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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 17, 2019 10:27:17 GMT
 Creating a dedicated thread for this (previously mentioned in the HM season announcement thread). Runs 2nd to 31st March. Interesting to see HM have moved to a semi allocated booking system for this year’s shows. Seating plan is split into three sections Blue, Orange and Yellow. Tiered pricing structure. Presumably you get to sit where you want within the section you choose. Prices look to have gone up! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 29, 2019 16:53:48 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 29, 2019 16:59:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2019 17:03:54 GMT
This won't mean much to anyone outside of the Eurovision bubble but every time I see a reference to 'Rags' the musical, I always think of this classic which was beaten in the UK national final of 1977 by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran's 'Rock Bottom'. Never has a mid-song outfit change looked so fabulous!
I'm willing to bet that there will be nothing as catchy as this in 'Rags' the musical . . .
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2019 12:45:26 GMT
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Post by david on Mar 1, 2019 19:02:16 GMT
I’m at the 1st preview tomorrow night. Just had a listen to the OCR which sounds great. As it’s being directed by Bronagh Logan who directed both the Little Women and the Putting It Together productions which were both fantastic I am hoping for something similar.
I’m just praying for a decent orchestration of the score (i.e. more than just a piano). Also, will we get to play the interval game if trying to identify what props have been used in previous productions?
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Post by sf on Mar 2, 2019 23:18:32 GMT
OK. So.
It's good, and Ms. Lagan redeems herself here for her awful 'Promises Promises' a couple of years ago, which was so bad it very nearly stopped me from buying a ticket for this. She's done a very good job here with difficult material.
If you know the recording, a lot of this version of the show will be unfamiliar. It's been very heavily rewritten - in terms of the score, not entirely for the better. This is probably the best music Charles Strouse has ever written for the theatre, but in this version of the show some of the songs have been chopped up and re-sequenced in ways that don't entirely make musical sense.
Good performances from the whole company, and Rebecca Trehearn is tremendous.
Starting a performance a full half-hour late demonstrates absolute contempt for the audience; it's unprofessional and there's no excuse for it. Particularly here: this isn't London, the transport system in parts of Greater Manchester shuts down surprisingly early, and where I live, less than ten miles from the theatre, those thirty minutes are the difference between getting all the way home on public transport and having to get a cab part of the way. I'm sorry they (apparently) had a difficult dress rehearsal - but please, Ms. Lagan, deal with your problems on YOUR time, not mine.
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Post by david on Mar 2, 2019 23:44:59 GMT
Having watched the 1st preview tonight, I have to say I think Hope Mill have got another hit show here.
Due to technical difficulties, we had a 15minute delay before the auditorium opened so we had a late start tonight once everyone was seated. With the new seating blocks, depending on what colour block you selected at the time of purchase, you get the corresponding coloured card and get called up by colour. Each seat has a coloured sticker on it to make sure you are in the right block. For this production, you have the main central seating and then 2 rows of seats on the right hand side. The left side is used for staging here.
The show itself ran for 2.5hrs including interval and for a 1st preview was in absolutely fantastic shape. For those who are planning to watch this, you may be glad to know that this is a glow stick free production. The staging is very simple, but effective with a backdrop of a lot of suitcases to represent the groups of immigrants arriving in NY (as stated by Katy Lipson the Artistic Director who was sat behind me.).
The musical score was an absolute pleasure to listen to. With a band of 5 playing the score (keyboards, trumpet, flugel, trombone and percussion). For a lot of the time, the band played on stage but the sound mixing was spot on so you could hear both the vocals as well as the music. It was great to hear a mix of instruments rather than just a piano or two!
Performance wise, I couldn’t fault this. Rebecca Trehearn was the standout as Rebecca and her rendition of “Children of the Wind” at the end of Act 2 was the standout performance for me. Vocally, all the other cast members were very strong and the young lad who played David (the role is shared between 2 boys) gave a strong performance. For a bit of light relief, Valda Aviks as Rachel and Michael S. Siegel as Avram got some cracking one liners and their duet in “Three Sunny Rooms” was just great fun.
Overall 4*.
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Post by johartuk on Mar 3, 2019 0:05:24 GMT
This won't mean much to anyone outside of the Eurovision bubble but every time I see a reference to 'Rags' the musical, I always think of this classic which was beaten in the UK national final of 1977 by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran's 'Rock Bottom'. Never has a mid-song outfit change looked so fabulous! I'm willing to bet that there will be nothing as catchy as this in 'Rags' the musical . . . The dress on the girl with long blonde hair is a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen! |
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Post by stevej678 on Mar 4, 2019 9:37:16 GMT
With the new seating blocks, depending on what colour block you selected at the time of purchase, you get the corresponding coloured card and get called up by colour. Is there no longer priority for entry given based on who visited the box office first and everyone with the same colour card now goes in together? Will be nice to be able to show up just 20 minutes beforehand rather than waiting round for an hour or more if they've stopped letting in the audience in batches of 50 based on who arrived first. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2019 9:42:05 GMT
With the new seating blocks, depending on what colour block you selected at the time of purchase, you get the corresponding coloured card and get called up by colour. Is there no longer priority for entry given based on who visited the box office first and everyone with the same colour card now goes in together? Will be nice to be able to show up just 20 minutes beforehand rather than waiting round for an hour or more if they've stopped letting in the audience in batches of 50 based on who arrived first. Still annoying that you could be in the first coloured block to be called, sit down for a drink and face 20/30+ people turn up after you, crowding round and queuing up at the auditorium door to get in first. There's always going to be some compromise with unreserved seating I guess. |
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Post by david on Mar 4, 2019 10:08:07 GMT
With the new seating blocks, depending on what colour block you selected at the time of purchase, you get the corresponding coloured card and get called up by colour. Is there no longer priority for entry given based on who visited the box office first and everyone with the same colour card now goes in together? Will be nice to be able to show up just 20 minutes beforehand rather than waiting round for an hour or more if they've stopped letting in the audience in batches of 50 based on who arrived first. It appears that entry to the auditorium is now based on card colour rather than what time you arrive. So this should mean that you should hopefully be able to turn up as you say 20mins beforehand rather than hanging around for an hour which really was a pain in my experience. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 4, 2019 10:15:47 GMT
It’s a step in the right direction. They moved from total bunfight to coloured tokens allocated on arrival time, now they’ve moved to booking by colour. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before we see allocated seating. I can’t remember the last musical production I saw where the layout wasn’t the same or very similar. They could sell the main blocks as allocated and the one or two rows around the thrust as unallocated or...dare one suggest it... dayseats?
Prices have gone up too. £27 for the main run of Rags.
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Post by david on Mar 4, 2019 12:55:15 GMT
It’s a step in the right direction. They moved from total bunfight to coloured tokens allocated on arrival time, now they’ve moved to booking by colour. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before we see allocated seating. I can’t remember the last musical production I saw where the layout wasn’t the same or very similar. They could sell the main blocks as allocated and the one or two rows around the thrust as unallocated or...dare one suggest it... dayseats? Prices have gone up too. £27 for the main run of Rags. I’d definitely welcome allocated seating, especially if you wanted an aisle seat. Though I assume if you wanted one with the current colour cards system, an email to the theatre before hand to request may help as I’ve found the aisle seats are always the 1st to get taken. I’ve noticed the price increase on this years musicals. I’ve booked for previews for the musicals to save myself some money. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 5, 2019 17:56:38 GMT
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 17, 2019 17:51:22 GMT
No reviews yet? Well, I made the trip to Manchester on a wet Friday night and this gets a thumbs up from me.
The new seating system is a big plus. I only made it to the theatre a few minutes before the show was due to start, but was still able to get a front row centre seat. I was one of the first people into the theatre when they let my section in (but actually most of the front row seats went last, as for some reason people prefer to sit further back).
For the yellow (back) section, they've also added two rows of seats you can choose at the side of the stage. I wouldn't recommend those, as everything is played to the front. The stage area is rather square for this one. Maybe the very end seats, but not much beyond them.
On Friday, the show was around 80% full.
The front row seats are low, so bear that in mind. I kept my legs back, but the performance doesn't come to the front of the stage area (no big musical style numbers), so you could probably stretch out.
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes, including interval.
As for the show. It's an engaging story, with some similar themes to Fiddler on the Roof. I believe that very little survives from the original script, so it's a new book using most of the original songs. Sung and performed well by a small cast including several actor-musicians. Rebecca Trehearn is excellent, as you'd expect. The sound balance is good, so you can hear everything.
It's a gritty rather than flashy musical, but otherwise traditionally styled.
This is very deserving of a London transfer. I don't know if it will get one, as it doesn't have the name value of some of the other shows that have transferred and it's not a sell out. Certainly worth seeing if you can get to Manchester over the next few weeks.
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Post by anniel on Mar 17, 2019 18:18:20 GMT
I was also there on Friday night and concur with Dr Tom.
It was like Fiddler The Sequel - and early twentieth century New York was really well portrayed.
I enjoyed the songs - the best one is on the original soundtrack called Children of the Wind and Rebecca Treherne sings it brilliantly.
All of the cast were excellent - including a child who was fantastic.
It was quite a gripping story and you really cared about the characters.
Hope it does well and hope it transfers.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 17, 2019 19:52:59 GMT
I’m going towards the end of the run. Hang back on booking until we had some reviews and looking forward to it now.
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Post by kzf on Mar 22, 2019 11:48:45 GMT
Saw this last night. What a gorgeous production, the sets and lighting were brilliantly done.
As others have said it is worth the ticket price alone for Rebecca Trehearn's performance in this intimate venue. Her solos are clearly the highlights of the night, but really the entire cast is fantastic, including the on-stage musicians who expected to do a lot!
The story feels a little underdeveloped, I don't think it had the emotional impact that it could. Not familiar at all with the original book so I have no point of comparison there. However, it certainly kept me invested and never felt dull.
I would second Dr Toms suggestion to avoid the side seats -- you would be side-on to the action the entire show. The seats at the end of the row towards the back of the stage would be abysmal! Also worth mentioning that the front two rows are both ground-level, if you're short then it would be wise to try and to avoid the second row.
Regarding the ticketing system, it wasn't super strict, I was in the blue (front) section and some people had already been seated with blue tickets before we got in. So keep a close eye on the queue if you've got your eye on front-row middle or somewhere very specific and jump in ASAP. It would be nice to see allocated seating at Hope Mill, at least for bog-standard setups like this.
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Post by sf on Mar 22, 2019 12:18:31 GMT
I would second Dr Toms suggestion to avoid the side seats -- you would be side-on to the action the entire show. The seats at the end of the row towards the back of the stage would be abysmal! I'm sure the side seats towards the back of the stage would indeed be terrible. The ones at the other end of the row - at a right-angle to the front row in the main seating block, at the very front of the stage - are perfectly OK (that's where I sat). When they call the yellow group into the theatre, move quickly. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2019 8:37:11 GMT
This won't mean much to anyone outside of the Eurovision bubble but every time I see a reference to 'Rags' the musical, I always think of this classic which was beaten in the UK national final of 1977 by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran's 'Rock Bottom'. Never has a mid-song outfit change looked so fabulous! I'm willing to bet that there will be nothing as catchy as this in 'Rags' the musical . . . Watching DLT with that girl in a neck lock. Crikey. She did not look happy. Loved that costume change. And I’m going to be humming that song all day now. |
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 31, 2019 10:27:11 GMT
I fell in love with this score when I first heard the studio cast recording many years ago (Charles Strouse's very best score imo). I saw - and loved - the production at the Bridewell in 2001 (with Sally Ann Triplett) and also the concert production in the West End in 2014 (with Caroline Sheen).
I saw this revised version at Hope Mill a week ago and was seriously blown away. So powerful in that space and the music and vocals simply soared. Every member of the cast was brilliant - and Rebecca Trehearn was incredible (as always). It is quite a trek to Manchester for me but worth every second of the train journey just to hear Rebecca sing Children Of The Wind. If this does not transfer to London, there is no God. lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2019 20:59:08 GMT
Could be a big box-office hit in the glittering WE...from rags to riches...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 31, 2019 23:12:14 GMT
Oh dear I really didn’t like this.
I’m not going to go into detail because I love the Hope Mill and I could absolutely see the intent behind this production. The themes are very relevant but this was lacking in so many respects . I saw Rebecca Trehearn in Showboat at the Crucible and loved her but not tonight.
There were isolated moments of good but overall it was a ⭐️⭐️.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2019 7:14:03 GMT
Not worth splurging £30 on it last minute then?
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