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Post by robertb213 on Apr 15, 2018 22:42:51 GMT
Same, I'm holding out for a bit more feedback before I commit to booking Milton Keynes in July
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Post by djp on Apr 16, 2018 2:35:00 GMT
Has anyone other than AndyH been yet, or is anyone going during the first few stops of the tour? I'm seriously flipflopping and can't make up my mind. It's a bit pricey, but Emma Williams is usually excellent value for money. Thursday, trains willing. |
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Post by thenightowl on Apr 16, 2018 19:41:21 GMT
Has anyone other than AndyH been yet, or is anyone going during the first few stops of the tour? I'm seriously flipflopping and can't make up my mind. It's a bit pricey, but Emma Williams is usually excellent value for money. I got to see this last Tuesday at Curve. I haven't seen the original film so went in blind, not really knowing what to expect. For me, it was okay-reasonably good. There are some great songs in the show and sung very well by a talented cast and as someone else said previously on here there's some quite nice orchestrations/re-workings of songs. However it did feel like a lot of the songs were shoe-horned into the show (like a typical jukebox show, I suppose). I did enjoy it far more than some of the other recent new musicals we've had at Curve (like Water Babies and Finding Neverland - sadly I felt like both of these really missed the mark). Projections: Integrated into the set really well and especially good when used just as the backdrop. Not too over the top and the Navy training scene worked really well having the live-action on stage and video supporting it. Cast: Took a while to warm to Jonny Fines as Mayo, but he does have the right look (a lot of the audience made that clear when he took his shirt off) for the character. Emma Williams (Paula) always shines in whatever I see her in and along with Jessica Daley as Lynette they make two strong leading ladies. I particularly enjoyed the solo number by Ian McIntosh (Sid) half-way through Act 2 (unfortunately I can't remember what the song was). Having seen several of the cast members in previous Curve productions I enjoyed seeing Darren Bennett (Byron Mayo) in a totally different role. Unfortuantely Ray Shell (Emil Foley) made many mistakes stumbling with his words and just seemed like he didn't know them well enough. Judging by the audience reaction the night I was there this will inevitably do very well on tour as they loved it. A story most people know, songs you've heard of - what's not to like? Well perhaps it's just a little too formulaic and un-original for me. Saying that if you have the chance to see it, do - I don't regret seeing it, I just wouldn't see it again. |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Apr 16, 2018 20:14:20 GMT
I rarely felt like they were shoehorned in. Maybe a couple. But mostly i thought they integrated very well.
Iain's song was Family Man. And yes it was the best song/scene of the show.
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Post by shady23 on Apr 17, 2018 0:53:58 GMT
I think I will take a chance and get a cheap ticket for this but only because Emma Williams is in it.
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Post by djp on Apr 20, 2018 2:34:04 GMT
Its a 4 star for me at the moment. They have a strong cast - Williams , and Daley is a strong pairing. Emma may not have been Emma for the matinee so different does she look - but they have also got strong understudies in the cast for them too. Jessica Daley is a fine actress - stunning in Tess a few years back , and nicely captures a difficult role here. Paula just became Paula. The factory ensemble is very strong too. Mayo's a bit underwritten, Sid is good. There's some great songs . And act two captures the ending emotions really well . I agree Foley stuttered a bit over his script - but when the music wasn't too high for a squad of drill instructors, he was a very credible gunnery sergeant.
Where it might be better
- the initial montage of 80s news pre-start is very dull after 15 minutes - there's a lot better iconic 80s footage if you know the period - even more if you don't fix your date as firmly as one year -1982.
Sound levels- band is too loud relative to singers in places- do sound team never actually try listening from where the audience is?
Fight scenes were not very convincing - look like health and safety gone mad - with non connecting punches and feeble kicks. As is, Diana Vickers in her Preacherman fight mode, would beat them all up, after she settled into the role. Hire Jade Jones for a day - she can demonstrate kicks to the head at full speed without hitting and killing anyone - it should look more like that, not primary kids fighting.
The key scene between Mayo and the Sergeant doesn't work well enough - you don't get to the result except from a convincing catalyst.
That, scene and Segars conclusion, and the will he won't he end storyline too, all seem too short to score the full point - time may have been running out in act two?
Not sure about the songs. They seem to have gone for letting the songs seem integral to the story - the songs are big, successful and loved - and making them integral has left some cut back, and what sounds good often isn't allowed to stand out enough to sound great. Do you go for integrating the songs , or push money moments? Thats my take on the point both thenightowl and andyh discussed above.
Related to that, they need to work out what they are doing to involve the audience. there's only about three stops after significant songs, for audience applause - all of which were eagerly grabbed by the audience - but everything else just drifted on into some immediate action or speech - even when the songs just sung had been more deserving. I think most great musicals didn't get where they are without leaving gaps to let the audience appreciate what they like.
Overall it got a Standing Ovation , plus audience tears for the iconic bits. Pretty much sold out too. Should do well - better if they could get some publicity out to a younger audience. It was a matinee, but they didn't seem to get the young female matinee audience that was streaming to Grease , and Legally recently here down south.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Apr 20, 2018 8:32:20 GMT
I didn't want to say before as I did see the dress so it was unfair but yes, Ray Sell stumbling over his words was an issue for me, two weeks later it seems it's still the case so guess that's just how it is with him.
The fight scene wasn't the most realistic but when are stage combat scenes ever? And I know the combat guy is the main West End one that most shows use so it's not through lack of ability. I think the issue mainly is the fact quite a mature man is involved with that scene, that be two young fit guys and no doubt it would be a slightly more gung ho fight.
I agree that there were only limited stops for audience reaction.
I had no issue with the pre show videos, they could have not done it all, so what's the issue. It's only a place holder.
The songs issue is interesting to me because most Jukebox shows her criticised for just chucking songs in and the expense of story or logic just for the money moments but here where they a tseem to work hard to integrate them and rework them and generally be more subtle, there's the argument that the songs aren't being shown off enough. To me I prefer this approach
I was dreading it being massively cheesy with these songs just nonsensically shoved in for sing along moments and so hugely appreciated it being different anf the song selection itself..
I agree with the young people bit. This show is a lot younger than you'd think, it's a lot darker and raw than you would think, this is a show younger people would enjoy. As I said, this isn't just some old cringey romantic drama, though of course it does have those elements. It's a shame the marketing doesn't really reflect that.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Apr 20, 2018 11:55:35 GMT
Mainly middling reviews out so far. But a 1 star from the Times which is quite absurd and I'm going to ignore.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Apr 28, 2018 17:50:59 GMT
There's a trailer now. But don't let it put you off. I don't think it does the greatest job.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on May 5, 2018 14:00:54 GMT
Well...what a load of cheesy poo this was. When I arrived at the theatre there were notices up saying no alcohol in the auditorium and requesting audience members NOT to sing during the show. In the back of my mind I thought "this is gonna be a terrible audience", much to my surprise everyone behaved themselves. I've never seen a notice about no alcohol before in an auditorium (outside the royal opera house), anyone else?
Anyway, I've never seen the film so I am approaching this from the view of a theatre production and it was unsatisfying. I went to see Emma Williams who was spectacular vocally, although overall a little unconvincing in this role. Not her fault, just a badly developed character. Jonny Fines was very impressive vocally and visually, but his acting was wooden and a little (dare I say it?) amateur at times. Ray Shell it was a pleasure to see, but his part was just walk on and walk off...and that was it (minus a rather funny fight scene).
Overall not unwatchable, but close! The cast and the songs got me through this just about!
All my own options...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 5, 2018 14:08:39 GMT
I hope they’re going to sort his wig out.... |
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Post by dannypc on May 5, 2018 16:52:10 GMT
Visited this last night in Southampton. Train only an hour and twenty from London so thought it’d be worth it to check out a new British musical... I was wrong.
As above I don’t think it’s without some classy performances but they are flogging a dead horse. The songs are all shoe horned in just to give the crowd tunes they know- they deserve more than this! The film is full of epic moments- the friends’s betrayal, the parents’s backstory, the new baby, the fight to jets and it’s all set alongside Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Hardly worthy of the big stage of Southampton.
The set is dull- saved only be some effective video and lighting. But again- is that good enough for the Mayflower Southampton let alone West End or Broadway.
Emma Williams is sheer class and, indeed, another terrific turn by Ray She’ll but let’s bring them back to the West End- and not in this!
Love lifts us up where we belong- I know where this doesn’t belong- anywhere other than the dates is currently playing. Then let’s move on...
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Post by Steve on May 15, 2018 14:39:12 GMT
Juke Box musical that takes too long to get warmed up, but hits the spot at the end. Some spoilers follow. . . First half features minimal characterisation (Emma Williams, Jonny Fines, Ian McIntosh and Jessica Daley effectively evince passion and angst singing Foreigner's "I wanna know what love is," but that's hardly characterisation) and is dramatically inert, as it mostly involves a repetitive montage of training scenes that move the plot nowhere, though at least we get a rousing "St Elmo's Fire" from Ray Shell and the ensemble, at the climax of the half. Indeed, the most significant characterisation in this first half is mischaracterisation, as Emma Williams' Paula, who supposedly is out for a great time, singing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just want to have fun" doesn't seem up for much fun at all. I think what sabotages her character progression, from good time girl to woke, is the misjudgement of having her sing "It's a mans, mans, man's world" right at the start, which Williams appears to take to heart from the get-go, and is thus overly subdued when she shouldn't be. Second half is where the audience actually get to have fun, as characters and drama amp up to ten on the emotion scale: there is a weird and wonderful hazy drug-addled "Kids in America," in which Ian McIntosh's Sid, and his father Byron (a strange and scary Darren Bennett) sing separately, but inform each other's performances and characters perfectly; there is a spot on "Material Girl" from Jessica Daley's Lynette, in which she reveals the surprisingly shallow and dark side of her own affecting affability; Emma Williams is at last lifted up where she belongs, revealing defiantly immense feelings beneath her heretofore overly subdued surface, powering through Heart's "Alone," all the leads soar singing together of their out-of-control lives in "Toy Soldiers, and best of all, Ian McIntosh smashes Mike Oldfield's "Family Man," expressing all the despair, passion, rage, and hollowness that a lack of human contact can cause. In the ensemble, George Ioannides and Keisha Atwell are wonderful in support, the former channeling sensitivity, the latter resilience. A show of two halves, that really needs some of the drama re-apportioned to the first half, I'd give this 3 stars.  |
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Post by david on May 22, 2018 21:41:53 GMT
Watched this tonight at the Liverpool Empire. I have to say that despite my initial thought that this might be a really naff show, it actually won me over and I had a really great night out. It isn’t the best thing I’ve seen this year, but for a bit of light fluff theatre it hit the spot.
As other posts have said, despite it being a jukebox show, the songs feel an integral part of the show rather than being shoe horned in that other shows of this type can be guilty of. The cast really gave it their all, and obviously the biggest cheer of the night was for THAT song at the end.
I thought that the use of projections, like the Last Ship show really helped set the individual scenes and didn’t really detract from what was on stage.
If I had to have any criticisms, it would be that at times, the band really overpowered the singing, so the lyrics at times where inaudible. From previous posts, it appears that this hasn’t been resolved from earlier stops on its tour. Of the cast, I felt that Ray Shell was wasted in this role. We know he can sing, but here, he really doesn’t get to shine as much as I would have liked. Though, upon reflection, his role as the drill instructor I don’t think really would have merited a much bigger singing role as I think the character really doesn’t need to sing.
On a separate note, I was ready to vent my spleen on the bad behaviour thread as I was really expecting to be surrounded by a lot of drunk women. Unbelievably, this has to be one of the quietest audiences for a jukebox show that I have ever attended. There was no chatter, phones being used, constant coughers. I don’t know what happened, but long may it continue!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2018 20:03:16 GMT
Saw this yesterday in Dublin and I must admit I really enjoyed it. The promotional material lists many of the songs in the show so I knew what type of songs were going to be sung and to be honest I was expecting a cringy cheese fest but I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the songs are re worked, most notably Material Girl, rather than the cheese fest up tempo version you would expect we are given a stripped back slowed down version (with just a guitar if my memory serves me right). Stand out songs were "Hearts on Fire" (Jonny Fines), "Family Man" (Ian McIntosh) & "Don't Cry Out Loud" (Corinna Powlesland).
Cast in general was good, for me the four standouts were Emma Williams, Jessica Daley, Ian Mcintosh & Keisha Atwell.
Ray Shell is playing a thankless role, the character doesn't evolve at all bar the 30 seconds of emotion we see at the end. He does a grand job with what he is given.
Plot is fine (its the movie on stage obviously) but direction becomes very predictable (Serious scene / Bar Scene / Sex Scene / Serious Scene / Bar Scene / Sex Scene ..... and so on)
Set was a lot better than I expected, I had seen pics online so I saw the grey walls at the side of the stage and screen at the back and assumed that was it. But the walls move in and out and slide at the bottom. There is a lot of set that flies in for the motel scenes etc and there is a large steel structure used in various guises throughout. The projections are good too, some better than others but they set the scenes well.
This may be a bit of a weird comment but the volume for the show is very loud, like REALLY loud!!!
Finally (and sorry to get serious) but as someone who is involved with pre hospital care and often sees cases of suicide in real life I have to give the cast and creative team credit for the Suicide scene. So often you see these scenes done on stage insensitively and you are left feeling uneasy. In this production it is done very well and sensitively. While the act itself is done off stage we are shown the body with the belt still around the neck in the aftermath and for that scene alone I must applaud the cast and the creatives involved.
It is not the best musical I have seen, but it certainly is one of the best jukebox/film adaptation musicals I have seen. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s well cast and a very entertaining few hours.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2018 15:00:46 GMT
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Post by richard2711 on Jun 30, 2018 19:39:30 GMT
Went to see this today. Left at the interval. I'm visually impaired and the show was audio described. The band was so loud I could not hear the AD in my headset despite it being on full volume. I also couldn't hear a lot of the dialogue as music was played during much of it despite no songs. I couldn't hear lyrics being sung at full belt because of the band either. I haven't ever seen the film so I had no idea what was going on. Actors shouldn't have to shout at each other to be heard. I came on here to see what others thought and can't believe that sound was an issue at other venues on the tour. Surely it should've been sorted by now?!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2018 19:47:58 GMT
Went to see this today. Left at the interval. I'm visually impaired and the show was audio described. The band was so loud I could not hear the AD in my headset despite it being on full volume. I also couldn't hear a lot of the dialogue as music was played during much of it despite no songs. I couldn't hear lyrics being sung at full belt because of the band either. I haven't ever seen the film so I had no idea what was going on. Actors shouldn't have to shout at each other to be heard. I came on here to see what others thought and can't believe that sound was an issue at other venues on the tour. Surely it should've been sorted by now?! Yep the volume for this show is crazy loud. Stupidly loud!! |
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Post by david on Jun 30, 2018 19:53:17 GMT
This is one musical where having it captioned at all performances would really help to understand what was being sung on stage. I don’t mind it loud at musicals normally, but quite honestly this really did take it to another level or 10 when I saw it in Liverpool last month.
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Post by robertb213 on Jul 9, 2018 21:40:07 GMT
Sorry to say I left this at the interval tonight. I'm not the biggest jukebox musical fan in the world anyway, but I just didn't get anything out of it. The songs were dull and uninspired, Emma Williams was completely underused, it took itself far too seriously....glad to hear others enjoyed it though 😀
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 21:53:00 GMT
Sorry to say I left this at the interval tonight. I'm not the biggest jukebox musical fan in the world anyway, but I just didn't get anything out of it. The songs were dull and uninspired, Emma Williams was completely underused, it took itself far too seriously....glad to hear others enjoyed it though 😀 I saw this in Dublin a while back and initially I had really high praise for it but after thinking more about it I agree with you. It takes itself very seriously when it isn't a serious show. They attempt to create dramatic moments throughout but it ends up coming off cringey. I again echo what you said about Emma Williams, it is such a shame she is so underused in this. Also it really could do with the volume being turned down 10 notches. I do still stand by what I said about the suicide scene though. that was incredibly well done and Kudos to them. After thinking more about this I really cant see this going to the west end. I know there is a rumour about the Garrick but I just don't think this is west end worthy. |
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Post by robertb213 on Jul 9, 2018 22:01:30 GMT
It definitely didn't have anything about it that deserves to take up a West End theatre (Emma aside). I haven't seen the film so maybe I enjoyed it less because of that, and whether it's a great adaptation of that I have no idea, but solely judged on its own merits as a musical, it's very middle of the road. It's not awful, it's just not particularly interesting either.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 17:58:30 GMT
I'm catching the tour when it hits Nottingham in a couple of weeks. Never send the film, don't know the plot. But Emma Williams is in a show and that that should be excuse enough for anyone.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 19:05:34 GMT
I'm catching the tour when it hits Nottingham in a couple of weeks. Never send the film, don't know the plot. But Emma Williams is in a show and that that should be excuse enough for anyone. Enjoy |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2018 7:16:02 GMT
But Emma Williams is in a show and that that should be excuse enough for anyone. ... to avoid it. Oh, just joshing Emma fans. |
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