Theatre Trip: Sister Act

 SISTER ACT

New Victoria Theatre - Woking

Date: 24 February 2023 (Friday), 7:30pm

Seats: Upper Circle H,  15-16

(Seen with Jess!)

Notes: We were off to a new theatre today! We have never been to Woking before, let alone for a show. Used to going to Wimbledon for touring shows, this one seemed to be only at Woking before the end of the tour so off we headed! Jess joined me for this one - leaving work as soon as it was over to drive the 2ish hours around the M25. Such dedication to shows! She arrived at my place around half 5 and we chatted for a bit before leaving and driving to Woking to arrive there at half 6. It turns out the theatre is in a whole shopping centre, but at that time on a Friday the only thing in the centre open was the cinema, the theatre and the McDonalds. So burgers it is!

I was very familiar with the original cast recording for this show but actually they seemed to have changed the plot a little, and the music quite a bit. One of the songs has the same melody but totally different words! I started getting a bit worried about some of my favourite songs being missing but they were still there intact. The plot of this show is the same as the film, I think? It's been a long time since I saw it if I'm honest.

The show as a whole was really fun! It was definitely a Friday night vibe and a Friday night crowd, everyone was really into it. Unfortunately there was one cast member that I didn't like. It was a real shame that it was Sandra Marvin, who was playing the lead role of Deloris. She wasn't out of tune or anything, but she just took too much liberty with the songs and notes which I found frustrating. It happened too much and too often for my liking but the rest of the crowd didn't seem to mind.

It was a shame because there were so many other performances I loved. Lesley Joseph played Mother Superior (I have seen her in Young Frankenstein previously and thought she was fabulous, and Sister Mary Robert - who sings my favourite song, 'The Life I Never Led' - had previously played Tracey Turnblad in Hairspray and absolutely killed this role! A few of the other nuns also were great; Sister Mary Lazarus (Anne Smith) and Sister Mary Patrick (Catherine Millsom) killed their smaller parts.

Honestly the real standouts in this show were the boys! They were all great, but the standouts were the trio of boy backups. They were hilarious and so in sync with the cheesiest dance moves which only made them even funnier! But Eddie Souther though. Clive Rowe is a bit of a British theatre legend, although after googling him I realised I've only ever seen him in a single episode of Doctor Who (and he doesn't sing in that). But he was so good in this! His vocals blew me away and his dance moves were great too. My favourite moment by far was during his big number he was revealed through a velcro quick change that he had a disco suit on under his police uniform... Except he also had another police uniform on under that and there was another velcro quick change which took us both completely by surprise! What a great twist.

Well, I would definitely head out to Woking again. It's definitely not London or Wimbledon, but it's only a half hour drive from home! Totally worth it.

Theatre Trip: Moulin Rouge!

MOULIN ROUGE

Picadilly Theatre

Date: 24 January 2023 (Tuesday), 7:30pm

Seats: Stalls M,  12-13

(Seen with Richard!)

Notes: This ticket was also part of my Christmas/birthday goodness. I have wanted to see this show since it opened last year. I love the film and it is absolutely iconic! However, it also happens to be one of the hottest tickets in town and therefore on a weekend costs around £150 for a decent seat, so we hadn’t had a real reason to spend that much yet (even our tickets to Hamilton weren’t that expensive - they were only £100 which feels cheap in comparison) until we decided to do this festive season. We also picked a Tuesday night because the same seats that were around £150 were now £85 just by virtue of it being midweek. Normally I wouldn’t go to a show mid week now that we live in Epsom, but just this once it can’t hurt that much (and it didn’t!) and it was worth every. Single. Second!

I have to say, I much preferred this to the film, probably partly due to the live nature of it. It had a similar vibe to the opening sequence - opulent, decadent and a little overwhelming, but in a good way. When you enter the theatre, they've redone it with deep red velvet on the walls, and there are ensemble members walking around on stage. You have the windmill up on the left and the elephant on the right (I think they were in the boxes?) which were very cool and the large fluorescent 'Moulin Rouge' sign which moved up and down (starting down on arrival and moving when needed). It all felt very real and very fancy.

As well as the staging, I adored the costumes. So many corsets! So little other clothing! It was very showgirl chic, so corsets and tights and not much else. The leads costumes were great too - very similar to the film to match the aesthetic. Satine's outfits were gorgeous - I wish I looked half as good as her!

Of course the plot is the same as the film. They did move around a couple of the songs and give some to other characters but this didn't change the story line. They updated the music by adding more songs into each medley with updated references and they also changed a few songs (they lost 'One Day I'll Fly Away', replacing it with Katy Perry's song Firework - totally worked!) I really liked the updated songs and the pace of the references! They gave a more modern feel to the show which worked to refresh it for all of us who know the plot already.

Some of the secondary characters I really really liked. The Argentinean (Elio Lo Tauro) I thought was just mostly funny, until we got to Bad Romance and he really let loose - wow that guy can growl! So cool. I also liked the guy playing Toulouse-Lautrec. His Nature Boy was really sweet and despite not looking at all like John Leguizamo I thought he brought his own to the role really well. The Duke was also awesome (Ben Richards) - he was exactly the right mix of creepy and attractive and tread that line really well. Fabulous acting!

We had one understudy in the show - for Harold Zidler (Craig Ryder). He was so full of energy! I adored him and he seemed so at home on that stage playing that role you'd think he was born to it. Cheeky and a bit sexy and vocally great too.

But the two leads. Melissa James played Satine and she was something else. Tall, leggy, and incredible dancer - I couldn't take my eyes off her when she danced (all the sparkles certainly helped!) Her voice was gorgeous and she really took on the role seriously, her consumption slowly taking over was really well acted to be dramatic but not too much so. She was really great.

But the highlight for me which made me go now rather than later. I always wanted to see this show but when they cast Jamie Muscato (who had previously WOWed us in Heathers multiple times) as Christian I couldn't get there fast enough! And he absolutely slayed me. And the role. Vocal perfection. Saving the growl for the most dramatic number (Roxanne). He was absolute perfection and anyone who even slightly likes him needs to get themselves into that theatre IMMEADIATELY.

We realised during interval that there are seats right at the front. Looking it up later, they are called 'Can Can Seats', and they look amazing. The stage comes out in a T shape and there are seats in front of the T as well as behind the bit that sticks out. When we return to this show (which we inevitably will, as it will run for ages I'm sure!), I would LOVE to sit there and get up close with all the action. For a first viewing our seats were perfect for getting the whole picture but I love me a close up shot! Next time...