I saw the show this afternoon. That's three for three of seeing the hottest tickets in London right now.
It was really nice to see this musical again after seven and a half years! So...
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I love how this musical works in an intimate space like the Donmar, but I really prefer the elegant 19th-century nightclub setting. This literally looked like a 1970s or 1980s club scene instead. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was ok, but it just does not have the same feeling as when this was in New York.
Also, I did not care for some of the cuts made to the score. Mainly, in the Abduction number, Pierre's moment towards the end has been completely gutted. Also, it's no longer "Goodbye my Gypsy Lovers," it's now "Goodbye my Moonlight Lovers." I tell ya, after spending YEARS listening to the OBC recording, that lyric has stuck with me all those years and to hear it changed kinda threw me off.
Besides that, THIS CAST IS SHEER PERFECTION! The intimacy of the Donmar really connects performers with the audience. I'll say, making DIRECT eye contact with Jamie Muscato during Prologue was the HIGHLIGHT of my experience. God, that man is HOTTER than EVER!
Those are my thoughts. I know it's hard to get a ticket to this but if you can try with returns, do it. It's totally worth it. I definitely wanna see it again at some point. I'd like to see this transfer to the West End, but I just don't know where exactly. My friend who was with me said that @sohoplace Theatre would be the best option if they wanna keep it intimate. Also, I NEED a cast album but I don't think we will get one as we still have not gotten a Next to Normal cast album. Anything is possible.
The idea is to work and to experiment. Some things will be creatively successful, some things will succeed at the box office, and some things will only - which is the biggest only - teach you things that see the future. And they're probably as valuable as any of your successes. -Harold Prince