#26
Posted: 6/30/06 at 2:54pm
ruthie in chicago is a good example but she is fab so she is forgiven hehe
Broadway versus West End — Page 2
#27
Posted: 6/30/06 at 2:58pm
Having not been to Broadway, I can't compare, but I can add some bits in about the WE
Air Conditioning is not standard. Having sweated my way through Avenue Q I am well aware of this fact. Some theatres have it, some don't, it depends on how recently they were renovated and how listed they are.
American's doing British accents can be comical in the extreme. But I'm sure you find the same thing with British actors doing American ones. Without meaning to be harsh on all you Americans reading this, there can be a tendancy for Americans not to be able to tell the differences between the British, Australian and New Zealand accents. I'm sure all of you reading know the differences, but I've heard several Aussies complaining that Americans have thought that they were British.
I think the West End does great drama - Judi Dench in Hayfever at the moment, Ed Stoppard's Hamlet, I saw Penelope Keith in Blythe Spirit last summer and that was brilliant too - but the musicals can be patchy. There seems to be a speight of productions coming into the WE from touring, and the difference in quality is palpable - I saw Whistle in the Palace last night and it was wobbly sets and poor child actors galore. I also Saw Seven Brides on tour earlier this year, and to put on a creditable show in the WE it's going to need some money spending on it. The Rocky Tour should show OK, because that has a shiny new set and David Bedella.
I think another important difference between the WE and Broadway is that you have on and off Broadway, and the West End doesn't really. We have tours and out of town try outs, but (appart from the Menier) I wouldn't say that there is an "off-West End" Productions are either in the West End or not.
Air Conditioning is not standard. Having sweated my way through Avenue Q I am well aware of this fact. Some theatres have it, some don't, it depends on how recently they were renovated and how listed they are.
American's doing British accents can be comical in the extreme. But I'm sure you find the same thing with British actors doing American ones. Without meaning to be harsh on all you Americans reading this, there can be a tendancy for Americans not to be able to tell the differences between the British, Australian and New Zealand accents. I'm sure all of you reading know the differences, but I've heard several Aussies complaining that Americans have thought that they were British.
I think the West End does great drama - Judi Dench in Hayfever at the moment, Ed Stoppard's Hamlet, I saw Penelope Keith in Blythe Spirit last summer and that was brilliant too - but the musicals can be patchy. There seems to be a speight of productions coming into the WE from touring, and the difference in quality is palpable - I saw Whistle in the Palace last night and it was wobbly sets and poor child actors galore. I also Saw Seven Brides on tour earlier this year, and to put on a creditable show in the WE it's going to need some money spending on it. The Rocky Tour should show OK, because that has a shiny new set and David Bedella.
I think another important difference between the WE and Broadway is that you have on and off Broadway, and the West End doesn't really. We have tours and out of town try outs, but (appart from the Menier) I wouldn't say that there is an "off-West End" Productions are either in the West End or not.
#28
Posted: 6/30/06 at 2:59pm
In several West End theaters, the fire curtain comes down at intermission.
In West End theaters, you have to pay for your program.
In West End theaters, you can order your drink ahead of time.
At the Barbican, all the side doors close at the same time. (I thought it was cool).
In West End theaters, you have to pay for your program.
In West End theaters, you can order your drink ahead of time.
At the Barbican, all the side doors close at the same time. (I thought it was cool).
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#29
Posted: 6/30/06 at 2:59pm
Ruthie is fab in anything, but yeah, I admit her accent is abit...
Anyway, I think Broadway ppl admire the Westend and the British theatrefans admires Broadway... both are gd.
But I really hope there cud be more events such as 'West End Live' and similar events to Broadway Bare/Broadway at Bryant Park/Broadway on Broadway here in the Westend! On Broadway, you hav a strong sense of togetherness and it's kinda not so much here in WE. But since WoS is doing opening night videos and all, and the birth of theatre.com, I am so glad we have a WE version of Broadway.com wtih Photo Ops/Video Features alas!
Anyway, I think Broadway ppl admire the Westend and the British theatrefans admires Broadway... both are gd.
But I really hope there cud be more events such as 'West End Live' and similar events to Broadway Bare/Broadway at Bryant Park/Broadway on Broadway here in the Westend! On Broadway, you hav a strong sense of togetherness and it's kinda not so much here in WE. But since WoS is doing opening night videos and all, and the birth of theatre.com, I am so glad we have a WE version of Broadway.com wtih Photo Ops/Video Features alas!
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#30
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:03pm
"But I really hope there cud be more events"
I always like the talks that theaters like The National sponsor. Where an important artist comes in and discusses the work they are in or their career.
I always like the talks that theaters like The National sponsor. Where an important artist comes in and discusses the work they are in or their career.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#31
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:03pm
True, you have to pay for the programs, but in London 'Programs' are really brochures, not little crappy things like Playbills.
'I think some Westend performers have trouble with using an American accent, more so than American actors using British accents.' I disagree. Are you (who wrote the above statement) American? If so, how can you tell? I think a lot of the performances by American actors as British people which so many find brilliant are actually not. Dick van Dyke CAN NOT do a cockney accent. And most British actors can do a good 'goils' (Girls) style - accent.
The Fire Curtains, i can't explain. They are quite nicely decorated though, you must admit. The Theatres are, in general, much nicer. Not as modern, not as bland, and not as clinical.
'I think some Westend performers have trouble with using an American accent, more so than American actors using British accents.' I disagree. Are you (who wrote the above statement) American? If so, how can you tell? I think a lot of the performances by American actors as British people which so many find brilliant are actually not. Dick van Dyke CAN NOT do a cockney accent. And most British actors can do a good 'goils' (Girls) style - accent.
The Fire Curtains, i can't explain. They are quite nicely decorated though, you must admit. The Theatres are, in general, much nicer. Not as modern, not as bland, and not as clinical.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
#32
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:07pm
Maria Friedman is my favorite performer of all time, but i must say it...her American accent is not perfect. She strains a lot to get out he vowels and words but I love her nonetheless! It is a pleasure to listen to witches of eastwick and lady in the dark. Ah, I love her regardless of the accent.
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
#33
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:08pm
yeah i agree i think both the west end and broadway have there own unique things about them BUT MY GOD BROADWAY DOES THE BIG BUDGET MUSICAL WELL HEHE.I tend to like west end theatres better they seen to be looked after a bit better than the broadway ones which is a shame because broadway has some fab theatres
i also dont mind paying for my programe in london as they are oftern really good(tons of show pics etc)i dont really like the playbills
i also dont mind paying for my programe in london as they are oftern really good(tons of show pics etc)i dont really like the playbills
#34
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:08pm
vmlinnie --- Everyone on both sides of the pond thought Dick Van Dyke's accent was wacky in Poppins. He's so damn great in the film that most of us Yanks chose to overlook it. Not sure if that was the case in the UK.
Some people even site it as the reason he didn't get an Oscar nomination from the (mostly) American voters. I love him as Bert, but that accent is from another planet, God love him.
Some people even site it as the reason he didn't get an Oscar nomination from the (mostly) American voters. I love him as Bert, but that accent is from another planet, God love him.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#35
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:09pm
I think the Safety curtain comes down in all theatres in the UK at the interval. It's a Health and Safety requirement. Has been ever since I can remember (16+ years of theatre going)
WE programmes are only about £3.50. If you want the Brochure it's more (usually £10 for both). But they have lots of info, often offers on more shows or post show drinks etc.
WE programmes are only about £3.50. If you want the Brochure it's more (usually £10 for both). But they have lots of info, often offers on more shows or post show drinks etc.
#36
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:10pm
people in the uk think that dick van dykes accent was awfull but very funny but we still love him
god i miss diagnosis murder hehe
god i miss diagnosis murder hehe
#37
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:12pm
I feel that the productions on the West End are more varied and that the directors take more chances. When I was there two summers ago, I saw Trevor Nunn's modernized Hamlet (in which the "To be or not to be" soliloquy was delivered with Hamlet pouring a bunch of pills into his hand that he was prepared to wash down with Evian), the Sweeney Todd that's currently on Broadway, and Anything Goes, among others. Things I missed included a production of Camelot that was performed outdoors and The History Boys, which was as horribly sold out there as it is here.
I will have to agree, however, that West End directors have some difficulty with the American musical. I thought Anything Goes was good, but I couldn't help thinking that it would have been sensational on Broadway because we have the talent better suited to it. The jokes also didn't work because the humor was so particularly American. However, I also saw A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the National that summer and loved it so much that I ranked it as one of my favorites that I saw, so, like all things, it varies.
And I missed the complimentary Playbill. I honestly didn't have the money to spend on a programme for each show I saw on the West End, so I ended up not knowing who I saw.
However, the West End DOES have the ice cream, hee hee!
I will have to agree, however, that West End directors have some difficulty with the American musical. I thought Anything Goes was good, but I couldn't help thinking that it would have been sensational on Broadway because we have the talent better suited to it. The jokes also didn't work because the humor was so particularly American. However, I also saw A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the National that summer and loved it so much that I ranked it as one of my favorites that I saw, so, like all things, it varies.
And I missed the complimentary Playbill. I honestly didn't have the money to spend on a programme for each show I saw on the West End, so I ended up not knowing who I saw.
However, the West End DOES have the ice cream, hee hee!
"Peace! The charm's wound up."
--Macbeth
Updated On: 6/30/06 at 03:12 PM
#38
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:14pm
Brochures & programmes are another thing that I think I am proud of the WE! The programmes are so much nicer than playbills. WE programmes use to have a Theatregoer magazine with it, now they're all around the theatres. And RUG programmes always have interviews with a performer (which is always REALLY gd/interesting!) and always have articles comparing the Broadway/Westend and also articles catching up news on the Westend/sometiems Broadway! I love programmes!
And I find WE brochures nicer, look at the Chicago/Billy Elliot ones! They're £5 with TONS of pictures alongside with cast info/headshots so you don't even need to buy a programme if you're out of money! GREAT DEAL!
And I find WE brochures nicer, look at the Chicago/Billy Elliot ones! They're £5 with TONS of pictures alongside with cast info/headshots so you don't even need to buy a programme if you're out of money! GREAT DEAL!
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#39
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:15pm
I want ice cream too!
Okay, maybe not during Pillowman, or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?...
Okay, maybe not during Pillowman, or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?...
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#40
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:15pm
I always buy a brochure, as it usually has the cast in it as well as pics (though not always). At Les Mis they don't have Brochures, just little programmy-things.
I don't agree with the 'West End Theatres are better kept' argument. Firstly, they're not, many are falling apart (although CamMac and others help to stop that), and I don't Believe that Broadway has really nice theatres also, from what I've seen (In person and on the internet) they look really heartless and boring.
I don't agree with the 'West End Theatres are better kept' argument. Firstly, they're not, many are falling apart (although CamMac and others help to stop that), and I don't Believe that Broadway has really nice theatres also, from what I've seen (In person and on the internet) they look really heartless and boring.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
#41
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:26pm
Alot of Westend theatres are old, take Adelphi (whilst Chicago was there)... the toilets are breaking down, the seats are squeaking. But when they're nice, they are NICE!!!! I hav to say I have ALWAYS LOVED LOVED LOVED Theatre Royal Drury Lane... it's just SO gorgeous and HUGE and GRAND! I am really sad I missed a very classical classy show like 'My Fair Lady' in it!
And there are more modern theatre like the Prince of Wales which houses Mamma Mia now... it's ALL refurbished and look SO cool! And the theatre which is going to house Wicked and housed shows like Movin Out/Bombay Dreams/SNF is also very new and modern... it's called sth Victoria Theatre... soz suddenly forgotten bout the name.
Broadway theatres from the outside look very plain and all has similar settings in pictures! I don't know about the inside though.
And there are more modern theatre like the Prince of Wales which houses Mamma Mia now... it's ALL refurbished and look SO cool! And the theatre which is going to house Wicked and housed shows like Movin Out/Bombay Dreams/SNF is also very new and modern... it's called sth Victoria Theatre... soz suddenly forgotten bout the name.
Broadway theatres from the outside look very plain and all has similar settings in pictures! I don't know about the inside though.
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#42
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:30pm
I HATE the Adelphi. It's old, 1800s, but it was rebuilt in the 1930s and is HIDEOUS!!! And I dn't really like TR Drury Lane either. I absolutely adore the Palladium, Victoria Palace, Her Majesty's, Princes Edward and of Wales, Apollo Victoria, Lyceum and St. Martins.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
#43
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:44pm
Do you guys have the brochures as well as show programs? That's a shame if you have to buy both.
We get free playbill, and most shows have a color program you can buy, usually 10-15 dollars.
And hey I don't think Playbills are crappy. They are a staple of New York theatre. There's lots of articles/history in them etc.
We get free playbill, and most shows have a color program you can buy, usually 10-15 dollars.
And hey I don't think Playbills are crappy. They are a staple of New York theatre. There's lots of articles/history in them etc.
Updated On: 6/30/06 at 03:44 PM
#44
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:47pm
"There's lots of articles/history in them etc."
Yeah, like the column that lists the favorite restaurant of two actors. I like to read this column in the older Playbills. I just always wonder why noboby ever says "Burger King"
Yeah, like the column that lists the favorite restaurant of two actors. I like to read this column in the older Playbills. I just always wonder why noboby ever says "Burger King"
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#45
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:49pm
Yeah, we have to buy programmes, but they're only £3 and they're VERY gd! They're like a magazine, everyone just digs into them during intermission with their champagne (in plastic cups inside the auditorium of course!) and their ice-cream.
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#46
Posted: 6/30/06 at 3:57pm
I lived in London for a long time and I love the West End. Going to a show there is going to the theater. It's all about the theatre. In New York, it's the business of show. There are no "grand theaters" in New York. The theaters in New York are machines to grind out a performance. With the exception of the former movie houses (like the Hellinger), they lack lobbies and "spectacle." Look at The Her Majesty's or The Theatre Royal instead. It's like attending a royal garden party.
And the performing levels are wonderful in london. The choruses try to sound 'Merican when needed (but you still ge "Cooom on an list-ten tuuuu the lul-a-bie of Brooooooadwaaaay..."). Any show that can purport to have Catherine Zeta Jones play a girl from Allentown....
That being said, Broadway is still Broadway. You can sit in many of the theaters and imaging Gerwshin or Porter or Rodgers or Berlin pacing in the back, listening to an orchestra rehearsal. And how do you top that?
And the performing levels are wonderful in london. The choruses try to sound 'Merican when needed (but you still ge "Cooom on an list-ten tuuuu the lul-a-bie of Brooooooadwaaaay..."). Any show that can purport to have Catherine Zeta Jones play a girl from Allentown....
That being said, Broadway is still Broadway. You can sit in many of the theaters and imaging Gerwshin or Porter or Rodgers or Berlin pacing in the back, listening to an orchestra rehearsal. And how do you top that?
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=972787#3631451
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=963561#3533883
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=955158#3440952
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=954269#3427915
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=955012#3441622
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=954344#3428699
Updated On: 6/30/06 at 03:57 PM
#47
Posted: 6/30/06 at 4:01pm
I love the whole set up of West End Theatre, but I wish there was less of the 'Champagne in Plastic Cups'. It does my head in. And whoever it was who said earlier that they thought West End Theatres are too spread out obviously hasn't been to Shaftesbury Avenue.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
#48
Posted: 6/30/06 at 4:04pm
Well, can't agree with you more allofmylife!
By saying not too concentrated, I meant, yeah, on the shaftesbury road outside China Town, there's LOADS of theatre, but there are also alot which are scattered like along the Strand, in Victoria...etc
By saying not too concentrated, I meant, yeah, on the shaftesbury road outside China Town, there's LOADS of theatre, but there are also alot which are scattered like along the Strand, in Victoria...etc
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#49
Posted: 6/30/06 at 4:06pm
The West End has "The Mousetrap". It's been running over 50 years.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#50
Posted: 6/30/06 at 4:07pm
I agree too. They're so lavish (The theatres, that is). To the extent that they have so little room left they have to squeez the toilets into the tiniest little arse-ways corners.
The rain we knew is a thing of the past -
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
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