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Post by fiyerorocher on May 29, 2024 8:58:54 GMT
Holly covers all 3 female roles, if you can call them that She's first cover for Monty and Jean, second cover Bevan. Similarly Geri is first cover Bevan and second cover Monty and Jean. They've both played all three. |
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Post by fiyerorocher on May 29, 2024 9:00:09 GMT
ALSO has anyone noticed that they have changed the show a bit? The costumes at the finale changed a bit and some language has been changed (diary > calendar) to be more friendly to those U.S. based producers I assume. I did notice 'operatives' has become 'spies' at one point, and wondered if perhaps it was tied to Broadway attempts. But I also highly doubt that's going to be what sways anyone. |
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Post by max on May 29, 2024 12:20:21 GMT
Great the show's in such good shape with the new cast. It must be a weird thrill for the original creator/performers - they've made so many shows over the years, and won't have imagined that any of those would be performed by anyone other than themselves. I first saw them in 'The Boy Who Kicked Pigs' ten years ago. Though they've had covers for OM and sometimes stepped out, to sit out front and see an entire cast of other people must be quite something.
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Post by Stephen on May 30, 2024 7:22:03 GMT
Am I terrible in thinking a lot of jokes are missing with Monty having the (likely unhealthy to be fair) raspy man voice? The new cast is fantastic (love the new Charlie in particular), but felt that Monty had a lot of jokes that depended on delivery that are just sort of delivered normally now? Might need to give it another try in a few weeks. ALSO has anyone noticed that they have changed the show a bit? The costumes at the finale changed a bit and some language has been changed (diary > calendar) to be more friendly to those U.S. based producers I assume. Yes! I found 'bar crawl' rather than 'pub crawl' strange. The first few lines of 'Glitzy Finale' are different from on the cast recording too! |
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Post by sophia on May 30, 2024 7:33:26 GMT
Am I terrible in thinking a lot of jokes are missing with Monty having the (likely unhealthy to be fair) raspy man voice? The new cast is fantastic (love the new Charlie in particular), but felt that Monty had a lot of jokes that depended on delivery that are just sort of delivered normally now? Might need to give it another try in a few weeks. ALSO has anyone noticed that they have changed the show a bit? The costumes at the finale changed a bit and some language has been changed (diary > calendar) to be more friendly to those U.S. based producers I assume. Yes! I found 'bar crawl' rather than 'pub crawl' strange. The first few lines of 'Glitzy Finale' are different from on the cast recording too! These have been like this since the show opened at the Fortune Theatre. ‘Bar crawl’ and the Glitzy Finale lyrics I mean. A lot of Act As If is different from the cast recording too. |
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Post by lt on May 30, 2024 7:36:37 GMT
Am I terrible in thinking a lot of jokes are missing with Monty having the (likely unhealthy to be fair) raspy man voice? The new cast is fantastic (love the new Charlie in particular), but felt that Monty had a lot of jokes that depended on delivery that are just sort of delivered normally now? Might need to give it another try in a few weeks. ALSO has anyone noticed that they have changed the show a bit? The costumes at the finale changed a bit and some language has been changed (diary > calendar) to be more friendly to those U.S. based producers I assume. Which Monty did you see? Saturday's matinee was Emily Barber who I thought was brilliant. Admittedly this is the first time I had seen the show, but I thought she was actually the best of an excellent cast. I thought she had perfect comic timing. |
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Post by doornumberthree on May 30, 2024 10:55:52 GMT
I absolutely loathed Tash’s take on Monty (she’s brilliant, it just absolutely was not for me) it borderline ruined the show for me every time, so I for one cannot wait to see Emily or Holly, I love the songs but found the book so unfunny, I’m excited to see if the new cast can change my mind.
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Post by iwanttix on May 31, 2024 22:04:43 GMT
Went to see the new cast tonight, I got lucky with the lottery and got a great cheap seat near the front. The first time I went I had Christian and Sean so I was over the moon to get to see then both again. Dear Bill will always be the highlight of the whole show for me and Christian was as good as I remembered. Loved the new line up.
I was surrounded by super fans and I did find it as off putting as I thought I would, the very very loud laughing at anything and everything right in my ear made me 😬. But it is nice for the cast to have the enthusiasm!
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Post by curiouskc on Jun 2, 2024 13:15:32 GMT
Doesn't look like anyone has posted this but Christian is going to be performing 'Dear Bill' at a D-Day memorial event at the Royal Albert Hall next week. It will be televised and I am really pleased I'll get to see his performance of this song again. I've never seen any videos of Jak doing it (are there any?). |
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Post by a on Jun 2, 2024 17:17:51 GMT
Went to see the new cast tonight, I got lucky with the lottery and got a great cheap seat near the front. The first time I went I had Christian and Sean so I was over the moon to get to see then both again. Dear Bill will always be the highlight of the whole show for me and Christian was as good as I remembered. Loved the new line up. I was surrounded by super fans and I did find it as off putting as I thought I would, the very very loud laughing at anything and everything right in my ear made me 😬. But it is nice for the cast to have the enthusiasm! I had the exact same thing, was sat next to someone who would laugh before the jokes had even been told and laughed very obnoxiously and loudly for way longer than necessary; really distracted me from the show |
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Post by theatrebelle on Jun 4, 2024 19:45:02 GMT
Finally got to see the new cast last week. Have to say, I like Emily, but she’s not a patch on Natasha Hodgson in my opinion. Lots of the intended jokes and comedy lines have been lost in her delivery, lessening the comedy of the whole thing. Sure, she still produces lots of laughs, but only from the gags that do not heavily rely on a specific delivery to make it funny. If she is your first Montagu, then I am sure you would find her absolutely great, but having previous experience of Natasha’s portrayal, I spotted many things that use to be funny, but no longer are.
For what it’s worth, I still enjoyed my evening and it is also still very early days so I am sure that Emily will only improve. I am however keen to see the Montague understudy at some point, if I can catch her, to see her take on the character.
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Post by lt on Jun 4, 2024 21:46:32 GMT
Finally got to see the new cast last week. Have to say, I like Emily, but she’s not a patch on Natasha Hodgson in my opinion. Lots of the intended jokes and comedy lines have been lost in her delivery, lessening the comedy of the whole thing. Sure, she still produces lots of laughs, but only from the gags that do not heavily rely on a specific delivery to make it funny. If she is your first Montagu, then I am sure you would find her absolutely great, but having previous experience of Natasha’s portrayal, I spotted many things that use to be funny, but no longer are. For what it’s worth, I still enjoyed my evening and it is also still very early days so I am sure that Emily will only improve. I am however keen to see the Montagu understudy at some point, if I can catch her, to see her take on the character. I have only seen this once with Emily as Montagu so can't comment on any comparison. But I thought Emily was an excellent physical comic actor with very funny facial expressions. And she made me laugh a lot even when there wasn't an obvious gag. |
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Post by theatrebelle on Jun 5, 2024 7:15:30 GMT
Finally got to see the new cast last week. Have to say, I like Emily, but she’s not a patch on Natasha Hodgson in my opinion. Lots of the intended jokes and comedy lines have been lost in her delivery, lessening the comedy of the whole thing. Sure, she still produces lots of laughs, but only from the gags that do not heavily rely on a specific delivery to make it funny. If she is your first Montagu, then I am sure you would find her absolutely great, but having previous experience of Natasha’s portrayal, I spotted many things that use to be funny, but no longer are. For what it’s worth, I still enjoyed my evening and it is also still very early days so I am sure that Emily will only improve. I am however keen to see the Montagu understudy at some point, if I can catch her, to see her take on the character. I have only seen this once with Emily as Montagu so can't comment on any comparison. But I thought Emily was an excellent physical comic actor with very funny facial expressions. And she made me laugh a lot even when there wasn't an obvious gag. If Emily is your first experience of the character then obviously you are going to be none the wiser of points that use to be funny that no longer are. As I said, Emily still produced lots of laughs and I do fully agree that she is comedic, just nowhere near as comedic as Natasha Hodgson was. Is it still a very funny piece of theatre? Of course! But we definitely are multiple jokes down now. |
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Post by khiar on Jun 5, 2024 8:51:44 GMT
Finally got to see the new cast last week. Have to say, I like Emily, but she’s not a patch on Natasha Hodgson in my opinion. Lots of the intended jokes and comedy lines have been lost in her delivery, lessening the comedy of the whole thing. Sure, she still produces lots of laughs, but only from the gags that do not heavily rely on a specific delivery to make it funny. If she is your first Montagu, then I am sure you would find her absolutely great, but having previous experience of Natasha’s portrayal, I spotted many things that use to be funny, but no longer are. For what it’s worth, I still enjoyed my evening and it is also still very early days so I am sure that Emily will only improve. I am however keen to see the Montague understudy at some point, if I can catch her, to see her take on the character. I haven't had a chance to see Emily, but Holly is simply wonderful. Not the same take as Natasha, but equally good, I couldn't pick a favourite between them. |
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Post by iwanttix on Jun 5, 2024 10:49:44 GMT
I really liked Emily as Montagu. I wasn't overly keen on Natasha despite seeing her first (not saying she wasn't great, just that I wasnt personally taken with her). I'd say overall I probably enjoyed Emily more. I also preferred Sean to David which might be an unpopular opinion. I love both Jak and Christian and not sure I could pick a favourite. I found Zoe and Geri both brilliant as Bevan too.
We're all likely to have differences in our preferences for casts, especially Mincemeat where the covers can easily step into different roles.
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Post by doornumberthree on Jun 5, 2024 11:38:17 GMT
I have only seen this once with Emily as Montagu so can't comment on any comparison. But I thought Emily was an excellent physical comic actor with very funny facial expressions. And she made me laugh a lot even when there wasn't an obvious gag. If Emily is your first experience of the character then obviously you are going to be none the wiser of points that use to be funny that no longer are. As I said, Emily still produced lots of laughs and I do fully agree that she is comedic, just nowhere near as comedic as Natasha Hodgson was. Is it still a very funny piece of theatre? Of course! But we definitely are multiple jokes down now. As someone who didn’t laugh once at Tash and found her portrayal terrible, this gives me a lot of hope for my enjoyment of the show for my next visit. Tash and David were the two who just did not work for me any of the times I saw them so I’m excited to see Sean too and see how it changes my overall perception of the show. |
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Post by lt on Jun 5, 2024 12:25:01 GMT
If Emily is your first experience of the character then obviously you are going to be none the wiser of points that use to be funny that no longer are. As I said, Emily still produced lots of laughs and I do fully agree that she is comedic, just nowhere near as comedic as Natasha Hodgson was. Is it still a very funny piece of theatre? Of course! But we definitely are multiple jokes down now. As someone who didn’t laugh once at Tash and found her portrayal terrible, this gives me a lot of hope for my enjoyment of the show for my next visit. Tash and David were the two who just did not work for me any of the times I saw them so I’m excited to see Sean too and see how it changes my overall perception of the show. I think you'll like Sean too, he plays the part brilliantly. |
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Post by Sam on Jun 5, 2024 12:31:23 GMT
I've had: Tash, Sean, Jak, Zoe, and Clare-Marie (at Riverside)
Holly, David, Jak, Zoe, and Clare-Marie (Fortune)
Holly, David, Christian, Geri, and Clare-Marie (Fortune)
Given I've only ever seen Clare-Marie as Jean, I can't really comment on the others.
Sean was definitely my favourite Charles, and Jak edges it as Hester for me. I lean towards a preference to Zoe as Bevan, but honestly put Holly and Tash on equal footing.
Hopefully see the new cast at some point, but unless I get a good deal, I'll be spacing my next visit out a little.
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Post by theatrebelle on Jun 5, 2024 12:34:42 GMT
If Emily is your first experience of the character then obviously you are going to be none the wiser of points that use to be funny that no longer are. As I said, Emily still produced lots of laughs and I do fully agree that she is comedic, just nowhere near as comedic as Natasha Hodgson was. Is it still a very funny piece of theatre? Of course! But we definitely are multiple jokes down now. As someone who didn’t laugh once at Tash and found her portrayal terrible, this gives me a lot of hope for my enjoyment of the show for my next visit. Tash and David were the two who just did not work for me any of the times I saw them so I’m excited to see Sean too and see how it changes my overall perception of the show. If you are not exaggerating, you truly did not laugh a single time at any line that came from Montagu’s mouth, have you considered that maybe the shows humour just isn’t for you? If you found it as unfunny as you’re making out you did, a different cast member is only going to change so much. It is still the same writing at the end of the day, hence why I stress that I still laughed and enjoyed my evening watching the new cast, even with a Montagu casting I didn’t like. |
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Post by doornumberthree on Jun 5, 2024 17:27:22 GMT
As someone who didn’t laugh once at Tash and found her portrayal terrible, this gives me a lot of hope for my enjoyment of the show for my next visit. Tash and David were the two who just did not work for me any of the times I saw them so I’m excited to see Sean too and see how it changes my overall perception of the show. If you are not exaggerating, you truly did not laugh a single time at any line that came from Montagu’s mouth, have you considered that maybe the shows humour just isn’t for you? If you found it as unfunny as you’re making out you did, a different cast member is only going to change so much. It is still the same writing at the end of the day, hence why I stress that I still laughed and enjoyed my evening watching the new cast, even with a Montagu casting I didn’t like. I’ve seen the show multiple times, I didn’t laugh once at Tash, I think the writing is good, not excellent, but I found faults with Tash and David’s performances specifically that yes made me not find the actual material as funny as I could have. As I said before, I’m not doubting her talent, her Monty just isn’t for me. |
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Post by curiouskc on Jun 5, 2024 17:42:10 GMT
Really keen for more people to catch George as Charles. I thought he was fantastic, especially for his very first performance. Also him and Sean look so eerily alike, I wasn't sure which one of them was on until I checked at the end.
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Post by mike1968 on Jun 5, 2024 20:20:26 GMT
I absolutely loathed Tash’s take on Monty (she’s brilliant, it just absolutely was not for me) it borderline ruined the show for me every time, so I for one cannot wait to see Emily or Holly, I love the songs but found the book so unfunny, I’m excited to see if the new cast can change my mind. The performance she got a Olivier Best Actress nomination for? The performance that was part of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical? The one she performed live at the 2024 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall? Opinions eh? |
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Post by doornumberthree on Jun 5, 2024 21:32:26 GMT
I absolutely loathed Tash’s take on Monty (she’s brilliant, it just absolutely was not for me) it borderline ruined the show for me every time, so I for one cannot wait to see Emily or Holly, I love the songs but found the book so unfunny, I’m excited to see if the new cast can change my mind. The performance she got a Olivier Best Actress nomination for? The performance that was part of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical? The one she performed live at the 2024 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall? Opinions eh? Opinions eh indeed! We’re all welcome to have differing ones! |
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Post by theatrebelle on Jun 7, 2024 8:25:33 GMT
The performance she got a Olivier Best Actress nomination for? The performance that was part of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical? The one she performed live at the 2024 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall? Opinions eh? Opinions eh indeed! We’re all welcome to have differing ones! If you find the time to report back, I am genuinely interested in your opinions of the new cast when you get round to seeing them. I know a lot of people who like Emily, but from those who have seen both casts,I am yet to meet someone who favours her over Natasha. So if you do i’m very curious of your rationale. I can’t personally comment on Holly Sumpton, but everyone who adores Natasha also seems to love Holly so I assume they give off the same energy. |
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Post by sophia on Jun 9, 2024 18:20:51 GMT
Christian Andrews just performed Dear Bill as part of ITV’s D-Day concert
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