Reader Reviews
When Harry Met Sally (Haymarket, Theatre Royal, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | i saw it tonight and i liked it, but Willow has REALLY put on weight, like loads, and she looks kinda old now. i know buffy ran forever but i didnt think she was late 30s yet... - USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.154.173.105) | 22 Jul 04 |
| An admission first; I've never seen the film. OK, so you know I'm a man now. And guess what? It was the mens' performances that really stood out. I had expected Molly Ringwald to be taking the plaudits for this, but came away remembering very strong performances from Michael Landes and Dexter Fletcher. Landes in particular shone, treating the audience as an integral part of the show and using their energy to lift a somewhat clichéd, but generally amusing script. Fletcher was a more than capable support and his timing excellent. Contrary to some earliier reviewers, I don't think the need to have a set that squarely placed this in New York was required. Subtle lighting changes added to the depth of the performance, as I wasn't taken away wondering how they built this or that part of the set. It's flawed; the origins of the script are firmly embedded in the romcom film genre and they show in the pace of the show - the second half especially. The performances are generally excellent (as I said) although my companions comment about Ringwald's 'whining' has a certain resonance still. Go and enjoy it - it won't change your world, it won't change your life, but may make your soul feel a little more enriched at the end. Additionally, we were lucky insofar that the slow sales in mid-summer meant, by ordering an Upper Circle seat, we got an upgrade to the Royal Circle. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (172.172.13.122) | 18 Jul 04 |
| michael landes was SO sexy and was really great... molly ringwald was good too - she lacks a certain warmth and is a bit too self-indulgent but on the whole she was pretty good :-) i really enjoyed my evening - USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.154.173.105) | 17 Jul 04 |
| The replacement cast make this show wonderful. Totally professional acting from everyone. Superb sets, costumes and music make a Theatre night to remember. However, more should be said about the Actors in the Film sequences, used throughout the play, which 'move' the story along, gelling it together. Absolute professionals in each clip, definitely no replacements, which perhaps says it all! May it run forever!! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.78.126.250) | 23 Jun 04 |
| awful, total miscast of American "Wannabe" actors. Only hardcore fans of them would enjoy something like this. And they writing good reviews. Why? It isn`t. Save your monay and go to a better play. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (218.39.19.73) | 13 May 04 |
| A very enjoyable evening. Great comic timing by all the actors and good sets and costumes. Well worth going to see. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (12.39.71.54) | 06 May 04 |
| I was'nt sure what to make of this play, but in the end I am glad I went. With a story so well known and so many scenes, it was hard to imagine how it would be staged. The simple settings worked well. There was just enough to give the right impression without cluttering a very minimlaist stage. From the back of the stalls, the Black frame was not a problem, although I imagine it was hard going at the front and would have looked very odd coming only half way up the proscenium. I was a little disappointed in the lighting. with only very limited top lighting and zero backlighting, everything was lit from the front. This is not a huge problem, except that Luke Perry successfully found a large number of dark areas when wandering round the stage during the park scene. Worth the effort? I think so. Will it emulate The Graduate and have an extended run? Probably not. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (194.200.154.253) | 14 Apr 04 |
| I thought this play was fantastic. Luke Perry was surprisingly brilliant and I have to confess that I didn't hold much hope for his ability as a stage actor. Alyson Hannigan was adorable and managed to transfer her talent to a theatre production without flaw. Luke and Alison interact superbly on-stage and I highly recommend going to see this play. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (217.207.86.42) | 27 Feb 04 |
| Got a great cheer at the end of sell out performance last night with a massive queue for returns beforehand and sales according to the box office are very good. The Play has its moments, the set is stupid though like a Tv screen only half the height of the theatre with a black ledge that kept rising for no good reason and making the front 5 rows very restricted, only thing that was the boring I found after a while were "How we Met" stories apart from the last unexpected one!! But all in all I enjoyed it and the cast of 10 were excellent and that monotone voice is Alyson Hannigan and had made her a big hollywood film star ,very good and believable she is too as Sally IMHO!! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 26 Feb 04 |
| What an awful mess. A boring evening... complelty flat... unfunny, badly designed- just white walls and a few bits of furniture, not suggesting new york at all...and alyson hammond's monotone delivery of the lines. Luke perry was fine, but she was a big mistake. Like the whole show. What the point in staging it is im not sure. LOTS of people left in teh interval. ANOTHER dud in the west end...its becoming alarming now. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 26 Feb 04 |
| did we see the same show? i thought the design was a bit odd, some tech problems also, but the script was very funny and true to the film. luke perry was relaxed and funny and good. alyson hannigan was a little cold at the beginning of the night - i saw tuesday's first show - but she definately warmed up and i'd put a lot of the small flaws down to nerves - professional stage debut and all that. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 26 Feb 04 |
| Laugh-out-loud-funny, this is a feelgood play definitely worth seeing. My friends and neighbouring play-goers all left with big smiles on our faces. Mark Shenton is right in that the first 5 rows probably got a crick in their neck due to the set design. Otherwise, yet again he misleads the public with his inaccurate reviews. Has he had a humour by-pass? - USER: Whatsonstage.com (132.190.32.20) | 25 Feb 04 |
| Not so much a play as a movie plonked on stage. Ugggggh! What's the point? - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.255.64.8) | 24 Feb 04 |
| Ok but nothing special. Luke Perry is surprisingly good but Alyson Hannigan is very average and her voice become annoying as its so monotone. Will sell tickets because of them and if you dont want to have to think in a night of theatre then its perfect. Sets are strange and if you sit in the first few rows I hope you have a good physio as your neck will hurt afterwards due to the bizarre set framing changing levels throughout the play. The movies in between scenes of the old couples are funny but only seem to lengthen a very light weight piece. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (217.35.141.121) | 23 Feb 04 |
| Slick and funny. Luke Perry has great comic timing. Alyson Haiigan seems to have the pitch all wrong and at times shouts at her co stars. The set does make the cast look boxed in and you are dying for them to escape! Nora Ephron's writing though enables individual cast members to shine through the sheer Manhattan wit. Sharon mall is no Carrie Fisher but she shines. Jake Broder is also great as Jack. If you like Ephron's humour and you don't know the film that well- this is for you. If, however you have seen the film - this is very much like The Graduate - a movie re-tread that is good fun. But forgettable afterwards. Perry is worth seeing though as he gamely doesn't allow poor direction to hold him back. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.14.191) | 22 Feb 04 |
| I guess my expectations were pretty high - and certainly I was not disappointed! I absolutely loved the staging - from the initial opening of "It had to be You", with the solitary red heart-shaped balloon - to Harry and Sally's closing video. The sliding screens for the video, the white - the clever use of the ..often minimal furniture/props, the use of the backdrop screens too for the park leaves or the New Years' fireworks - everything worked perfectly. It was really clever to note how scenes had been altered to fit from movieverse ..like the decorating instead of the drive, the hilarious bobble-head James Brown instead of the hideous coffee table - and to see the "white-man's overbite" performed atop an excercise bike - priceless! Luke Perry truly made the role his own - his comic timing and performance could not be faulted ...he's even a good singer! Alyson, I thought, was great - undeniabley Meg Ryanesque in her delivery in many a place - but the chemistry between the two was definitely there. I felt for Alyson when the screens parted to show ...a diner! eek - the pressure: You could just feel the anticipation from the audience build, for "THE SCENE"! - Congratulations to her YESYESYES! The supporting cast were perfect also - Sharon Small particularly stood out. Knowing what most of the lines were going to be did not dampen any enjoyment at all - infact it was fabulous to see the script so very closely mirror the film .. we might have lamented .. for a brief second, the absence of "baby fish mouth" but only for a second!!! There is only one thing I'd change - the very end .. the explanations Harry gives Sally, as to why he loves her ..you know the "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich.." part - they are lovely "awww" lines but some of the emotional feeling is lost, I thought, a little - by the fact that Sally is right over the other side of the stage - when he begins to speak - and therefore the immediate reaction she has to his words is not conveyed to the audience - I wanted them to be a bit closer together please - they don't have to be eye to eye ...just closer!! Have already booked tickets to see the show again on April 8th - this time avec husband and a couple of friends, instead of a mass-girls-night-out and am really looking forward to it. Is the show going Stateside after London? A special thanks to the cast for coming to meet us all after the show - it was great for them to be so gracious and do that - even after we'd already got the signed poster gift from Luke and Alyson. Thanks again WOS ... you always make such great choices and packages for us. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 20 Feb 04 |
| Not a great play and not really very different from the film (from what I can remember) but a thoroughly entertaining show with some good jokes. The orgasm scene deserved the round of applause it got and while I thought Hannigan was a bit underpowered on the voice front she did well. Luke Perry can actually act which was a nice surprise as I had always assumed he was cast for his looks. The after show party was great and Ms Hannigan does it for the men in much the same way Mr Perry does for the ladies. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 20 Feb 04 |
| For the stage setting, it rates a (5) for creativity; For musical score a (4); however, if you want to pay dearly and see good acting this is not the show. It is light, upbeat and highly entertaining if you haven't seen the film. If your google-eyed for TV stars this is your place as Luke Perry hasn't changed one bit since 90210 filmed. Allyson is 'peppy' and 'sweet' but theatre is not where she can make magic. It's an enjoyable night out if your young or young-at-heart but the projected screen discussions about how some older generation couples met extend the best lines of the show. They have yet to work out of the box and a box is exactly what the stage becomes in this one. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.43.169.136) | 19 Feb 04 |
| great show, luke terriific, but stage setting fantastic. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.128.145.1) | 19 Feb 04 |
| I went to the What's on Stage event to this show last night and was pleasantly surprised as it was much better than i expected it to be. No, it's not great theatre, but it was entertaining - partly, down to the anticipation of seeing scenes from a film you know so well and how these might be changed. I thought Luke Perry was surprisingly good and he did dispel any memories of Billy Crystal for me. It was nice to have a Harry who was so attractive - that really does alter the story! But for the play, i'd probably rate it a three. However, the evening itself was unforgettable. THere was a great buzz amongst the WOS group and at the party afterwards, we were joined by the entire cast, including Hannigan and Perry (which made several of the ladies in my party very happy indeed). We also got signed souvenir posters - and my daughter is already planning to have hers framed. A great great night. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 19 Feb 04 |
