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Post by lotster on Feb 17, 2024 20:43:17 GMT
I am surprised more isn’t being said about the problematic nature/resolution of the lesbian relationship. Up until the last two minutes I was impressed by the way it was going, only for it to be completely undone for what? I even heard some ‘awwwws’ from folk around me. Baffling. This was my biggest disappointment when I saw it last year. Really annoyed me. How empowering would it have been for the woman who relocated to be SINGLE and OK with that? It totally wowed me at the National last year. Couldn't believe how brilliant it was and raved about it to everybody. I too am now worried about going back in a couple of weeks. Am going with a friend who hasn't seen it, so I really do hope the magic I saw last year is still there. |
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Post by colelarson on Feb 17, 2024 23:41:06 GMT
Saw this today for the Matinee, having adored it at the NT and seen it 3 times there I wasn't disappointed and did still enjoy it.
The staging does work in the concrete Gillian Lynne Theatre. Great to see some familiar faces in the cast: Rachael Wooding still breaks my heart with "After the Rain".
Nikki was played by Lillie-pearl Wildman rather than Lauryn Redding and I liked her performance. The voice for this character will never be like Maimuna Memon's as she is so unique and could sing the phonebook and make me happy!
I still don't like the ending for the characters of Nikki and Poppy but found Laura Pitt-Pulford didn't play the character as desperate and almost gave me hope there would be a change in their story!
Some choreography in the stalls and circle for "Coles Corner" I had a dancing couple by me. It was a packed house and a standing ovation was given at the end.
It really is a love letter to Sheffield and not sure if that will last till August in the West End as it does feel like a National Theatre / out of town (Crucible Sheffield) type of show.
Lots of merchandise on sale: hoodie, tees, pen, mugs etc! And the bars have a Sky's Edge Gold IPA on sale for £7 a can.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 18, 2024 10:35:10 GMT
I don’t get the criticism that it’s Sheffield-centric.
People live in tower blocks, or apartment blocks all over the country,
-and the theme of people living together like this is pretty universal.
I thought that was literally the point of the stories- people from different walks of life and circumstances, living side by side.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 18, 2024 12:02:01 GMT
This was my biggest disappointment when I saw it last year. Really annoyed me. How empowering would it have been for the woman who relocated to be SINGLE and OK with that? It totally wowed me at the National last year. Couldn't believe how brilliant it was and raved about it to everybody. I too am now worried about going back in a couple of weeks. Am going with a friend who hasn't seen it, so I really do hope the magic I saw last year is still there. To clarify I wasn't disappointed with the show - I really enjoyed it. Just that character choice / narrative within the musical!  |
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Post by mrnutz on Feb 18, 2024 19:14:50 GMT
I don’t get the criticism that it’s Sheffield-centric. People live in tower blocks, or apartment blocks all over the country, -and the theme of people living together like this is pretty universal. I thought that was literally the point of the stories- people from different walks of life and circumstances, living side by side. They set a musical called "Blood Brothers" in Liverpool once. Everyone talked in Scouse accents and it only appealed to people who actually lived in Liverpool. Total commercial flop. Was never heard of again. |
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Post by n1david on Feb 18, 2024 23:18:52 GMT
I haven't seen this production but I loved it in Sheffield and the NT.
I wonder whether there is a different expectation for people seeing a musical at a subsidised theatre which often shows plays, compared to someone who is expecting a more traditional West End musical. This isn't a value judgement, I just wonder whether seeing this in a different theatre changes people's expectations...
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Post by ladidah on Feb 19, 2024 8:02:55 GMT
I can't wait to see this, will try to go soon.
I like the theatre too, rarely a bad view.
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Feb 19, 2024 9:04:54 GMT
I haven't seen this production but I loved it in Sheffield and the NT. I wonder whether there is a different expectation for people seeing a musical at a subsidised theatre which often shows plays, compared to someone who is expecting a more traditional West End musical. This isn't a value judgement, I just wonder whether seeing this in a different theatre changes people's expectations... There is an expectation when I see things at the National. I expect them to be good and of a certain standard.
It didn't do it for me. And for it to then win 'Best Original Score or New Orchestrations' when it was neither of those things was just wrong.
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Post by shownut on Feb 19, 2024 9:57:16 GMT
I haven't seen this production but I loved it in Sheffield and the NT. I wonder whether there is a different expectation for people seeing a musical at a subsidised theatre which often shows plays, compared to someone who is expecting a more traditional West End musical. This isn't a value judgement, I just wonder whether seeing this in a different theatre changes people's expectations... There is an expectation when I see things at the National. I expect them to be good and of a certain standard.
It didn't do it for me. And for it to then win 'Best Original Score or New Orchestrations' when it was neither of those things was just wrong.
100%...especially when the amazing BAND'S VISIT was also in the running (not to mention TAMMY FAYE) which were both actual original scores written specifically for their respective shows. The Oliviers really are a joke in that they don't even have a 'Best Score' category. |
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Feb 19, 2024 10:12:10 GMT
Managed to get a really great seat on Friday Rush for this week. I saw it in late previews at the National last year and remember having quite high expectations given the reviews on here, however, I just thought it was pretty good, but not mind blowing amazing the best thing I will ever see. I was disappointed when it won so many Oliviers over the Band's Visit to be honest. Anyway, looking forward to seeing the new cast. I wasn't the biggest fan of Alex Young's Poppy, so hopefully Laura Pitt-Pulford is better.
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Post by jaqs on Feb 20, 2024 22:49:49 GMT
Didn’t do it for me. Just felt like it was going on and on and on. A snippet of conversation and then fast forward and fill in the blanks.
It was a pretty full house for a Tuesday though.
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Post by bigredapple on Feb 20, 2024 23:30:27 GMT
Saw this tonight. NT rush, front row of the circle for 10£
Had some high expectations given the awards and WE transfer
Firstly… is this a jukebox musical? Was not expecting that at all, the music just didn’t work for me. It all felt very generic, sad songs. They didn’t move the story along, or tell us anything new. Just ‘this character is sad, here’s a sad song!’ Over and over. lol
The book I enjoyed. Yes, there are definitely faults (the end scene with the couple as others mentioned) but it does well to connect 3 stories. It’s very fast paced, which is nice but meant I didn’t really feel a connection to any of the characters
Staging was nice. Brutalism works in the Gillian Lynne. Not sure about the dancing and running in the stalls. We had dancers in the circle too, didn’t feel they added anything at all
Overall, I’m just not sure how to feel. Had my expectations not been set so high, maybe I’d think differently. But if this is indeed a jukebox musical, it’s very meh
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Post by ladidah on Feb 22, 2024 10:03:26 GMT
Just got a rush ticket for tonight, very excited.
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Post by ladidah on Feb 23, 2024 8:21:57 GMT
What worked for me - the book and score are beautiful. It has such a strong, original feeling to it, you feel completely immersed.
What didn't work for me - it's too long, and I hated the way the story ended for Nicky and Poppy. I also felt the Connie/Narrator role to be really corny and overdone.
****
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Post by amyja89 on Feb 23, 2024 8:51:21 GMT
The Nicky and Poppy relationship looks to be one of the glaring missteps, noted by those who otherwise liked the show and those who didn't like it at all. It still baffles me when I think back to seeing it at the National, especially the way that some around me seemed to think it was sweet!
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Post by edi on Feb 23, 2024 20:06:25 GMT
It was the start of Act 2 that made me cringe the most. Musical theatre people trying to be like grunge rockers.... awful. Seriously, that was my favourite part. I loved it in the NT, and one of those very rare "musicals" where I actually loved the songs and I'm still listening to them. But I prefer the original RH versions. |
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Post by blaxx on Feb 25, 2024 16:43:07 GMT
I didn't see this at NT.
Musically, it is one of the most exciting things I've seen in a while. Songs are gorgeous.
That said, choreo looks like a Gap commercial. The older performers look like they're taking a movement workshop at a community centre.
The wigs look like they unpacked their Amazon box and put them on.
Some of the acting needs serious grounding, especially from the lesbian couple - do they need to shake like that everytime they act upset?
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Post by eoghan31 on Feb 25, 2024 17:01:33 GMT
Show looks better in Gillian Lynne but too drawn out with some mindless robotic choreography which spills out unnecessarily into the auditorium. Songs are terrific but placement of them is just that as majority of them do nothing to move the show along. The gorgeous voice and heartbreaking performance of Rachael Wooding’s Connie made a return visit a must but what still fails the show is the flawed ending given to two of the main characters.
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Post by bigredapple on Feb 25, 2024 17:28:22 GMT
I didn't see this at NT. Musically, it is one of the most exciting things I've seen in a while. Songs are gorgeous. That said, choreo looks like a Gap commercial. The older performers look like they're taking a movement workshop at a community centre. The wigs look like they unpacked their Amazon box and put them on. Some of the acting needs serious grounding, especially from the lesbian couple - do they need to shake like that everytime they act upset? The choreo comment 🤣😭 one scene in particular that stands out in my mind, I think act two, one older actress is placed at the ‘door’ of the flat, and just walks left, then up, then down, then right, over and over. It was so hilarious to watch |
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Post by blaxx on Feb 25, 2024 18:27:33 GMT
I didn't see this at NT. Musically, it is one of the most exciting things I've seen in a while. Songs are gorgeous. That said, choreo looks like a Gap commercial. The older performers look like they're taking a movement workshop at a community centre. The wigs look like they unpacked their Amazon box and put them on. Some of the acting needs serious grounding, especially from the lesbian couple - do they need to shake like that everytime they act upset? The choreo comment 🤣😭 one scene in particular that stands out in my mind, I think act two, one older actress is placed at the ‘door’ of the flat, and just walks left, then up, then down, then right, over and over. It was so hilarious to watch That lady is absolutely set up for failure. She stands out throughout for all the wrong reasons. After all the Sheffield comments, I was also disappointed about how little of the city's history and events are part of the script. It could easily take place in any ever-changing city in the world. |
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 25, 2024 18:45:41 GMT
Did they do the choreo in the aisles when it was at the NT? I can't remember.
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Post by lilgirlbigcity on Feb 25, 2024 21:28:35 GMT
Did they do the choreo in the aisles when it was at the NT? I can't remember. Not in the aisles, but in the random spaces in front of seating blocks |
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Post by ladidah on Feb 26, 2024 7:40:21 GMT
I really hate the new trend of having those real herbal cigarette things, a swing smoked one for ages and the smell was horrendous.
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Post by sf on Feb 29, 2024 17:31:01 GMT
Saw it last night - from the (very) cheap seats off to the side in the circle.
It looks and sounds great in the Gillian Lynne. I can pick a couple of holes - I don't love the ending of the Poppy/Nikki storyline - but the overall effect of the show is so strong that it's a solid five stars from me. And Rachael Wooding's Rose just keeps getting better and better. Tom Deering's arrangement of 'After the Rain' is gorgeous, and she sings the hell out of it. It's a thrilling piece of theatre, and I'll be back to see it again.
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Post by ladidah on Mar 1, 2024 8:53:41 GMT
It's interesting everyone feels the same about that relationship ending. {Spoiler - click to view}
I was happy for them to reach a resolution and closure, but I didn't need/like the big Richard Curtis ending of them making up. |
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