375 posts
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Post by Theatre Fan on Oct 25, 2019 12:48:05 GMT
Saw it last night and absolutely loved it. Beautiful set and score performed by a fabulously talented cast. People that are worried after Preludes, this is much more accessible than that both musically and story-wise. It is still Dave Malloy though, so obviously expect a level of weirdness but I am already figuring out when I can see it again. That's comforting lol I absolutely did NOT get the rave reviews of Preludes. I thought I'd watched a completely different show to other people, it was an absolute chore to sit through and probably my least favourite show I've seen this year. |
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98 posts
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Post by paddy72 on Oct 25, 2019 13:30:52 GMT
Beautiful new theatre space with a fab, foyer bar, restaurant and smartest west end theatre loos ever Great and talented cast working really hard. But for me the piece itself was baffling and ultimately repetitive and dull. I couldn’t work out the story thread at all and the songs that came one after another all sounded the same and the lyrics never strayed beyond cliches about stars and subway trains. Only the one song called Heroes caught my ear. The rest of the time I drifted off admiring this fantastic new building. I hope they can programme some less academic and more entertaining work. In the meantime the bar makes a great new meeting venue right in the heart of Soho.
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Post by theoracle on Oct 28, 2019 21:39:41 GMT
It’s a pretty funky piece with plenty of audience reaction. I completely agree that the Boulevard Theatre is the best place to see this show performed. It’s pretty mesmerising how the actors are also playing the instruments and the hypnotic nature of Malloy’s tunes make this a pleasure to watch. It seems that Malloy has become somewhat of a musical auteur (although this is a song cycle)
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 1, 2019 19:32:30 GMT
Phenomenal reviews as expected :-)
Can't wait for tomorrow night to experience this again!
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 2, 2019 22:51:31 GMT
Just home...I really enjoyed it. Not as thrilling as seeing the original cast of course, but they were all really great and very talented performers.
I did have one major problem however as they have REALLY botched the ending which is very disappointing. The way they do it is rushed and the stage direction is totally wrong and therefore the main impact of it was completely lost. Also there were a few lighting cues that were overdone where simplicity would've worked a lot better like it did in the original productions.
Other than that though I loved it.
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4,961 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Nov 3, 2019 8:16:06 GMT
intoanewlife is this the standard ending to piece? I really liked, seemed clever and powerful? The performers are amazing. I liked liked the score and the harmonies but not the Side 4,track 3 business and as for the book... Still miles better than Prelubed!
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529 posts
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Post by jampot on Nov 3, 2019 8:31:28 GMT
"Hero" was incredible...
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Nov 3, 2019 9:32:23 GMT
intoanewlife is this the standard ending to piece? I really liked, seemed clever and powerful? The performers are amazing. I liked liked the score and the harmonies but not the Side 4,track 3 business and as for the book... Still miles better than Prelubed! I've not seen the original or this version but I know the original ended by each actor leaving stage one by one towards the end of Wind and Rain and giving their instrument to an audience member as they left so the audience were playing along with the end of the song. They wouldn't return for bows until the audience stopped playing. Sometimes it would only be a few seconds but sometimes the audience would get really into it and play for like 5 minutes. |
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4,961 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Nov 3, 2019 9:37:06 GMT
Thanks
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 3, 2019 13:22:27 GMT
juicy_but_terribly_drab you may want to spoiler tag your post considering the run has only just started...
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 3, 2019 13:36:36 GMT
intoanewlife is this the standard ending to piece? I really liked, seemed clever and powerful? The performers are amazing. I liked liked the score and the harmonies but not the Side 4,track 3 business and as for the book... Still miles better than Prelubed! It is kind of the same, but I don't think it works as well in it's current form. My other half didn't get it at all. {Spoiler - click to view}
It is meant to end with the stage totally empty, leaving the impression that the performers themselves were ghosts as the audience members continue to play the music. At present I think that is lost a little, though I guess it could depend on the your particular audience.
In the original, they give the audience members the instruments in their seats, which of course leaves the stage totally empty when the cast leaves so you get that a lot better. I thought that was kind of lost because the stage now has 10 audience members standing on it and you don't really notice the cast has even left. Also, because they are pulled up onto the stage as soon as the cast leave they stop playing because they are self conscious of being up there in front of everyone instead of more relaxed in their seats.
They also start handing out the instruments far too early into a beautiful song which sums up the entire show, so the meaning of it is lost because everyone is concentrating on what is happening with the audience members instead of listening to the lyrics of the song.
It just seemed way too rushed for me and as a scene it didn't unfold the way it should've.
Also in the original after Lights Out, the room stays dark (and completely pitch black dark at that) for the next 3 or 4 songs. The only thing you see is a strobe on the performers face during the 'ghost howls' in one of the songs. It is VERY freaky and the only genuinely frightening moment in the show. Once again that is lost in a flurry of lighting effects here instead of being left simple and more effective. |
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4,961 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Nov 4, 2019 15:57:46 GMT
intoanewlife is this the standard ending to piece? I really liked, seemed clever and powerful? The performers are amazing. I liked liked the score and the harmonies but not the Side 4,track 3 business and as for the book... Still miles better than Prelubed! I've not seen the original or this version but I know the original ended by each actor leaving stage one by one towards the end of Wind and Rain and giving their instrument to an audience member as they left so the audience were playing along with the end of the song. They wouldn't return for bows until the audience stopped playing. Sometimes it would only be a few seconds but sometimes the audience would get really into it and play for like 5 minutes. Many nights a late night cabaret is planned. I wonder if that impacts on the length of the finale |
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2,481 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 4, 2019 17:18:48 GMT
I liked this a lot overall. Good performance, nice venue and some of the songs are great!
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629 posts
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Post by jamb0r on Nov 5, 2019 12:27:07 GMT
Caught this last night and it was worth going just to see this beautiful new theatre with some of the friendliest front of house staff I've ever encountered!. Perfect location for this particular piece too.
I thought the performances were outstanding (I lost count of how many different instruments they played!), the music was haunting but I found it a little hard to follow (though was pleased to see in the programme it's written that it is intentionally confusing). Definitely worth going for the performances and set.
Some audience participation, if that bothers anyone.
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Nov 6, 2019 13:59:27 GMT
Uh oh, audience participation... I'm going tomorrow and am a bit concerned now. I'm in the front row, will I have to stare at my shoes and hope I'm invisible?...
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 6, 2019 16:12:50 GMT
Uh oh, audience participation... I'm going tomorrow and am a bit concerned now. I'm in the front row, will I have to stare at my shoes and hope I'm invisible?... It's nothing really and don't let the fear of it ruin the entire performance for you. They hand out shakers to half the audience to shake along to one of the numbers (same as Great Comet) and hand out whiskey to some the audience during another. During the finale it gets a little dicier...but it's the last song and it's nothing really...you are just a part of the finale. You can always say no, but you'd probably look like an even bigger tit doing that then doing what little is asked of you and there are plenty of others with you so it's not as bad. It's all in good fun and very much in the 'spirit' (pun intended) of the show. TBH it's such an intimate and inclusive experience by that point you feel like you know those around you anyways. |
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2,481 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 6, 2019 21:57:14 GMT
When i saw it, they accepted people saying no and move on
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 6, 2019 22:13:02 GMT
When i saw it, they accepted people saying no and move on Ah ok, they all reluctantly did it the night I saw it. |
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Post by emj892 on Nov 7, 2019 16:43:55 GMT
Saw the matinee today and really enjoyed it! I can confirm that some people said no to the participation at the end and they moved on.
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Nov 8, 2019 7:36:42 GMT
I loved it (and I got whisky - ha!). A very charming little show, very intimate. Wonderful performances; all performers are of course insanely talented but Maimuna Memon is oustanding, her voice is not of this world. I'm definitely going again.
PS Loved the ending...
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 9, 2019 23:18:41 GMT
I loved it (and I got whisky - ha!). A very charming little show, very intimate. Wonderful performances; all performers are of course insanely talented but Maimuna Memon is oustanding, her voice is not of this world. I'm definitely going again. PS Loved the ending... Glad you enjoyed it and hope you didn't sit panicking through the whole thing! |
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4,785 posts
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Post by Mark on Nov 13, 2019 21:57:09 GMT
This is quite the theatrical experience - not seen anything like this before and although I didn’t have a clue what was going on, I really enjoyed it and the casts performances.
Also, what a great venue. Can’t wait to visit again
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3,306 posts
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Post by david on Nov 14, 2019 16:53:29 GMT
I was at today’s matinee and had an absolutely fantastic time watching this. I got one of the earlybird £25 tickets for the front row pit area and was worth every penny. A great quartet playing a fantastic score with some great vocals (Carly Bawden was brilliant and having her sing Hero right in front of me was a joy).
As a theatre, I’ve got no complaints about my time here. Great FOH service and having a look around pre-show, it’s certainly a great place to have a drink and rest before entering the auditorium. The auditorium itself really was very intimate and being up close to the cast really suited this production. Having held off booking for the recently announced future productions, after today, I’m certainly booking for most of the stuff next year. Those £12 roulette tickets on offer could be a real bargain and at that price I’m willing to give them a go.
What made the experience this afternoon extra special was the opportunity to participate in the show during 2 of the numbers. It was something to cherish in the future as participating in a London show was something I’ve wanted to do for a while so to be able to finally achieve it is one thing to tick off on my bucket list.
As an experience, overall I’ve got no complaints about the afternoon and it’s certainly a production I would recommend seeing.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Nov 15, 2019 7:20:09 GMT
If anyone has already tried roulette tickets, please share your experiences!
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Post by intoanewlife on Nov 15, 2019 17:35:22 GMT
If anyone has already tried roulette tickets, please share your experiences! It's only 3 raked rows deep in the stalls and a 1 row circle, unless they make you sit outside wherever your seat is is going to be good x |
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