122 replies to this topic

[Deal J]

Richey, on 13 February 2013 - 10:12 AM, said:

*Spoilers below!****
[...] There is little scenery and most of what there is is wheeled on by the cast- there is no Ayers Rock. To let the audience know where the action is taking place there is an electronic screen which hangs over the stage and at certain points is lowered which is really distracting

That sounds awful! And no Ayers Rock?! Did they scrimp on the costumes too and put the leads in menswear?!!

[Richey]

Deal J, on 13 February 2013 - 02:38 PM, said:

That sounds awful! And no Ayers Rock?! Did they scrimp on the costumes too and put the leads in menswear?!!

at least the costumes are the same. In fact they look like the London ones brought out of storage.

[BurlyBeaR]

Saw it on Tuesday. What a fab show! Much better than I ever imagined. Major standing ovation at the end, I don't think I've ever seen such a great audience reaction.

Regarding differences between the tour and the original production,the only people who seem to care about this are people who saw the original. And seeing as you did, what's the problem? I don't think there would have been many, if any people who felt short changed on Tuesday. I consider myself to be an enthusiastic theatregoer but would no longer consider travelling to London to sit in a cramped seat with no legroom amongst a load of tourists just to see a bigger bus.

We were in the front stalls the other night, it was 45 quid. No complaints here! :0)

[Monteverdi]

Just back from this joyous evening. Yes it is pared down, but no-one can complain about bad sightlines now. The bus works, and the windows tell the story- though the rock would have been good. Tremendous performances all round (though the youngest member of the company didn't appear to hit a single note), but the loudest applause has to go to the wardrobe department who work miracles, not just in terms of the speed of the changes, but in choreographing the costumes in such limited space backstage. Bizarrely, like canal Street up the road, the audience was mainly made up of hen parties and their ilk.

[PriscillaCraze]

I thought the opening night was incredible, the cast is absoluetely outstanding, and everyone involved worked their socks off to create a well deserved standing ovation, the audience were LOVING it. However I am so used to seeing it so many times in the west end, I actually missed the bus, shoe and the red lights to I Will Survive, but then realised at the end it's a touring production and thought it worked incredibly well. The score and the costumes were excellent as usual, so pleased it's remained the same. I thought the 3 leads were absoluetely fantastic! Richard Grieve as Bernadette was very feminie, warm hearted and hilarious, he did very well for a first show. Graham Weaver is a breathtaking Felicia, he's naughty, muscular and portrays emotions wonderfully, his version of Confide in me was stunning, such a powerful voice! Jason Donovan was great as Tick, charming and bonded a special relationship with Benji which was lovely to see, he did a brilliant job! My only advice would be is to add more sheets of metal onto the exterior of the bus so you have more of the LED light show if you know what mean? But overall I throughly enjoyed the opening, a lot of screams, laughter and emotions, very powerful cast and fabulous costumes. I've booked 17 tickets for the tour so far so will be back on the 21st in Manchester to see it again and more tickets will be BOUGHT! This musical touches and capitivites me in so many ways, I just LOVE it!! x

[Schuttep]

Booked yesterday for the Theatre Royal in Brighton for 4 January 2014!!

It's their Christmas show and they seem to be doing Sunday performances - brilliant, although I personally can't take advantage of them.

And at £37.50 a pop for front stalls, excellent value. Even with a pared down set, they can't alter the superb story and fabulous (darling!) songs.

[tommo2k]

PriscillaCraze, on 19 February 2013 - 09:43 AM, said:

    I thought the opening night was incredible, the cast is absoluetely outstanding, and everyone involved worked their socks off to create a well deserved standing ovation, the audience were LOVING it. However I am so used to seeing it so many times in the west end, I actually missed the bus, shoe and the red lights to I Will Survive, but then realised at the end it's a touring production and thought it worked incredibly well. The score and the costumes were excellent as usual, so pleased it's remained the same. I thought the 3 leads were absoluetely fantastic! Richard Grieve as Bernadette was very feminie, warm hearted and hilarious, he did very well for a first show. Graham Weaver is a breathtaking Felicia, he's naughty, muscular and portrays emotions wonderfully, his version of Confide in me was stunning, such a powerful voice! Jason Donovan was great as Tick, charming and bonded a special relationship with Benji which was lovely to see, he did a brilliant job! My only advice would be is to add more sheets of metal onto the exterior of the bus so you have more of the LED light show if you know what mean? But overall I throughly enjoyed the opening, a lot of screams, laughter and emotions, very powerful cast and fabulous costumes. I've booked 17 tickets for the tour so far so will be back on the 21st in Manchester to see it again and more tickets will be BOUGHT! This musical touches and capitivites me in so many ways, I just LOVE it!! x

Confide in me is still there? Thought they were doing the us version?

[Richey]

The Kylie medley is still there. It's basically the same songs as London except for Downtown becoming It's Raining Men, no 'I've never Been to Me' and True Colours replacing Both Sides Now

[tommo2k]

Richey, on 19 February 2013 - 01:17 PM, said:

The Kylie medley is still there. It's basically the same songs as London except for Downtown becoming It's Raining Men, no 'I've never Been to Me' and True Colours replacing Both Sides Now

Oh good, thanks. The Kylie medley is one of my favourite bits.

[Richey]

tommo2k, on 19 February 2013 - 01:19 PM, said:

Oh good, thanks. The Kylie medley is one of my favourite bits.

It's actually rather impressive- loud and I think more jazzed up than the London version. I loved it!