complicated plot and not so ideal material though but still.....
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608 posts
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Post by chernjam on Dec 5, 2017 14:29:04 GMT
Can anyone give a bit more detail about the changes to the score? I'm curious since it was reported that ALW and Zippel had been working on and off again on this over the last decade what major changes were done to it (and even more, would that be enough to encourage a new recording with this cast that has universally been praised)
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The auditorium was so cold that people were sitting around me in scarves and hat. They turned the heating up during the interval. 
