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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 20:14:22 GMT
Heard a rumour about this a few months ago..
Is this a limited or open ended run? Not sure how it would do if it were to be open ended? Theatre is huge, I'd predict like a year there? Hope it does do well
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Post by Seriously on Nov 4, 2016 22:35:33 GMT
Do we know how this is selling on tour? They have to be pretty certain it's going to sell in London if they're going for the Palladium. Maybe they have a big name lined up for it, because I really can't see it doing well in town without someone.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 4, 2016 22:39:08 GMT
Stalls were three quarters full at last Sunday's matinee.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 23:16:10 GMT
I think it's been in the pipeline for the Palladium for quite a while now?! I can't see the Palladium getting a long running musical in,es something like Frozen comes along.
Maybe it should stick to Variety?
I hope this show does well but I probably won't see it, it would probably do better somewhere like the Picadilly
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Post by Jon on Nov 4, 2016 23:49:57 GMT
I think it's been in the pipeline for the Palladium for quite a while now?! I can't see the Palladium getting a long running musical in,es something like Frozen comes along. Maybe it should stick to Variety? I hope this show does well but I probably won't see it, it would probably do better somewhere like the Picadilly I imagine the Piccadilly is too small for this show if they're doing venues like the Lowry, Mayflower etc The Palladium never has had a long runner in its history, Chitty was the longest at just over 3 years but most tend to do 18 months to 2 years tops. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 5, 2016 0:18:55 GMT
What have the London Palladium and Wind in the Willows got to lose?
The bricks and mortar (set and costumes) have been paid for.
The London Palladium has a handful of shows booked there, so it is sitting empty.
However even though Stiles and Drewe are accomplished composers and Julian Fellowes is a first rate book writer, this won't help shift tickets.
Rufus Hound will sell out the first 2 rows of the stalls, once on TKT's, so will need a big name/s to pull them in.
However I am glad our big theatres (London Palladium, Dominion, Drury Lane, Apollo Victoria, Lyceum) are now all filled, even glad a show is going into the Colesium to help the ENO out.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 5, 2016 0:25:01 GMT
I met Rufus Hound a few years back and thought he was a prize tool, would take a hell of a lot of money for me to even think about going to see this.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 6:49:43 GMT
The Palladium never has had a long runner in its history I don't know whether it's still true but I believe the Palladium had a policy of not permitting open-ended runs. I can't find any authoritative reference for that, however, so it could be something someone made up somewhere. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 12:20:37 GMT
Heard Wind In The Willows will be a limited run over the summer. Good reason to book, I'd say, to be sure of seats. I think that is smart of them to do it for just a limited run over the summer when kids are off school, tourists are in etc. Would make more sense that just opening it as a open-ended run. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 17:19:08 GMT
The show is a lot of fun and beautifully designed - there's a lot of set - but they need to recast the lead.
Mole, Badger and Ratty are all wonderful and Chief Weasel steals the scene when he's onstage.
Catchy score - needs a few cuts - but I'm a sucker for Stiles and Drewe!
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Post by groupbooker on Nov 7, 2016 23:20:20 GMT
Opens in Palladium June 2017 for a limited season. Rufus Hound continues as Toad.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 9:07:36 GMT
Previews from June 17th. Opening June 29th, currently booking through September 9th. Tickets currently on sale.
Ticket Prices:
Stalls - £30/£40/£50/£70
Royal Circle - £30/£40/£50/£70
Upper Circle - £15/£20/£25
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Post by Ade on Nov 8, 2016 9:26:45 GMT
Previews from June 17th. Opening June 29th, currently booking through September 9th. Tickets currently on sale. Ticket Prices: Stalls - £30/£40/£50/£70 Royal Circle - £30/£40/£50/£70 Upper Circle - £15/£20/£25 Those do go up outside of previews by a bit, but even then it looks like a much fairer pricing structure than we've seen recently! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 9:38:46 GMT
Previews from June 17th. Opening June 29th, currently booking through September 9th. Tickets currently on sale. Ticket Prices: Stalls - £30/£40/£50/£70 Royal Circle - £30/£40/£50/£70 Upper Circle - £15/£20/£25 Those do go up outside of previews by a bit, but even then it looks like a much fairer pricing structure than we've seen recently! I thought so but I couldn't wake myself up enough to go searching further than the first preview!  but thank you for letting us know!  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 10:09:18 GMT
Such a shame Rufus is transferring. He was by far the worst thing about it.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 8, 2016 10:14:26 GMT
Such a shame Rufus is transferring. He was by far the worst thing about it. I soooo disagree! |
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Post by daniel on Nov 8, 2016 10:34:11 GMT
Preview Pricing (Until Friday 30 June) £50, £40, £30, £20, £15 (Premiums £70) Main Run Pricing (Monday - Thursday) £55, £50, £40, £35, £25, £15 (Premiums £80) Main Run Pricing (Friday, Saturday) £65, £55, £45, £40, £30, £20 (Premiums £95) reallyusefultheatres.co.uk/performances/about/the-wind-in-the-willows/91Nice to see a show (more) sensibly priced for a change... |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 10:48:33 GMT
Such a shame Rufus is transferring. He was by far the worst thing about it. I soooo disagree! Really? It was like he was doing his own show. The other leads are fantastic. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 11:03:09 GMT
I realised I've never gave my thoughts. I saw this on Sunday afternoon and positively loved it. I've been a fan of Stiles and Drewe for a while and this is possibly their best yet. A beautiful score full of charming and brilliant numbers. Particularly highlights were Spring (what an opening number!), Messing About In A Boat (delightful) and We're Taking Over The Hall. As others have mentioned previously however, some of the best songs go to minor characters; The Headgehogs Nightmare and Wassailing Mice are wonderfully done.
The show is beautifully designed and there is so much set; trains, barges, cars you name it, it's in this show. And the sets are beautifully done. Subtle use of the revolve too. This is a production where no penny has been spared. Likewise, the costumes are lush and extravagant. A unique blend of animal and human.
Fra Fee and Thomas Howes stole it for me. Their friendship as Mole and Ratty really won me over and David Birrell is marvellous as Badger. Neil McDermott has some wonderful moments as Chief Weasel also, Taking Over The Hall and The Wild Wooders are excellently led by him.
As I've confessed above, the only cast member I was not impressed with was Rufus Hound. It just feels like he's doing his own show. There's no direction and he's throwing away genuinely funny lines. Not to mention the fact he can't sing the role. Toad is the character audiences should be leaving talking about, and this just isn't the case.
Really excited to be seeing this at the Palladium. Not been there in a while, so will be nice to revisit. Preferably on a day where Hound is indisposed.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 8, 2016 12:56:55 GMT
Really? It was like he was doing his own show. The other leads are fantastic. Really! He's supposed to be totally "out there" and he was. He's quite slapstick too (I was reminded of the Ruprecht scenes in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) which again worked for me, and that scene on the barge with the buckets of soapsuds lol. I thought his voice was better in DRS but again it seemed to suit the character of Toad. I found him very likeable. My pal bumped into him in a bar in the Northern Quarter last week and they compared moustaches. He said RH was absolutely charming. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 16:27:58 GMT
I'm glad that something big and new is coming to the Palladium! And it's good to see something where the ticket prices are a little bit more modest than what would be expected of a theatre that size. Hopefully more and more new shows opening will do the same.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 7:34:04 GMT
I like Styles and Drewe stuff, I really do. I still remember Just So at the Tricycle years ago with a very young Jenna Russell, Linzi Hateley and a host of other names we still know now (poster framed and treasured on a wall of my home) and Chichester did a great production of it a couple of years back. Honk was really enjoyable in the tiny Watermill. I loved their work on Mary Poppins and on Half A Sixpence, and would urge people to give the latter a chance in its London run. And Soho Cinders is a gorgeous little piece, so I am rather looking forward to this at the Union next month...
But much as I would love to see this (it sounds right up my street from some of the positive comments on here) I'm worried that this is going to turn into one of those Kiddies' Bawlin' And Behavin' Badly Shows, with them bringing along their equally badly behaved parents who couldn't care less about those of us who genuinely want to see and enjoy the show. The run at the Palladium is slap-bang in the school holidays. I've kept clear of Aladdin too for the same reasons, even though I love Disney and its creators. I'm cutting off my nose, I know, but I don't want my blood to boil for an evening, when I will have paid good money to enjoy something.
(Interesting to note is a sort of "warning" to parents on the RU booking page that there are to be no babies or under 6s and that children but be able to sit, pay attention and not cause a distraction to others, so I will be interested to hear what the score is once it opens.)
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Post by wickedgrin on Nov 9, 2016 10:35:52 GMT
I agree Caiaphas on the above post! After my visit to Aladdin at a midweek matinee OUT of the school holidays I have vowed never to attend a "children's" musical ever again!
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 12, 2016 4:58:41 GMT
Bit of pointless trivia for you, that I stumbled upon.
Wind in the Willows has already been done as a musical with Music by William Perry and Lyrics by Roger MCGough, it played the Nederlander Theatre back in 1985 and only lasted 4 performances. It had a very young Nathan Lane in it as Toad.
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Post by David J on Nov 12, 2016 13:23:33 GMT
I enjoyed this
I like how Julian Fellowes captured the charm of the book. The first 30 minutes goes as long at a leisurely pace, and I couldn't ask for anything more following Ratty and Moley up the riverbank and on the caravan
Some people may take issue with the pace here but the chemistry between the adorable Fra Free and the stalwart Thomas Howes keeps this going, along with some fantastic songs like Spring and Messing around on the river
David Birrell excels as badger.
There were some obvious songs about friendship and hiome. Thankfully they are kept to a minimum
I'm in two minds about the songs given to the minor characters. On the one hand it's nice to see the other riverbank dwellers get some attention. On the other hand the subject songs do break up the pacing a bit. You could have easily gone straight from the caravan crash into "Here comes mr toad"
Still I liked to manage to fit them in. I half wondered if they had included the Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but oh well. It did mean though that mr toads adventures on the train and barge were a tad rushed.
And we don't get the whole toad becoming a sensible animal at the end. He's just the same as he was from the start
Sophia Nomvette is pretty wasted here. Trying to take a semi-minor character from the book, change gender, and add her to the gang didn't add up to much. She was just a token character
I was a tad disappointed by Rufus Hound. I thought Toad would be perfect role for him but he doesn't take it by the horns. With so many interpretations from Rik Mayall, David Jason, Hugh Laurie, Terry Jones and Desmond Barritt he could have done so much more. He's pretty much playing himself, with passable singing. Even Matt Lucas being Matt Lucas did better
If you want to know who was really enjoying their role it would be Neil McDermott as the Chief Weasel. Very animated and led some dance numbers with aplomb.
I wander having him and the weasels as the jury in Toads trial was a call out to the terry jones movie (just realised Antony Sher was the chief weasel in that)
There is still lots to like here especially the colourful sets and costumes.
Not perfect but a good time nonetheless. Was received very well by the families that packed the audience
I may even give it another go at the Palladiun if there's day seats
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but thank you for letting us know! 
