Bat Out Of Hell The Musical

[eltmatt]

I saw the show Friday, lots of changes since Manchester and all of them have improved it even further. The show is awesome, lots of standing ovations.

[PanicLord]

Originally Posted by Danny L

i will never stop watching DOCTOR WHO!!

Yeah the Coliseum stage looks bigger than the one in Mancs.

I've just about managed to bear with it through Capaldi. Looking forward to a big shake up when the new team starts.

Exciting to hear all the hard work on the musical is paying off. Hope they covered off all my feedback points 😂😂😂

That's a joke. Don't hate me. I loved it.

[Ixion]

I went to see this for the second time last night and I still love it, the crowd wasn't quite as lively as the opening night performance but they gave a great standing ovation at the end. It was also a show with Ben Purkiss as Strat who was very good.

Once again Two Out of Three blew me away, and everything with Sloane and Falco is gold.

I work so close to the venue it's really easy for me to go after work if there are any tickets left, it's going to end up costing me a fortune by the end of it's run

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Danny L

Yeah the Coliseum stage looks bigger than the one in Mancs.

That's because it is bigger (think it's one of, of not the biggest theatre stage in London). Much more of the set is visible in London and there are less restricted viewing seats in the auditorium.

[nightinr]

How long are the current cast contracted to the show?

[eltmatt]

I believe most are contracted until late 2018.

[nightinr]

Thanks Matt....wow suprised how long...must be quite quite draining doing the same show every night.

Thanks for the info

[Danny L]

Wasn't it just over a year's contract?



(OH how things have moved on since this!!)

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by nightinr

Thanks Matt....wow suprised how long...must be quite quite draining doing the same show every night.

Thanks for the info

From what I understand many west end shows have their cast swapped in and out for the main parts at least every two years or so.

It would be a shame if Bat doesn't live beyond a year. Not sure there is enough enthusiasm to keep it as a permanent feature on the west end, but I hope there is and that after touring it comes back to stay. Perhaps they are working out if that is possible right now.

[eltmatt]

I would argue that its absolutely viable for it to become permanent on the west end considering most performances are very close to being sold out.

They would need a West end cast yes. Also the cast don't perform every night of the week and the understudies do a couple of shows a week but yes still draining.

[nightinr]

My worry is in a year or so Bat might become one of those low budget touring musicals that spends a week in each city before moving on. It would be a shame if it can't make it work in the West End.

[proctorloaf]

You worry too much.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by nightinr

My worry is in a year or so Bat might become one of those low budget touring musicals that spends a week in each city before moving on. It would be a shame if it can't make it work in the West End.

Sometimes there is no difference between a west end one vs touring one. The touring version of Wicked was exact same quality as West End version. Same quality singers and exact same staging and lighting and orchestra size.

[AndyK]

With the scale of the staging of Bat I can't see it being a production that tours to different venues every week, it's not the sort of production you can move into a theatre in a day. It needs the long runs in a venue to warrant the investment in time to set up.

[CarylB]

UK FANS: Jacqueline Dillon has a few pairs of FREE seats left for the musical
this coming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. To take up this great offer contact her on FB or message me ASAP. Also tell any friends you know who might enjoy a spectacular night out and can make it

[chairboys]

We exited Charing Cross tube just in time to be Prezzo's first lunchtime customers on Saturday. A relaxing meal was further enhanced when the bill arrived. My two ciders were a complimentary Fathers Day treat from the restaurant!
A leisurely stroll round Trafalgar Square and bit of culture in the Portrait Gallery before wandering up to the home of the English National Opera. What class.
Now, they do know how to charge for a tipple.
We took our seats. Upper circle back row three on the end. It was a hot day and rather warm in the theatre.
The show.
I found myself strangely more edge in a kind of loyal and protective will for it to be a success.
The performance was very good bordering excellent. Don't take that as harsh.
Some moments were truly standout.
I even fell in love with IACBTMN again!
But the one thing I will take from the musical is that I now understand what Bat out of Hell is all about.The songs fit the story or the story fits the songs but, whatever, seeing it live the words make sense and the picture Jim paints is crystal clear. Maybe the visit to the Portrait Gallery was a sign.
Would I go again? Yes (but probably won't).
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Highlight? Finding a hidden loo at half-time that was empty.
All in all a fabulous day out

[roomster]

Originally Posted by roomster

REDUCED PRICES!

10th July:

STALLS-section
£140
(original price £175.95)

11th July:

DRESS-section
£180
(original price £221.55)

REDUCED PRICES (AGAIN!)!

10th July:

STALLS-section
£120
(original price £175.95)

11th July:

DRESS-section
£160
(original price £221.55)

Very good seats that I scored early.

I cover the shipment expenses from Norway.

Interested? Send me a PM.

[chairboys]

Originally Posted by ashkent7

I think its similar to what i said after listening to and putting the story to the songs of Braver Than We Are - You could take that plot and insert pretty much any other song and it would fit somewhere to expand the story - like you can interweave the three parts of Paradise through Going All The Way, Loving You and Souvenirs, you can add It just Won't quit after Only When I Feel and on and on. The characters of the musical are the next advancement of that - the ultimate one probably. It goes all the way back to the quote Meat said on loads of interviews in the 90s. "Every song Jim writes goes into Neverland." The versions of those characters are now in the musical and they are the characters that everything Jim's done has be written for in some way. I have no doubt that if you had ten hours to work with you could make every one of the songs fit without needing to change much at all. No wonder there were so many in and outs with the song list.

The show reminded me of this post.

[Ixion]

Lot's of good reviews coming out from last night's premier. The only negative one is of course from the Daily Fail, obviously.

[nightinr]

Shame it didn't get any 5 star reviews from the mainstream media.

Although the Mail review is slightly harsh it is spot on with the poor dancing routines and acting. A number of us have commented on this. If the musical is going to be a success long term this must improve.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...mments-4623698

[nightinr]

BostonAngel I am trying to help with constructive criticism. Not sure this warrants a "dislike"?!

[BostonAngel]

If I wanted to post giving an explanation I would have. No need to PERSONALLY call me out on it

[Sebastian.]

Really needs to be a rule against linking to the Daily Mail. It is an utter disgrace.

[nightinr]

Apologies for any offence BostonAngel..

I know some people have strong views on The Mail and The Sun but we have to recognize these are Britains two most popular papers. So to ignore them would be a bit silly.

[letsgotoofar]

Not to accentuate the negative at the expense of any positives, but never mind the Sun and the Mail -- all of the raves had something pants to say about it, and most can be summed up as "Great cast; shame about the writing, though."

Don't believe me? This was from a review that gave the show four out of five stars, FFS:

"Bat Out of Hell? Bat sh*t crazy more like. Jim Steinman's jukebox rock musical is like nothing you're going to see anywhere else right now. [...] Be warned: the songs have barely any connection to the narrative and this is not so much a musical as an exceptionally expensive way of getting them live, onstage and pumped full of OTT drama. [.,.] It's a show which rises or falls through having two leads who can convince us this isn't all just completely awful [...] the tunes may not work within the whole [...] The tiny bits of script - also written by Steinman - are fairly weak, falling back too often on the overblown cheese that many of the songs also do. [...] Really there are only a handful of tracks which stand out [...] It's a pity that Emma Portner's ensemble choreography feels clumsily placed most of the time. [...] this isn't a great musical theatre masterwork." -- Daisy Bowie-Sell, WhatsOnStage

And that's from a bloody positive review. Here y'are, got another, this was also four out of five:

"It's the end of civilisation as we know it! A jukebox musical based on the back-catalogue of that famously chunky (recently slimmed-down) American rock legend Meat Loaf -- actually penned by his gifted on-off song-writer partner Jim Steinman -- has taken up summer residence at the palatial home of ENO. The pair (reconciled these days after much-publicised rifts) dubbed their full-throttle, high-decibel, knowingly OTT and melodramatic music 'Wagnerian rock'. Opera-lovers might well be forgiven, however, for fearing the venue's coffers are being filled at the expense of its artistic reputation. [...] Running to an overlong three hours, and cramming in greatest hits (and not so-great hits), Bat Out of Hell won't win awards for reinventing the musical. Set in a dystopian future of generic oppression and mutinous youth it recalls We Will Rock You, but the book is even weaker than that long-running Queen cash-in [...] evident weaknesses, which extend in Jay Scheib's pumped-up, pyrotechnics-loaded, Max Mad-fashioned production to some iffy video-work [...]" -- Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph

"Sometimes it's as if Bruce Springsteen is performing Wagner, sometimes it's as if a posse of unemployed Wagnerians are attempting a hyperextended version of Born to Run, and sometimes it's frankly much stranger than that. [...] The plot is likely to mystify anyone who's not an ardent devotee of both Meat Loaf and J M Barrie [...] The script may be thin [...] It's hard to imagine that many of English National Opera's regular clientele will appreciate this three-hour show's lurid silliness or its potential to turn into a singalong. [...] the less said about the ungainly choreography the better [...] light years away from Monteverdi [...]" -- Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard

"As the setting is a dystopian city ruled by a dictator – broken TV sets fizz under a graffitied lattice of charred concrete – the show also brings to mind We Will Rock You, the Queen musical that, along with Mamma Mia!, probably made a Meat Loaf equivalent inevitable [...] Loudness is sometimes overdone in Jay Scheib's production, resulting in some of the perky wordplay of Steinman's lyrics being lost; perhaps ENO's surtitle machine should be commandeered. With the jokes in the songs often overpowered, the biggest laugh comes when a Buick seems to crash into the orchestra pit. The choreography rarely gets beyond synchronised limb-swinging." -- Mark Lawson, The Guardian

"The choreography, by Emma Portner [...] at times, misfires. There are a few writhing moments that simply don't work and, at two hours and 45 minutes, including interval, it could use a trim." -- Ann Treneman, The Times

And from the three-star pack:

"...it's not exactly 'Hamlet' in the plot department. If you are interested, then Steinman's book is basically a sort of half-arsed stab at dystopia that follows privileged, gothy teen Raven (a spirited Christina Bennington) in her stupendously inept attempts to exit the building owned by her father Falco (Rob Fowler, camp) in order to hook up with crazy-eyed love interest Strat (Andrew Polec, genuinely excellent), who hangs out in the street outside and is apparently immortal. (Presumably he signifies the timeless power of rock ’n’ roll, though on the whole the fact that he has apparently ceased to age since 18 feels weirdly underexplored.) [...] Obviously everybody sings a lot of Meat Loaf tunes. [...] At worst they kind of sound like your local Dungeons & Dragons club trying to write a Bruce Springsteen song: certainly if you only know the big singles there’ll be bits you find trying and there are moments that teeter perilously close to objectifying women [...] As a spectacle, 'Bat out of Hell' is batshit crazy [...] 'Bat Out of Hell' isn't exactly going to be bothering 'Hamilton' at the Oliviers next year [...]" -- Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out

Taken altogether, it sounds like, even if the sales are good, they need to sack the choreographer, cut the bloody thing down, and work on the script before it hits America.