2,480 posts
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Post by zahidf on Jan 11, 2019 10:58:11 GMT
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4,959 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jan 12, 2019 7:33:06 GMT
Am I right in thinking this is a jazz juke box show?
Is it any good ?
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Post by learfan on Jan 12, 2019 9:24:11 GMT
Its apparently a revue rather than an orthodox musical. It won the Best Musical Tony beating On the 20th Century. There are excerpts on you tube. Might be good. I shall probably book.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 10:35:06 GMT
Saw the West End revival in the mid nineties. A collection of songs done by Fats Waller (not all by him), the staging of that was pretty average and the video of the original Broadway cast doesn’t do anything much more exciting, These rarely work anymore unless you’re happy to see a low budget gig. The only one I’ve liked in years was the Bacharach one at the Menier, because the staging and arrangements were superior. A great choreographer like Hoggett can add something useful to it.
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Post by learfan on Jan 19, 2019 12:42:28 GMT
Booked for Easter Saturday, £16 bargain. I pointed out to the nice BO lady that they might want to think about adding the fact that this won the best musical Tony in their publicity.
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Jan 19, 2019 18:13:38 GMT
Not my favourite style of music (think Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys and Dreamboats and Petticoats... hangs head in embarrassed shame) but couldn't resist a £16 centre front row seat for the Tuesday preview matinee. I like venues where the audience can sit within such close proximity of the performers and the fixed preview prices at Southwark Playhouse are excellent value.
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Post by missthelma on Jan 19, 2019 19:24:48 GMT
If this is well cast, it could be a stellar experience. I think the TV version made of this is still on You Tube with most of the original Broadway cast; if I recall there's limited attempt made at story and it really is just the songs strung together. But what songs, and Nell Carter! There is/was also a fascinating documentary about Nell Carter on YT which is well worth a watch too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 17:03:39 GMT
Just read an interview with Oti from Strictly about this in the Entertainment and Arts section of the BBC News web-site and it sounds like a lot of fun.I think my dancer daughter might enjoy this.I think a trip to Southwark is in order and a theatre I have never been to before.Sorry for being ignorant but on the BBC site it says that this version has been shortened with less songs than the Broadway version (sounds like from 30 down to 20) and am wondering if this show has been completely re-worked from the original? Any ideas?
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4,959 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 20, 2019 17:53:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 19:03:02 GMT
Sorry for being ignorant but on the BBC site it says that this version has been shortened with less songs than the Broadway version (sounds like from 30 down to 20) and am wondering if this show has been completely re-worked from the original? Any ideas? The running time of the original was 2 hours including interval. According to the Southwark Playhouse the running time of this is 2 hours including interval, but the Colchester theatre gives it as 1 hour 50 including interval. So maybe some songs cut but can't be many. I wonder if there are some which have lyrics that would now be viewed as "problematic" (eg "Fat and Greasy" maybe)? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 19:48:22 GMT
Those pictures look great, but i don't know how they'll fit all that into the Southwark Playhouse.
I'm looking forward to it on the 23rd.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2019 9:05:39 GMT
Nice to see Diane Abbott branching out from the House of Commons at the front of picture 6.
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3,558 posts
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Post by showgirl on Mar 21, 2019 11:50:30 GMT
I thought production photos weren't allowed? Though yes, they do look fabulous.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2019 11:52:53 GMT
You're allowed to share official production pictures, you're just not allowed to take any yourself or share other unauthorised pics.
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4,959 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 21, 2019 12:04:44 GMT
I got these the Southwark Playhouse own Facebook page
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3,558 posts
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Post by showgirl on Mar 22, 2019 5:11:06 GMT
Thank you, @baemax and Someone in a tree; I wasn't aware of the differing rules regarding production photos. I don't usually pay any attention to them, which is probably why, but these are very eye-catching. Looking forward to reviews from the Colchester dates. |
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3,558 posts
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Post by showgirl on Mar 23, 2019 5:17:14 GMT
And sure enough, just seen a 5-star blog review (did sound v enthusiastic though so may not be quite in line with those to follow) from a Colchester performance. Ironic that since my long-overdue return to the Mercury last October I've been looking for an opportunity to go back, yet the first show I've fancied there since is soon coming to London. Would prefer the Mercury as a venue, too.
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Post by learfan on Apr 20, 2019 16:55:17 GMT
Saw today's matinee at the Elephant. Superb entertainment. Dont know what they are feeding the cast of five but i want some! Only 110 mins inc interval. Recommended 4 and half stars.
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 20, 2019 19:22:29 GMT
Saw today's matinee at the Elephant. Superb entertainment. Dont know what they are feeding the cast of five but i want some! Only 110 mins inc interval. Recommended 4 and half stars. Oh good! I'm there on Tuesday 😊 |
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1,482 posts
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Post by Steve on Apr 20, 2019 21:34:03 GMT
Saw this tonight. Great revue, great fun. As there is no book to speak of, I found the choreography that utilised storytelling more energising and effective than the choreography which was pure razzle dazzle. Peerless cast of 5. Some spoilers follow. . . This show is 2 hours (including an interval) of infectious choreography, vivacious charismatic performances and gorgeous Fats Waller songs that transport you straight back to the Harlem of the thirties. For me, the key to the most rousing revue shows I've seen lies in making each song an involving story. The more the performers use props, and use each other as props, to tell the stories of the songs, the more charge, the more variety, the more memorable the performances. So songs like "The Vipers Drag," in which a reefer is brandished and choreographically peddled, or "Lounging at the Waldorf," in which a table is laid, champagne served, and living large is dazzling put over, marvellously communicate Waller's exuberance and loucheness. By contrast, comic songs like "Your Feet's too big" and "Fat and Greasy" don't quite work for me because nobody's feet are visibly big, noone is fat or greasy. Sure, I have an imagination, but it needs a little prodding to move me from second to third gear lol. Anyway, the 5 performers are killing it. I especially love Renee Lamb (she of Catherine of Aragon Six Cast Recording fame) for her sonorousness and dynamism, and I love Carly Mercedes Dyer (Fate in Hadestown) for her zaniness and her electric soprano. When all 5 performers harmonise,as on "Black and Blue," their voices combine so deliciously that no further storytelling is necessary. The story is heaven, whatever the lyrics say. So, although there is not quite enough storytelling to remove all trace of saminess in this evening, for me, there is enough to allow some terrific old music to sound vital and fresh, to allow 5 fantastic performers to transport you back in time to a place of vitality and creativity and sheer entertainment. For a first directing gig, Tyrone Huntley done good! 4 stars from me.  |
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 23, 2019 18:39:49 GMT
Saw the matinee today. Absolute Heaven!😇
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Apr 24, 2019 0:25:45 GMT
Saw the matinee today. Absolute Heaven!😇 I was there too but got held up in rail delays to London and arrived at the Playhouse at 3.15pm. They wouldn't let me in so missed the whole of the first half. Enjoyed what I saw and just caught up with the US version on You Tube. |
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 24, 2019 12:04:52 GMT
Saw the matinee today. Absolute Heaven!😇 I was there too but got held up in rail delays to London and arrived at the Playhouse at 3.15pm. They wouldn't let me in so missed the whole of the first half. Enjoyed what I saw and just caught up with the US version on You Tube. That's SO annoying for you, but you can understand why, with this show, they can't let late comers in! |
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Apr 24, 2019 13:13:22 GMT
Oh yes, I wasn't intending my post to read as a complaint.
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 24, 2019 15:09:03 GMT
Oh yes, I wasn't intending my post to read as a complaint. Oh no, it didn't! I just meant that for most musicals, it's pretty easy to let people dash in at the end of a number under cover of the applause, but anyone would be a bit conspicuous attempting to sneak into that space! |
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