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Post by solangelafitte on Nov 16, 2023 10:30:15 GMT
That day where it dropped before disappearing again almost immediately gave us a moment of excitement at least!
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 16, 2023 10:44:46 GMT
Based on seeing this again on Tuesday, this remains a fantastic show. The fourth row is the perfect place to sit. Very immersive and not so close where you struggle with the stage height.
A perfectly behaved audience too, even if the man next to me was very reluctant to ever clap (I rather suspect that he didn't know what he'd booked for). Just a shame it wasn't fuller. I believe the top level was closed off.
I did get to see Jac Yarrow as well, who was missing for my first visit, so that was a bonus. And I narrowly avoided walking into Bradley Jaden on the way home, who had managed to slip swiftly out.
I am sure I will get back before this closes.
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Post by apubleed on Nov 16, 2023 12:50:40 GMT
Does anyone think this might close a few weeks early at all or will it remain open?
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 16, 2023 12:52:50 GMT
Does anyone think this might close a few weeks early at all or will it remain open? Don’t stress me out like that |
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 16, 2023 13:01:07 GMT
I think the names are too big for CamMack to close it early. I think he would just cut his loses for sentiments sake.
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 16, 2023 15:05:05 GMT
Clearly the £30 ticket sale for younger folks hasn't been as successful as they hoped. Shame.
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Post by A.Ham on Nov 16, 2023 18:29:37 GMT
Clearly the £30 ticket sale for younger folks hasn't been as successful as they hoped. Shame. I guess unfortunately there’s not vast numbers of people under 30 familiar enough with his work to want to go see the show. It’s a real pity they didn’t copy Sunset and offer the £30 tickets to under 30s and key workers / those on benefits as well, as that would’ve opened it up to people of all ages. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 16, 2023 18:33:19 GMT
Clearly the £30 ticket sale for younger folks hasn't been as successful as they hoped. Shame. I guess unfortunately there’s not vast numbers of people under 30 familiar enough with his work to want to go see the show. It’s a real pity they didn’t copy Sunset and offer the £30 tickets to under 30s and key workers / those on benefits as well, as that would’ve opened it up to people of all ages. They’ll probably try that next |
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 16, 2023 18:44:25 GMT
One of nights I went I actually met a lady who was only there because she got discounted tickets because she works for the NHS. She didn’t know who anybody was but she loved it hahah
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Post by interval99 on Nov 16, 2023 20:53:10 GMT
When the tkts seat you booked has left you in the middle of an otherwise empty row section. At least good leg room.
Upper circle closed but fair number in elsewhere than round me.
Good chance to check out seat options for the new opening night musical opening here year as well.
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Post by Fleance on Nov 16, 2023 23:03:10 GMT
It's a lovely film. Arthur felt the two British writers (H.E. Bates, David Lean) took his (Arthur's) less polished and not very glamorous Brooklyn secretary and turned her into the too sophisticated Hepburn, a change Arthur did not approve. A couple of things about "Summertime" you may or may not know.In the film Hepburn "fell" into a Venice canal giving her a terrible eye infection which reaccured her whole life. "Summertime/The Time of the Cuckoo" was adapted into the (unsuccessful) musical "Do I hear a Waltz?"Music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Sorry if this has been mentioned previously. I did not know about Hepburn's fall into the canal. I did know about the musical. I worked with Arthur on a few projects related to the play and its adaptations. I assume everyone knows Mary Rodgers' famous comment about Arthur Laurents. |
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Post by interval99 on Nov 17, 2023 10:47:40 GMT
This was an unexpected joyful evening.
No where near being close to the sondheim fanatic so many board members are and didn't know every song but it's performed full on by extraordinary talents. Some songs and performers worked better at times than others but all had a moment to shine.
It did show for the not full on fans that Stephen wrote some amazing and powerful standards and hearing his classics performed outside of the full show allows them to shine rather get lost a bit on the normal three hours of introspection, misery, betrayal and general downbeat show they would be surrounded by.
While have seen bits of the TV recording seeing this show live takes it to another level, a real electric feeling and showcases the show so much better.
Bernadette was simply stunning.
She fully gives the presence of a broadway star , her comic timing is perfection and her solos emotive. Stunning performance and so glad we got to see her in the west end finally.
Everyone is still bringing their A game to the show , but out of the others Bonnie was the one most of the audience knew which does prove again the names we love and know within the theatre world are not widely known outside it.
A superb group and apart from the wonderful Bernadette it would be hard to praise any other above the rest but it was a change to see Bradley Jaden in a lighter role and actually smiling, only seen him on angry scowling roles before so good to see him singing and not looking like he's about to deck his co performer.
If like me you were on the edge about booking this due to not being a full on sondheim database or you have seen the TV show and think thats it, I can assure you this brings the music and showcases Stephen Sondheim to a new level and should not be missed.
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Post by apubleed on Nov 17, 2023 11:19:30 GMT
Good to hear that the show and Bernadette is enjoyable for non-super fans. God I really don’t know why word of mouth can’t ignite the box office a little more. It feels like everyone who goes in seems to enjoy it. The energy is high in the theatre. But it’s just not translating enough to extra demand. I suspect there might be a marketing issue - even if people have a good time, maybe that’s not enough to convince others to go if they’ve never heard of Sondheim or the stars.
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 17, 2023 11:23:32 GMT
Good to hear that the show and Bernadette is enjoyable for non-super fans. God I really don’t know why word of mouth can’t ignite the box office a little more. It feels like everyone who goes in seems to enjoy it. The energy is high in the theatre. But it’s just not translating enough to extra demand. I suspect there might be a marketing issue - even if people have a good time, maybe that’s not enough to convince others to go if they’ve never heard of Sondheim or the stars. I think a lot of tourists and 'couple of trips a year' punters are put off by the fact that this is a revue rather than a narrative show. People want to come away from the West End having seen a 'proper musical' in their minds I think. |
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Post by sophia on Nov 17, 2023 13:36:35 GMT
I’ve tried recommending the show to people but it’s a hard sell when you’re essentially saying “You should see a concert of songs written by someone you’ve never heard of, performed by people you’ve never heard of…”
I’m in my 30s and I have friends in their 20/30s who go to the theatre often, but they are mostly interested in current shows. They don’t have much interest in musical theatre history, seeking out old shows online, listening to old cast recordings etc, so unfortunately they don’t really know Sondheim. For the same reason most of them don’t know Bernadette Peters or Lea Salonga either. Obviously I’m not saying all musical theatre fans in their 20s/30s are like this (I’m not) but that is my general experience with people I know.
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Post by A.Ham on Nov 17, 2023 13:37:09 GMT
I still need to post my thoughts from seeing this last week but can’t agree enough with interval99’s post - I hadn’t booked before as I’m not hugely familiar with Sondheim’s work and so this show wasn’t particularly on my radar until I kept seeing all the rave reviews on here.
What you’ve said sums it up for me - even though I didn’t know all the songs, even though I’d only heard some of them the once on the TV broadcast of the gala performance, I loved it!
Such a shame people aren’t taking a chance on it and going, but I guess the standard pricing is steep, and people are reluctant to gamble on something unknown when spending their hard-earned money, especially at the moment.
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 17, 2023 15:46:11 GMT
Yes it’s a very hard show to market. I think I only happened to buy my first ticket because I saw a Tik tok of the bows and thought why don’t I look into this. The sales are actually looking quite worrying I really hope they don’t close early. I would love to go to closing night in Jan. Maybe 4 months was a bit ambitious.
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Post by A.Ham on Nov 17, 2023 15:56:36 GMT
Yes it’s a very hard show to market. I think I only happened to buy my first ticket because I saw a Tik tok of the bows and thought why don’t I look into this. The sales are actually looking quite worrying I really hope they don’t close early. I would love to go to closing night in Jan. Maybe 4 months was a bit ambitious. I don't suppose it happens often, but having had to delay the opening slightly, they've ended up opening AND closing (we hope!) on the same nights as Sunset Boulevard. |
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 17, 2023 16:09:19 GMT
Yes it’s a very hard show to market. I think I only happened to buy my first ticket because I saw a Tik tok of the bows and thought why don’t I look into this. The sales are actually looking quite worrying I really hope they don’t close early. I would love to go to closing night in Jan. Maybe 4 months was a bit ambitious. I don't suppose it happens often, but having had to delay the opening slightly, they've ended up opening AND closing (we hope!) on the same nights as Sunset Boulevard. Omg that’s so funny because I noticed this too. I thought maybe there are unofficial seasons or ‘terms’ in theatre and Sep 21st - Jan 6th was like the winter term date for shows 🤣 |
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Post by sistergeorge on Nov 17, 2023 16:24:55 GMT
Good to hear that the show and Bernadette is enjoyable for non-super fans. God I really don’t know why word of mouth can’t ignite the box office a little more. It feels like everyone who goes in seems to enjoy it. The energy is high in the theatre. But it’s just not translating enough to extra demand. I suspect there might be a marketing issue - even if people have a good time, maybe that’s not enough to convince others to go if they’ve never heard of Sondheim or the stars. I think a lot of tourists and 'couple of trips a year' punters are put off by the fact that this is a revue rather than a narrative show. People want to come away from the West End having seen a 'proper musical' in their minds I think. Could be, although that doesn't explain another well-reviewed show with great word of mouth, Crazy for You, inability to catch fire. What they do have in common though, is that both skew 50+. Nostalgia apparently isn't enough to sell tickets these days. |
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 17, 2023 16:28:17 GMT
There's also been a lot to choose from in terms of revivals this year (some classic Guys and Dolls, Crazy For You, LA Cage - and some quite radical - Oklahoma, Sunset, etc) so the audience who enjoys those kind of shows has had a lot of choice in comparison to some previous years
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Post by sph on Nov 18, 2023 1:08:58 GMT
I think that really Sondheim, Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga are just not big recognisable names in the UK. It brings all the old theatre-lovers in who know what they're seeing, but that isn't enough to fill a house for nearly four months. It doesn't have a broad public appeal, but it seems to be Cameron Mackintosh's passion project so I imagine he'll keep it open until its expected closing date.
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Post by musicalslive on Nov 18, 2023 8:33:11 GMT
Are Bernadette and Lea also playing the matinee performances?
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 18, 2023 8:53:33 GMT
Are Bernadette and Lea also playing the matinee performances? Yes |
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Post by theatreloverlondon on Nov 18, 2023 8:55:27 GMT
I think that really Sondheim, Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga are just not big recognisable names in the UK. It brings all the old theatre-lovers in who know what they're seeing, but that isn't enough to fill a house for nearly four months. It doesn't have a broad public appeal, but it seems to be Cameron Mackintosh's passion project so I imagine he'll keep it open until its expected closing date. Totally agree with this. & I think I’m the UK more people even know if Lea than Bernadette due to her Disney connections, originating Miss Saigon etc. Atleast based on the middle aged/young people I’ve spoken to at the shows who are not theatre obsessed. |
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