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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 16, 2018 16:55:38 GMT
With a flurry of new musicals announced for next year, which is a great thing.
Bat out of Hell finishes in a couple of weeks and as far as I know nothing has been lined up to go in there next, I know Baz mentioned the Broadway transfer of My Fair Lady that seems to have gone cold.
I would have thought this place would be ideal for Moulin Rouge, but that is 2 years off at least and even their producers opted for a smaller theatre as they have got a bigger theatre if they wanted on Broadway. Way too big for Mean Girls and Anastasia.
King Kong would be a good choice apart from everyone is saying the show is a mess.
So nothing springs to my mind, unless it would be something like Riverdance or another show that relies on movement, it is a big place to sell and can be very unattractive to producers, as empty seats are never good finacially and creatively.
Maybe a new production of West Side Story or the the one that was done on Broadway several years ago, however West Side Story is certainly a draw, but that is being reimagined at the moment, they may want to wait for that? Finding Neverland which had a score which I enjoyed, however the show itself wasn’t great and the lead producer looks like he is not going to get £200 when he passes go.
Hello Dolly anyone?
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Post by latefortheoverture on Dec 16, 2018 18:15:17 GMT
According to a few people King Kong have measured up and viewed it; as did MFL, which of course has now gone cold. It wouldn't surprise me if it's dark for a long period unfortunately.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Dec 16, 2018 18:46:04 GMT
No one wants it.
Certainly King Kong won’t be opening here anytime soon.
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Post by happytobehere on Dec 16, 2018 19:17:35 GMT
Honestly I just wish they’d keep Bat Out Of Hell running a little longer. Surely that’d be more profitable than just leaving the theatre quiet for months on end?
I genuinely can’t think what else could realistically work in the Dominion right now - none of the speculated transfers would seemingly fit the place, it’s too damn big! Moulin Rouge is the closest I could think of and I can’t imagine that’s coming over for a few years at least.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 19:18:21 GMT
Starlight Express! Pretty pretty pretty please.....
(It’ll never happen but I can dream).
It is odd that nothing booked in though - not even a Kenwright tour....
Surely for their finances, anything is better than being dark?!
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Post by Raven on Dec 16, 2018 20:19:37 GMT
It's unfortunate that it's so vast...it's just too big for some of the speculated transfers like Anastasia and Mean Girls which would be best suited in a smaller, intimate space.
Dom, your suggestion for Starlight Express would be a dream! The Dominion would probably be a good shout for a theatre but the topic of whether it does ever get a revival in the West End keeps going hot and cold.
I'm in a little huff that Bat is closing but hey, all good things come to an end!
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 16, 2018 20:45:12 GMT
Starlight has to go in somewhere and if it is to be a West End then the Dominion would be the best suited, but really revivals do not run that long, apart from Chicago, would anyone be blown away by Starlight nearly 35 years later to justify the cost of putting it in the Dominion? If it was to work you have to really better that original production by some way, as people don’t get blown away that easy anymore.
Saying that Starlight Express seems to be happening, when I was at Unmasked a couple of weeks back, at the Other Palace Andrew Lloyd Webber mentioned that one of the actresses performing that night has been cast as Pearl, I cannot remember which one. It probably end up in a big top somewhere though, as the risks would be too much for a traditional house.
Fiddler On The Roof got excellent reviews and is another beloved musical like West Side Story which I mentioned earlier, but saying that, that would be a big move from the 200 seat Menier to the 2,200 seat Dominion and would be an hard sell.
What I would not want is a theatres to be dark, even if they shoved something like Rocky in there would be infinitely more preferable than being dark.
Also the Famous London Palladium, which is a similar sized house - has just signed another 3 year contract for Pantomime, which stops any big show going in there, so would say the theatre terrain looks very empty and bleak now for LW theatres to sign this contract for a tenant that at best will be there for 6 weeks. Also the similar sized Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is going to be empty, maybe for this very reason and using this opportunity to do re-modelling and refurbishment and hoping when this is complete a show might be available.
Would be a shame if is to be dark.
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Post by jaqs on Dec 17, 2018 12:57:39 GMT
I think the palladium having panto and a summer show with headliners inbetween is a great strategy.
Is the dominion still hosting the mega church?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2018 13:38:42 GMT
Frozen will supposedly be reopening Drury Ln. A friend who is on a tech course visited the theatre backstage and said scenery was being made.
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Post by alece10 on Dec 17, 2018 14:28:05 GMT
It could be used to record TV programmes like Michael Mackintire which is currently recorded at Drury Lane and with it closing for referb in Jan would need a home.
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Post by stuart on Dec 17, 2018 14:40:47 GMT
It could be used to record TV programmes like Michael Mackintire which is currently recorded at Drury Lane and with it closing for referb in Jan would need a home. Britain's Got Talent have used it the last few years for the London auditions too. Perhaps a Vegas style residency could be next in line for the Dominion? I have often wondered why London theatres haven’t investigated the possibility of this. I’m sure there are a number of stars who could sell out 50 shows in a 2,000 capacity theatre over the space of a year. |
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Post by westended on Dec 17, 2018 14:52:10 GMT
It could be used to record TV programmes like Michael Mackintire which is currently recorded at Drury Lane and with it closing for referb in Jan would need a home. Britain's Got Talent have used it the last few years for the London auditions too. Perhaps a Vegas style residency could be next in line for the Dominion? I have often wondered why London theatres haven’t investigated the possibility of this. I’m sure there are a number of stars who could sell out 50 shows in a 2,000 capacity theatre over the space of a year. BGT have used the Palladium more recently and are using the theatre in late Jan for London Auditions. |
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Post by firefingers on Dec 17, 2018 18:55:08 GMT
I suppose there is no reason for them not to do what they did at the Apollo Victoria for Starlight Express, and drop false walls in the auditorium where they needed to. Block off half the stalls and circle, and you get a manageable sized auditorium if you wanted one. That goes for any show at all. Can't see them making it smaller, as they need the full capacity for the Hillsongs services that happens 4 times every Sunday. |
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Post by Jon on Dec 17, 2018 18:59:38 GMT
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 17, 2018 21:14:45 GMT
Frozen will supposedly be reopening Drury Ln. A friend who is on a tech course visited the theatre backstage and said scenery was being made. Point of interest here, Disney was linked to the Dominion for Aladdin, but knowing it was too big for the Dominion they dug their heals in to get the theatre they want, which was the Prince Edward, obviously we can now say that Disney made the correct choice. Frozen was meant to be a cash cow for Disney and it has turned out to be a mini disaster with the show already discounting. They made an awful producing decision to open Beauty and the Beast at the Dominion, which only last a year, despite having a best musical Olivier - so they had their fingers burnt and learnt a lesson. A spanner in the works maybe could be Shrek which was a disaster on Broadway, but madly Dreamworks the show owners decided to scale the show back and put it barn of the Drury Lane, well was it successful here? It is on its 3rd UK tour!!! |
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 17, 2018 21:27:11 GMT
Starlight Express! Pretty pretty pretty please..... (It’ll never happen but I can dream). It is odd that nothing booked in though - not even a Kenwright tour.... Surely for their finances, anything is better than being dark?! Think this is one destine for the big top, cheaper to construct a breathtaking set that meets modern health and safety requirements, also you could move the theatre as a big top around the UK, Europe especially Holland, Germany, North America and Asia/Australia. I think that Starlight would struggle in the Dominion unless you took out 1,200 seats. I think the palladium having panto and a summer show with headliners inbetween is a great strategy. Is the dominion still hosting the mega church? The Palladium is correct to take the decision to have a Pantomime, which I personally loathe and though having the Panto and summer musical means that the theatre is dark for periods whilst the mentioned shows load in and out. But if no big shows is on the horizon but what do you do. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2018 21:38:35 GMT
I would say that only one of The Big Four in my book (Apollo Vic, Dominion, Drury Ln and Palladium) is able to sustain long-running shows, with that being the Apollo Vic. The Dominion hasn't had a major success since WWRY closed, 42nd Street is closing soon - we'll have to see how Frozen does in that theatre, and obviously the Palladium has their strategy of panto season, musical season and lots of other pop-ups. The Palladium has gotten it right with this. The other two seem too big for the musicals of today to sustain, and I think they would do well to have similar strategies to the Palladium, with its limited seasons.
This probably seems like a stupid post but it's just an observation.
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Post by blobble84 on Dec 17, 2018 22:46:02 GMT
I’m pretty sure the Dominion has already been “shrunk” in the past. I’m sure I remember reading that it has a 600+ capacity balcony still in existence but sectioned off and unused. |
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Post by Jon on Dec 17, 2018 22:50:04 GMT
I would say that only one of The Big Four in my book (Apollo Vic, Dominion, Drury Ln and Palladium) is able to sustain long-running shows, with that being the Apollo Vic. The Dominion hasn't had a major success since WWRY closed, 42nd Street is closing soon - we'll have to see how Frozen does in that theatre, and obviously the Palladium has their strategy of panto season, musical season and lots of other pop-ups. The Palladium has gotten it right with this. The other two seem too big for the musicals of today to sustain, and I think they would do well to have similar strategies to the Palladium, with its limited seasons. This probably seems like a stupid post but it's just an observation. That's not true, Starlight, Miss Saigon, Oliver! and Grease all ran at their respective theatres for a number of years. It's not the theatres, it's the shows themselves. The Palladium strategy works because it's always been a variety theatre, it didn't start having regular productions until the 1980s, it wouldn't work as well at say Drury Lane. |
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 17, 2018 22:51:31 GMT
I’m pretty sure the Dominion has already been “shrunk” in the past. I’m sure I remember reading that it has a 600+ capacity balcony still in existence but sectioned off and unused. The balcony was turned into office space, wasn’t it? |
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Post by blobble84 on Dec 17, 2018 22:54:56 GMT
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Post by iamamazing on Dec 17, 2018 22:55:06 GMT
What About Spongebob for a filler it will do so well over here as there is a market for it. also saw Elf over the weekend and thought Tam Ryan would be brilliant as Spongebob.  |
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Post by pianowithsam on Dec 17, 2018 23:05:11 GMT
I don't care where I don't care how.
Great Comet of 1812 or Something Rotten, please.
Could be in the middle of a field.
Thanks.
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Post by iamamazing on Dec 18, 2018 0:09:18 GMT
I don't care where I don't care how. Great Comet of 1812 or Something Rotten, please. Could be in the middle of a field. Thanks. Something Rotten Needs to Transfer I need to see it. |
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Post by teenangel on Dec 18, 2018 0:28:19 GMT
After only seeing half of the first act of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ this summer at Regent’s Park, I’m desperately yearning to see it make a re-appearance anywhere! I always thought that with a bit of rejigging to the show, the Dominion might be a good choice for this to slot in for a limited run. Anyone who saw the show in it’s entirety know if it would work, or if there’s any plans?
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