Dinner and a coffee a near impossibility

I  went to see Jersey Boys the other night. My fourth visit, once on Broadway and now three times in Australia. Now, this is never going to be one of my favourite musicals, the pop/jukebox musical is one I generally detest, but this show re-writes that genre brilliantly. 

I  went to see Jersey Boys the other night. My fourth visit, once on Broadway and now three times in Australia. Now, this is never going to be one of my favourite musicals, the pop/jukebox musical is one I generally detest, but this show re-writes that genre brilliantly. 

I appreciate it and I appreciate the excellent Australian production. This, however, is not a review of the show, I am extremely pleased that the production has been so phenomenally successful in Australia and its an enormous tribute to good producing, good marketing, good casting and great Australian talent and pitching the show to the right demographic.

No, the issue I have is not with the show (go for it, guys, may it play two incredibly successful years in Sydney), it’s with what surrounds the show – ie the area around the Theatre Royal.

Sydney is not theatre going public friendly that’s for sure. Finding a nice reasonable meal before the show and supper after is always a challenge, but the Lyric and the Capitol have it all over the Royal.

I turned up an hour before the show, I didn’t want the swishy expensive drinks and very little food immediately above the theatre, I wanted a light meal and I needed a coffee. I was told that the arcade behind the theatre had been warned that a long running hit show was on its way to the not always occupied Theatre Royal and adjustments would be made to cater to audiences. Nope! I walked into the arcade and I thought I was walking into a dark cavern, everything was closed except for two shops. One had the last remnants of a long day of Indian food, the other a mish mash of some Italian food, I settled on some cold chicken and cold vegetables –very indigestible and went after a coffee – again, nope!

The one shop now still open informed me that “there is no coffee after 6pm – the machine goes off”. Oh OK, I thought, I will wander into the theatre and get a coffee. “No we don’t sell coffee in the theatre” said a  rather less than cheery lady behind the counter that used to see rather tasty coffee at the Royal. So I ended up down the road two blocks to McDonalds, their coffee was most pleasant and I wished I had eaten there.

Yet for a show that caters to a demographic that likes a meal before the show and to have some choice, this is just not good enough. Someone from the Royal needs to get that arcade moving again. I remember a few years ago during Titanic at the Royal, the arcade was buzzing right up to show time, with wine flowing and most shops open. Jersey Boys needs this sort of support to make the full evening an experience, these days audiences want more than a quick into the theatre and quick exit afterward.

Now again I did not venture to the next level where you can certainly get a drink, but an after office crowd of people would turn most people off this area. Loud  noisy secretaries and their bosses. Nope again.

Sydney as I said is not theatre audience condusive, but the business centre of Sydney is a ghost town after hours and  the Royal is in the heart of that area. Changes need to be made and soon. There is a hit show in town and the  business area needs to react to that in the same way as Wicked livened up the bottom half of town as the businesses worked in with the show and its marketing. Also someone get a coffee machine into the theatre itself, this is a coffee drinking audience guys, we need our fix before a show.

GLEE IS BACK!
Just a quick word on the return of Glee. This show has done wonders with promoting interest amongst young audiences in show business musicals again and has created a whole new generation of admirers of good snappy Broadway choreography. I know a lot of people have an issue with the show itself; the script and plotlines veered badly toward soapiness and silliness toward the second half of the first season, while still giving us some great production numbers.

Yet we should celebrate this show, it makes audience want to go and see Hairspray, Wicked,  West Side Story and shows not far away from the Glee demographic. Also, I do wonder why local producers don’t advertise their shows more during the Glee hour, it seems the perfect match.

I still celebrate this show because its hearts in the right place, it still has elements of the wicked satire that the great early episodes possessed and uses some great theatre stars and uses them well. Also a tip for showbiz lovers, watch the first episode for one of the great one line howlers from Jane Lynch in regard to a certain aged actor known for playing Dolly Levi a lot! Moments like this make the show worth catching no matter what.

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