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Post by anxiousoctopus on Feb 6, 2023 22:33:49 GMT
Maybe he can tap dance? Or maybe they’ll train him to. Stephen Ashfield played McKinley in Book of Mormon hadn’t tapped until they requested him to in the audition. Alternatively, as it’s a new production, it’ll be reworked. Removing the tap routine from Not A Loser would be a huge disappointment - the song is meant to be a showstopping Bubsy-Berkeley-extravaganza fantasy that Squidward has when his self-esteem hits rock bottom (the broadway casting call for the character highlights how important it is for the performer to be a very confident tap dancer). That number is one of the things EVERYONE who saw the show wants to talk about (the fact that it’s not just a great dance number but he also does it with FOUR LEGS.) |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Feb 7, 2023 0:03:12 GMT
If you're going in expecting to see a copy of the Broadway show, you're going to be very disappointed.
What is weird about Gareth Gates getting top billing, is that he is only doing 8 stops out of the 17 currently booked in - Southampton, Birmingham, Oxford, Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Blackpool and Norwich.
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Post by joni89 on Feb 7, 2023 10:22:27 GMT
If you're going in expecting to see a copy of the Broadway show, you're going to be very disappointed. What is weird about Gareth Gates getting top billing, is that he is only doing 8 stops out of the 17 currently booked in - Southampton, Birmingham, Oxford, Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Blackpool and Norwich. That is interesting. I think that he should do all dates. 17 dates isn’t a huge number. |
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 7, 2023 13:18:58 GMT
It's also worth noting this is being produced by Selladoor...if you're expecting anything other than cardboard sets, you're gonna be very disappointed.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Mar 16, 2023 11:17:22 GMT
The casting for this show continues to baffle me
He apparently has musical theatre experience but I can’t really see anything online outside of hosting gigs. His claim to fame is currently ‘The receptionist on Celebs Go Dating’
The role of Squidward isnt as intensive as others (he comes on and off and does relatively quick scenes) but he needs a good character actor and has a BIG 11 oclock number, so it’s still so strange for them to pick him to stunt cast.
Also I notice they haven’t mentioned who is covering him at the Southbank Centre yet
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Post by robertb213 on Mar 16, 2023 13:54:19 GMT
I saw him in panto a few years ago as the villain, he was alright.
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Post by alece10 on Mar 16, 2023 15:28:58 GMT
My heart sank when I saw this as I quite fancied seeing the musical, but when I read the details I see he isn't doing London. Phew!
I'm still mentally traumatised from when he hosted WOS a few years ago.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Mar 16, 2023 16:42:06 GMT
My heart sank when I saw this as I quite fancied seeing the musical, but when I read the details I see he isn't doing London. Phew! I'm still mentally traumatised from when he hosted WOS a few years ago. I’m holding it a vague hope that they’ll get someone good for London, but at this rate it’ll be Danny Dyer! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 16, 2023 17:07:17 GMT
I’ve booked for this, possibly against my better judgment! Not selling well in Manc so far.
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Post by benny20 on Mar 16, 2023 22:05:10 GMT
I’ve booked for this, possibly against my better judgment! Not selling well in Manc so far. It'll be fun.... |
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Post by danb on Mar 16, 2023 22:15:27 GMT
£15 offer for Cardiff.
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Post by drowseychap on Mar 17, 2023 1:54:44 GMT
I got £15 offer in Birmingham today never seen it before or greats any songs but in a moment of weakness booked it
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Post by sam22 on Mar 19, 2023 12:47:31 GMT
I got £15 offer in Birmingham today never seen it before or greats any songs but in a moment of weakness booked it Where did you see the offer please? Thanks! |
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Post by drowseychap on Mar 19, 2023 23:24:16 GMT
I got £15 offer in Birmingham today never seen it before or greats any songs but in a moment of weakness booked it Where did you see the offer please? Thanks! Was via a site called show film first try Travelzoo also |
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Mar 21, 2023 16:49:56 GMT
The livestream from the Theatre Cafe confirms my previous suspicions: Patrick, Sandy and SpongeBob are perfectly cast, they’re amazing vocally and in their acting through song. Divina De Campo as Plankton sounds great, I’m sure she’ll be a blast.
Gareth Gates is massively miscast. Not A Loser is Squidward’s only solo number and it really doesn’t suit him. You don’t need to be vocally impressive for the song (and he didn’t really sell the big belting moment after the end), it’s essentially an existential crisis in the form of a song so it’s sold on how you deliver the lines (it gets laughs at the start if you do it right), but because he doesn’t really do any acting in the song the double/triple/quadruple negatives in the lyrics get lost and you have no emotional connection to him
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Post by fiyero on Apr 3, 2023 16:25:00 GMT
Just had this:
Dear Fiyero
We regret to inform you that due to injury Gareth Gates will not be performing in The SpongeBob Musical.
We are excited to have Tom Read Wilson (Celebs Go Dating, Cat in the Hat) stepping into Squidward's tentacles in his stead.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Kind regards,
Mayflower Theatre
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Post by evilmat360 on Apr 3, 2023 16:38:52 GMT
Just had this: Dear Fiyero We regret to inform you that due to injury Gareth Gates will not be performing in The SpongeBob Musical. We are excited to have Tom Read Wilson (Celebs Go Dating, Cat in the Hat) stepping into Squidward's tentacles in his stead. We look forward to seeing you soon. Kind regards, Mayflower Theatre They've tweeted it out too,
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Apr 3, 2023 17:52:26 GMT
Just had this: Dear Fiyero We regret to inform you that due to injury Gareth Gates will not be performing in The SpongeBob Musical. We are excited to have Tom Read Wilson (Celebs Go Dating, Cat in the Hat) stepping into Squidward's tentacles in his stead. We look forward to seeing you soon. Kind regards, Mayflower Theatre They've tweeted it out too,
I really hope he's okay and makes a quick recovery - but it also doesn't surprise me. He mentioned in an interview a few days ago that they have kept the extra legs from the Broadway production, and from the rehearsal footage it doesn't look like they had them until the tech. So it doesn't surprise me that getting a completely beginner tap dancer to be able to both walk in, operate and tap dance in an extra pair of heavy mannequin legs within a week before performance has resulted in an injury. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 4, 2023 9:40:26 GMT
I wonder what happened with that £1.7m injury claim Ben Forster made for the Elf situation ?
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Post by benny20 on Apr 4, 2023 13:40:30 GMT
Every cloud.....
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Apr 5, 2023 14:55:12 GMT
They've tweeted it out too,
I really hope he's okay and makes a quick recovery - but it also doesn't surprise me. He mentioned in an interview a few days ago that they have kept the extra legs from the Broadway production, and from the rehearsal footage it doesn't look like they had them until the tech. So it doesn't surprise me that getting a completely beginner tap dancer to be able to both walk in, operate and tap dance in an extra pair of heavy mannequin legs within a week before performance has resulted in an injury. What exactly makes you think they didnt have the prop legs until the tech? Or even if thats what caused Gareth Gates to leave the show? Has it been announced that is the reason? |
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Apr 5, 2023 16:46:06 GMT
I really hope he's okay and makes a quick recovery - but it also doesn't surprise me. He mentioned in an interview a few days ago that they have kept the extra legs from the Broadway production, and from the rehearsal footage it doesn't look like they had them until the tech. So it doesn't surprise me that getting a completely beginner tap dancer to be able to both walk in, operate and tap dance in an extra pair of heavy mannequin legs within a week before performance has resulted in an injury. What exactly makes you think they didnt have the prop legs until the tech? Or even if thats what caused Gareth Gates to leave the show? Has it been announced that is the reason? It’s just guesswork, sorry it might have been a bit presumptuous |
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Post by jampot on Apr 5, 2023 20:44:08 GMT
Had alot of fun seeing this this eveing. Know nothing about Spongebob...But you cannot help be won over by all its infectious madness...This was they very first performance. Looks a decent cast ..all having a blast...Of course it will tighten up...particularly in the sound cue dept which was all over the place..
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Post by FJ on Apr 5, 2023 21:05:36 GMT
Really enjoyed this tonight.
I’ve been a big fan of the soundtrack for a long time and have been waiting for it to finally come to the UK.
Stand outs for me were Lewis Cornay as SpongeBob, who I thought was incredible, and Divina De Campo.
Main criticism is the cheapness of some of the props and costumes, which is odd because I thought some of the costumes and set pieces were actually amazing, but then some very cheap looking ones too. Also Tom’s tap dancing was not good. Thankfully the ensemble picked up a lot of the slack.
But overall loved it, will definitely go and see it when it hits the Southbank centre in summer.
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Post by kirsty86 on Apr 5, 2023 23:30:26 GMT
Had alot of fun seeing this this eveing. Know nothing about Spongebob...But you cannot help be won over by all its infectious madness...This was they very first performance. Looks a decent cast ..all having a blast...Of course it will tighten up...particularly in the sound cue dept which was all over the place.. The fact the director came out before and said that remember it’s the first show and anything can happen in live theatre didn’t fill me with hope! It was a very fun show though, and none of the bits that weren’t perfect ruined it for me. |
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