So thrilled that this is going down so well across the pond. Great to see such a British show doing so well, especially when some snobbish people looked down on James Corden working at the National.
Phantom of London must have spent so long in the sewers underneath the opera house that it has affected his eyesight and ability to read. It isn't often that someone links to an article that completely contradicts their assertion.
Saw the matinee performance today and absolutely ADORED it. This will be a monster hit. The audience was rollicking with the laughter throughout.
Corden was brilliant, Oliver Chris hysterical, Daniel Rigby superbly silly. Susie Toase and Jemima Rooper were hilarious and Tom Edden as Alfie is among the highlights of a gut-busting, gag-filled and prat falling performance.
Do not miss this show. Guvnors just explodes with laughs in the tradition of the classic old British music hall style. I think it was even funnier than the Norman Conquests and probably one of the funniest farces I've ever seen on Broadway.
Gotta join the choir on this one...what a FUN time at the theater. And thank you Mr. Hytner for not making the 60s more of an accurate portrait (however comical) and less a miserable cliche. Broadway hasn't generally been afforded the latter for some time.
And...I think Mr. Corden needs to clear his shelf for many new flashy awards.
My only bit of constructive criticism would be to shorten the show a bit. It felt long to me, and could be tightened up. I enjoyed the music, but maybe time could be saved there if some of it could be trimmed. Don't cut the bicycle horn number though! That was a gem.
Definitely think James Corden and Oliver Chris are strong contenders for Tony nods.
I agree too about the music, they should cut one of the tunes from the top of the show prior to act one. No other complaints, just an absolute crowd-pleasing production in every sense. A show that is immensely fun and makes the rest of life's toils disappear for two and a half hours, magic.
At the performance I attended on Sunday, someone threw a hot dog onstage (it was in a bag which James Cordon opened). I knew the hummus sandwich bit was staged (and that still happened, after the hot dog was dealt with), but I wasn't sure if the hot dog being thrown was planned as well. It led to what I thought was some hilarious improv.
While I felt there was at least one song too many at the beginning, I noticed that the first one actually started a couple minutes before the 2 PM curtain time. And when they finished it was exactly 2:11. It seems most shows these days seems to start about 10 minutes late, so now I regard all that music as "entertaining fill instead of waiting in silence" rather than taking time from the show itself.
Saw it last night and enjoyed the hell out of it. The big scene at the end of the first act had me absolutely helpless with laughter more than once.
Forget Christian Borle. Tom Edden, as the elderly waiter, must win the Tony for Best Supporting Actor.
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On the topic of sandwich plants in the audience... today someone called out "yes" from the mezzanine and Corden seemed a bit thrown and started laughing... he asked what kind and they said "club"
"Ooh, aren't you fancy" was his reply
Then he said "I'd hate to see what you'd do if you went to War Horse... c'mere Joey! I've got some carrots for you Joey boy!"
Then he said "pretend that never happened," they restarted the scene and the hummus sandwich bit happened.
I am guessing the whole first bit was truly improv, but can anyone confirm? Does he normally do the War Horse line? And the line about having spoiled 2 of the 3 lines for the small character who comes out immediately after this bit?
Vagabond- the guy in the mezzanine was improv. The War Horse line was not. And spoiling 2 of the 3 lines is also planned. Sorry to disappoint, but at least you did get to see some genuine improv with the club sandwich guy!!
Yeah...it is improv. Although the night I saw it on May 31st a guy in the left orchestra a few rows back had leftovers from some restaurant with him and he happened to have half of a hummus sandwich. The scene got extended about 5-7 minutes because they really milked it on and on. Also the trunk scene where he brings the two guys from the front row on stage ended up lasting about 10+ minutes because things "did not go according to plan."
The hummus sandwich is a plant. It happens EVERY SINGLE PERFORMANCE. Sometimes it is the only sandwich, but he is prepared for people to speak up. The night I saw it had two sandwich offers.
VERY little of the show is actually improv -- he's just really good at making you think that it is.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I went this past wednesday for the matinee, and while the sandwich was offered, right behind the plant a young girl said she had M&M's. He then naturally started laughing and asked what type they were. The girl said plain, to which he responded to as "classic". The scene went on from there
re: the sandwich bit, I saw the show tonight and there was a guy in the mid-Orchestra who threw a sausage sandwich onstage! Which led to several sausage related jokes. I was so sure that that was the planned bit and that the hummus bit that followed was real, so I'm pretty surprised to see it was the opposite!! And the funniest part was a few minutes when Stanley walked out eating the sausage sandwich with a completely satisfied smug look on his face!
Twirl -- Stanley's eating of the sandwich is also planned. It happened at my perf as well.
Again, they do it all so well, that it feels spontaneous.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.