Cynthia Erivo's Dracula - Terrifying Pics!- Page 2

[Theatrefan2]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 4:47am

Producers and creatives lost the right to put up basically paid rehearsals when they started charging full, or as good as full, price. The odd flubbed line, set/tech not working etc is fine, these things happen. But to be so woefully unprepared across the board isnt acceptable at the prices they charge 

The tech elements absolutely arent Cynthias fault, but not knowing lines is.

[ozbwayfan]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 5:11am

Saw Kip's production of this in Sydney so take this with a grain of "I haven't seen this new version", but having seen it twice I think the only way it works is if the performer is machine-precise with the text and technical cues (costume changes, looks to camera etc). There is not a lot going on under the surface of this show, to me it works best when viewed through a lens of meldrama and camp. The text is so thin, mostly plot and essentially just an abridging of the novel. Without a polished, in control and technically accomplished performace to match the gloss of the camera work and staging I can imagine it means very little. 

The originating performer and production dramaturg Zahra Newman is a meticulously technical performer and there were no tele-prompters needed - I saw her first preview. A shame, as with Eryn-Jean Norvil and Dorian, that these performers who originate this material and put so much of their own creativity, skill and rigour into the making of these works are ultimately side-lined with minimal compensation when it comes to the work being seen in larger markets.

[FightTheDragons]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 5:13am

A few things to note.

From a tech perspective, it went off pretty seamlessly. I didn't notice any major problems with the cameras or anything like that -- it was all timing and lines that were the problem with the preview (aside from the form itself, but that is auxiliary to preview issues). This may be, as GirlFromOz68 noted, due to the fact that this show has had a run in Australia prior to this. I acknowledge that while these shows may not have started as celebrity plays, clearly they have morphed into them for the West End (and eventually Broadway) due to the need to sell tickets and I am thus judging them as such.

While I acknowledge that my thoughts are based on the second preview, I booked for the fifth one - the cancelled performances made it the second preview. I don't like going to shows so early in the run, and would've rather booked for post-opening, but this is how it aligned with my trip. Nonetheless, my ticket was well over $100, and easily one of the most expensive on my entire trip. While I am totally accustomed to preview flubs and mishaps (I was at the now infamous glass bottle catastrophe that was the Anna Christie first preview), what I am not accustomed to is an actor not knowing their lines to this extent. It is certainly a monumental task to memorize a 20,000 word monologue, but the script has (presumably) been finished for months due to the previous run and she has had the time to figure it out. If she wasn't ready to this extent, I would have rather they cancelled more previews and perhaps even pushed opening back to allow her the time to properly learn the material.

I don't like seeing actors struggle onstage. I felt a lot of secondhand embarrassment for her as she fought her way through the material. But I was also extremely frustrated that people were paying premium prices for something so unprepared. There may be many reasons for Cynthia not knowing her material -- it's hard to levy blame at anybody without knowing what went on behind the scenes. All I know is that the final product was not ready for audience consumption at West End star-driven prices.

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 6:10am

I saw Dorian Gray twice and each time Snook made the incredible precision required look effortless even though it was anything but. 

Judging from the times I've seen her on stage, Erivo strikes me as a consummate and precise performer and wants to do the same.

Comments about these first previews reminded me of this quote of hers that I have used in presentations.  

"No one wants to watch someone singing analytically. No one wants to watch someone doing the notes. You learn them, you understand them, and then you let that go so that there's a freedom for it to just move through you."

Cynthia Erivo on portraying Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic Genius series biopic
New York Times, March 21, 2021

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 7:02am

People are always quick to place blame, often warranted, on directors, choreographers, designers, etc; that I always wonder why it seems no one wants to ever put blame on an actor. It's Cynthia's job to learn the lines, that is really the base-level job of an actor before any 'acting' can begin. If she hasn't done that - she is to blame. 

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 8:07am

pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!

Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."

Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."

I’m aware the delay was due to tech. What I’m saying is, imagine if the tech had been smooth and no delay had been necessary - how shaky her lines would have been without three extra days for her brain to learn them.

[Merkin2]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 8:07am

This director is terrible.  He’s setting his sights on Becky Shaw next 

[jessdeari]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 8:07am

This is a remount of an Australian production right? Cynthia is recreating someone else’s performance and blocking. In a way I could perhaps see that making it harder to learn lines.  

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 9:39am

To be fair, no one is turning down Cynthia if she tells you she wants to read the phone book. Let's see if they just miss judged her process and the complexity of this piece. 

 

Ensemble17591322022 said: "pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!

Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."

Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."

I’m aware the delay was due to tech. What I’m saying is, imagine if the tech had been smooth and no delay had been necessary - how shaky her lines would have been without three extra days for her brain to learn them."

 

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 11:00am

Ensemble1711444445 said: "To be fair, no one is turning down Cynthia if she tells you she wants to read the phone book. Let's see if they just miss judged her process and the complexity of this piece.



Ensemble17591322022 said: "pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!

Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."

Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."

I’m aware the delay was due to tech. What I’m saying is, imagine if the tech had been smooth and no delay had been necessary - how shaky her lines would have been without three extra days for her brain to learn them."

"

[Are we replying below existing paragraphs or above these days; I’ve seen a mix.]

This is the point, perhaps people should be turning her down - or in this case, not offering her the role in the first place. Just like Dorian Gray, it was ultimately Cassel’s decision to forego the originator of the role here. And both originating actresses were creatives as well. 

Cassel goes for the star name - who may not have the dexterity required for the performance - but at what price?

Just check out any red carpet pics of him. He’s styled in a way that he just doesn’t suit. His image seems to be “this is what’s IN so this is what I’ll give them” when it comes to actors and to his own presentation. 

 

[BJR]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 12:32pm

This is hardly the first show not ready for its preview. If she's still struggling weeks from now, ok fine.

But a handful of previews when it's this big a lift is unfortunate but not unimaginable.

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 1:17pm

I remember Snook talking about the precision timing (down to the seconds) of marks she had to hit in Dorian Gray.  When there is next to no margin of error allowed, I imagine successful previews become even more challenging.

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 1:44pm

binau said: "That wasn’t quite what I said or meant, what I’m saying is that you are suggesting this kind of preview experience is normal and to be expected. So I’m asking can you name some shows that had these kind of issues AND that the word of mouth found it ok?

Have you looked at the poll and comments on theatreboard? It’s hard to speak for everyone but it’s clear this has had a pretty rough start.

I accept that people shouldn’t be trashing previews because they are previews, but I think it’s a worthwhile discussion about what is acceptable vs too far. Especially at these prices (and it’s also a discussion that often comes up during previews over the years).

It also almost sounds like from your post you don’t even go to first previews? It seems odd for someone to be schooling me on what is normal vs not normal on a first preview for someone that doesn’t tend to go to them? I almost always do haha. I’ve been to a number of first previews in NYC, London and elsewhere. It’s often a magical experience that outweighs any problems.

Yes there can be problems, flubs, technical issues. But in this kind of high stakes professional environment the typical experience is that this is still only occasionally throughout. From the description on theatreboard, it really just sounded like they weren’t quite ready yet."

You’ve built an entire post on so many things I never said. Like I’ve said, a first preview is a performance, but it is not a polished one, and early previews of tech heavy shows are always unstable. That isn’t an opinion. It’s the process.The rest of what you wrote is you debating points you assigned to me, not anything I actually stated. Listing the shows you’ve attended or demanding my list doesn’t change that. How about not relying on assumptions and focus on what’s on the page? 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 2:02pm

Ensemble17591322022 said: "pmensky said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "Can you imagine if they hadn’t cancelled those previews and if she hadn’t had those extra days what state her lines would be in!

Cassel the star-lover had this coming when he picked her."

Acting like cancelled previews are some kind of personal failing is exactly the kind of lazy sniping people default to here. A first preview of a tech‑heavy show is never a finished product, and pretending otherwise is just an excuse to take a dig at her."

I’m aware the delay was due to tech. What I’m saying is, imagine if the tech had been smooth and no delay had been necessary - how shaky her lines would have been without three extra days for her brain to learn them."

You’re asking people to “imagine” a problem that never occurred so you can blame her for it anyway. Your argument only works in a version of events you had to invent. 

[dan94]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 3:57pm

BJR said: "This is hardly the first show not ready for its preview. If she's still struggling weeks from now, ok fine.

But a handful of previews when it's this big a lift is unfortunate but not unimaginable."

Opening night is 5 performances away. How many weeks are we supposed to give for her to stop struggling?

I find it insane how everyone who saw the show is saying variations of the same line "she was not ready to begin performances", and yet there are groups of people in here who did not see the show, and are essentially responding "why did you expect her to know her lines at a first preview?"

Opening night is in 7 calendar days. 5 performances. Less if they bring the critics in before opening night. And she had to stop the show 10mins in last night because she got so lost. Those are the cold facts.

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 4:53pm

dan94 said: "BJR said: "This is hardly the first show not ready for its preview. If she's still struggling weeks from now, ok fine.

But a handful of previews when it's this big a lift is unfortunate but not unimaginable."

Opening night is 5 performances away. How many weeks are we supposed to give for her to stop struggling?

I find it insane how everyone who saw the show is saying variations of the same line "she was not ready to begin performances", and yet there are groups of people in here who did not see the show, and are essentially responding "why did you expect her to know her lines at a first preview?"

Opening night is in 7 calendar days. 5 performances. Less if they bring the critics in before opening night. And she had to stop the show 10mins in last night because she got so lost. Those are the cold facts."

Let me tell you what the real “insane” thing is here. You listed a timeline, a stoppage, and the countdown to opening, but you never shaped any of it into a thought. You’re presenting details as if they add up to something, but there’s nothing tying them together. You’re talking at the conversation instead of contributing to it. The least we should expect from contributors here is the ability to form a cohesive thought and put it together with some semblance of common sense. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 5:40pm

I think it's clear that forgetting your lines in front of an audience is a professional lapse on the part of an actor. It shouldn't really happen. But I suspect we've all been guilty of a few (or more than a few) professional lapses that shouldn't really have happened, so I certainly won't judge Erivo for one or two performances.

The only show I've seen in early previews that was truly not in a worthy state for public performance was Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (I think I saw the third preview). I really do think the right call would have been to delay the start of previews until the basic elements were fully in place. (I should say "further delay," since I think a couple of previews had already been cancelled.) It was a show with great promise that, despite significant improvement during previews, never flew nearly as high as it could have.

I've always thought that, ideally (and, once again, heaven knows we've all failed to live up to our ideals!), previews should not be for finishing up preliminary work, but for tweaking things that can't adequately be judged until a show is put in front of an audience. In this ideal situation, the cast, crew, and creative team have made everything as perfect as possible before putting their work in front of a paying audience. In this ideal world, which I imagine all those professionals wish for as much as we do, everything should be written, blocked, memorized, and choreographed, and all the tech should be working smoothly.

Of course, I know that's not usually how the world works, despite everyone's best efforts, so I rarely see an early preview unless I have reason to believe that there won't be much of a breaking-in period. (For instance, I attended the second preview of Days of Wine and Roses, but I suspected that it would be in good shape since it had had a very recent off-Broadway run, and I was correct.)

Updated On: 2/10/26 at 05:40 PM

[dan94]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 5:43pm

If you want to tie all of those details together, it seems very likely opening night will have to be moved back. At that point, that means people bought tickets for a finished product that is unfinished. Are those people allowed to complain at that point? Who is the arbiter around which audience members are allowed to complain and at what point it becomes acceptable?

Happy to talk common sense - if you're the only person in a show, with no one on stage to pick up the slack or help you out, knowing there are going to be technical challenges you will have to work through, and knowing you are stretching yourself into uncharted territory in your career, common sense dictates you show up to the first rehearsal off book.

Updated On: 2/10/26 at 05:43 PM

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/10/26 at 5:52pm

dan94 said: "If you want to tie all of those details together, it seems very likely opening night will have to be moved back. At that point, that means people bought tickets for a finished product that is unfinished. Are those people allowed to complain at that point? Who is the arbiter around which audience members areallowed to complain and at what point it becomes acceptable?

Happy to talk common sense - if you're the only person in a show, with no one on stageto pick up the slack or help you out, knowing there are going to be technical challenges you will have to work through, and knowing you are stretching yourself into uncharted territory in your career, common sense dictates you show up to the first rehearsal off book."

And perhaps she did show up off book. Anyone who’s done that before, myself included, knows that once you add all the technical elements, knowing your lines can get easily derailed by what’s happening around you. As you pointed out, she’s alone up there and if you lose track, it can be disorienting. 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 5:30am

Ok, first and foremost, last night wasn't a finished product, so there's not much to judge on. Now, I did not see Dorian Gray, but I had some prior knowledge of Kip Williams' directorial approach. I was mesmerized by the camera work and how pre-recorded footage overlaps with the live feed. Truly a cinematic experience to witness live. That being said, Cynthia flubbed some lines, but quickly corrected herself. But the thing that has me concerned about her not being completely off-book is the use of teleprompters off-stage. They're not visible from the audience's POV, but when the cameras point towards the wings, we see the teleprompters, and the crew isn't quick enough to cut the feed before it appears on the screens. It just shows that Cynthia has not had enough time to properly prepare for this. I hope she comes around by next week because otherwise, she will get called out by the critics for not being fully off book. Again, I cannot be judgmental as it was only the third preview. However, they still have a lot of work to do in terms of tightening up the pacing, tech (there were overlapping delays), and, obviously, Cynthia getting fully off book so the teleprompters can be removed. I think it's a solid production, and I definitely wanna see it again after it opens so that I can see the finished product. When I booked this months ago, I thought they would be close to finished with adjustments, but then they cancelled the first few previews. I just think Cynthia is trying to get back into the habit of stage work, since she hasn't done it for the better part of a decade. We shall see. I'll probably try to book to see it again next month once she's more settled into the role. 

[Ensemble1670470656]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 5:31am

pmensky said: "dan94 said: "If you want to tie all of those details together, it seems very likely opening night will have to be moved back. At that point, that means people bought tickets for a finished product that is unfinished. Are those people allowed to complain at that point? Who is the arbiter around which audience members areallowed to complain and at what point it becomes acceptable?

Happy to talk common sense - if you're the only person in a show, with no one on stageto pick up the slack or help you out, knowing there are going to be technical challenges you will have to work through, and knowing you are stretching yourself into uncharted territory in your career, common sense dictates you show up to the first rehearsal off book."

And perhaps she did show up off book. Anyone who’s done that before, myself included, knows that once you add all the technical elements, knowing your lines can get easily derailed by what’s happening around you. As you pointed out, she’s alone up there and if you lose track, it can be disorienting."

That's what a month of rehearsals are for. If she showed up off book to the first rehearsal she would struggle at first when the technical elements are added but after 4 weeks it should be in good shape for the first preview if she really knows the text. It's ok to fumble one or two lines or have a few technical challenges in a preview, it's not normal for the performer to struggle to remember lines throughout, start the show again from the top even relying on a very visible teleprompter. It's very unlikely that she showed up off book. It's a challenging tech heavy show but from what I hear the tech is running fine and most problems come from her not knowing her lines, which is worse as she is the only performer onstage and the show relies on synchronicity with the recorded video, which is impossible without being very confident on the lines. A lot of people seem to be making excuses for amateur mistakes that they wouldn't for other shows or actors.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 6:40am

I don’t know why people flock to these type of shows during the first previews or so. Give the girl a break she just got off of Wicked prob had no time to rest, thrown into a fast pace camera show which she is on stage for close to 2 hours by herself. She will be fine in no time. We are lucky she’s back on the stage in her true diva self. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 9:27am

WldKingdomHM said: "I don’t know why people flock to these type of shows during the first previews or so. Give the girl a break she just got off of Wicked prob had no time to rest, thrown into a fast pace camera show which she is on stage for close to 2 hours by herself. She will be fine in no time. We are lucky she’s back on the stage in her true diva self."

She completed filming on both WICKED films in January 2024. Both films were shot simultaneously not separately. This was 2 years ago. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 9:31am

I’m going tonight so we can have a performance by performance update here at this point haha. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 9:34am

BrodyFosse123 said: "WldKingdomHM said: "I don’t know why people flock to these type of shows during the first previews or so. Give the girl a break she just got off of Wicked prob had no time to rest, thrown into a fast pace camera show which she is on stage for close to 2 hours by herself. She will be fine in no time. We are lucky she’s back on the stage in her true diva self."

She completed filming onboth WICKED films in January 2024. Both films were shot simultaneously not separately. This was 2 years ago."

 

In my opinion, not knowing your lines is unacceptable, but Cynthia just ended a massive, international promotional tour for Wicked. That is obviously what they meant.