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Post by CG on the loose on Feb 15, 2019 23:16:25 GMT
I saw Come From Away last week and Waitress tonight. Other than a rough synopsis, and ‘You Matter To Me’ on Rachel Tucker’s album (which I loved even without any context), I’d seen or heard nothing of either of them beforehand. But I was so blown away by Come From Away that I was fully prepared to be somewhat underwhelmed by Waitress - surely there coldn’t be two shows opening within days of each other that would tick all my boxes?
But I loved it. It engaged me from the off - I was interested in the three female leads’ stories, which is far from a given in MT land - and in the second half it tapped deep into my emotions. ‘She Used To Be Mine’ was my standout but Katharine McPhee’s voice throughout was a thing of beauty. Marisha Wallace’s voice was a thing of rawwrrr (I never saw Dreamgirls!), while Laura Baldwin’s was less to my personal taste, but that’s just me and female voices - finding two in a show that I really enjoyed is unusual. The men left me rather less whelmed. They were fine, but largely peripheral. As intended, presumably.
I really liked the music for a first listen, but remember very little of it - again, that’s just me. Having the band on stage (though they were rather less integrated) worked as well for me as it did in Come From Away. There were some whoopers in the audience, mostly of the ‘you go girl’ variety, though one was clearly a BIG fan of Mr Hunter (which is something I just don’t get, sorry - I refer you to my earlier comment re the men!). And a pretty full (couldn’t see the upper decks) ovation at the end, though it was a spreader rather than the springer I was very happy to be part of at Come From Away.
If you’d asked me at the interval, I’d have said.’very happy to have seen it, won’t be rushing back’ but by the end it had moved quite a long way up my ‘repeat visit’ list. Time will tell if it does in fact demand space in my now more limited visits to London.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 8:52:43 GMT
I agree with the above- and I saw CFA in that order too!
At the interval if someone had asked I’d have said “I’ll see it on tour or if a particular Jenna I love takes over” but by the end I was a) a sobbing wreck b) thinking yes yes I’d see this again several times
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 16, 2019 9:19:09 GMT
I think this is a show that’s really unfair to write off if you’ve only seen Act 1. Act 2 totally redeems it and is a world away from Act 1.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 16, 2019 11:21:52 GMT
A couple of girls next to me held hands and sobbed pretty much all the way through act 2. Having an absolute ball they were. Good for them. It obviously went waaay over my head.
Wish I’d booked Come From Away instead. Sob.
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Post by squidward on Feb 16, 2019 12:48:51 GMT
I think this is a show that’s really unfair to write off if you’ve only seen Act 1. Act 2 totally redeems it and is a wiorld away from Act 1. Respectfully though, should a show need to be redeemed by a second act? And should a second act be a world away from the first? I’be been to plenty of shows where one act is better than the other, but I’m finding it hard to recall one that had the marked mismatch that’s been described on here. I do understand what you mean about making a global judgement on a show when you’ve only seen half of it, but personally I had such a profound disconnect with both the characters and storyline in Act 1, that I knew this was not going to be a show for me. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 12:55:50 GMT
I think this is a show that’s really unfair to write off if you’ve only seen Act 1. Act 2 totally redeems it and is a world away from Act 1. Respectfully though, should a show need to be redeemed by a second act? I don't think that's really what anyone's saying not 'it's so awful but the second act is great' more 'It's good and enjoyable but then whoa it kicks into gear in the final act and that really makes it.' For me that's a case with many a musical. Hell I'll call on Rent- Act 1 is a fairly fun filled and generally FINE piece of work, but act 2, with the emotional clout it has is what really makes it. That's what I and I think others are saying here about Waitress. |
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Post by squidward on Feb 16, 2019 13:11:25 GMT
Respectfully though, should a show need to be redeemed by a second act? I don't think that's really what anyone's saying not 'it's so awful but the second act is great' more 'It's good and enjoyable but then whoa it kicks into gear in the final act and that really makes it.' For me that's a case with many a musical. Hell I'll call on Rent- Act 1 is a fairly fun filled and generally FINE piece of work, but act 2, with the emotional clout it has is what really makes it. That's what I and I think others are saying here about Waitress. I wasn’t really taking the inference to be that the first act was awful, but more referring to the first act being described as a world away from the first. As we know it’s all totally subjective, but for me, the characters were too broadly drawn to care about and the plot ( at least in what I saw iof it) seemed quite dated. Without casting aspersions on our American friends ( and I’m married to one), I can see why this has done well in the US, particularly having both Jessie M and Sara B in the lead at times, but I do wonder whether the show will connect with UK audiences well enough to make it a long runner. |
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Post by waybeyondblue on Feb 16, 2019 13:15:34 GMT
I think Rent is a poor example as it grabs you from the first song. Waitress may well have a second act it but it wasn’t trailed by the first which comes over as “awful” to quote my friend. Compare this to something like Stephen Ward which is disappointing overall but at least provides enough entertainment to justify the half-time over-priced G&T.
If you want to put on a half decent musical then charge half price and start at 9pm.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 13:54:37 GMT
I think Rent is a poor example as it grabs you from the first song. Waitress may well have a second act it but it wasn’t trailed by the first which comes over as “awful” to quote my friend. Compare this to something like Stephen Ward which is disappointing overall but at least provides enough entertainment to justify the half-time over-priced G&T. If you want to put on a half decent musical then charge half price and start at 9pm. I mean clearly Rent is a musical I know nothing about. Nothing. Not a thing. |
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Post by princeton on Feb 16, 2019 14:21:05 GMT
I mean clearly Rent is a musical I know nothing about. Nothing. Not a thing. May I suggest some further reading - there's a PhD thesis which I can recommend !! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 14:40:06 GMT
I mean clearly Rent is a musical I know nothing about. Nothing. Not a thing. May I suggest some further reading - there's a PhD thesis which I can recommend !! Really? sounds fascinating! someone wrote a PhD on it, wow I bet they really know their stuff...(probably not, they're probably just a sarcastic cow) |
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Post by Mark on Feb 16, 2019 14:53:10 GMT
May I suggest some further reading - there's a PhD thesis which I can recommend !! Really? sounds fascinating! someone wrote a PhD on it, wow I bet they really know their stuff...(probably not, they're probably just a sarcastic cow) Devils advocate, but I actually agree that Rent is a bad example here. Rent draws you in from the very beginning and has an exceptionally strong act one, and the second act take everything that developed in act one and expands on it. What I think waybeyondblue was trying to say is Waitress doesn't quite hold you in that same way. In Rent, we want to come back and learn more about these characters. In Waitress - not so much. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 15:02:08 GMT
Really? sounds fascinating! someone wrote a PhD on it, wow I bet they really know their stuff...(probably not, they're probably just a sarcastic cow) Devils advocate, but I actually agree that Rent is a bad example here. Rent draws you in from the very beginning and has an exceptionally strong act one, and the second act take everything that developed in act one and expands on it. What I think waybeyondblue was trying to say is Waitress doesn't quite hold you in that same way. In Rent, we want to come back and learn more about these characters. In Waitress - not so much. Admittedly I pulled an example out of thin air, but the point I was making really was it's usually act 2 in a two-act musical that kicks it up a gear and makes it memorable...partly because that's the point of having a two act piece. And because actually nobody who said 'act 2 really made it' wasn't saying 'act 1 was bad' they said they were enjoying it, and then act 2 came along and really kicked them in the nuts and made them love it. Which is really...what act 2 of a musical is supposed to do. I concede i didn't pick a brilliant example, but it's Saturday, I'm tired and clearly putting into sentences words doing is not a thing. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 16:43:39 GMT
Thank you all for the lovely messages I've received on this thread, as well as direct messages both on here, Twitter and Instagram. I'm genuinely stunned how many people stood up for me and had such lovely things to say. I just opted for a few days away for obvious reasons.  |
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Post by beatrice on Feb 16, 2019 16:45:15 GMT
Thank you all for the lovely messages I've received on this thread, as well as direct messages both on here, Twitter and Instagram. I'm genuinely stunned how many people stood up for me and had such lovely things to say. I just opted for a few days away for obvious reasons. Hey, you're my theatreboard sponsor - I wouldn't be here without you! Welcome back, friend! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 17:24:05 GMT
Thank you all for the lovely messages I've received on this thread, as well as direct messages both on here, Twitter and Instagram. I'm genuinely stunned how many people stood up for me and had such lovely things to say. I just opted for a few days away for obvious reasons. Hey, you're my theatreboard sponsor - I wouldn't be here without you! Welcome back, friend! Ahaha thank you lovely! |
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Post by beatrice on Feb 16, 2019 17:48:14 GMT
Also, while I'm here - how is the front row in the Adelphi for this production? I'd love to see KMP but I'm not super thrilled about the prices.
Also, actually, one more question. Those of you who have seen this, how's Dr. Pom? I loved Drew Gehling and I'm scared I'll hate anyone else in the role.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 17:50:33 GMT
Also, while I'm here - how is the front row in the Adelphi for this production? I'd love to see KMP but I'm not super thrilled about the prices. Judging by the pics I've seen, stage seems to be really high. I wouldn't go for a front row seat unless it's very discounted. |
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Post by Mark on Feb 16, 2019 18:26:49 GMT
Also, while I'm here - how is the front row in the Adelphi for this production? I'd love to see KMP but I'm not super thrilled about the prices.
Also, actually, one more question. Those of you who have seen this, how's Dr. Pom? I loved Drew Gehling and I'm scared I'll hate anyone else in the role.
I quite liked the front row |
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Post by LaLuPone on Feb 16, 2019 18:47:04 GMT
Bit of a messy night eh Kat? 🤣
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Post by squidward on Feb 16, 2019 18:59:25 GMT
Also, while I'm here - how is the front row in the Adelphi for this production? I'd love to see KMP but I'm not super thrilled about the prices. Also, actually, one more question. Those of you who have seen this, how's Dr. Pom? I loved Drew Gehling and I'm scared I'll hate anyone else in the role.
I know I’m not the right person to answer this as I departed at the interval having not connected with Act 1 at all, but part of that was due to my feeling that David Hunter and KMP had no chemistry between them at all. DH has a great voice, but apart from that he seemed to be mostly gurning his way through the first act. As a side bar, I actually thought his character was called ‘Dr Vomiter’ until I read the cast board at the interval 🤦♀️. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 19:21:44 GMT
Front row is SUPER high. You won't miss anything important to the plot but if you're average height or less, you'll lose everyone sitting in the booths in the diner.
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Post by talkstageytome on Feb 16, 2019 20:21:05 GMT
David Hunter has been great in everything I've seen him in and was kind of who I'd dreamcast when the transfer was announced, and so I'm super excited to see this asap!
Loving reading everyone's thoughts so far...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 22:37:52 GMT
Saw this tonight. Wasn’t my cup of tea but I wish it well.
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 16, 2019 22:50:09 GMT
I saw this again tonight.
Where has the heartbeat gone, that was in New York?
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