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The latest in a (this year, not so) occasional series of musical reviews... Guys & Dolls : The Bridge Theatre Another musical - that's four this year! I blame this one on the lovely Mrs Reed though - she didn't exactly drag me kicking and screaming to it, but I doubt I'd have gone and seen it on my own. I'd also say that the joyful experience of 90 minutes in the dentists chair earlier in the day also hadn't exactly improved my mood, but at least I knew isn't wasn't exactly mentally taxing because the we'd seen it in all the way back in 2005 featuring Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski - I remembered it being fun, but not exactly memorable.   As we walk into the theatre, it's obviously being staged in the round but there's no obvious stage and a load of the audience milling about where a stage might be, so it's not entire clear where the action is going to take place - funnily enough, all becomes clearer quite quickly, but more on this late...

The latest in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... Hadestown : The Lyric Theatre Three musicals in a year - what's going on? I actually booked this one because I've listened to the soundtrack and enjoyed it - I thought it was part of #AOTD but I never wrote it up, so I've no actual proof that's the case.  There is one mention of the album in the blog though which is in the 2010 year-end write-up as one of the critics' choices of the year so that gives you an idea as to how old the musical is (it actually premiered in 2006 and has quite a complex history).  It's not very well known over here - it did play in London in 2018 and was quite well received, but it then played Broadway in 2019 and went down a storm, winning 8 Tony awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.  And that was very much borne out by the fact that I was surrounded by Americans in the audience - interestingly the woman next to me (from Seattle) was saying the theatre was...

The latest in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... Standing At The Sky's Edge : Gillian Lynne Theatre Two musicals in a row - what's going on?   So it's an interesting looking set with multiple levels and the band on display, which I always like - those guys work hard, so let them have some exposure.  After some quick pre-show chat with the guy in the seat next to me about how much we hated Oklahoma! (which ended up with us finding out we live about 5 minutes away from other), the lights went down and I settled in to my very comfortable cheap seat with an excellent view (this theatre is among the best for that) to enjoy the show. And enjoy it I did - very much.  We follow the story of a flat on the Sheffield Park Hill estate through the device of three families that live there in different timelines - initially a newly married couple in 1960, a family fleeing conflict in Liberia in 1999 and a single woman starting anew in 2017 but they all move forward t...

The latest in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... Just For One Day : The Old Vic A random last minute choice because I had to go into the office (which is all of five minutes walk from this theatre), the seats were cheap and I have a lot of fond memories of Live Aid so I thought it would be interesting to see how much of it chimed.  I would say that my expectations weren't massively high - a cheesy night out with some decent songs was about as good as I thought I was going to get (and I heard someone in the foyer say "I've checked the program - I don't recognise any of them", so I wasn't alone!). So it's an interesting stage set-up to start with, but the minute the house lights go down, the stage lights physically go up and completely disappear, revealing a much more standard configuration - and our cast on stage who mostly introduce themselves as someone who was there on "that day" (13 July 1985) for a variety of different reasons. ...

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews... Oklahoma! : Wyndham Theatre Our annual Kids week family trip to the theatre - so I'm sitting in the posh(ish) seats and in a new (for me) theatre as well.  I've never seen any version of Oklahoma!, but I feel I'm going to be safe with a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, aren't I? Well, this is all a bit odd as we enter the theatre!  All the lights are on - not just the house lights, but all the spots as well so it's really bright, almost uncomfortably so.  And the theatre, which I assume generally looks lovely, is all covered in plywood and guns which, whilst I assume is an appropriate look, isn't the loveliest decor I can imagine. So, given the lack of curtain and the stage lights being on, we're not overly surprised when the cast just wanders on to the stage and starts chatting and singing - but it is a bit of a surprise that the house lights don't go down.  And up they stay for most of the perf...

The fourth in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... The Book Of Mormon : Prince Of Wales Theatre We had some theatre vouchers from Nana for Xmas ('21) and  I'd heard this was good and rude - and, quite frankly, that was enough to convince me this was  the show we needed to go and see.  We knew so little else about it that, at lunch thirty minutes before we were due to see it, the lovely Mrs Reed said to me "it's a musical, isn't it?" - to which I confidently replied "Yes.  Well, I think so, anyway". So we found ourselves in a surprisingly full theatre at a surprising time (a Friday matinee) knowing surprisingly little about what we were about to see.  Let's hope it's not confusing, eh... Well, firstly I can report it's most definitely a musical.  And I can also report that it's very rude.  It's also good and very, very funny.  We start at Mormon training school, with a bunch of new recruits getting paired up and learnin...

The third in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... I n my previous posts in this series, I mentioned that I was generally more of a fan of classic musicals, with a few notable modern exceptions.  What I'm certainly not a fan of is them new-fangled musicals, based on a band's music (no, I did not like Mamma Mia), TV (although I have heard that Spongebob Squarepants is surprisingly enjoyable) or film.  So, obviously yesterday I found myself watching Heathers: The Musical... Funnily enough, it wasn't my choice - our eldest has been obsessing about the show for some time now and so it was offered up as a birthday treat (slightly early, since yesterday was originally supposed to be its last day in London, but it's since been extended to 1st May).  I wasn't overly fussed on seeing it, but sometimes parental responsibility means having to do what you're told (and I'd been bribed with the promise of some food out afterwards).  So, yesterday afternoon at 3...

The second in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... I n my previous post in this series, I mentioned that I was generally more of a fan of classic musicals, with three notable modern exceptions - Les Mis, Matilda and Hamilton.  For the last of these I was initially aware of the general fuss coming across the Atlantic, but had generally dismissed it because a) Americans are like that and b) why would I want to watch "a hip-hop musical"?  However, my daughters got into it in a big way so I dipped into it and saw it possibly shouldn't be quite so swiftly dismissed, but didn't particularly get into it until we sat down and watched the original Broadway cast version on Disney+ last year.  Watching that, the intricate staging elevated the impressive content for me and so I was (finally) a proper Hamilton fanboy I And so, in a moment of mid-pandemic financial disregard (and you REALLY have to disregard them finances) we booked a "post-pandemic" (oh, the...

The first in a (very) occasional series of musical reviews... Firstly, let me state that I'm not the biggest fan of musicals, unlike the rest of my family who will take every opportunity to go and see any old nonsense where they belt out a cheesy tune or two (being dragged to Mamma Mia remains a particular low point in my list of theatre going experiences).  However, with the notable exceptions of Les Mis, Matilda and Hamilton, if I am going to like a musical, it's going to be one of the classics (and some would argue that Les Mis is a classic given it debuted 36 years now!) - so in a temporary moment of weakness I agreed to get on one of them train things to head into London and go and see Anything Goes.  Although, of course, having agreed to see it I then realised I knew nothing about it (other than the title tune) so I had no idea whether I was going to enjoy it or not - but by then it was too late... So, yesterday, after a minor panic when we realised we'd never actuall...