I would like to hear your views on theatre etiquette. I saw Sister Act several times both at the Palladium and at the Eventim Apollo. I preferred the original version but still loved the recent one and will see it on tour. That aside the behaviour of a considerable number of audience members at the Apollo was truly awful. I have never seen so many people leaving their seats then returning totally ignoring what was happening on stage. One lady, in the front row did this at lease 6 times during the first act. There were drunken people shouting out and people talking to each other like they were in a night club. One thing that really did not help was the ushers letting people into the theatre whilst Beverley Knight was singing Fabulous Baby. There must have been over 30 people on one occasion. Anyway, enough of the rant and sorry if I sound pompous but it seems to be getting worse.
I agree, I would love a video on theatre etiquette and not only from how the fans should act but the theatre staff as well. For example, I went to a US tour production of Frozen and someone was escorted to my row by an usher during Let it Go. I was having to leave my seat to let her and her children in just seconds before the quick change. It completely damaged my enjoyment of the song and honestly most of the performance. I do not understand why she wasn't held at the door when intermission started a minute later. Is there a common understanding about holding people at the doors at key moments or songs? How would you have addressed instances like this with a theatre? Are theatres more lax at matinees or family shows?
To be honest, to me theatre etiquette is just sitting quietly watching the show. In other words, just general good manners. There are people working hard to put on a good show and it is just polite to listen and watch them. There are always ‘emergencies’ but opening sweets loudly, texting on your phone, talking loudly, etc are unfair to other audience members and the cast. Why on earth people pay significant money just to chat all the time I will never know. I once turned around to stop a person who had answered and was chatting on their phone. As for the theatres, most of the time people seem to be let in during the applause AFTER the song not during. This is probably the least disruptive. The Eventim Apollo, as far as I could see, just hadn’t trained the ushers. They were far more worried stopping people taking photos than stopping people being disruptive. There was a man standing beside me just before the start of the second act and I asked if the was the manager? It turned out he was one of the production managers and he said he had tried and tried to sort out when people were let in but just ended up getting nowhere. There, done it again, another rant, sorry.
I also agree, a theatre etiquette video would be great. I feel like at a few of the more recent shows that I have seen, the audience have been a little rowdy and sometimes rude during the show. I also noticed that this seems to be more prevalent in shows that have film adaptations or are very popular online e.g. Six, Hairspray etc. However, this can easily be explained through the fact that many fans of these shows probably haven’t been to a theatre before which is perfectly understandable. But I feel that there is still a sense of common decency that you don’t sing loudly along with the show or film in parts that you are not supposed to. When I saw Six, there was also someone who stood up in the middle of Don’t Lose Your Head which was unbelievable to me since whilst Six is definitely like a concert, it is still a show that people have paid ro see and to block their view was just rude.
Please do a theatre etiquette video! I have had some awful experiences recently and it seems to be getting steadily worse. I would be interested to see whether others around the country are having similar experiences! Oh and you seem to absolutely spot on with your thoughts on the wing space. Danny With A Camera did a shoot which showed they had to build areas outside due to lack of space! Do you reckon there will be more costume changes etc when it's touring and in venues with bigger wings?
So. Wonderful! Former Broadway musician here - I am in London a few times a year, and you’re the one who lets me know what I should see. Your grasp of musical theater construction and theory is so dead on. I really appreciate it, and I think it’s awesome that you’re bringing that sort of detail to the masses. Thank you!
I think a theatre etiquette video is desperately needed rn. I’m fed up of having theatre experiences ruined by rude and ignorant people not doing basic and respectful things like keeping their mouths shut for an hour.
I saw that on Sunday, closing day and absolutely loved it. Beverly and Lizzie Bea were phenomenal. I’m actually so glad Lizzie Bea is going on tour with the show and I already booked to go see that again!
years ago, I was in a production of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS... granted, not professional theatre... so NOT the same thing... but I played Richard Rich and actually got some boos during curtain call... IT FELT AWESOME eliciting such a reaction
Ah the double edged sword of having been in a show to seeing it professionally done. I always have a connection to shows I’ve done so when they make changes to the pro version, I take it personally 😂
I used todaytix and got a £186 ticket for £22, best bargain of my life. Beverly Knight walked right past me and smiled at me in Sunday Morning Fever and I nearly died it was amazing. I was so confused by the Steady Eddie thing though?
I'm both disappointed and kind of unsurprised that Jennifer Saunders isn't better in this. I love her, but as much as I appreciate actors growing and trying different things, Jennifer Saunders has gotten into the habit (...ha) of being Britain's anti-heroic wine aunt. It's kind of her entire brand and she seems very comfortable in it.
It’s interesting to me that Jennifer Saunders doesn’t think she’s a strong singer when her version of Holding Out For A Hero is the best cover ever made.
Honestly it’s the best version of that song! It doesn’t fit well with the themes of Footloose but it’s absolutely integral to the themes of Shrek 2. Even beyond that, her cover is powerful, electric, charismatic and soaring and just brimming with energy.
So glad you posted this, I came and searched for it on your page right after I saw the show a few weeks back! Completely agree with lots of what you've said here! I was a huge fan of the original Palladium version and I was a little underwhelmed with this production. What stood out to me is how the set would be so complex and busy at times and then other times (Fabulous Baby Reprise) it would just be almost entirely empty? I also had similar problems with the venue, I was in the cheap seats and the stage was SO far away it was really hard to connect with the show. Lizzie Bea was an absolute standout though!!
This is so interesting to hear! I saw the show in the Eventim Apollo and I loved it. It's always nice to hear a review from a professional critic and you did touch on things I thought about it. I was right at the very back and I don't know if the stage looks bigger from the front, but from the back it looked absolutely small. I understand what you mean when talking about a lack of wing space. And I know what you mean when you talk about not being prepared for Mary Robert's singer to be as good of a singer as she is. It's interesting to hear about Steady/Sweaty Eddie because as someone who isn't familiar with the show, I'd never have known about the inside scoop there. But altogether I loved it and I'd happily go back if it returned.
Sister Mary Robert actually got to wear the boots at the shows in Manchester, I can't remember if there were more or less costume changes. From what I've been hearing, there are definitely some changes between the show on tour vs when its at the Apollo.
We saw this London production on 7th August and the boots were in it then. Perhaps something happened to them to make them drop it from the show. But they were def in it on 7th August.
You're review is brilliant. I went the day after you.. I absolutely felt the same and agree with all your positive comments and all of the more critical comments
so at about 13:15 he starts talking about having no costumes between raise your voice and take me to heaven and i completely agree but one solution the costume designers did in our production of sister act is that we had like colorful surprise panel that we would pull down at the “5678 *da, da, da, bu da*” in take me to heaven for that kinda woo ok slay and i feel like that would’ve been a easy thing to do for the uk production
I seen this show in Manchester before it came to London and it was definitely only Deloris that bowed on her music, Mother Superior bowed slightly earlier so maybe it was timing issues here, also Sister Mary Robert is wearing the boots at the end, was there another point in the show she wears them that you were referring too. The etiquette wasn't the best in Manchester either as so many people were disappointed there were no songs from the film in it and spoke about this quite a lot throughout the show
I saw this great show in July. I agree with everything you say. I was particularly interested in how you explain about the lack of development of the disco nuns, I remember thinking it was a sudden and full on disco theme at the end which took me by surprise. Very interesting to listen to your thoughts! Thank you. 😊😊
I clicked so fast- after being Mother Superior last May I’m so dedicated to this show- Edit after watching: This whole video fascinated me… I wish I could’ve seen the performance; the Mother Superior choices that you talked about were so peculiar… would’ve been very interesting to see.
Brighton Theatre Group have just done a production of Sister Act? Did you get a chance to see it? My friend ayeshashasha was in the lead role of deloris.
Always interesting to hear your thoughts. I live quite near the Hammersmith Apollo but I skipped this production as I saw an amdram version of Sister Act a couple months ago and while I did think it was a lot of fun, I didn't enjoy the material enough to feel like seeing it again so soon. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great videos!
Hoping to go and see this when it comes to Dublin. I saw the original production in the palladium with Patina Miller and I met the amazing Sheila Hancock at the stage door and she signed my programme. God I was totally gobsmacked....she's such a legend. She was very faithful to Maggie's performance in the movie and I really feel that's what people want to see. Lesley Joseph is doing the tour and I think she will be much better suited to the Mother Superior role. Looking forward to seeing it again in Dublin. Loved Sandra in Waitress. It was in Dublin in June, so looking forward to seeing her again.
I saw this early in it's run and it was definitely a theatre audience and behaved as though they were in a West End theatre. It was strange being in the Apollo, the last show I saw in there was Born Jovi, but I got used to it and accepted it quickly as a theatre. Beverly Knight was epic as you said. I thought Jennifer Saunders was really good and I was a bit starstruck seeing her up there singing, especially because,vas you said, she seemed quite vulnerable in a singing role. My lasting memory will be Lizzie Bea singing The Life I Never Lead, I think I held my breath all the way through the song. She was wonderful and I think Alan Menkin should write a show just for her. I didn't pay full price, I had already decided not to go at the ridiculous prices they were charging but when I was offered front stalls for £50 I couldn't turn it down and I was very glad I saw it.
There is ALWAYS that person in a theater audience, in America, on Broadway even, I find it to be more likely a matinee audience since they are less used to going to the theater. I agree that we have to be careful not to be snobby about it, because EVERYONE should be allowed to come to a theater and see a show and the more the merrier, but there are OBVIOUS issues of politeness. I am the person that says something, yes I am. I turn to the person in front of me, behind me or next to me, and I whisper, "You know this isn't a movie, right? There are REAL PEOPLE up on the stage and they can see you and hear you and you are distracting them; you are being rude to THEM and to everyone else in the audience." That usually shuts them up. Because frankly they AREN'T used to going to the theater, and they DON'T realize there are real people on the stage! I mean they know analytically, but since they usually only go to movies they don't realize that the people on stage can HEAR THEM and SEE THEM and it is very distracting! (having been on the stage I can tell you that we CAN hear you and often see you and it IS distracting, especially if we start fuming at how rude you're being).
I saw Knight as Grisabella a few years back and there was a bit where she was trying to dance and her back troubles her too much and although it's sad it had a physicality to it to that I could see she could turn to comedy if that makes sense so I can see how she could be great at that. She's fabulous!
I felt that part of the issue with the gangsters was there wasn't anything to really separate their characters - even the boss was only different purely because he was in charge
Please do a video on theatre etiquette, it has got much worse. Was at a show today and the staff spent half the first act running up and down the aisles telling people to stop filming. Also had instances of people chatting, checking their phones and just being ridiculously disruptive, including someone last week adding their own very loud commentary during a show. Even seen people from casts commenting on how bad audiences are getting
I would very much agree with your review of Sister Act at the Hammersmith Apollo. Beverley and Lizzie were absolutely fantastic and their vocals really shone brightest. I also think that Lesley Joseph as Sister Mary Lazarus was brilliant and I would be fascinated to see what she is like as Mother Superior on the rest of the tour. I hugely agree about the venue not feeling right and not being appropriate for the show. The fact that there is not enough dressing rooms for the cast and most were in portacabins outside as well as the wing space being extremely limited I felt made the show feel a little underwhelming. The set design for the show was fabulous and really added to the performance. I am not complaining about the show however as I went for Beverley Knight and I got a stunning performance by her (and some good photos)
I must say I enjoyed the show but not every part landed with me. I thought Jennifer was great at the comedy parts but every time she started singing I just wanted to put my fingers in my ears. The worst part of the show was the venue if I’m honest, I thought the venue was so ill-suited for any musical, I sat front row of the circle and I have never felt more disconnected from a show in my life, I felt as though I was watching it through a screen.
Hey I have a video idea for you :),you can maybe take about the Into the woods currently in theatre royal bath and how it’s possibly going to west end :)
I saw this show while I was in London I agree with many things you said Beverly's voice is AMAZING and soared singing the very VERY difficult score (loved her vocal choices for example the head voice on the see in "fabulous baby" which is smart and sounds better than the belt because of the e vowel) but sometimes I thought her acting was a bit ... Weird? Like some weird texan/british accent or cadence that took me out But her line delivery was quite good Jennifer Saunders really was not up to the part vocally (or as you said so she thinks) , she absolutely did not hit those notes and i remember her at some point giving up and laughing at Beverly doing runs in their duet (which was very funny) . I did like Jennifer , but absolutely needed some more singing lessons. Lizzie Was absolutely incredible but yes the show missed some heart , it looked a little bit like trying too hard to be a show that would please everyone, doing that failing to make a heartfelt connection with the audience. But still an amazing show
I went on a Saturday night and have never seen so many people get up during a show to go to the toilet. Extremely distracting. Also I will not be going back to the Hammersmith Apollo for a theatre show. It's far too big. Just not the right atmosphere.
I love both the musical and the movie but I feel like you can watch either one first. The musical actually makes quite a few changes to the story and it’s setting (for example the musical is set in 1978, while the movie is set during the time it was released, 1992) and none of the movie’s songs are in the musical. So they’re different enough that you don’t necessarily need to have seen the movie first.
Sweaty Eddie was changed as to not offend people with Hyperhidrosis. This production sounds stripped of both heart and soul by the director who seems to just want it to be a bunch of fluff for dumb, drunk, non-theatre goers. I really hope the changes made for this production don’t stick for future productions in the USA. Audiences on Broadway are just as bad. I recently watched a woman pull a foot long meatball hoagie out of her purse during the Overture at Phantom of the Opera. She was sitting down front right under the path of the chandelier and when it started to pass right above her, she stretched her arm up with her hoagie in hand like a sword and tried to touch the bottom of the chandelier with it. I turned to my friend and said, “That took balls,” and she replied, “Yes, about six to be exact.” The woman continued to devour the sandwich through the title song, constantly tearing out pages of her Playbill to use as napkins to wipe the tomato sauce from her chin and hands. It was fantastic.
Really hate this musical. The original movie wasn’t high art but it had smart comedy and this musical has such dumb jokes and nonsensical plot lines. I’ve had this same issue with other Douglas Carter Beane scripts. I don’t think he’s a very good writer.
So agree with you on this. I have only seen the original London Palladium production, and l loathed everything about it. It was tacky and had no heart. The songs are ok but l landed up not caring about any character because they were so poorly written. Having said that over the years with the cast cd l have grown to like most of the score, but they then go and do something l hate, namely rewrite and add new songs without giving anyone the chance to have them with an updated cast album. I’m thinking of going to see the tour to see if l can like it better but not certain as yet.
I have to say I wasn't very impressed by Lizzie Bea and I'm now quite glad I didn't go to see Hairspray. Maybe the reason you thought she didn't resonate that well with the audience is because she has no star power? I sat in the stalls and there was no emotion on her face at all and it just looked like she was reciting lines almost as if she was bored.
