38 replies to this topic

[spendleb]

*Michael*, on 02 December 2012 - 11:10 PM, said:

Thanks!

Ended up seeing it this afternoon - was brilliant.  Unfortunately Paul Baker was off - Owain Williams was excellent as Phillip though.  

I do really want to see Paul Baker though - anyone know if he's extending with the show?  Might struggle to make it back before cast change.

Just to rub it in, Paul was absolutely amazing!

[jaqs]

The new cast is being revealed (slowly) on Twitter
Marilyn - Jordan Luke Gage
Kim - Devon-Elise Johnson
Josie - Julia Worsley
Derek/Petal/Lucian - Paul Kevin-Taylor

[cat123]

I went last night, was dissapointed not to see Sarah Ingram. I liked Niamh a lot but overall the show left me flat. I don't think it's the fault of the production though, just that the show itself isn't for me.

[theaterfan14]

Also joining the new cast is Alex Jordan-Mills as Billy, who is an incredible talent!!

[itsuckstobeme]

I understand the main stage is like a cat walk but where are the table seats situated? Is it worth paying any more for them?

[drmaplewood]

itsuckstobeme, on 18 December 2012 - 02:31 PM, said:

I understand the main stage is like a cat walk but where are the table seats situated? Is it worth paying any more for them?

The tables are closest to the stage. To be honest, where I was sat (to the left if you're looking at the stage), was perfect as a lot of the action goes on at the bar, meaning those at the tables had to turn around. So I wouldn't worry too much about paying the extra.

[spendleb]

Yeah I agree with the poster above, we paid for a table and apart from a cast member dancing on it twice it had no real advantage over the seats elsewhere, in fact we also had a pillar in the way for some of the show, it’s such a small intimate venue you feel a part of the action wherever you sit and can see everything (maybe a bit too much of Sam Buttery ;-)!!)

[robg]

saw this last sunday firstly im a huge Taboo fan seeing the original production and tour 11 times , although i enjoyed this production immensley , i didnt understand why the story line has been changed slightly didnt see it worked all the time , the marilyn in NYC fell flat on sunday , and didnt see why they now chose an audience member instead of billy to be Leighs project for the may queen ball ? and the ending although loved the addition of the broadway finale song i did miss , the old ending and summing up of the story more with them going to india and bow down mister ... any body else have any thoughts ???
   the venue is different quite difficult to get to if travelling along way and the most uncomfortable chairs didnt see any lift for disabled ? , liked being so close to the performers  it did feel like a concert production rather than a full musical but it did show off how good the songs are . for us would have been nice to have a little more set or props ..... saying all that we did love it and sitting 2 ft away from paul baker singing petrified is worth the ticket price alone !!  sam buttery is a great Leigh bowery ... and the new Billy is extremely strong .... we felt boy george will get better once settled but Marilyn missed the mark a little  was too butch all the time needs to show the soft camper side aswell and practice on the heels .... the rest of the supporting cast are great .......
    thses are only my opinions  i will go again once the cast all settled , would be great to see it in a more accesible venue slightly closer to west end with more of a set like the original , thought the new iladore scene was affective seeing leigh sitting for frued rather then lying in the bed , i think it would have been very powerful if leigh had been sat on the main part of stage behind a gauze with projections of the real leigh shown on it during iladore ? similar to broadway ?
    i would say go and see it if you missed the original you will love this new stripped back production , i already want to see it again  and with great ticket offers get there before your too late

[lesterf]

I saw it for the first, and last,time on saturday.I hated it.I wanted to leave at the interval but my friend wanted to stay so we stayed.I have to say Alex-Jordan Mills who played Billy and Julia Worsley as Josey played their parts well and did have good singing voices but I just didn't " get" the whole thing.I know the Boy George story but ( apart from looking like Boy George ) thought Paul Treacy was weak as was Jordan Luke Gage as Marilyn and I had not idea where the story was going and what was happening.The plot can be summed up in 1 paragraph and was stretched to nearly 3 hours ( incl interval ) ... sorry but I hated it

[Steve]

Finally got around to seeing this on Saturday, and was quite disappointed. I like the show a lot and saw it in London, UK tour and on Broadway. This is by far the worst production of the the 4 I've seen. The cast were mostly not that great (Sam Buttery and Paul Baker were the only exceptions). I didn't like most of the changes, the new song instead of Independent Woman is atrocious! and Dress To Kill from the Broadway production is pretty awful. I thought Billy/George/Marilyn were all too inexperienced and were frequently out of tune (I was sat remembering how amazing John Partridge, Euan Morton and Luke Evans/Declan Bennett were in the roles). And cutting Big Sue completely from the script made no sense at all. Billy's Mum singing Il Adore about a man she's glimpsed on a night out? Really? There was no emotion at all at Leigh's death as he was just in idiot in a load of silly outfits without his interactions with Big Sue throughout the show. They should have just cut Il Adore (one of my favourite songs), rather than ruin it...


So, overall a very disappointing production i'm afraid. I went home and watched the DVD of the original production to remind myself how it should be done.