The Devil Wears Prada - TR Plymouth / Dominion

[matttom0901]

Saw this tonight, and really enjoyed it. I felt like Vanessa Williams was a bit under-utilised, I thought she was a singer and an actress?

The actress playing Emily was definitely my favourite.

I’d recommend it to everyone to see it. I was sitting in the stalls, H24 and sound and view were perfect.

[mtchairs]

Can anyone who has sat in Stalls Row A for Devil Wears Prada comment on how ‘restricted’ the view is? Also, is Twickets safe to buy from? Tickets are sold out for the next couple of weeks when I will be in London.

[topaz]

Check your PMs, mtchairs - I have a single ticket for row A in December listed on Twickets right now so think it may be mine you mean, and am happy to sort things out over here as though it had been a Noticeboard posting in the first place if it is.

[appoul]

Nov 21, 2024 15:33:57 GMT mtchairs said:

Can anyone who has sat in Stalls Row A for Devil Wears Prada comment on how ‘restricted’ the view is? Also, is Twickets safe to buy from? Tickets are sold out for the next couple of weeks when I will be in London.

I'm 182cm tall. The view was fine for me from seat A17. I definitely could not see what shoes the cast were wearing (for some people this might be important) and I felt I was not able to enjoy the setting that depicted Paris. But other than that it was a great seat and compared to what they charge for other rows definitely go for row A.
I felt immersed and, I must say, I was glad I didn't have to see the lights on the side walls of the Dominion auditorium that I've always thought should be dimmer (I usually can only afford side seats at the Dominion and I always feel distracted by these lights).

I really enjoyed the show and there were several songs that I would love to listen to again. On the whole a very enjoyable show. If only Vanessa Williams had been given more songs to sing.

Also 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
has anyone else seen any parallels between Hello Dolly's title number and this show's title number?

  

[pjw]

That's interesting - I have seen the show twice, once in Plymouth and once in London. Plymouth (central front of circle view) was great. London (front side view) the experience was awful in terms of sound and visuals- I gave it four stars for Plymouth but would have given it one or two for London. Never thought that where you are sitting could have such a dramatic impact.

[dlevi]

I saw this yesterday afternoon and thought it was sensational. Vanessa Williams in what frankly is a supporting role, was terrific delivering what we want from a star - glamour , confidence and wit. Georgie, Amy, Matt Rhys and James were all on fire - the staging is fabulous and the fashion sequences were out of this world. The only department which was top level was, I'm sorry to say, Sir Elton's music. It just falls short. But thanks to Jerry Mitchell's full-out staging and the budget busting design and fantastically talented cast - the lack of a great score doesn't matter. I can't wait to see it again.

As a side note I will say this, usually I don't think it matters if you can see the actor's feet - but in this show: the shoes truly do matter.

[theatrefan2007]

I know the reaction has been mixed but having watching today’s trailer I have to say that this looks amazing!! I know Miranda was going to be a hard role to get right because Meryl Streep was fantastic in the film but I think Vanessa really does her justice. I’m really hoping I’ll see this.

[Steve]

Nov 24, 2024 9:24:07 GMT dlevi said:

I saw this yesterday afternoon and thought it was sensational. Vanessa Williams in what frankly is a supporting role, was terrific delivering what we want from a star - glamour , confidence and wit. Georgie, Amy, Matt Rhys and James were all on fire - the staging is fabulous and the fashion sequences were out of this world. The only department which was top level was, I'm sorry to say, Sir Elton's music. It just falls short. But thanks to Jerry Mitchell's full-out staging and the budget busting design and fantastically talented cast - the lack of a great score doesn't matter. I can't wait to see it again.

I wholeheartedly agree with all of the above.

The production is all out fabulous, but is let down by some of the songs, particularly the ones in the first half, and more than anything by Vanessa Williams's intro song, which does not match the brilliant staging.

Vanessa Williams herself is gold, a wonderfully sardonic and casually fearsome antagonist, even if the music sometimes lets her down by deflating her devilish diva persona.

Oddly, the music succeeds best when dealing with side characters, none more so than Matt Henry's Nigel, whose two songs are wonderful.

Comedywise, Amy Di Bartolomeo is magnificent and lifts the entertainment value of the show incalculably.

Some spoilers follow. . .

From Di Bartolomeo's Emily's voice warning getting icked out at the beginning about audience members with coughs, to her getting the feels for the Hot Nurse, Amy Di Bartolomeo's comic persona is pretty much all laughs, most of the laughs in the show. Her neurotic high pitched whining is everything, and her second half song, "Bon Voyage" was actually pretty good, as it was both exciting to listen to as well as funny.

The intro of the antagonist, Vanessa Williams's Miranda, as an actual "devil" wearing Prada, rising up out of the bowels of the stage, as if from hell, perfectly matched the diva charisma that Williams was bringing, and the screams of the audience were at fever pitch. But then, in the worst song of the show, "House of Miranda" was just some whiny milquetoast moaning from Miranda's minions, that sounded like muzak, rather than some Wagnerian or Prokofievian magnification of our camp Queen Diva's majesty! It was as if the music was actively undermining the clever staging.

Almost no songs in the first half really resonated with me (although I was mightily struck and impressed by how much Rhys Whitfield's vocal sounded like Elton John in his prime) until Matt Henry sang "Dress Your Way Up," which reflected the stage and story dynamism of the choreography and movie plot (thankfully, the whiny book plot, whereby the protagonist is never corrupted is ditched, following the movie) and Georgie Buckland's loveable Andy does start getting corrupted!

Unfortunately, the story is too pacy to really establish Andy's character as anything other than ambitious, so when Rhysfield's Nate sings "I Miss the Old You" in the second half, we recognise the song for being a good one, but don't really know the "old you" he's mourning. Nonetheless, I feel I heard Elton John himself sing that one.

"Paris City of Dreams," and indeed the whole staging of the Paris intro, was an exciting and sultry number for Vanessa Williams, and the ensemble, that reeked of glamour and the slippery slope of sultry vapidity. I wished we had something that dangerous feeling in the place of the first half's "House of Miranda."

The emotional peak of the show, for me, came with Matt Henry's Nigel's "Seen," which Henry vulnerably imbued with a subdued pain, detailing an early life of outsiderdom from which Miranda saved him. This song massively deepened the resonance of the moment and, indeed, everything that followed.

Oddly, I liked the throwaway song by a random chanteuse, Maddy Ambus, dangerously glowing with degraded glamour, about the fleeting moment of being in your "twenties," more than any song in the first half.

And I felt Vanessa Williams, in her final number, "Stay on Top," topped herself, embodying the fire it takes to top her profession.

All in all, I felt this musical delivers in spades for its side characters, Nigel and Emily, but neglects its protagonist, Andy, although feisty Georgie Buckland wields enough charisma and likeability to stick the landing anyway.

I have booked the front row to see this again from up close in February. 4 stars from me, lifted by stagecraft and acting, despite a mediocre score in the first half.

[mrbarnaby]

Finally saw this and it was underwhelming as I expected.
The songs are unforgivably bad. All of them sound the same, none are at all memorable. (Except one.. see below)

Vanessa Williams is fine. She looks fabulous and the audience seemed to love her. It’s such a one note part though. Meryl covered that up with her sheer screen presence. Williams has nothing to add here.

Set is … fine. The office settings were very underwhelming- just 2 walls moving around.

Sound was deafeningly loud. I missed most of what was being said in every number.

The role of Andy almost completely disappears in this. No fault of the actress, but the writing and her awful songs.
The scenes with her boyfriend grind the show to a halt.

Matt Henry is… fine. His songs are a bore and this role should be played with someone more charismatic on stage.

Star of the show is undoubtably Amy Di Bartolomeo.
What a fabulous, funny and vocally brilliant performance. Highlight of the whole show for me was her Bon Voyage number. She was sensational, and loved the choreography.

Will be fascinating to see what critics make of this. I think Elton John’s songs will come in for a kicking, and rightfully so.

My partner loved every second of it.. as did most around us!

2 stars from me.

[martinlnmartin]

the show knows exactly what it is and delivers that.

[A.Ham]

An interesting article on BBC News about last night’s gala performance for the EJAF, leading on Elton’s eyesight issues but with comments on the show from some of the attendees, and pics from the red carpet (I’m sure there’s more on Mail online but would rather not give them the traffic).

Looks like they must’ve closed off some of the road to make room (or at least moved that horrible souvenir stand for the night), and I had to chuckle when I saw that, fear not, Biggins and his husband had made it! Quite a few genuine A-listers too though by the looks of things, alongside the usual suspects.

Elton John unable to 'watch own musical' after eyesight loss www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8edye1j53o

[westendgirl]

Do we know who played Andy in the workshop of this? Georgie Buckland is on today’s episode of In the Frame podcast and mentioned being one of the only cast members who wasn’t part of the workshop. She says they had apparently been looking for an Andy for three months when she auditioned, and Jerry Mitchell was about to start auditioning girls in the US because they had run out of options in the UK. (She also mentions taking Vanessa Williams to Popworld in Plymouth!)

[sophie92]

Dec 2, 2024 18:53:22 GMT westendgirl said:

Do we know who played Andy in the workshop of this? Georgie Buckland is on today’s episode of In the Frame podcast and mentioned being one of the only cast members who wasn’t part of the workshop. She says they had apparently been looking for an Andy for three months when she auditioned, and Jerry Mitchell was about to start auditioning girls in the US because they had run out of options in the UK. (She also mentions taking Vanessa Williams to Popworld in Plymouth!)

I remember it being mentioned on here that Molly Lynch did the workshop

[lotster]

I saw Georgie doing an interview on the news yesterday/today and she looked SO like Emily Blunt does in the movie. I keep having to remind myself she's playing Andy and not Emily.

[nash16]

Dec 2, 2024 18:53:22 GMT westendgirl said:

Do we know who played Andy in the workshop of this? Georgie Buckland is on today’s episode of In the Frame podcast and mentioned being one of the only cast members who wasn’t part of the workshop. She says they had apparently been looking for an Andy for three months when she auditioned, and Jerry Mitchell was about to start auditioning girls in the US because they had run out of options in the UK. (She also mentions taking Vanessa Williams to Popworld in Plymouth!)

Didn’t someone say the poor actress who’d workshopped the show playing Andy got “let go” because one of the creatives didn’t like her?

Apparently EJ gave her a severance package of sorts and she’s put a deposit down on a house with it, so EJ must have been sad to see her go.

Must be gutting to do all the work, and be removed just before official rehearsals. How do actors deal with being treated like that? Made of steel they are.

[Phantom of London]

I saw by accident on Playbill that this is closing on 31st May, I was actually searching for the show’s press night. Surely this is a mistake?

playbill.com/production/the-devil-wears-prada-london-dominion-theatre-2024

[mattnyc]

Dec 3, 2024 1:22:29 GMT Phantom of London said:

I saw by accident on Playbill that this is closing on 31st May, I was actually searching for the show’s press night. Surely this is a mistake?

playbill.com/production/the-devil-wears-prada-london-dominion-theatre-2024

tickets are on sale on the website through October so that probably just a mistake

[erik24601]

Is this one of the longest embargoes for Press Reviews ever? Why invite the press the other night and embargo reviews until this Friday?

[matthew90]

Dec 3, 2024 9:31:07 GMT erik24601 said:

Is this one of the longest embargoes for Press Reviews ever? Why invite the press the other night and embargo reviews until this Friday?

While the ticket sales are so strong I would imagine you would want to delay reviews, as much like this forum I guess they will be quite polarised so unlikely to massively help their current sales trend?

[max]

I'm a bit surprised it's such a popular choice for Christmas/New Year outings, with initially brilliant sales.
Then looking past that to Feb 11th (seating plan) sales are terrible that Tuesday, and not much better on the Friday of that week.
Perhaps that's all West End shows though.

[A.Ham]

Dec 3, 2024 10:05:16 GMT max said:

I'm a bit surprised it's such a popular choice for Christmas/New Year outings, with initially brilliant sales.
Then looking past that to Feb 11th (seating plan) sales are terrible that Tuesday, and not much better on the Friday of that week.
Perhaps that's all West End shows though.

Based on most commentary on here, with the exception of a few very in-demand star vehicle plays, to be pretty much sold out beyond even next week is quite an exception in the West End at the moment. But yes, there’s certainly a divide with this show’s sales pre and post Christmas/New Year.

[nash16]

Dec 3, 2024 10:05:16 GMT max said:

I'm a bit surprised it's such a popular choice for Christmas/New Year outings, with initially brilliant sales.
Then looking past that to Feb 11th (seating plan) sales are terrible that Tuesday, and not much better on the Friday of that week.
Perhaps that's all West End shows though.

There’s a complete lack of new shows for the coach parties/hen nights at the moment, and this has timed itself perfectly to fill that gap. As good or bad as the show may actually be, it’s something “new” for people to book.

[mrbarnaby]

It’s true, sales beyond Xmas / New Year are pretty terrible. This will need raves if it’s to last in that barn

[mrbarnaby]

Are reviews ever going to come out for this?
Are they scared? I feel like they may have reason to be.

[Someone in a tree]

If a review is published on a certain day of the week does it have more impact compared a another?

Im sure a psychological study, disertation or fag packet equation exists