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Post by shownut on Mar 9, 2023 10:23:07 GMT
It’s been over 6 months since PRADA closed and the new director (Jerry Mitchell) isn’t new to the piece as he saw it during the end of the Chicago run do anything is possible…
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Post by keekio2 on Mar 9, 2023 10:50:44 GMT
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I would love to see the Cher show go in
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Post by ladidah on Mar 9, 2023 10:57:17 GMT
I thought The Devil Wears Prada was universally panned?
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Post by theatrefan62 on Mar 9, 2023 11:03:13 GMT
It’s been over 6 months since PRADA closed and the new director (Jerry Mitchell) isn’t new to the piece as he saw it during the end of the Chicago run do anything is possible… True but the whole thing was panned including sets, costumes, book and songs so that seeksna lot to sort out. |
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Post by Mark on Mar 9, 2023 11:39:53 GMT
I thought The Devil Wears Prada was universally panned? For me it was a 3 star show with lots of potential. But I'd say the same about Pretty Woman and that managed to have a 2 year run! Adding in the Piccadilly short run pre covid, this will have only done about 4 months less than Legally Blonde, and about 2 months less than Dreamgirls. Quite impressive for a mediocre show with no award wins. |
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Post by shownut on Mar 9, 2023 13:29:38 GMT
True but the whole thing was panned including sets, costumes, book and songs so that seeksna lot to sort out. I doubt the entire Chicago production will go into the rubbish bin. The score and book weren't dreadful, they just needed to be better. So I think we will see revisions, not entire rewrites of the book and new songs to replace a handful of tunes that didn't hit the mark. Production-wise, a sh*t ton of money was spent and while the sets didn't wow, they also didn't look cheap so again, more of a revision than a rehaul. I would imagine the costumes will see the biggest change - the all-plain/drab nature of many of the pieces was a shocker. That will change. I also think recasting the show will help. The Andrea in Chicago was talented but kind of wet with no chemistry between her and the other principles. I think a blend of American/English actors would work brilliantly for this piece....and I hope Hadyn Gwynn keeps her calendar clear just in case.... |
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Post by showtoones on Mar 10, 2023 2:20:41 GMT
I love AIDA and would love to see it there. Just steps away from Frozen and Lion King. Disney will own the Strand/Covent Garden. LOL
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Post by danb on Mar 10, 2023 5:48:20 GMT
…Curve’s ‘Billy Elliot’?
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Post by Jon on Mar 10, 2023 12:08:48 GMT
The Curve production can't transfer as they only had regional rights to stage it. |
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Post by ladidah on Mar 27, 2023 8:59:24 GMT
Saw this on Friday as I got a great ticket on TT.
Much better than I expected, the leads are great.
Way too many ballad songs in the second half which made it feels like it was dragging.
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Post by shady23 on Mar 27, 2023 18:21:19 GMT
Oliver has said on his Twitter that he will not be doing Sunday Shows and his holidays are 21,22 April and 26,27 May
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Post by ilovewemusicals on Apr 30, 2023 18:48:36 GMT
Yesterday afternoon I saw Pretty Woman the musical in London for the first time. You would think that the standout roles would be the ones played by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the hit 1990 film. But, no. Both my mum and I agreed that the standout role was Happy Man/Mr Thompson and more played by Andy Barke.
Happy Man is a tour guide who introduces us to the glamour of Hollywood with the rich, greedy business people in their designer clothes (including the suave Edward Lewis, the role played by Richard Gere in the film). They look down on the street workers, including Vivian Ward (the role played by Julia Roberts in the film).
What follows is a typical rom-com plot that you can guess from the outset. The musical knows it’s never going to be anything other than lighthearted entertainment that you don’t have to think about, and the songs reflect that.
I previously mentioned Andy Barke was the standout with a phenomenal singing voice and excellent comic timing and mannerisms. He transitioned into all of his different characters (including the hotel manager) with ease.
From the moment 6 ft 2 Oliver Tompsett walked on, he cut a perfectly suave figure that made the ladies in the audience swoon. Oliver is a recent addition to the cast and you could tell he was having fun with the role. Singing comes easy to him but the dancing was not his forte. However, he and Aimie were laughing at his attempts and that just made their relationship even more endearing.
Aimie Atkinson draws you into Vivian’s hopes and dreams. She has an insane voice and, at times, you feel like you want a stopwatch to time just how long she’s holding those notes for.
We had understudy Hannah Ducharme as Vivian’s street worker friend Kit and she brought lots of growls and sass to her songs. Alex Charles was adorable as the hotel bell boy and had some great comedy moments with the hotel manager.
The show ends with a rousing rendition of the Roy Orbison song Pretty Woman, which the audience are encouraged to join in with. Like I said, this is a fun show and one to watch when you don’t really feel like thinking but just want a laugh and a good time.
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Post by showtoones on May 10, 2023 17:01:05 GMT
Aimee Atkinson seems to miss so many shows in Pretty Woman... She is out at least 3-4 times a week....Are these scheduled?
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Post by emilycornnuts on May 10, 2023 21:25:20 GMT
Aimee Atkinson seems to miss so many shows in Pretty Woman... She is out at least 3-4 times a week....Are these scheduled? I believe Wednesday is her scheduled day off, and Oliver Tompsett is scheduled off on Sundays. He seems to have been more reliable than his predecessor so far though. I agree that Aimie seems to have significant time off according to the West End covers Twitter account; I’m not sure if it was the same at the start of the run or in Six. |
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Post by showtoones on May 10, 2023 22:07:51 GMT
Aimee Atkinson seems to miss so many shows in Pretty Woman... She is out at least 3-4 times a week....Are these scheduled? I believe Wednesday is her scheduled day off, and Oliver Tompsett is scheduled off on Sundays. He seems to have been more reliable than his predecessor so far though. I agree that Aimie seems to have significant time off according to the West End covers Twitter account; I’m not sure if it was the same at the start of the run or in Six. I totally agree. Vivian isn't a crazy difficult sing.... |
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Post by Seriously on May 10, 2023 22:19:33 GMT
Apparently Oliver's pulled his back!
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Post by tommy on Jun 4, 2023 16:02:50 GMT
Didn't know what to expect from this musical, but what a very strong production full of energy, remarkable performances!
If like me you don't know what to expect, you might be very well surprised if still going to see it I think.
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Post by Steve on Jun 14, 2023 23:41:21 GMT
Saw the matinee, and despite three years passing, a whole new set of principals and a different theatre, my love for this romantic fluff remains strong lol. Some spoilers follow. . . I booked for Oliver Tompsett, who, in my experience, usually brings a harder edge to characters he takes over, like his sleazier Sky Masterson and/or Charlie Price, but despite his more rough appearance, I felt his internal life was appealingly even softer and more sensitive than slightly more stoic Danny Mac, and Tompsett really has such subtlety in his emotional singing range. He was immensely touching. Ely Jay's Cover Vivian was the opposite: less sensitive than Aimee Atkinson, but to wonderful comic effect, channelling a Bill and Ted boyish immaturity in her exhilarating exuberance, like Mrs Maisel on an extended bender: nothing like Julia Roberts, but funnier for it, and coupled with Tompsett's sensitivity, they were a supremely winning couple. Courtney Bowman's immense belt made for a fiery and funny Kit, and astonishingly, Andy Barke's strike-a-pose playfulness, as Happy Man/Mr Thompson, matched the sheer performative joy of Bob Harms, just with slightly more hair. And if there was one performance I really wanted to see again, it was Alex Charles's light and joyful Giulio, and wonderfully, there he was, cheekily inspiring permasmiles in the audience every time he graced the stage. The final act of the show is a wonder: I adore the way opera is mashed up with Bryan Adams's rock in "You and I" and how the supreme theme about how important, despite how difficult it is, to make a change in our lives, flows directly out of that moment in "I can't go back." I mean, you know the show is a fantasy, cos how often does anybody really make a change, but by god did the heretofore endearingly childlike Ely Jay become a full grown woman with intention in that magnificent song, combining her zaniness and belt with the subtlety and sensitivity previously absent. Such a fun show! It was great to sing the "Pretty Woman" theme one more time before this loveable fantasy vanishes at the end of this week. 4 stars of glorious silly romantic fun!  |
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 17, 2023 22:50:38 GMT
As this closes tomorrow I finally caught it and...yikes.
Badly directed and poor choreography from Jerry Mitchell which is most unlike him. Very cheap design from David Rockwell too which is again most unlike him. Poor score but pretty much what I expected from Bryan Adams.
Olli Tompsett was good, and Courtney Bowman much suits the comedy sidekick character here as opposed to Elle in Legally Blonde (sorry she just isn't a leading lady).
The thing for me was I couldn't believe how poor Aimie Atkinson was. There was a note in her first number that she missed so monumentally that I sat bolt upright. She was wheezing her way through it and at no time was I relaxed watching her. It wasn't Miriam Teak-Lee in &Juliet bad but like, it wasn't far off.
I just think that it's a really badly out together piece, with 0 development for a single character. Even the relationship between Edward and Vivian is completely flat.
I left it this late to see it because I expected audience behaviour to be poor and it was - lots of getting up for the loo (and it's not a long show!), Phones, chatting, and when the two leads finally kissed a woman went 'cor blimey' and the whole audience fell about in hysterics (I was livid).
Went in expecting it to be 2 stars. It was. I got what I expected so I guess I'm not a dissatisfied customer!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 18, 2023 8:35:44 GMT
David rockwells sets are always terrible.
Good riddance to this show
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 18, 2023 9:34:36 GMT
I don't actually think that's true, his set for the 2016 revival of She Loves Me was STUNNING - I just was super disappointed that what was on display here was from someone who could also create stuff like that
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Post by Sean on Jul 5, 2023 16:25:16 GMT
Tour Cast......
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Post by Being Alive on Jul 5, 2023 16:35:22 GMT
Oh Ollie Saville come on, you're better than this.
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Post by theatrefan62 on Jul 5, 2023 16:36:00 GMT
They've ignored him in the video but is that Oliver Saville as Edward in the thumbnail? Assume he is in the cast too |
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Post by theatrefan62 on Jul 5, 2023 16:37:55 GMT
Oh Ollie Saville come on, you're better than this. He would actually have been a good Joe in Sunset |
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