Theatre Trip: Crazy For You (#2)

CRAZY FOR YOU

Gillian Lynne Theatre

Date: 27 December 2023 (Wednesday), 2:00pm

Seats: Circle D 72-73

(Seen with Bri! Or I was supposed to...)

Notes: This was something I had talked about doing - seeing Crazy For You again! And this time Bri was on board so I booked us a pair of seats for the first matinee after Christmas. And then the drama started! She was staying out of town for the holiday and had planned to head into the city to meet me for the show. Except that when she got to the station, there had been a signal failure and there were no trains! With no other options, she considered getting a lift to another station or even into the city, but even then there would have only been a 5 minute buffer and so she was unable to make it.

Even I had a little bit of trouble - despite leaving with enough time to get to the theatre at 1:30, the train and then the tube both ran slow. Plus I had to pick up some food for lunch and it was a 10 minute walk from the station, so by the time I arrived it was 1:50 anyway. And then the line to get in was huge, so I walked into the theatre at the 3 minute call, left the bathroom at the 1 minute call, and then got into my seat as they were announcing the show would be starting! But I wasn't late and that counts.

The music in this show is so good! While not every number is a stand out that is listenable outside the theatre, I love how every single one fits the show so well and they are so catchy. I really like the chorus numbers in particular and the dancing as well is just mind blowing. That being said, I think with a little bit more training (and a total body overhaul!) I could totally be a chorus girl in this show. Slap That Bass and I've Got Rhythm in particular are perfection and joy in theatre!

This time there were a few things that I noticed were different this time around. Mostly Bela Zangler, who played up his role and broke the fourth wall a few times to get extra laughs from the crowd - and it totally worked! Clearly all the performers are nice and relaxed and ready to have some fun in their final week.

Of course the cast of this show is spectacular. This time I particularly noticed one of the chorus members, Bradley Trevethan. He had been very athletic and had a few standout moments with jumps and flips! Turns out he is a swing too (and assistant dance captain too!) so that is very cool.

But that core duo of Carly Anderson and Charlie Stemp are just magic together. The way that they dance together is smooth and joyous, and I wish I could move like that! Charlie is also phenomenal, the way that he dances and clearly enjoys it so much while somehow also making it look easy? Impossible but somehow he does it.

I have appreciated this show so much both times I have seen it and while I do tend to lean towards more modern shows, I would love to see more in this vein as it is just such a great time.

Theatre Trip: Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S OLD FRIENDS

Gielgud Theatre

Date: 14 December 2023 (Thursday), 7:30pm

Seats: Circle E 15-16?

(Seen with Bri!)

Notes: I had heard so many good things about this show! I din't know when or if I was going to be able to go because of work and Christmas coming up, but then Bri messaged me to say that she had seen Today Tix having a 24 hour sale and she picked up a pair of tickets for £15 each, which is a total steal! It was a Thursday but that is manageable for sometimes. So I got up extra early and caught the train to work and then left as early as I could manage to get into the city!

We met at Fortnum and Masons as Bri needed some things, so we tried to get dinner there (they do lovely bagels and such - except they close that counter at 5pm!). Instead we wandered in the direction of the theatre on the hunt for something not crazy junk food and nice and fast. We ended up at Whole Foods where we got a slice of pizza each and some madeleines for interval sweets, which turned out to be perfect for eating as we walked over to the Gielgud.

Our seats were upstairs in the Circle but had a quite good view as that theatre has a lovely rake. I don't think I would have liked to be further back, especially because this show has no set changes and minimal costumes. It is a review style show which was set up to honour the work of Stephen Sondheim and was put on for a few gala performances. It did really well and then the passing of Sondheim meant that they decided to bring it back, with some amazing cast members! More on them later. 

Because there is a lot of Sondheim shows, this features music from all of them - Sunday in the Park with George, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, West Side Story, Gypsy, plus more. I am familiar with the main music from almost all of those shows, even for the ones I haven't seen, and of course I am very familiar with some of them; Company, Sweeney, and Into the Woods in particular. It was interesting to hear the music from a beautiful on stage orchestra out of context from the shows and to hear which ones they chose.

Each show had at least a few numbers and some got entire sets, with some basic costuming and staging. But while the music is of course a big draw, the actors are the real deal and were an incredible part of this show.

The 'chorus' featured a lot of actors I've seen before, most of whom got starring moments and their own feature songs. Christina Allado got to be Anita in West Side Story (who I've seen in Prince of Egypt), Damian Humbley had some stand out songs, and then there was Bradley Jaden. His starring song was as the Wolf in Into the Woods, opposite the Red Riding Hood of Bernadette Peters. It was a great interpretation and he was gorgeous! Jeremy Secomb also had a starring turn as Sweeney Todd opposite Lea Salonga's Mrs Lovett. I also didn't realise ahead of time that Bonnie Langford was in this! She is an absolute British icon and still an incredible singer and dancer (I wish I could do the splits at all, let alone at 59!) and she was a part of the trio for You Could Drive a Person Crazy.

But of course, the two big performers are absolutely insane. Lea Salonga hasn't performed on the West End in about 20 years but is a big name on Broadway and was first discovered here in London. She had about half of the big songs, including A Little Priest, Children Will Listen, and Everything's Coming Up Roses. Her voice was powerful and resonant and she delivered every song beautifully! My favourite was definitely her Mrs Lovett

And, for the first time, making her West End debut at age 75 and an absolute icon, Bernadette Peters. She dances so well, sings amazingly, with her highlights including I Know Things Now, Broadway Baby, Old Friends. It was also very clear that she was indeed an old friend of Stephen Sondheim's - at one point they had a video reel and she was clearly moved by it. She had worked on many shows with Sondheim and they clearly knew each other well.

I feel so grateful to have seen Bernadette, after seeing the legend Patti Lupone in Company previously. Two Broadway legends ticked off, plus Lea (who is on her way to becoming one), and a West End one too in Bonnie Langford! And to see it with my oldest friend was purely a bonus.

Theatre Trip: Crazy for You

CRAZY FOR YOU

Gillian Lynne Theatre

Date: 13 October 2023 (Friday), 7:30pm

Seats: Stalls C 1-3 (Front Row!)

(Seen with Jess!)

Notes: Another Friday night at the theatre! I do love a post-work theatre trip, even if it's a pain taking the train to work at 7am on a Friday. I saw this with Jess after picking up tickets for a super price, with restricted view seats on the edge of Row C. We did our usual pre-show routine - meet at McDonalds, eat dinner, head over to the theatre.

We had issues getting in, as once we got to the theatre. I lost my phone signal and couldn't load the tickets. I was plenty happy about that because I knew we could just go to the box office and ask for printed ones (which go in my diary), but they just let us in anyway using the written seating plan on my email. Mildly disappointing, but we needed time to get ourselves organised - program, drinks and bathroom before the start of the show.

When we got to our seats we realised that our seats were not restricted at all. We were right on the edge of the row - and C was the front row! The only thing restricted about it was that it was slightly lower than the stage, so I had to sit up REALLY straight to be able to see the best part - which was watching the dancers feet.

I didn't know a huge amount about this show other than it was from the 1990s. In fact it is, but it is a rewritten version of a musical from the 1930s which also entirely uses music by George and Ira Gershwin. This means that despite only being 30 years old or so, it feels more like 100. It had a really classic musical old-school feel which I really liked. It also means that the music has a really coordinated feel and all the songs are super coherent - nothing is new but the Gershwin's have a huge back catalog which they could pull from to make it fit together as well as possible.

One of the highlights of this show was definitely the choreography. Now that I am learning tap, I was so excited to see a classic musical with BIG chorus numbers and they did. Not. Disappoint!! The coordination was incredible and the steps were amazing. The chorus as a whole was great to watch and worked together amazingly as a team. Of particular note was the guy who played Moose, who was very funny.

In more major character news, there were 3 great leads. Bela Zangler was played by Tom Edden, who was wickedly funny and over the top. The beautiful Polly Baker was played by Carly Anderson. She moved incredibly gracefully, danced like an angel and made a perfect partner to the real star of this show. Charlie Stemp played Bobby Child. I've never seen someone so perfect for a role. He practically floated across the stage, his footwork was impeccable, he looked so graceful and he was the perfect partner. And the comedy routine with Bela Zangler, and his impressions? So amazing. He's only just 30 but Charlie Stemp is a really rare talent and now I want to see absolutely everything he does for the rest of my life.

This is only on until January, and while it is currently December already I really want to see this absolute classic again before it closes!

Theatre Trip: Rebecca

Rebecca

Charing Cross Theatre

Date: 24 September 2023 (Sunday), 3:00pm

Seats: Stalls M 2

(Seen solo!)

Notes: This show was a whole experience, one that I really enjoyed! I had heard about this show originally from one of the YouTube channels I watch, Wait In The Wings. Brendan does all sorts of short documentaries about the history of different shows, and one of his famous and radical was about the musical Rebecca. 

Written in German by Michael Kunzer, and premiering in 2006 in Vienna, it has been extremely popular and running the Europe for 17 years. And yet it has never been staged in English. It was due to have a West End premiere, and then when they were excavating under the theatre they were going to use to put in a big set piece, they found an underground stream! So they had to cancel it on the West End. That was supposed to be the test for Broadway, but they decided that instead of doing a different tryout somewhere else, they would go straight to Broadway. Then it turned out that it all fell apart just after rehearsals started when it came out that one of the investors, a mystery man, didn't actually exist?! If you're interested in more definitely watch the Wait in the Wings documentary.

This production is in a very different staging to the original. It has been greatly scaled down in terms of set pieces and staging. The theatre it is in is also new to me - the Charing Cross theatre is in... Charing Cross. It's actually underneath one of the railway arches, so it's tiny! It must have been about 20 seats across in each row, and my seat in row M was behind the centre cross-aisle, so it must only have had a total capacity of a couple of hundred.

The show itself is the same as previously - no changes were made that I understand to the plot or music. The plot is based on the Daphne du Maurier book by the same name, in which the main character (only referred to as 'I' in the book, and not really referred to in the show) meets and marries a millionaire, Maxim de Winter. He brings her back to his house (mansion), only to meet the housekeeper Mrs Danvers, who is extremely loyal to Maxim's first wife Rebecca. Rebecca disappeared in mysterious circumstances and nobody knows what happened. It all unfolds from there and it is very interesting. Eventually our main character realises that she needs to become more confident as secrets about Maxim and Rebecca are revealed, and she becomes exactly who Maxim needs in his life; however, Mrs Danvers is not to be trusted, particularly as Rebecca's influence wanes. And of course, a dramatic ending!

I actually really enjoyed the music in this show. It had vibes of early Andrew Lloyd Webber with a big and slightly electronic sound. I found myself waking up the next morning with a song from the show in my head, which is always an excellent sign. I found out afterwards that actually, and despite the small theatre, it has the second biggest orchestra on the West End! Bigger than Phantom and second only to Wicked. Which even though they can't be seen, really makes a huge difference.

The cast of this show had nobody I had heard of before but there were some really amazing people! Lauren Jones played 'I' - she has had some understudy roles but nothing major. She was very sweet and she really developed over the course of the show as her character grew within herself. Richard Carson played Maxim de Winter - his main role that he has played was Sky in Mamma Mia. He was pretty good, but the definite standout was Mrs Danvers. She did have the best song in the whole show (and it's reprise), and balanced really well creepy and effective. Kara Lane played this role and she was AMAZING!

I'm so glad that I went to see this show. It was a really interesting show and knowing the story behind it made it so much better. Plus, the theatre was excellent! Totally worth it once but I don't think I need to go again.

Theatre Trip: Oklahoma!

 Oklahoma!

Wyndham's Theatre

Date: 17 August 2023 (Thursday), 7:30

Seats: AA 8-9 (Front row!)

(Seen with Jess!)

Notes: This show is a classic - but not as you know it! This show was a last minute pick, and the only show I managed to fit into my summer break due to the few little trips that we took (home to Oz, overnight trip to the Cotswolds, and the 70.3 World Champs in Lahti, Finland!) over my summer holiday. I had grand plans of a matinee every week but that just did not happen... sadly.

But Jess and I decided on the Wednesday to try a show on the Thursday. My list of shows to catch over the summer was long, but my top 3 picks were Oklahoma, We Will Rock You and Spongebob. Jess picked Oklahoma, so on Thursday morning we went for the rush. Jess got upstairs seats and I could not believe my eyes when I was STALLS AA on mine! It had to be front row so we pounced on it!

When we arrived I saw the set and had a mild panic. There were steps going down to the audience... So I asked and was told that there MIGHT be some mild audience interaction and that it MIGHT involve us. So I steeled myself as we sat down. I've seen Oklahoma once before - in a semi-staged prom early in our time here in London. I think it may even have been 2017? So I know the show - it's a classic anyway so I knew all the big songs, and knew that it was Hugh Jackman's big break back in the 90s (not that I was old enough to see it then).

This production has come over from Broadway and it had SUCH a buzz. There was a lot of talk about it being very different and much more modern and edgy. I wasn't sure how they could update the show for a more modern audience but they totally managed it and did it SO WELL. One thing that has stayed the same is the music - I believe some of the orchestrations are different but the lyrics and melodies that you all know are totally there, which for me made the modernisation even more intriguing.

The staging was very bare which I felt really put the focus on the actors and the music. There were definitely no distractions with only a large table and some chairs on the stage, with a few smaller props. It means you have to picture some things but I didn't find that an issue at all. When they were in the smokehouse where Jud Fry sleeps, they did something amazing - they turned all the light off! Every single one, including the exit lights in the auditorium. And they whispered directly into a handheld mic. It was creepy and made it so much more intense and intimate. They even had one gunshot go off in the dark, which I'm glad I saw coming because I'm sure it made a lot of people jump! I was hanging onto Jess' arm at first panicking slightly because I've never been in a theatre so dark and intense before, but funnily enough I adjusted and it became more home-like. The acting was also more intense - the romance was super played up in a sexual way and everyone was just heightened. It really transformed what I had thought of as an old-fashioned, slightly stuffy show into one more thrilling and tense. The ending as well (SPOILERS!!!) was really dramatic, with the shooting of Jud Fry and a violent spray of blood up onto Curly and Laurey. They then sang the final reprise of Oklahoma in a completely different tone, Laurey beginning to melt down as she sung. And then it was over and they were bowing - no curtain music, no bow choreo, no happy ending. It makes sense but it was so shocking that at first nobody was clapping. And then we all were once we realised what had just happened and how it had been done!

They also completely restaged the dream ballet, re-orchestrated using a guitar and more modern instruments and danced by a solo ballet dancer. It was modern ballet, which I found a bit confronting (probably was the point!) but it was really interesting to see that. They also during that and some other points, a handheld camer for extreme close ups which they live projected onto the backdrop so that we could see every tiny thing to bump up the impact even further!

There were a few standout members of the cast for me. Most of them had solo songs, and nobody is really a background performer in this show! I was excited to see one name I knew in the cast - Sally Ann Triplett, who I haven't seen in anything personally, but she's kind of a legend. Her Aunt Eller was really gutsy and just the right amount of coarse and I loved the energy she had. But energy - Paige Peddie as Ado Annie was phenomenal. Her 'I Cain't Say No' was something else! It gave more depth of meaning to the song with her movements and phrasing throughout, and her voice was KILLER. She even came down the stairs in the second verse, moved a lady in the front row out of her seat, and sang to the lady's partner while playing with his hair. His face and the way she did it was priceless. They also added an extra reprise of the chorus using the handheld mic at the end which had a more rock-y vibe that I really liked. She is supposed to be a quite promiscuous character so I liked that she was much less restrained in this version. And then there was Stavros Demetraki as Ali Hakim. He was crazy - very intense and over the top the whole way through, but in the best way. At one point in the dance scene he came right up to the edge of the stage, sculled a beer, then splattered some over us all in the front row. He really seemed upset by the events that befall him throughout the show and made intense and funny eye contact with several audience members at various points, including us! We were hysterical watching him.

The main 3 were also excellent. Patrick Vaill (Jud Fry) was an amazing actor - and reading later, he has played this role in this interpretation of the show in every staging since it was created at a university (including Broadway) and I can see why. He has these intense eyes and serious manner that really does creep you out a little bit. His acting, even in the mostly dark, was really wide-ranging and I really felt for Jud in a way I hadn't before. Sam Palladio played Curly and he was cocky and perfect... And while Jess knew him from a TV show and I then had mild reservations, his voice was incredible. But not as good as Anoushka Lucas (Laurey Williams). She was acting her heart out, and from the front row we could see every little expression and the way she folded in towards Curly in the intimate moments. Her voice was warm and expressive and beautifully controlled through all the emotions and especially through the end.

In the end I'm glad I went to this over Spongebob. It is a classic musical and this adaptation just turned it up to 11 in every way. It was like watching it in bold colour - maybe too intense for some, but it gave this show from 1943 (literally!) a whole new lease of life and showed a modern audience that the material really is a classic. Incredible.

Theatre Trip: RIDE

RIDE

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Date: 22 July 2023 (Saturday), 2:30

Seats: B12-13

(Seen with Jess!)

Notes: This show. Wow.

I had heard about this show from a YouTuber I follow, who had seen it in its previous version, and did a video where he live reacted to the release of the cast recording. I listened to it and watched along with the video and fell in love. It is a new British musical, only 3 years old and the second production of it in this form. When I looked up the production it was being ahead at a new to me venue as well - the Southwark Playhouse Elephant. I have been to the Southwark Playhouse before, seeing Ain’t Misbehavin’ there as well as one of my all time favourite shows, Preludes, but this is the new venue they opened in 2021. It is just near Elephant and Castle station and not far from what is now called Southwark Playhouse Borough! So I booked Jess and I preview seats for one of the final preview shows, and just after school finished and all.

When you see a show in a theatre as small as this (only 300ish seats) every seat is a good one, but ours was excellent in Row B! We were within much eye contact distance, which also definitely happened - they even pointed at me at one point! The premise of this show was also super interesting. It is about Annie Londonderry, the first woman to cycle around the world, which happened in 1894-5. The show takes place after that journey, while pitching herself to the New York World newspaper as a their newest writer. She retells her travels, with the help of the secretary Martha, who plays every other character along the way. Accents and simple costumes included! That’s the basic premise but there is a deeper level, about what is actually real, what is not, and who Annie Londonderry really is as well as why she set off on their journey. A fascinating story!

I really enjoyed the staging of this show. It is set up as the interview room with table, desk and chairs which are all on wheels to be moved around to form different parts, and with functioning drawers with costumes and props coming in and out the whole show. The coatrack serves as both a place for Annie to hang her hat, but also a place for the costume pieces. And then about halfway through, it opened up (as Annie does!) to give more space including space for riding bikes! Every inch of the small stage is cleverly used and made worthwhile which I really appreciated.

The reason I wanted to see this show was the music, which I have been listening to on repeat ever since I first heard it. I loved the accents, the clever rhymes (as Annie travels through Asian cities), and the soaring vocals. The main themes of each song is reused cleverly throughout to link the themes. My favourite numbers are the title song ‘Ride’ - it is a sweeping bop which extols the virtues of riding a bike as a tool for freedom, particularly for women of that era. Also incredible is ‘Miles Away from Boston’. It has a beautiful rocking guitar line, those clever lyrics again (‘heck if it wasn’t so franchise it could be romantic, you know’, ‘look at who we are/we’re like fire and ice, you’re verbose I’m concise that won’t do/a disastrous pairing so why am I staring like this at you’), and with a heartbeat underpinning the whole thing. And despite being a love song between a female and male character, it is two actresses as Martha is playing the role of the male. So it becomes a 2 female duet, with the most gorgeous harmonies I’ve heard in ages between two ladies. To die for, even in the recording, and even more so live. And definitely sapphic vibes between Annie and Martha.

I definitely think that a lot of the show relies on the actors, and this is even more true when there are only 2 people in the show. Katy Ellis played Martha, and while I took a while to warm up to her character, I think that’s supposed to be the case as she takes time to warm up to the show too. As she came out of her shell I only liked her more and her character work was very good - she does a great French accent! The mixing of the voices was sublime. But Annie. Played by Liv Andrusier, and having won the 2023 Off West End Award for ‘Leading Performance in a Musical’ for this role, is perfection as Annie. A flawless Bostonian accent all the way, super character work, brutal honesty and heartbreaking moments abound. And the way she was mixed in the sound meant that she was as loud as she could go without breaking the sound, loud enough to drown in. Physical chills on multiple occasions, and in person ‘Miles Away From Boston’ brought me to tears. She is the perfection of this role and I hope it gets recorded so I can watch it forever.

Because this show was a preview, it was only £16 a seat. One of the most incredible shows I’ve seen in ages, and for an incredible price! We are so lucky to have this life here in London, really. I love it so much. I would want to see it again before it closes but we are in Australia. I don’t think I will ever forget this show and will see it again in a heartbeat if I get the chance in the future!

Theatre Trip: Newsies

NEWSIES

Troubadour Theatre, Wembley Park

Date: 25 June 2023 (Sunday), 1:00pm

Seats: Manhattan ZA, 9-11

Understudies: George Crawford (Jack Kelly), Bobbie Chambers (Katherine Plumber), Ross Dawes (Joseph Pulitzer), Les (Ethan Sokontwe) 

(Seen with Linda and Jess!)

Notes: This one was a bit of an adventure! I had heard so many good things about Newsies and we were lucky to find a decent priced seat with a 1pm Sunday matinee! Perfect for driving, especially given it was out in Wembley Park. I've never been out there and at 9am it said it was only a 55 minute drive so I committed to driving and got ready for the rest of my day. Then around 11am I checked again so I could get there nice and early, and it said 1 hour 35! So I left and of course traffic didn't improve. I arrived at the car park (pink) right on time - only to find that the actual theatre is another 15 minutes walk away! I rushed over there only to arrive at the 10 minute call, so I had just enough time to go to the bathroom, and my way in took me past a kiosk shop where I picked up a water and a program before taking my seat. Jess and Linda, on the other hand, drove from a similar place but went a different route and got stuck in traffic! They ended up arriving around half past 1 and coming in part way through the show.

Going in, all I knew about this show was that it was about the 1900s newsboy strike. I was actually wrong - it was 1899! The newsboys lived in poverty, mostly without parents, selling 'papes' they buy from Joseph Pulitzer for 50c/100. When Pulitzer, trying to make more money, raises the price to 60c/100, they quickly unionise and go on strike! There's also an intriguing female reporter trying to break the story so she can get a job outside the social pages (that way there can be romance).

I didn't know anything about the music ahead of time but really fell in love with a couple of the songs, 'Seize the Day' and 'King of New York' in particular. I think it was because of the dancing! this show has an amazing (mostly) male cast that do a WHOLE lot of dancing. Most of it (including Seize the Day) take place in this gorgeous ballet style which is super athletic and cool to watch. But despite me doing ballet, I got wayyy over excited at the beginning of Act 2 because their shoes were shiny on the bottom... Which means a TAP NUMBER! I have become utterly obsessed with 'King of New York' and have listened to it so many times that I have begun dreaming about tap choreography! It was amazing and the whole show really fueled my drive to continue dancing.

I really liked some of the characters, particularly the lead female, Katherine Plumber. I liked her chutzpah and pizazz! Her characterisation was really great and I liked the idea of the female reporter who was trying to break into the big time out of the social pages. We actually got a few understudies in this performance and Katherine was one of them (Bobbie Chambers). I really really liked her characterisation and performance! She was eager but so full of character and sassy and she was really great. We also had an understudy for the lead, Jack Kelly. I knew he was an understudy straight away as the regular guy is black, and this understudy was fine. A few cracks but usually at parts with feeling so he got away with it. The guy who played Joseph Pulitzer I was surprised to see was an understudy given how much I enjoyed his performance. He was really excellent! And Les, the child actor was amazing! I always am so impressed by child actors in West End shows.

It turns out that Newsies is closing at the end of July, so it seems like I got in just in time! It was such an amazing show and I'm so glad that I caught it before it closed.