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I am shamelessly repeating this on this thread for more than one reason.
Saw this last night and as soon as it had finished I rebooked for September. The difference being next time I will be wearing waterproof mascara as this is a "Panda Eye production" alongside Austentatious, Spamalot and So Jest End.
Actually I preferred it to So Jest End- because as much as I enjoyed it at the time and it copies the formula well with more relevance to current West End shows and cast members- overall I found FB more entertaining. It is also not as cruel- it pokes fun in a gentler way.
This was my first visit to the Menier and once again I enjoyed the building and the ambience of an Off West End intimate venue. It is in walking distance from London Bridge. If you are a newbie like me- beware that the aircondtioning units are rather noisy at the sides- however they are necessary. You can rent the little plastic fans for £2 but I would bring your own manual one or show off your origami skills.
The cast of 4 brought their own talents to the variety of roles and the shows ranged from old favourites eg Annie, Into the Hoods, Sunday in the Park with George to current ones- Wicked, Hairspray, Cage, Priscilla, Jersey Boys etc.
Some were straight spoofs with satirical lyrics put to the original music. Others were altered lyrics from a different musical eg You gotta have a Gimmick from Gypsy becomes "You gotta have a Puppet" about Avenue Q and Lion King. Richard Rodgers "Johnny one Note" becomes "Liza's one note"
As I have many of the albums I came with favourites and they didnt disappoint me- Eponines "On my phone ", and Valjeans " It's too high- Bring it down!"
Another joy was Elphaba.
I do not want to sound patronising- but I do think you get the maximum enjoyment out of FB if you are familair with all the originals. It was obvious that many of the audience hadnt seen Spring Awakening as they did not laugh at the references. However you can get by without having seen the original show- eg knowing that the King and I is in the huge Royal Albert Hall makes sense of that number.
I would not go as far as the New York Times quote .." If you have seen this send up, you have no need of visiting the originals ". which is an absurd exaggeration.
So if you want to laugh all evening this is the show to watch- but If I were you I would choose your companions carefully if you dont want too much to go over their heads.
Forbidden Broadway- Menier Theatre
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] to appreciate most of them. Cool venue - air con on our side so was ok - and also in the buzzy sense, nice place to go with friends, big bar space and cafe.
