October 2010-Reviews-London

Deanfan5
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October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by Deanfan5 »

It falls to me to start off this month then. :shock:

I found like others that the show does lack a certain fizz with no finale and a very perfunctory ending in consequence. It is rumoured that the finale will resume next week. Also the Angry Dance was minus the compartment and Billy switched to trainers mid dance again which gave the dance a very flacid feel. I hope these problems will be resolved by next week.
Whether it was the amount of rehearsing that the company have had to do with the new stage I do not know but there was a tired feel to todays show without the oomph and pizzazz often associated with the matinee. Dean performed well enough with some neat acting and dancing and fine singing but Joe I must confess was not as impish or animated as I have seen him. This was particularly noticeable in the Christmas party scene where the usual Joe joi de vie seemed to be missing today.
A very apt pick on by George of the member of the audience (me-the perils of sitting in A 10) gave him the chance for a very topical piece of repartee. I was accused of having a face like David Miliband but this was nothing compared to his older brother 'Glen Miliband'! (Get it :roll:)
Isaac was animated as ever as tall boy and I got the distinct impression that the tooth fairy had recently visited small boy Edward :D
As shows go the audience was not bad and there was plenty of acclamation at the end for the cast to enjoy but for those of us in the know as it were it could have been so much better had the stage problems been ironed out. Next week hopefully.....Dream on.
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Billy Whiz
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by Billy Whiz »

Thanks for the update and review Deanfan5.
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pinknick103
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by pinknick103 »

A friend of mine is seeing the show tonight - looks as though there will be no normal angry dance or finale.Real shame as I feel these are two of the highlights of the show. Was hoping all would be resolved by tonight for my mate xx
Dean x1, Leon x1, Trent x1, Josh x12, Layton x10, Corey x5, Fox x10, Tom x15, Brad x5,Ollie x7,Tanner x2, Dean CC x 9, Aaron x 2, Rhys x3, Scott x5, Ryan x10, Adam x2, Kaine x5, Harris x3, Harrison x12, Redmond x3, Ali x1
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burtond
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by burtond »

Oh I do hope the stage problems are resolved for Monday - Like others, I have colleages attending Monday evening.
Last week (for me) was a real problem. I can just about cope with the Placid Dance (Angry Dance with trainers rather than Tap shoes) but I cannot cope without the Finale. It is such an important element to the show to lift everyone from the saddness and emotion associated with the final scene of the story. I need to leave the Theatre on a high - not a low. After four shows last week, I am quite prepared to stay away until the stage problems are resolved - otherwise I fear I may regret going at all.
Appreciate that the stage needs to be safe for the cast to dance - and there is no critisism of these decisions - what I don't understand is why the contractors who laid the floor have not been dragged in to rectify the problem - surely there has been more than enough time to do this!
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
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Chris
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by Chris »

I suppose part of the problem has been that Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday there were two shows, so a limited amount of time to deal with the issue. I would hope that with a clear day today and most of Monday, they will be able to do something about the stage floor, if they need to. Anyway, hopefully the seven performances will also have 'roughed up' the floor.
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Deanfan5
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by Deanfan5 »

Here is the promised review of the evening show with Scott,Connor,and Fleur and what a stormer of a show it was. :D

Scott was on top form throughout as a very animated and self sure Billy. His performance overall was very good. Delightful acting, excellent diction, not rushed with plenty of pauses to extract the nuances of every phrase. Scott has a very melodic pitch perfect singing voice as well. His dancing throughout was top drawer and again we were treated to his Scottish trademaks in his dancing routine. As a result this Billy really wowed the audience tonight and the sustained cheering and applause he had for Electricity was no more than what was totally deserved. I want to single out the Dream Sequence. Because of his slight build Scott I feel does find the chair a bit of a handful but apart from that he and Barnaby danced in a way I can only describe as total synchronicity. The aerial sequence brought audience sustained applause well before the elevation. What made it for me though was the total look of delight and entrancement on Scott's face throughout the dance. This really was a dream sequence of pleasure mixed with a matchless etherial quality. Angry dance was good as far as it went but if Billy can tap dance at the beginning why cannot he continue? Scott put everything into the dance that he could and it was not his fault that what started out as a dance full of anguish and rage descended into little more than a soft shoe shuffle once the trainers were on. Expressing and BTB were tapped throughout so why not the angry dance? There seems a lack of consistency here which I do not understand. I have commented in the past that Scott needed to bring more emotion to the Letter and last night he really made this reviewer eat his words. No there were no Tom sobs but the sadness was clearly evident facially and the single tear that rolled down his cheek (evident to all of us in Row A and B) was so demonstrably powerful and evocative. Well done Scott! I know from talking to Scott's Dad that these reviews are read and digested so I will mention 'going' and 'ganun'. Scott needs to determine which he is settling for as we had 'where are you going now' to Gran but 'look everyone else is ganun home' in the boxing scene. A small point I know but Scott is a perfectionist and probably will not mind me making this observation.
Scott was very ably assisted by Connor and Fleur who both performed excellently. I have felt from recent shows that Connor was performing from well within his comfort zone but last night he pulled out all the stops and thoroughly deserved being applauded off after the Winter scene. He and Scott formed a very good partnership and Expressing was a total delight with that bag staying on. :o Fleur was supremely confident throughout and the interplay between her and Scott in the toilet scene was first rate. Scott really showed us shock and awe at that invitation and Fleur played up to it admirably.
Once again a stand out performance from Charlie Salsen as small boy. Charlie is very inventive in his acting and uses every opportunity to exploit his acting skills. As such he plays the adult cast into situtions which they can then develop.
Having seen both shows today I wondered why the evening felt so different for me than the afternoon. With no disrespect intended I think it was the added energy of all the child performers which really captured the attention and imagination of the audience who responded accordingly. For those who have yet to see a Scott show I hope you will soon for on the basis of last night's showing you are in for a real treat from this very engaging and heartwarming Billy.
The missing finale? Well that would just have been the icing on the proverbial cake.
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pinknick103
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by pinknick103 »

My friends who went last night said that they absolutely loved it. They said Scott was outstanding and they do not believe me that he has only been in the show since beginning of september! They just couldnt believe how talented all the cast were, with special mention to Scott. Am a bit jealous they have got to see him before I have !!! xxx
Dean x1, Leon x1, Trent x1, Josh x12, Layton x10, Corey x5, Fox x10, Tom x15, Brad x5,Ollie x7,Tanner x2, Dean CC x 9, Aaron x 2, Rhys x3, Scott x5, Ryan x10, Adam x2, Kaine x5, Harris x3, Harrison x12, Redmond x3, Ali x1
Deanfan5
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by Deanfan5 »

pinknick103 wrote:My friends who went last night said that they absolutely loved it. They said Scott was outstanding and they do not believe me that he has only been in the show since beginning of september! They just couldnt believe how talented all the cast were, with special mention to Scott. Am a bit jealous they have got to see him before I have !!! xxx
Well I do hope that you will recify that soon!
Let's hope the stage problems are resolved as well. Any review of tonight therefore gratefully appreciated.
mitchmagi
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by mitchmagi »

Stage problems still in existence ... No finale and a curtailed angry dance ... Excellent show nonetheless
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burtond
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Re: October 2010-Reviews-London

Post by burtond »

Dean was absolutely brilliant tonight. A real breath of fresh air. Lots of little Dean nuances I have never seen before. He gave 150 % as did Connor, Fleur and the rest of the cast. And Dean well done mate with the B2B skipping - perfection!

Still Placid Dance and still no Finale. Can't wait for thing to get back to normal!
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
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