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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 6, 2016 17:52:05 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. What a shame. I thought the second half was waaaaay better than the first. |
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Post by caa on Feb 6, 2016 19:41:50 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. The Second Act is way better |
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5,794 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 6, 2016 21:49:50 GMT
How foolish! Act 2 is the reason it was made into a musical! Act 1 is filler. 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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Post by alnoor on Feb 6, 2016 22:15:26 GMT
Saw the matinee today.
Wonderful production.
Jenna Russell was brilliant.
Sheila Hancock was good.
Her accent was a bit here and then a bit there.
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Post by stevemar on Feb 6, 2016 22:37:22 GMT
Enjoyed this on Friday night, and I had only booked on the basis of the buzz on the previous board. I wasn't blown away though, finding the lack of storyline making for a ponderous evening. Sheila Hancock was passable at best, Jenna Russell sensational. Thanks Xander for the seat tips which we just about followed, sitting next to the aisle by the centre block. A lot of the acting was aimed toward the aisle areas! No hassles re seating, went in at 1920 and still managed to find those decent seats.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 6, 2016 23:27:02 GMT
Just back from closing night and I loved it even more, I'm so sorry it won't transfer  |
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Post by showgirl on Feb 7, 2016 5:13:54 GMT
To the person who criticised my departure, I don't castigate other members for their choices so I expect respect for mine, however out-of-step with the majority they may be. I am glad others enjoyed it but this was not for me and even if others found the second half better, suppose I had not?
On a happier note, I saw a play with music in the evening which was riveting, worth every penny and will probably haunt me for the rest of the year. Some you win, etc.
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Post by bernadette on Feb 7, 2016 10:38:02 GMT
To the person who criticised my departure, I don't castigate other members for their choices so I expect respect for mine, however out-of-step with the majority they may be. I am glad others enjoyed it but this was not for me and even if others found the second half better, suppose I had not? On a happier note, I saw a play with music in the evening which was riveting, worth every penny and will probably haunt me for the rest of the year. Some you win, etc. That's entirely fair enough! I think the very best shows always divide opinion and this is obviously one of those. I'd rather people had a strong response to a show in either direction. |
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Post by Steve on Feb 7, 2016 11:35:47 GMT
Just back from closing night and I loved it even more, I'm so sorry it won't transfer I was also at closing night, and I loved it just as much as my first five star experience in previews. It was a little less funny, and a touch more poignant. One reason it is more poignant is that Sheila Hancock is now relishing her role, commanding and feisty and funny (she practically kicks obstacles out of her way as she relishes "The Cake I Had"), fighting back against Jenna Russell's hilarious tirades. The tug of war between the characters has sharpened the conflict, as well as the love, between them, laying the emotional groundwork for some utterly devastating songs by Jenna Russell as Little Edie, especially "Around the World" and "Another Winter in a Summer Town." It was stunning how the audience went from raucous hysterical laughter to so-silent-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop in an instant! Jonathan Pryce was in the house, and must have boned up on Xanderl's seating advice as he had the 2nd row front facing aisle seat on the side that gets the full Jenna. Two excited little girls sitting behind me turned out to be alternates for Jackie and Lee, which I only realised when they were asked for autographs. The two times I saw this, Grace Jenkins and Rebecca Hardin were in it, and both times they were terrific. Many of the Ushers were ribbing Ako Mitchell, who played Brooks the butler, by wearing t-shirts inscribed with the mantra "Ako Mitchell is my spirit guide" lol. This made me pay Ako Mitchell's performance attention, and he did an awful lot with very little. His dignified and compassionate butler, Brooks, graciously stomaching Big Edith's racist song, out of love, has banished my horror of remembering him dressed up as the bee in the Donmar's cacophanous "Spelling Bee," which was not for me. Although I still don't think that Act 1 captures the real Little Edie very well, I set that aside to appreciate what it does accomplish, and was struck how well Rachel Anne Rayham and Jenna Russell played off each other in their scenes together. Rayham is so natural, completely in the moment. I loved the slow build of Rayham's Little Edie seducing her mother into performing "Two Peas in a Pod." Billy Boyle was also excellent, and his jocular avuncular "Choose to be Happy" song worked so well, counterpointed against all the sadness in other actors' eyes. All in all, this is my favourite musical of the year, and it's a shame it will have to compete in awards with one of my favourites of last year, "Funny Girl," which will undoubtedly be one of my favourites of this year when it hits the Savoy. I wish Sheridan Smith and Jenna Russell could share kudos and plaudits because I love them both, but judging by the critics' misjudgement of this production (in my opinion, anyway), Russell may not get her due. I hope she does. Let's ensure some nominations for her if we get a chance to vote on things!  Goodbye Grey Gardens. You were the best. 5 stars. |
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Post by alnoor on Feb 7, 2016 14:46:41 GMT
That must be a house seat as Mark Shelton was in the same seat at the matinee
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 7, 2016 15:19:58 GMT
I think the point being made was that Act 2 is totally different to Act one.. So it's not a case of 'more of the same' that would apply to any other show. Still , your loss. God knows I've left loads of shows in the interval so I understand it. It's just a shame you didn't get to see the glory of Jenna in Act 2. To the person who criticised my departure, I don't castigate other members for their choices so I expect respect for mine, however out-of-step with the majority they may be. I am glad others enjoyed it but this was not for me and even if others found the second half better, suppose I had not? On a happier note, I saw a play with music in the evening which was riveting, worth every penny and will probably haunt me for the rest of the year. Some you win, etc. |
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Post by dgjbear on Feb 8, 2016 12:37:13 GMT
I saw this and Funny Girl on the same weekend last month. I had only ever seen the documentary, in 1982. And I'd never heard the score. I think I thought it would be really funny, and it was. But more surprising was how moved I was. I guess the mental health stuff that I missed when I was 18 watching the documentary, was something maturity helped me zone in on - and it was so sad. When she sang another winter in a summer town I was in tears (I never cry at films or theatre things usually) and I happened to be sitting right in Jenna Russell's eye line. It was one of the best things I've seen in a theatre.
Funny Girl on the other hand was a but of a disappointment - not because of the Streisand 'unfillable shoes'thing; but because I was comparing it to Grey Gardens. And Grey Gardens was the better show.
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Post by firefingers on Feb 10, 2016 0:23:23 GMT
Have heard that this is still looking for a transfer, with the company advised to keep their autumn free. Names going around include Trafalgar Studios and the Wyndhams.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2016 8:47:11 GMT
I heard the same thing firefingers, at the show i was at (saturday before closing) i heard one of crew speaking to someone saying that talks were still ongoing for a transfer.
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 10, 2016 10:13:31 GMT
Have heard that this is still looking for a transfer, with the company advised to keep their autumn free. Names going around include Trafalgar Studios and the Wyndhams. Somehow I can't imagine actors seriously considering 'keeping their autumn free' on the vague hope that this transfers... I guess I should 'keep my summer free' just in case I win the lottery and get to go on a worldwide cruise. |
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Post by firefingers on Feb 11, 2016 0:39:12 GMT
Have heard that this is still looking for a transfer, with the company advised to keep their autumn free. Names going around include Trafalgar Studios and the Wyndhams. Somehow I can't imagine actors seriously considering 'keeping their autumn free' on the vague hope that this transfers... I guess I should 'keep my summer free' just in case I win the lottery and get to go on a worldwide cruise. Whether they do it or not is up to them, but they have will most likely have first refusal stuff in their contracts. Oh, and even if it doesn't transfer, the producers are very keen to record a cast album for it. |
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Post by mallardo on Feb 11, 2016 5:21:54 GMT
There are two cast albums already!
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Post by anthony40 on Feb 11, 2016 6:03:23 GMT
I did not know that! The Broadway Cast Recording and?  |
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Post by Michael on Feb 11, 2016 6:10:57 GMT
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Post by anthony40 on Feb 11, 2016 6:13:05 GMT
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 11, 2016 10:45:05 GMT
Is there much difference between the two recordings? I think the leads were the same?
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 11, 2016 14:13:36 GMT
Is there much difference between the two recordings? I think the leads were the same? There are some differences in the first act: in the OOBCR there is "Better Fall Out of Love" instead of "Goin' Places", "Tomorrow's Woman" instead of "Daddy's Girl" and the show ends with a reprise of "Peas in a Pod" sung by Mary Louise Wilson and Christine Ebersole. Oh, and Sara Gettelfinger (first act Little Edie) had been replaced with Erin Davie for the Broadway production. |
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Post by mallardo on Feb 11, 2016 15:09:34 GMT
Is there much difference between the two recordings? I think the leads were the same? There are some differences in the first act: in the OOBCR there is "Better Fall Out of Love" instead of "Goin' Places", "Tomorrow's Woman" instead of "Daddy's Girl" and the show ends with a reprise of "Peas in a Pod" sung by Mary Louise Wilson and Christine Ebersole. Oh, and Sara Gettelfinger (first act Little Edie) had been replaced with Erin Davie for the Broadway production. "Daddy's Girl" is in the Off-Broadway recording but Major Bouvier sings a different song called "Being Bouvier". There are actually more songs in the show in this version. And, incidentally, it was said at the time that Sara Gettelfinger (the original Jolene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) was replaced because she didn't look anything like Christine Ebersol and Erin Davie did, which was true. But Gettelfinger gets Little Edie's voice just right, she's a wonderful match for Ebersol in that department. |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 11, 2016 15:35:44 GMT
There are some differences in the first act: in the OOBCR there is "Better Fall Out of Love" instead of "Goin' Places", "Tomorrow's Woman" instead of "Daddy's Girl" and the show ends with a reprise of "Peas in a Pod" sung by Mary Louise Wilson and Christine Ebersole. Oh, and Sara Gettelfinger (first act Little Edie) had been replaced with Erin Davie for the Broadway production. "Daddy's Girl" is in the Off-Broadway recording but Major Bouvier sings a different song called "Being Bouvier". There are actually more songs in the show in this version. And, incidentally, it was said at the time that Sara Gettelfinger (the original Jolene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) was replaced because she didn't look anything like Christine Ebersol and Erin Davie did, which was true. But Gettelfinger gets Little Edie's voice just right, she's a wonderful match for Ebersol in that department. Oh, right, I thought "Tomorrow's Woman" was there before "Daddy's Girl", but both are there. |
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Post by BoOverall on Feb 12, 2016 18:15:26 GMT
This was a stunning production. I actually preferred it to the Broadway production I saw years ago. Last Sat night's performance was stunning: I can watch Jenna Russell over and over again in the role! " Another Winter..." always moves me to tears...not that I need much to set me off!
I do love the atmosphere you get at a final night...despite the tinge of sadness, but oh the klutzes wh kept kicking over their glasses of drink again,
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