Motown

[Deleted]

In other depressing news

This show will recoup by the end of the summer

Speaks volumes about the general public and their taste

[mrbarnaby]

Where on earth did they spend £5.5million on this cheap looking show?

[Deleted]

Jun 9, 2016 23:42:00 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Where on earth did they spend £5.5million on this cheap looking show?

Lol

It's true in fact!!!

Feel upset though

Going to bed with sick in back of throat

[mrbarnaby]

very depressing indeed.

[Deleted]

Not at all surprising though... it was commercial gold, as we all know, from the second it opened.

[Deleted]

Isnt it the royalties that bump up this shows budget and why it struggled a bit on broadway, even though its grosses were high?

[Deleted]

Has anyone else completely forgotten this is on? I see posters on the tube and even then I have to remind myself that it's still running and that it's not just an old poster.

[liverpool54321]

Doesn't surprise me. When I tried to book a wheelchair space for any matinee a few weeks back I eventually gave up as was going to be some way off.

[infofreako]

Theatremonkey, you have it spot on. Im pleased its doing well for that very reason.

[viserys]

I don't really forget that it's on, but my brain has it filed away under "tourist stuff I don't care about" along with Stomp, Thriller Live and their ilk. Shows/Entertainment that aren't really musicals and which I just can't be bothered to care about.

Monkey, your argument doesn't really work for me, although I often hear it. Yes, the angels will be happy to have made money and are ready to invest again, but would they suddenly be willing to invest in an unknown composer's show based on a little-known novel that seems fresh and promising, or would they be looking for the next promising jukebox cash cow? And would the angels that lost a ton of money in one of the recent flops based on lesser-known movies not think "hey, let's choose a jukebox show next time, it's a safer bet to actually make money with" ?

[littlefluffychick]

I'm going to see this with my Mum next week (her idea and treat) so I will report back on it here. I must say I'm intrigued but not that keen on the idea that the songs are performed for less than 30 seconds each!

[bellboard27]

I went not that long ago (got a late cut price deal from the theatre website). Some songs are short, but some are longer.

I agree with the Monkey. The audience loved the show, the theatre/producers are doing well out of it, so it's a success in business terms. It might not be high art, but if it makes people happy for a couple of hours, that's fine with me!

[viserys]

Jun 10, 2016 10:39:22 GMT @theatremonkey said:

It may also inspire a new generation of theatre-makers. Take a kid to "Motown," they may go off and write "Hamilton" some day rather than form a band.

Hah, okay, if that would happen it would justify Motown's existence for me.

[bobbybaby]

Saw this last night on a whim. Got a rear stalls seat for £30. Reminded me almost exactly of thriller live. Having so much music to pack in made it feel like a long advert. Bits of a song here, a quick aside there and keep going hundreds more hits to fit in. Still felt it dragged a bit in the first half though. The only real attempt at storytelling was in the Ross/Gordy relationship, and even then it was, quick on to another hit from someone else. So all in all - it does what it says on the tin. Solid tourist fare - at least the Shaftesburys full and blooming.

Now for the highlight of the night :-

Couple next to me:

'Wow I didn't think much of Titanic - The songs weren't very good'

Guy in Front snaps round - 'Oh My God they've made a musical of Titanic. But Celines song is so good, a classic'
Couple -'It's not in it'
Guy in Front - ' Whoa! People are gonna be pissed off. They'll walk out'
Couple - 'Yeah I guess they woudn't give them the rights.'

Guy in front 'Bummer. I was in the theatre cafe yesterday and saw a poster for Lord of the Rings. Is that even a thing. It must have been on Broadway. I mean the films were so ..(Sighs in overcome awe at fabulousness of films). No way could they have done that on stage. Unless of course they went to the original source material.'

;-)

[Deleted]

Well the Broadway Return has become one of the biggest flops of the year. It is closing early on July 31 after a run of less than three weeks!

[Phantom of London]

How did you get the cheap ticket please?

Was the theatre full?

[Deleted]

Here now. Looking forward to the show but just paid £7 for a programme!! Most expensive I've ever paid - I think they should be kept at £4 like ATG venues. It does look like a souvenir brochure though so

[Deleted]

Aug 6, 2016 13:27:32 GMT @westendlover said:

Here now. Looking forward to the show but just paid £7 for a programme!! Most expensive I've ever paid - I think they should be kept at £4 like ATG venues. It does look like a souvenir brochure though so

Be sure to report back!

Also, if you are seeing Beverley in The Bodyguard, the programme is £8 but it is more a brochure!

[Deleted]

Saw this tonight and was pleasantly surprised! Really enjoyed the show - the songs are amazing and are sung so well by the performers. Thought the whole cast were sublime but Cedric Neal and Lucy St Louis stood out for me. So lovely to see people around me enjoying themselves with the music!

I thought the set was really good actually. I loved the use of the two black projection screens which carry themselves along the stage as well as the multiple automation machines that being in scenery from the wings. Great set in my opinion! Much better than expected!

I think the songs and performers are the best part of this show! They can all sing, dance and act marvellously! Nice to see the show running very well and good to see people enjoying themselves. After reading poor reviews of the book of the show, I thought it wasn't that bad. Not he best book but explained the story well and also the themes of the show, it's not a terrible book.

I had a great time out at this show - it's a good show to visit for a light hearted evening out with some great songs!

4 stars

[Deleted]

The trouble is, as much as I do enjoy the Motown catalogue and am quite intrigued, whenever I have seen clips of the Broadway or West End production, it is very much screaming "cruise ship" to me. That said, Lucy as Diana sounds amazing in the clips I have heard from her!

[Scots UK Theatre]

Aug 6, 2016 19:56:12 GMT @westendlover said:

Saw this tonight and was pleasantly surprised! Really enjoyed the show - the songs are amazing and are sung so well by the performers. Thought the whole cast were sublime but Cedric Neal and Lucy St Louis stood out for me. So lovely to see people around me enjoying themselves with the music!

I thought the set was really good actually. I loved the use of the two black projection screens which carry themselves along the stage as well as the multiple automation machines that being in scenery from the wings. Great set in my opinion! Much better than expected!

I think the songs and performers are the best part of this show! They can all sing, dance and act marvellously! Nice to see the show running very well and good to see people enjoying themselves. After reading poor reviews of the book of the show, I thought it wasn't that bad. Not he best book but explained the story well and also the themes of the show, it's not a terrible book.

I had a great time out at this show - it's a good show to visit for a light hearted evening out with some great songs!

4 stars

Saw this tonight as well. House was packed including standing tickets sold. It's essentially just a jukebox musical, but at least it has a semi decent book to it. And George the Shaftesbury only ever do the one programme & it's more of a brochure than anything else. Plenty of good photos. Used to be £6 but the format has changed slightly for Motown.

In addition loved the signs & announcement not to take part & sing along until instructed to do so by the cast.

[littlefluffychick]

Do not go and see Motowan as it is pants. I nearly died of heatstroke in the theatre (slight over-exaggeration but you get the picture) and the show was so self-indulgent and long and boring. It made Thriller Live seem like Hamlet. Never ever again. How anyone could find this load of tosh entertaining is beyond me. Just had to get that off my chest...

[Phantom of London]

This certainly isn't No Man's Land which I should of seen, except my ticket didn't get processed, so this came as a handy 3pm curtain, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it, as always something else I want to see instead of.

If you love your Motown music ( which I can take it or leave it, but more so in the later camp), then you love it, as the full capacity crowd lapped it up, who were mainly your more seniors devoured it.

But if you love something more theatrical with a great book and hate stuff with a poor book, with great classic songs set to it (I do), you probably hate it, which I kind of did, except a couple of mildly entertaining moments. This is no Mamma Mia or Jersey Boys.

So seeing the audience leave in their hoards entertained, there truly isn't any accounting for taste, but judging by most of the audience - by tomorrow they probably would have forgotten they had ever been.

[Seriously]

How remarkably ageist. Are there any other areas of society you're not a fan of?

[universetipping]

Sept 17, 2016 22:58:59 GMT Seriously said:

How remarkably ageist. Are there any other areas of society you're not a fan of?

I read it as a suggestion that the audience was tanked up on booze!