There's a hole in the world ...and it goes by the name of London.
London trip 20th - 22nd September, 2012
I hadn't really been that desperate to go to London once more this year.
This year's West End season is rather dull, most new shows I am interested in will just open next year but with two weeks vacation and just ten days to be spent in stunning Switzerland (most incredible trip travelling around the country taking all the panorama trains there are in that country), Lufthansa having London as miles & more offer (and me enough miles for a "free" flight) and Sweeney Todd which I loved so much in April closing that weekend I thought why not going to London for a long weekend.
Well, with no new musical shows to see (there was no way I would see dull shows as Taboo, one which was newly staged) it was a weekend seeing largely shows I had seen before - three of them just in April but I did not mind.
First show was "Phantom of the Opera", a show I hadn't seen for over three years but with the cast change a couple of months ago and my beloved Simon Thomas joining as Raoul I really wanted to see it - it also helped that I got an excellent seat the day before the show being bang in the middle in the fourth row with the chandelier directly above me.
It was nice to see the show, am not a huge fan of it, but I try to see it every few years and seeing it in London is always special anyway - or at least used to be.
The show is still fab, I largely liked the cast but it seems the audience just consists 95% of tourists these days who just see one musical a year - and have no idea on how to behave in a theatre. Seriously the amount of people around me who could not shut the f*** up, used the phones sending text messages or mobile internet etc. was incredible. They should make an announcement in various languages, especially Japanese and Spanish, about how to behave. Anyway rant over.
Well I was pleased at least to see Simon Thomas again. The last time I had seen him was in Legally Blonde in February last year, a show I was not keen on to say it in a polite way. I still wish he would come back to Tarzan here in Hamburg as he was for me the best Tarzan there was.
But his Raoul was lovely, I normally cannot care less about Raoul as the guys I had seen before portrayed Raoul usually like being a spoilt arrogant snob, but for once I cared about Raoul being one with a heart.
Marcus Lovett as the phantom was also impressive. He would not be my favourite phantom but he has a strong voice and convincing play that made fun to watch.
The one I though was not impressed with was Sofia Escobar as Christine. She seems to be a bit like marmite and I unfortunately do not like that stuff.
Especially her way to emphasise or not emphasise special words bugged me massively, her intonation was often way off that the constant emerging of Portuguese accent seemed to be a minor issue.
She certainly also has a great voice, it just does not do anything to me unlike Katie Hall who was the last Christine I saw and who is starring in the UK tour of POTO at the moment.
Anyway, it was nice to see it though I will not rush to see it too soon again.
Other shows I got to see were "Singin' In The Rain" which was just so wonderful again as last time (read about it >> here ). Daniel Crossley was off so I got to see Brendan Cull as Cosmo Brown.
I was disappointed before the show as I had so wanted to see Daniel again, but Brendan was brilliant too. His Cosmo is less geeky, more sweetly naive which also worked perfectly and he harmonised so well with the fantastic Scarlett Strallen and the just stunning Adam Cooper who I thought was even more out of this world then when I saw him in April. Totally taken with him.
The show itself is such a feel good one that is definitely not to be missed.
As mentioned above the main reason for my London trip was to see "Sweeney Todd" once more as it finished its run the following Saturday and despite not enjoying the total London trip too much, I just cannot stand this city these days, seeing this show once more was worth the trip alone.
Sondheim just wrote a masterpiece with this show and this production is one too with a most perfect cast, set, orchestration etc.. Anyone who did not see it missed one of its kind. Full stop. (>> my post when saw show in April)
With choice being so limited I also went to see Matilda again, loved the show the first two times I saw it and still did the third time - though with some deductions.
The cast change had been a few weeks before and I was only partly impressed by the new adult cast.
David Leonard as Miss Trunchbull is very different. He speaks more with normal deep-ish voice which you may like or not, I didn't too much, and is more strict and loud and less insane (which I could live with). Maybe I need to see him once more to let him grow on me.
I was not keen on Annette McLaughlin as Mrs Wormwood with her totally lacking the brassiness and trash-ness Josie Walker had and really did not make me laugh. I also totally missed Tim Walton and Matthew Malthouse as doctor and escapologist respectively as the successor just did not have the same aura for me. In the rest of the new ensemble no-one but Billy Cullum was really outstanding which was a shame as that was different with the original casting.
Stunning though were the kids especially Lucy-Mae Beacock as Matilda and James Moore as Bruce.
I am always and still surprised how they manage to cast the kids so amazingly.
Lucy-Mae totally owns the stage with her presence and confidence and sings so sweetly. James is hilarious as Bruce and has such a powerful voice that sounds so well trained already. Just superb.
There were also a few changes introduced especially in the opening number. Not too sure about them as they were unneeded for me as the show worked perfectly as it was. Well I suppose they are trying to work around with the Broadway production to come soon.
The only new show, a play, I saw was "The Mystery of Charles Dickens" - a one man show starring the fantastic Simon Callow telling as the title may imply already of the life of Charles Dickens.
It sometimes felt like being in an audiobook with Simon Calllow reading a biography though what was amazingly done was how he sometimes suddenly turned into one of the characters in Dickens' novels. Certainly a great play even if not your obvious choice.
Well overall good shows that I got to see in London though I really cannot wait to see new ones on my next trip. Roll on 2013 as London West End is currently rather dull.
The show is still fab, I largely liked the cast but it seems the audience just consists 95% of tourists these days who just see one musical a year - and have no idea on how to behave in a theatre. Seriously the amount of people around me who could not shut the f*** up, used the phones sending text messages or mobile internet etc. was incredible. They should make an announcement in various languages, especially Japanese and Spanish, about how to behave. Anyway rant over.
Well I was pleased at least to see Simon Thomas again. The last time I had seen him was in Legally Blonde in February last year, a show I was not keen on to say it in a polite way. I still wish he would come back to Tarzan here in Hamburg as he was for me the best Tarzan there was.
But his Raoul was lovely, I normally cannot care less about Raoul as the guys I had seen before portrayed Raoul usually like being a spoilt arrogant snob, but for once I cared about Raoul being one with a heart.
Marcus Lovett as the phantom was also impressive. He would not be my favourite phantom but he has a strong voice and convincing play that made fun to watch.
The one I though was not impressed with was Sofia Escobar as Christine. She seems to be a bit like marmite and I unfortunately do not like that stuff.
Especially her way to emphasise or not emphasise special words bugged me massively, her intonation was often way off that the constant emerging of Portuguese accent seemed to be a minor issue.
She certainly also has a great voice, it just does not do anything to me unlike Katie Hall who was the last Christine I saw and who is starring in the UK tour of POTO at the moment.
Anyway, it was nice to see it though I will not rush to see it too soon again.
Other shows I got to see were "Singin' In The Rain" which was just so wonderful again as last time (read about it >> here ). Daniel Crossley was off so I got to see Brendan Cull as Cosmo Brown.
I was disappointed before the show as I had so wanted to see Daniel again, but Brendan was brilliant too. His Cosmo is less geeky, more sweetly naive which also worked perfectly and he harmonised so well with the fantastic Scarlett Strallen and the just stunning Adam Cooper who I thought was even more out of this world then when I saw him in April. Totally taken with him.
The show itself is such a feel good one that is definitely not to be missed.
As mentioned above the main reason for my London trip was to see "Sweeney Todd" once more as it finished its run the following Saturday and despite not enjoying the total London trip too much, I just cannot stand this city these days, seeing this show once more was worth the trip alone.
Sondheim just wrote a masterpiece with this show and this production is one too with a most perfect cast, set, orchestration etc.. Anyone who did not see it missed one of its kind. Full stop. (>> my post when saw show in April)
With choice being so limited I also went to see Matilda again, loved the show the first two times I saw it and still did the third time - though with some deductions.
The cast change had been a few weeks before and I was only partly impressed by the new adult cast.
David Leonard as Miss Trunchbull is very different. He speaks more with normal deep-ish voice which you may like or not, I didn't too much, and is more strict and loud and less insane (which I could live with). Maybe I need to see him once more to let him grow on me.
I was not keen on Annette McLaughlin as Mrs Wormwood with her totally lacking the brassiness and trash-ness Josie Walker had and really did not make me laugh. I also totally missed Tim Walton and Matthew Malthouse as doctor and escapologist respectively as the successor just did not have the same aura for me. In the rest of the new ensemble no-one but Billy Cullum was really outstanding which was a shame as that was different with the original casting.
Stunning though were the kids especially Lucy-Mae Beacock as Matilda and James Moore as Bruce.
I am always and still surprised how they manage to cast the kids so amazingly.
Lucy-Mae totally owns the stage with her presence and confidence and sings so sweetly. James is hilarious as Bruce and has such a powerful voice that sounds so well trained already. Just superb.
There were also a few changes introduced especially in the opening number. Not too sure about them as they were unneeded for me as the show worked perfectly as it was. Well I suppose they are trying to work around with the Broadway production to come soon.
The only new show, a play, I saw was "The Mystery of Charles Dickens" - a one man show starring the fantastic Simon Callow telling as the title may imply already of the life of Charles Dickens.
It sometimes felt like being in an audiobook with Simon Calllow reading a biography though what was amazingly done was how he sometimes suddenly turned into one of the characters in Dickens' novels. Certainly a great play even if not your obvious choice.
Well overall good shows that I got to see in London though I really cannot wait to see new ones on my next trip. Roll on 2013 as London West End is currently rather dull.
