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Post by michalnowicki on Oct 3, 2017 21:50:56 GMT
Just came back from Edinburgh Playhouse and I really enjoyed the show. Danny Mac is very handsome (a bit too perfect) and the swimming pool scene was a nice treat for my hungry eyes. I just wish someone didn't wolf-whistle when he came on stage.
Ria Jones presented really good level of performance, but it took me a while to get used to the way she emphasises certain words (being used to hearing Glenn Close, La Lupone or Betty Buckley from the cast recordings). She looked very humbled when she got standing ovation at the curtain call.
The set design was done very well and I liked the way the projections were being used during scenes or transitions (especially car sequences).
I think this is a first musical I've seen that made me very aware of lighting on stage. Those light engineers are very clever people!
At the very end I went to the orchestra pit to watch how the orchestra is playing the finale. Marvellous.
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Post by musicalmarge on Oct 4, 2017 10:23:00 GMT
Elaine Paige sang this role the best but acted it the worst. Too OTT.
I personally think Kathryn Evans was amazing! I had goosebumps with every sentence.
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Post by herrstiefel on Oct 4, 2017 12:53:23 GMT
Elaine Paige sang this role the best but acted it the worst. Too OTT. I personally think Kathryn Evans was amazing! I had goosebumps with every sentence. I know a lot of people who feel that way about Elaine Paige in "Sunset". (To quote one of my favorite Forbidden Broadway spoofs: "I won't have a word said against her.... But.... a 3ft Norma Desmond? I ask you!") All I can say is, that I was absolutely blown away when I saw her at the Adelphi and many Sunsets later she's still in my personal top 3. I always preferred the well sung Normas to those who act the hell out of the part but don't have the vocal stamina to belt out those high notes 6-8 times a week. Still, I have to admit that I also enjoyed Glenn Close and Rita Moreno. At least a lot more than Petula Clark. She also sent shivers down my spine, just not in a positive way. |
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Post by richey on Oct 6, 2017 11:22:31 GMT
Bit worried they seem to be pushing the show using Danny Mac as a selling point. Article about the show in today's Manchester Evening News which focuses on him (complete with photo in swimming shorts) and just one brief mention that the show is about Norma
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2017 11:46:18 GMT
Well, as this was discussed earlier, the show is from Joe's perspective. It is Joes show, Norma is secondary technically.
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Post by distantcousin on Oct 6, 2017 12:54:42 GMT
Bit worried they seem to be pushing the show using Danny Mac as a selling point. Article about the show in today's Manchester Evening News which focuses on him (complete with photo in swimming shorts) and just one brief mention that the show is about Norma I don't think that's anything to be worried about. It's well known that in the past a star has always been required by the public to play Norma.
This time, they've gone with a virtually unknown musical theatre actress.
Danny Mac is the big draw and ostensibly the star of the show. This is the first production I know of where Joe has been played by someone much higher profile than the Norma actress. And it's a necessary move. Sunset, unfortunately, does not sell on its name alone...
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Post by steve10086 on Oct 6, 2017 13:14:32 GMT
Danny Mac is the big draw and ostensibly the star of the show. This is the first production I know of where Joe has been played by someone much higher profile than the Norma actress. And it's a necessary move. Sunset, unfortunately, does not sell on its name alone... This is probably the best way to go with Sunset. The fact it’s an ALW musical doesn’t seem to be a big enough draw on its own. And I’d rather they didn’t cast a big name Norma who isn’t up to the job. So using Joe as the draw is fine by me. Let Danny Mac bring them in, and then Ria Jones can wow them. Everyone goes home happy! |
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Post by dgjbear on Oct 7, 2017 2:37:27 GMT
Who is Danny Mac?
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 7, 2017 6:35:17 GMT
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Post by ali973 on Oct 7, 2017 7:24:19 GMT
^ I get what dgjbear means. As a non-Briton, I also thought, is he a somebody or something that's even worth marketing?
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Post by michalnowicki on Oct 7, 2017 8:34:30 GMT
Same here, as non-Brit without a telly, I get really lost when it comes to celebrities or famous people. Usually, when I ask at work whom certain person is I get the answer "He was in Strictly/EastEnders/Corrie/etc."
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Post by bimse on Oct 7, 2017 13:22:54 GMT
Same here, as non-Brit without a telly, I get really lost when it comes to celebrities or famous people. Usually, when I ask at work whom certain person is I get the answer "He was in Strictly/EastEnders/Corrie/etc." I'm British, have a TV and had no idea who Danny Mac is either . I'm hoping he's a revelation as an actor. I'm so looking forward to Sunset Boulevard , but I must admit my heart sank when I found out his background . I realise plenty of really good actors have been in soaps , such as Suranne Jones, Sarah Lancashire etc , but for every one of these fine actors there seems to be an over publicised one act shouty soap actor . |
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Post by johartuk on Oct 7, 2017 14:13:52 GMT
Same here, as non-Brit without a telly, I get really lost when it comes to celebrities or famous people. Usually, when I ask at work whom certain person is I get the answer "He was in Strictly/EastEnders/Corrie/etc." I'm British, have a TV and had no idea who Danny Mac is either . I'm hoping he's a revelation as an actor. I'm so looking forward to Sunset Boulevard , but I must admit my heart sank when I found out his background . I realise plenty of really good actors have been in soaps , such as Suranne Jones, Sarah Lancashire etc , but for every one of these fine actors there seems to be an over publicised one act shouty soap actor . Danny Mac was a Musical Theatre actor (he was in the ensemble of Wicked and first cover Boq) before going into a Soap ( Hollyoaks). He was in Strictly Come Dancing last year, which launched his career as a leading man. |
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Post by fionamac on Oct 7, 2017 17:05:01 GMT
Just back from seeing the matinee in Edinburgh, and I can't comment on Danny as he was not on, but I thought the actor who played Joe excellently (even after all the muttering from the audience when the understudy was announced just seconds before the show started). Thought Ria was effortless and and brilliant
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Post by distantcousin on Oct 7, 2017 19:28:28 GMT
^ I get what dgjbear means. As a non-Briton, I also thought, is he a somebody or something that's even worth marketing? Well seeing as this is a British tour, aimed at the British population, it hardly matters if the leads aren't known to foreign audience members. |
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Post by ali973 on Oct 8, 2017 4:23:50 GMT
You're right, how could we damn foreigners ever think that we deserve anything nice or anything but statements like these reminding us for our foreignness? (I don't even live in the UK, and I know that you "probably didn't mean it that way").
But that's irrelevant. When he was announced, I was questioning if his name was relevant to a British household anyway.
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Post by danb on Oct 8, 2017 4:57:15 GMT
You're right, how could we damn foreigners ever think that we deserve anything nice or anything but statements like these reminding us for our foreignness? (I don't even live in the UK, and I know that you "probably didn't mean it that way"). But that's irrelevant. When he was announced, I was questioning if his name was relevant to a British household anyway. I think that the meaning is perfectly clear. It can be interpreted as all sorts of ideologically difficult things if you choose to, but it really only does read as a common sense statement about casting a celebrity known to it’s intended audience. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2017 5:51:21 GMT
Not quite sure why a big deal is being made as to who Danny Mac is and whether he is a darw etc. If you dont know then theres google. I dont know half the people who are cast on broadway or itger international productions so just Google them if im interested enough to care.
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Post by distantcousin on Oct 8, 2017 8:51:30 GMT
Not quite sure why a big deal is being made as to who Danny Mac is and whether he is a darw etc. If you dont know then theres google. I dont know half the people who are cast on broadway or itger international productions so just Google them if im interested enough to care. I know, right?! Some people really do live in some kind of bubble. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2017 10:22:53 GMT
^ I get what dgjbear means. As a non-Briton, I also thought, is he a somebody or something that's even worth marketing? Well seeing as this is a British tour, aimed at the British population, it hardly matters if the leads aren't known to foreign audience members. I genuinely didn't read dgjbear and@ali973 's posts as derogatory - so I think this response is slightly uncalled for. I think that they were merely commenting that they didn't know who he is, not that he shouldn't be cast or billed. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 8, 2017 11:12:12 GMT
Anyway, moving on, can anyone who has seen it recently confirm whether they’ve painted that car?
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Post by ali973 on Oct 8, 2017 13:03:10 GMT
The car is painted from the outside but could swear it isn't from the inside.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Oct 8, 2017 13:51:19 GMT
The car has always been painted. It was what it was wheeled in on that wasn't and also the very front of the car.
This was apparently deliberate because it was akways supposed to be a prop car and never meant to be seen as real. The idea for the whole production is that it's a movie being shot. Basically a show within a show. That's why you have camera and booms on stage all the time, even in the mansion scenes and during the car sections, because they are 'shooting' those scenes.
On the front of the car, on the bit unpainted, it has "property of paramount" stamped on.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 8, 2017 13:58:47 GMT
Ahhhhhhh I seeeeeeeee!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2017 14:02:29 GMT
Two weeks 'til Manchester!
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