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Post by wickedgrin on Aug 20, 2018 16:37:28 GMT
Yes, he did such splendid stuff in Sheffield. The auditorium at Chichester is very similar to the Crucible too and therefore there is no excuse to direct from the front as Me & My Girl was. I suppose the reason for this is the possibility of a WE transfer to a proscenium arch theatre, but in that case it should be re-blocked.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2018 17:13:06 GMT
Yes, he did such splendid stuff in Sheffield. The auditorium at Chichester is very similar to the Crucible too and therefore there is no excuse to direct from the front as Me & My Girl was. I suppose the reason for this is the possibility of a WE transfer to a proscenium arch theatre, but in that case it should be re-blocked. And re-cast. if it bombs we won't get another production for another 25 years and it's a great show. |
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Post by musicalmarge on Aug 20, 2018 22:31:46 GMT
Yes, he did such splendid stuff in Sheffield. The auditorium at Chichester is very similar to the Crucible too and therefore there is no excuse to direct from the front as Me & My Girl was. I suppose the reason for this is the possibility of a WE transfer to a proscenium arch theatre, but in that case it should be re-blocked. I HATED that this was staged and directed all to the front. In just ONE part of the Lambeth Walk the dancers faced the sides. IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!! (Daniel Evans I hope you are reading this!) |
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Post by alicechallice on Aug 20, 2018 22:35:57 GMT
Yes, he did such splendid stuff in Sheffield. The auditorium at Chichester is very similar to the Crucible too and therefore there is no excuse to direct from the front as Me & My Girl was. I suppose the reason for this is the possibility of a WE transfer to a proscenium arch theatre, but in that case it should be re-blocked. I HATED that this was staged and directed all to the front. In just ONE part of the Lambeth Walk the dancers faced the sides. IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!! (Daniel Evans I hope you are reading this!) But aren't all CFT shows staged 'to the front'? That's why the seats at the sides closest to the stage are a lot cheaper. |
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Post by musicalmarge on Aug 20, 2018 23:36:22 GMT
I HATED that this was staged and directed all to the front. In just ONE part of the Lambeth Walk the dancers faced the sides. IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!! (Daniel Evans I hope you are reading this!) But aren't all CFT shows staged 'to the front'? That's why the seats at the sides closest to the stage are a lot cheaper. Absolutely not. I’ve seen most musicals at the CFT apart from last years Fiddler and they are normally directed to the stage they are playing on - a thrust round three sided stage! Not completely face on. No! Flowers for Mrs Harris even more so. It’s a huge revolving circular staging. Me and My Girl might as well had forgotten about the 500 people either side! |
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Post by peterbrook on Aug 21, 2018 12:51:46 GMT
Daniel Evans says a little about directing for the thrust stage approximately 20 minutes into his interview with Kate Mosse about the production:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2018 13:26:59 GMT
It's not exclusively a Daniel Evans issue though, didn't Jonathan Church spend years directing a bunch of front-facing productions even though he was the Artistic Director of two of the UK's premier thrust stages?
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Post by wickedgrin on Aug 21, 2018 15:57:18 GMT
This issue always reminds me of a line from Mel Brooks The Producers - it's theatre in the square, no-one gets a good view!
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Post by justafan on Aug 22, 2018 20:35:00 GMT
Kudos to Caroline Quentin who, at today’s matinee, in her first scene of the 2nd act after ‘the sun has got his hat on’ called out a ringing mobile phone in character ‘... oh please answer it, it could be my agent...’ she received a warm round of applause ...
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Post by SageStageMgr on Aug 22, 2018 22:12:53 GMT
Kudos to Caroline Quentin who, at today’s matinee, in her first scene of the 2nd act after ‘the sun has got his hat on’ called out a ringing mobile phone in character ‘... oh please answer it, it could be my agent...’ she received a warm round of applause ... I’m a huge fan of hers. She has a very strong improvisational comedy background - she was a regular on the improv circuit, it’s how she met her ex-husband Paul Merton and she was in the original cast of Whose Line is it Anyway, so adlibs - like some pages back covering a mistake with a pack of cards - are a big part of her ability. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Aug 23, 2018 11:54:52 GMT
This fizzles out on Saturday - it seems to have been a short run for the main stage musical in Chichester but I may be wrong.
Not a hint of a transfer - the WE theatres seem to be being taken up with transfers from Broadway - Waitress, Come From Away and the rumoured Dear Evan Hanson.
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Post by tmesis on Aug 23, 2018 12:57:24 GMT
I saw the matinee yesterday. I've probably seen every musical produced at Chichester these past ten years and this is easily the worst. I saw Me and my Girl at The Crucible a few years ago and that was terrific in comparison.
The whole thing lacked energy and was woefully miscast. Matt Lucas was poor as Snibson, mis-timing most of his gags. His singing was virtually inaudible at times and he has a vocal range of around four notes. For a leading role in a musical only Brigstocke was worse in Barnum. Caroline Quentin, unlike Miriam Margolyes did not have the hauteur required for the Duchess. When singing she has vocal heft but sang most of it sharp. Music theatre royalty like Clive Rowe was scandalously underused. The best performance came from Alex Young but even she, although vocally great, didn't seem quite right for the part.
The choreography was uninspired and Lambeth Walk was not the highlight it should have been.
The only thing that really impressed me was Lez Brotherston's sets.
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Post by wickedgrin on Aug 23, 2018 15:11:46 GMT
His singing was virtually inaudible at times and he has a vocal range of around four notes. This was true the night I saw this. To be charitable I assume he has never really recovered from losing his voice around the opening night and has been marking it through since! |
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Post by londonmzfitz on Aug 26, 2018 23:27:37 GMT
My first visit to Chichester for the last performance. I really enjoyed the ensemble numbers, great cast overall. Loved Alex Young. It's, oh man, damn, I like Matt Lucas but lead man, convincing love interest - just no. The accent was awful, the cheeky chappie bit felt forced.
I enjoyed the show overall, great one liners, some fun to be had.
Oh man did I feel young in that audience, I hate to be ageist as someone hurtling to my 60th birthday, it's an issue when people with poor hearing are "whispering" to each other at normal volume. I was sat next to a couple who were part of a group sat in the row behind so there was a bit of chatter through the show, what really pissed me off was the singing along ... Leaning on a Lampost was greeted with oooos ... The woman behind started singing, the bloke next to me took that as an invitation to join in ...
Muted standing o at the end from centre blocks, not so much from side blocks. Can really see the disadvantage from side blocks, the staging was directed straight down the front. Nice costumes ...
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 3, 2018 20:52:14 GMT
Transfer announcement imminent!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2018 20:55:34 GMT
I wonder where it will go for its transfer. I haven't read many reviews but is it enough to sustain an open-ended run or are we good with a limited one?
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Post by musicalmarge on Sept 3, 2018 20:57:59 GMT
I wonder where it will go for its transfer. I haven't read many reviews but is it enough to sustain an open-ended run or are we good with a limited one? I pray they do some heavy recasting!!! |
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 3, 2018 20:59:39 GMT
Matt Lucas isn't in the transfer cast, he has TV commitments.
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 3, 2018 21:00:25 GMT
Recast the leading man and offer a decent discount and I'll be there. I need to tick it off the list. It won't run long though with the recent lukewarm reviews.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2018 21:02:14 GMT
I hope it goes to an ATG house for the limited run, just so I have more chance of grabbing a discount 😂😂
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Post by zak97 on Sept 3, 2018 21:05:16 GMT
If it’s a quick transfer I assume the Picadilly.
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 3, 2018 21:13:58 GMT
Early vote for Michael Xavier as Bill please (no idea if he's already busy or not though!)
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 3, 2018 21:16:15 GMT
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Post by musicalmarge on Sept 3, 2018 21:17:24 GMT
Early vote for Michael Xavier as Bill please (no idea if he's already busy or not though!) Too good looking and “leading man“ no? He’s not meant to fit in to the estate. Michael looks gorgeous already! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2018 21:17:31 GMT
I love that he just announced it, no hesitation. 😂
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