School of Rock - Gillian Lynne / UK Tour
Nov 10, 2016 20:30:00 GMT
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Michael, viserys, and 2 more like this
Post by stuart on Nov 10, 2016 20:30:00 GMT
I was there last night too and loved every second of it.
Was in a £29.50 seat, Row K Seat 63. The set restricts your view of the rear of the stage for quite a few scenes (but you don't miss any of the action) and you have a side view whenever anything is happening at the very front of the stage but the price is justified. With the New London being as it is, you're actually only 3-4 rows back from the stage (and the stage extends out to the sides meaning the cast are only a few seats away from you at points). Also gives you a great view of the band (who are on a platform above the stage but stand up when the kids are playing, not sure if they'd be visible from the Stalls or Circle?) and of the theatre as a whole (especially good for the scenes where there are cast members in the audience or when ALW himself is stood at the back taking notes as he was last night).
David Flynn carries this show like no other actor I've seen. He gives such an energetic performance yet barely leaves the stage (if ever?). Surely he's the runaway favourite for the Olivier at this stage? I can't think of any other musical actor giving such a dedicated performance this year?
Now, on to the kids. I normally hate child actors in shows and was concerned that this was going to be a family friendly show that pandered to the kiddies. Boy, was I wrong. The kids in this show hold their own and, by the end, have the audience eating out the palms of their hands. Yes, their accents weren't perfect and a few of them missed their cues but they are children in previews, many of them probably performing on a big stage like that for the first time. Cut them a bit of slack! They got the laughs, their acting was perfectly competent and, most of all, they were INSANELY talented at each of their instruments. Like, seriously?! Talk about triple threats, these guys are quadruple threats and they're not even teenagers. They are the Stars of the show and they completely deserve it.
I do agree with some of the other posters that the first half starts off very slowly but picks up as soon as Dewey arrives at the school. One thing I didn't like was the Miss Mullins relationship. In the film, it's a running thread throughout. In the show, it is only mentioned for the first time in the second act. It felt extremely shoehorned in, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, for their to be a moment for a big ALW ballad. Secondly, because the show was trying to stay extremely loyal to the film and they had to fit it in somewhere.
The show succeeds in that. All of the major jokes and plot points from the film are included as are a number of songs. I was impressed by how loyal it stayed actually (but the man sitting next to me said during the interval that he was unimpressed by how similar to the film it had been, I'm not too sure what else he was expecting, to be honest?).
Surprisingly, there weren't any obvious Trump references last night. I was expecting him to be referenced during Stick it to the Man (when the Kardashians are mentioned, there was clearly an anticipation for it in the audience too). There was a full applause though following Dewey's line to Summer's mum "She should run for president, I'd vote for her".
I had a great night. It's the sort of show I think the West End needs at the minute - a new musical which is both good fun and uplifting but clever and with a strong brand behind it. There was also a surprising amount of young people in last night too (although Wednesdays have £10 student tickets so might have been the reason), good to see fellow millennials at a new musical for once! The buzz around the auditorium both during the show last night and after was electric. I must have counted six or seven mid-show applauses for jokes, which I haven't seen at a new musical for years.
There's a very neat reference to the New London's longest running production during the show which had the audience howling with laughter. While I'm not in any doubt that it will remain their longest running show, I think School of Rock will be remaining at the New London for a long, long time.
Was in a £29.50 seat, Row K Seat 63. The set restricts your view of the rear of the stage for quite a few scenes (but you don't miss any of the action) and you have a side view whenever anything is happening at the very front of the stage but the price is justified. With the New London being as it is, you're actually only 3-4 rows back from the stage (and the stage extends out to the sides meaning the cast are only a few seats away from you at points). Also gives you a great view of the band (who are on a platform above the stage but stand up when the kids are playing, not sure if they'd be visible from the Stalls or Circle?) and of the theatre as a whole (especially good for the scenes where there are cast members in the audience or when ALW himself is stood at the back taking notes as he was last night).
David Flynn carries this show like no other actor I've seen. He gives such an energetic performance yet barely leaves the stage (if ever?). Surely he's the runaway favourite for the Olivier at this stage? I can't think of any other musical actor giving such a dedicated performance this year?
Now, on to the kids. I normally hate child actors in shows and was concerned that this was going to be a family friendly show that pandered to the kiddies. Boy, was I wrong. The kids in this show hold their own and, by the end, have the audience eating out the palms of their hands. Yes, their accents weren't perfect and a few of them missed their cues but they are children in previews, many of them probably performing on a big stage like that for the first time. Cut them a bit of slack! They got the laughs, their acting was perfectly competent and, most of all, they were INSANELY talented at each of their instruments. Like, seriously?! Talk about triple threats, these guys are quadruple threats and they're not even teenagers. They are the Stars of the show and they completely deserve it.
I do agree with some of the other posters that the first half starts off very slowly but picks up as soon as Dewey arrives at the school. One thing I didn't like was the Miss Mullins relationship. In the film, it's a running thread throughout. In the show, it is only mentioned for the first time in the second act. It felt extremely shoehorned in, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, for their to be a moment for a big ALW ballad. Secondly, because the show was trying to stay extremely loyal to the film and they had to fit it in somewhere.
The show succeeds in that. All of the major jokes and plot points from the film are included as are a number of songs. I was impressed by how loyal it stayed actually (but the man sitting next to me said during the interval that he was unimpressed by how similar to the film it had been, I'm not too sure what else he was expecting, to be honest?).
Surprisingly, there weren't any obvious Trump references last night. I was expecting him to be referenced during Stick it to the Man (when the Kardashians are mentioned, there was clearly an anticipation for it in the audience too). There was a full applause though following Dewey's line to Summer's mum "She should run for president, I'd vote for her".
I had a great night. It's the sort of show I think the West End needs at the minute - a new musical which is both good fun and uplifting but clever and with a strong brand behind it. There was also a surprising amount of young people in last night too (although Wednesdays have £10 student tickets so might have been the reason), good to see fellow millennials at a new musical for once! The buzz around the auditorium both during the show last night and after was electric. I must have counted six or seven mid-show applauses for jokes, which I haven't seen at a new musical for years.
There's a very neat reference to the New London's longest running production during the show which had the audience howling with laughter. While I'm not in any doubt that it will remain their longest running show, I think School of Rock will be remaining at the New London for a long, long time.
