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Post by sandman on Feb 9, 2020 19:50:15 GMT
Having seen the show twice before on Broadway (first time with Ben Platt) I saw the London cast for the first time yesterday.
Sam Tutty was probably not the strongest vocally of the three I've seen playing Evan and yet I found myself liking him more than any of the others.
I thought there were some tuning problems with the chorus numbers. The harmonies were quite flat at times. Not sure what was going on or whether being sat close tot the stage was throwing the sound balance off but it sounded iffy.
Having said all of that, I cried for the first time seeing the show. I enjoyed it immensely. Sam was just amazing as Evan. Took my parents and they were both emotional messes at the end and the weren't really familiar with the score either.
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Post by geeky101 on Feb 10, 2020 12:23:24 GMT
Having seen the show twice before on Broadway (first time with Ben Platt) I saw the London cast for the first time yesterday. Sam Tutty was probably not the strongest vocally of the three I've seen playing Evan and yet I found myself liking him more than any of the others. I thought there were some tuning problems with the chorus numbers. The harmonies were quite flat at times. Not sure what was going on or whether being sat close tot the stage was throwing the sound balance off but it sounded iffy. Having said all of that, I cried for the first time seeing the show. I enjoyed it immensely. Sam was just amazing as Evan. Took my parents and they were both emotional messes at the end and the weren't really familiar with the score either. I was there last Thursday (6th) and felt the same about Sam and the general sound. Admired what he was doing with the character and he was clearly giving it 110%, but I thought his vocals were very pitchy, particularly in the first half. It didn't always sound like he was in full control and tends to push or rummage around for notes that should be placed a bit more. To his credit, he did nail a couple of the bigger For Forever and Words Fail parts, so clearly has it in him... maybe it's just a question of consistency. Not that it's an easy sing, of course. As for general sound, the blend/mic mix wasn't great and agree the harmonies were often flat. I was sat in the grand circle slips (amazing value for £15 booked when tickets were first released) and sometimes things seemed quite tinny, before being drowned out by the bass or drum pedal. Should say though, without being too much of a negative Nancy, I still enjoyed the show. Rebecca McKinnis was particularly outstanding in the second half and I thought Lucy Anderson is perfect casting... a lovely tone. Some of the melodies are just gorgeous and even better when heard live. A good 8/10 overall - perhaps it suffers a little from over-hype if I'm brutally honest. |
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Post by musicalmarge on Feb 12, 2020 9:09:07 GMT
Finally I saw DEAR EVAN HANDS-ON (or full on) the musical in London last night.
I took a group to see it and we were all rather divided. Someone said “It was like watching Eastenders” and someone else said “the lead guy Sam sounded like Kermit the Frog” (which I sadly agreed with). Most of us also thought he didn’t have the vocal range needed and strained the upper notes.
Others were more affected by the relevant themes of mental health, loneliness, medication, acceptance and loss. Division from our group aside, the acting was SENSATIONAL I agree, but I sadly found it too long, the story line about a lie debatable (how can you have any sympathy?), the music not the composers best (the scores for Dogfight and Greatest Showman are sublime), and the constant crying and wailing FARRRR too much.
6/10 from me. Rather disappointed.
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Post by ABr on Feb 12, 2020 9:29:41 GMT
I have found that this is really dividing people over here! I still have to wait until April to see it myself, but I find it so interesting on how divided people have been! Both on here and people I know who have seen it!
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Post by undeuxtrois on Feb 12, 2020 12:31:05 GMT
Quite liked this last night and the grand circle slips are fantastic for £15. As said above, the acting was really good.
Sam Tutty plays Evan really well but i think he goes a bit over the top with the social anxiety stuff but i guess its so everyone can see. His singing was lovely in the higher notes but i thought he was a bit quiet. Lucy Anderson was the highlight for me, though. The energy on stage during Sincerly, Me was fab.
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Post by danb on Feb 12, 2020 13:50:32 GMT
I have found that this is really dividing people over here! I still have to wait until April to see it myself, but I find it so interesting on how divided people have been! Both on here and people I know who have seen it! I think it divides people because there are Ultimately no consequences for the really awful stuff that Evan does. I don’t think that the younger generation are bothered by this but it really bothers me. |
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Post by robertb213 on Feb 12, 2020 14:07:44 GMT
It's a well-intentioned lie that spirals out of his control though, it's not directly malicious behaviour. And Zoe (I think) says that the Murphys wouldn't have healed as well as they did if it hadn't been for Evan (as false as it was). I do agree it needs a more substantial ending but the lyrics in his outpouring of Words Fail do cover it all pretty well.
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Post by musicalmarge on Feb 12, 2020 18:27:54 GMT
It's a well-intentioned lie that spirals out of his control though, it's not directly malicious behaviour. And Zoe (I think) says that the Murphys wouldn't have healed as well as they did if it hadn't been for Evan (as false as it was). I do agree it needs a more substantial ending but the lyrics in his outpouring of Words Fail do cover it all pretty well. How can you have sympathy for something that is so cruel and a lie? I didn’t |
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Post by robertb213 on Feb 12, 2020 19:14:04 GMT
It's a well-intentioned lie that spirals out of his control though, it's not directly malicious behaviour. And Zoe (I think) says that the Murphys wouldn't have healed as well as they did if it hadn't been for Evan (as false as it was). I do agree it needs a more substantial ending but the lyrics in his outpouring of Words Fail do cover it all pretty well. How can you have sympathy for something that is so cruel and a lie? I didn’t Because as I said above, it's not done from cruelty, it's a genuine misunderstanding that gets out of hand and he panics. He's naive and foolish, he's not evil. I would still recommend reading the novel as it does help to explain his thought processes in more detail. |
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Post by xanady on Feb 13, 2020 10:28:24 GMT
Well said,robertb 213...
Btw some good deals cropping up on TT for what is after all the best thing in the WE by a country mile....
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Post by Paul on Feb 13, 2020 12:38:40 GMT
Well said,robertb 213... Btw some good deals cropping up on TT for what is after all the best thing in the WE by a country mile.... I would sooner sit through The Lion King again than this. I do get that some people like this but this show is like marmite. It is the only show I've seen that I wanted to leave at the interval (i didn't in the hope I would enjoy the second act). |
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Post by latefortheoverture on Feb 13, 2020 15:23:19 GMT
Went onto the lottery website at 11:56am and was let straight through to purchase seats in row r. Won't lie, whilst I didn't fall madly in love with the story, I have been listening to the recording a lot. The score is nice, and I'm looking forward to giving it a second try.
Taking my younger sister along, whos more in the target age for this, will be interesting to see how she finds it. As soon as I said it was the writers of 'La La Land' and 'The Greatest Showman' she wanted to come, no doubt the success of both films is helping this show a lot.
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Post by xanady on Feb 18, 2020 14:39:00 GMT
Selling incredibly well...trying to book a coach party but it is very difficult...listening to the CD again today and it just gets better and better.Thought that RENT would always be my favourite ever musical,but not anymore.
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Post by latefortheoverture on Feb 21, 2020 19:50:22 GMT
Saw this again on Monday, it was like seeing a different show. Something about the recent news of Caroline Flack made me see this in a whole new light.
Sitting in row R provided a perfect view. I didn't even realise the floor had some projection, which was nice. I thought the cast performed even better than before, especially Sam Tutty. I still think he is a complete revelation in the role.
The story still has its issues, but I was able to get more out of the story than before, and was actually moved. The score is the star here.
My sister really enjoyed it, and also was incredibly moved. I really think the passing of Caroline Flack heightened the story much more, making it seem a lot more timely.
Will maybe catch this again depending on the cast in the next year or so, it isn't a bad show at all.
Was also great to see the house full on a Monday, not a so much as an empty seat in the stalls! I got into the theatre around 19:20 and there was no-one about, I really did think I had read the start time wrong. Everyone, I mean everyone, was in the auditorium. Nobody in the foyer, bar or toilets. Was so weird and eerie! Never seen that happen before!
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Post by xanady on Feb 23, 2020 8:46:18 GMT
Another visit earlier in the week and MT perfection again imo,but a chastening experience to recount....unwilling to pay the extortionate three-figure prices,I got a standing ticket.Cue the FOH girl looking me up and down and seeing what in her eyes was a shambling archaic half-dead remnant of humanity,she pronounced,’You do know this is a standing ticket,Sir?Will you be alright?We are sold out so there will be nowhere to sit...’
Bless!
One of the other standees who is apparently a regular standee then tried to explain that some naughty standees try to grab empty seats once the show has started causing disruption especially if a latecomer arrives and there is now a printed set of rules given out to standees about their expected etiquette.He is correct as I am now the proud owner of said list of exhaustive rules.
This week I must start looking at retirement homes and perusing zimmer frame brochures as a matter of urgency!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 23, 2020 9:21:06 GMT
Would it kill them to provide a folding chair though?
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1,121 posts
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Post by firefingers on Feb 23, 2020 13:30:53 GMT
Would it kill them to provide a folding chair though? Boring answer: fire regs. A folding chair becomes a trip hazard in the event of an evacuation. Perhaps a stool style seat that folds forwards into the back of the row in front |
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19,662 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 23, 2020 13:40:02 GMT
Or even just a padded bar attached to the wall that you can lean your bum on, like those they have in bus stops. Anything to take the weight off.
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Post by centaured on Feb 25, 2020 23:05:36 GMT
Saw this last week with the understudy (think it was Marcus) along with the mighty fine Jack playing Jared were bloody amazing. I thought the understudy knocked Sam’s Evan performance out of the water for me, I didn’t emotionally connect to Sam at all.
Other than that I still have the same issues with this show, I just don’t like the story plot and how it ends.
Still love the soundtrack though and some songs just stick in my head.
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Post by theatre241 on Feb 27, 2020 17:36:14 GMT
I got. a £50 dress circle seat thanks to dynamic pricing and the sound was so much better down here then up in the balcony, much louder and clearer. I was in row G and the view was amazing, it was the second viewing and I would definitely splash out on getting better seats because I loved it in the balcony as well but this time round It was out of this world! I had Sam Tutty on as Evan and at the start I wasn't to sure about him but he warmed into it a lot, he plays the comic moments well end he plays it less nervously then Marcus I would say, but there was a lot of emotion in his performance, even tears in the bit before you will be found which is just Evan on stage and words fail was fantastic. Brilliant show, story wise you have to be really invested in the characters to go on the not easy journey of the story lol
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Post by Raven on Feb 27, 2020 18:27:57 GMT
Extended bookings through to 27th June. Are they seriously only going to keep extending the booking period by a month at a time?
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Feb 27, 2020 19:56:13 GMT
Doesn't surprise me, I suspect it isn't doing quite as well as they might have expected, as evidenced by the £50 ticket above yours, and the fact there's a whole batch of £35 tickets on TodayTix for dates in March in stalls seats that would normally be premium.
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Post by sparky5000 on Feb 27, 2020 23:57:19 GMT
Is DEH here attracting lots of repeat customers? I think that’s my worry for this show having a long run, because I’m. not sure it’s one people will rush back to time and again. Then again it’s been super successful on broadway, although I know success there doesn’t always equate to success here.
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Post by billy on Feb 28, 2020 2:21:21 GMT
I left at the interval.
Without going into too much personal details, as a sufferer of mental health my whole life I left the theatre feeling far worse about myself and humanity in general than before I came in, and whatever happens in the second half I didn't see the situation improving. Thanks at least to the ushers on the front door who understood this and apologised on behalf of the show for me (which they didn't need to, but it was still a nice gesture). The ticket was at least a £12.50 standing one so I'm not too out of pocket.
I'm happy to give it another chance in the future, but for now it really wasn't the right time for me.
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Post by shady23 on Feb 28, 2020 7:59:49 GMT
I did the same. I’d been having a bad day and was not connecting to the story at all and I just needed to get out of there. First time I have ever done that in a theatre. I will give it another go at some point.
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