[Millie Dillmount]

well i had high hopes for this production, and i just found myself thinking that 'oh dear it was far surpassed by the national production'

the performances are terrific and it is what saves the production. alexandra sieber is vocally excellent, but is to young to play julie, and they dont age her at all for the scenes when louise is 15. lesley garrett - well she just looked like she wasnt even breaking out in a sweat and she was excellent. the star performance was jermiah james - he was stunning! the other performance which is worth a mention was graham macduff as jigger

the production itself was awful! the set wobbled - i have seen more sturdy set in panto. the choreography was clumsy - except in the overly long ballet scene with louise, and the costumes looked like they had been run up from rags, and the ones in the ballet scene looked like they had come from the primark round the corner from the theatre

it was disappointing that there was no carousel horses but instead they decided to go with the same sort of projection designs which william dudley used in woman in white except they didnt use the same projection designer! they were out of sync, they kept switching on and off at one point, and the lighting either wasnt right or there was something a miss in the last scene, because you could only see the projection as the curtain came down at the end

the performance was late in starting and over ran by 20 minutes - they need to tighten up some of the scene changes

i loved the performances and think that they had nailed them vocally and most of the acting which was good for the first performance, but i suspect that the creative team will be having a late night and an early morning to make lots of changes before the matinee

it is a shame, because it had such potential. i dont think that despite the performances that this will last at the savoy. they cant sell it just on the name of lesley garrett, and to be totally honest they have an utter nerve charging the prices they are looking at the production values. the entire set would be paid for by selling on £61 ticket at the savoy and the costumes by selling another

i dont think that with people having less of a disposable income that previously that people would pay out the prices that they are asking for to see a substandard but well acted and sung production of an overly long and dated rogers and hammerstein musical. i would think it might manage to make it to the end of january - i do hope i am proven wrong for the sake of the talented cast

2.5/5

[Viceroy]

My goodness i can't believe the nerve of what i am reading. What you saw tonight Millie wasn't a performance! It was EVEN a preview it was a DRESS REHEARSAL. Those poor people had barely finished their technical rehersal before they were asked to get ready for the "performance" and I think everyone did an incredible job under those circustances. People's performances are not settled, they are still being sorted out. The set and costumes are hardly final. That is PREVIEWS ARE FOR (and this was not EVEN a preview!). I do not understand it! How is the press not allowed to comment upon shows before they open, yet boards like this are allowed to post flippant comments at anyone's pleasure.

I for one would like to ask the monitors of this board to examine the 21st century implications of a community like this to the world of live theatre. Anyone out there wish to comment?? Is there ANY amount of creative "wiggle room" left or is the first public performance always going to be exposed to such incredulous scrutiny as Millie's?

The performance at Bromley was NOT a dress rehearsal, it was not (on the Ambassador site http://www.theambassadors.com/tickets/brom...8/carousel.html ) advertised as a preview, and there was no reduced prices. The reviewer clearly states that it was the first performance. Furthermore the adverse criticism went to the elements that will not be easy to change quickly - the set and costumes, the performances were praised.

Such reviews are welcomed on WoS - they are very much part of the 21st century and it is the theatre which has to drag itself out of 20th century outmoded conventions.

[Orchestrator]

The performance at Bromley was NOT a dress rehearsal, it was not (on the Ambassador site http://www.theambassadors.com/tickets/brom...8/carousel.html ) advertised as a preview, and there was no reduced prices. The reviewer clearly states that it was the first performance. Furthermore the adverse criticism went to the elements that will not be easy to change quickly - the set and costumes, the performances were praised.

Such reviews are welcomed on WoS - they are very much part of the 21st century and it is the theatre which has to drag itself out of 20th century outmoded conventions.

The first performance listed on the Ambassador site was scheduled to start yesterday at 7:45pm. If it overran by 20 minutes it can't have finished before 11pm so Millie did really well to get her detailed review posted by 11:35pm.

Her biggest criticism of the set seemed to be that it was wobbly - that is something that could easily be fixed by Monday. Her description of lighting and projection problems certainly fits something more like a dress rehearsal than a public performance; perhaps they would have been better to cancel last night ( it certainly wouldn't be the first time that's happened on a pre-West End Bromley run), although perhaps cancelling shows is another outmoded convention

[sanderling]

The performance at Bromley was NOT a dress rehearsal, it was not (on the Ambassador site http://www.theambassadors.com/tickets/brom...8/carousel.html ) advertised as a preview, and there was no reduced prices. The reviewer clearly states that it was the first performance. Furthermore the adverse criticism went to the elements that will not be easy to change quickly - the set and costumes, the performances were praised.

Such reviews are welcomed on WoS - they are very much part of the 21st century and it is the theatre which has to drag itself out of 20th century outmoded conventions.

With all due respect to Bromley... it can't be the first place you'd expect to see a fully-formed, major musical with an A-list cast. There's a clear reason for premiering in a theatre like the Churchill and I'd have thought it was fairly obvious that something touted as a pre-West End production was always going to be something of a run-through.

[Viceroy]

I'd have thought it was fairly obvious that something touted as a pre-West End production was always going to be something of a run-through.

Then it is a pity they saw fit to charge upto £42-50 (plus booking fee) for a "run-through". If it goes on in front of a paying audience then they must accept the reviews which follow. Although the reviewer should make it clear (as the OP did) that it was based on a preview / early performance / pre-London date, so that readers can can reasonably expect some tightening-up to be done.

[Millie Dillmount]

i did say that it was a firs preview!

the prices for last night were the same as for the rest of the run!

it wasnt billed as a public dress rehearsal like they do at the crucible in sheffield and they charge £1 for the tickets this was £40 plus booking fee and restoration fee

also millie is a he not a she, and yes the show finished about 11pm, and i posted my review at 11.35pm because i live in bromley a five minute bus ride from the theatre!

[Orchestrator]

Just to add - I think the only thing that really annoys me about the original post is the line about the set and costumes being paid for by two top price tickets, which just shows a complete ignorance about the actual costs of mounting something in the West End at the moment, especially with a huge cast like 'Carousel' needs! I just wish people would stop thinking that any producer or director in theatre is rich, when the reality is very different indeed. Of course the National has more money to spend - it gets something like £18 million every year in subsidy!!

This is probably off-topic but I suspect that the major part of the NT's subsidy goes on education, outreach, research, infrastructure; in other words, not the things that commercial producers tend to go for. I don't know, but I'd imagine the NT's productions have strict budgets for all departments with the aim of making them self-sufficient with regard to box office income.