1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 9, 2017 21:02:39 GMT
I just saw the first half of this. Dreadful. I can’t believe they charging around £40 for these tickets - I only paid a fiver, thank god. What can I say? I cant believe Sheffield Theatres conjured up something this tacky. I’ve seen amateur productions with more aesthetic appeal. Slippers that were more white than red. A blue dress that turned green under the lighting... haha. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe the munchkins and the witch. The whole thing was so poor for Sheffied - I wish I could praise the direction or cast or something, but sadly I can’t. Interesting to know what others think. Hopefully I haven’t turned into Scrooge. I love the film. I’ve hated every single stage version. I just don’t think it works! |
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32 posts
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Post by amadeus on Dec 9, 2017 21:11:46 GMT
I just saw the first half of this. Dreadful. I can’t believe they charging around £40 for these tickets - I only paid a fiver, thank god. What can I say? I cant believe Sheffield Theatres conjured up something this tacky. I’ve seen amateur productions with more aesthetic appeal. Slippers that were more white than red. A blue dress that turned green under the lighting... haha. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe the munchkins and the witch. The whole thing was so poor for Sheffied - I wish I could praise the direction or cast or something, but sadly I can’t. Interesting to know what others think. Hopefully I haven’t turned into Scrooge. I love the film. I’ve hated every single stage version. I just don’t think it works! This production makes the London ALW revival look like a masterpiece, honestly. Oh, Toto turned into a yellow straw puppet when they landed in Oz... how could i forget! I’ve always preffered The Wiz as a stage version of the WOZ. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 9, 2017 21:18:50 GMT
The issue I have had with any version of Oz is that there is nothing to engage with emotionally. The characters are on a very dull road trip. They don't develop as individuals, they don't really have a story arc - just going from A to B to meet someone only to find out the truth was within them already. It is a very dull story.
Musically it doesn't offer anything other than the saccharine. And there just isn't enough variety to maintain musical interest.
There is very little that can be done to make it work - other than, perhaps, starting from scratch - but even then, I don't think the source material justifies the effort.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Dec 10, 2017 9:17:10 GMT
I just saw the first half of this. Dreadful. I can’t believe they charging around £40 for these tickets - I only paid a fiver, thank god. What can I say? I cant believe Sheffield Theatres conjured up something this tacky. I’ve seen amateur productions with more aesthetic appeal. Slippers that were more white than red. A blue dress that turned green under the lighting... haha. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe the munchkins and the witch. The whole thing was so poor for Sheffied - I wish I could praise the direction or cast or something, but sadly I can’t. Interesting to know what others think. Hopefully I haven’t turned into Scrooge. In the book the slippers are white, the film turned them red as they looked better on camera. |
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 10, 2017 11:39:57 GMT
I just saw the first half of this. Dreadful. I can’t believe they charging around £40 for these tickets - I only paid a fiver, thank god. What can I say? I cant believe Sheffield Theatres conjured up something this tacky. I’ve seen amateur productions with more aesthetic appeal. Slippers that were more white than red. A blue dress that turned green under the lighting... haha. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe the munchkins and the witch. The whole thing was so poor for Sheffied - I wish I could praise the direction or cast or something, but sadly I can’t. Interesting to know what others think. Hopefully I haven’t turned into Scrooge. In the book the slippers are white, the film turned them red as they looked better on camera. Thanks for rocking the very foundations of my world there shady23 |
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3,325 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 12, 2017 19:02:24 GMT
Saw this yesterday. A rather unplanned trip, as travel problems meant I decided to overnight in Sheffield.
On the plus side, picked up a £15 second row ticket (way around the side) which either wasn't there (or was more expensive) when I checked the previous day. I'd estimate the theatre was just over two thirds full.
Not the best audience. The children (not many) were well-behaved, but the adults enjoyed chatting during the show. There was a young lady in with a medical condition in the middle of the stalls, who danced about as much as is physically possible without standing up. Glad she was enjoying it, think she had the most fun there.
I heard one chap sat behind me say that he didn't know it was going to be a musical before he came. Really, the Crucible should do a better job of making this clear <end sarcasm>.
Start time 7:15pm (actually 7:20pm). Finish time 10pm, so running quite a bit longer than the estimate. Bear that in mind if you want to make a train. It does make the show seem even longer than it really is.
There are some great moments and memorable songs, but there was just a bit of sparkle lacking. It's quite a simple production, so things like the yellow brick road are done using yellow lighting. A few fluffs that I'm sure will be ironed out (the song "We're off to see the wizard" was rather a tongue twister, there were some parts of costumes falling off and one of the props breaking across the stage). On the plus side, the rollerskating scene went off without any accidents. And some of the ensemble already looked a bit bored (some tricks from the cast hidden around the back etc, outside most of the audience's view.
The main cast were all good vocally, but they could just do with a bit more to work with and a bit more energy with the big numbers.
This is the original version, so it doesn't have all the Andrew Lloyd Webber changes.
I don't see a transfer on the cards, so one to see now. A perfectly acceptable way to spend an evening in a pleasant theatre. But you won't feel too bad if you miss it.
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 12, 2017 22:47:15 GMT
I wonder what the crucible’s returns policy is...  |
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3,325 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 13, 2017 1:14:24 GMT
I wonder what the crucible’s returns policy is... Ha! If you like the songs, you can't not enjoy this. The lead is very good. And, I forgot mention, Toto's performance improves lot once the dog stops being real and becomes a puppet (I pity the poor actor who was wagging Toto's puppet tail about 60 times a minute). There are some nice pubs near the venue too (recommendation is too nip into one on the way to the Crucible). |
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171 posts
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Post by musicalfloozie on Dec 13, 2017 10:28:51 GMT
Went the other evening to see this and did enjoy it, despite some bad behaviour in the audience!
I've never seen any live staging of the wizard of oz so was good to go just to get it ticked off the list. There wasn't anything to really hate about the show but I didn't love it as much as previous crucible shows, although I think that was more the story than anything.
The staging if this one was really good and as usual really innovative. Hoping next year they get back on track as Crucible Christmas is normally one of my fave visits of the year.
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 16, 2017 16:47:17 GMT
Got offered a gift voucher in return for the ticket. Well, my mum said not to go ‘cos it will be icy driving back over those hills to Manc so gotta do what Mum says! She asked what show it was and when I told her she said disdainfully “oh well you know what happens anyway” haha love ya Mum!
Might use the gift voucher to see Sunset Boo at the Lyceum *gurgle* ☺️
And I can watch Strictly now. WIN!
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256 posts
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Post by grannyjx6 on Dec 21, 2017 0:26:26 GMT
I pity the poor actor who was wagging Toto's puppet tail about 60 times a minute Why? Where did he have to put his hand?
It was a young lady and she was really good, to the point that you didn't really notice her. The dog was very funny and realistic (apart from being a bright yellow colour).
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