35 replies to this topic

[damedave]

I truly am amazed its stayed on this long.....But then again Kenwright has a knack of keeping shows running for a long time..even with 13 people in the audience..... I have never been a fan of the show, I think its cheap and just not in the same league as the Donmar version. It was howver better when it recast..with Kim Medcalf. I really believe they missed a huge trick with the advertising though...it could have been as striking as Chicago, but the whole show was staged without style and vision in my opinion.

[Distant_Cousin]

I couldn't DISAGREE with you more.

[M George]

I've not seen it yet and am looking forward to the tour.  The people I know who have seen it have all been full of praise.  If it was so bad I don't think it would have run for the time that it has.  I have to confess to not being a huge fan of the artwork though.

[lukeyslimane]

i loved it when I saw it. The choreography is brilliant, the staging great and the whole ensemble looked like they were having a blast. Amy Nuttall's a great Sally.

[art87]

I saw it during its first christmas period with a big group of my family, and we all thought it was dreadful. I've been thinking closing notices were due ever since! The material itself is impeccable (although this version is quite tampered with), but the production is just awful. I can honestly say I saw a far superior school production for £3.

[Felix]

cudnt agree more with the thread title! Was amazing it even got through to its second cast! Sooooo glad its finally leavin!

[Distant_Cousin]

Hmm, I don't understand the hate = how would you have improved it then, pray tell?!

[angelfan]

Having always wanted to see Cabaret on stage I was so disappointed by this production.  I hated the staging (especially the ladders they pushed across the stage that they nicked from the last production of Rocky Horror) and the whole thing seemed very disjointed.

[art87]

Hmm, I don't understand the hate = how would you have improved it then, pray tell?!

Well firstly I would have paid for a set rather than chopping up some old flats and painting them black. I would have perhaps made at least one of the characters mildly sympathetic in their characterisation. I would have cast someone who can sing in the lead role (I saw Anna Maxwell-Martin and she was godawful). I would have trusted the songs slightly more, and not used explicit sex at every possible opportunity (Two Ladies is funny because it's all "we just live together and share a bed but it's oh so innocent" and it's the audience who put a dirty spin on it, not because people are waving willies all over the place). I would have used the opening song to open the show (as it is written), rather than starting with a dull scene at the German border control...

I could literally work through the show scene by scene and tell you why I thought each and every one was terrible (except perhaps the final 5 Auschwitz-based seconds which I liked).

When I saw it it was clear that there was no way it could be saved as a production. Thank god it's going away, and then maybe, a few years down the line, someone will actually do it well.

[Distant_Cousin]

Well firstly I would have paid for a set rather than chopping up some old flats and painting them black. I would have perhaps made at least one of the characters mildly sympathetic in their characterisation. I would have cast someone who can sing in the lead role (I saw Anna Maxwell-Martin and she was godawful). I would have trusted the songs slightly more, and not used explicit sex at every possible opportunity (Two Ladies is funny because it's all "we just live together and share a bed but it's oh so innocent" and it's the audience who put a dirty spin on it, not because people are waving willies all over the place). I would have used the opening song to open the show (as it is written), rather than starting with a dull scene at the German border control...

I could literally work through the show scene by scene and tell you why I thought each and every one was terrible (except perhaps the final 5 Auschwitz-based seconds which I liked).

When I saw it it was clear that there was no way it could be saved as a production. Thank god it's going away, and then maybe, a few years down the line, someone will actually do it well.

OK, well I still disagree with you.  The set was fine, no less basic than Chicago and that works fine too.

Erm, isn't Sally Bowles MEANT to be a mediocre singer, hence it doesn't call for a SINGER, rather an actress who can sing.  It was only the Liza Minnelli spin on things that people suddenly thought Sally Bowles was this wonderful torch singer...hmm

Which was fine, because Anna Maxwell Martin is one of THE best actresses of the past few years and is excellent in everything she does.  I loved her Sally, such a layered, subtle, ambigious interpretation.

I don't remember much explicit sex - any of the nudity was non sexual.

I can't believe anyone could find fault in every scene.  

Everyone I ever recommended to go and see it though it was excellent.