The Musicals/Stage Productions Topic!!!

[DiogoJ42]

SMEGGIT!
Help me out here guys, what's the definitive cast? Come to the conclusion that the so-called "main characters" are actually the least important people on stage...

Greaseball: Current Wembley

Electra: Asia / Aus tour

CB: '92 London

(Just ALL original freight cars (Rockies, Flat Top and Dustin..... NOT the 'Hip Hoppers') over the current fuel trucks. No. Just no.)

NATIONALS over colours. /fight me.

 

[John_P]

Off to The Lowry in Salford on Saturday to see Operation Mincemeat.

 

[John_P]

Off to The Lowry in Salford on Saturday to see Operation Mincemeat.

Saw this today and it was excellent!

Great songs, funny, amazing cast, and plenty of bits of stage craft.

 

[Burner]

I went to see the current West End revival of The Producers recently. As a huge fan of the original movie with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and the musical adaptation (both stage and movie), I've been waiting for a proper revival in the UK for a long time. Unfortunately, it did not live up to high expectations.

As much as I enjoyed it, and glad I went, the production itself left a lot to be desired. Firstly, the stripped back staging really did not lend itself to the larger than life characters, particularly when compared to the original Broadway production. The entire Springtime for Hitler scene felt like classic revival cost-cutting, that not even creative accounting could fix. With this in mind however, there were some great creative choices, with the inclusion of some hilarious puppetry during a particular Franz Leibkind scene.

Performances were for the most part great, with Andy Nyman playing a great Max Bialystock, but it felt the cast were speeding running the entire show and not leaving any jokes to breathe. Unfortunately, the actor who played Leo Bloom wasn't to my taste, and his performance was grating by the end of the first act. Plus, with the Garrick being sat right above a tube line, the rumbling of trains every few minutes underneath the theatre made some dialogue difficult to make out.

Overall, a frustrating production that should have been absolutely great. A part of me is still however, considering giving it another go when Richard Kind returns to the role of Max for a limited run soon.