Britmania

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CastleOSullivan

CastleOSullivan

Sep 29, 2009
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[tweet=https://twitter.com/castleosullivan/status/875791583056146432]

The show was quite solid. It wasn't as out there as London Rocks, but the more simplistic format of going through the ages is something that the audience really seemed to be able to grasp. What's more is that they actually seemed to be enjoying it. At the end of the performance there was a huge standing ovation.

I am impressed with the show, but right now I am just celebrating that it wasn't a disaster like London Rocks, and it was refreshing to hear a new playlist. The worst case scenario is that some people may not be very much into it if they are not familiar with some of the songs.  There was a little bit of cheesiness at the beginning that made me nervous about what was to come, thankfully the rest of the show didn't follow suit.

Given the restraints caused by the projections, I actually liked the lighting. It was exciting and something new.  One of my first impressions was that the choreography didn't look elementary and repetitive. That part was actually pretty good.

I hope to give you guys some more details when I get home. Otherwise, go to my Twitter and Instagram pages for updates throughout the day (CastleOSullivan).
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Oh thank the stars! The Globe Theater finally has a good show for the summer season for once, glad to hear that you liked it. :)
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

I also saw the 2:30 show and I also enjoyed it. Felt fresh and fun. The lighting was also new and exciting. I also enjoyed the projection pre show which counted backwards through the years. I look forward to seeing it again as some of the actors get more comfortable with the choreography and are able to really get into it. Great replacement to LR. Also very reminiscent of American Jukebox, this was British jukebox!
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

So from what I'm guessing from the BGWFans twitter page: The consensus is that "Britmania" is the best of the two new shows in 2017. Can't wait to see it sometime! :D
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

I watched both shows today yep ant even put London Rocks in the same boat. Its full of action yes some songs I dont care for but they are songs from British groups.Bet they do some tinkering with it in the next couple of weeks as they did Octoberzest....
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

[tweet=https://twitter.com/castleosullivan/status/876193752108457984]
I can't say enough how pleased I am that most, if not all songs are played for their entirety. That eliminates the long-standing complaint about LR that the songs were too short. The park really seemed to listen to guest feedback with this one. Another thing is that they were allowing recording yesterday, 6/17/17. I hope this is a sign of change rather than just a fluke. The Globe Theatre actually felt like the friendly place that it should be.

Expect a full playlist, along with song durations soon!
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Can't wait! I've been meaning to ask but was there any set drops/detailed props during the show?
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Here is the complete song list for Britmania, including the lengths of each song. The monologues without music don't have time stamps, because they may still be ironing those out.

Britmania Song List

Ticket to Ride- The Beatles 2:00

Got to get you into my life- The Beatles 1:05

Drive My Car- The Beatles 1:00

Ticket to ride, Drive My Car mashup 0:20

Twist and Shout - The Beatles 1:05

Monologe- "Dad wasn't just satisfied with just the Britmania of the Beatles."

No Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones 1:40

I Only Want to Be with You - Dusty Springfield 1:30

Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) - The Countours 0:50

You Really Got Me - The Kinks 0:45

Now That I Can Dance, Reprise 0:35

Brief monologe over intro

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin 3:00

Monologe and Money for Nothing - Dire Straits 2:00

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (with jitterbug intro) - Wham! 0:40

Karma Chameleon - Culture Club 0:25

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics 1:05

Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car - Billy Ocean 1:40

Monologe For '90s

Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer 1:15

Let Me Entertain You-Robbie Williams (Final verse which just repeats "let me entertain you" and guitar riff at the end) 1:50

Hello - Adele 3:00

Monologe - 2017

Upbeat Classics
-Twist and Shout 1:45

-Crocodile Rock - Elton John 1:35 ( with curtain call)

Walkout Music

Also, The entire atmosphere in the Globe Theatre was very friendly. They were not prohibiting recording's of any sort, and I didn't hear any ushers yelling at people. They also didn't rope off the good seats to let the late comers get the best seating. I hope Busch Gardens is reading this. It would be a shame if friendliness was a fluke.

Enjoy the first video of Britmania!
https://youtu.be/9UN-161t0vA
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Sorry for the double post, but that previous one was rather loaded, I thought. In response to LordRobert's question about props, yes, the show did have a few. There was one TV prop with the screen facing away from the audience that was sitting downstage before the curtain opened. When the show started, a few cast members were "watching" the TV, while on the platform in the background the live band was playing what they were supposedly watching behind a giant TV facade. This has potential to be an exciting reveal, but unfortunately The Globe Theatre has no lights in that area to illuminate the people standing behind the faux TV screen. This rendered that otherwise clever staging, useless.

Also, there was one flat piece that was flown in for the 80s scene. The set piece was actually painted, so it didn't rely on projections. Unfortunately, on a stage like this the lighting designer, projection designer and set designer have to work on priorities, because every real color becomes muted out, which in the end made the set piece look cheaper than if it was entirely projected. Then again, maybe they were trying to balance out the lighting on the actors in the foreground. Unfortunately, that's next to impossible with this very high-tech stage.

I heard a little bit of singing that was off key, even during some solos. Hopefully that will be fixed with practice. Otherwise, the rest of the issues are lighting balance and the pacing of the songs and monologues. Thankfully, it can all be fixed without a major rewrite.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Just to say that this show is what "London Rocks" should've been from the start would be undermining for how freaking good "Britmania" is. Thanks Castle O'Sullivan for posting a video of the show. :D

EDIT: I'm just going to say this, I know now that I'm going to constantly see this show at every summer visit now, along with "Mix It Up", "Celtic Fyre", and "All For One" with "OktoberZest" only once.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

My wife and I loved the show. Our only issues were a) the many, many spelling mistakes in the pre-show slides, and b) find some way to give that poor bastard a minute to catch his breath before singing Stairway. Once he could breathe again, he did great!
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Thank you so much, CastleOSullivan for the report! I can't WAIT to see the show now!!! I'm a little disappointed in the sparse 90s set but all in all it sounds like it's a really fun show. And even better that the theater staff aren't hassling guests and telling people where not to sit, etc.

Very happy to hear it's off to such a good start.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

With few exceptions, this is a rather unimagined music lineup. It is notable that besides arguably Culture Club and the Eurithmics no New Wave made it to the list. While I would not have expected to see Yazoo or even Joy Division, I would not have been surprised to see something post punk like the Cure or New Order.

COS,
The issue you are seeing with the lighting is just one of the problems that I have been on about since LR. When they stripped the house of its Electrics back when the Globe into a movie theater (notice the big fans BOH instead of 2nd or 3rd DH Electric) they did it no favors. When the built out LR they did not build out the instrument collection well, instead they chose to follow a trend Broadway tread of point lighting instead of rep lighting. It works on Broadway because they have better angles to illuminate from, over the apron for example. It does not work at the globe because the ceiling is too low and the audience rake is to high. Further LR esentially was lit by projection and so that is what they are stuck with. There is very little side and back lighting. In lighting design, especially when following a classic model like McCandless not having back, top, and side lighting is a sin.

Those light are what give the human body depth the help establish a field of view.

Again Broadway moved away from this model in the 80s with the advent of intelligent lighting and other types of moving lights, but again they have large stages, and many more options.

Finally the damn hated LEDs. LEDs are great for lighting your kitchen, garage, closet, bike, flashlight, or just about anything where you need a bright WHITE pure light. You know where they suck swamp water? The fucking stage. The color temperature is to cold, the wavelengths are too severe, and contrast to great. Look I am not saying they have no place on stage, they are great for curtain warmers, top light, backlight (dimmed and blue), eye-poppers, house lights, but for primaries they suck. 6x9 or 6x12 ERSes are the basic work horse of the industry for front apron lighting for a reason. Hell I don't how you shape an LED except with barn doors. Might as well use rock spots.

I digress.

The point I was making is the light plot in the Globe is way to anemic and still far too reliant of a gimic technology that was never appropriate for the space to begin with. The irony I find is that they had to then go the cheapest way possible with the lights to offset the cost of the projectors.

For what they spent on the projectors, provided they have the dimmers, they could have outfitted the space with a complete plot of Sheakspears and Intabeams.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

Bama said:
Twist and Shout is not an orginal song by the Beatles but they did perform the song on an album and in concert
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's true. And we've all seen Ferris Bueller. But it seems like a weird choice simply because there are so many other Beatles songs that are easily as memorable and, y'know, British by design. The Beatles had, what, nearly twenty Number 1 hits in America (She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Eight Days a Week - anyone?).

Not that I care. The 90 seconds posted above is not compelling me to go see Britmania - in fact, it's having the opposite effect. Unless they build a bar or a roller coaster in the Globe, I'm never seeing this show.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

You know, I find it so amazing yet hard to believe that the show caused a standing ovation with audiences. That's something you don't see often at Busch Gardens Williamsburg unless your show is called "Celtic Fyre".
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

BGW Family said:
I was surprised to see a standing ovation for the opening show. Perhaps everyone was just so ecstatic it wasn't London Rocks?

BTW, has this progressed enough for Britmania to get it's own thread?
Click to expand...

Since the show has kind of opened, I guess it could get a thread of it's own.
 
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RE: 2017 Show Rumors

BGW Family said:
[...]Perhaps everyone was just so ecstatic it wasn't London Rocks?
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Everyone metaphorically had pitchforks in one hand and victory flags in the other, in the event that it wasn't a complete disaster. I think opinions of the show are much higher because of very low expectations.

I heard many terrifying things about the show during development, and thankfully I didn't see any of those things.
 
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