190 posts
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Post by tsxmitw on Jul 29, 2020 15:17:13 GMT
Does anyone know what really happened to Nikki Davis Jones? If I remember rightly, the rumour was that she cancelled her West End run after causing irreparable damage to her voice during the first UK tour. Apparently she no longer sings. Natalie Andreou is another former standby who has vanished, deleted all social media etc. I believe Nikki DJ is still working in the industry but no longer performs - most recently she was resident director for the Mamma Mia UK Tour. I’m unsure what happened to Natalie A. Edit: noticed the post says “what really happened” to her. I believe it was a mixture of vocal struggles and personal mental health issues, there was a blog post about it on The Happy Performer a while ago before that blog got deleted. Thanks. Lovely to hear she’s still involved in the industry. I didn’t know about that blog post and thought she dropped out due to vocal problems. Hope she’s alright. |
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446 posts
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Post by tr252 on Jul 29, 2020 15:28:37 GMT
Does anyone know what really happened to Nikki Davis Jones? If I remember rightly, the rumour was that she cancelled her West End run after causing irreparable damage to her voice during the first UK tour. Apparently she no longer sings. Natalie Andreou is another former standby who has vanished, deleted all social media etc. I had completely forgotten about Natalie Andreou! I never actually saw her live but what heard, I loved - did anybody on here actually get to see her live? I'd be interested to hear about her portrayal. |
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190 posts
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Post by tsxmitw on Jul 29, 2020 16:02:30 GMT
Does anyone know what really happened to Nikki Davis Jones? If I remember rightly, the rumour was that she cancelled her West End run after causing irreparable damage to her voice during the first UK tour. Apparently she no longer sings. Natalie Andreou is another former standby who has vanished, deleted all social media etc. I had completely forgotten about Natalie Andreou! I never actually saw her live but what heard, I loved - did anybody on here actually get to see her live? I'd be interested to hear about her portrayal. I caught a performance in 2015 and don’t recall her leaving much of an impression. She didn’t really belt and cut a lot of notes short when I saw her. However, at the time she was standby to screechy Emma Hatton and so it was a huge relief to see she was on. |
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Post by itsemily on Jul 29, 2020 16:07:09 GMT
Natalie Andreou is another former standby who has vanished, deleted all social media etc. I had completely forgotten about Natalie Andreou! I never actually saw her live but what heard, I loved - did anybody on here actually get to see her live? I'd be interested to hear about her portrayal. last I knew Natalie was working as a vocal coach and had started a family. Never saw her in Wicked but I saw her as Sherrie in Rock Of Ages twice, she was brilliant in that! |
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446 posts
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Post by tr252 on Jul 29, 2020 16:20:42 GMT
I had completely forgotten about Natalie Andreou! I never actually saw her live but what heard, I loved - did anybody on here actually get to see her live? I'd be interested to hear about her portrayal. I caught a performance in 2015 and don’t recall her leaving much of an impression. She didn’t really belt and cut a lot of notes short when I saw her. However, at the time she was standby to screechy Emma Hatton and so it was a huge relief to see she was on. Hmmm yes Emma Hatton unfortunately kept me away from Wicked for a few years. Don't get me wrong, I think she is talented, I just didn't feel her voice was right for Elphaba, she tended to slide her way around the score. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2020 17:13:43 GMT
I never saw Emma so I can’t comment, but what did people think was wrong with her Elphaba? Like was it a case of her getting bored in her second year?
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190 posts
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Post by tsxmitw on Jul 29, 2020 21:28:23 GMT
I never saw Emma so I can’t comment, but what did people think was wrong with her Elphaba? Like was it a case of her getting bored in her second year? I wasn’t a fan of her vocal performance. I’m sure her voice is suited for something, but it’s not Wicked. I always thought she was quite out of her league. |
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130 posts
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Post by sb on Jul 29, 2020 22:14:38 GMT
Recent posts have made me remember how 2014 was such an Elphaba rollercoaster! 🙈
June 2014 - Nikki to join West End cast as Elphaba
August 2014 - Willemijn withdrawing and Kerry returning as Elphaba
August 2014 - Nikki withdraws from joining West End cast
September 2014 - Jennifer joining as Elphaba
October 2014 - Emma stepping up to lead Elphaba from February 2015
I wonder why they brought Jennifer over? They had notice from Nikki not joining (August) and Kerry leaving (October) to appoint a Standby, like recently when Nikki left.
I know we don’t know the full details, but I find it strange they didn’t just promote Emma after Kerry? I think they also announced Emma stepping up as lead around a week after it was announced Jennifer was joining, so casting must have been in place for Emma as lead.
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Post by theatre241 on Jul 29, 2020 22:15:32 GMT
what about acting wise?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2020 1:42:38 GMT
My potential guess with Jenny is maybe she was Gina Beck’s equity exchange from when she went off to do the US tour?
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190 posts
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Post by tsxmitw on Jul 30, 2020 5:28:50 GMT
My potential guess with Jenny is maybe she was Gina Beck’s equity exchange from when she went off to do the US tour? Yes that’s right. |
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130 posts
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Post by sb on Jul 30, 2020 8:27:05 GMT
My potential guess with Jenny is maybe she was Gina Beck’s equity exchange from when she went off to do the US tour? Very good point! 😀 I’m sure Jenny was thrilled to have the chance to appear in the West End ... adding to the list of productions she’s performed with! 😂 |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2020 18:40:38 GMT
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Post by isabel on Aug 20, 2020 7:58:57 GMT
Performances postponed until Atleast 18th October. Gosh knows when they will reopen, early next year ?
That first show back will be quite something.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Aug 20, 2020 9:19:40 GMT
I’d be surprised if anything reopens before a vaccine is widely available. I definitely don’t expect to be heading to a west end venue this year - small runs are different as they are a different business model. These big shows run on 8 shows a week selling to a decent standard - they can’t justify reopening to under 50% long term, and then there’s the question of whether enough people will be booking tickets to fill a theatre to 50% anyway. Particularly without mass tourism. Think we have to remember that these long running shows are a different beast and do not rely on people like us rushing to get tickets, in the way that people did recently for Hair and A Little Night Music, and even the drive-in shows.
That being said, I think if you book a ticket for a show March you might actually have a show to watch.
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190 posts
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Post by tsxmitw on Oct 11, 2020 19:27:31 GMT
Really interesting interview with Kerry Ellis here. She reveals, for the first time I think, that she thought she would be opening Wicked London as lead before Idina was brought in as lead very late on.
And be that her Broadway transfer was a straight swap for Idina.
also interesting hearing her talk about the difficulty of playing Elphaba 8 shows a week: “it should be 6 shows a week or less. Sadly I don’t think that will ever change.”
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Post by isabel on Oct 11, 2020 20:20:54 GMT
Wicked feels like a long distance dream.
I do wonder if the AV will ever get back to normal. I mean it’s such a large theatre is it even viable with socially distanced audiences .( If that ever becomes an option)
What a crazy time we are going through
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446 posts
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Post by tr252 on Oct 12, 2020 10:13:04 GMT
Wicked feels like a long distance dream. I do wonder if the AV will ever get back to normal. I mean it’s such a large theatre is it even viable with socially distanced audiences .( If that ever becomes an option) What a crazy time we are going through I've had similar thoughts and it sometimes makes me wonder if Wicked will reopen at all in London. However it is a very well known musical and I imagine once theatres do start opening it will be these shows that stand a chance of attracting the biggest audience vs. something that is brand new that nobody has seen so it does have that in its favour. |
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2,258 posts
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Post by richey on Oct 20, 2020 20:15:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2020 20:23:48 GMT
Looks like they’re pushing for a 20th anniversary tie in. Bet we don’t get it until the 25th! I can see Ryan Murphy getting this, unless his Netflix deal prevents him. |
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Post by danb on Oct 20, 2020 21:05:03 GMT
At this rate it’ll only be netflix making films anyway...It may well end up there being sexed up & directed by Murphy and book based with the odd tune chucked in. Is he still mates with Lea Michele?
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Post by jvoom on Oct 20, 2020 21:20:27 GMT
I don't mean to be a negative nelly, but - I just cannot get excited about the idea of a Wicked movie. In my opinion, the best about Wicked is the thrill of seeing it live - the beautiful costumes, the epic set, Elphaba flying before your eyes. That spectacle will inevitably get lost on screen and all your left with is a convoluted plot and a handful of nice songs. I can't help but feeling it'll be more along the lines of the Cats movie as opposed to Les Mis... |
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Post by danb on Oct 20, 2020 21:36:09 GMT
Just don’t let Rob Marshall make it pedestrian and ‘alright’. Daldry would have made it really interesting and grown up, taking an edge off some of the giddy silliness. A Ryan Murphy grand guignol version might be ok.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2020 21:38:32 GMT
I don't mean to be a negative nelly, but - I just cannot get excited about the idea of a Wicked movie. In my opinion, the best about Wicked is the thrill of seeing it live - the beautiful costumes, the epic set, Elphaba flying before your eyes. That spectacle will inevitably get lost on screen and all your left with is a convoluted plot and a handful of nice songs. I can't help but feeling it'll be more along the lines of the Cats movie as opposed to Les Mis... Wicked is going to need a serious re-write to work on screen. It’s my favourite musical, but individually, very little happens during each song - there’s a lot of standing around songs! Even Defying Gravity is sung with the two of them just stood around, pretending the guards aren’t desperately trying to break in lol. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 21, 2020 5:25:34 GMT
I don't mean to be a negative nelly, but - I just cannot get excited about the idea of a Wicked movie. In my opinion, the best about Wicked is the thrill of seeing it live - the beautiful costumes, the epic set, Elphaba flying before your eyes. That spectacle will inevitably get lost on screen and all your left with is a convoluted plot and a handful of nice songs. I can't help but feeling it'll be more along the lines of the Cats movie as opposed to Les Mis... I must have missed that bit 😏 |
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