Mean Girls - Savoy

[happysooz2]

Aug 23, 2024 9:35:19 GMT usbuzzer said:

Aug 23, 2024 9:11:18 GMT asps2017 said:

Seems actually very tricky! Have tried twice this week and then check throughout the day and no luck.

Same results! I tried multiple times and succeeded only one for a single ticket and it was a bad seat. So I guess rush is not the way to go for this show if you're not super-flexible and patient. Fingers crossed it will be better for Why Am I So Single, especially after a few weeks from the first show.

I was successful for a single Rush seat for today’s matinee and I was a bit later trying because I really wanted Next to Normal. Hey ho.

[happysooz2]

Steve hit the nail on the head for me. Georgina Castle as Regina George makes this show and her performance is utterly off the wall. Her Regina is like an alien who almost knows how humans behave. Just bigger and more extra. I thought she was utterly phenomenal. Damien and the Plastics are also great, each of the actors finding something extra, something more than the movie performances.

But overall I thought it lacked ooomph and sparkle, inspite of the great central performances. Most of the ensemble pieces dragged, inspite of everyone giving it their all. I wonder how much of this is to do with the screens/lack of scenery. It felt…empty somehow.

Someone more musical than me can probably help me understand what’s bugging me about the score and the pacing. Act two feels rushed. The themes feel distinct, but somehow both under and over-used. I loved the Cool Mom’s reprise of Gretchen’s song. But Stars seems to be shoe-horned into what ever the song at the party is, and isn’t given enough space to breath before it blossoms into Kady’s last big number.

Glad I saw it but I really would like to see this ‘properly’ staged.

[usbuzzer]

Sept 20, 2024 16:54:43 GMT happysooz2 said:

Aug 23, 2024 9:35:19 GMT usbuzzer said:

Same results! I tried multiple times and succeeded only one for a single ticket and it was a bad seat. So I guess rush is not the way to go for this show if you're not super-flexible and patient. Fingers crossed it will be better for Why Am I So Single, especially after a few weeks from the first show.

I was successful for a single Rush seat for today’s matinee and I was a bit later trying because I really wanted Next to Normal. Hey ho.

Yeah, I figured that the issue was trying for 2 tickets. It just seems non-existent as this option. It’s rather easy for 1 ticket .

[SuttonPeron]

I loved this last week. Some truly excellent dynamic pricing got me an excellent priced ticket for just about what a rush ticket costs. I´m not too fond of these modern shows, but I had an excellent time. Everyone was giving 100% and I loved all of the ensemble had their little moments to shine. We had an understudy for Karen, she was excellent! Georgina brought the house down with her vocals, but I think the show belongs to Charlie Burn. Her voice is beautiful, and her acting is wonderful. Her vocals alone are worth the ticket price!

I´m not the biggest fan of the set with all the screens, but it was nontheless a camp and very fun night out. I´d go again in a heartbeat. Five stars from me.

[darreno]

I was back at North Shore High on Thursday night, I seem to spend all my time there or at Westerberg High, not sure what that says about me, probably a question best left to a therapist!

A very full Savoy which loved every second of the show. The usual mixed crowd and lots of young kids who might have been experiencing their first taste of musical theatre, which adds a wonderful energy to proceedings.

We had a few understudies on, which is exciting for me as I love to see how different takes work on the characters. Everyone was strong, as you'd expect from a show of this size.

Elena Gyasi was the standout performer for me. Since I saw it first, she seems to have made small but brilliant improvements to her performance, which was already excellent! She's a real star in this.

Georgina Castle is still flawless as Regina George, I can't see anyone playing the part so perfectly, but I'm excited to see someone cover her at some point, just to compare. Her vocals are just unbelievable.

A little bit of bad audience behaviour, but this is the sort of show where you have to forgive the little bit of drunken nonsense around you and embrace the fun on stage in front of you.

[mrbarnaby]

I really hope Georgina Castle gets recognised when Olivier nominations come out next year.

[lewjohnny96]

Oct 21, 2024 10:40:33 GMT mrbarnaby said:

I really hope Georgina Castle gets recognised when Olivier nominations come out next year.

Me too. I think Georgina, Tom and Grace deserve to be recognised.

[david]

Having had a couple of days of watching some intense plays, a break in which could just switch off my brain was needed so a trip to the Savoy for this afternoons show was in order. I’ve neither seen the film nor am I particularly familiar with the score so I wasn’t going to pay big money for this. A £25 rush ticket got me a great seat on row E of the DC. Having read recent posts that the audience for this one can be quite lively, I was really surprised to find a really subdued and respectful audience at the performance so I could enjoy this one in peace.

With the 2.5hr run time was a fun watch thanks to the 5⭐️ cast and band which I couldn’t fault. With the majority of the main cast on at this performance, we did have some alts on - Cliona Flynn as Cady and Mervin Noronha as Kevin. For the cast, Georgina, Grace , Elena and Tom were the real standouts here. Georgina with the killer vocals and acting should definitely be up for an award with this performance as Regina. I absolutely loved her here. Tom’s comedy was just perfect and hit the mark. For their efforts alone it was worth the ticket price. 

As for the score, it was decent enough to listen to and moved the story along nicely. There wasn’t any numbers in there were I thought were duds that I wouldn’t want to listen to again. The sound mixing was fine today from seat with being able to clearly hear both band and vocals.

Whilst a fun watch, my main issue is the “set design” with this show which I’d rate at 2⭐️. While I’m a big fan of a great video design in my shows, I don’t want it to be the main feature on stage as it is used here. It should supplement a decent physical set and I will say I thought that this was the biggest let down with the show. When you’ve got large parts of the stage looking bare of long periods, I don’t care how good your video design is, it just looks cheap and does a disservice to the hard working cast on stage and musicians the orchestra pit.

As for the book, it was ok but when lumped in the genre of US high school MT shows, I’d say I found Heathers overall a better product which I have revisited a number times on tour in Liverpool. I liked the darker edge that Heathers brings whilst still having that fun element as a counter balance. 

I would be happy to revisit MG with better and more staging but not in its current state. I’ve seen it but won’t  be rushing back for a revisit no matter how great this cast are. Overall I’d give this one a 3.5⭐️. More set and it gets bumped to a higher rating.

[unseaworthy]

This is my favourite of the current crop of 90s high school movie adaptations... The book was a lot of fun, the talented cast worked very hard and the whole thing was very bright and colourful.

I agree with the lack of set critique - there is definitely more that could have been done - but on the whole this was a very enjoyable evening and the kind of show that could get new people into theatres.

[usbuzzer]

I've seen this last week - what a nice surprise. That's how pure-fun musicals should look like, great entertainment, awesome performances, really good score and choreography, very funny. Set was not the best, but I think for this type of show and the way how they've used the LEDs was still OK and didn't bother me that much. I wasn't expecting too much out of it and I was pleasantly surprised, recommended!

[properjob]

I saw the musical version of the film and now I've just seen the live version and the live version is so, so much better. So don't let the film put you off. I liked the set/video and think it worked well.

Because it is does a Friday matinee I could see myself seeing it again in a future theatre trip and I did not expect to think that going in.

[mrmusical66]

Any news of a cast recording happening by any chance?

[darreno]

Nov 8, 2024 17:24:08 GMT properjob said:

I saw the musical version of the film and now I've just seen the live version and the live version is so, so much better. So don't let the film put you off. I liked the set/video and think it worked well.

Because it is does a Friday matinee I could see myself seeing it again in a future theatre trip and I did not expect to think that going in.

The Friday matinee is such a great bonus, so few options that it'll hoover up those who don't fancy Mormon as much. Wish more shows took up that option.

[ladidah]

Got a good Rush ticket today, so off to the matinee.

[jacob]

Got a rush ticket for this one and paid such a great price for second row stalls, knew a lot of the songs before going in so seeing this for the first time with the bits in between was great. A very enjoyable show that I enjoyed as a younger person, and I thought the PowerPoint projections were actually pretty decent. And damn, this show is loud!

not impressed however with the near extended interval, was waiting around for quite a bit. And then they cut “I’d Rather Be Me” entirely? In all fairness, I didn’t know until I listened to the cast recording after (a fair few lyrics have been changed / updated too throughout which I know people have mentioned) and I feel a bit bummed… oh well !

[doornumberthree]

Dec 1, 2024 19:05:19 GMT jacob said:

Got a rush ticket for this one and paid such a great price for second row stalls, knew a lot of the songs before going in so seeing this for the first time with the bits in between was great. A very enjoyable show that I enjoyed as a younger person, and I thought the PowerPoint projections were actually pretty decent. And damn, this show is loud!

not impressed however with the near extended interval, was waiting around for quite a bit. And then they cut “I’d Rather Be Me” entirely? In all fairness, I didn’t know until I listened to the cast recording after (a fair few lyrics have been changed / updated too throughout which I know people have mentioned) and I feel a bit bummed… oh well !

In all fairness, I think it’s appalling that a production will put so much pressure on a cover to ensure ‘the show must go on’ Fergie Fraser who is second cover Janis was clearly very sick, but the least sick of all the Janis covers and one was on holiday. Having seen her when she’s healthy, I thought she did a brilliant job despite the illness however it was clear that she was not going to be able to make it through the song.

I still think she’s the best of all the Janis’ when it comes to acting, her voice is fantastic too! I hope the company are looking after her!

[Mark]

That’s absolutely nuts. I’m sorry but can you imagine going to Les Mis and Valjean not singing Bring Him Home? Or Wicked and not getting No Good Deed. Should have cancelled, or heck, you’re telling me someone from the ensemble couldn’t have swung in and covered the number?

[jacob]

ah that makes sense doornumberthree , I couldn’t tell that she wasn’t well ! maybe apart from a few slightly off notes now that you’ve mentioned it, but she was still really fab.

[unseaworthy]

Dec 1, 2024 19:23:27 GMT Mark said:

That’s absolutely nuts. I’m sorry but can you imagine going to Les Mis and Valjean not singing Bring Him Home? Or Wicked and not getting No Good Deed. Should have cancelled, or heck, you’re telling me someone from the ensemble couldn’t have swung in and covered the number?

Completely unacceptable that nobody in the entire company was able to cover that number. 

[lewjohnny96]

Dec 1, 2024 23:45:37 GMT unseaworthy said:

Dec 1, 2024 19:23:27 GMT Mark said:

That’s absolutely nuts. I’m sorry but can you imagine going to Les Mis and Valjean not singing Bring Him Home? Or Wicked and not getting No Good Deed. Should have cancelled, or heck, you’re telling me someone from the ensemble couldn’t have swung in and covered the number?

Completely unacceptable that nobody in the entire company was able to cover that number. 

I’m sorry but I think that it’s ridiculous to say it’s completely unacceptable to cover a number belonging to a different role. It is not their job to do that. They haven’t rehearsed or been paid to cover that role so why on earth should they be expected to know it well enough for someone to step in and save the show?
I totally agree with the example of Les Mis. The best option is to cancel the show. It makes absolutely zero sense for the characters main song to just be cut entirely.
But whilst many other shows might have people that can step in to save the day without covering the role, I find it unfair to expect that of every show / performer. They are human beings who perform for their job. It would be totally unfair for someone in an office job to be expected to fulfil someone else’s duties in a different role without any prep beforehand and expect the work to get completed.

[Dr Tom]

I saw this for the third time recently, getting the end of the front row through Rush, which is an excellent view. Rush tickets are easy to get and I'm not sure how long this will be around for, but it's a show that's grown on me.

This must have been before the illness going around the cast, but we had a cover on for Gretchen, I think it was Georgia Arron, but I didn't manage to capture the cast board, and West End Understudies didn't pick up on this. She was very good, in any case.

[martinlnmartin]

so many actors are sick right now. Surprised at how many understudies I see here in London compared to Broadway. Just got back from a NYC theatre trip...but maybe its the turn of the weather?

[valantisma]

Saw it last weekend. The set is lame and the big screen was hurting my eyes by the end. The girl playing Janice was AMAZING - she played Janice small with a big powerful voice and it worked perfectly. A great actor. I was also pleasantly surprised by Grace Mouat’s performance as I don’t rate her in other things (Six) but she was a perfect Karen. I was looking forward to see Georgina but unfortunately I had the cover. I saw Holly Willock as Regina and god she was awful I don’t understand how she’s had so much work before this judging by her performance. Regina’s big numbers all fell flat because she just couldn’t deliver on the high belts and kept falling flat. This could be forgiven if she gave a stellar acting performance but is he was an abysmal actor. No depth just rolling her eyes all the time and playing a bitchy mean girl like a high school student would.
I saw Cliona Flynn as Kady and again she was not good - she has an horribly shrill voice that made me cringe and again her acting was cardboard. She also just looks far too old for the part and it took me out of it - she just doesn’t look like a popular girl. Overall I gave it 3/10. Some nice songs and funny moments but I don’t think Mean Girls works particularly well as a musical.

[Paulw]

Rush price has increased for this to £30 now

[erik24601]

Is it bad that I always forget this is still going? Is it selling well? It's fallen off of my radar already.