Newsies - Troubadour Wembley Park

[Steve]

Saw this tonight, and absolutely LOVED it! It reminds me of 42nd Street, in that it may not solve the meaning of life, but it is dazzling dynamic exuberant fun, with song and dance that makes you feel good! I felt uplifted when I came out of this.

Some spoilers follow. . .

The last revival of "42nd Street" was much beloved by a preponderance of people on this board, for it's dazzling dance numbers, and I think this musical fills the void left by the closing of that show.

By a whisker, 42nd Street beats this, as Clare Halse was preternaturally charismatic and likeable in that show, in a way that is phenomenally rare to see; and songs like "We're in the Money" and "Lullaby of Broadway" are, in my opinion, a more pleasurable listen than anything in this ("Seize the Day" and "Santa Fe" are damn good, though).

But the comparison runs close, as this is more meaningful than 42nd Street, with the striking boys pushing for some kind of human rights in a world that wants to grind them down, rather than simply "putting on a show," and this is particularly topical right now, when so many are striking to try to make ends meet.

Of course, the cast of this DO put on a show, and there are elements here that go beyond 42nd Street, such as flying in unison in the air, or there's the guy who is able to dance upside-down without putting his hands down, using just his head and shoulders (a shampoo advertising contract for a certain brand may beckon lol).

Acting wise, Brontë Barbe is head and shoulders (again lol) the most winning, and if the part was more fully rounded, more featured, and more dynamic, she'd even give the astonishing Halse a run for her money.

But by and large, the ensemble are as they were in 42nd Street, machines of delightful dynamism, demonstrating the breadth of human athleticism, and dancing in unison, in a way that is inspiring and infectious and excites the audience into joyful exuberance despite the lack of nuance or substance to the vision. We enjoy the cooperation of human beings in absolute magnificent sync, and we enjoy the individualism of spectacular single feats.

As to the seating, the ushers are being generous. I heard one woman enquire if her party could move, in the interval, and the answer was in the affirmative, as long as they were absolutely sure seats were empty.

Another note is that it was a little cold in there tonight, and punters with bare arms were hugging themselves to ward off the chills. Take a jumper lol.

Anyway, this made me mindlessly happy. 4 and a half stars from me.

[drowseychap]

Just come out of newsies and didn’t love it and trying to think why … I loved the broadway tv showing . I was Brooklyn in the l 43-45 £32 seats which give a great view … not too comfy though after a while felt fidgety .
The sound was pretty bad first half couldn’t make out any dialogue it all blurred into one sound … the big numbers from solos felt very quiet 🤫 and needed to be notched up a bit … even Brontë who in what’s new pussycat blew the roof off the Rep every show … I saw that show 5 times !loved every moment ❤️…. The only other time I felt like this was after come from away ….. again tonight full standing ovation but I just didn’t feel it ? 🤔.
Great design dancing and hardworking cast not sure if the immersive side was off putting at times as it’s concert style temp seating sounded like heard of elephants every time they ran on and off sometimes louder than the voices on stage .

Hey ho as they say you can’t please everybody all of the time but I was so looking forward to this and came away feeling a little cold maybe it was the cavernous venue , maybe I was tired , I know I didn’t really connect with any of the characters? The main guy playing jack I wasn’t too enamoured with either .

I may give it another go in a few months 3/5 from me 👍😊

[garjobo]

Dec 29, 2022 23:02:29 GMT drowseychap said:

Just come out of newsies and didn’t love it and trying to think why … I loved the broadway tv showing . I was Brooklyn in the l 43-45 £32 seats which give a great view … not too comfy though after a while felt fidgety .
The sound was pretty bad first half couldn’t make out any dialogue it all blurred into one sound … the big numbers from solos felt very quiet 🤫 and needed to be notched up a bit … even Brontë who in what’s new pussycat blew the roof off the Rep every show … I saw that show 5 times !loved every moment ❤️…. The only other time I felt like this was after come from away ….. again tonight full standing ovation but I just didn’t feel it ? 🤔.
Great design dancing and hardworking cast not sure if the immersive side was off putting at times as it’s concert style temp seating sounded like heard of elephants every time they ran on and off sometimes louder than the voices on stage .

Hey ho as they say you can’t please everybody all of the time but I was so looking forward to this and came away feeling a little cold maybe it was the cavernous venue , maybe I was tired , I know I didn’t really connect with any of the characters? The main guy playing jack I wasn’t too enamoured with either .

I may give it another go in a few months 3/5 from me 👍😊

THERES YOUR PROBLEM. Where you sat. Simples. Its not a show for anywhere less than Brooklyn and the side areas - sorry - but thats the truth. It is an excellent show, but stating that sounds etc issue is plainly wrong. Simple are that.  Sound excellent, production excellent ( my daughter btw is the fan not me! ) .   Seating the key.  Pay the monies, £60 for side view in Lincoln, and you will love it.

[garjobo]

Have to add, seeing some other comments, ' its a little cold etc' and before i saw it many times the other week, had the 'mic issues' etc.... Have to say, you read comments and then see the show, and yes, theres the odd fumble here and there ( although to be totally honest in the 5x saw it,in a week, literally twice a tiny mic issue....and the xmas eve, mistiming so the kid didnt go up the rope / and according to daughter some dialogue piece was missed out - i didnt notice ) But when you are there..the only thing you notice is the rustling annoying!!! bloody annoying!! selfish!! ...'animals' who like the sound of themselves with their popcorn packages ( and the coughing ).

( it wasnt cold btw and we saw it last week, cold outside, i took my coat off..and i sat in various areas. It was a little noisy with the performers backstage..siting in Brooklyn...the seating too is loose in the sense that someone taps a foot and the row moves )

[steve10086]

Dec 31, 2022 23:48:52 GMT garjobo said:

Dec 29, 2022 23:02:29 GMT drowseychap said:

Just come out of newsies and didn’t love it and trying to think why … I loved the broadway tv showing . I was Brooklyn in the l 43-45 £32 seats which give a great view … not too comfy though after a while felt fidgety .
The sound was pretty bad first half couldn’t make out any dialogue it all blurred into one sound … the big numbers from solos felt very quiet 🤫 and needed to be notched up a bit … even Brontë who in what’s new pussycat blew the roof off the Rep every show … I saw that show 5 times !loved every moment ❤️…. The only other time I felt like this was after come from away ….. again tonight full standing ovation but I just didn’t feel it ? 🤔.
Great design dancing and hardworking cast not sure if the immersive side was off putting at times as it’s concert style temp seating sounded like heard of elephants every time they ran on and off sometimes louder than the voices on stage .

Hey ho as they say you can’t please everybody all of the time but I was so looking forward to this and came away feeling a little cold maybe it was the cavernous venue , maybe I was tired , I know I didn’t really connect with any of the characters? The main guy playing jack I wasn’t too enamoured with either .

I may give it another go in a few months 3/5 from me 👍😊

THERES YOUR PROBLEM. Where you sat. Simples. Its not a show for anywhere less than Brooklyn and the side areas - sorry - but thats the truth. It is an excellent show, but stating that sounds etc issue is plainly wrong. Simple are that.  Sound excellent, production excellent ( my daughter btw is the fan not me! ) .   Seating the key.  Pay the monies, £60 for side view in Lincoln, and you will love it.

Why do you keep banging on about Lincoln, when there is no such seating area?!

[Dr Tom]

Dec 31, 2022 23:53:43 GMT steve10086 said:

Why do you keep banging on about Lincoln, when there is no such seating area?!

Have you looked between Buchanan and Johnson?

[cezbear]

garjobo I don't know if you mean to but you are coming across as quite abrasive towards a forum of people who have given you lots of help & support towards your recent big trip. (which I'm glad you enjoyed).
It's great that you're so enthusiastic towards the show but you can't simply tell people they are wrong because your experience didn't match theirs. If someone says they were cold then they were cold!
I love Newsies also and strongly disagree with the criticism the lead has received here, for example, but I don't go marching on and informing people they are simply wrong because they sat in the wrong seat and their opinion is therefore invalid. The absolute beauty of theatre is that two people can sit at the same performance and come away with completely different experiences.

Also, and again, I understand it's coming from a place of enthusiasm more than anything else, but telling people to 'simply pay the monies' in this climate is a little in poor taste for me. Some simply don't HAVE the money. Or place the same value on those seats. They are not less worthy for it.

[anxiousoctopus]

Dec 31, 2022 23:48:52 GMT garjobo said:

Dec 29, 2022 23:02:29 GMT drowseychap said:

Just come out of newsies and didn’t love it and trying to think why … I loved the broadway tv showing . I was Brooklyn in the l 43-45 £32 seats which give a great view … not too comfy though after a while felt fidgety .
The sound was pretty bad first half couldn’t make out any dialogue it all blurred into one sound … the big numbers from solos felt very quiet 🤫 and needed to be notched up a bit … even Brontë who in what’s new pussycat blew the roof off the Rep every show … I saw that show 5 times !loved every moment ❤️…. The only other time I felt like this was after come from away ….. again tonight full standing ovation but I just didn’t feel it ? 🤔.
Great design dancing and hardworking cast not sure if the immersive side was off putting at times as it’s concert style temp seating sounded like heard of elephants every time they ran on and off sometimes louder than the voices on stage .

Hey ho as they say you can’t please everybody all of the time but I was so looking forward to this and came away feeling a little cold maybe it was the cavernous venue , maybe I was tired , I know I didn’t really connect with any of the characters? The main guy playing jack I wasn’t too enamoured with either .

I may give it another go in a few months 3/5 from me 👍😊

THERES YOUR PROBLEM. Where you sat. Simples. Its not a show for anywhere less than Brooklyn and the side areas - sorry - but thats the truth. It is an excellent show, but stating that sounds etc issue is plainly wrong. Simple are that.  Sound excellent, production excellent ( my daughter btw is the fan not me! ) .   Seating the key.  Pay the monies, £60 for side view in Lincoln, and you will love it.

I know what it feels like to see people online being critical of or even full on hating a show you love (I adore Only Fools and Horses the musical and many people on here seem to actively loathe its existence at times) - but remember that other people’s opinions are just that, opinions. It’s amazing when you love a show, and seeing people hate it can make you feel defensive, but don’t let it spoil your enjoyment. You might hate something they love, everyone has different tastes.

[ctas]

I found it very cold in the venue both times I’ve been, and one of those was while it was snowing outside. At least I was prepared the second time!

[Being Alive]

It's cold and the sound is bad - these are facts... Sorry hun

[Jon]

Jan 1, 2023 9:13:02 GMT cezbear said:

garjobo I don't know if you mean to but you are coming across as quite abrasive towards a forum of people who have given you lots of help & support towards your recent big trip. (which I'm glad you enjoyed).
It's great that you're so enthusiastic towards the show but you can't simply tell people they are wrong because your experience didn't match theirs. If someone says they were cold then they were cold!
I love Newsies also and strongly disagree with the criticism the lead has received here, for example, but I don't go marching on and informing people they are simply wrong because they sat in the wrong seat and their opinion is therefore invalid. The absolute beauty of theatre is that two people can sit at the same performance and come away with completely different experiences.

Also, and again, I understand it's coming from a place of enthusiasm more than anything else, but telling people to 'simply pay the monies' in this climate is a little in poor taste for me. Some simply don't HAVE the money. Or place the same value on those seats. They are not less worthy for it.

Honestly, I don’t expect everyone to agree on everything but I do agree the posts do across a bit passive aggressive,

[mkb]

I think you mean aggressive rather than passive-aggressive.

Passive-aggressive behaviour is a pattern of indirectly expressing negative feelings instead of openly addressing them. A good example is where someone agrees to a request while simultaneously exhibiting body language that indicates they are acceding to the request reluctantly.

[Seriously]

Sounds like terrible direction if you need to be sat in certain seats to fully experience it.

[danb]

We saw it on Friday from the back row of Brooklyn; perfect view and great having stuff going on behind you too. The show itself is pretty slight, some of the diction/accents don’t help the dreadful sound design (Barely heard a word Jack spoke…totally miscast for me) and some of the book scenes really drag…BUT none of that matters when you get five street urchins leaping & jumping in perfect beautiful synchronicity filling the stage with unbridled terpsichorean joy. The bits of flying were great and genuinely added something. Loved Bronte, great seeing Jacob Fisher take another step up the ladder along with others. It’s a great showcase for talent but in a very average show.

[ThereWillBeSun]

The presumption of you HAVE TO SIT CLOSE or otherwise ‘you are not worthy’ is coming across very rude / snobby. We get it, makes me feel very uncomfortable. No one ought to be shamed where they book / sit.

Considering board members helped advise this board user with their trip to London spoonfeeding (when a quick Google could probably deduce travel questions anyway = bad form, bad form…

HNY everyone!!!!

[BurlyBeaR]

I think the point has been clearly made. Let’s move on please. 

[drowseychap]

Dec 31, 2022 23:48:52 GMT garjobo said:

Dec 29, 2022 23:02:29 GMT drowseychap said:

Just come out of newsies and didn’t love it and trying to think why … I loved the broadway tv showing . I was Brooklyn in the l 43-45 £32 seats which give a great view … not too comfy though after a while felt fidgety .
The sound was pretty bad first half couldn’t make out any dialogue it all blurred into one sound … the big numbers from solos felt very quiet 🤫 and needed to be notched up a bit … even Brontë who in what’s new pussycat blew the roof off the Rep every show … I saw that show 5 times !loved every moment ❤️…. The only other time I felt like this was after come from away ….. again tonight full standing ovation but I just didn’t feel it ? 🤔.
Great design dancing and hardworking cast not sure if the immersive side was off putting at times as it’s concert style temp seating sounded like heard of elephants every time they ran on and off sometimes louder than the voices on stage .

Hey ho as they say you can’t please everybody all of the time but I was so looking forward to this and came away feeling a little cold maybe it was the cavernous venue , maybe I was tired , I know I didn’t really connect with any of the characters? The main guy playing jack I wasn’t too enamoured with either .

I may give it another go in a few months 3/5 from me 👍😊

THERES YOUR PROBLEM. Where you sat. Simples. Its not a show for anywhere less than Brooklyn and the side areas - sorry - but thats the truth. It is an excellent show, but stating that sounds etc issue is plainly wrong. Simple are that.  Sound excellent, production excellent ( my daughter btw is the fan not me! ) .   Seating the key.  Pay the monies, £60 for side view in Lincoln, and you will love it.

Sorry I don’t agree with you shouldn’t have to pay top price to be able to enjoy a show from only certain seats , some shows I’ve seen multiple times we all have our favourites I’ve sat in £10 seats and in £100 seats and more often then not enjoyed the show as much if not the same

Everyone has different opinions and experiences no one opinion is better or worse than any other . Everyone will experience something different … and share in a forum

Must clarify when I said I came away cold I meant in regards tge production. Where I was sat … in seats that were cheaper than £60 I had a great view and was physically warm .

Maybe in a proper theatre space I may have enjoyed it better in the round maybe .
The sound is very weak and I couldn’t hear many words clearly diction was particularly poor in places and I agree Jack was mis cast
With all the effort to make it immersive I’ve not felt so disconnected from-a show …. The dance numbers and production values are good if I was watching cirque de sole song and dance show then ok but a full musical 🎵 needs to be more balanced in my humble ( cheap seat ) opinion

[garjobo]

getting confused with 'licoln' appologies for that. But meaning the sides - not right at the sides of course where you would peer almost through the scaffolding.

February, limiting shows i see, but seeing it a couple more times and yep, paying the hefty £60 shocker to view from the front/sides. Can't wait.

[matty]

I've been waiting 10 years to see this in person and I did enjoy it today, but there are some obvious flaws. We sat in Richmond and while the sound was good for most of it, there were times when we couldn't hear the dialogue and the singing, the band was a bit toi loud at times. We were also a bit disappointed with Michael's vocals, they weren't awful, but they certainly weren't anything to write home about. (Plus his accent kept switching from thick New York, to partial New York, to British)

That being said, the staging and choreography were fantastic, as were the newsies.

Someone before compared the cast to the 42nd Street one and I completely agree.

[garetha]

Saw the show a few weeks ago when back in the UK.

Was sat in Manhattan in the front row so closeup to the performers. Pretty sure my review will be contentious but hey!

Overall the technical design and integration of the show sets into the building is fantastic. What a way to utilise a black box space.
Lighting - Pretty good. Hit and miss in a few places, but lighting in the round is never easy though so can be largely forgiven. Loved the back wall box lighting
Sound - Act 1 - Just awful. Thought it was being mixed by someone who never had mixed a show before, but had friends see it since, and the reviews here and it all still says the same! Act 2 - better.
Cast - I liked everyone except the male lead. Sadly to say he hardly had any visible emotion and I am pretty sure there is more chemistry between 2 bricks. Rest of the cast were great.

I use to work on something called "Summer Youth Projects" and the only way we could fit 150 performers onstage at the same time was utilise the auditorium like they did here. Was very hard not to think of it like that. However when we say SYP - we did shows like West Side Story with the touring set and the touring orchestra (not small budget or scale). !

However ill admit my love for the filmed version is a lot more now

[stepha]

I saw the matinee of this on Saturday (my rescheduled date from the 1st Dec) and my thoughts mirror much of what has already been said. A real spectacle from start to finish, the energy on stage was outstanding and I really enjoyed the staging and the performance.
The sound was so poor in the first half as lots of you have already reported, I really struggled with the dialogue in places and the picking out individual performers in ensemble numbers. We sat in Flushing, with the orchestra very nearby and I had a headache by the interval.

We had Bobbie Chambers as Katherine and the debut of George Crawford as Jack and I really enjoyed their performances - I certainly wouldn't have guessed it was a debut!

We had some 'enthusiastic' audience members behind us who clearly knew one of the cast, so they screamed and whooped in inappropriate places which was really distracting but these things happen!

[macksennett]

Any offers on for next Saturday matinee? Don’t really want to shell out full price or sit at the back!

[fiyerorocher]

Jan 16, 2023 11:21:29 GMT macksennett said:

Any offers on for next Saturday matinee? Don’t really want to shell out full price or sit at the back!

Day tickets on TodayTix. £25 and reliably available every day.

[macksennett]

Jan 16, 2023 11:29:13 GMT fiyerorocher said:

Jan 16, 2023 11:21:29 GMT macksennett said:

Any offers on for next Saturday matinee? Don’t really want to shell out full price or sit at the back!

Day tickets on TodayTix. £25 and reliably available every day.

Are they usually good seats? On sale at 10am? Thanks

[fiyerorocher]

Jan 16, 2023 12:03:59 GMT macksennett said:

Jan 16, 2023 11:29:13 GMT fiyerorocher said:

Day tickets on TodayTix. £25 and reliably available every day.

Are they usually good seats? On sale at 10am? Thanks

Yes, from 10 but generally available throughout the day. Good seats in my experience!