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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 17:22:25 GMT
But the main question for any new musical opening, is there a tap routine? Also dogs and nudity. Preferably all three together. |
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Big Fish
Nov 2, 2017 17:31:42 GMT
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Post by showgirl on Nov 2, 2017 17:31:42 GMT
So nude dogs tap-dancing, then? Whatever ticks your boxes...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 17:36:55 GMT
So nude dogs tap-dancing, then? Whatever ticks your boxes... I've seen worse shows.... (also aren't dogs always nude? or are they hiding something...) |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 18:36:15 GMT
It'll be nice to see what more peoples responses are to the show on second performance. I've seen the usual ones on twitter of "amazing", "loved it", "emotional wreck" and usually it comes with a bit of an eye roll on first preview. But I can't disagree with them this time!  |
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Big Fish
Nov 2, 2017 18:41:04 GMT
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Post by westendcub on Nov 2, 2017 18:41:04 GMT
I’m here (just relaxing with a beer) & looking forward for a this!!
They have strunk the box office for more bar area seating!!
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Post by ali973 on Nov 2, 2017 20:38:36 GMT
Does anyone have a song list?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 20:42:01 GMT
Act 1
01. Prologue - Ensemble
02. Fight the Dragons - Edward
03. The Witch - Witch, Story Edward & Ensemble
04. Stranger - Will
05. Wonder - Sandra & Josephine
06. Out There on The Road - Story Edward, Karl, Story Jenny & Ensemble
07. Little Lamb from Alabama - Story Sandra & The Alabama Lambs
08. Time Stops - Story Edward & Story Sandra
09. Closer to Her - Amos, Story Edward & Ensemble
10. The Road that Leads You - Story Edward & Story Sandra
11. Daffodils - Story Edward, Story Sandra, Edward & Sandra
Act 2
12. Red, White and True - Sandra, Story Sandra, Story Jenny & Ensemble
13. The River Between Us - Will & Edward
14. I Don't Need a Roof - Sandra
15. Start Over - Story Edward, Amos, Karl & Ensemble
16. What's Next? - Will & Edward
17. How It Ends - Edward & Story Edward
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 21:48:26 GMT
Act 1 01. Prologue - Ensemble 02. Fight the Dragons - Edward 03. The Witch - Witch, Story Edward & Ensemble 04. Stranger - Will 05. Wonder - Sandra & Josephine 06. Out There on The Road - Story Edward, Karl, Story Jenny & Ensemble 07. Little Lamb from Alabama - Story Sandra & The Alabama Lambs 08. Time Stops - Story Edward & Story Sandra 09. Closer to Her - Amos, Story Edward & Ensemble 10. The Road that Leads You - Story Edward & Story Sandra 11. Daffodils - Story Edward, Story Sandra, Edward & Sandra Act 2 12. Red, White and True - Sandra, Story Sandra, Story Jenny & Ensemble 13. The River Between Us - Will & Edward 14. I Don't Need a Roof - Sandra 15. Start Over - Story Edward, Amos, Karl & Ensemble 16. What's Next? - Will & Edward 17. How It Ends - Edward & Story Edward Finally, they've moved Fight The Dragons to where it belongs! |
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Post by saints on Nov 2, 2017 21:50:17 GMT
Hey, glad you enjoyed it, really looking forward to going tomorrow night. I've had a listen to the Broadway recording and thought 'Be the hero' might be in this production, love that song!
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Post by Michael on Nov 2, 2017 22:08:44 GMT
Too bad they've apparently cut Be The Hero, my favourite song from the show.
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Post by westendcub on Nov 2, 2017 22:47:19 GMT
Wow I am flawed, I came to this musical never having read the book, seen the film or heard the Broadway cast recording and it was beyond what I could have imagined (wow that was just 2nd preview!).
Firstly ‘The Other Palace’ has had its Box Office reduced (Last there for ‘Bonnie & Clyde’) to make way for more bar seating, I got there early so got a beer & sat there - you see everyone come in so perfect to people watch when solo! Saw Kelsey arrive and also Nigel Harman hanging around!
Adored my seat (B23) I was so close to everything & added to my experience (I felt so connected).
I think I knew within 5 minutes this was the musical for me when just a simple moment gave me the feels (I was hooked in).
Loved the staging, the interweaving between a drab hospital & fantastical stories from the past was effective and works perfectly for this stage.
Kelsey Grammer is a wonder here, he brings so much spirit and warmth to the role and is it’s emotional core with some beautifully acted little moments that were heartbreaking.
He is in the company of an excellent cast who charm throughout, I like that it’s a relatively small cast.
I loved this score & plan to seek it out!
I am known to cry at a musical but this was something quite different. I felt the connection to story and many tears rolled down. That Act 1 closer is one of the most strongest and enchanting, the finale left me speechless (and in tears of joy and sadness).
The house was full, I could feel a buzz throughout the show and knew many were experiencing that very same connection (cliche to say but not a dry house in the house) and the standing ovation was electric!
So glad I got to experience this & im very tempted to see if I can get a ticket later in the run (previews are now sold out and this is going to get word of mouth and see I being like ‘Rent’ & hard to get a ticket).
Can’t wait to the discussion on here, for me this could be my musical of 2017!!!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 22:57:29 GMT
Oh I'm so glad the next review to come was a positive one to confirm for me it wasn't just first preview usual hype where it is said to be amazing but then everyone else is let down. |
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Post by stageyninja83 on Nov 2, 2017 22:58:39 GMT
I was in B17 tonight so only a few seats down from you and echo all the positive reviews so far. Also has anyone had more fun on a stage than Forbes Masson? He had me in stitches. This musical really does cover the full spectrum of emotions!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 23:06:58 GMT
Oh I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! And I completely agree with westendcub on the finale of both acts, they absolutely blew me away with the staging and performances, it was pretty dazzling! |
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Post by dani on Nov 3, 2017 9:04:49 GMT
Thank you for your nice review of this, but I think you mean you were floored. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2017 9:27:22 GMT
Well. I did rather enjoy it. It's full of whimsy and it's very sentimental so anyone suffering from diabetes or if you're on one of those sugar free diets, you might want to give it a wide berth. It's very cleverly done although some bits of staging put me in mind of 'Wicked' on a budget.
Kelsey Grammer can't sing (although he'd probably be a fabulous Henry Higgins at some point) but he does all the acting bits well enough. My main issue with it is that I just didn't buy into him wholly as Edward Bloom and I can't put my finger on why. He's much better performed as a character by Jamie Muscato, who is terrifically charismatic. All teeth and a fetching selection of coloured bomber jackets. They sideline him a bit in the second half (obviously I guess) and the show does suffer a little from that for my money. Also, the young and old Edwards don't seem to be similar at all. It's much more successfully done with the character of Sandra. Clare Burt as the older character is just marvellous - she has a song in the second half (I Don't Need A Roof) which is a simply glorious moment in the show - but Laura Baldwin as the younger one looks and behaves just like a younger version of Clare.
Unfortunately for anyone that saw him in a vest in 'Urinetown', Matthew Seadon-Young keeps the guns well hidden as Will Bloom but I'll overlook that dreadful costume decision as he is smashing. If anyone saw the images of the swoony Justin Trudeau dressed as Clark Kent this week, you'll get an idea of MSYs first appearance. And that voice of his is a dream.
Some great numbers and in particular, 'Little Lamb From Alabama' and 'Red White and True' are utterly glorious but the showstopper is 'Daffodils' which is just so heartstoppingly romantic and brilliantly done. If there was any tearing up during this show for me, it was at that moment.
However, for anything else this show really is worth seeing for the glory that is Forbes Masson. He gives new meaning to the term 'scene stealer'. If The Other Palace is eligible for Olivier nominations then Masson's name should definitely be on the shortlist. He's magnificent.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2017 9:31:53 GMT
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Post by ali973 on Nov 3, 2017 9:39:43 GMT
It's so good to see how this show was totally turned around and getting so many good notices from members, versus the total bashing of the Broadway version. Not sure the show needs an older/younger Edward and Sandra, but I'm glad the production team are making their own unique choices. I wonder if Andrew Lippa will fly out to see this.
Seeing it in around two weeks or so.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Nov 3, 2017 9:48:37 GMT
It's so good to see how this show was totally turned around and getting so many good notices from members, versus the total bashing of the Broadway version. Not sure the show needs an older/younger Edward and Sandra, but I'm glad the production team are making their own unique choices. I wonder if Andrew Lippa will fly out to see this. Seeing it in around two weeks or so. Andrew has been working on it. There's no need for him to fly out, he's there. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2017 10:22:09 GMT
Kelsey Grammer can't sing (although he'd probably be a fabulous Henry Higgins at some point) but he does all the acting bits well enough. My main issue with it is that I just didn't buy into him wholly as Edward Bloom and I can't put my finger on why. He's much better performed as a character by Jamie Muscato, who is terrifically charismatic. All teeth and a fetching selection of coloured bomber jackets. They sideline him a bit in the second half (obviously I guess) and the show does suffer a little from that for my money. Also, the young and old Edwards don't seem to be similar at all. It's much more successfully done with the character of Sandra. Clare Burt as the older character is just marvellous - she has a song in the second half (I Don't Need A Roof) which is a simply glorious moment in the show - but Laura Baldwin as the younger one looks and behaves just like a younger version of Clare. Unfortunately for anyone that saw him in a vest in 'Urinetown', Matthew Seadon-Young keeps the guns well hidden as Will Bloom but I'll overlook that dreadful costume decision as he is smashing. If anyone saw the images of the swoony Justin Trudeau dressed as Clark Kent this week, you'll get an idea of MSYs first appearance. And that voice of his is a dream. Some great numbers and in particular, 'Little Lamb From Alabama' and 'Red White and True' are utterly glorious but the showstopper is 'Daffodils' which is just so heartstoppingly romantic and brilliantly done. If there was any tearing up during this show for me, it was at that moment. However, for anything else this show really is worth seeing for the glory that is Forbes Masson. He gives new meaning to the term 'scene stealer'. If The Other Palace is eligible for Olivier nominations then Masson's name should definitely be on the shortlist. He's magnificent. Oh! I had assumed Matthew Seadon-Young was playing Young Edward and that Jamie was Will. That's interesting. I believe the Other Palace is now eligible for Olivier Awards!! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2017 16:13:48 GMT
It's so good to see how this show was totally turned around and getting so many good notices from members, versus the total bashing of the Broadway version. Not sure the show needs an older/younger Edward and Sandra, but I'm glad the production team are making their own unique choices. I wonder if Andrew Lippa will fly out to see this. Seeing it in around two weeks or so. For this production, I'd say two actors for both parts is best. Jamie Muscato is thrown about that stage on ladders and in the air, as well as running about like a crazy. Kelsey would die. |
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Post by ali973 on Nov 3, 2017 16:33:46 GMT
^ It certainly wouldn't have been Kelsey if they'd go with the one man route.
I'm only being picky - I generally really really dislike Kelsey, that's why.
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Post by saints on Nov 3, 2017 22:49:45 GMT
Just saw the third preview and loved it, so much energy and emotion, full of laughs and great songs. Life affirming stuff. Standing ovation tonight, long may it continue :-D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2017 10:37:14 GMT
Hated this with a passion on Broadway as it was tedious beyond belief despite stellar casting. The comments here are making me consider seeing it as part of a trip later this month given that better Sunday choices are so limited.
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Post by Steve on Nov 4, 2017 13:21:44 GMT
Loved this. A funny, warm musical about storytelling, family, and the meaning of life, and at a guess, the best version of this show yet! Spoilers follow. . . In the film, Bloom is played by two actors, one in his twilight years and one in his prime. I understand the original musical version used one actor. Really! I couldn't help thinking what "Follies" would lose if it ditched it's young and old actors, and had one set of middle aged actors play their young and old selves? How much more literal and obvious would it be? How much less wistful, poetic, romantic and thought-provoking if young and old could no longer co-exist and observe themselves? In a show about the reckoning of a life, having different timelines co-exist is everything! The film, however, in my opinion, was lousy. Tim Burton's garish colourful carnival sensibility mitigated against poetry and contemplation, and emphasised instead the grotesque and the absurd. Burton's version also mischaracterised Bloom. In hindsight, I'd say that Albert Finney's Bloom was "Trumpian," a narcissistic self-glorifying pathological liar, and his son's aversion to him, played with an enmity bordering on hatred by Billy Crudup, seemed eminently reasonable. Crucial plot points and imagery, in the movie, actively worked against it's theme, that storytelling can be a glorious way to lift our lives from the mundane, a gift, and an expression of love that transcends generations. This new show gets everything right. Kelsey Grammer is warm, where Finney was cold. Aided by Grammer's honed avuncular sitcom bumbler persona (which I fell in love with when I saw an episode of Frasier recorded decades ago), it is clear from the start that Grammer's Bloom means well, even if he irritates. Where Bloom's son William, in the movie, oozed disgust with his father's pathological lying, here Matthew Seadon-Young's Clark-Kentalike of a warm loving son, is frustrated with his Walter Mitty of a father only because he fears he will never know him. Simply put, motivations emanate from good places here, making this a universal family story, that, while a little sentimental, resonates powerfully, and reduced me to tears. When Edward Bloom tells his fantastical stories, this show contextualises them ingeniously, by having Grammer tell the stories to a child actor, as the stories play out in front of them. Although literally the boy could be seen either as Grammer's own son in the past, when he first heard these stories, or alternately, as Grammer's Bloom's future grandson, in fact, the boy is an avatar for the childhood selves of the audience, evoking our own entree into the magical world of storytelling. I found myself thrown back into the stories my own father told me about how he fought lions with his bare hands, back when he used to jump around pretending to be Tarzan, before he put his back out. Through this construct, Bloom's stories become magical, rather than Trumpian, and through the magic of theatre, Grammer's Bloom gets to timetravel poetically, as he wistfully observes the vigour and passion of his younger self (Jamie Muscato), playing out his adventures onstage. While I never saw the Broadway show, I just cannot imagine that it could have been anything but quotidian, compared to the magic of this! New songs have been added, about real relationships and the circle of human life, moving us further from the empty wacky roadshow of the movie, towards an appreciation of the wonder of the real, expressly, family. Appropriately, one song, called "Wonder" is about childbirth, and the other, called "The Road that Leads to You," is about couples. The new songs, like the new frame for the musical, serve the same purpose, to ground the show in the real everyday experiences of all of us, so that what the show has to say about storytelling's function, to enhance our mundane lives, really resonates. All in all, I admit there is a streak of sentimentality, and I admit Grammer is not the best singer, but this is a truly beautiful show! Grounded by fantastic central turns by Grammer (as the out-of-control family member you love to bits) and Matthew Seadon-Young (Urinetown never gave him the opportunity to show such heart), enhanced by lovely supporting turns by Forbes Masson (wickedly funny), Jamie Muscato (tuneful and bold), Laura Baldwin (enchanting), and many others too, this show is simply lovely. 4 and a half stars.  |
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