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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 21, 2024 12:48:35 GMT
Featured on the bbc local news North West Tonight 6.30-7pm with an extended interview with the group, and then again on bbc The One Show at 7pm with an interview with Claire and Lee. How is that not the bbc advertising this show? You’ve really not seen any other shows/people getting coverage on the BBC? Really, no. Because I don’t really watch live tv very much and the only program I watch on the BBC is Strictly on catch up. But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. I don’t care whether it’s this musical or anything else, I’m not singling this show out. The North West Tonight presenter opened up the item by saying it would be on at the Palace in September 2025 but tickets are on sale tomorrow and Christmas is coming up. There was no tie-in to a local news story or any attempt at one. The story was that it’s on. I was absolutely staggered at how blatant it was. |
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Post by d'James on Nov 21, 2024 12:53:14 GMT
You’ve really not seen any other shows/people getting coverage on the BBC? Really, no. Because I don’t really watch live tv very much and the only program I watch on the BBC is Strictly on catch up. But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. I don’t care whether it’s this musical or anything else, I’m not singling this show out. The North West Tonight presenter opened up the item by saying it would be on at the Palace in September 2025 but tickets are on sale tomorrow and Christmas is coming up. There was no tie-in to a local news story or any attempt at one. The story was that it’s on. I was absolutely staggered at how blatant it was. The fact it is opening at the Palace is the local news ‘tie-in.’ It happens all the time. |
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Post by Mark on Nov 21, 2024 17:47:17 GMT
Easy 5 stars from me. Everything I wanted from a Steps jukebox musical - great energy, camp as Christmas, vocals for days and about as much fun as can be had at the theatre. And that megamix finale was absolutely wonderful.
I think this will do very well on tour and I hope it gives them a trajectory for a West End season.
Every amateur group in the country will be doing this in five years time.
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Post by alicechallice on Nov 21, 2024 18:22:34 GMT
You’ve really not seen any other shows/people getting coverage on the BBC? But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. "It wasn't my paper - it was wrapped round a small Savoy at my neighbour's." |
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Post by ruggerlad on Nov 21, 2024 18:43:28 GMT
It's been a while since I've seen a jukebox musical and tbh I found the small bits of plot then into a song a bit over whelming in the first half and I genuinely thought I'm not going to enjoy this at all.
Being a casual Steps fan.
Ie know all the singles and seen them at Brum pride
But then I just let it envelop me and.......
I completely loved it.
It's the gayest thing I've ever seen on stage.
Not queer just gay.
And there's something wonderful about gay and lesbian characters just being that.
The megamix after the curtain call is simply the best thing of its type I've ever seen.
I came out ultimately ten foot in the air.
I loved it.
And how wonderful for the second city to have debuted two new musicals in different venues this year
It was the second gayest thing I saw today.
The first being at my favourite second hand record shop in Brum The Diskery having a second copy of a Noel Gordon 7inch single.
I daren't ask how much in case it wasn't for sale and if I couldn't afford it if it was !
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Post by alicechallice on Nov 21, 2024 18:50:10 GMT
It's been a while since I've seen a jukebox musical and tbh I found the small bits of plot then into a song a bit over whelming in the first half and I genuinely thought I'm not going to enjoy this at all. Being a casual Steps fan. Ie know all the singles and seen them at Brum pride But then I just let it envelop me and....... I completely loved it. The plot line of the still born child was really poignantly handled and the ballad Heartbeat was beautiful. It's the gayest thing I've ever seen on stage. Not queer just gay. And there's something wonderful about gay and lesbian characters just being that. The megamix after the curtain call is simply the best thing of its type I've ever seen. I came out ultimately ten foot in the air. I loved it. And how wonderful for the second city to have debuted two new musicals in different venues this year It was the second gayest thing I saw today. The first being at my favourite second hand record shop in Brum The Diskery having a second copy of a Noel Gordon 7inch single. I daren't ask how much in case it wasn't for sale and if I couldn't afford it if it was ! You need to hide your plot spoiler. Glad you had fun, though. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 21, 2024 19:30:25 GMT
But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. "It wasn't my paper - it was wrapped round a small Savoy at my neighbour's." Had to Google that. I don’t watch naff BBC local news programs or The One Show. |
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Post by ruggerlad on Nov 21, 2024 20:47:24 GMT
It's been a while since I've seen a jukebox musical and tbh I found the small bits of plot then into a song a bit over whelming in the first half and I genuinely thought I'm not going to enjoy this at all. Being a casual Steps fan. Ie know all the singles and seen them at Brum pride But then I just let it envelop me and....... I completely loved it. The plot line of the still born child was really poignantly handled and the ballad Heartbeat was beautiful. It's the gayest thing I've ever seen on stage. Not queer just gay. And there's something wonderful about gay and lesbian characters just being that. The megamix after the curtain call is simply the best thing of its type I've ever seen. I came out ultimately ten foot in the air. I loved it. And how wonderful for the second city to have debuted two new musicals in different venues this year It was the second gayest thing I saw today. The first being at my favourite second hand record shop in Brum The Diskery having a second copy of a Noel Gordon 7inch single. I daren't ask how much in case it wasn't for sale and if I couldn't afford it if it was ! You need to hide your plot spoiler. Glad you had fun, though. Have removed it  Tbh my recollection is that moment happening in the first fifteen minutes or so. I didn't really think of it being a spoiler to mention it |
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Post by TallPaul on Nov 22, 2024 13:38:36 GMT
But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. Why were you having dinner so late?  |
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Post by alicechallice on Nov 22, 2024 13:42:31 GMT
But I was at a friend's for dinner and he had it on. Why were you having dinner so late? I think he means Tea. |
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Post by hulmeman on Nov 24, 2024 16:56:02 GMT
Saw this yesterday and loved every camp, lively and undemanding moment of it. Sondheim it ain't but it's full of heart and great performances.
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Post by xanady on Nov 27, 2024 9:20:30 GMT
Back again for third time last night with some friends.
Shocked at the very meagre audience in the Circle.A lot of people moved forward as the lights went down.Yes,it’s a Tuesday night in freezing November,but I’ve never seen the Alex so empty.
Upper Circle wasn’t even on sale I believe but people were going up there so probably a seat filler exercise?
Love the show-it is dynamic and packed with energy.The four leads are really solid in their roles led by Rebecca Lock.Shout out to the dance ensemble who are simply wonderful.
The mega-mix is easily one of my very favourite live theatre moments of the year.
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Nov 27, 2024 11:00:15 GMT
I believe an extra week was added well after the initial run was opened for booking, and didn't receive sufficient publicity to generate healthy ticket sales.
Sad to end on a relative low but at least the future of the show is already assured.
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Post by andrew on Dec 2, 2024 18:33:44 GMT
I was at the last performance (in Birmingham) on Saturday. It's pretty flimsy fare, but I suppose it's exactly what I expected it to be. I've got a couple of thoughts.
It's interesting that the orchestrations lean extremely heavily into the original mixes of the steps songs, and the choreography wasn't afraid to borrow from the famous dances, there's absolutely no shame in the way the songs are presented. I don't know if that's lazy or if it's just admitting that the audience are not looking for anything to be dressed up, they just want to hear the familiar songs in a familiar way. It's also interesting now I think about it that very few Steps songs have actual endings, almost all of them just fade out, so in fairness someone has had to write quite a few 2 bar endings to the classic tunes.
I was a big Steps fan as a child so it's enjoyable to hear those songs, but when they did things like strip away Heartbeat to make it more of a ballad I thought it was much more interesting. Jukebox musicals aren't my thing generally, and that sort of trashy careless construction that grinds my gears was on full display at times, like how the characters had a habit of just announcing something out of nowhere (spoilery examples confined only within these brackets include: oh by the way my son was stillborn, oh by the way I've been on stage for 43 seconds but I've decided our relationship isn't working, oh by the way this supermarket has a hoedown which will enable us to sing 5678). I think I could have done with a little more adaptation, if only to present the illusion that this isn't just the greatest hits album strung extremely loosely together.
But I liked how (especially for Birmingham) they'd spent a bit of money on the set, I liked how heavily they leaned into the gay fandom, I liked their choices of songs, and about a third of the time the songs felt earned inside the story. I liked that whilst it felt a bit ham-fisted there was an attempt to put in some interesting storylines, I liked that it was based in quite a working class environment with people facing the sorts of problems you'd get when you work in a supermarket (around job security, the importance of community, the ability to be a single parent etc). I thought Rebecca Lock in particular was excellent. And for once in my life I quite liked the megamix at the end.
It really helped me to be one or two drinks deep (and several by the megamix) before the curtain went up, this is a deeply unserious show. If you don't like Steps you should not go. If you cannot tolerate jukebox musicals (and I can't really tbh) you should not go. I can't say that I agree with a lot of the reviews on here calling it particularly superlative, I especially can't create the cognitive dissonance to say that "yes it's rubbish but it's a great night out!". I certainly thought even within the confines of this style of show, it could have been sharper and funnier. But for me it sort of did the trick because I have a real soft spot for the band, had very low expectations and switched my mind off for 2.5 hours. If you love Steps and some have some 6pm Malbec, you might have fun too.
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Post by craig on Dec 4, 2024 17:54:04 GMT
I saw this last Friday but have been too busy to get on here properly to write up my thoughts.
I'm an unashamed Steps fan, and an unashamed jukebox musical snob, so it could have gone either way, tbh, but I thought it was excellent. Full of heart, very funny, an excellent cast and a pretty decent set design and staging too.
First and foremost, Shaun Kitchener's book and characters were well enough written for you to invest, and it was all pitched sensibly at the sort of audience likely to give a Steps musical a go. You can tell the writer is a fan of pop culture. The transitions into songs were ultimately played straight, with a nod and wink in the writing rather than the actors mugging their way through it, which definitely struck the right tone for me.
A surprisingly excellent cast - all of the leads were note worthy. Rebecca Lock held it all together and killed it vocally (although some of my friends were less enamoured with her...) Sharlene Hector was sensational vocally and was hilarious in a surprisingly restrained way for this sort of show. Finty Williams was a comedic highlight, especially when resolutely refusing to get involved in anything as gauche as singing and dancing. Hiba Elchikhe also brought the VOX, particularly on Scared Of The Dark.
Surprisingly, my least favourite Steps song was probably my highlight. 5678 was the backdrop for the Half Price Hoedown, a gloriously ridiculous piece of ritual humiliation for the cast / theatrical magic for the audience that had the audience in stitches. River Medway's Chain Reaction whilst defrosting from the frozen goods aisle was... quite something... too.
Other highlights were Neon Blue (seriously, WHAT a song!), What The Future Holds, Story Of A Heart, Better Best Forgotten, and the utterly glorious megamix at the end.
For me, it's definitely more Mamma Mia than Viva Forever, and I hope it finds an audience on tour. I still have doubts about Steps' ability to sell a tour of this size, but it really does deserve every success. I'd recommend it even if you don't know the songs. It's a lovely show.
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Post by BVM on Dec 8, 2024 9:38:41 GMT
Saw this in Birmingham two weekends ago.
Absolutely feared the worst from the audience, but in fact while it was full of drunk people and they were a bit lively, it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. So that was nice. Albeit on rock bottom expectations. I don't doubt it will descend on tour though.
The show itself was a lot of fun. I love Steps, easily one of my fave groups of all time and very much the soundtrack to my gay youth and the years before Twink death. Fun times! Every single song was a banging ear-worm and the consistency in song writing was incredible.
Story was fine but inconsequential and I loved that it probably knew this so it wasn't laboured with long spoken sections and we very swiftly went from song to song. Which I think is right for this sort of thing. (Well, it's my preference for all musicals lol, just SING!)
Cheap and cheerful set clearly designed for touring and a bit more of cast pushing stuff around than I'd like. But a great lighting design, some nice orchestrations, some fabulous MT voices and loud and clear sound, it all came across in the end.
I'd go again if I wasn't worried about the audience!
4 stars.
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Post by colelarson on Dec 9, 2024 10:17:09 GMT
Went up to Birmingham to see this for the final show and really enjoyed it! I thought it was fun, jolly and feel good. The storyline was obvious in parts and songs placed in when someone mentioned something that was from a Steps song but it felt like this was done with a cheeky wink! I also liked the little touches like the lifebuoys having SOS on them, an airline being called Buzz and the products in the supermarket having Steps touches in their names.
Songs chosen (think there's 22) were real bangers and made me get the greatest hits back out! Loved "Stomp", "Neon Blue", "Scared Of The Dark", "Heartbeat" and "Chain Reaction" - where else can you see a drag queen being defrosted on stage!
I went to Birmingham with some friends to see this and the Nutcracker ballet and we all said this was our highlight of the trip! The audience were well behaved where I was in the stalls and all the staff were friendly. I thought the theatre was nice and great location in the city to where we stayed a short walk away, would definitely go back as they have some good shows.
As it was the last night there was no merch left and I was surprised there was no speech at then end but the audience did whoop and cheer even though they turned the stage lights off and you could feel the love the cast had for each other, Finty Williams who played Patricia had her son there (Judi Dench's grandson) Sam and he was lovely to talk to.
I would go and see the show again as it did leave you with a smile on your face! Be interesting to see if there is cast changes for the tour, I thought everyone was well suited to their parts and Rebecca Lock as Caz singing "Heartbeat" was really moving. I would say one of my favorite unexpected shows of the year!
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