Guys and Dolls - Bridge Theatre

[mrbarnaby]

They are filming their EPK. They need a full audience for it, seeing as it’s an immersive production.

This won’t be for NT Live. The plan is that this show will have a long run at the Bridge so they absolutely won’t be broadcasting it any time soon.

[Jon]

Mar 10, 2023 23:13:20 GMT mrbarnaby said:

They are filming their EPK. They need a full audience for it, seeing as it’s an immersive production.

This won’t be for NT Live. The plan is that this show will have a long run at the Bridge so they absolutely won’t be broadcasting it any time soon.

Will it extend beyond September to at least January 2024? 

[Mark]

No notes! Just a totally delightful experience!
Whole cast is wonderful but in particular Marisha as Adelaide and Andrew Richardson as Sky.
Was standing and found it very well organised.

[mrbarnaby]

Mar 10, 2023 23:23:21 GMT Jon said:

Mar 10, 2023 23:13:20 GMT mrbarnaby said:

They are filming their EPK. They need a full audience for it, seeing as it’s an immersive production.

This won’t be for NT Live. The plan is that this show will have a long run at the Bridge so they absolutely won’t be broadcasting it any time soon.

Will it extend beyond September to at least January 2024? 

They very much hope it will.

[david]

Well that was a heavenly trip to the Bridge Theatre tonight. A fantastic production from everyone involved. I’ll give this one 5⭐️. Having got a pit ticket, I can’t really fault my experience. It was well organised and marshalled throughly the entire show. I didn’t have any issues with anybody blocking my view and was very easy to move around if required.

The iconic score was brought beautifully to life by the 14 piece orchestra and sung wonderfully by this stunning cast. I really couldn’t fault this viewing. The Bridge really have nailed it with these immersive shows and I have always come out of them having had a great night out.

The four leads were superb, and I really enjoyed Marisha’s take on Miss Adelaide and despite a less energetic version of “Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat”, vocally Cedric Neal’s more gospel version won me over.

The interval show was a nice touch and the party atmosphere at the end with everyone in the pit made for a special evening.

[Ade]

Saw this at the matinee today. It’s 4 stars for me but honestly I think the let downs are just that I don’t love G&D generally as the production is amazing. This does an amazing job and all four of the leads were brilliant in my opinion. I was standing (chose to sit for a JC and AMND) and loved it, though definitely felt like we weren’t moved around a lot. The atmosphere at the end made the aching back worth it though.

We were right behind today’s ‘participant’ and it definitely doesn’t seem to be a plant but consent looked to be there as the guy chosen was up on stage by himself and then after the scene got off the stage and joined the chap he was with and they had a little joke to each other about it. I wasn’t there when he took his seat during the interval but the fact that he was at a table with a member of the cast who patted him and thanked him after definitely gave me the impression they’d approached him and asked him to take that seat.

[lonlad]

Heaven in every possible way, and I say that as one who saw both the Eyre revival (several times) and the Jerry Zaks one in NY with Nathan Lane and Faith Prince.

This production doen't self-consciously reinvent the show but just comes at it with such vitality and freshness and verve and it's AMAZINGLY touching. The acting is the occasion, though there are some damn fine voices, especially from the two resplendent leading ladies< Celinda is a ravishing Sarah and Marisha's powerhouse Adelaide is a human being first and foremost, not an assemblage of funny accents. Daniel Mays also the funniest Nathan I have ever seen and by some measure the sweetest.

Go go go go go !

[barelyathletic]

Loved this last night. Doesn't quite match Richard Eyre's National Theatre production but came very close.

The star of the show for me was Celinde Schoenmaker as a gorgeous Sarah Brown. And Andrew Richardson is a star in the making, reminding me of the first time I ever saw Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma. He has the same charisma but he had a tough job vocally as I can still hear Ian Charleson's beautiful rendition of I'll Know echoing round my head from 1982 every time that song is performed.

I wanted a bit more comedy from Daniel Mays and Marisha Wallace, but yet again she proved what a great vocalist she is, bringing down the house. As did Sit Down Your Rockin' the Boat last night, with three encores as Cedric Neal came into his own and the crowd yelled their delight.

I wasn't sure about the immersive element, though it was fantastic to be up close to the action. By the end, although the party atmosphere is great, I still think the production would have benefited from being more traditionally staged. It felt a bit messy at times and the show occasionally loses focus (the final wedding scene goes for nothing). Unlike Julius Caesar, where you were part of the citizens of Rome and the mob, for me, having the audience in the pit didn't really add anything to it. And at times the very strong choreography seemed a bit cramped on the small stages.

But... those quibbles aside, this is a hugely energetic and entertaining, joyous show. A very strong production of a fantastic musical and I'll definitely be going again. Four stars.

[Jon]

Also saw this last night and I have to agree it's a fantastic production and it shows how strong the book in how it even after 70 odd years that it still feels timeless and those songs are so ingrained into people's memories that it's difficult not to mouth along.

Loved the entire cast but Andrew Richardson and Marisha Wallace were the standouts.

[c4ndyc4ne]

Reviews are all-out raves

[lonlad]

Yes, including from Variety and the NYTimes, and deservedly so. I expect a long life for this one.

[foxa]

Wow - just read those reviews. So glad I got tickets (cheap seated ones and not until late May) - I really had no idea this would work so well! So happy for them.

[Being Alive]

This deserves to run and run and run - I just hope Nick has paid the SOLT membership so that they can win Oliviers....

[mattnyc]

I have to imagine we’ll be getting a cast recording now, and probably a live one to try and keep the “immersive” nature of the production even through audio.

[Jon]

Mar 15, 2023 11:03:17 GMT Being Alive said:

This deserves to run and run and run - I just hope Nick has paid the SOLT membership so that they can win Oliviers....

I can't imagine it'll run for years but I think an extended run to say mid 2024 is likely.

[alece10]

Would it stay at the Bridge if extended? I've always thought of that theatre as only having short runs of things rather than housing long runners.

[barrowside]

Is Lightroom set up to the same spec. as The Bridge. Could it move there eventually if it was to become a long runner and free up The Bridge again for shorter runs?

[Someone in a tree]

I heard Nick and Nick wanted it to run for a year. If so its great for the venue but perhaps not for its theatre membership scheme

[AddisonMizner]

I know this is in the round, but do they tend to face one side more than another? What is the view like generally in the seated areas?

[ceebee]

Mar 15, 2023 19:35:22 GMT AddisonMizner said:

I know this is in the round, but do they tend to face one side more than another? What is the view like generally in the seated areas?

Yes, if you look at the theatre from the perspective of the band being behind you, they play out more to the band and the left side and the neon set favours this side more; that said, it is truly in the round and much of the action also took place at the top right.  I would suggest this is best viewed from Gallery 1 or 2 for the spectacle, then probably the immersion of the floor if you can hack three hours on your feet.  I'm not sure the stalls offer the best experience for this show but will find out when I go back in a week or so.

[showtoones]

Mar 15, 2023 20:03:34 GMT ceebee said:

Mar 15, 2023 19:35:22 GMT AddisonMizner said:

I know this is in the round, but do they tend to face one side more than another? What is the view like generally in the seated areas?

Yes, if you look at the theatre from the perspective of the band being behind you, they play out more to the band and the left side and the neon set favours this side more; that said, it is truly in the round and much of the action also took place at the top right.  I would suggest this is best viewed from Gallery 1 or 2 for the spectacle, then probably the immersion of the floor if you can hack three hours on your feet.  I'm not sure the stalls offer the best experience for this show but will find out when I go back in a week or so.

Looking at the seating chart on the Bridge Theatre, is it best to be on the side of Door D and A, Door E,  Door B and C, or the side directly opposite from Door D and A which doesn't have any door marking?

[FrontroverPaul]

I went for the cheapest available seat for Guys and Dolls which was £15 in row C of the Gallery. Missed very little and the seat was reasonably comfortable if a bit narrow. It's VERY tight to get in or out of the row though.

[Jon]

Mar 15, 2023 17:17:32 GMT barrowside said:

Is Lightroom set up to the same spec. as The Bridge. Could it move there eventually if it was to become a long runner and free up The Bridge again for shorter runs?

They'd be waiting a while, it's currently going to run in its current form until 2026.

[ceebee]

Mar 16, 2023 0:14:43 GMT showtoones said:

Mar 15, 2023 20:03:34 GMT ceebee said:

Yes, if you look at the theatre from the perspective of the band being behind you, they play out more to the band and the left side and the neon set favours this side more; that said, it is truly in the round and much of the action also took place at the top right.  I would suggest this is best viewed from Gallery 1 or 2 for the spectacle, then probably the immersion of the floor if you can hack three hours on your feet.  I'm not sure the stalls offer the best experience for this show but will find out when I go back in a week or so.

Looking at the seating chart on the Bridge Theatre, is it best to be on the side of Door D and A, Door E,  Door B and C, or the side directly opposite from Door D and A which doesn't have any door marking?

Between doors A, B or C would be the best spot in my opinion.

[theatrelover123]

Mar 16, 2023 0:14:43 GMT showtoones said:

Mar 15, 2023 20:03:34 GMT ceebee said:

Yes, if you look at the theatre from the perspective of the band being behind you, they play out more to the band and the left side and the neon set favours this side more; that said, it is truly in the round and much of the action also took place at the top right.  I would suggest this is best viewed from Gallery 1 or 2 for the spectacle, then probably the immersion of the floor if you can hack three hours on your feet.  I'm not sure the stalls offer the best experience for this show but will find out when I go back in a week or so.

Looking at the seating chart on the Bridge Theatre, is it best to be on the side of Door D and A, Door E,  Door B and C, or the side directly opposite from Door D and A which doesn't have any door marking?

Door E