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Post by david on Aug 20, 2023 21:39:24 GMT
After last night's emotional rollercoaster trip to the Donmar. my London weekend drew to a close with a lovely trip the land of Oz at today's matinee thanks to a £25 Wizard Wednesday lottery ticket (which was a lot cheaper than what I would of paid if I had booked for the Christmas run in Liverpool) I ended up in H14 of the Royal Circle.
As a viewing experience, I really enjoyed the crazy, high energy fun of the show and put me in good spirits to send me off back home. The on stage video screen certainly gets a good work out with this show to help set the different locations. I wasn't too keen the sets though. Ok at best.
For me the cast (with the exception of Ashley (sorry, I wasn't a fan of his performance) were fantastic and I certainly got full ticket value from seeing them on stage. Like others, Georgina, Louis, Jason, Dianne and Christina were for me brilliant. It was a shame that Chrsitina wasn't given more to do. That voice of hers is special (having seen her in last years Little Voice tour) and her Act 2 number near the end was a highlight of the afternoon. The 13 piece orchestra sounded great with no issues with hearing the singing during the show.
A good fun show for the family that kept both adults and kids thoroughly entertained.
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Post by tommy123 on Aug 27, 2023 12:23:28 GMT
Looking at The Vivienne’s latest tweet and comments underneath - looks like she is going to be in The Wizard of Oz. Wonder if she’s joining the tour?
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5,139 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Aug 27, 2023 12:41:27 GMT
Looking at The Vivienne’s latest tweet and comments underneath - looks like she is going to be in The Wizard of Oz. Wonder if she’s joining the tour? That your is gonna need some names in it so I'd imagine so - would watch her Wicked Witch! |
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Post by marob on Aug 27, 2023 12:44:03 GMT
Looking at The Vivienne’s latest tweet and comments underneath - looks like she is going to be in The Wizard of Oz. Wonder if she’s joining the tour? Just had a look. And a zoom in. Can read ”DOROTHY arrives. She is a teenager dressed in dun…” So looks like it. |
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Post by JJShaw on Aug 27, 2023 19:10:32 GMT
Caught this last night, Jason's understudy (name has escaped me sorry!) did a lovely job as the Lion, a really nice performance, as did Louis as the scarecrow. Ashley was... fine. Hated the new Hamilton-esque rap.
Seems that with the punch up in production for the Palladium run a little of the charm has been lost from the Curve run; and it feels as if direction has been pointed even more so to the panto-esque and not really trying to find any real humanity in the characters?
Love Dianne and have a soft spot for her but I think her accent was doing a world tour but she was very funny, and tried her hardest to hide her obviously taking off her shoes prior to the melting scene as a 'character choice' and not a practical reason....!
Orchestra sounded gorgeous, again I think they've taken out some of the more funky orchestrations but it was a treat to hear them fill the theatre. No matter my qualms when it came time for the curtain call I just knew id had a lovely, easy time, which WOZ I think always gives you!
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Post by HereForTheatre on Aug 27, 2023 20:26:57 GMT
Caught this last night, Jason's understudy (name has escaped me sorry!) did a lovely job as the Lion, a really nice performance, as did Louis as the scarecrow. Ashley was... fine. Hated the new Hamilton-esque rap. Seems that with the punch up in production for the Palladium run a little of the charm has been lost from the Curve run; and it feels as if direction has been pointed even more so to the panto-esque and not really trying to find any real humanity in the characters? Love Dianne and have a soft spot for her but I think her accent was doing a world tour but she was very funny, and tried her hardest to hide her obviously taking off her shoes prior to the melting scene as a 'character choice' and not a practical reason....! Orchestra sounded gorgeous, again I think they've taken out some of the more funky orchestrations but it was a treat to hear them fill the theatre. No matter my qualms when it came time for the curtain call I just knew id had a lovely, easy time, which WOZ I think always gives you! Punch up in production? How so? What are the changes made with the production then? |
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Post by colelarson on Sept 4, 2023 9:44:57 GMT
Went to the last performance yesterday and it was a fun take on the well known tale/film. I saw the production with Hannah Waddingham etc. back in 2011 and this production was more reliant on the screen/video usage, I am glad I was in Row J in the stalls as being to near would have been headache inducing! I liked the different touches to the 2011 production like the puppet Toto, Ben Thompson really brings the character alive. The poppy fields that became a Poppy Motel was totally trippy and loved the touch of the vending machine selling Poppy-Cola! The backdrops in Emerald City were fun with nods to the film like Margaret "Hamilton" the musical and The Lahr King! Georgina Onuorah was sublime singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" I saw her in Cinderella last and she was fantastic to see again on stage, having not see Louis Gaunt in anything before he was loveable and sweet as the scarecrow. Ashley Banjo brought his own style to the Tin Man (I see the programme says additional choreography by him) and was great to see him bust a move on stage! Jason Manford adds the humor as the Lion and reminded me of Bert Lahr in the original movie. The witches were both evil and sweet! Dianne Pilkington as the Wicked Witch hammed it up and I liked her big number "Red Shoes Blues" she has a sublime voice and reminded me we need Bedknobs And Broomsticks in the West End next! Always a joy to see Christina Bianco a pocketful of happiness - I would have loved to have seen her more on stage and her final number "Already Home" did bring a tear to my eye! The show finished with rapturous applause and Jason did a sweet speech which thanked everyone who was part of the show and they all had a group hug afterwards. It was a fun show to watch almost like a pantomime and I'm glad I saw it, goodbye yellow brick road! imgur.com/a/fiGyDOPimgur.com/a/ZzpZnkx |
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Post by WireHangers on Sept 11, 2023 9:56:45 GMT
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7,051 posts
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Post by Jon on Sept 11, 2023 9:59:17 GMT
Aston will be able to sing a lot better than Ashley Banjo!! |
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 11, 2023 10:39:29 GMT
That's hardly a compliment!
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Post by michaell8 on Sept 11, 2023 12:13:09 GMT
I thought Ashley Banjo did very well. His overall performance (movement, voice, acting, costumes) was really enjoyable to watch. I like supporting performers doing their performances on stage as I think it's really courageous to get up there and perform - I know I couldn't do it. So for me, seeing Ashley Banjo perform was one of the highlights of a really enjoyable production for me. I have read a lot of comments about his voice but he is not an object - he's a human, doing a great job in the role he performs, and I really appreciate him. I enjoyed hearing his voice. Bitchy comments about his voice are really destructive in my opinion.
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4,171 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Sept 11, 2023 19:53:18 GMT
Ashton Merygold taking over as the Tin Man for the tour- to be fair, from the promo pics he looks more like something from Starlight Express!
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5,139 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 11, 2023 21:40:45 GMT
...bitchy comments about his voice?
He's a great dancer, but he cannot sing - I don't get why it's harsh to say this? He does panto every year and dances and that's great, but there's a reason he doesn't sing as was in display here 🤷🏻♂️
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Post by doornumberthree on Sept 11, 2023 21:59:17 GMT
...bitchy comments about his voice? He's a great dancer, but he cannot sing - I don't get why it's harsh to say this? He does panto every year and dances and that's great, but there's a reason he doesn't sing as was in display here 🤷🏻♂️ He gave one of the worst professional performances I’ve ever seen! It isn’t harsh to say at all considering it’s a fact. I’m sure he’s a lovely guy but his performance was awful! |
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Post by bellatheatre on Sept 11, 2023 23:27:53 GMT
I feel they’ve taken a somewhat classy show from the curve and have made it more year long panto with every casting choice since then …
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Post by danb on Sept 12, 2023 4:53:45 GMT
Ashton Merygold taking over as the Tin Man for the tour- to be fair, from the promo pics he looks more like something from Starlight Express! I think he’ll struggle with the material too to be honest. There isn’t a lot to work with. Banjo’s imposing physicality did a fair bit of heavy lifting in making the tin man come to life. If he’s all light and spry it won’t really match the character. Vocals will be killer at least. |
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Post by theatrenerd on Sept 12, 2023 17:32:09 GMT
I feel like there's a "Heart Won't Beat Again" joke in there somewhere with this Tin Man casting...
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Post by evilmat360 on Oct 10, 2023 9:28:47 GMT
Finally another announcement for Wizard of Oz.
Craig Revel Horwood to play The Wicked Witch of the West in Woking, Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Milton Keynes and Cardiff.
The Vivienne to play The Wicked Witch of the West in the already announced Liverpool, along with Oxford, Southampton, Hull, Sheffield, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Southend, Norwich, Llandudno, Bradford, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Sunderland.
Gary Wilmot to play The Wizard of Oz in Canterbury, Edinburgh, Southend, Norwich, Llandudno and Bradford.
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Post by capybara on Oct 10, 2023 11:57:31 GMT
I loved seeing Daniel Hope, Hannah Waddingham and Michael Crawford is this production many years ago. But this is basically a pantomime now, isn’t it?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2023 12:40:08 GMT
Lots of people popping in and out of roles on this tour.
We need Hannah back on stage too
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Post by bellatheatre on Oct 10, 2023 12:58:09 GMT
I loved seeing Daniel Hope, Hannah Waddingham and Michael Crawford is this production many years ago. But this is basically a pantomime now, isn’t it? my thoughts exactly above… even the curve cast wasn’t this, it’s cheapened it massively for me |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 10, 2023 13:37:41 GMT
I mean the production was pretty poor anyway, but they're REALLY leaning into the Panto vibes now...!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 10, 2023 13:52:11 GMT
Is Alison Hammond going to play Dorothy?
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Post by LaLuPone on Oct 10, 2023 13:55:17 GMT
Would avoid Horwood like the plague but probably will pop to Oxford or Bristol just to see The Viv.
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Post by WireHangers on Oct 10, 2023 18:38:15 GMT
Is Alison Hammond going to play Dorothy? Somebody made that joke already. |
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