Theatre 2022

I saw 101 Dalmatians on Saturday with my friend and her 4 year old daughter. It’s been getting a mixed reception but I thought it was incredibly fun.
 
I saw 101 Dalmatians on Saturday with my friend and her 4 year old daughter. It’s been getting a mixed reception but I thought it was incredibly fun.

It's got to be better than that Legally Blonde flop, surely? :D
 
It's got to be better than that Legally Blonde flop, surely? :D
I didn’t really see much about that other than a few sizeist and racist comments from the typical traditionalists. I saw it once at The Savoy with Carly Stenson and she was good, so wasn’t all that bothered with a new production.
 
I didn’t really see much about that other than a few sizeist and racist comments from the typical traditionalists. I saw it once at The Savoy with Carly Stenson and she was good, so wasn’t all that bothered with a new production.

The original production was so good and the score is great. This looked dreadful, cheap and nasty - take a look at the West End live videos! It's the kind of comedy that looks easy when it's done well, but absolutely flops when the performers take it too over the top. The costumes looked like something that had been run up the night before. And don't get me started on the gay dog.
 
I'd defs question the motives of anyone who didn't see the Legally Blonde revival but is still keen to paint it as a flop. The reviews were mostly positive, and I really enjoyed it (solidly 4 stars, really great fun, but with some missteps*), but it's had a lot of weird OTT vitriol online from folk who seemed riled from the outset by its inclusive casting.


*THE DOGS WERE FURRIES
 
Last edited:
Late to the party but I'm going to see Dear Evan Hansen tonight. Was very keen to see it before it closed and am trying not to be perturbed by some of the extreme negativity around the film. I'm going in almost completely cold.
 
Late to the party but I'm going to see Dear Evan Hansen tonight. Was very keen to see it before it closed and am trying not to be perturbed by some of the extreme negativity around the film. I'm going in almost completely cold.
Well this wasn't what I expected at all! I thought it was going to be two hours of bleakness - I didn't realise it was essentially a farce, which at times was a bit jarring given the subject matter but it was an engaging plot nonetheless with a handful of memorable songs. The lead guy was excellent too.
 
I didn't realise it was essentially a farce, which at times was a bit jarring given the subject matter

I really struggled to get past this. I had very little sympathy for Evan and I just wanted someone to punch the character.
 
Went to the Kinky Boots concert version tonight. I miss this show in the West End so much - got to be in my all time Top 5.

Cedric Neal’s version of Hold Me In Your Heart was the best I’ve seen. I could see he was visibly moved at the audience reaction too - surely he must be a future full-time Lola.
 
Just saw Trainspotting at the Fringe and it's honestly the best piece of theatre I've ever seen. It's going on tour and if you can make it you absolutely HAVE to go
 
5zdocukw53i91.jpg
 
Just seen Matilda for the first time. I managed to get a Theatre Club deal with a 50% off deal. Never bothered much before because the family shows barely ever discount.

I wonder if it’s a bit stale after 11 years, but it sells well regularly. Still, barely anyone in the audience seemed that enthusiastic and lots of toilet breaks from children and adults alike. It’s staged really well and I can’t fault the performances, but by god it drags and drags. I hope the film version chops it up a lot.
 
Just been to see West Side Story at Wakefield Theatre Royal. It was outstanding. The actors playing Tony and Maria were West-End quality. A woman sat next to me was quite enthusiastic and cheering after every song, turns out she was the mother of Frankie Bounds, who played Tony.
 
Just been to see West Side Story at Wakefield Theatre Royal. It was outstanding. The actors playing Tony and Maria were West-End quality. A woman sat next to me was quite enthusiastic and cheering after every song, turns out she was the mother of Frankie Bounds, who played Tony.
Would love to see this on stage!
 
My mum has just been emailing me all of the bad TripAdvisor reviews of Matilda that she agrees with. Now I know where I get it from :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: GNL
Is Bruce forced to eat the chocolate cake in the musical version? :zombie:
He is. It’s just another tedious subplot added in that I don’t even believe is in the book. The theatre is rather hot and stuffy with uncomfortable seats, so that definitely contributed to the experience. Some places in far better condition have gone through refurbishes, but I think ALW owns the Cambridge and he’s a stingy bastard.
 
Anyway, just this week two of my friends who have kids have expressed major interest in taking them to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe because “it looks amazing”. Neither of them listened to me when I was telling them it would be good to get some preview discounts weeks and weeks ago when they were freely available, even for dates in the school holidays. It was met with “oh we’ll see, maybe if it gets good reviews.”

They always then have the audacity of wondering about discounts during the Christmas holidays. And now it’s Theatre Week with amazing discounts and they’re stalling “oh it depends on their football schedule” and about 100 other reasons they wouldn’t be able to book with less than a whole years notice etc.

Why does ANYONE have children? It sounds like nothing but exhausting barriers to having any sort of life away from a tedious calendar.
 
That’s Tovah Feldshuh, a broadway icon who also had recurring roles in Crazy Ex Girlfriend and The Walking Dead. She’s replaced Jane Lynch in the role of Fanny Brice’s mother.
 
Went to Eureka Day tonight. Hadn't read anything about it at all - my friend just booked because it had Helen Hunt in it. We didn't even get Hunt tonight, but it didn't matter. Seeing it with two female friends who have children aged 4-5 and one of whom works as a senior in HR and the other who has just been lumbered in to joining the PTA, this was the perfect play for them. First half is much funnier than the second, but we were in bits before the interval.
 
Having seen Grease 7 times now, Peter Andre is the best Teen Angel, Darren Bennett is the best Vince Fontaine, and Jason Donovan... has improved since his first show but is still a little bit shit.

Had to put up with rows of people tonight loudly whinging that it wasn't like the film and some even claiming it was a film first :manson:

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: dUb
7 times! :disco: I miss the days I could see shows that often :(

ALW is retooling I see

 
I suppose it’s not a terrible idea to rename it. When it first opened in the West End I hadn’t paid much attention to the press and thought it was some traditional Cinderella musical. Still, I never heard great things about it either, so not sure if it will play differently to a US audience.
 
this video is currently being lauded as HIGH CAMP/CRINGE

 
Previews starting the day before Phantom closes on Broadway, which I'm sure is no coincidence :eyes:

Unless this gets a complete rewrite (it won't) and a new director who isn't an ALW proxy (it hasn't), this is going to tank into OBLIVION
 
Yay. Never been interested in that due to the songs.

Saw The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe tonight. Got some £15 tickets in a sale a few weeks ago and turns out they closed the circle, so upgraded us right to the premium seats in the stalls, so that was good.

Not too impressed with the show though. It’s well staged and acted, but I’m totally over any new adaptations of this story. The puppetry isn’t half as good as Life of Pi.
 
I absolutely loved "& Juliet" when I saw it last year, will definitely make an effort to see it once more before it finishes.
 
I loved & Juliet, but also it was shit.

It's lasted longer than I ever expected, and not just because a year of that saw it shut due to a deadly pandemic (bless them for their carefully chosen "3.5 years in the West End!" wording).
 
  • Like
Reactions: dUb
I'm quite pleased it's closing, in as much as we're getting a regional tour. As much as I'd like to see it, it would never be near the top of my list to see it in the West End.
 
I saw it when it opened in Manchester. It was great fun. Total cheese but fun!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom