First Look @ Mame in the UK!
First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Joviedamian
Broadway Star Joined: 11/9/10
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#2First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 2:24pm
So they've decided to set it in a prison?
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#3First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 2:28pm
Gosh, that stage is tiny.
I don't think Tracie Bennett has ever been better than she was as Judy. She can come across as cold onstage, and here her voice is a little grating (though take with a grain of salt because it's a minute and a half from a preview performance). But maybe I just have Angela embedded in my ear.
nasty_khakis
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/15/07
#4First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 2:36pm
The scenic design and lighting seem to be dark.I in no way think Mame is a musical that has a seedy or dark underbelly you need to underline. Nothing is gained by setting it in a dark nightclub.
#5First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 2:59pm
That promo style is very 'extremely small local production company hiring their neighbor's art school kid to shoot a video for their capstone'. It just made me slightly vomit in my mouth.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
#6First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 3:34pm
That choreography has to be up there with the worst ever-----I think I will just clasp my head here !
Kad---though I like the art deco poster design
#7First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 4:03pm
I try not to judge a whole show based on preview clips, but this is not the production we deserve.
Joviedamian
Broadway Star Joined: 11/9/10
#8First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 4:54pm
When has a lighting design for a London show not been dark? I always feel that is their signature every since Into The Woods back in the 80s!
#9First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 5:01pm
Bold of them to set it in an art deco locker room.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#10First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 5:07pmAre we all aware that this is a small regional production in a small regional theatre, yes?
#11First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 5:08pmThey have west end aspirations apparently though.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#12First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 5:13pm
I always thought Goodspeed Musicals were performed on a slighty-too-small stage. That's just plain awkward looking.
Plannietink08
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/2/11
#14First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 8:54pm
qolbinau said: "They have west end aspirations apparently though."
They definitely don’t. Hope Mill’s entire reason for existing is creating theatre up North using Northern actors and keeping it in the North.
"Charlotte, we're Jewish"
#15First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/11/19 at 9:54pm
'They definitely don’t. Hope Mill’s entire reason for existing is creating theatre up North using Northern actors and keeping it in the North.'
Utter rubbish, this is Hope Mill and Aria Entertainment. Their Hope Mill productions of many of their shows have transferred to London, the recent UK tour of Hair came from Hope Mill Theatre. And none of what Hope Mill do with Aria has that northern Moto, most lead actors are from elsewhere. Rags, Jerry Springer, Hair, Name, Parade and many others.
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
Dolly80
Broadway Star Joined: 5/15/11
#17First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 12:27am
imeldasturn said: "Are we all aware that this is a small regional production in a small regional theatre, yes?"
No apparently all these people complaining think it’s aiming to be a Broadway Bound extravaganza.
#18First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 12:48am
Dolly80 said: "imeldasturn said: "Are we all aware that this is a small regional production in a small regional theatre, yes?"
No apparently all these people complaining think it’s aiming to be a Broadway Bound extravaganza."
Doesn't matter where it is aiming for, or just staying put, what is shown in 90seconds is 90seconds too long for public consumption---it looks like ****t.
#19First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 1:52am
songanddanceman2 said: "
'They definitely don’t. Hope Mill’s entire reason for existing is creating theatre up North using Northern actors and keeping it in the North.'
Utter rubbish, this is Hope Mill and Aria Entertainment. Their Hope Mill productions of many of their shows have transferred to London, the recent UK tour of Hair came from Hope Mill Theatre. And none of what Hope Mill do with Aria has that northern Moto, most lead actors are from elsewhere. Rags, Jerry Springer, Hair, Name, Parade and many others. "
Yes. I’m not making this up I heard from a reliable industry source.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
AngusN
Broadway Star Joined: 3/23/05
#20First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 3:21am
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Gosh, that stage is tiny.
I don't think Tracie Bennett has ever been better than she was as Judy. She can come across as cold onstage, and here her voice is a little grating(though take with a grain of salt because it's a minute and a half from a preview performance).But maybe I just have Angela embedded in my ear."
I saw Tracie twice in End of the Rainbow and didn’t think I’d ever witness another performance to top her portrayal of Judy - here she does just that. Her portrayal of Mame is truly sublime, from the moment she enters in the opening number to the close of the show you are enraptured.
The stage is small because it’s a beautifully converted mill. What the owners have created in that space is a little piece of theatre heaven.
Plannietink08
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/2/11
#21First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 4:21am
songanddanceman2 said: "
'They definitely don’t. Hope Mill’s entire reason for existing is creating theatre up North using Northern actors and keeping it in the North.'
Utter rubbish, this is Hope Mill and Aria Entertainment. Their Hope Mill productions of many of their shows have transferred to London, the recent UK tour of Hair came from Hope Mill Theatre. And none of what Hope Mill do with Aria has that northern Moto, most lead actors are from elsewhere. Rags, Jerry Springer, Hair, Name, Parade and many others."
Calm down, Craig. I forgot MAME was produced by Aria so I agree however James Baker of JERRY SPRINGER, PARADE, etc, is very vocal about the Northern theme.
"Charlotte, we're Jewish"
#22First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 9:43amJames Baker uses local actors in ensemble roles, many of the leads are not from Manchester. I am from Manchester, I work in theatre in Manchester.
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
#23First Look @ Mame in the UK!
Posted: 10/12/19 at 5:46pm
Blah, blah, blah. It's a regional production, not a West End revival. Calm down kids.
Harriet Thorpe as Vera, however, is inspired. She's brilliant.
I don't see Bennett as the right choice for the role, but if I were in the area, I'd still see this.
