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Post by anthem on Oct 26, 2019 22:28:41 GMT
I think they mean that none of the Queens are girly pretty or sweetly singing a drippy ballad....like in a 1950’s musical. No victims here. There is one drippy ballad in the show. I didn’t really understand the “butch” comment either. |
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Post by WireHangers on Oct 26, 2019 22:57:11 GMT
I think they mean that none of the Queens are girly pretty or sweetly singing a drippy ballad....like in a 1950’s musical. No victims here. You think wrong. |
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Post by Rukaya on Oct 27, 2019 0:28:29 GMT
I think they mean that none of the Queens are girly pretty or sweetly singing a drippy ballad....like in a 1950’s musical. No victims here. You think wrong. Could you elaborate on it then? |
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Post by danb on Oct 27, 2019 4:30:06 GMT
I think they mean that none of the Queens are girly pretty or sweetly singing a drippy ballad....like in a 1950’s musical. No victims here. You think wrong. So own your comment and explain it, rather than lobbing hand grenades into what is an otherwise civilised thread. |
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Post by showgirl on Oct 27, 2019 4:32:56 GMT
Slightly off-topic but I'm really tickled by the thought of this visiting the normally safe, staid Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford - where of course it has sold out, not due to the venue but the show. The theatre won't know what has hit it and I'd love to see it thronged, for once, with a lively crowd of all ages; panto season is the only other time when the typcial audience varies and then it's more family-focused.
The YA really needs to attract a more diverse audience so I hope this helps - though they will need more productions of the type likely to have that appeal if they are to build on it. They have recently revamped the membership scheme but it's still very old-fashioned and now costs twice as much for fewer benefits, so that won't help.
Wonder if the show is having a galvanising effect at other tour locations?
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Post by danb on Oct 27, 2019 6:18:04 GMT
I think they mean that none of the Queens are girly pretty or sweetly singing a drippy ballad....like in a 1950’s musical. No victims here. There is one drippy ballad in the show. I didn’t really understand the “butch” comment either. Musically it is a drippy ballad, but lyrically it is about fortitude, duty and surviving against stacked odds. |
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Post by WireHangers on Nov 2, 2019 1:48:54 GMT
Could you elaborate on it then? Well I’m glad someone asked... The Queens constant seem to play the roles as if they exclusively listen to gangster rap. Their body language seems to suggest they are inspired by RnB entirely. I’d have hoped for some sort of different characters since their audition calls for originality and uniqueness - yet every version of the characters seems to be the exact same. |
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Post by WireHangers on Nov 2, 2019 1:49:52 GMT
Slightly off-topic but I'm really tickled by the thought of this visiting the normally safe, staid Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford - where of course it has sold out, not due to the venue but the show. The theatre won't know what has hit it and I'd love to see it thronged, for once, with a lively crowd of all ages; panto season is the only other time when the typcial audience varies and then it's more family-focused. The YA really needs to attract a more diverse audience so I hope this helps - though they will need more productions of the type likely to have that appeal if they are to build on it. They have recently revamped the membership scheme but it's still very old-fashioned and now costs twice as much for fewer benefits, so that won't help. Wonder if the show is having a galvanising effect at other tour locations? |
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Post by WireHangers on Nov 2, 2019 1:51:13 GMT
So own your comment and explain it, rather than lobbing hand grenades into what is an otherwise civilised thread. Civilised? Lol. Don’t ever talk on behalf of another person. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2019 2:19:06 GMT
Could you elaborate on it then? Well I’m glad someone asked... The Queens constant seem to play the roles as if they exclusively listen to gangster rap. Their body language seems to suggest they are inspired by RnB entirely. I’d have hoped for some sort of different characters since their audition calls for originality and uniqueness - yet every version of the characters seems to be the exact same. I can agree with you that the new cast members in London and on the UK tour need to find their uniqueness but I still think they are all finding their feet. However, I did see the original cast of this new production in Norwich last year and they had only been performing for 7 days and it did feel like they had fully realised their uniqueness and characters. Every performer is different, but I think "butch" is a strange choice of vocabulary. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2019 3:00:20 GMT
It has apparently been a near sell out in Malvern this week often regarded as more a drama theatre with a more mature audience demographic.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2019 9:20:20 GMT
The show really has blown up since this time last year. Last December, I saw it in a half-empty conference hall in Glasgow. Next week, the show returns to Glasgow at a much larger venue and is almost sold out at weekend performances, one of which I will be attending.
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Post by TallPaul on Nov 2, 2019 17:15:43 GMT
An extra week has now been added onto the end of the Christmas residency at The Lowry.
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Post by stepha on Nov 4, 2019 13:19:15 GMT
I saw this for the first time in Malvern on Friday and feel compelled to say how much I enjoyed it! There were 3 generations of us in our party (myself, mother and niece) and we all thought it was fabulous entertainment! I've been enjoying the cast recording for a while now but the live performance was actually much better than I expected. There wasn't a weak link amongst the cast but Shekinah McFarlane was a real stand out - absolutely hilarious.
Every performance at Malvern was a sell out - and a very diverse audience during my visit were really appreciative. What an uplifting and original piece of theatre!
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Post by stepha on Nov 5, 2019 12:00:00 GMT
Welcome to the board stepha , and thanks for a positive first post  . Thanks for the welcome!! I've been lurking around these parts for ages so thought it was time I contributed!! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2019 19:25:42 GMT
I saw the final Glasgow show this afternoon and it was amazing! They're on venue 3 and already this cast have found their chemistry and connections. Equally as good, if not even better, than the West End production. The Theatre Royal was packed out and the audience lapped it all up. Standouts for me were the Laurens and Shekinah, but they were all amazing. I can't wait to go to some more venues!
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Post by Raven on Nov 10, 2019 22:10:07 GMT
I saw the final Glasgow show this afternoon and it was amazing! They're on venue 3 and already this cast have found their chemistry and connections. Equally as good, if not even better, than the West End production. The Theatre Royal was packed out and the audience lapped it all up. Standouts for me were the Laurens and Shekinah, but they were all amazing. I can't wait to go to some more venues! I was here this afternoon too and echo what you have said! A very strong cast - loved it just as much as the West End production! |
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Post by ABr on Nov 11, 2019 8:03:53 GMT
This is filling me with excitement to hear that the cast have gelled together so well already! Can't wait to see it in Milton Keynes!
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Post by musicalmarge on Nov 11, 2019 8:28:25 GMT
Does it WORK in larger venues? Thinking Broadway and West End transfer here.
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Post by ABr on Nov 11, 2019 8:40:12 GMT
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Post by sophizoey on Nov 11, 2019 10:42:22 GMT
Travelled up from Newcastle to see the Friday "matinee" (feels weird saying a matinee is at 6pm) and it works incredibly well in the larger venue, I was sat in the back of the upper circle and I still felt very much engaged by the Queens. My worry isn't so much large venues but wide venues.
The Queens are exceptional, wary to say they're stronger than the current London cause because I haven't paid my visit to the new London cast but they are something. Pleasantly surprised by Lauren Drew as Aragon but the stand out is Shekinah McFarlane as Cleves, I think it's something about the character of Cleves but she's just brilliant.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2019 16:40:55 GMT
Does it WORK in larger venues? Thinking Broadway and West End transfer here. I was sat mid-stalls and it was fine. I thought it suited the larger venue as it felt more like a concert which is what the show really is. That said, out of the three venues I am going to, Glasgow is the smallest of the three and the set did look quite small on that stage. |
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Post by deej4life on Nov 14, 2019 11:17:27 GMT
Very excited to see the show when it comes to Dublin next year!
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Post by ABr on Nov 27, 2019 8:49:19 GMT
Finally managed to catch this tonight at Milton Keynes, after trying on multiple occasions to get rush/last minuet tickets for London, to no avail. Managed to get the elusive Row C at Milton Keynes, so about 6 rows back from the stage, for the lowest band price due to 'Restricted leg room'.
We had all of the cast bar Jodie Steele, so we had Jennifer Caldwell on from what I can see as only her second performance as K.Howard. Special shout out for her, as she was fantastic, I really wasn't sure about how she was playing it at first, but she hit all the right moments, and her voice was incredible, matching Aimie Atkinson on the recording, if not even better!
I absolutely adored the show already before I had seen it, due to what I had been able to see online, and from the cast recording, so it had some big shoes to fill. And I'm really glad that I still love it as much after seeing it! There was a big group of us, most seeing it for the first time, 2 having seen it in London earlier on in the year.
All of the tour queens make the characters their own, and in the opinion of the ones who were on their 2nd viewing, the tour Queens were more 'together and in sync' then when they saw the London production, which i think is a credit to them!
They have made the decision for Lauren Drew (Aragon) to play with a Welsh twang to her voice, which is mainly played for laughs at various vocal moments but mainly during lib sections, which didn't bother me at all, but it did really urked my other half, as he didn't really understand why that choice had been made. Specifically as other then Cleaves, it is stated so many times that she came over from Spain, with little to no English, yet from your voice, it sounds like you've just come down from the valleys haha! If anything I am now more interested to see other Queens take on the roles, to see how they change from Queen to Queen. Personal favourite overall performance for me was Lauren Bryne (Seymour), I found myself watching her during most numbers, and she really did bring the house down with 'Heart of Stone', adding so many more levels and meaning to the song.
You do have to be prepared for everything being thrown at you from the get go, which if your there for it, then its great, but I could see some people around us that took time to warm up to it. We couldn't tell if they had follow spots or if they had 2 movers positioned on either side, but at times lighting was a little sloppy, nothing too noticeable. Band were on point, and sound was great from where we were sat. It does work in bigger spaces, I do just think that they need to tweak the level that they come in at from the beginning, ease the audience in a bit more, let them get the feel for the show, before going full throttle.
Milton Keynes was packed, with the majority of the audience being born after 2000 if not later. There were a lot, and I mean a lot of school groups in, which I think is great, I would have loved to have seen something like this to be used as a tool to educate. As deep down you do get the history of all of the queens, and if Six have been clever, they will have created educational packs to reinforce what there trying to do.
Overall a fantastic night, I will definitely be visiting again, whether thats the tour elsewhere or finally making it to the Arts. 5 * from me!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 18:36:47 GMT
I don't think they made any decision to make Aragon Welsh. Hasn't the whole thing always been that all the Queens sing and perform in their own accents, whether that's London/Manchester/Glasgow whatever. I'm thrilled there's finally a Welsh Queen!
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