Theatre ‘19

Ellie

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A little bit late for this.

All About Eve was atrocious. Seriously at the moment it’s difficult to get tickets for anything less than £100 even for the Grand Circle. Seriously don’t bother. I’ll elaborate a bit later.

I have however just come out of a very reasonably priced production at the Southwark Playhouse called All In a Row, starring Charlie Brooks (Janine from Eastenders) and Simon Lipkin, whom I’ve only ever seen in musicals before. It’s a very intense one act play about a couple with a severely autistic, non verbal child on their last night with him before Social Services remove him from their custody. Incredibly heartbreaking with very powerful performances particularly from Charlie Brooks. This one will stick with me for a while.
 
Saw Company the other week. Absolutely loved it! Brilliant staging, the main character had a brilliant voice. You’d never know that they’d changed up the genders in some of the roles it worked so well.
 
Saw Company the other week. Absolutely loved it! Brilliant staging, the main character had a brilliant voice. You’d never know that they’d changed up the genders in some of the roles it worked so well.
And how hot was Jonathan Bailey?
 
I mentioned it in the previous thread but I went to see Come From Away and loved it. It doesn’t have a standout number but it’s short and sweet with great energy when the band is playing live in front of you.

Also went to a production of Hair which was terrible.

I’m probably going to see The Book of Mormon in May if I can find a cheap ticket.
 
I do want to see Come From Away, but I haven’t heard any of the songs and being a short running time, with a very odd subject matter, I don’t particulalrly want to pay full price for a ticket.
 
Kind of theatre related. Mum got tickets to that one off ITV show All Star Musicals tonight with John Barrowman - like Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes with musical theatre. I only went because Kristin Chenoweth was a judge and she did perform with Elaine Paige. Wish I’d left the theatre after that as their performance was the first.

What a pile of shite. Mostly because we were practically held hostage inside with all the pickups and retakes, shooting absolutely everything in a weird order. This is the second TV show taping I’ve accompanied my mum to in the last few weeks. Don’t think I could take another one.
 
Wasn’t the first warning sign that it was an evening with John Barrowman?
 
Wasn’t the first warning sign that it was an evening with John Barrowman?
True. He had to refilm the opening number twice. Elaine Paige kept banging her chest to hit her microphone so yet again more things had to be refilmed. Spent an extra 15 minutes faffing around while Kristin Chenoweth had a make-up retouch. It was tedious.

It doesn’t help that my mum has turned into an entitled whiner every time we get free tickets to something and shockingly we don’t get to decide where we sit.
 
DRAMAAAAAA with a new production of The Color Purple

From the lead actress' FB:

 
1. Come from Away
2. Everybody's talking about Jamie
3. Fat Blokes
4. The morning after the life before
5. The Ridleys (double bill of 2 Philip Ridley plays ‘Tonight with Donny Stixx’ and ‘Dark Vanilla Jungle’)
6. The Country Girls
7. The Cripple of Inishmaan
8. 'The Bear' - a comedy by Chekhov
 
I saw “All About Eve” on Saturday and it was incredible. I loved every second of it. So much, Kev already booked tickets to see it again at the cinema as part of the NT LIVE thing they do. Gillian Anderson was incredible- Lily Whatsherface was also good, but with less to do to be honest. I hear it’s dividing opinion but it’s entirely rekindled my love of the theatre...
 
I saw “All About Eve” on Saturday and it was incredible. I loved every second of it. So much, Kev already booked tickets to see it again at the cinema as part of the NT LIVE thing they do. Gillian Anderson was incredible- Lily Whatsherface was also good, but with less to do to be honest. I hear it’s dividing opinion but it’s entirely rekindled my love of the theatre...
You weren’t put off by the horrendous stage direction? Do we REALLY need to see the content of the toilet when she vomits in an enclosed bathroom area projected above?
 
Saw a production of Rear Window over the weeken.
 
You weren’t put off by the horrendous stage direction? Do we REALLY need to see the content of the toilet when she vomits in an enclosed bathroom area projected above?

I thought it brought you closer to the action- including the vomit scene. It was a fascinating twist on what we already know.

Seriously, 10/10. Loved every second.
 
I thought it brought you closer to the action- including the vomit scene. It was a fascinating twist on what we already know.

Seriously, 10/10. Loved every second.
We actually had a few walkouts when we saw it last month. I didn’t think it brought you closer at all. The projecting what was going on behind a wall elsewhere onstage just took me out of what was going on. All About Eve is such a wonderfully fun film, but this made me feel bored and completely unengaged.
 
Saw a filmed version of All About Eve in the cinema. Gillian was great but Lilly James can’t do conniving bitch convincingly, it felt too comedic at times.
 
Wonderful musical Amour at the Charing Cross Theatre right now by Michel Legrand. Was on Broadway about 15 years ago and abruptly closed within a few weeks, but whatever they’ve done with it here is fantastic as it just seems so so British in the humour.

Also I’m seeing Waitress in a couple of weeks. There’s been a bit of an uproar as Lucie Jones is replacing Katherine McPhee soon which seems to have always been planned, but the fantastic Laura Baldwin (who isn’t a name outside of theatre circles) signed on for a year but has been sidelined to understudy for the summer in place of Ashley Roberts, who as far as I know doesn’t have a background in musical theatre but has a bit of a profile due to Strictly. Stunt casting at its absolute worst.
 
Has anyone went to see Six? I just watched a performance on BGT and loved it. I may need to purchase tickets for its touring production later in the year.
 
The Starry Messenger is ridiculously good. I wasn’t expecting much, and strangely Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern are the least appealing performances, but it’s just so well written, the near 3 hour running time went by like a bullet. I was so tired last night I genuinely didn’t want to be there, thinking I’d fall asleep, but it was wonderful.
 
Oh yes, and Waitress was utterly brilliant. I’ve only seen the film once and barely remembered it. Stonking tunes, very funny, touching and all round brilliant cast.

Present Laughter with Andrew Scott last week - he was hysterical, but it did go on a bit. Audience put me off because while there are very funny moments, not EVERY LINE is laugh out loud ROFL funny.
 
I haven’t seen it but the soundtrack for Oklahoma which won the tony was released this week and it’s really great.
 
Oklahoma is legendary because it's the first diagetic musical. Unfortunately, I can't stand most of the songs :D

I saw "The Light In The Piazza" this weekend after a 15 year wait since I first heard the score. My word, it was amazing. I was apparently lucky to see Dove Cameron as she apparently calls about 50% of her scheduled shows, but my word, she was great. As was the show itself – genuinely sensational stuff.
 
I saw Come from Away recently for a third time (!) (somehow I keep going to this show :D) and it was utterly sublime as per usual. My favourite musical perhaps ever.

Other than that I saw Othello for the first time (great), The Neverending Story (shite), The Crucible (good), and Fun Home (great).

Oh and a small show called Between Breaths about a whale researcher from Newfoundland - which might have been perfectly fine had the singers not been making clicks, whistles, and call sounds the whole way through. :D
 
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About to see & Juliet, a musical based on the music of Max Martin. LEAVING SPACE FOR A REVIEW:
 
About to see & Juliet, a musical based on the music of Max Martin. LEAVING SPACE FOR A REVIEW:

Oh that was in Manchester before London. Utterly ridiculous but loved it :D
 
Okay well I can honestly say this was the happiest two hours I’ve had at a show ever. The cast were clearly so into this production and the songlist was ( obviously!) incredible.

I cried during: Show Me Love - because 10 year old me never imagined that I’d see that Robyn song I kept rewinding on cassette played out in such a way, I’m Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman - I’ve never been a fan of this song but the transgender storyline really got me, Shape of My Heart - that it was the DAD singing it really got me too.

Obviously hearing my favourite ever song (...Baby One More Time) performed with such a great vocal was a real boon, but I think my overall highlight was Celine’s That’s the Way It Is. What a song and the character singing it was both my favourite character and my favourite actor on stage.

A MILLION STARS - I WILL SEE IT ONCE A MONTH
 
I’d only be interested in & Juliet if it had original songs.

Unless you actively dislike Max Martin songs I would say that it’s still worth seeing - the best thing about the script is how much they kind of break the fourth wall, and the underlying LGBT themes
 
Unless you actively dislike Max Martin songs I would say that it’s still worth seeing - the best thing about the script is how much they kind of break the fourth wall, and the underlying LGBT themes
That’s the thing, I do actively dislike most of his songs.
 
Andrew Lloyd Webber is testing a non-socially distanced show at the London Palladium to see if the theatre can come back - the measures he suggests don't seem to take into account that people might be able to transmit the disease before they're showing symptoms... But apparently the government were advising NO SINGING as part of their guidance :manson:

The creator of shows like Cats and Phantom of the Opera wasn't the most enthusiastic about the government response to the pandemic: "I've had a couple of conversations with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden about it, and I'd love to be able to say that they understood a little more.

"I have seen a report on theatre and I don't know what's going to be in the report that's supposed to be coming out on Monday, but I sincerely hope it doesn't contain some of things that I have seen in their advice. One of the things was a brilliant one for musicals: you aren't allowed to sing.

"One lives in hope but all you can do is to try and demonstrate and stay positive...I want to prove that they can reopen. "
 
Cameron Mackintosh has said that all of his shows are out until 2021. So that's Les Mis, Mary Poppins, Hamilton et al on ice for now. I imagine they're going to let all the employment contracts lapse and then rehire when they know what's going on. Theatre (and musical theatre in particular) is completely social distancing unfriendly.

They're going to need at least 2 months after an all clear to get cast and crew up to speed in any case.
 
Trailer for Hamilton, coming to Disney+ next Friday. They’ve removed the free trial option already :D

 
They’ve said it’s PG-13, which allows for one “fuck”. There’s one “fuck” and also one “motherfucking” in it. If they censor either I will not be pleased.
 
So they leave the one in from Say No To This. Hate to be juvenile, but those three fucks are some of the best parts of the show.
 

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