I was in the audience and from our side it wasn’t that warm. I did notice Jonathan Bailey had armpit sweat most of the time onstage but then again he was onstage 99% of the time. I didn’t notice the sweat on Egerton but he fainted during an intense scene near the end of the play so we all thought the fainting was part of the play until Jonathan Bailey and the other actors told production to stop the play.
Being first preview, it’s the first time they’ve had a house full of warm bodies, so they might not have adjusted the temperature properly as the evening progressed. Sometimes they even shut the HVAC down completely at the top of the show if it’s an old system that is loud and effects the sound design. I feel bad for the guy. Fainting feels awful and is embarrassing.
From what I recall, no props just a stage with one big circle with 2 inner circles that all rotate.
The set reminded me of Betrayal (without the chairs.) very simple and the direction was excellent. There were no chairs so for a show with no intermission, Jonathan Bailey was mostly standing the entire show onstage (with occasional sitting down or lying down on the floor.) There was one scene where Taron wasn’t onstage so at least he got a break.
Taron wore a blue longsleeve buttoned shirt plus an undershirt. Bailey wore a plain tshirt. Early in the play Bailey asked Taron to take his shirt off to see his body of perfection “fatty bits” and all (and we the audience wished he did!) We saw the armpit sweat on Bailey but didn’t really see the sweat on Taron due to the undershirt. Taron fainted near the end of the play at roughly 1hr35m mark during a very intense scene.
Overall, the audience was very supportive to both Taron and his understudy Joel that evening. Entire audience gave a standing ovation at the end which is rare to see in the West End.
“ Entire audience gave a standing ovation at the end which is rare to see in the West End.”
Actually I’d claim they are becoming more and more common now.
"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
I saw and really enjoyed it. I love Elliot's direction - but she tends to go with big production type shows, and this one seem so small in scale, so love to know how she brought her flare to it.
Above is the introduction director Marianne Elliott gave at the start of the first preview. I just realized there was a long bench that blended in with the back wall. You can see the 3 concentric circles and they all rotate.
"it's all about the word ballet and it invites you, the audience, to participate and joining the ride with us coming on this imaginative journey with us..."
Taron is off all week with covid but they are offering tickets exchanges, which is unusual for the West End. I saw it last week and wasn't vert impressed
They actually stopped doing exchanges during his COVID absences. Now I’m wondering if they will refund tickets as typically they don’t.
"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
Also I did end up seeing the show with the understudy. I personally found it entertaining, Jonathan Bailey was hilarious (think Company but dialled back a little), the music was really interesting and the understudy was actually also very good. It’s not going to win a Pulitzer or any awards really but I sometimes I think it’s ok to have a decent night at the theatre without shaking because your world has been turned upside down hehe.
"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
I also wonder if they stopped doing exchanges because the producers knew this was about to happen.
"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
I saw it last night and it was really enjoyable. Joel Harper-Jackson is great, and it is well deserved that he has been offered the role full time following Egertons departure. I hope this will open many doors for him - it mustn't be easy going on in place of the "star" but he won the audience over from the start.
I requested a refund and was refused so I filed a dispute with my credit card company
before I get a lecture about "you are paying to see the play not who is in it" this production leveraged Mr Egertons name to justify above average prices for a play in the West End (upwards of 175 pounds!)
this isn't a case of him missing the last few shows, this enegagement has NINE weeks remaining
to not offer refunds or ATG offering to credit the amounts towards the purchase of other shows is absurd