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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2016 10:11:18 GMT
Saw this last weekend, absolutely fantastic!
Southwark Queue watch: I waited in the bar until the queue was moving then joined the end of it, plenty of good seats at that point and in fact I ended up in the best seat in the house as Jenna Russell was right IN MY FACE when doing her big number at the climax. My top tip would be as you walk in , go for seats near the aisle between the side and centre block.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 22, 2016 8:38:22 GMT
I'm going tonight for the second time, I can't wait!
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 22, 2016 23:29:09 GMT
Grey Gardens is one of my favourite musicals and some years ago I "dreamcasted" Jenna Russell as Edie/Edith - so you can imagine my joy when they announced the production. Tonight I saw it for the second time and I totally loved it, especially the second act. The audience was on fire and Jenna's "Revolutionary Costume for Today' got a very long round of applauses and bravos! Sheila was in particularly fine voice tonight and got very flirtatious at the beginning of "Jerry Likes My Corn" (I didn't notice the first time!). I think there are a couple of tacky directorial decisions (like throwing leaves during "Another Winter in a Summer Town"), but overall I enjoyed it even more than the first time. I don't like Sheila walking around and even dancing a little (especially since she's clearly described as "bedridden"), but it's hardly her fault, it's a choice of the director.
btw, I was sitting next to the mother of the young actress who play Jacqueline Bouvier and we chatted a bit about the rehearsals, auditions, how this kind of commitment is for the family and for the child. She told me she was a bit worried at the beginning but they told her that Sheila can be nasty, but her daughter's experience with her has been lovely so far!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 22, 2016 23:35:14 GMT
Saw this last weekend, absolutely fantastic! Southwark Queue watch: I waited in the bar until the queue was moving then joined the end of it, plenty of good seats at that point and in fact I ended up in the best seat in the house as Jenna Russell was right IN MY FACE when doing her big number at the climax. My top tip would be as you walk in , go for seats near the aisle between the side and centre block. So would that be under where the orchestra are (or at least we're for Xanadu)? I'm going tomorrow afternoon. I want Jenna to sing at me  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2016 23:39:30 GMT
As you walk in, with your back to the entrance, go for the aisle seats between the left side block and centre block, 2 or 3 rows back
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 22, 2016 23:43:31 GMT
Ok, thanks |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2016 23:44:48 GMT
Of course she might have come over there as she liked the look of me |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2016 9:19:15 GMT
Went last night and found it a fascinating piece. Not the best music, not the best sound (the musicians sounded too far away) but an incredibly moving story, imagined and real, beautifully performed by everyone in the cast, who deserved the standing ovation at the end. Jenna Russell is one of our musical theatre gems.
NB Loved the set, especially the house resembling the birdcage which features in one of the songs, but it did little for Act One... I know that bugdet was an issue, but couldn't they have created the opulence of the mansion and then roughed it up for Act Two? (Obviously not...)
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jan 24, 2016 10:21:30 GMT
Wowsers this was excellent
By setting the whole thing in rotting house it had so much more impact than broadway. also it wasn't all played for laughs, thankfully!
I thinki preferred Christine Ebersole but again the rest of Southwark trumped Broadway. I adored Rachel Anne Rayham and thought Sheila Hancock was excellent, very moving. I don't get all the negative comments on here about her
The score is beautiful, I'm going to be playing it for months - my poor neighbours! It's mean nasty epublican town ...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 24, 2016 10:27:02 GMT
I saw the matinee yesterday. Act 1 dragged a bit for me but it was necessary to set up the back story of course. Much preferred act 2. JR's asides to the audience very funny. Full ovation.
(Sheila did drop the accent occasionally, but I liked her in it).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2016 12:34:10 GMT
Wowsers this was excellent By setting the whole thing in rotting house it had so much more impact than broadway. also it wasn't all played for laughs, thankfully! I thinki preferred Christine Ebersole but again the rest of Southwark trumped Broadway. I adored Rachel Anne Rayham and thought Sheila Hancock was excellent, very moving. I don't get all the negative comments on here about her The score is beautiful, I'm going to be playing it for months - my poor neighbours! It's mean nasty epublican town ... Sheila Hancock better than Mary Louise Wilson? That's a joke right?? |
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Post by daroca on Jan 24, 2016 21:34:33 GMT
I seen grey gardens twice, loved it more on the second visit. Queued for a front row seat. I could even smell the corn 'Jerry' was eating. Not that there are any really bad seats. I just wish I could get tickets to go again.
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Post by liverpool54321 on Jan 24, 2016 23:01:00 GMT
Saw the matinee yesterday. I loved it but wife didn't get into it at all. Thought the entire cast excellent and enjoyed the score. Also sat in front row - yes the smell of Jerry's corn definitely comes across, especially when sat right next to him when he is eating.
Out of interest, is the 2nd half done in a way that mimics the documentary? Conscious that both leads appeared to be playing to an audience and assumed was based on them being filmed.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 24, 2016 23:11:30 GMT
Saw the matinee yesterday. I loved it but wife didn't get into it at all. Thought the entire cast excellent and enjoyed the score. Also sat in front row - yes the smell of Jerry's corn definitely comes across, especially when sat right next to him when he is eating. Out of interest, is the 2nd half done in a way that mimics the documentary? Conscious that both leads appeared to be playing to an audience and assumed was based on them being filmed. Yes, watch just the first 4 or 5 minutes of the documentary below. Says it all. Little Edie talking to camera, continually fiddling with her headscarf, pulling up her clothes, looking down at herself. Jenna had the character down very well. |
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Post by TheatreDust on Jan 26, 2016 23:18:52 GMT
I returned to see this for a second time tonight. My first visit was to the first preview and, while I enjoyed it, I found it disorienting because I spent the whole time trying to understand the story.
However, having since seen the documentary, I could now focus on the performances. I'm a big Jenna Russell fan anyway, but she is sensational as Little Edie. She mimics the real Little Edie so well, but doesn't make her a caricature. The whole cast, including Sheila Hancock, were really strong. An emotional story of such a complicated interdependent pair. During "Another Winter in a Summer Town" Jenna had tears in her cheeks.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2016 14:00:26 GMT
Lovely experience seeing this last night and even the seating situation wasn't as chaotic and traumatic as I feared - though they did open the doors at 7pm which led to a long night of sitting down. Jenna Russell and Sheila Hancock absolutely made it, they were fabulously cantankerous and touching. I didn't think the music was particularly memorable and one or two numbers in the first half felt like filler, but a lot of the lyrics were clever and funny. Threatened to slightly outstay its welcome but overall a great bit of musical theatre.
This was a good venue for it as well - it looked to me like they'd crammed in more seats than usual but the design meant that the staging didn't feel too cramped (which in any case worked well for the atmosphere of the piece). If I had a criticism it would be that it was over-miked - it was bloody loud and it's only a small venue...
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Post by drmaplewood on Jan 28, 2016 14:09:31 GMT
Sad I missed the boat for tickets for this. If anyone hears of any spares etc...
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Post by talkstageytome on Jan 28, 2016 14:28:34 GMT
Sad I missed the boat for tickets for this. If anyone hears of any spares etc... Keep checking the website. They're all gone now but this morning some tickets became available. |
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Post by CBP1 on Jan 28, 2016 22:01:22 GMT
Todaytix also periodically get tickets for this. You can subscribe for alerts when they become available I think.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 31, 2016 1:39:25 GMT
I just got a ticket for closing night! Can't wait!!
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Feb 4, 2016 14:22:33 GMT
Saw this last night... and I *think* I liked it.
Very odd piece, and very much a show of two halves. Honestly, you could probably drop the entire first half, add some more plot to the second half and a couple of flashbacks within that, and you'd have a much better show. I have to admit that I wasn't much of a fan of the funnier scenes in the second half - perhaps because I was expecting it to be more serious and hard-hitting, and wasn't ready for comedy? I don't know... Or perhaps the very 'theatre-diva humour' isn't so much my thing.
I did feel that some of the funnier material in the second half undercut the more serious lines - particularly the argument scenes between the two women, which suddenly (to me) had all the emotion ripped out from under them by a comedy barb from one character or the other. I understand a lot of this is directly lifted from the documentary, but for me it didn't work as part of a musical.
The performances are excellent, of course, and I loved both Sheila Hancock and Jenna Russell - though I think I would have preferred if Jenna Russell were allowed to be less of a caricature, because to me it meant that her accent and way of speaking got in the way of her being able to really stun with the singing.
Very glad I went though. An uneven show with some sparks of brilliance and an absolutely excellent last 20 minutes.
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Post by loopyjohn on Feb 4, 2016 15:46:55 GMT
Also saw it last night. Definitely an uneven show for me too. I thought Rachel Anne Rayham was mightily impressive as Young Little Edie. Her scenes were my highlight in act 1. Always a joy to watch Jenna Russell, especially in a venue that size when she seems to be singing right at you (thanks Xander1 for the seating advice!) She moves effortlessly from comedy to that tear-jerking 11 o'clock number.
I see it ran for around 8 months on Broadway in a house seating just under 1,000. It got me thinking if a show like that would stand half a chance in the WE in a house that size in today's climate?
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Post by bernadette on Feb 4, 2016 16:23:52 GMT
Yes, I wonder what that says about the difference between Broadway and here. People always say Broadway is more cut-throat commercially but, in terms of new musical theatre, that definitely isn't true. That said, I would rather have Grey Gardens in the intimacy of the Southwark Playhouse than lost in a 1000-seat theatre!
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Feb 4, 2016 21:34:10 GMT
Also saw it last night. Definitely an uneven show for me too. I thought Rachel Anne Rayham was mightily impressive as Young Little Edie. Her scenes were my highlight in act 1. Always a joy to watch Jenna Russell, especially in a venue that size when she seems to be singing right at you (thanks Xander1 for the seating advice!) She moves effortlessly from comedy to that tear-jerking 11 o'clock number. I see it ran for around 8 months on Broadway in a house seating just under 1,000. It got me thinking if a show like that would stand half a chance in the WE in a house that size in today's climate? I'd taken Xander1's advice on seating too, so I'm guessing you must have been sat right near me! |
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Post by showgirl on Feb 6, 2016 17:33:08 GMT
Oh how I hated this! Escaped at the interval but waiting was purgatory. Still, my first miss of what has otherwise been a good year so far.
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