London- West End Help/Recommendations- Page 2

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 5/22/23 at 12:28am

Cabaret is excellent and highly recommend - get the dining seats if you can - it will only enhance your evening. 

I am going this weekend and just read on TheatreBoard UK that Laura Carmichael is out of Private Lives for the rest of its run - was really looking forward to seeing her in this - love that Donmar Warehouse.

Also seeing - The Motive & Cue, Guys & Dolls and A Little Life.

Not sure about Brokenback Mountain 

Updated On: 5/22/23 at 12:28 AM

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 9:49am

Private Lives is terrific. Don't miss. Besides Mike Feist I didn't much like Brokeback though. Guys and Dolls is one of those prductions Londoners will talk about for years to come. And if its still playing. Once On This Island at Regents Park is very good.

And I walked out of A Little Life at interval. 

Updated On: 5/23/23 at 09:49 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 10:15am

Owen, curious why you walked out. I thought it was remarkable but It isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure. But curious about what it was for you that made you want to leave.

[binau]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 10:37am

Play Esq. said: "Not a big fan of London in the summer but this revival of my favorite show is getting me there, if only for a quick weekend: The Pillowman."

Not a fan of London in the summer? whyyyyy? 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 3:09pm

Cabaret! Cabaret! Cabaret!

But also Guys and Dolls.

And A Little Life and The Pillowma.

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 5/24/23 at 3:31pm

Cabaret is absolutely fantastic! 
 

I also really enjoyed Mousetrap if you have never seen it, although it’s coming to Broadway next year 

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 5/24/23 at 6:19pm

Nobody has mentioned it but I would highly recommend checking out ABBA VOYAGE while you are in London.  It was definitely the highlight of my recent trip to London ... in fact I enjoyed it so much the first time I saw it at the beginning of the week that I turned around and booked another ticket for the end of the week.  It's like nothing you've ever seen before and the audience LOVE IT!!

ABBA VOYAGE

 

 

Updated On: 5/27/23 at 06:19 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/25/23 at 12:46am

Jordan Catalano said: "Owen, curious why you walked out. I thought it was remarkable but It isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure. But curious about what it was for you that made you want to leave."

It was too much! I had heard that the novel was literate torture porn, but I was unprepared by how exceedingly dark (to the point of almost satire) the play's story was! Plus I didn't believe some of the motivations. If it had been acted, written, and directed better I'm sure I wouldn't have left however. But I am also so over van Hove. A View From the Bridge was remarkable, but really everything he has done since (including West Side Story) has left me resentful or disappointed. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/25/23 at 12:51am

I saw The Motive and the Cue yesterday and it is not to be missed!!! Mark Gattis will be winning the Olivier (and if the show moves to Broadway, as it should, the Tony). With Johnny Flynn right at his heels!

[yyys]

Posted: 5/25/23 at 7:24am

Nice, Johnny Flynn needs to tour again!  it has been awhile....

Owen22 said: "I saw The Motive and the Cue yesterday and it is not to be missed!!! Mark Gattis will be winning the Olivier (and if the show moves to Broadway, as it should, the Tony). With Johnny Flynn right at his heels!"

 

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 2:36am

"Rose", a Martin Sherman one woman show originally written for Olympia Dukakis is currently being revived at the Ambassadors theater here and is pretty great, with a career best performance by the amazing Maureen Lipman who, if you've seen the HugehJackman "Oklahoma!" was the wonderful Aunt Eller in that production.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 7:26am

Guys and Dolls is probably the buzziest show right now in London! Highly recommend it. 

[Piparoo]

Posted: 5/27/23 at 4:58pm

I’ll add my voice to those recommending Guys and Dolls. I saw it today. It’s great fun, the singing and dancing are spectacular and it’s a very clever use of the space. If you don’t mind standing, I highly recommend the standing immersive tickets. At 39 pounds it felt like a steal!
 

Not sure if the OP is considering Shakespeare but I saw Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare’s Globe and it’s really well done. Will be seeing Midsummer Night’s Dream there next week and both productions should still be playing when OP visits in  July.

Next week I also have tickets for The Motive and the Cue at the National, Aspects of Love and the Spitting Image musical. Can’t think of anything more British than grotesque puppet caricatures of celebs and politicians singing and dancing!

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 11:56pm

I'm excited to see Stro's Crazy For You in a larger staging when it transfers.

It seems like it's faithful to the original...  It's got to be spectacular.

[scripps]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 1:08am

Owen22 said: "I saw The Motive and the Cue yesterday and it is not to be missed!!! Mark Gattis will be winning the Olivier (and if the show moves to Broadway, as it should, the Tony). With Johnny Flynn right at his heels!"

Truth. I was somehow lucky enough to get what appeared to be released house seats for this last weekend and it was the best possible way to conclude my visit. Hope we get a National Theatre Live outta this.

 

Updated On: 6/1/23 at 01:08 AM

[UWS10023]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 1:53am

The American dollar is worth about 72 cents to the British pound currently. I am going in September after Labor Day. Does anyone know about previews and openings during that time?

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 11:29am

I'm going to London in September and when I started thinking about what to see I immediately popped on over to this board. I'm so grateful for the recommendations on this thread! I'm seeing "Guys & Dolls" and "Cabaret". I saw "A Little Life" at BAM and don't need to see it again.

I think it's funny that the best shows in the West End at the moment are older American musicals!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 11:41am

I personally would see Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls because I haven't seen those 2. Newsies, I saw it on Broadway and it was amazing. I would also see Aspect of Love, because seeing Michael Ball singing Love Changes Everything is worth the ticket price alone. But it also has a great score and it won't ever be revived again most likely.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 12:45pm

If you’re going in September, don’t forget that Charing Cross Theatre is doing the English language premiere of “Rebecca”, Bernadette will be doing the Sondheim tribute show and that new “Sunset Blvd” will be starting. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 12:54pm

I am in London as I type.  Probably my best trip ever in terms of at least liking all but one of the shopws I have seen:

— Patriots *****. Tom Hollander and the actor who played Putin were spectacularly good.  Play very entertaining and provocative

— The Motive and the Cue **** 1/2.  Fat is and Flynn were also both spectacularly good.  Gattnis had the less showy role but stole the show to me.  If it comes to Broadway, both would be serious Tony candidates.  Thought the play itself was very good and the direction brilliant.  My only issue: how to you have Elizabeth Taylor be a relatively minor character in a play!  You have her tell the director something about Burton that he did not know.  Still, I deduct half a star because I felt that Tuppence Middleton, an actor I always like did not to me convey Taylor the way Flynn did Burton.

Rose ****.  I only saw this because picking were a little slim.  Lots of things just closed and lots of things opening after I leave.  The play was perhaps a little too facile for such an intense subject, but Lipman, who I had not seen in 30 years, was simply astounding.

Witness for the Prosecution ****.  Just a good old fashioned courtroom drama exceptionally well done.  Performed in a former courtroom, which really added to the fun.  If you want to see something whose only objective is to entertain, consider it.

Bleak Expectations *** 1/2.  Very enjoyable, slight comedy whose guest star was Robert Lindsey, who reminded my why I loved his performances in Me and My Girl and Becket (London) over 30 years ago, longer in the case of the former.  Won’t try to explain it but I had a smile on my face the entire time.

Mousetrap *** 1/2.  I had seen this 40 years and remembered not liking it.  My wife had never seen ot so we went.  I enjoyed it much more than I expected.  Well acted, paced and entertaining.

Brokeback Mountain ** 1/2.  Just pales next to the movie plus I did not like the music.  Hesges is a fine actor but suffered from my memory of Ledger and Faist, though he fared better, was not as good as Gyllenhall.  It just didn’t add anything and missed the spectacular scenery and direction of the movie.  
 

Back to the Future ** 1/2, maybe ***.  About the only musical that I had not seen and cannot see in NYC or on tour.  Cute, good design, mediocre new songs.  I bet this will run out of steam after its early, probable, period of full houses.  Biggest issue definitely mediocre score.

ABBA ***.  Was technically amazing, entertaining and at only 90 minutes it seemed a little long.  Plus it was a real hassle getting to the venue.  
 

We saw no other musicals because there’s nothing that you either can’t see in NY or I had no interest in seeing.  Definitely sorry that I missed A Little Life, which is reopening soon and a couple of shows that I don’t remember right now.

Did not see Cabaret because I had seen a great regional production in Sarasota in December (better IMO than the original production or the SamMendes version, hard as that is to believe).  Also, I figured that I would wait on the possibility that it will come to NYC with the original London leads.

I would have tried to squeeze one or two more, but my wife was tired and there really was nothing I needed to see.

so other than Back to And Brokeback, I would strongly recommend considering any of the others.

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 3:44pm

Jarethan said: "ABBA ***. Was technically amazing, entertaining and at only 90 minutes it seemed a little long. Plus it was a real hassle getting to the venue."

I was in London the end of March and took in ABBA VOYAGE.  We were staying in the Russell Square area and found it quite easy to get to the venue once we were giving some helpful directions from some of the kind posters on this board.  Took the Central Line to Stratford and then switched to the DLR for one stop to Pudding Mill Lane Station which was literally right across the street from the venue.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/3/23 at 11:13am

Was in London last weekend and only thing I saw was Cabaret. It was the final matinee for 4 of the 5 leads, and it was overall a fantastic experience. The only weak spot was the actor playing Cliff, who we thought had to have been an understudy, only to find out he'd been in the role since like October. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/3/23 at 1:03pm

Theatre Fan3 said: "Jarethan said: "ABBA ***. Was technically amazing, entertaining and at only 90 minutes it seemed a little long. Plus it was a real hassle getting to the venue."

I was in London the end of March and took in ABBA VOYAGE. We were staying in the Russell Square area and found it quite easy to get to the venue once we were giving some helpful directions from some of the kind posters on this board. Took the Central Line to Stratford and then switched to the DLR for one stop to Pudding Mill Lane Station which was literally right across the street from the venue."

We travelled to Stratford, but had made a dinner reservation before the show, and wer told we were half way there for walking.  Unfortunately, the route was not as well marked as we had expected.  After the show, we were told to take the light rail one stop, walk across the street and catch the underground.  Besides waiting a long time to get the light rail, the underground was a good 10 minute walk (we had to ask 3 people for directions even though it was 8-10 minutes straight down the street).  To me the neighborhood seemed a little dicey, so I was not happy.

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/5/23 at 8:24am

Over the weekend I saw a new British musical at Southwark Playhouse's new Elephant venue. Based on F Scott Fitzgerald's short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it is a wonderful new actor/musician work with wonderful songs and terrific performances led by original Bway and West End Harry Potter stage play title character, Jamie Parker. Highly recommend!

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 6/5/23 at 8:52am

Guys and dollars. For sure.     Mousetrap.   And Cabaret    If you’re looking for another   Newsies.