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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2021 17:45:27 GMT
I’d be amazed if this hasn’t been recorded for streaming after the run. Curve have experience with streaming Sunset Boulevard and Colour Purple now, I’d be staggered if they haven’t got this lined up for after the run.
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Post by richey on Jun 12, 2021 17:54:47 GMT
I’d be amazed if this hasn’t been recorded for streaming after the run. Curve have experience with streaming Sunset Boulevard and Colour Purple now, I’d be staggered if they haven’t got this lined up for after the run. I wish they let us know if they are intending to. Am seriously considering booking for next Saturday night otherwise. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2021 18:00:27 GMT
I’d be amazed if this hasn’t been recorded for streaming after the run. Curve have experience with streaming Sunset Boulevard and Colour Purple now, I’d be staggered if they haven’t got this lined up for after the run. I wish they let us know if they are intending to. Am seriously considering booking for next Saturday night otherwise. I’m surmising. But why wouldn’t they? The only thing that would stop them (I surmise) are rights issues. But this is all old material, would that be an issue with RUG or whoever owns it all? Im probably wrong. Go see it live, it will be loads better anyway. I’d go but without a car I can’t make the logistics work. Schooldays it’s back in Manc piccadilly at 1am (sorry but those days are over) abd on Saturday night it’s not possible to get back at all so would need a hotel. Flixbus is 6 hours each way via London lol. Were you going to drive? |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 12, 2021 18:32:22 GMT
Well, where to start? Some cracking talent on that stage. Some really excellent performances and an energetic band. Now I know what Phantom will sound like on the Keys! I can't fault anybody as they were all really good. The Starlight intro to the second half took the roof off and made full use of the Curve's insane lighting rig. Some beautiful nuanced singing with a couple of funny ALW anecdotes (though his interjections started to irritate me and elongated the show unnecessarily). Only downside is that the sound gets swallowed with all four sides open, both across the theatre and upward. End result is that sometimes performers felt 25m away from me when in reality they were 25 feet. Magdalena Alberto is as beautiful in voice as she is in looks and was flawless; Shem Omari James has a lovely reed-like quality to his voice and I would love to see him play Raoul as I think he'd be perfect in the role; Ria Jones got some flack in an earlier post but I thought she was great - I liked her "Memory" as it was subtle and controlled, and her Sunset sections got well-deserved applause. Tim Rogers performs with gravitas and accomplishment, and his "Til I Hear You Sing" was an excellent rendition of a song that isn't easy. I hadn't realised he'd workshopped the original LND. Karen Mavundukure has the most beautiful soul voice I've heard. Her takes on "I don't know how to love him" and "light at the end of the tunnel" were effortless and brilliant. A highlight for me. Tim Howar is the kind of bloke you'd probably go for a drink with - he constantly looks like he's loving it up on stage, charismatic but giving to other performers, he nailed everything. I liked his range and versatility and there was a tangible cadence in his performances. Jessica Daley - damn she's good. Phenomenal vocal range and dexterity, a ready made replacement for Carrie Hope Fletcher in pretty much anything. Certainly equal to, if not better. Grab a ticket if you can - well worth the money. It's not perfect, and could do with some directorial polish, but it's pretty damn close to perfect if you like ALW! Honestly I think the lighting rig and what they did with it was worth the ticket price alone! Sadly I didn't see Karen as she injured her foot early this week and so had a few days off and I do think they cut Light at the end of the tunnel completely but from memory Jessica Daley did I don't know how to love him. Blimey she was good wasn't she. I'm thinking of going again actually on Wednesday again. |
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Post by ceebee on Jun 12, 2021 20:01:24 GMT
Well it was good enough to see again this evening. Sounds even better tonight - think it's better to be slightly further away from stage as I'm hearing far more richness and depth. Anybody thinking of booking, do it if you can. It's worth the trip.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 12, 2021 20:51:23 GMT
Were you in the studio earlier? The acoustics are not as good in there generally and so I imagine that's still even the case even with the theatre fully open up on all sides.
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Post by ceebee on Jun 13, 2021 0:13:48 GMT
Were you in the studio earlier? The acoustics are not as good in there generally and so I imagine that's still even the case even with the theatre fully open up on all sides. Nope - I was Stalls - E15 matinee, J15 evening. Acoustics much better two rows back, though had to put up with a whooping banshee a few rows back. |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 13, 2021 8:25:33 GMT
I wish they let us know if they are intending to. Am seriously considering booking for next Saturday night otherwise. I’m surmising. But why wouldn’t they? The only thing that would stop them (I surmise) are rights issues. But this is all old material, would that be an issue with RUG or whoever owns it all? Im probably wrong. Go see it live, it will be loads better anyway. I’d go but without a car I can’t make the logistics work. Schooldays it’s back in Manc piccadilly at 1am (sorry but those days are over) abd on Saturday night it’s not possible to get back at all so would need a hotel. Flixbus is 6 hours each way via London lol. Were you going to drive? You can get a hotel next weekend for £30, there's a new travelodge just opened round the corner, and with tickets still available for £10 for sat night it probably isn't any more than you'd normally pay for an average ticket? What about Saturday afternoon? There is a matinee with good availability too. |
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Post by richey on Jun 13, 2021 9:55:18 GMT
I’m surmising. But why wouldn’t they? The only thing that would stop them (I surmise) are rights issues. But this is all old material, would that be an issue with RUG or whoever owns it all? Im probably wrong. Go see it live, it will be loads better anyway. I’d go but without a car I can’t make the logistics work. Schooldays it’s back in Manc piccadilly at 1am (sorry but those days are over) abd on Saturday night it’s not possible to get back at all so would need a hotel. Flixbus is 6 hours each way via London lol. Were you going to drive? You can get a hotel next weekend for £30, there's a new travelodge just opened round the corner, and with tickets still available for £10 for sat night it probably isn't any more than you'd normally pay for an average ticket? What about Saturday afternoon? There is a matinee with good availability too. You've made my mind up. Getting the train down and staying the night. |
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2021 11:25:36 GMT
I agree with the positivity of others who have seen this, it's a wonderful 'best of celebration that proves when Webber is good, he really is very very good.
I was on the Studio side (row J, £20, absolute bargain). No real issues with sound from there that I noticed.
I did think the beginning medley didn't really start the show off with the 'bang' that I was expecting, but the rest of the show had obviously been very well thought out and it came together really well. I thought the ALW video interludes worked well and I learned a few things I didn't know before.
For me, the Evita and Phantom sections were the standouts, they were just electric. Also as others have said, the lighting rig is just stunning and deserved a round of applause all to itself.
Madalena Alberto's 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' is a masterclass, as is Tim Howar's 'Music Of The Night'. I'm not a huge fan of Ria Jones, and strangely I thought her 'Memory' was much better than her Sunset Boulevard songs. She can definitely act a song well, I just find her voice gets very strained at the higher end and it grates on me a tad.
Karen Mav is performing, she just sings from a wheelchair rather than being part of the group. She sounded great. Seeing her being wheeled on to the overture from Starlight Express was unintentionally brilliant.
I would say that Tim Rogers was the biggest disappointment for me, he seemed to struggle with all of his songs despite having played those roles previously (JCS, Aspects Of Love, LND). I don't know if it was 'end of the week fatigue' but his timing and phrasing seemed all over the place and some of the big money notes were a bit painful.
I do however need to know where Jessica Daley has been all my life, because she was the absolute highlight for me, every note was just phenomenal. I watched Over The Rainbow last year and I don't even remember her on that show. She's worth the ticket price on her own. Maybe shared with the lighting rig.
Definitely grab a ticket but I'd be surprised if they don't stream it at some point as well. I think it would get a big home audience.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 13, 2021 12:55:05 GMT
Jessica really was fantastic wasn't she. I'm hoping she gets some chances by ALW in the future because she's so talented and as Ceebee said above, seems a ready made replacement for Carrie in Cinderella for example.
Sadly with Madalena the sound for her was awash with problems for my performance, her mic just never seemed as loud as the others and made her songs/voice seem subdued and hard to pick up and at one point her mic wasn't working full stop for 70% of one song, so I don't feel I really got the best of her. That along with Karen not being on for my preformance makes me want to catch it again for the full experience but I'm not sure i'll manage it.
I need to mention the lighting rig again because I just do.
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2021 13:43:02 GMT
I'd go as far as to say that Jessica is actually even more impressive than Carrie. I got the feeling she'd be a more natural actress (judging from her Unexpected Song performance) and her vocal tone was just gorgeous. Those LND notes!!
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Post by FairyGodmother on Jun 13, 2021 15:04:46 GMT
I do however need to know where Jessica Daley has been all my life, because she was the absolute highlight for me, every note was just phenomenal. I watched Over The Rainbow last year and I don't even remember her on that show. She's worth the ticket price on her own. Maybe shared with the lighting rig. I think she had a different surname (and different hair colour) on that show. Slightly off topic, but I presume you've seen this? I thought it was lovely. |
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Post by saral on Jun 13, 2021 15:29:42 GMT
I remember her being lovely on that show, but didn't they think she was too young at the time to carry 8 shows a week so she was voted off
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2021 15:59:10 GMT
I do however need to know where Jessica Daley has been all my life, because she was the absolute highlight for me, every note was just phenomenal. I watched Over The Rainbow last year and I don't even remember her on that show. She's worth the ticket price on her own. Maybe shared with the lighting rig. I think she had a different surname (and different hair colour) on that show. Slightly off topic, but I presume you've seen this? I thought it was lovely. It's so good isn't it. I know all of those shows got a lot of criticism but I love how many great voices they found. Between the Marias, the Nancys, the Josephs, the Jesuses and the Dorothys, they found some first-class talent, many of whom are still going strong today. |
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Post by ceebee on Jun 13, 2021 20:18:06 GMT
I would say that Tim Rogers was the biggest disappointment for me, he seemed to struggle with all of his songs despite having played those roles previously (JCS, Aspects Of Love, LND). I don't know if it was 'end of the week fatigue' but his timing and phrasing seemed all over the place and some of the big money notes were a bit painful. I must admit I agree. I didn't want to single him out in my review as I thought it would be unfair, but as you've mentioned it I felt his voice was lacking energy, he fluffed a few notes in both the matinee and evening performances, diction/timing was a bit sloppy. That said, perhaps he is a bit rusty after the Covid lockdown. He sounded like he had a cold/hayfever (perhaps?) when he was talking to the audience. Anyway, his fan club was in Saturday evening so he got some good cheers. I seem to recall seeing him as "The Man" in the Bill Kenwright "Whistle Down The Wind" (Palace), and I thought he sang the role as well as Marcus Lovett did in the original Aldwych version. (Original if you exclude the NYMT version of WDTW which I thought was just as good, though lacking in the Steinman stature of the ALW version!) |
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2021 20:27:07 GMT
Yeah maybe it was illness. I've never seen Tim in anything, he was completely new to me so have nothing else to compare it to, so hopefully he was just having an off-day. Let's see what the Boarders who are going next week think, maybe he'll be back on track by then 🤞
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Post by ceebee on Jun 17, 2021 20:42:31 GMT
Stalls circle seats opened up for final performance on Sat PM - some £10 tix for groups of 3 available. Glad to see this final performance get close to a full house - such a great show. Phone box office if you need other permutations as they are superb and really helpful.
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Post by stagebyte on Jun 19, 2021 15:32:41 GMT
Booked on the strength of comments here. So excited first theatre since March 2020. I cannot wait.
And agree the box office were superb.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 19, 2021 18:25:48 GMT
And now we await the inevitable (?) announcement of the online tickets. If they haven’t recorded this for streaming I’ll be 100% shocked.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 19, 2021 18:28:32 GMT
And now we await the inevitable (?) announcement of the online tickets. If they haven’t recorded this for streaming I’ll be 100% shocked. I wouldn't have said it was one the cards but given they now cancelled/postponed Rent I'm wondering if they might have decided to quickly pull together a filmed version to stream, get some of the revenue in and actually have something 'on' over the next few months. |
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Post by richey on Jun 19, 2021 22:00:29 GMT
Wow.That was fantastic. So glad I made the effort to come down and see the show, it was well worth it.
All the cast were fantastic-Jessica Daley was absolutely astounding. Every song she performed was perfect,but Unexpected Song and Love Never Dies were incredible. Madelena gave one of the best renditions of 'Don't Cry for me.." that I've ever heard.
Tim Rogers was rather a distraction every time he appeared in a fantastically tight t-shirt, but he has a lovely voice too.
It was great to hear some things that don't get performed very often. Amigos Para Siempre has always been a favourite of mine so I really enjoyed hearing that.I might have got a bit emotional when they introduced Pie Jesu and dedicated it to those we've lost over the last year. I've never been fond of the Variations (thanks to a rather awkward dance class at teacher training college years ago) but the staging of Variation 23 tonight has made me want to investigate further. The lighting rig for that section was inspired. In fact, as has been said before the rig was worth the ticket price alone, it looked amazing.
My only niggle was some of the video inserts. ALW looks extremely scary on a large screen and there was some rather jumpy editing. But that hardly mattered, it was just so good to be back in an audience in a theatre again.
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Post by ceebee on Jun 19, 2021 22:55:13 GMT
Totally agree Richey - another great evening and so good to see Tim Rogers nailing it tonight. Jessica Daley - wow, such a brilliant voice. All were wonderful - loved it!
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Post by stagebyte on Jun 19, 2021 23:38:04 GMT
Loved it tonight. Curve proving once again what a top class theatre for musicals it is. It was good to be back in a theatre. Acres of space and felt completely safe.
Although very clever the acapella medley at the beginning was an odd start to the show. I was just like ‘bring on the tunes!
I didn’t feel it really got going performance wise til Evita which was fab. I need to see Madelena as Eva.
Highlights for me were the phantom and LND sections. Tim Howar and Jessica Daley were just impeccable. Why Jessica Daley didn’t get further in the Dorothy competion 11 years ago is beyond me but they need to make up for it and cast her in something big quick. She reminded me of Claire Moore.
Although I was a little bit worried at times about Ria securing some notes in places in her other songs she smashed Memory - I might’ve shed a tear at the key change.
The other performers were less sure footed. Shem Omari James the newly graduated baby of the group was good but could’ve done with a bit more power (I found the sound a bit lacking particularly for the men who I struggled to hear on occasions) It was a shame Karen had hurt her foot. I don’t know whether it was because she was mostly stuck in a corner or I’m just a big sucker for Andrew’s high romance soprano songs but her songs were not what I was waiting for!
Loved the Variations cello piece really want to see the whole thing now and would’ve loved Pie Jesus as a duet. The soprano didn’t sound ‘clean’ in places.
It was just so lovely to hear all his best loved works in one place reminding us what a Titan of musicals he really is, little awkward jokes and all. A hugely entertaining night with ALW anecdotes we hadn’t heard before.
I’m afraid I can’t agree with you Ceebee Tim Rogers needs to hang up his biblical robes that note he ‘hit’ in Gethsemane (my fave ALW tune) was a shocker. I was wondering without any disrespect whether he was perhaps suffering from a sore throat?
ALW said he hopes LND will return to the Curve. I hope he casts Tim Howar and Jessica Daley if it does.
We didn’t get a programme but whoever designed the lighting deserves an award. It was stunning. The Phantom lighting gave me chills.
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Post by stagebyte on Jun 19, 2021 23:47:26 GMT
I'd go as far as to say that Jessica is actually even more impressive than Carrie. I got the feeling she'd be a more natural actress (judging from her Unexpected Song performance) and her vocal tone was just gorgeous. Those LND notes!! Agree. It was just effortless |
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