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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 11:12:33 GMT
I phoned the BO as I wanted to know the situation with regards to todays shows. I was told that an U/S is currently rehearsing and a decision would be made in the next 30 minutes over whether the show goes ahead as a full production or concert version. If it's concert then the emails will go out to everyone, but the BO woman believes it will be a full production (of course she probably has to say that).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 11:16:48 GMT
I believe in the professionalism of the understudy community.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 11:23:58 GMT
And it's been confirmed as a full show. No Day But Today and all that gubbins  |
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Post by Mark on Dec 23, 2016 11:39:41 GMT
Surprised they didnt get Anthony Rapp to step in as Mark  |
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 11:43:19 GMT
Surprised they didnt get Anthony Rapp to step in as Mark You could have stepped in. Did you offer? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 11:44:57 GMT
If anyone is stepping in as Mark it's me...I've had that part down for 15 years ;p
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 11:54:57 GMT
Where are all the enterprising drama school graduates this year? Remember this time last year when Melissa Bayern successfully put herself forward to save the show for a week as the Witch in Into the Woods at the Royal Exchange?
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 17:51:42 GMT
Well that was simply wonderful. Possibly the best production of Rent I have seen, and made my horror of the initially high ticket price completely disappear.
Unsurprisingly I wept a few times (as I tend to always do with Rent). It really is my favourite show.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 19:14:00 GMT
Well that was simply wonderful. Possibly the best production of Rent I have seen, and made my horror of the initially high ticket price completely disappear. Unsurprisingly I wept a few times (as I tend to always do with Rent). It really is my favourite show. I was there, too Mr W. Despite some mic issues with Roger the show was brilliant, you wouldn't have been able to tell they've had cast illnesses. It was the first time I've seen a production with Contact in, which made a nice change. I adore this show, and I'd happily book again for the tour. Perfectly Christmassy too. |
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 20:49:40 GMT
Well that was simply wonderful. Possibly the best production of Rent I have seen, and made my horror of the initially high ticket price completely disappear. Unsurprisingly I wept a few times (as I tend to always do with Rent). It really is my favourite show. I was there, too Mr W. Despite some mic issues with Roger the show was brilliant, you wouldn't have been able to tell they've had cast illnesses. It was the first time I've seen a production with Contact in, which made a nice change. I adore this show, and I'd happily book again for the tour. Perfectly Christmassy too. Whereabouts were you sat? I was in row K. Never sat that far back at the St James before. Yes there were a few mic issues, but certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment. I do think I would have missed some lyrics had I not known them all anyway (it was a struggle not to join in in places, but I held it together). There was a teenage boy sat next to me and he was having a good weep at the same time as me, so I'm glad I didn't embarrass myself in front of him (working in education I have to keep a air of manliness about me). |
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Post by theatremadness on Dec 23, 2016 21:37:37 GMT
Interestingly, they are looking for a male swing to join the show ASAP.
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Post by princeton on Dec 23, 2016 21:54:11 GMT
If only they had three alternates for the lead roles....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 21:55:26 GMT
Gutted I can't see this. I've always wanted to see Rent live. Thank God I have the DVD. And bought the libreto on Amazon last week.
Btw I really want to get "forget regret, or life is yours to miss" tattooed on my inner arm. I've been considering it for months now and I think it's gonna happen soon!
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Post by anthony40 on Dec 23, 2016 22:11:27 GMT
Wow! That IS some dedication!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 22:49:30 GMT
Whereabouts were you sat? I was in row K. Never sat that far back at the St James before. Yes there were a few mic issues, but certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment. I do think I would have missed some lyrics had I not known them all anyway (it was a struggle not to join in in places, but I held it together). There was a teenage boy sat next to me and he was having a good weep at the same time as me, so I'm glad I didn't embarrass myself in front of him (working in education I have to keep a air of manliness about me). I was row C, at the front (the bum that Benny shouted at to get my "ass off that Land Rover"). I always tear up during Will I? and I'll Cover You (Reprise). Also, scarily enough, I also work in education. |
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Dec 23, 2016 23:56:15 GMT
Whereabouts were you sat? I was in row K. Never sat that far back at the St James before. Yes there were a few mic issues, but certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment. I do think I would have missed some lyrics had I not known them all anyway (it was a struggle not to join in in places, but I held it together). There was a teenage boy sat next to me and he was having a good weep at the same time as me, so I'm glad I didn't embarrass myself in front of him (working in education I have to keep a air of manliness about me). I was row C, at the front (the bum that Benny shouted at to get my "ass off that Land Rover"). I always tear up during Will I? and I'll Cover You (Reprise). Also, scarily enough, I also work in education. Always good to be part of the show. Nothing scary about it. I hear only the best people work in education . |
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Post by anthony40 on Dec 28, 2016 16:16:39 GMT
So today I turned up at about 1pm in order to pick up a returned ticket for todays matinee. I was first in line. After freezing my bollocks of for 90 mins, I was offered the only returned ticket for £75. This was too expensive for me. I did see Rent.
Despite never being there before, guess it's off to Bromley I go.
BTW, the staff were extremely friendly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2016 16:24:03 GMT
Gutted I can't see this. I've always wanted to see Rent live. Thank God I have the DVD. And bought the libreto on Amazon last week. Btw I really want to get "forget regret, or life is yours to miss" tattooed on my inner arm. I've been considering it for months now and I think it's gonna happen soon! Is there nowhere on the tour you can make it to? or perhaps queue for returns one day in London? such a shame if not! A friend of mine had 'forget' on one wrist and 'regret' on the other which I love. I've long considered a Rent tattoo if I were to get any tattoo! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2016 18:27:56 GMT
Gutted I can't see this. I've always wanted to see Rent live. Thank God I have the DVD. And bought the libreto on Amazon last week. Btw I really want to get "forget regret, or life is yours to miss" tattooed on my inner arm. I've been considering it for months now and I think it's gonna happen soon! Is there nowhere on the tour you can make it to? or perhaps queue for returns one day in London? such a shame if not! A friend of mine had 'forget' on one wrist and 'regret' on the other which I love. I've long considered a Rent tattoo if I were to get any tattoo! I live in Spain and can't afford to travel to the UK right now  Wow I love that! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2016 10:08:21 GMT
Returned two tickets for today's matinee if anyone is interested.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2016 18:03:42 GMT
No doubt I am late to the party with this, but having had the OBC for years, I acquired the double CD movie soundtrack this week. I know the film itself had mixed reviews but I LOVE the soundtrack. I find it rockier, edgier, fuller and with even more packed emotion than the OBC, really love the arrangements.
Anyway, off to the St James mid January - really looking fwd to it!
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Post by Steve on Dec 29, 2016 18:54:16 GMT
Saw the matinee yesterday. Great fun, with Layton Williams and Lucie Jones standouts! I wished I sat further back than the cheap front row seats I opted for. While immersion in the show was thrilling, the sound mix for smaller voices was fogged by actual proximity to the instruments. Most of the performers had the belt to make themselves heard, but subtleties in Ross Hunter's performance of Roger, in particular, could only be appreciated from mid stalls or further back, I should imagine (somewhere, anywhere, closer to the sound desk). This contributed to an experience, for me, in which ostensible lead character, Roger's story, including his romance with Philippa Stefani's Mimi, was a mere breeze to be brushed away by the tornado of Leyton Williams's Angel and his relationship with Ryan O'Gorman's Collins. The staging contributed to this biasing, as O'Gorman and Williams were charging about two feet from the front row, whereas Hunter and Stefani were typically staged to the rear of the set, where Roger would sit with his guitar. Williams is a star. His Angel stole every scene he was in. Dynamic, generous, flamboyant and gorgeous, he was Matt Henry in Kinky Boots, but younger and, yes, much more "angelic." Pairing him with O'Gorman's beautiful baritone meant that the Collins-Angel duo ate up this production (at least from where I was sitting). For me, the show started with William's effusive entrance with "Today 4 U" and ended with O'Gorman's overwhelming elegiac "I Cover You (Reprise)." Everything else was epilogue. Williams was not alone in chewing scenery. . . Lucie Jones had the fortune and wherewithal to perform a hugely rousing "Over the Moon." Fortunate because the band was mostly silent, allowing her voice full command of our ear drums. And boy, did she TAKE command. Everything about her "Over the Moon" worked for me. If Eden Espinosa in the Broadway Recording brought an artistic sincerity to the number, and Idina Menzel brought unhinged hysteria, Lucie Jones' background on the X Factor informed her take: it is pure personality, a force of ego, the voice that Simon Cowell promised had been hungrily slavering for attention in Thimbletown, Wales, desperate to take over the world, unleashed. There is an infectious GLEE to the rise and fall of Jones' powerhouse belt, combining Menzel's hysteria with an empowerment savoured, borne of years waiting in the wings. If the X Factor was good for anything, it was good for this! Like Williams', Jone's Maureen's storyline gets sterling support, in this case from Shanay Holmes' furious Joanne and Billy Cullum's somewhat swaggering Mark. In their number together, "Tango Maureen," Holmes and Cullum build a head of steam, but in their scenes with Jones, they whistle. Ironically then, for me, Rent's story of community and communality (which still powerfully reverberates in the anthems, "La Vie Boheme" and "Seasons of Love") becomes, in this production, a tale of triumphant individualism: the story of Angel and Maureen, two egos who rise to the top, the creme of the charisma tree, by sheer force of personality. It is in Angel's story that the heart of this production lies, though, and it is because of Angel's story, and the captivating duo of Leyton Williams and Ryan O'Gorman, that I couldn't help welling up all over again. 4 stars.  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2016 20:05:30 GMT
Saw the matinee yesterday. Great fun, with Layton Williams and Lucie Jones standouts! I wished I sat further back than the cheap front row seats I opted for. While immersion in the show was thrilling, the sound mix for smaller voices was fogged by actual proximity to the instruments. Most of the performers had the belt to make themselves heard, but subtleties in Ross Hunter's performance of Roger, in particular, could only be appreciated from mid stalls or further back, I should imagine (somewhere, anywhere, closer to the sound desk). This contributed to an experience, for me, in which ostensible lead character, Roger's story, including his romance with Philippa Stefani's Mimi, was a mere breeze to be brushed away by the tornado of Leyton Williams's Angel and his relationship with Ryan O'Gorman's Collins. The staging contributed to this biasing, as O'Gorman and Williams were charging about two feet from the front row, whereas Hunter and Stefani were typically staged to the rear of the set, where Roger would sit with his guitar. Williams is a star. His Angel stole every scene he was in. Dynamic, generous, flamboyant and gorgeous, he was Matt Henry in Kinky Boots, but younger and, yes, much more "angelic." Pairing him with O'Gorman's beautiful baritone meant that the Collins-Angel duo ate up this production (at least from where I was sitting). For me, the show started with William's effusive entrance with "Today 4 U" and ended with O'Gorman's overwhelming elegiac "I Cover You (Reprise)." Everything else was epilogue. Williams was not alone in chewing scenery. . . Lucie Jones had the fortune and wherewithal to perform a hugely rousing "Over the Moon." Fortunate because the band was mostly silent, allowing her voice full command of our ear drums. And boy, did she TAKE command. Everything about her "Over the Moon" worked for me. If Eden Espinosa in the Broadway Recording brought an artistic sincerity to the number, and Idina Menzel brought unhinged hysteria, Lucie Jones' background on the X Factor informed her take: it is pure personality, a force of ego, the voice that Simon Cowell promised had been hungrily slavering for attention in Thimbletown, Wales, desperate to take over the world, unleashed. There is an infectious GLEE to the rise and fall of Jones' powerhouse belt, combining Menzel's hysteria with an empowerment savoured, borne of years waiting in the wings. If the X Factor was good for anything, it was good for this! Like Williams', Jone's Maureen's storyline gets sterling support, in this case from Shanay Holmes' furious Joanne and Billy Cullum's somewhat swaggering Mark. In their number together, "Tango Maureen," Holmes and Cullum build a head of steam, but in their scenes with Jones, they whistle. Ironically then, for me, Rent's story of community and communality (which still powerfully reverberates in the anthems, "La Vie Boheme" and "Seasons of Love") becomes, in this production, a tale of triumphant individualism: the story of Angel and Maureen, two egos who rise to the top, the creme of the charisma tree, by sheer force of personality. It is in Angel's story that the heart of this production lies, though, and it is because of Angel's story, and the captivating duo of Leyton Williams and Ryan O'Gorman, that I couldn't help welling up all over again. 4 stars. This. Is. Everything. |
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Post by showtoones on Dec 29, 2016 20:52:13 GMT
Steve - your review is not only spot on, but beautifully written and echoes my sentiments exactly. I sat a but further back, but I did think Phillipa was a tad weak. Overall though, the direction off this piece was such that it was like discovering a classic for the first time.
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Post by BGLowe on Dec 30, 2016 0:31:10 GMT
I was about to write a review until I read Steve's and realised I cannot match that! I echo most of his thoughts. We were sat in C9/10 and really struggled to hear the singing. We mentioned it to the box office after and apparently the speaker that has the singing is directed out to row D onwards and that they had had a couple of complaints from row C and he would pass the feedback on. Luckily I knew most of the words anyway but my mum really struggled to hear what they were saying.
I also adored it - in particular Angel and Collins. Heartbreaking!
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