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Post by xanady on Sept 6, 2019 20:41:14 GMT
Gave up my subscription to The Stage months ago as I had lost faith in it...a two star review for this wonderful show...sorry,don’t agree...
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Post by miz on Sept 6, 2019 21:42:05 GMT
I went to see this show tonight. Unfortunately, I failed to enjoy it as much as I had expected. Having said that, the little boy who played Jason was delightful and "I am breaking down" alone was worth the price of the ticket.
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Post by frankubelik on Sept 7, 2019 7:07:02 GMT
Having seen the perfect production on Broadway (three times) in 1992 with Michael Rupert as Marvin, this was always going to be a hard sell for me however, it was very good and well staged. My major problem came from nobody inhabiting their characters (apart from Whizzer who I thought sang well but was unable to nail his big act one number). Daniel Boys was so disappointing and in my opinion does not have the acting chops to carry this complex role and why was he dressed so very shabbily in act two? I did not believe for a second in Joel Montague's Mendel and Ms Pitt Pulford was her usual dependable self but lacked Trina's nervous hysteria. She acquitted herself in "I'm Breaking Down" well but I suspect it is the number as opposed to the performance which received such an ovation. It remains a tremendous and ultimately moving piece which could have been so much better with stronger casting and direction.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2019 8:57:52 GMT
I think I might have to hand in my TheatreBoard membership card. I hated every single aspect of this, apart from when the lights went down at the end of act one and we were able to leave.
I think if I had listened to the score before I went, I probably wouldn’t have booked (what with it being one tune for 70 minutes) so my lesson is that I need to research more. Caveat emptor and all that.
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Post by taboolie on Sept 10, 2019 14:37:09 GMT
I have loved this show for many years having fallen in love with Michael Rupert singing "What Would I Do?". I even altered my holiday dates to fit it in. All I can say is that whilst I enjoyed it very much it failed to stir me to tears as the original cast album always has. I think the cast sounded great, esp Daniel Boys, but agree with earlier posts that the acting was somehow lacking. He almost appeared to be in a bit of a bad mood and sulking but I wasn't sure if he was going for that in his character or just having a bad day outside of work? What really surprised me was that the night I attended it was sold out but after interval there was about 15%-20% empty seats. I counted at least 5 people in row B and 3 row A left. People, it's not that bad. It's great for a night out but maybe not repeated visits (but possibly 1 more to see LPB (Trina) and OS (Whizzer). Also Dr Charlotte had a great voice.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2019 18:20:01 GMT
I think I might have to hand in my TheatreBoard membership card. I hated every single aspect of this, apart from when the lights went down at the end of act one and we were able to leave. I think if I had listened to the score before I went, I probably wouldn’t have booked (what with it being one tune for 70 minutes) so my lesson is that I need to research more. Caveat emptor and all that. It's interesting - not seen this so can't comment really - but the Stage review kinda sums up what I thought it might be like so didn't come as a massive surprise to me personally. The line about all the characters analysing themselves ad infinitum sounds pretty painful; coupled with my abandoned efforts with the CD I'm not feeling it. The "gut feeing" thread over in the general section springs to mind. BUT - when so many board members give something raves it does always make me curious. |
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Post by Dr Tom on Sept 10, 2019 22:05:15 GMT
Not sure quite what to make of this. It took me a long time to get into it, although I did eventually take to the pace and style of the (rather similar) music. The second half was much stronger than the first.
The cheap front row seats were a bargain. I’d say it was about half full this evening.
I almost didn’t recognise Daniel Boys with the big beard and changing hairline (well, he is 40). His voice is as strong as ever. The unnamed boy playing the son was strong, with Joel Montague probably the highlight (as his performances so often are). In fact, all the performances were strong, but they are limited by the source material and the simple staging. The story is very much of its time and I suspect more of the jokes hit in New York.
A rather mixed response in the audience. Two girls near me loved it and talked about how different the style was to the album (and song and lyric changes too apparently - I’ve never heard it before). It’s one I’m glad to have seen. I do have a ticket for a later date, based on the rave response when it first went on sale. To me, it’s not a rave review, but I probably will use the second ticket rather than let it go to waste.
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Post by theatremadness on Sept 10, 2019 23:40:18 GMT
I was also there tonight! Obviously I’ve been very vocal about the situation surrounding this, but I really did want to see it to make up my mind. I thought, during the opening number that all my worst dreams were going to be realised. Four Jews In A Room Bitching is a great number, but I absolute hated it in this production. Full of all the stereotypes you can think of with extremely messy and clumsy staging. Luckily, the rest of the show didn’t completely follow suit, but I still wasn’t completely enamoured like others have been, but I feel more like the few posters above me. The Stage review does echo most of my thoughts, however I thought Act 2 was incredibly strong so I wouldn’t be as harsh as 2*. Quite an empty audience, rather muted reaction with only a small, partial standing ovation at the end.
The cast are very good. Laura Pitt Pulford was made for Trina and Oli Saville also very enjoyable. Daniel Boys was incredibly strong with the vocals but I agree that he was lacking in the acting department, which actually I agree was lacking somewhat across the board. For me, Joel Montague was miscast. He did not inhibit even a little bit of who Mendel is. Very over-the-top acting and really no truth to his character at all. The band are surperb! Are there monitors for the cast? I was at the back so couldn’t see, but a lot of entrances and cut offs from the cast were very messy.
Anyway, what I think what has let this production down the most is the direction. It’s not good. It’s muddled, it’s messy, it’s clumsy and honestly - it’s inauthentic. I know many on here may dismiss my comments because of my feelings towards the cultural representation in this show. I can only say that I went into this with completely unbiased views and with so many rave reviews I was really looking forward to it. But I did not see myself represented onstage tonight and it made me sad. I really do think this production could have benefitted from a Jewish director, or least with a lot more research than was evident here. It seems as if she watched the 2016 cast, tried to slightly copy that but had to make it different, so made it worse. I’m currently watching that production to remind myself; there is just 1 Jewish person in the cast (Mendel), but with that and a Jewish director (James Lapine), it seriously makes a world of difference to this show. Tonight it was laboured and muddy, Act 1 especially. It felt like the characters didn’t even scratch the surface of who they were.
But this should not take away from a mostly brilliant cast, very well sung and a very strong Act 2! It just could have been so much better if they had cared to make it so!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2019 12:16:14 GMT
Two additional thoughts.
I went with a friend from Chicago who is Jewish. She didn’t know much about the letter or the accusations. She said she thought the accents were dodgy and there was nothing Jewish about it, which was odd given the opening number. So to her it wasn’t offensive, just not Jewish.
Do we think Matt Cardle would have been a better Mendel?
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Post by foxa on Sept 12, 2019 8:20:36 GMT
Seeing this tonight.
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Post by musicalmarge on Sept 12, 2019 8:54:12 GMT
I was also there tonight! Obviously I’ve been very vocal about the situation surrounding this, but I really did want to see it to make up my mind. I thought, during the opening number that all my worst dreams were going to be realised. Four Jews In A Room Bitching is a great number, but I absolute hated it in this production. Full of all the stereotypes you can think of with extremely messy and clumsy staging. Luckily, the rest of the show didn’t completely follow suit, but I still wasn’t completely enamoured like others have been, but I feel more like the few posters above me. The Stage review does echo most of my thoughts, however I thought Act 2 was incredibly strong so I wouldn’t be as harsh as 2*. Quite an empty audience, rather muted reaction with only a small, partial standing ovation at the end. The cast are very good. Laura Pitt Pulford was made for Trina and Oli Saville also very enjoyable. Daniel Boys was incredibly strong with the vocals but I agree that he was lacking in the acting department, which actually I agree was lacking somewhat across the board. For me, Joel Montague was miscast. He did not inhibit even a little bit of who Mendel is. Very over-the-top acting and really no truth to his character at all. The band are surperb! Are there monitors for the cast? I was at the back so couldn’t see, but a lot of entrances and cut offs from the cast were very messy. Anyway, what I think what has let this production down the most is the direction. It’s not good. It’s muddled, it’s messy, it’s clumsy and honestly - it’s inauthentic. I know many on here may dismiss my comments because of my feelings towards the cultural representation in this show. I can only say that I went into this with completely unbiased views and with so many rave reviews I was really looking forward to it. But I did not see myself represented onstage tonight and it made me sad. I really do think this production could have benefitted from a Jewish director, or least with a lot more research than was evident here. It seems as if she watched the 2016 cast, tried to slightly copy that but had to make it different, so made it worse. I’m currently watching that production to remind myself; there is just 1 Jewish person in the cast (Mendel), but with that and a Jewish director (James Lapine), it seriously makes a world of difference to this show. Tonight it was laboured and muddy, Act 1 especially. It felt like the characters didn’t even scratch the surface of who they were. But this should not take away from a mostly brilliant cast, very well sung and a very strong Act 2! It just could have been so much better if they had cared to make it so! What a ridiculous comment - it needed a Jewish director. Can only a Scouser direct Blood Brothers? Trevor Nunn did a sensational job on so many shows and he wasn’t the same religion as the source material. Maybe a Jewish director would have made a worse show? You never know. Our theatre industry is in a slippery slope and doesn’t seem to know the difference anymore between acting and “let’s pretend” and real life authentic documentary. |
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Post by theatremadness on Sept 12, 2019 10:36:11 GMT
I was also there tonight! Obviously I’ve been very vocal about the situation surrounding this, but I really did want to see it to make up my mind. I thought, during the opening number that all my worst dreams were going to be realised. Four Jews In A Room Bitching is a great number, but I absolute hated it in this production. Full of all the stereotypes you can think of with extremely messy and clumsy staging. Luckily, the rest of the show didn’t completely follow suit, but I still wasn’t completely enamoured like others have been, but I feel more like the few posters above me. The Stage review does echo most of my thoughts, however I thought Act 2 was incredibly strong so I wouldn’t be as harsh as 2*. Quite an empty audience, rather muted reaction with only a small, partial standing ovation at the end. The cast are very good. Laura Pitt Pulford was made for Trina and Oli Saville also very enjoyable. Daniel Boys was incredibly strong with the vocals but I agree that he was lacking in the acting department, which actually I agree was lacking somewhat across the board. For me, Joel Montague was miscast. He did not inhibit even a little bit of who Mendel is. Very over-the-top acting and really no truth to his character at all. The band are surperb! Are there monitors for the cast? I was at the back so couldn’t see, but a lot of entrances and cut offs from the cast were very messy. Anyway, what I think what has let this production down the most is the direction. It’s not good. It’s muddled, it’s messy, it’s clumsy and honestly - it’s inauthentic. I know many on here may dismiss my comments because of my feelings towards the cultural representation in this show. I can only say that I went into this with completely unbiased views and with so many rave reviews I was really looking forward to it. But I did not see myself represented onstage tonight and it made me sad. I really do think this production could have benefitted from a Jewish director, or least with a lot more research than was evident here. It seems as if she watched the 2016 cast, tried to slightly copy that but had to make it different, so made it worse. I’m currently watching that production to remind myself; there is just 1 Jewish person in the cast (Mendel), but with that and a Jewish director (James Lapine), it seriously makes a world of difference to this show. Tonight it was laboured and muddy, Act 1 especially. It felt like the characters didn’t even scratch the surface of who they were. But this should not take away from a mostly brilliant cast, very well sung and a very strong Act 2! It just could have been so much better if they had cared to make it so! What a ridiculous comment - it needed a Jewish director. Can only a Scouser direct Blood Brothers? Trevor Nunn did a sensational job on so many shows and he wasn’t the same religion as the source material. Maybe a Jewish director would have made a worse show? You never know. Our theatre industry is in a slippery slope and doesn’t seem to know the difference anymore between acting and “let’s pretend” and real life authentic documentary. I said that I think this production potentially could have benefitted from a Jewish director OR any director who had done a lot more research than was evident here to bring out that important side of the story that was lacking in this production. |
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Post by Mark on Sept 12, 2019 16:21:05 GMT
Was at the matinee today and didn’t rate it as a piece. There were some really great numbers and great moments, but they were outnumbered by the bland and boring.
Daniel Boys though - really brilliant throughout. All the cast actually were very good.
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 12, 2019 17:16:32 GMT
I liked it rather than loved it. Great performances but it's not very tuneful. Daniel Boys did a great job, good to see him back on a London stage again. I hadn't seen Oliver Saville in anything before and thought he was very good as well (the shirtless bit and the tiny tiny squash shorts may have influenced that opinion). Worth seeing but not one I'd rush back to or listen to.
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Post by xanady on Sept 12, 2019 17:31:32 GMT
We saw it on first preview and the atmosphere was electric..sorry to hear the buzz on this show has faded a little from what I hear.Especially sad to hear about interval walk-outs.Funny how some new shows take off and fly and some sadly have an initial flurry of interest and then die away somewhat.
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 12, 2019 17:36:20 GMT
There were definitely some interval walkouts today as well unfortunately, I noticed at least 4 people in my sightlines didn't come back. It was probably only just half full as well (but then it was a weekday matinee I suppose). The people who did stay seemed to love it though!
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Post by missthelma on Sept 12, 2019 19:17:39 GMT
I was also there this afternoon and whilst I enjoyed it very much I was not moved to tears or to an ovation at the end. The biggest problem for me was actually Daniel Boys who I normally like and who as usual sings/acts very well but I don't think he had the measure of the character today. He just seemed like an angry little man and I could not think why anybody, let alone people from both sexes, would want to spend time with him. I was most reminded of Cartman from South Park and had Marvin come out with 'respect my authoriTAY!' I would not have been surprised. As Marvin is the centre around which this all swirls, you need to be convinced he's halfway decent, which I really didn't get at this performance. More that he seemed the type to cause a scene in a restaurant because his starter took too long to arrive.
Anyway Laura Pitt Pulford was superb and the bits she was doing whilst on stage but the action was focussed on others were brilliant. A real masterclass performance. Oliver Savile was also very good and as noted, a very fine specimen too, those arms!!! The standby Matthew McKenna was on for Joel Montague and was very good.
Regarding the letter that was written, I think after seeing this, their point was valid. I cringed a couple of times during this which I didn't for example when watching the Broadway version which would indicate that tonally something was off. I had said earlier in this thread that the age of the piece and the relative availability of the authors should help to iron out major issues. Clearly not.
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Post by daisy24601 on Sept 13, 2019 10:40:14 GMT
Was at the matinee today and didn’t rate it as a piece. There were some really great numbers and great moments, but they were outnumbered by the bland and boring.
Daniel Boys though - really brilliant throughout. All the cast actually were very good. This just about sums it up for me. I went a few nights ago with a friend. I said after that I preferred Act 1 but she preferred Act 2. It almost felt like a different show in the second act and I think I was losing the point of it. I think the main thing that made me not love it was that I didn't really feel much for the characters, most of them were pretty unlikable. Certainly got a good eyeful of Oliver Savile from front row. I enjoyed the show but won't hurry back. It's quite hard to imagine Matt Cardle in that role! |
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Sept 13, 2019 11:01:06 GMT
Was at the matinee today and didn’t rate it as a piece. There were some really great numbers and great moments, but they were outnumbered by the bland and boring.
Daniel Boys though - really brilliant throughout. All the cast actually were very good. This just about sums it up for me. I went a few nights ago with a friend. I said after that I preferred Act 1 but she preferred Act 2. It almost felt like a different show in the second act and I think I was losing the point of it. I think the main thing that made me not love it was that I didn't really feel much for the characters, most of them were pretty unlikable. Certainly got a good eyeful of Oliver Savile from front row. I enjoyed the show but won't hurry back. It's quite hard to imagine Matt Cardle in that role! The Acts are pretty much different shows since they're each a part of a trilogy of one acts. |
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Post by daisy24601 on Sept 13, 2019 11:15:21 GMT
Are they? What happened to part three?
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Post by Mark on Sept 13, 2019 11:37:31 GMT
Are they? What happened to part three? It's Part 1 that is missing actually - "In Trousers". |
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Post by kathryn on Sept 13, 2019 11:42:31 GMT
This just about sums it up for me. I went a few nights ago with a friend. I said after that I preferred Act 1 but she preferred Act 2. It almost felt like a different show in the second act and I think I was losing the point of it. I think the main thing that made me not love it was that I didn't really feel much for the characters, most of them were pretty unlikable. Certainly got a good eyeful of Oliver Savile from front row. I enjoyed the show but won't hurry back. It's quite hard to imagine Matt Cardle in that role! The Acts are pretty much different shows since they're each a part of a trilogy of one acts. Yes. I found it intellectually interesting to see the development between the acts because in a sense they're theatrical time-capsules, each reflecting the time when they were written. I was not entirely convinced that tying them together made for coherent character arcs, though. I was not invested enough in Marvin as a character to find it moving, although Daniel Boys sang the role very well. As the subject matter gets meatier the material becomes more compelling, in my opinion - I can see why people left at the interval as the first act feels very lightweight. Particularly if you're encountering the show for the first time. Saw it last saturday matinee and we had Matt McKenna on as Whizzer - for the very first time, and having only learnt the role that morning. Very impressive - would never have known he was an understudy if not for the notice by the door, and certainly not that he'd only just learnt the role! |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Sept 13, 2019 14:38:24 GMT
I liked this but didn't love it. perhaps the constant bickering put me off from any emotional engagement?
The cast are all great especially Laura P-P can someone make her a Prime Minister?
i thought the set and projections looked cheap. Sometimes a bare stage is the way to go
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Post by showtoones on Sept 13, 2019 14:51:36 GMT
The problem is The Other Palace doesn't market their shows correctly because of lack of funds. It's unfortunaute but an "off West End" production doesn't have the budget to do e-blasts, mailings, posters, etc. And a publicist has to work twice as hard for half the results for a non West End show.
A show like that with a house that size should be selling out but people don't know about it.
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Post by Dr Tom on Sept 13, 2019 15:43:11 GMT
A show like that with a house that size should be selling out but people don't know about it. I don't know. Most people will never have heard of the show and on paper it doesn't sound particularly appealing either. But it is a shame for the theatre and everyone involved that it's not being more successful. |
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