Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic!

We saw the shy and retiring John Barrowman in Gateshead on Friday evening, and it was thrilling. Sometimes when you have high expectations it can be a bit of a let down, as you’ve built it up so much in your mind that the reality doesn’t come close. Not this time!

From the moment he came on stage for ‘It Had Better be Tonight’, until he left it after ‘That’s Life’ he had us in the palm of his hand. He said he would make us laugh and cry, and he did. (There were also quite a lot of girly squeals and whoops from us, which is always the sign of a good show).

He performed quite a few of the songs from his latest album ‘Another Side’, mixed with musical theatre, and other numbers. On the album, some of the songs come over a little over produced, and (dare I say it) bland. Live, it’s a different story. He is a theatre man, and it’s all there in the live performance. The set list was beautifully paced and structured, with stories of why he had included certain songs on the album, which personalised them, and gave more meaning. ‘You’re So Vain’ is one of my least favourites on the album, live, it was fantastic.

My favourites were: ‘The Doctor and I’ (actually ‘The Wizard and I’ from Wicked, re-written for the Doctor and Captain Jack). Oh. My. God. He so wants to play Elphaba – well, I’d pay!

‘Man of La Mancha’ which closed the first half (and which someone on Facebook hilariously referred to as ‘the song about a donkey*’). I adore that song, and I want to see him play that part now.

‘I Won’t Send Roses’ – again, I love it, it’s cynical, yet touching.

'Weekend in New England' - my favourite song on the album.

He even coped with the automated fire alarm going off at the worst possible moment, just as he was telling the story of his sister in law who died. He turned the hiatus into a Q&A session with the audience, and, when all was sorted, turned the mood, and brought us back into the moment. Now, that’s an actor.

Sadly, there was no opportunity to meet him this time, as he had to go back to London 'to choose a Nancy' (there was much hilarity from that), so that's the second time Cat and I have missed him. It's only a matter of time, remember, it's the long game.

And, see, I never mentioned his a**e once!

*If anyone is wondering, it's Don Quixote