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We had a chat about musicals and stage shows the other day in Couch Chat, and hopefully if we behave ourselves nicely and don't cause a jets vs sharks style ruckus, the mods will let us have a little thread here. There's not really anywhere else it fits in the forum, afterall. So, who likes going to the theatre? I'm lucky that my city gets a good Broadway touring program each year, and we're in driving distance of 2 other cities that get a variation (although they're often ones we'll get next year, or had the previous year). They did a good job of mixing up a program of classics and current hypes, so this year in total I have Phantom of the Opera The King and I Hamilton Fiddler on the Roof Dear Evan Hansen Anastasia A Bronx Tale All shows I've not seen before, which is nice as last year I had both 'Jersey Boys' and 'School of Rock' which I'd seen before. Amusingly, we had Love Never Dies last year, the sequel to Phantom. Which we got this year. D'oh. Our local production company is really solid too, recently caught their performances of Freaky Friday (which was really quite fun, same basis as the one they aired on the Disney channel recently) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. ---- Just to split things off, the conversation started when I said I had tickets to go see Hamilton and wasn't as hyped for it as others. Well, that's been and gone now (although I have another pair of tickets I'm trying to sell, as my bro/sis in law can't make their date), and despite being a bit jet lagged and my wife being ill we hit it up. First of all, never heard the theatre sound so full. I sit front row, center on the balcony and usually the crowd fizzles out as it goes back. It's a 2,900 capacity room and most shows do a 2 week stint (Hamilton has 4 or 5), and wow does it make a difference. Especially for getting around the place, ouch. Anyway, my reservations did kind of come to fruition. 1. I'm British, so American history is not something I grew up learning and honestly don't really know the first thing about the era the play is about. Naturally, most people growing up here are going to have at least learnt good chunks of this stuff from a young age. Just meant I had to pay more attention and make sure I knew who was who, no big deal. 2. The hip hop elements are kind of embarrassing. Lin Manuel's style just doesn't work for me, and it just comes across as cheesy. Someone in GBS compared the show to Captain Dan and the Scurvy Crew and... yeah it's not a million miles apart. I can only deal with so many variations of single syllable rhymes with 'Burr', show could've been 30 minutes shorter just by trimming that. The debate parts felt like Epic Rap Battles of History, and egh I really don't care for that stuff either. I don't know how Thomas Jefferson is portrayed on the original Broadway production, but I didn't care massively for him in the touring cast (although the crowd were into him, dude had charisma for sure). Same with the comic character of King George... not for me. Crowd loving loved him though. But! the other songs worked a lot better for me, the ensemble stuff was really good, the speed they moved between scenes was great. It had a good flow to it for a long show, and a lot of it I did enjoy. Funnily enough, I've listened to the 'mixtape' album a bit, and a lot of that stuff really works better for me. The Roots doing 'My Shot'? Yes please. Even Jimmy Fallon's approach to the king worked more. So, a mixed review really. I still don't really understand why it is so hyped through the roof, but there was a good amount of stuff that I appreciated and I'm glad the crowd seemed to have a super good time. Definitely felt like a lot of them had seen the show before, I wonder what the split is.
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Dec 29, 2018 21:35
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 01:42 |
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Bruceski posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_TvKH-qEJk Corden isn't my favorite late night host but I love these bits where everyone's clearly into it and having fun. Ah neat, I saw that in my YT feed but didn't click it... will make some time now I know it's good. Yeah, I guess the prime benefit of having a venue for multiple years compared to a tour for a few weeks is you can do cool setups like that. I read that Hamilton has two copies of its stage, so they can setup in the next venue while still at the current one. Kinda neat idea, and makes me wonder how many other productions do that as the Hamilton stage was pretty basic, but maybe that rotating element is more complex than it looks. Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:But anyway, I've been obsessed with the Hamilton original cast recording since early 2016, and I'm psyched to finally be seeing it live next year, "in the greatest city in the world." I can understand why some people might find it corny or cheesy, but I think it's brilliant. I love musical theater, hip hop, and American history, so it feels like it was tailor-made for me. I think Lin-Manuel totally deserves his certified genius designation and every accolade he's earned, and Daveed Diggs (the original Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson) is a multi-talented superstar in the making. I got to see him live with his noise-rap group clipping. in 2017, and he was an amazing live performer at that tiny venue. I just know the current Hamilton cast will feel like a "cover band" to me, no matter how great they are, based on how much I've listened to that original cast recording. Sounds like you'll have a great trip, how difficult was getting tickets now it's been touring a while? I was able to secure my bro/sis in laws ones fairly easily, but I know other cities still queue like crazy. esperterra posted:OP, may this thread also house movie musicals because gently caress descending into CD? There's not going to be huge amounts of traffic in here just for physical shows, so I think movies/TV episodes etc should all count. I don't know what house movie musicals are, but go for it! George H.W. oval office posted:Went to Avenue Q when we last visited NYC and it’s just such a fun show. It really hit home for me since I graduated 2009 with an English degree. Absolutely terrible time trying to get a job and find my place in life. Ave Q is another one of those ones that I've just not been into from what I've seen, but everyone I know whose seen it absolutely loved it. I think I just have weird tastes!
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Dec 31, 2018 07:20
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Aw yiss, both the broadway touring and local subscription details are up for next season for me now... Local: Shrek, Christmas Story, Groundhog Day, Ragtime, Footloose Touring: Les Mis, Margarittaville, Aladdin, Mean Girls, Come From Away, Bandstand Pretty happy with both sets, don't really know what Ragtime is but up for all the other locals, and Les Mis means I don't have to go to another city that has that before the summer, and Mean Girls should be fun. I've seen Come From Away on a ton of people's Playbill posts so I'm guessing it's well liked, and have zero clue about Bandstand. Cool! e: Don't care for Jimmy Buffet, but at least it should be easy to sell those here in So Flo if we decide not to bother with it!
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Jan 11, 2019 19:31
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Managed to sell my spare Hamilton tickets, I had them up on StubHub literally at the price to make my facevalue+fees money back (so they weren't cheap still, given that stubhub charges fees to both buyer and seller) but nobody bit for like 3 weeks. So with 24 hours to go I bumped them in price as a risk, and it seems every ticket ended up going to the local rich-os who decide to do these things last minute. To say we could do with the money right now is an understatement, so thanks superyacht owners.
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Jan 15, 2019 23:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivf58k53nu0 Anyone whose not checked out Off Book before really should. Jess and Zach do a podcast where they improvise a musical every episode. While it sounds like it must be a train wreck, it actually turns out to usually be hilarious with songs with great hooks. They’ve worked together enough that they can read where the other is going, and just run with it. Naturally rough in places, it just adds to its charms. They filmed a live one in front of an audience, a pretty solid way to give it a shot.
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Feb 7, 2019 02:39
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I’m not always the biggest fan of DN, but saw Mulaney tweet this out so I’m gonna watch it regardless.
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Feb 28, 2019 15:46
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s u g a r
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Mar 7, 2019 23:44
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Mel B is a loose canon. I’ve seen her on America’s Got Talent and I want to know what they’re drugging her with as she’s almost lucid on that show in comparison to others. She was so unhinged on this one British tv show someone edited her out and put the cut on YouTube.
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Mar 8, 2019 16:59
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Here's the version without her - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4mUCRAPLas But I guess it only makes sense if you know what you're missing out on - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS2CIVWj7U0 e: Ha! I didn't realize she was physically edited out of the shots, I presumed they just cut around her. That's hilarious and mad. EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Mar 8, 2019 |
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Mar 8, 2019 17:41
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I want to see that, as it sounds like the same concept as the British group Mischief Theatre, who did Peter Pan Goes Wrong and A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. Those are pantomime productions, so I'm not sure an American audience would care for them as much, but they were both aired by the BBC so worth hunting down and checking out at least. e: ah, Play That Goes Wrong is also by Mischief theatre, so more than just a similar concept!
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Mar 28, 2019 18:36
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Yeah, I haven't seen Christmas Carol yet but I think the unexpectedness of how Peter Pan went was such a factor in me liking it. Always hard to do a sequel that hits as well. We had Dear Evan Hansen last night, and it was so good. Always appreciate a show that's so long where one actor is in, I believe, every scene and kills it. In a season where we had Hamilton I'm glad it seems to have been getting great turnouts, as so far it's the best show we've had here imo.
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Apr 4, 2019 17:14
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Personally I found DEH leagues above Waitress, but personal opinion n stuff. I've never seen Rent, so hoping it pops up here somewhere at some point whether a tour or local.
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Apr 4, 2019 20:21
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 01:42 |
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DEH is great and I’m on record saying it was more enjoyable than Hamilton, which were both on the same season here.
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Feb 5, 2020 03:08
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