Theatre Trip: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL

Wednesday 28 June, 7:45

Seat: Royal Circle, E15

Seen with Joel!

Notes: My second play! Definitely a play, despite having about a dozen songs. Also, it was 90 minutes without an interval.

It's set about 4 months before Billie Holiday's death, and is essentially her performing a set at a small bar in south Philadelphia. The set is designed as a small stage, with onstage bar-esque tables filled with theatre patrons! The front rows also seemed to be tables instead, very cool atmosphere.

Lady Day does her show, singing done songs (and some fragments of songs) with just a piano, bass and drums to back her up. However, she is clearly very drunk, and while get stories are interesting, the way she acts is sad, in a way. She's clearly a big star at the end of her career. There were definitely funny moments, but also very sad ones and just as many hauntingly beautiful moments and lines. It's beautifully written.

And Audra McDonald. Wow. She really is Billie Holiday. She made a great drunk (while being completely sober, of course!), but her Billie is perfect. She sounds do like her! I actually don't think I really have the words to express how fantastic she is.

After the show, Joel and I went to the stage door. Many fewer people than for Don Juan in Soho! After just a short while, Audra came out. She was the kindest, loveliest person ever. She thanked all of us for coming (and for the nice things we said) and took time for signing and photos for all. 

Talk about a theatre high!

Theatre Weekend: WEST END LIVE!

This weekend, in Trafalgar Square, was an event that happens once a year. It is a mecca for theatre fans, and it's called West End Live. Over the course of the weekend, almost every show puts on a performance, along with great value tickets and other stands such as Disney, Forbidden Planet, and others. And it's all free!

On Saturday, with no friends who were free, I went on my own to Trafalgar Square. I arrived around 10:50 (for an 11am start), only to realise that the line was so long there was no way I would get in in time! Luckily, I got entry into a side section with it's own screen, made a friend along the way (hi Jessica!), and got a great seat!

Performances I saw on Saturday:

• Disney's Aladdin (really enjoyed this performance!)
• Wind in the Willows (this one left me really intrigued, I've added it to my list for the summer)
• Wicked (FLAWLESS - they did For Good and Defying Gravity, and they were amazing!!! Have to go see this soon!)
• Motown the Musical (full of energy!)
• On the Town (really interesting, I didn't realise it was Bernstein music!)
• 42nd Street (Lullaby of Broadway was great)
• An American in Paris (didn't know anything about this one, but it was enjoyable)
• Kinky Boots (fabulous, but couldn't tell whether actors were boys or girls - the drag was very effective...)
• Matilda the Musical (performed Naughty, it was so so great!)
• Half a Sixpence (full of energy, they didn't stop dancing)
• Phantom of the Opera (absolutely awesome, they did Phantom of the Opera and also Music of the Night, and both the Phantom and Christine were so great!)
• Les Miserables (pretty much the entire cast - they did One More Day, which was awesome)

After seeing these shows, I went to lunch with my new theatre friend at a pub across the road (their pies were outstanding!). Then we went to Waterstones briefly. By the time I emerged, it was time for the performance from Jesus Christ Superstar. I didn't go back into the main area, just stood outside the fence on the edge to hear the performance.

After that, I went home, did some research, then created a spreadsheet of the things I wanted to see (mostly West End shows, with a smattering of straight plays, New Wimbledon touring shows and a couple at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre). There are 28!!!

On Sunday, I was able to have a friend, Joel, to come with me. We met even earlier, at 11:15 for the 12pm start. We lined up, and got in the gate just in time for the 10 second countdown timer! Got our spots in time to see:

• School of Rock - the Musical (really cool kids, apparently they actually play all the instruments too!)
• Disney's The Lion King (amazing and incredible)
• The Wind in the Willows (a different song to yesterday, but also really fun)
• Stomp (crazy talented, so much coordination - no speaking though)
• Thriller Live (so amazing to watch and sing along too - the Michael Jackson guy looked exactly like him! Interestingly, today is also the anniversary of his death...)
• Matilda the Musical (same song, but a different Matilda, which was really lovely)
• Bat out of Hell the Musical (Meatloaf music, was very reminiscent of We Will Rock You)
• Kerry Ellis (absolutely flawless, I love her so much. She sang a song from her new album, and Finding Wonderland from Wonderland. She's so fabulous omg.)
• Willemijn Verkaik (also flawless, she performed a Sara Bareilles song I already adore and Let It Go from Frozen, which she voiced for the German and Dutch versions of the film)
• La Cage Aux Folles (I Am What I Am, which is fantastic)
• Rachel Tucker (another ex-Elphaba, she sang an Ed Sheeran song which was great)
• Ben Forster (sang a song I don't know, and the Gesthsemane. I saw him in the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and he was so great!)

That wasn't the end of the weekend, but there weren't any other performances I wanted to see, so I headed home after that. It was a long, rather tiring weekend, but so so great and I adore the West End. Now, to see all those shows!!!

Theatre Trip: Don Juan in Soho

DON JUAN IN SOHO

Thursday 8th June, 7:30

Seats: Royal Circle, B9/10

Wyndham's Theatre

Cast Changes: none (thank goodness!)

Note: I wrote this review the following day (almost 24 hours later) for one simple reason - to let the fangirling ease a little and give it a more indepth review. I hope it worked.

Wow. We bought tickets to this show based purely on the fact that David Tennant was in it (and Adrian Scarborough I also recognised from Doctor Who), but it was so, so, so much more than expected. Don Juan, as a character, I was familiar with (he's a seducer who sleeps with basically all the ladies), but this was a modern take set in contemporary London, which was cool given the theatre is in Soho!

It was so hilarious. I was not expecting it to be so funny! Poetic, beautiful lines just like Shakespeare, but wicked and rude. It was also very raunchy, in a quite in your face way at times (David Tennant in his underwear!), and he just had to make you laugh (sometimes, you either laughed or you were horrified). Underneath the rude and raunchy though, was such an honest and true note. So many of the truths he said were totally true - about the connectedness of modern society, the likes and the follows and the vlogs. I wish I could remember the words - I tried to commit them to memory at the time - but unfortunately I can't recall them now. They did have the audience clapping and cheering though. And there were even a couple of Trump jokes (including one I do remember: "I'm not a rapist, I don't grab p****")!

The character of Don Juan is exactly like a child - he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, because he wants to. And of course, in the end, it doesn't work out well.

The ensemble in this show was really strong - some played multiple roles, and all the roles were distinct and the actors were good. Adrian Scarborough was great - sarcastic, and beaten-down, but honest. He could be surprisingly funny too!

And David Tennant. Woah. He wears some great costumes in this play, from beautifully cut suits to only dressing gown and underwear. He used his British accent throughout, and the way he spoke was beautiful. Obviously, he's got the best lines, and he had this great drawl to his voice. Basically, he's great on TV, but even better live. SO so great. I am so pleased we got tickets and got to see this show!

 

Now, the story: Don Juan closes on Saturday night. El Husbando went to the theatre Thursday morning to line up to get day seats on the front row. He was in line for more than an hour, and they ran out of seats when he was third in line! (There were only 8, apparently) But, because I have the best husband, he bought full price tickets (and we had great seats with a perfect view) which means he missed a couple of hours of work out of his day.

And at the curtain call, David Tennant came onto stage wearing an I <3 LONDON shirt, made a really great inspirational speech about the terrorist attacks and how we had to show we weren't afraid by continuing to live (including quoting Michelle Obama), and then all the cast in their costumes came out to collect money for the Red Cross. David was at the front, and I tried to get to him to donate my money - I wanted to thank him for all his roles. But he disappeared before I could get to him. So I went around to the stage door, where there was a rather large crowd, but after even not that long, he came out! He stayed and signed programmes for a while, including mine, and I got to say my thank you to one of my favourite British actors. It was an amazing night.