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Post by FrontroverPaul on May 27, 2021 17:28:35 GMT
About the first woman to cycle around the world. Semi-staged, starring Gemma Sutton and Bronte Barbe.
Two performances only, 3pm and 8pm. Monday matinees are unusual. Tickets £15-£35. I've booked.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on May 27, 2021 18:20:01 GMT
About the first woman to cycle around the world. Semi-staged, starring Gemma Sutton and Bronte Barbe. Two performances only, 3pm and 8pm. Monday matinees are unusual. Tickets £15-£35. I've booked. I caught one of the songs at a new writing night pre Vaults and it’s really cool. |
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Post by ncbears on Jun 15, 2021 21:39:49 GMT
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 15, 2021 22:04:40 GMT
I saw it at Vaults in March 2020 and it was SUPER. really looking forward to seeing it again on Monday ☺️☺️
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Post by ncbears on Jun 22, 2021 16:53:27 GMT
How was it? Ms. Sutton was happy.
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 22, 2021 18:57:33 GMT
Liked it but didn't love it.
I like it a lot more at Vaults, and the version yesterday was about 20 minutes longer, with the inclusion of an additional song and some longer scenes. It began to drag after an hour an 10, but bought it back for the ending.
Gemma Sutton was good, although the sound design did her no favours and a lot of her singing was drowned out by the band (maybe they had it sorted for the evening). Liked Brontë Barbee a lot, and the small orchestra (with additional pre recorded orchestrations too) were good.
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Post by ncbears on Sept 19, 2021 15:16:39 GMT
just learned that this is available on stream.theatre through 21 september. Ride on demand |
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Post by austink on Jul 15, 2022 14:31:35 GMT
This is back for a third time covering a empty slot in the Charing Cross 25 August - 17 September 2022. Billed as its first full production, wonder how much changed from the Garrick? Wish them luck at the Charing Cross (they will need it like anything that goes into that space).
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Post by kyvai on Aug 21, 2022 11:18:47 GMT
Is anyone going to see this? I was just looking at tickets and there are a lot of options available to put it politely. I think the premise sounds really interesting.
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Post by austink on Aug 21, 2022 14:55:55 GMT
I saw it at the vaults in 2020 and the overall premise was good and a few nice hooks for songs. The book needed work particularly toward the end when it became a bit messy. I didn’t see the last year concert. Not sure how much has been done as it seems to now be a fill a full show but it could be good. It seems they splashed on underground marketing but as you note the ticket sales are poor even for Charing Cross. Would go but their headline prices are higher than anything else I have seen there recently and waiting for the eventual discounts. Is anyone going to see this? I was just looking at tickets and there are a lot of options available to put it politely. I think the premise sounds really interesting. |
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Post by kyvai on Aug 21, 2022 16:28:44 GMT
The standard price is a bit high for me too, to be honest, to spend on something that’s a bit of an unknown. I’m thinking to keep an eye out for discounted tickets over the next few weeks though.
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Post by TallPaul on Aug 21, 2022 16:35:50 GMT
Depends how much people want to spend, but there are deals out there already. I got an email from Official London Theatre just today. Ride offer |
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Aug 21, 2022 17:48:32 GMT
I would never have known this was back on if not for austink's post last month, that's despite regularly attending musicals at Charing Cross Theatre including the previous run of Ride last year.
Charing Cross always seems to me a low profile theatre in a somewhat hidden location that does little to publicise its shows - or even existence - to attract more punters.
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Post by kyvai on Aug 21, 2022 21:05:01 GMT
Depends how much people want to spend, but there are deals out there already. I got an email from Official London Theatre just today. Ride offer Ooh excellent, Thankyou! |
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Post by Mark on Aug 26, 2022 17:14:45 GMT
Had just got to the station and about to tap in and… cancelled due to cast illness tonight. This would have been their second preview.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Aug 26, 2022 17:18:22 GMT
Had just got to the station and about to tap in and… cancelled due to cast illness tonight. This would have been their second preview. Arghhhh! |
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Post by austink on Aug 26, 2022 17:54:30 GMT
Oooof. Hope they get enough time before opening.
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Post by vabbian on Aug 29, 2022 22:50:25 GMT
saw this tonight - 2 stars
The plot is really all over the place, it needs a LOT a LOT of work,
but I think there's a good musical somewhere in there.
Somehow we go from interesting bike ride to uninteresting romance to woe-is-me immigrant situation,
it is all very disjointed, pacing is all wrong.
There is a lot of forced (?) drama - scenes that I'm sure are designed to elicit a strong emotional response
from the audience (who mostly seemed bored by the halfway mark) - they fall entirely flat.
However, the cast of two are two very talented ladies.
Liv Andrusier in particular has a lovely colour and range to her voice - I would love to see her again in something else.
I'm not sure I could recommend this production - if you get a cheap ticket (£20 or under), I guess it is better than sleeping.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 30, 2022 6:00:27 GMT
saw this tonight - 2 stars The plot is really all over the place, it needs a LOT a LOT of work, but I think there's a good musical somewhere in there. Somehow we go from interesting bike ride to uninteresting romance to woe-is-me immigrant situation, it is all very disjointed, pacing is all wrong. There is a lot of forced (?) drama - scenes that I'm sure are designed to elicit a strong emotional response from the audience (who mostly seemed bored by the halfway mark) - they fall entirely flat. However, the cast of two are two very talented ladies. Liv Andrusier in particular has a lovely colour and range to her voice - I would love to see her again in something else. I'm not sure I could recommend this production - if you get a cheap ticket (£20 or under), I guess it is better than sleeping. Oof! Put that on the poster…. “⭐️⭐️ Better than sleeping” 😆 |
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Post by austink on Aug 30, 2022 10:22:04 GMT
Oh dear. My concern at this point this has been in the works for nearly 3 years since Vaults so when do you just call it a day? saw this tonight - 2 stars The plot is really all over the place, it needs a LOT a LOT of work, but I think there's a good musical somewhere in there. Somehow we go from interesting bike ride to uninteresting romance to woe-is-me immigrant situation, it is all very disjointed, pacing is all wrong. There is a lot of forced (?) drama - scenes that I'm sure are designed to elicit a strong emotional response from the audience (who mostly seemed bored by the halfway mark) - they fall entirely flat. However, the cast of two are two very talented ladies. Liv Andrusier in particular has a lovely colour and range to her voice - I would love to see her again in something else. I'm not sure I could recommend this production - if you get a cheap ticket (£20 or under), I guess it is better than sleeping. |
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Post by Steve on Aug 30, 2022 16:07:03 GMT
Depends how much people want to spend, but there are deals out there already. I got an email from Official London Theatre just today. Ride offer Thanks TallPaul, I took advantage of the offer and saw this last night.
The show is great fun. On the upside, it's a fascinating bit of history, the songs are top notch and brilliantly performed, the pace is fast, the chemistry in this two-hander is on point, and there are a lot of laughs. On the downside, the set-up is so good that the piece promises more laughs than it delivers, and the big emotional turn isn't triggered with sufficient precision by the book.
Some spoilers follow. . .
The space feels shrunken from how it normally is, in the sense that the seats are like they are in the two-sided configuration of the space, but without the seats on the other side of the playing area. The mystery of the missing space one the other side of the stage resolved itself neatly and cleverly.
The simple but effective set is an office space, with a checkered floor, a desk, with a big map of the world and bookcases on the sides.
In this space, Annie Londonderry, the first female to bicycle around the world in 1894, played as a nervy dynamo by Liv Andrusier, angles for a job as a newspaper columnist, from us. She enlists the help of lowly newspaper employee, Martha, played as a wide-eyed wallflower of a fangirl by Yuki Sutton.
Yuki Sutton is a real star in this, convincing as a shy conformist wallflower, but then equally convincing exploding out of her shell, almost against her will, such is the hypnotic charisma of Liv Andrusier's Annie Londonderry. Sutton gets nearly all the laughs, every time she endearingly explodes out of her endearing shell, all wide-eyed and gleeful at discovering her inner performer.
The song "Everybody Loves a Lie" is an absolute hoot and is worth the price of admission alone.
The part of Annie Londonderry is incredibly complex, like a Russian doll, with the outer layer being the first female to proudly bicycle around the world against the odds, the middle layer being a Barnumesque huckster, and the inner layer, well, you've got to watch the show to find out. . .
The lifting of the outer layer is done well by the show, but the lifting of the middle layer to reveal Annie's true tender core is mishandled, and it's like you don't really understand how or why it happens. The show intends us to understand that some kind of change comes over Annie when she meets a character called Fred Rose (also played by Sutton), so "The Charmed Existence of Fred Rose" is evidently intended as a key song, but I enevr felt that kind of impact that would justify Annie revealing her true inner core.
I felt like there was a scene or event missing, such as the arrival of a letter from home, news about the family, you know something that could really stir the pot and shake Anie's soul into the kind of crazy intimate revealtions she'd never typically countenance, but no such event happened, so Annie's final turn struck me as unearned by the book.
Notwithstanding that, I had a ball with this musical. Every song delivered either the rush of adventure, a comic turn or a rousing emotional revelation, and I liked them very much, in particular "Across America" and "Everybody Loves a Lie."
I do think there could be more comedy in the show if Liv Andrusier's Annie were to hit more insurmountable obstacles. She is a force of nature, like say, Henry Lewis of Mischief Theatre, and it's when such characters go splat that we laugh, not when they always get their way. As it is, we turn to Yuki Sutton for the laughs.
Andrusier does exceptionally well with what she is given, convincingly nervy in her job interview, convincingly fast-speaking huckster when circumstances demand, and emotionally bruised when nothing else works, and she sings wonderfully.
Andrusier and Sutton have great chemistry together.
Despite feeling the show could manage more laughs, and despite the climax coming out of nowhere, I felt the show had so many good songs, so much good singing, so much interesting history, and such an endearing central duo, that I had a great time.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Sept 1, 2022 14:24:24 GMT
How does the theatre feel in this configuration ? Seems to make sense to me as in the round didn't really work and the proscenium set up was very long and narrow + they never sold out.  |
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Post by austink on Sept 1, 2022 14:47:23 GMT
Makes a lot more sense. Staying in transverse doesn’t fit a lot of shows and as you note, shows never sell sufficiently to warrant it. Sad they cannot still deal with their accessibility issue as no show can be designed to deal with the fact that you look directly onto the stage from the balcony. How does the theatre feel in this configuration ? Seems to make sense to me as in the round didn't really work and the proscenium set up was very long and narrow + they never sold out. |
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Post by Mark on Sept 1, 2022 21:52:14 GMT
Attempt 2 tonight and I'm glad I was able to see it this time! Quite enjoyed it, thought the music was good and performances excellent. Liv Andrusier in particular, wonderful voice.
Where this falters is the framing device of how the story is told. It actually made me question whether this might be better as a one woman show, with her directly addressing the audience, rather than the "gentlemen" in the room (totally forgotten about for large parts), and voicing the multiple parts (like Diva! or Prima Facie) rather than having a second actress.
It did go by rathering swimmingly, with a bit of a dip towards the end.
3 stars
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Post by Mark on Sept 2, 2022 6:57:36 GMT
So looking at Twitter, I believe now it was Amy Parker playing Annie last night. Shame on the show having no announcements or notices in the venue to advertise this. Anyway, she was wonderful.
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