I feel I’m rather letting my blog name down at the moment

It isn’t that I’m not seeing theatre (though I’m not seeing as much as I would like to), it’s just that I’m not writing about it. I have written more about walking over the last few months than I have about theatre, and that’s rather shocking.

To bring you up to speed, I have seen the following:

Twelfth Night
Peer Gynt
Dido, Queen of Carthage
His Dark Materials Parts 1 & 2
Barbershop Quarter – an Avignon Festival Fringe show – in French!
Blood Brothers

Quite a mixed bag really, and all enjoyable in their own way. Twelfth Night was a YTR production, and was pretty good, though I didn’t like their Olivia. Peer Gynt was a National Theatre of Scotland production, but it was at the Barbican, and I wondered if once again the Barbican was going to be the theatrical pits. Thankfully, though not ‘my’ Peer, which is much more beautiful, there were a lot of things I liked, and ultimately it moved me. Dido I enjoyed, though as a play it’s clear from the writing that Marlowe* wasn’t Shakespeare (not even very early Shakespeare). Some good performances though. If this is all sounding a bit half hearted, well, none of the productions were standout.

I did really enjoy the two parts of His Dark Materials at West Yorkshire Playhouse. I hadn’t really liked the books and had stalled part way through the second one, so I came to a lot of it new. What stuck me was that it’s a very complicated story. As with most alternate universe stories, there’s a lot to take in, as you can’t rely on the natural order of things to carry you through, also, the names can be difficult to remember. The other problem with any fantasy story is, of course, how do you stage it? This one has an ‘armoured bear’, and I’d never actually worked out what one of those was in the books, never mind what it might look like on stage.

They actually did it very well, though I felt Part 2 worked much better than Part 1. It was definitely a production where you needed to see both parts – a potential problem in Leeds, as there were considerably more performances of Part 1.

As for the last two, well, one is coming up in my ‘holiday blog’, and the other is a whole other story.

*Though it is equally very clear that Shakespeare knew the play, and ripped off some of the ideas mercilessly for Hamlet. It’s a good job Marlowe was dead by then, as Will did it all so much better

A Little Night Music

Spoilers, and theatre snobbery alert

When I realised I had a free evening in London, it just was a matter of selecting which show I want to see. I was spoilt for choice. My shortlist was Three Days of Rain, Plague over England, A Little Night Music and Carousel, as I’d been very impressed by leading lady Alexandra Silber at a charity show the other week. What really swung it was the Trevor Nunn factor with A Little Night Music.

It’s had excellent reviews at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and has transferred to the Garrick Theatre in West End. As their last show was Zorro, I’m guessing the quality has gone up with this. It’s a lovely little theatre, even though the stalls are subterranean, and you can hear the Tube trains rumbling beneath your feet. It also has lovely staff, as, when I was told there was no cloakroom, a very cute usher offered to look after my suitcase until the end of the show.

It was only after I booked that I read of Maureen Lipman’s response to Charles Spencer’s review, and critical comments of her casting as Madame Armfeldt. I admire her reaction.

I’m not sure how I’ve never seen this before, as it's exactly my sort of show. When I think about it, my experience of Sondheim is pretty small. A rather fabulous production of Into the Woods by John Doyle at York, and that’s about it. The style of this reminded me a lot of it. Apart from ‘Send in the Clowns’ most of the songs don’t really work out of context, as they’re part of the narrative.

Collecting my ticket, I found I had centre of Row B in the Stalls. As someone who likes to see the whites of the eyes, it was a fabulous seat – who needs to see feet? Though the Americans on the front row commented that, if there was a lot of dancing in the show, they wouldn’t have a very good view. I’m not sure what they thought they’d booked for.

I thought there were some fabulous performances. A lot has been said about the casting of Hannah Waddingham as Desiree Armfeldt, who is much younger than usual. I thought it worked perfectly, and she was fantastic, utterly heartbreaking in 'Send in the Clowns'. Alexander Hanson also seemed perfect as ex-lover and new husband Frederik. As for Maureen Lipman, well, her grand dame dropped witticisms from centre stage with great comic timing.

The characters here are the type who will always be polite and correct about their marital infidelities, hence Kelly Price’s long suffering countess, stoically condoning her rat of a husband’s affairs. Frederik’s young wife Anne was played by Jessie Buckley from I’d Do Anything. Having never been a particular fan, she had the youth for the part, and her acting was better than I’d expected. Unfortunately her singing voice was rather shrill.

Sondheim uses a Greek chorus of singers as narrators/commentators, as a counterpoint to the action, whilst I felt that this technique was a little over used in the second act, they were all very strong singers. Slick scene changes of David Farr's elegant versatile set take us smoothly between interior and exterior, and into a Scandanavian summer night where the sun never quite sets

The production was romantic and beautiful, with some lovely pieces of staging, as all the characters waltzed around the stage in the half light. I guess it’s a very Chekovian musical (though a lot funnier). Once again, I’m happy I trusted in Trevor*.

After the show, Corinne was waiting for me. I came out of the theatre beaming, and a little lost for words, with that wonderful theatrical euphoria which tells you you’ve seen something just a bit special. We found a pub just round the corner – always something of a challenge in central London, we’ve discovered – and caught up on all the news, while I continued to rave on about the production.

*Yes, I know the least said about Gone with the Wind, the Musical, the better, but then I would never have been silly enough to book for that one.

Not quite a 'lock in'

(or, the return of the randy milkman)

When I last saw Blood Brothers in December, I admit I was very disappointed. It was the first time that the tour had been back to York since the heady days of December 2005, and it felt tired. We’d only been able to get seats a long way away, and many of the cast seemed quite jaded, and one or two were just not very good*. I was starting to think that I wasn’t bothered about seeing it again, as most of those we’d come to know had moved on, or were in the West End production. Then, about a month ago, I found out that a certain randy milkman had returned to the cast. It’s been two and a half years since we’ve seen him. That’s the long game for you.

Also returning was Tracey, an actress who remains the best Mrs Lyons I’ve seen, (and also the best Mrs Johnstone when I saw her play the part a couple of times). The closest it was coming to us in the near future was Hull**, which had been the first theatre we’d seen it in.

It was so much better than December. We had better seats, and the whole production seemed revitalised. We had a new Nolan, Maureen this time, bringing my Nolan quota for the show to three; an excellent Mickey and Eddie; a new narrator, who was also very good, menacing in a different way to Keith, and the ‘dream cast’ Mr and Mrs Lyons.

All the lesser characters he played were also complete characterisations, even if only on stage for a few moments. The milkman has always been so disappointing when played by others, not having that sparkle which is entirely him.

At the end, of course I cried. MN was incredibly powerful in ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’, and that song just ratchets up the emotion. And, by the third curtain call, I was on my feet. My first standing ovation since DT, but then *this* one is always very different.

Immediately after the show, we headed for the pub. One of our favourite stage door pubs, it has to be said. The first thing to do was put our make up to rights. We arrived back at the bar, and before we’d even got a drink, I saw Cat smile, and turned, and there he was, coming towards us.

And it was great. In his own way, he’s almost as much as a theatre snob as I am, so there was lots of theatre related chat. Wine was drunk, but not too much. It was really good to see him. We finally left the pub with the bar staff, as they wanted to go home.

Suffice to say that the Emergency ‘Tim’ Button is being reinstated.

*Yes, Marti Webb, I mean you!

**Tour next takes in Aberdeen, Dundee, Worthing (all flippin’ miles away) and, finally, in July, Leeds

'What good is sitting alone in your room, come hear the music play...'

If I had to list my top five musicals, then Cabaret* would be in there. So when I learned that the recent London production was to tour, I also knew that I wanted to see it.

When I saw the casting, however, I was slightly less enthusiastic. Wayne Sleep as the Emcee? Well, he played that part when I last saw a touring production about 20 years ago, and he was very good, but I’m not sure he or I have benefitted much from the passing years. Then I read that Samantha Barks had been cast as Sally Bowles. As the ‘Nancy’ who came third in ‘I’d Do Anything’, she was most remarkable for being very young, for John Barrowman struggling to find any emotion behind the eyes, and a rather unfortunate memory of Barry Humphries being a bit pervy in his ‘admiration’. I’ve always seen Sally as a role for an actress who can sing a bit, rather than a singer who can act a bit, as the point is that she’s really not very good. Judi Dench, who was the original West End Sally, has always seemed to me to be perfect casting. Would Samantha be up to the part?

Sadly no. She did seem too young – her mother would still have had her in school, not let her loose in Berlin! When Sally sings ‘Maybe this time’, it should feel like the song of someone who’s been through the emotional mill and is finally daring to hope again, but it wasn’t there. I feel Sally should break your heart a little with her wilful blindness to what is going on around her, but she didn’t. Instead the emotional heart of the story was the romance between the boarding house keeper Fraulein Schneider and Herr Shultz, the Jewish shop keeper.

It was an odd audience, with very little reaction or response, and they didn’t seem to get the show they were expecting as there was an air of shock at some of the nudity (a lot of which I did feel was gratuitous).

As for the ending, well, it didn’t ‘offend’ me, but I’m not sure if it added anything. You already know what will happen to this society under the Nazis, you don’t need to see it. What I love about the usual ending is that things seem to be contining as they were before, but we know they’re not. Cliff decides to wake up, and leave. Sally stays. That’s all we need to know.

*I still remember John Doyle’s fabulous production at York Theatre Royal back in 1995.

Eurobeat revisited

Once we knew that Eurobeat was transferring to the West End, we simply had to go again, and take Corinne with us.

This time, I decided to be Irish for the evening, Cat opted for the UK, and Corinne chose Sweden (‘it’s the closest they have to Norway’). We got our badges and bought our flags, and I resisted the cd. Once we took our seats, I seemed to be in a bit of a Scandanavian enclave, as I was surrounded by Swedes.

The theatre was pretty full, and judging by the noise, everyone was ready to have a good time. The show opened, and we found that Les Dennis was off, and Sergei was played by the chap who had been the winning Estonian contestant last time. This was good, in that we got to see a lot of him, but bad in that he was no longer singing.

As for the contestants, well, for some reason, between touring and arriving in London, Estonia has become Poland, though none of the others have changed. The new Polish contestant was good, but not as slick or as funny as before. Some acts seemed more acute in their parody a second time around – UK, Russia, Ireland, whilst others just went on too long – Iceland (greeted by boos, and the comment ‘yes, give us back our money you Icelandic b*****ds’), Germany.

This time I voted for Russia, Poland and (quite bizarrely), Hungary. And this time, Russia won. As we left the theatre, we were singing the songs. They get into your head. Just like the real thing.

The Bad Idea Bears

Cat and I went to see Avenue Q the other Saturday, and were thus introduced to the Bad Idea Bears. We all have them, those bears that whisper in your ear that it’s a good idea to eat that extra piece of cake, and hang the diet, that you always need a new dress, and of course you should have another drink, and before you know it its ‘absinthe dacquiris’!

I was thinking of this when I was out on Friday. It was a ‘handbag walk’, though we’ve been struggling for where to go recently, because all paths seem to be waterlogged. So, after a trip to Brimham Rocks, we ended up in Pateley Bridge looking for a tea shop.

Of course, we looked at all the other shops too, and there were a couple of particularly nice jewellers. I went into the first one, tried on a few rings, but managed to resist. I looked in the window of the second, but didn’t go in. We went for tea, and shopped some more. I was looking in the second jewellers again when it began to rain.

‘I think that’s a sign we should head home’. But my Bad Idea Bear had other ideas.
‘No, it’s a sign you should go and try rings on’.

You’ve guessed it. I came out with a new ring. And very pretty it is too.

Almost as if we were there

‘I feel as though I should have an inflatable daffodil!’

As the show starts, Cat’s comment sums it up really, for we are at Eurobeat - Almost Eurovision, and we’re in front row seats.

As we’d entered the theatre, we’d been asked to select a badge for our country of choice. I went for Italy*, as I’ll be there next week, Cat opted for Greece**, and Shona went for Estonia, as that’s where she is in her current novel, but felt she got a few odd looks. We then bought the flags of our adopted countries.

Before it begins, we have a video welcome from Sir Terry himself! Our lovely hosts , Sergei and Boyka*** enter, glamorously attired, and the contest begins.

Italy – first up (never a good position, I mutter), but a catchy and memorable little ditty. I cheer very loudly for my country, and wave my flag vigorously. So much so, that at one point, I nearly have Cat’s eye out.

Estonia – 3 boys in suits, though two of them don’t stay in them for long, and we realise why Shona was getting the funny looks. Very funny, very rude and I love it, my favourite of the night.

Iceland – A sub-Bjork singer and song, dressed as a glittery dalek

UK – a Jemini-esque duo (though more tuneful), complete with the Scooch head move that Cat learned last year.

Russia – a boy band in white spandex. No ice skater this time, but a song about an ice queen so it’s almost as good.

Ireland – (Johnny Logan eat your heart out), it’s every Irish ballad that won in the 90’s, complete with singalong ‘la la la’ chorus. As we all get enveloped in dry ice, I’m loving it.

Hungary – the only song in ‘original language’, complete with a performance in national dress

Greece – a homage to Sakis, in that this time the dress comes off. I cheer loudly in support of Cat’s country

Germany – German expressionism at it’s best (!) – mime, a balloon, a bell and a stuffed cat. Pretty similar to some authentic German entries.

Sweden – Abba-esque song about swapping partners. Echoes of Waterloo, but maybe the Abba tribute has been so overdone, there’s not much left to say.

Our hosts return, and tell us how to vote. It should be simple, but I’ve had wine, can’t quite cope with the fact that I’ve left my phone on in a theatre, and have been laughing too much to know what I’m doing. Eventually, with only 20 seconds left, I manage to send a text voting for Estonia, Ireland and Russia. Looking at the audience, I’m thinking that the female singers are going to have a tough time of it! We retire to the bar, more wine, and a giggle over the souvenir programme.

Returning, it’s time for the interval act, all about the wonderful country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the voting. We go over ‘live’ to each country, and have the usual spontaneous and witty banter.

Italy is the first to give their results. I can’t believe ‘we’ve’ given top marks to the UK, but my top three have all scored. As voting progresses, it starts to look like Hungary might be left with nul points, so when it receives some, we all cheer. The UK does much better than we ever do in reality, and comes middle table. As we get to the last results, it’s neck and neck between Russia and Estonia. It’s almost more exciting than the real thing! Finally, Estonia are announced as the winners, and the noise is deafening. This means we get a reprise! This time Toomas**** too takes his shirt off.

We leaving singing ‘Together again’, and also ‘Ti Amo’. We cross the road into Starters and Puds (an excellent concept) for a post-show supper. As we look at the wine list the waiter asks, ‘shouldn’t it be Bucks Fizz?’ We like him immediately!

*Yes, I know they left in a sulk a few years ago
**Ah, Sakis
*** Les Dennis and Mel Giedroyc, who frequently have trouble trying not to corpse
**** He has a ‘Vlog’ on the website. I recognise a lot of those stage doors!

Aspects of an audience

I’ve wanted to revisit Aspects of Love ever since I saw it was to tour again. I initially saw it in the early 90’s, and loved it, but it’s never been one of the more popular Lloyd Webber musicals, despite the popularity of its anthem, Love Changes Everything.

It’s strange how you get used to going to the theatre with other ‘theatre enthusiasts’ (I hesitate to say ‘snobs’ here, but I know that some of us are). But this time I’ve persuaded a couple of work colleagues to come along, on my recommendation. It’s actually quite daunting to go and see a show with people who you know go very infrequently, and whose highest accolade is ‘gosh, they were good, they could be in Corrie’. They see things very differently.

Still, we’re nicely loosened up with good meal and a shared bottle of wine, and we stroll down to the theatre. I’d forgotten how huge it is, as my memories are coloured by sitting on the front row one New Year’s Day. I’d booked row K, knowing that the others wouldn’t want to go for the more expensive tickets, and thinking that was pretty close, but when I sit down, it feels too far away for me.

Reading the programme, I see a few familiar names. Tim Rogers, who was in Whistle when we saw it a couple of years ago, Duncan Patrick, who I last saw in a log cabin in Leicestershire, and a couple of people who’ve played at York. There’s also Shona Lindsay, who’s done quite a lot in the West End, and headlined a number of touring shows. But when I was asked earlier ‘who’s in it?’ I gave my standard reply ‘no one you’d know’.

When the show begins, the first thing that impresses me is the set. I’m unsure of Tim Rogers’s vocals in Love Changes Everything, and a lot of the action feels too compressed to get through the span of time (and all the combinations of couples, as basically pretty much everyone sleeps with everyone else).

About halfway through Act 1, however, it pulls me in. Although he failed to convince as a 17 year old, Rogers is much better as the older Alex, Lindsay is impressive with a strong and clear voice, and James Graeme brings a richness and humour to George. By the interval, I’m engrossed, and when I look to my right, J is emotionally distraught, ‘I didn’t expect it to be like this’. ‘Just you wait for Act 2’. Time for more wine!

By Act 2, I’m realising how different this production is to the earlier one. All the characters are quite destructive in their relationships. As the song goes, love does change everything, and not only for the best. I see that Alex is actually a bit of a b*****d, something I never realised last time. Rose (Lindsay) breaks me with her rendition of ‘Anything but Lonely’ and C now has two snivelling colleagues around her, while she remains dry eyed, (‘it takes more than that to make me cry!’).

After the show ends, I manage to the resist the stage door (well, it is raining), and with more difficulty, the lure of the rather brilliant Ma E’s. We sit in the hotel bar with yet more wine, and I want to talk about the performances, and the production. I start to talk, I know I’m starting to wave my hands around.

The other two are more interested in what has happened in the final of The Apprentice.

'I've never seen anything like it in my life'

It started as a bit of a catalogue of disasters – we were about halfway to Sunderland when Cat said, ‘I haven’t got the tickets’, and unfortunately she wasn’t joking. Hmmm, what to do? We had a restaurant reservation for 6pm, and would be very late if we went back. Guided by the fact that I was hungry, and our faith in the generosity* of the Mak’ems**, we continued. We arrived at the junction.

‘Is it the first or the second turning?’
‘I don’t know…’ Cat’s normally infallible sense of direction had failed her in light of the ticket dilemma..

I decided to take the first turning. Pretty soon I realised it was wrong, and managed to get lost going in to Sunderland, which we’ve never done before. When we arrived at the car park, it said ‘full’. Deciding it was fibbing to us, I drove in, and managed to find a parking space.

We checked in at the restaurant, and dashed over to the theatre, having retrieved the text message on my phone which said which row we were in, at least. We didn’t need it. There was no problem at all, and they just printed us duplicates.

We enjoyed our meal, and headed over to the theatre to see Dr Dolittle. It’s a touring production, starring Tommy Steele. There were a lot of kids in the audience.

It was quite a bizarre production. It wasn’t the theatrical low point of the year, that ‘privilege’ being shared, for different reasons, by the show at the Barbican, and Jack and the Beanstalk in Cardiff, the best we could say was ‘it wasn’t awful’.

Tommy Steele entered, brown of face, and white of teeth (I think you’d have needed sunglasses for the glare if you were in the first few rows), to a round of applause. But not from me. The theatre snob in me won’t applaud someone just for walking on stage. His performance was pretty understated, along with his voice, and the suggested love relationship with the leading lady, who had a belter of a voice, was frankly a bit freaky, given the 40+ year age difference between them. There was a very short girl playing a boy, there were lots of animals, and some very politically incorrect natives, to say nothing of the Great Pink Sea Snail.

Afterwards, we decided to head straight to the pub, as it was freezing cold, and to be honest, we were struggling for comments. ‘Colourful’ and ‘energetic’ being our best efforts. However, they weren’t needed, as none of the cast appeared. Which may actually have been a bit of a blessing.

*For it was in Sunderland that we once would have had to stay the night in the Travelodge, after my car got locked in the car park following a very late night in the pub, if the nice woman on reception hadn’t helped us out.

**I have no idea if that’s how you spell it?

Of dreams, coats, and reality tv

Reality TV. It sucks you in. Even with my level of cynicism, I’ve been pulled into Any Dream Will Do, and that’s without seeing all of the shows (they’ve been clashing with Doctor Who Confidential, and you only get the cutdown version of that on the repeats).

What I like is that, unlike the ‘other side’, they have judges who really know their stuff. And of course I love John Barrowman, who is always honest and fair in his comments, and if anyone knows what makes a leading man, he does.

I think it was on Eurovision night that I articulated that my favourite was Lee, and once you acknowledge that you care, even in a small way, you’re lost. After that, it became difficult to watch, though he always seemed streets ahead of the others, in actually being able to deliver a performance rather than just sing a song.

Gradually others fell by the wayside, and he was never in the ‘sing off’, and last night it was the final. Three of them, Lewis, the blonde cutie from Boro, who was lovely but a bit young to take such a gamble on. He’ll make it as a result of the show, but this wasn’t his time. He’d frequently been in the ‘sing off’, so I wasn’t surprised to see him go first.

Then we had Lee, and Keith. Keith was a bit of a dark horse, in that he’d never been in the bottom two either. He has a good voice, but his stage presence wasn’t as striking, and he was also, I’m afraid, just a little geeky.

I took comfort from the fact that everyone I’ve spoken to has picked out Lee as the one. He gave a couple of storming performances, of 'New York, New York', and 'Paint it Black' (one of my beefs about the show is that they never give them ‘real’ musical songs to sing until the ‘sing off’. Oh, I know why, but they’re up for musical theatre, not a pop career!)

The final song was a duet with both finalists singing 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Oh so many emotions watching that, it even made me a little tearful, and Lee was fantastic in it.

And then the announcement – Lee is Joseph – how could I have doubted? I yelled so loudly the cats dived in opposite directions off the sofa and went and hid under the table.

And now, I want to go and see the show. After all, it must be all of 14 years since I saw Philip Schofield do it.

Schmoozing and boozing

‘It’s a long time since I’ve seen you like this’
‘I’m high on wine, and actors’

I know I’m being quite giddy, and giggly. I’m in a theatre bar practicing the art of the schmooze. It’s a skill that’s been somewhat underused of late, so it’s sending me rather hyper.

The reason…our first trip of the year to see Blood Brothers, our first trip, in fact, since last September, so there have been some cast changes. Linda Nolan is back as Mrs J – this is the first time I’ve seen her in the role since the last time the show was in Billingham – she remains the leading exponent of ‘lapel acting*’. She really feels it at the end, yet moves me less than a simple gesture does from another performer. We have a new narrator in Craig Price. Craig is a veteran of the JCS tour, and played Jesus for the second half of the tour; ‘yes, he died on stage every night’, and a new Linda, but we still have Stephen Palfreeman as Mickey, and he’s fabulous. I cry at the end, but I don’t stand.

At the end of the show, we go round to the stage door; it’s been a while. Craig is one of the first out commenting ‘I thought I saw you’. We have a quick chat and then he suggests we go for a drink, as they keep the theatre bar open. (There really is no where else to go in Billingham – early we’d had walked round a precinct with about 10 cash points, and no shops – and a sign saying ‘welcome to Billingham town centre). Well, we’ve been invited – it would be rude to refuse, wouldn’t it?

We head back inside, get a drink, and chat to Craig, catching up on what he, and others, have been doing; Stephen comes over, and we talk about theatre, touring, venues, theatrical digs, the price of tickets in London. I’m in my element, and knocking back the vino at a rate not seen recently. About midnight we, and the remaining cast members are asked to leave by the bar staff. We get hugs from Stephen, testing if they’re still as bone crushing as we remember. Pretty good I’d say.

We head back to Boro, to complete the night’s drinking in the late bars. I later realise that tonight we’ve been asked to leave 3 different bars, as they wanted to close. A pretty good night I’d say.

*this means tugging her coat lapels in the intensely emotional scenes.

Soundtracks

Following my trip to see Guys and Dolls on Friday, I decided I needed a new copy of the soundtrack. There weren’t any on sale at the theatre, as this production hasn’t been recorded.

Now, let me rewind that one for a moment. I said a ‘new’ copy, for I do have a soundtrack album, from the National Theatre production, (which was, gulp, 25 years ago), but it’s on vinyl not cd, so I did a bit of browsing at the weekend and found the same album on Amazon for £4.97 (probably cheaper than the LP was when I bought it!) and it arrived this morning.

Now I’ve just read here that the cast album for the new musical The Drowsy Chaperone is being produced on vinyl, but with a cd copy included, but the article then goes on to say that cast albums are an endangered species, as the returns on them are so low. It’s not like film, where you have a global audience, and less and less of them are being recorded. If you think about it, it tends now to be only ‘first run’ musicals that get recorded. Those that cross over from New York rarely are, though at one time it would be pretty standard to find an original London cast album. It seems a great shame that there are less of these, as they are a part of theatre history. You can never truly capture a theatre production either on film or on record, as the experience isn't fixed, and changes from performance to performance, but these recordings capture one element of a show, and should, I think, be celebrated in all their sometimes bizarre glory*.

If I think about my (vinyl) record collection, there’s an awful lot of musical theatre soundtracks in there, some, like Guys and Dolls, from productions that I never even saw, but also many from shows that I did, Me and My Girl, Chess, Joseph, Evita, Les Mis. They probably say as much about me as my ‘pop’ collection, as my theatre going was shaped by musicals from the age of 10 onwards.

*For an example of this you should try listening to the album from the RSC's Wizard of Oz - I'm not sure who ever told the woman playing Glinda she could sing, but they were wrong. Yet I'd forgotten this until I heard it again the other week

'If I were a bell I'd be ringing'

First things first. I found the cds - they were, as expected, in an obvious place, just buried under other 'stuff'.

Still, that's not what I'm writing about. Another week, another theatre trip, (another musical - I really have to see some straight plays soon!) This time it was the touring production of Guys and Dolls at one of my favourite theatres, the Sunderland Empire. It's a big theatre, but it doesn't feel it, though that's perhaps because we've never sat far from the front. It also has a very nice Italian restaurant that's very close, for pre theatre, and a pub next door for post theatre - what more could you want? There's also a car park that closes at midnight, as we know to our cost, but there was no chance of pushing that envelope this time.

It's years since I last saw Guys and Dolls, and that was an amateur production, but it's a show I love, with great songs and dancing and snappy dialogue, so I'd wanted to see this production as soon as I knew it was touring - yes, I'd love to have seen Ewan McGregor in the West End, but hey, sometines you have to be realistic - and I thought it was really good. We had Norman Bowman* as Sky Masterson, Louise Dearman as Sarah Brown, with Alex Ferns (he used to be in East Enders, apparently) as Nathan Detroit, and Samantha Janus as Miss Adelaide (very good, but then it is probably the best part). It was a great high energy show, with humour, and enough slushy romance for me to have a soppy grin on my face. This isn't even a review, I didn't think that deeply about it, I just enjoyed it.

*Who I thought was very good, but perhaps a little young for the part - but from a bit of 'web-browsing', I discover he's 37 - he definitely has a picture in the attic!

Off to see the Wizard

Quite a few months ago, I first mentioned the 'Off to Oz' nights that the WYP were having, as being my main motivation for buying the ruby slippers (not that I needed much of an excuse!)

Finally, last Wednesday, the day came around, and I was just a little bit excited about this - ok, I sort of planned the day around my preparations.

I was a little surprised when walking into the theatre not to see very many people in costume, and for all of, well, a few moments, I felt a bit conspicuous, but that soon passed, and I was posing for photos (I did have a hat, but it was a bit small, and kept falling off, particularly when I tried to swoosh around quickly - well, a cloak like that one demands space).

There was a bit of confusion about who I was until I flashed the legs ('ah, the Wicked Witch of the East'!) - I should really have had a dark wig, as it seemed the blonde hair suggested Glinda, whereas, quite clearly, I was wicked! Trouble is, I was enjoying myself so much, I couldn't stop grinning, so didn't actually look that menacing - my 'sister' (above) was much more convincing.

The cloak was a bit of a hazard in getting to my seat, and it got stood on quite a few times, but no way was I taking it off. While the performance was billed as 'singalong', we only got the words to songs like 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road', and 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead', so weren't encouraged to singalong to others.

I really enjoyed the probuction - an excellent set, and some very good performances. We saw the understudy 'Dorothy' who was very good. And Martin Callaghan stood out in all the roles he played - genius comic timing, that man!

Afterwards we sat in the bar and took more photos (and I swooshed a bit more!). It was all quite fabulous.

'So if you care to find me, look to the western sky...'

I may have mentioned that at the moment I’m a little obsessed with ‘Wicked’. Well, in a mad moment a few weeks ago, when I was feeling ill and fed up, I found myself on line, and booking a ticket for the only matinee performance that I could get to before the end of December, in the hope that, this time, I would get to see Idina Menzel as Elphaba. And that day came last Wednesday, and I was on a morning train down to London.

I didn’t just head for the theatre, oh no, I also went shopping, and round the National Portrait Gallery* where it was amazing to see all the portraits that I’d only seen in books. All the great and the good (and not so good) were there, including my historical hero, Richard III (situated worryingly close to Henry Tudor, I thought).

And then onto Victoria, and lunch. The first time we’d been to the Apollo Victoria, we’d struggled to find somewhere to eat, so I decided a better scout around was required, in the interests of research. I soon found a variety of Italian, and other, restaurants, all pretty reasonably priced, so there is indeed food to be had in Victoria without going to Wetherspoons! I was also asked by some Australians if they were near Westminster Abbey, and directed them to Buckingham Palace instead.

Following lunch, it was over to the theatre, and to my front row, dress circle, seat. Yes, I’d gone for top price, but thankfully there were no signs up so all looked favourable.

For a midweek matinee, the theatre was pretty full, with only a few empty seats here and there. It was utterly magical once again. I thought Helen Dallimore gave a stronger performance as Glinda, with a greater range of emotions, and her singing voice was spot on. Then, Idina ran on, to cheers and applause** and she was, indeed, fabulous. The build up to the end of Act 1 was incredible, and ‘Defying Gravity’, well, I was stunned. This time the effects worked, and she ‘flew’, and that was just so amazing – it really did appear like she was floating in mid air. I know it’s all smoke and mirrors, but wow!

In Act 2, her more mature, and disillusioned Elphaba just broke your heart. This was a woman who had moved from believing that her future was ‘unlimited’ to the realisation that ‘I’m limited’ *sniff*

Two people sitting alongside me decided to leave during the big Act 2 number ‘No Good Deed’ (grrr, though I managed a very creditable execution of ‘how to get out of your seat and move to let them out without ever taking your eyes off the stage’), so I was able to move a few seats along for the last part of the show, and have a slightly more central view

The only principal cast member who didn’t appear was Adam Garcia, so we had an understudy Fiyero (Oliver Thompsett), apparently the first time he’d played it, but he was excellent.

It was a bit of a mad jaunt, but I don’t regret it one bit. It’s a fabulous show, but…I still haven’t worn the ruby slippers!

*I am gradually visiting all the galleries and museums that I was never taken to when I was young.

** as a Theatre Snob, I don’t believe in applauding people for just walking on stage, before they’ve actually done anything

A conversation with the boss

My boss called me today.

'can you go to Carlisle on the 17th?'
'errrm, possibly, but I have to be in Leeds at night...ok, it's for the theatre. And I really need to go home first, to get ready.'
'what time do you have to be in Leeds? Can't you get changed in the car like anyone else?'
'Not really...I have to turn myself into the Wicked Witch* of the East**'.

Maybe most bosses wouldn't be quite so understanding!

*Some may say this may not take much work, but costume is all.

**For 'Off to Oz' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse

What is this feeling?

I sat up last night watching Children in Need, just so that I could see the cast of Wicked performing 'What is this feeling?'. You do have to put up with an awful lot of dross, but it was worth it in the end. Neither Elphaba or Glinda were the actors I saw last Saturday. Last night it was Idina Menzel, and the Glinda standby actress, Annalene Beechey, who, in the extreme close-up of TV, was less assured in her role, but I still loved it.

I thought Idina was amazing, her whole performance in that short extract portraying Elphaba's isolation at that part of the show, but also her intelligence. Her timing was impeccable, and I love the fact that she'd 'de-greenified' after the show, only to put it all back on in the tv studio, so that it would be 'fresh'

And just how much did I love her Wicked Witch cackle at the end of the song? A lot - I don't think Kerry Ellis did that!

What is this feeling? Oh yes, it's another obsession.

One short day in the Emerald City

*with apologies for blurriness, but both were taken on my phone

Ever since I saw excerpts from ‘Wicked’ on the series about the history of the Broadway musical, I’ve wanted to see the show. It’s about the Wicked Witch of the West, what could be better?

Since it opened at the Apollo Victoria, I’ve wanted to see the ‘first run’ cast with Idina Menzel who created the role of Elphaba on Broadway, as she’s only in it till the new year. And so, we booked tickets for yesterday’s matinee, and I found myself with V at York station at 7am yesterday morning. The night before, I was on line and checking out a few sites, and spotted that Idina had been off ill for a couple of days…oh dear…but at least we didn’t get to the theatre before finding out. It turned out she was still sick, and we were to see Kerry Ellis, who takes over from her in January. I was glad, though, that we’d not gone for the top price £55 tickets, and had in fact got £15 tickets in the Circle, which whilst some distance away from the stage, had great sightlines, as there was an aisle in front of us.

They’ve refurbished the theatre since we saw 'Movin Out' there, and it’s now the Emerald City, decorated in green and silver, complete with ‘witchified’ cocktails (and, sadly, warm wine in plastic glasses, which the theatre snob in me objected to!)

The set, the costumes and the lighting were fantastic. It was one of those shows where you could see where the money had gone, even if I couldn’t work the significance of the huge animatronic dragon over the proscenium arch. And there was a real sense of excitement through the auditorium as it started.

I’m not going to spoil the show for others by talking in detail about the synopsis, but it opens just after the melting of the ‘Wicked Witch’ and then tells the backstory of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. All the central characters were excellent, and once I’d got over the momentary disappointment that Kerry Ellis wasn’t Idina, she was great, with a tremendously powerful voice (and boy, do you need one for this show!), though I’m not sure what happened in ‘Defying Gravity’, as she failed to levitate, thus we lost probably the most dramatic effect of the show. Miriam Margolyes was excellent as Madame Morrible, tutor turned Wizard's spin doctor, who sees Elphaba as her route to power. Adam Garcia (very cute) was a dashing hero, moving from airhead to the romantic hero who saw beyond outward appearance, and Helen Dallimore a suitable ditzy Glinda, with some gorgeous frocks.

The songs, with a couple of exceptions, take the story along, rather than being stand alone ‘showstoppers’, and by the end, yes, once again I was in tears. I was also the owner of a souvenir programme**, a cd, a t shirt and a lapel pin! Oops!

It was all I wanted it to be, and more, and I’d happily go and see it again. After all, as it was a matinee, I didn’t get to wear the ruby slippers!

**for once, very good value, I thought.

Say it's just a story

I saw Blood Brothers again last Friday and it was fabulous. There’ve been quite a few cast changes since we first saw it over a year ago, back in Hull, and a few more since we last saw it, in Liverpool, in April. Thankfully the roles that had changed since then were the ones that needed to – we had a new Mr and Mrs Lyons, both acceptable this time. We also saw Lyn Paul for the second time as Mrs Johnstone, and this time she impressed me, particularly in the second act, when she visibly aged in the part.

Most of the central performers have remained the same, Stephen Palfreman as Mickey, Louise Clayton as Linda and Keith Burns as the narrator*. Stephen and Louise broke my heart from the scene in the flat onwards, and I found myself holding in the sobs, which surprised me, as there have been times with this show when it’s got almost to the very end before I cried.

At the end, I stood. They deserved it, and for once I had no qualms about this, even though the ending is still, make no bones about it, incredibly manipulative of the audience’s emotions.

*yes, I know I’d like to see someone else play this part, but it isn’t going to happen any time soon. There will, however, never be another randy milkman like him!

Popular

So, Wicked has finally had it’s opening night at the Apollo Victoria. This is the theatre where we saw Movin’ Out, and apparently they’ve turned it into the Emerald City. Its a beautiful art deco ex-cinema, which I felt wasn’t a total success as a theatre, (some poor sightlines and it felt huge), but perhaps it needs the big spectacle, and from all accounts, Wicked is certainly that.

Predictably the reviews are ‘mixed’. It’s clearly going to be a popular, rather than a critical, success. I watched them discussing it on Newsnight Review (the only bit of Newsnight I ever watch) and most of them were far too ‘arty’ and ‘sophisticated’ to enjoy a Broadway musical. A couple had enjoyed it unashamedly, and it was said ‘the public will love it’, but in the ‘what do they know’ tone of voice. It reminded me of Uni, and why, for a time, I stopped going to musicals, which I’d loved my whole life, as they were seen as so deeply uncool and as theatre for the tourists and out of town coach parties. Theatre was only good if it was weird. As I said before, theatre should challenge, and doesn’t always have to be comfortable, but let’s also celebrate the sheer enjoyment that such huge shows bring. If I was choosing between a musical and a Sarah Kane play, or even, God help me, Pinter, I’d take the musical every time. I’m reminded of the critical opinion on Les Mis when that premiered 21 years ago, when there was a lot of negativity, and questions about whether this was what the RSC should be doing.

One comment was that maybe you have to love the Wizard of Oz to get it. It did amuse me when someone said they couldn’t get excited about a piece of theatre that was about witches and wizards rather than real life. Well, sorry, but that’s exactly the kind of theatre that excites me.