craftymiss

craftymiss, on 12 May 2013 - 12:06 AM, said:

I did too. I went not expecting all that much. Got a cheap ticket as I had a gap in my schedule. The trailer, reviews etc didn't entice me. But by god is it good. A masterclass in simplicity. It's raw, fresh, honest- just magical. Zrinka Cvitešić's is absolutely stunning. Starts off as this slightly blunt, straight-talking girl, but is overcome with love, hope and emotion. The growing relationship between her and Declan Bennett's Guy is beautiful to watch, as is that of him with his father, which is often deeply moving. More so because it's not a show about a pop star or actor etc. These are joe-public. Real people just trying to get by.

John Tiffany doesn't let anything overshadow the central pairing. We get a real communal feel with Bob Crowley's enveloping design, and Stephen Hoggett's choreography which really is another character in itself. I think it's the best work I've seen him do. And the music is so unshowy that it lifts this simple love story to a whole new level. It really is demonstration of the power of music. Both social and emotional. A couple of bits of the book jarred- I thought the music shop man was played up a touch too much, but that's a really minor quibble.

I loved it. Full standing ovation at the end, I joined in with tears down my cheek. So so pleased I went.

I have never seen him live, but vocally for me he wipes the floor of any other JVJ!

Obviously you are entitled to your opinion on this but so are all the bloggers (who should just stop writing according to you) and the people who actually enjoy reading the various blogs.

I am a blogger myself, however I usually don't put links to my blog on here (unless you count the link in my profil). Why do I blog? Quite simple: Because I enjoy writing and I love writing about my main passion which happens to be theatre. My blog consists of reviews and some interviews with performers. I sometimes write about general things that I feel are worth a mention (my blog post about the WOS Awards actually made it on here - and no,  it wasn't me who posted the link).

I don't want to be a professional writer, I don't want to be famous - I just enjoy writing. Obviously it's great if people enjoy my reviews, interviews and such. But I'm not expecting anyone to be interested - anyone who thinks my blog is a waste of time can just ignore it.

Heard today from a good source that it was between Anton Zetterholm and Nadim Naaman for Enjolras. If that was the case, and Anton has got the part, then their choice has baffled me. No doubt Anton can sing, but he does NOT look or sound like a revolutionary young leader. Nadim was a magnificent Raoul, and is made for Les Mis. Hopefully they've given him another role in the show.

This reminds me of the Peter Joback Phantom casting.

I recently visited New York and saw Kinky Boots (delightful, apart from the dodgy accents) and the biggest, burliest character in the show appeared beforehand and basically threatened people into turning off their phones, being very specific that neither text messaging nor putting phones on vibrate were acceptable. It worked delightfully well, first Broadway performance I've seen in years in which I didn't hear or see a single phone-related thing.

Craftymiss - you should have no problem getting a "day ticket" for this as the show is not selling, but I would not leave it too long before you see it as I cannot seeing it having a long run. In the remote possibility there are no cheap tickets for this - there are plenty of other shows in the WE that do a Thurs matinee.

Maybe theatres will have to start doing "relaxed" performances for BB adults !

Special matinees where everyone can come & go as they please, eat, drink & be merry, sing along loudly, chat & explain the plot to their companions, take pics & video, tweet & blog during the show, answer phonecalls & take a nap if tthey wish. And the cast just have to be very tolerant & carry on in good humour...

Wolf whistling at Ghost last night.

Also some comedy commentary from the grannies behind me who were most confused about who was dead or not at a given point. Which would have been annoying, had it not been so funny.

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I agree it's largely difficult if not impossible to stop a cough but people can do more to muffle them. Sometimes one catches you by surprise and there's nothing you can do about it but on occasions I can't believe the coughing symphony that goes on in auditoriums, all full-on top-volume with no attempt to muffle them at all.

I'm enjoying the coughing debate, which possibly makes it sound like my life is devoid of entertainment, but for some reason it's amusing me. I have images of one of us sat next to or in front of a real-life Bob Fleming.

Craftymiss has got it spot on I think... I so wish it was made more obvious and more clear in the show as that story is interesting and clever, instead it's lost in a confused muddle and never breaks through to the surface.