|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 10:02:44 GMT
Has anybody heard any more on this? It was due to open this Summer in a purpose built 360 degree theatre by Wembley Stadium, hailed as an "all immersive experience".
Surely work has begun on building by now? I would've expected tickets to be on sale by now, unless it's been canned or just delayed?
|
|
840 posts
|
Post by Steffi on Mar 20, 2016 11:29:07 GMT
Still not sure an "all immersive" Hunger Games experience sounds appealing.
|
|
781 posts
|
Post by rumbledoll on Mar 20, 2016 12:37:31 GMT
I still cannot imagine how turning it into a musical could ever work. A bunch of kids singing songs about killing each other? I loved the book, films were rather pleasing for visualization and hit-on casting in some parts, but making the light-hearted entertainment out of this would ruin the whole thing unless they plan to go into black humour territory.. ))
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 12:50:23 GMT
I still cannot imagine how turning it into a musical could ever work. A bunch of kids singing songs about killing each other? I loved the book, films were rather pleasing for visualization and hit-on casting in some parts, but making the light-hearted entertainment out of this would ruin the whole thing unless they plan to go into black humour territory.. )) I believe it's going to be a play. |
|
781 posts
|
Post by rumbledoll on Mar 20, 2016 13:50:30 GMT
I still cannot imagine how turning it into a musical could ever work. A bunch of kids singing songs about killing each other? I loved the book, films were rather pleasing for visualization and hit-on casting in some parts, but making the light-hearted entertainment out of this would ruin the whole thing unless they plan to go into black humour territory.. )) I believe it's going to be a play. Yet it was originally announced as musical.. www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/hunger-games-musical-to-hit-london-in-2016-9847413.html
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2016 9:29:53 GMT
"Musical" does not automatically equal "light-hearted entertainment". What's fluffy about Sweeney Todd? How is Les Miserables a jolly afternoon out? Explain to me how The Phantom Of The Opera is as twee as strawberry-flavoured candyfloss? Honestly, I can see how the wider non-theatre-going public might have such an unsophisticated and two-dimensional idea of what musical theatre actually is, as they'd be getting their ideas from things like "hilarious" spoofs on television, but I'd expect people who wilingly spend their free time on a theatre discussion board to be smarter than that.
|
|
2,676 posts
|
Post by viserys on Mar 21, 2016 10:01:17 GMT
I agree that musicals aren't always light-hearted, but almost all of them have some uplifting big numbers - think of "Do you hear the people sing?" for example or the Masquerade sequence in Phantom. Whereas, when it comes to the bleak dystopia of the Hunger Games, I just don't see any room for that kind of song. Kids singing "We're off to kill each other!" or a shiny parade of this year's contestants with confetti? The thing that impressed me most with the Hunger Games movies was how they almost constantly managed to give me a lump in my throat. I just don't see that work with music. Nor do I need to hear Katniss burst out into a big "Do I choose this boy or that boy?" ballad or similar, when Jennifer Lawrence often managed to say so much with no words at all.
Personally I just don't like the constant milking of popular franchises where "XY - the Musical" is usually the last bit of the food chain as if musicals are just that - the bargain bin of a franchise after they have been milked as books, movies, TV-shows and theme park attractions.
Having said that, whenever I said "I can't see this work as a musical", I do give things a chance and go to see them live. I quite liked American Psycho (if only for the 80s soundtrack) and I even had a good time at Spiderman in NY...
|
|
781 posts
|
Post by rumbledoll on Mar 21, 2016 12:18:02 GMT
I just can't take Musicals seriously as there always are moments like someone appearing at night when the city is asleep and start singing on a top of the voice about random things with silly rhymes.. This makes me chuckle where it shouldn't. A lot of things look sarcastic/mockingly when sung (rather than spoken). I guess it's just me... It's the problem with musicals I had as long as I can remember and nobody seems to share it so far.. That's why I don't expect anyone to understand.
Baemax, sorry you found it so shocking. I've never seen any spoofs on TV and I didn't mean everyone will be laughing all the way through by "light-hearted entertainment" (nothing wrong with it, anyway). it's just my own perception, probably distorted.
I go to theatre quite a lot actually. I just prefer plays to musicals for many-many reasons. That said, I like musical numbers within plays or things like Once where songs are SONGS, not conversations.
|
|
2,775 posts
|
Post by daniel on Mar 24, 2016 1:08:56 GMT
Kids singing "We're off to kill each other!..." To the tune of "We're off to see The Wizard"... |
|
751 posts
|
Post by horton on Mar 29, 2016 12:06:37 GMT
I understand it is scheduled for late Autumn
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 17:18:37 GMT
I thought I would bump this thread to see if there was any more activity on this theatre/production?
|
|
1,013 posts
|
Post by talkstageytome on Sept 1, 2016 17:31:21 GMT
I personally think they waited too long. The hype has died down and this never had the sort of all consuming fanbase that Harry Potter had, so maybe it's been shelved?
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2016 20:57:09 GMT
|
|
2 posts
|
Post by jholiday on Sept 26, 2016 20:24:01 GMT
I understand it is scheduled for late Autumn Its been making progress. These things take time. There's a lot of moving pieces and personalities that must agree on terms before moving forward with such a large scale production and whoever said this won't be as big as Harry Potter is wrong. This will appeal to all ages and will blow Harry Potter pre sales tickets away due to the ground breaking technology that will generate massive amounts of buss. Plus due to brexit, the pound conversation will go further and people will fly out just to view this show once all is ready to launch. The build out is amazing! |
|
2 posts
|
Post by jholiday on Sept 26, 2016 20:24:47 GMT
Been delayed is correct. There's logistical issues that will be sorted and this will be a big hit
|
|
1,013 posts
|
Post by talkstageytome on Sept 27, 2016 8:42:15 GMT
Can anyone really claim that The Hunger Games is more popular than Harry Potter? Sure, it's popular, but Harry Potter is a phenomenon.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2016 8:59:21 GMT
I don't think anyone's saying that Hunger Games is bigger than Potter, jholiday is just saying that the production values of Hunger Games are going to cause people clamour for tickets even more so than they did for Potter. Which would be quite a sight to behold, considering how far in advance Potter is basically sold out and how quickly the tickets go whenever a new batch goes on sale. But then if it, say, is going into a purpose-built venue that's larger than the Palace, then assuming the tickets sell as thoroughly and as quickly as Potter tickets have done, then you would be able to make the claim without technically telling porkies. We shall see. |
|
781 posts
|
Post by rumbledoll on Sept 27, 2016 9:29:05 GMT
I think it's not fair to talk bout smth beinmg popular in some area without considering the native country of the phenomenon. The author of Hunger Games is American for starters.
From what I've seen I'd say HP had much more impact on the generations and have more fans all over the globe. But personally I think it's hugely overrated - it was just one of the books that stroke and everybody suddenly became obseessed with. Nothing is particularly revolutionary about. There are much more (imo) sophisticated and deep stuff around for young adults like His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman or Chaos Walking (adore this one!) by Patrick Ness. Who knows why HP hit the jackpot..
For me The Hunger Games will always be superior - albsolutely love the books and films managed to do them justice - I'm just not keem on idea of a musical for such a story. But the new venue with rotating stage sounds exciting enough for me to attend the production once it's out.
|
|
1,013 posts
|
Post by talkstageytome on Sept 27, 2016 9:35:00 GMT
Hmm, we shall see indeed. No matter how amazing the production values are, I imagine people will still need to be interested in the source material to want to book a ticket. Especially as this sounds like it could be expensive (purpose built arena, amazing production values etc.). I was in highschool when the Hunger Games fad took off, and the main reader/viewer base seemed to be older children / young adults. Where are they going to get the money for this sort of thing? I don't doubt that if/when it opens The Hunger Games will do well, and I'm excited to see what happens with it, but I just can't see it having the international, all genders, all ages, appeal that Harry Potter had/has. Plus the Hunger Games as a book/film series is kind of over, right? Meanwhile there seems to be a new Harry Potter spin off book/movie/pottermore revelation every other week, even all these years after the final movie was released, thus keeping interest alive.
|
|
1,013 posts
|
Post by talkstageytome on Sept 27, 2016 9:39:39 GMT
I think it's not fair to talk bout smth beinmg popular in some area without considering the native country of the phenomenon. The author of Hunger Games is American for starters. Very true. But then why not originate this production in America? Harry Potter is up there with the royal family and cucumber sandwiches in terms of iconic Britishness, so it definitely has that on its side here!  I do think that JK's involvement in the Harry Potter play helped to hype it up. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2016 9:43:18 GMT
I think Harry Potter is also more sophisticated than a lot of people give it credit for. It's deceptive in its simplicity. Agreed that His Dark Materials and Chaos Walking are just too too wonderful for words though, I'm hopeful that the forthcoming BBC series of the former will be so much better than the film, and I'm hopeful that the forthcoming film of the latter will be worth the wait.  |
|
781 posts
|
Post by rumbledoll on Sept 27, 2016 9:56:19 GMT
Agree that it will be hard for HG to attrack the same number of the audiences which now struggling to get in for a ticket to HP but at the same time I don't think HG will strive for a long-long run like HP seems to aim for. But who knows.. I'm quite surprised Les Mis and Phantom are still there after all these years and still sell out with WE prices... There tend to be much more appeal for musicals not plays in London which always made me wonder why...
Also with HG the casting is a bit tricky 'cause a lot of the main characters should be young enough to pass as kids but they could invite a star for adult part like Haymitch/Flickerman/Snow/Plutarc, etc. as a draw for people to but tickets.
|
|
2,676 posts
|
Post by viserys on Sept 27, 2016 16:32:31 GMT
I'm a big fan of both Harry Potter and The Hunger Games trilogy, but I couldn't begin to compare them.
Harry Potter is its own fantastic world (with one toe in the real/muggle world) and while I personally preferred the earlier "lighter" books to the later heavy-going stuff, it was all still in its own fantasy universe with Voldemort and Azkaban and Dementors and whatnot.
Hunger Games meanwhile is set in our world, albeit in a dystopian future. Many things in it brought a lump to my throat because it was so easy to draw comparisons to what is already out there, the media manipulation, the crazy game shows, and the need to even "sell" images of war in the press. So it will be a rather dark show, unless they lose much of the dystopian angle and then what's left.
Also, no offense to newbie poster jholiday but this sounds like typical marketing jargon " This will appeal to all ages and will blow Harry Potter pre sales tickets away due to the ground breaking technology that will generate massive amounts of buss."
Plenty of shows had to learn the hard way that "ground breaking technology" won't shift many tickets if the story (and by that I mean what's actually brought onto the stage, not the source material) and the music won't be good enough.
And Monkey is also right: Much of the buzz of the Potter Play is that it's something NEW and even if you can now buy the text, the only way to really SEE the new Potter story, is at the Palace Theatre, whereas Hunger Games is "more of the same in a new medium" (which also has to compete with the fantastic images the movies created and by that I don't mean the actual Hunger Games as such but things like the chariot entrances.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2016 20:05:31 GMT
HP also has more you can do to it like seeing other wizards and all the things that happen in the wizard world but HG can not really expand. I may consider seeing it however and it will probably be easier to get tickets for it that HP.
|
|
53 posts
|
Post by amybenson on Sept 28, 2016 7:39:22 GMT
That all said, I think a Hunger Games stage show could work, but I'd have thought that creating a new story about new characters entering 'The Hunger Game' arena would have worked more - the audience would watch live how 12 is whittled down to just 1. Plus they could introduce new stories and new arenas every year. Oh, the irony! |
|
