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Post by showtoones on Jul 3, 2019 22:18:57 GMT
Another show-stop tonight! The whole sound desk went down apparently. Laurence Connor and Michael Harrison came on stage to explain what had happened. Did the show stop at Joseph previously? And how long did it take for the show to continue? Thanks
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Post by Phantom of London on Jul 3, 2019 23:12:35 GMT
After being half late for Present Laughter on Saturday as the rail network went into melt down because of the heat. This time I was late for Joseph at the Palladium by 28 years. Sadly never saw the original but must have listened to the cast recording a million times and gushing over Linzi Hateley angelic voice, couldn’t afford a ticket in those day, as a poor student, One production I would love to go back in history.
So Sheridan Smith, I enjoyed her and would say the narrator’s I have seen in the past have been different, she put her on spin on it, which is great. Jason Donovan done his best to camp the Pharoh up I was mixed about him, didn’t like the children playing adult roles though, last but not least Jac Yarrow who I thought was brilliant, he blew me away for a debutant, be interesting to see where he goes and hope he remains In theatre, than something like Hollyoaks etc.
As people have said the set is basic and does reflect a show that is only going to run 2 months, however this has sold very well, but cannot extend, if it doesn’t transfer to another West End theatre, it will be back at the Palladium next summer, I feel this is what will happen as Jason Donovan has been cast in Chicago in Australia. I have a feel that people want to to see Joseph at the Palladium and relive their memories, a trip down memory lane to a pyramid.
Didn’t completely blow me away, but the source material is excellent so 4 Stars.
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Post by chernjam on Jul 4, 2019 4:26:51 GMT
For anyone that's interested, dynamic pricing has massively kicked in for this now. For all of July, the nonsense price premium tickets have disappeared and most of stalls now top price non premium at 80 ish but also loads of really decent stalls seats at 65. It's all much more affordable. Though you'd be livid had you bought 85-100 quid seats when sale openned that are now 65. Or Premium 125+ which are now 85. I guess most punters would never know! Good to see that they clearly did over price this initially for Monday-Thursday and have now acknowledged it though. part of it - this was before they announced casting. I'm wondering if they had some bigger names in mind that didn't materialize
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jul 4, 2019 11:16:43 GMT
This was enjoyable, but it's in general quite a weak and badly directed production imho. Really cheap and tacky looking. Nothing to do with the 90s version which was really wonderful. Probably most of the budget has been used to pay for the Stars' salaries and there was no much left for the set. The ensemble are really good, but unfortunately the choreography is dreadful so they look like they are doing an aerobics class during the dance numbers. Sheridan Smith did a great job. Her clothes were awful though. Don't understand why they decided to dress her up a sack of potatoes. She might have put on a little bit of weight, but she looks really good and healthy, they should have chosen a more flattering outfit. It was nice to see Jason Donovan back on stage even if his singing wasn't great and has two left feet. The Narrator playing Jacob didn't work at all! It totally loses the sentimentality of the character. Children playing adult parts was another mistake in my view. Some of them were quite weak and sounded out of tune in their solos. They use too many click tracks for my liking. All the children chorus seemed prerecorded. The sound was over amplified and it was difficult to understand some of the lyrics. In spite of everything it was a fun night, but it should have been so much better.
Just my two cents.
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Post by horton on Jul 4, 2019 16:17:44 GMT
I'm loving these reviews that are packed with specific weaknesses eg Donovan can't sing or dance, the sound and set are poor, the whole thing is like a silly panto and the choreography is bad- and yet people are determined to feel they didn't waste their money.
How bad do shows have to be to be bad nowadays?
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Post by carmella1 on Jul 4, 2019 16:35:13 GMT
They will not be totally bad to people who paid top money back in December, they have to justify overpaying. The BGT performance was enough to convince me that this was not something I would want to see. SS mugging, JD looking like he is doing an impression of a spider and singing frog. All the allocades for Jac, fine, but he looks 12 and certainly not a normal Joseph. The article by West End Wilma saying Jason was offered the part of Joseph by ALW only shows that this is a money grubbing production. I mean JD playing a young man who can sing and look good is only that. But ALW was not interested in a good production only money.
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Post by danb on Jul 4, 2019 16:37:22 GMT
People keep slating him, but I didn’t think ALW was producing this? What’s the deal?
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Post by Oleanna on Jul 4, 2019 22:58:16 GMT
None of these choices came from Andrew Lloyd Webber, but people will always slag him off, whatever he does.
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Post by viserys on Jul 5, 2019 5:14:54 GMT
Well, I‘m glad I only spent 15 pounds on this when the first row of the Grand Circle went on sale for that amount. I quite hated the first act (apart from Jac‘s Close every door) but for me Jason Donovan‘s appearance saved the show as it completely tipped over into utter insanity at that point. For me it really did feel like a chaotic school production with the dotty school teacher embarrassing herself trying cool dance moves, some washed-up has-been being hauled on stage to give his best Elvis impression and the bright-eyed enthusiastic youth shining in the lead. Does this belong on a West End stage at corresponding prices? Hell no. Was it great fun, once you gave up resistance to the madness and just went along with the absolutey enthusiastic crowds? Yes, for me it was.
The only thing that really grated was the cheapness in cutting out some of the adult brothers and their wives and the Jacob/Potiphar role and using twee cute little kiddies instead. I hated the Potiphar kid especially (not the poor little performer of course). Even if Joseph is a comedy, this scene and the following jail scene are meant to be somewhat dramatic and with the three kids involved, it just didn‘t work at all.
I really think they should have used another logo to avoid comparisons with the far better 90‘s version...
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Post by richey on Jul 5, 2019 5:50:37 GMT
Oh good lord. Cheap and nasty...
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jul 5, 2019 5:59:40 GMT
Looks terrible.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 5, 2019 6:53:17 GMT
I don’t like the way the short run seems to be accepted as an excuse for cheap production values. If I’ve spent WE prices to see it I don’t give a toss how many performances it’s running for. I care about the performance I’M seeing and I expect to get what I’M paying for. Subsidising a short run is not MY financial responsibility.
This is one of my number 1 criteria for enjoying a show. I want to see my ticket money on that stage. If I’ve paid £20 to sit with another 99 people and watch something at the Hope Mill then my expectations are set accordingly. If I’ve paid £75.00 to watch something with another 999 people at the Palace then that’s a whole different ball game.
Stop making punters feel like they’ve been ripped off.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jul 5, 2019 7:01:03 GMT
I also went for a cheap ticket when they were released. Paid £10 for Upper Circle row A side view, and for that price it was good value and great fun, but it is a very weak production in general.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2019 8:29:26 GMT
I don’t like the way the short run seems to be accepted as an excuse for cheap production values. If I’ve spent WE prices to see it I don’t give a toss how many performances it’s running for. I care about the performance I’M seeing and I expect to get what I’M paying for. Subsidising a short run is not MY financial responsibility. This is one of my number 1 criteria for enjoying a show. I want to see my ticket money on that stage. If I’ve paid £20 to sit with another 99 people and watch something at the Hope Mill then my expectations are set accordingly. If I’ve paid £75.00 to watch something with another 999 people at the Palace then that’s a whole different ball game. Stop making punters feel like they’ve been ripped off. Thing is it's not CHEAP cheap, it's just cheap in comparison to the 90s version. It's much better than the Kenwright version. The West End is cheap compared to the 90s though. I wish it wasn't. But it is. I do agree with you though re wanting to see where your money has gone on a West End show. But cheap is the norm these days and production values are not what they were - of recent times, Waitress, 9 to 5, Come from Away, School of Rock etc etc do not have big production values. But charge the usual big prices. In fact the only things I can think of recently where you COULD see where your money has gone would be Follies, Company and Bat Out of Hell - all created and realised to their max. And the Cam Mac Les Mis and Miss Saigon tours. Cam Mac is a good prognostic sign. Expect Mary Poppins to be lavish. So for me it's annoying (seriously I was desperate for something to rival the 90s version) but it's really not so cheap it's out of line with the trend. Furthermore had it had a class act in the Narrator and Pharaoh, I would have noticed it less.
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Post by alece10 on Jul 5, 2019 10:35:37 GMT
I must have very low expectation levels as I didn't find it cheap at all. I'm very easily pleased.
Come from away has no set and just 20 or so chairs but haven't heard anyone saying that it looks cheap.
For me the last lavish show I saw was 42nd Street but I think it will be a long time, if ever that we see something on that scale again.
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Post by danb on Jul 5, 2019 11:12:02 GMT
I must have very low expectation levels as I didn't find it cheap at all. Come from away has no set and just 20 or so chairs but haven't heard anyone saying that it looks cheap. I’m sure that you’re intelligent enough to know that CFA is a completely different beast and not a relevant comparison, isn’t set in the sometimes opulence of ancient Egypt and has not been produced to an exceedingly high standard previously. Naughty Alece10! 😂
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Post by alece10 on Jul 5, 2019 11:25:04 GMT
I must have very low expectation levels as I didn't find it cheap at all. Come from away has no set and just 20 or so chairs but haven't heard anyone saying that it looks cheap. I’m sure that you’re intelligent enough to know that CFA is a completely different beast and not a relevant comparison, isn’t set in the sometimes opulence of ancient Egypt and has not been produced to an exceedingly high standard previously. Naughty Alece10! 😂 I know you have put a smiley face at the end but I find it very patronising when someone says "I'm sure you are intelligent enough to know" But it's a sunny day and my washing machine has just been fixed, its sunny and I've got the day off so let's leave it there. 😁
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Post by itsemily on Jul 5, 2019 12:04:53 GMT
Personally I think from the photos that the set & costumes look great!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 5, 2019 12:12:49 GMT
I must have very low expectation levels as I didn't find it cheap at all. I'm very easily pleased. Come from away has no set and just 20 or so chairs but haven't heard anyone saying that it looks cheap. For me the last lavish show I saw was 42nd Street but I think it will be a long time, if ever that we see something on that scale again. This is why I’m not investing in a trip to London to see it.
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Post by danb on Jul 5, 2019 13:07:38 GMT
I’m sure that you’re intelligent enough to know that CFA is a completely different beast and not a relevant comparison, isn’t set in the sometimes opulence of ancient Egypt and has not been produced to an exceedingly high standard previously. Naughty Alece10! 😂 I know you have put a smiley face at the end but I find it very patronising when someone says "I'm sure you are intelligent enough to know" But it's a sunny day and my washing machine has just been fixed, its sunny and I've got the day off so let's leave it there. 😁 Not patronising; just not understanding why someone would compare two such radically different shows to try and justify one of them’s inadequacies, and trying to be nice about it.
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Post by shady23 on Jul 5, 2019 13:51:43 GMT
I've seen the Joseph tour several times and the set looks like something from a school production. The children were sat in the stairs all the way through. It would hardly have won any awards for amazing staging!
I think that if the London show had produced the best staging since the beginning of time folks on here would still be complaining about it!
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Post by chernjam on Jul 5, 2019 14:45:38 GMT
The "cheapness" of productions has been a sad development in recent years. I suppose one could make an argument that theatre as an art form shouldn't need great production values to draw people into the drama and story telling and in this case, musical score. And that's surely been proven with some of the recent productions with scaled back sets - and minimalist props. But that's where you wonder is it necessity or greed driving all these decisions? A venue like the Palladium is huge... When they revived Cats, I never heard people complain that the sets looked cheap. And you would think they had to pull out all the stops there to make people satisfied to come out as they did those two winters in a row.
A show like Joseph, marketed to celebrate it's 50th anniversary, after teasing "Casting coming soon" with those high prices definitely gave the impression of something really big to come - a true event. As an outsider just reading all the comments, it sounds like, while a majority are positive in their reports - most of that is owing to loving the source material itself and then for the Sheridan fans - that's the added plus. For those who aren't Sheridan fans, they're surprised that she's not as awful as they were prepared for.
Its an interesting conversation though about the economics of all this. Cameron Mackintosh decided to fold the original production of Les Miz obviously for cost-saving measures - and to run up profits. Gambling that the score and story are so well known a cheaper production would still sell. I bet if ALW weren't involved, he would've done the same with The Phantom.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2019 14:53:51 GMT
The "cheapness" of productions has been a sad development in recent years. I suppose one could make an argument that theatre as an art form shouldn't need great production values to draw people into the drama and story telling and in this case, musical score. And that's surely been proven with some of the recent productions with scaled back sets - and minimalist props. But that's where you wonder is it necessity or greed driving all these decisions? A venue like the Palladium is huge... When they revived Cats, I never heard people complain that the sets looked cheap. And you would think they had to pull out all the stops there to make people satisfied to come out as they did those two winters in a row. A show like Joseph, marketed to celebrate it's 50th anniversary, after teasing "Casting coming soon" with those high prices definitely gave the impression of something really big to come - a true event. As an outsider just reading all the comments, it sounds like, while a majority are positive in their reports - most of that is owing to loving the source material itself and then for the Sheridan fans - that's the added plus. For those who aren't Sheridan fans, they're surprised that she's not as awful as they were prepared for. Its an interesting conversation though about the economics of all this. Cameron Mackintosh decided to fold the original production of Les Miz obviously for cost-saving measures - and to run up profits. Gambling that the score and story are so well known a cheaper production would still sell. I bet if ALW weren't involved, he would've done the same with The Phantom. That sums it up nicely Chernjam. Yes with the announcement, the logo, the teasing of casting and the initial prices - I was expecting a high class event. And that's not what we got. And relative to my expectations it's cheap and disappointing. But in the wider scheme of current cheapness, it's not that cheap (the sound and orchestra I would say are no expense spared!). If you don't compare it to 1991 it's a decent Joseph production. Agree on the sad development of "cheapness" and profit obsession. To add to my earlier list, Pretty Woman and Frozen (disclaimer - not seen either) were expected to be big budget also apparently looked very cheap. And on the Come From Away argument - of course it works for this production. But small cast playing multiple characters, small band, static very simple cheap set, only one act. So - reflect it in the ticket prices. Top price for this should be 50 max IMO. Average 35?!
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Post by denise on Jul 5, 2019 14:56:31 GMT
I think the pictures look amazing.
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Post by dontdreamit on Jul 5, 2019 15:50:55 GMT
My other half won the lottery for next week! So two visits beckon for next week for me. It’ll be interesting to see what’s changed since the first preview.
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