'Phantom of the Opera' - The Brilliant Original

Despite The Phantom of the Opera being my favourite musical of all time, this was only my second time seeing it on stage. I have seen the film and the 25th anniversary concert on DVD countless times of course but somehow I have not gotten round to revisiting Her Majesty's. So much has happened since the last time I went there in 2008. This time I was much more observant of little details and having gained a greater understanding of musical theatre I was more capable of appreciating the show.


The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre, London
Performance: Wednesday 4th July 2012 at 19:30
Seat: Stalls D6
Cast included: Peter Jöback (The Phantom), Claire Doyle (Christine Daaé, u/s), Killian Donnelly (Raoul), Cheryl McAvoy (Madame Giry), Anna Forbes (Meg Giry), Wendy Ferguson (Carlotta Giudicelli), Jeremy Secomb (Ubaldo Piangi), Barry James (Monsieur Firmin), Gareth Snook (Monsieur André)

Gina Beck and Ramin Karimloo - the two I saw on my
first visit. (source)

The show was magnificent of course. Even my sister whom I had dragged with me stated that she had forgotten how impressive the music was. I love Phantom because of the show in itself: the music and the story (however sloppy-romantic it may be). Hence I am generally not fussed over which actors are playing the main parts. I must say, however, that knowing Peter only for having dubbed the voice of Aladdin for the Swedish-language release of the Disney film, I was most interested in seeing him as the Phantom.


Peter's take on the role was very different to what I have witnessed before. I found myself having more pity for him than normal since his younger voice and shorter statue (in comparison to what I have been used to seeing the Phantom have) made him come across more human rather than a supernatural being.
Claire impressed me greatly with her Christine as she had a lovely innocence to both her looks and her voice.  I have heard recordings of people with stunning voices singing Christine but they have sounded too mature and had I seen something like that on stage I don't think I would have been convinced. So Claire did a great job. 

Peter Jöback and Sofia Escobar
Photo Michael Le Poer Trench

I loved Killian as Raoul. This was my first time seeing him perform live and I found he has a great stage presence. I found myself fixated on what he was doing during Prima Donna for example rather than watching the overall action. I very much enjoyed Anna's take on Meg. She was genuinely funny to watch with her sharp facial expressions but she did not come across exaggerated. I had never thought of a comedy side to Meg before so it was lovely to see Anna bring that up. 


It was a little strange for me seeing some of the 25th anniversary concert cast members on stage playing their respective parts - that made me half expect Sierra Boggess or Ramin Karimloo to walk on - but they were all brilliant and their acting felt very familiar and "right" due to the fact that I have seen that DVD several times. 


As one expects to happen, I walked out of the theatre after the performance randomly humming some of the recurring melody snippets of the score. My main thought was: Why have I not come to see the show again sooner? I need to try and come back more often than every four years as I had almost forgotten how incredible the original stage show is. I am hoping to go and see the UK touring production this autumn also. 

'Sister Act' - UK Touring Cast

I am sure many of you have seen the film of the same name starring Whoopi Goldberg on which the stage show is based on. I watch films quite rarely but I am happy I saw that one because it did make me laugh.

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Sister Act at New Wimbledon Theatre
Performance: Wednesday 13th June 2012 at 19:30
Seat:
Cast included: Cynthia Erivo (Deloris Van Cartier), Denise Black (Mother Superior), Michael Starke (Monsignor O'Hara), Julie Atherton (Mary Robert), Jacqueline Clarke (Mary Lazarus), Laurie Scarth (Mary Patrick), Edward Baruva (Eddie Souther), Cavin Cornwall (Curtis Jackson), Gavin Alex (Pablo), Tyrone Huntley (TJ), Daniel Stockton (Joey)


Brief plot summary: Deloris Van Cartier sees her gangster boyfriend kill a man and the police deem it necessary to hide her until his trial. She is placed in a convent and has to get accustomed to a new life as a nun under the name Sister Mary Clarence while her boyfriend's men do their best to hunt her down.

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Apparently this touring production is slightly different to the West End production of 2009 (I did not personally see it though): A song has been taken out, another one added and so on. However little I enjoy comparing stage musicals to films, I must say in favour of the stage version in this case that I found it even funnier than the original film. The film is not actually a musical even though, as proved by this show, it lends itself well to one thanks to the focus on the convent choir.


One thing is certain: the audience loved the show and rewarded it with a standing ovation at the end. I got the feeling that many of the audience members present that night had seen the musical before: there was that anticipation in the air, and there was a fair amount of that special kind of cheering at the jokes (the kind where you can tell people haven't been taken by surprise). I adored the show: it was a feel-good musical with a notably clever plot. Many of the songs were catchy and the dance routines entertaining. I don't know why but there is just something hilarious about a bunch of people dressed as nuns doing a stereotypical musical theatre group number.
I really loved Mary Robert's solo song, The Life I Never Led. It is very me in style so I thought I might find the sheet music and learn it. I enjoyed all the nun group numbers, especially It's Good To Be A Nun, Raise Your Voice and Bless Our Show. 


Bless Our Show from the Original London Cast recording:

I absolutely agree with the multitude of people who have said Cynthia Erivo does a fantastic job of Deloris. It did not even take her half a scene to convince me I was in safe hands when it came to the portrayal of the character.

Laurie Scarth was hilarious as Sister Mary Patrick and Tyrone Huntley stood out in a positive way with his brilliant portrayal of TJ - it was the perfect part for him!
On this visit I had decided not to look at the programme in detail beforehand like I usually do in order to make a note of any familiar names. I figured I would just concentrate on seeing how each of the actors perform before finding out whether I had heard of any of them before. When Sister Mary Robert started singing, I could tell straight away the actor had to be someone famous and if she was not, she certainly ought to be. "Julie Atherton" - well, there you are. I was very happy I now had had the opportunity to hear her perform live having heard numerous recordings of her in the past. 



Julie Atherton singing The Life I Never Led:

I would definitely go and see this again! 

'Jekyll and Hyde' - very creepy but good

I looked up this musical for the first time after hearing this gorgeous track from the show on Louise Dearman's solo album: Someone Like You (the version below is sung by the Original Broadway Cast member, Linda Eder) .

Jekyll and Hyde at The Union Theatre
Performance: Sunday 10th June 2012 at 18:00
Cast included: Tim Rogers (Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde), Madalena Alberto (Lucy Harris), Joanna Strand (Emma Carew), Mark Goldthorp (John Utterson), Mark Turnbull (Sir Danvers Carew)

The Union Theatre is a small off-West End venue near Southwark underground station. I remember when I went there for the first time (last year to see The Baker's Wife) and we got there very early, we couldn't figure out where exactly the theatre was as we did not suspect the back wall of the little cafe would open up to reveal a box office and a door to an auditorium.

Poster for this production

Jekyll and Hyde enjoyed a long Broadway run (1997-2001) but it has never been performed on West End stage. It has, however, toured the UK twice to date and there have been a large number of regional productions.
This off-West End production had been modernised and taken into the era of mobile phones and the NHS reverting from the setting of the novella on which the musical is based (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886). Dr Henry Jekyll is determined to test the chemical formula his father has discovered which supposedly separates the good and evil in a human. He cannot get permission to use a volunteer for the experiment so he ends up taking the drug himself causing him to suffer from split personality: half of the time he is still the intelligent, chronically late doctor who wears glasses and is hoping to marry Emma, the daughter of Sir Danvers Crew, but uncontrollably, without warning he may transform into the bold and dangerous Edward Hyde.

This show actually scared me: I had to keep reminding myself it was just a musical and therefore no one would creep up on me from behind. The fact that the actors hovered around in the audience and the singing surrounded you completely did not help. In those numbers the sound was everywhere and you could feel the occasional gust of wind at the back of your neck when a cast member hurried past. I was trying to act normal despite: I was sitting on my hands to prevent them from grasping the arm of the person next to me. I don't mind scary though and the story was gripping: very much my kind of thing. The music was great too: I discovered several tracks which I enjoyed a lot.

Tim Rogers and Madalena Alberto (source)

Tim Rogers blew me away with his portrayal of Dr Jekyll on one hand and Mr Hyde on the other. The complete transformation that happened in him when going from one character to the other was astonishing even if the only physical difference between the two personalities was Mr Hyde's lacking a pair of spectacles. There was even an obvious difference in the voice quality: Dr Jekyll had a tender, slightly nervous way of singing which was a total contrast to Mr Hyde's powerful belt.


I loved Madalena Alberto's rendition of Someone Like You. Despite being such a slim, small woman, she has a strong, belty voice.

Moment which had the audience in hysterics: Mr Hyde murders an elderly lady and puts the body in one of those big, green rubbish bins which have two wheels. Now, putting a real person in one of those is quite funny in itself but it gets better. Two other characters went and threw stuff (one of them being a decent size bin bag) inside, on top of the lady not realising the supposed body in there. The garbage man then came, tilted the bin onto its wheels and pushed it off through the audience. Okay, me telling about it like this isn't that funny. I guess you did have to be there...

But yes, great show! I was very impressed by Jekyll and Hyde and I would definitely go and see another production of it if one cropped up.

'Matilda the Musical' - the one everyone's talking about

Of course I could not avoid seeing this one. It is the one all of London is buzzing about at the moment and it has received so many awards that surely it must be special somehow. Besides, Matilda was one of the books I used to love when I was younger so I was intrigued to see what they had done with it.


Matilda the Musical at Cambridge Theatre, London
Performance: Sunday 3rd June 2012 at 15:00
Seat: 3rd row Dress Circle
Cast included: Bertie Carvel (Miss Trunchbull), Haley Flaherty (Miss Honey), Melanie La Barrie (Mrs Phelps), Steve Furst (Mr Wormwood), Lucy Thatcher (Mrs Wormwood, u/s) and Hayley Canham as Matilda

The plot of the book had been slightly altered for the stage show. The key moments, the sections which I remember most vividly from reading the book such as Bruce Bogtrotter and the chocolate cake and Matilda tilting a glass of water with her eyes, were still there. However, the musical focused more heavily on Matilda's love for books and reading and on her relationship with Mrs Phelps, the librarian. And, without giving the ending away, I must say they had tied the whole thing together very nicely in my opinion.

The child actors were absolutely incredible, all of them. They delivered every song and every dance routine with confidence and they really acted their heart out. Haley Flaherty was lovely as Miss Honey. Likable and gentle, not one to stand up for herself - exactly as she is in the book. However, if there was one performance that stood out above all the others, that was Bertie Carvel's portrayal of Miss Trunchbull. It was incredible beyond words: funny but threatening at the same time. Having a male perform the part in the first place was definitely the right decision as it would be hard to find a female to match the height and the physique of the character (Miss Trunchbull was made to look very similar to Quentin Blake's illustrations in the book). 

Another honourable mention goes to Tim Minchin's hilarious lyrics. The music is a little different to what I expectedl and I have to say I was not too keen on it on the first couple of listens but eventually it started growing on me too. I have had a few Finnish friends say that they did not like the show much because they did not understand the show at all and I can see where they come from. There is a lot of humour hidden into the dialogue and the lyrics of the songs (many of the songs are very wordy) plus into the characters' ways of speaking so for someone whose native language is not English, this may not be the easiest musical to understand.
Matilda is a very British show and I am intrigued to see how it does on Broadway once it gets there. If the general British public's reception is anything to go by, Matilda will be running in the West End for quite while.
I also enjoyed the very book-heavy staging (I mean there were literally books everywhere: attached to the ceiling etc.) and the way in which they convincingly conducted the chocolate cake scene. Oh, and the choreography with the swings was lovely! 

A video of the Matildas performing the song Naughty from the musical at this year's Olivier Awards ceremony:

If you love Roald Dahl's Matilda, I do recommend seeing this. It is different to the book so don't spoil your visit by intentionally attempting to compare the two but it is a lovely show and it is child-friendly :)
Official website: http://www.matildathemusical.com

'Blood Brothers' - another legendary musical

People (myself included) are often initially surprised to hear that Blood Brothers has been on in London since 1988, making it the third longest running musical in London's West End, because they have never heard of the show before. I imagine one of the reasons for this to be that Blood Brothers was never particularly successful outside of Great Britain: where all the other long running shows such as Phantom and Les Mis also became famous on Broadway, Blood Brothers only played a 2-year Broadway run and one year-long national tour. (Thank you to the amazing Wikipedia for all this information.)

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Blood Brothers at Phoenix Theatre, London
Performance: Wednesday 23rd May 2012 at 19:45
Seat: Stalls right, second row (very close to the stage but the stage slopes so the view was fine)
Cast included: Vivienne Carlyle (Mrs Johnstone), Philip Stewart (Narrator), Mark Rice-Oxley (Mickey), Paul Christopher (Eddie), Abigail Jaye (Mrs Lyons), Louise Clayton (Linda), Michael Southern (Sammy), Kevin Pallister (Mr Lyons)

Plot summary for those not familiar with Blood Brothers: It is the story of Mickey and Eddie, twins separated at birth, out of whom one grows up in the wealthy Lyons family and the other in poorer conditions with Mrs Johnstone (the biological mother) but both equally unaware they have a twin brother and the mothers are determined to keep it that way. However, at the age of 7 the boys happen to meet each other and they become the best of friends.

They've made a Blood Brothers stamp!
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Blood Brothers is a remarkable musical. I should like to say it is more like a musical play than a musical. That is not because there isn't enough singing in it but rather because one cannot classify it as full-on cheesy, I think. Blood Brothers is about death (no, that's not a spoiler because that's revealed right at the start!) and economic depression. The show has become increasingly relevant again now that the economic situation is not looking promising and even though its setting is very specific in terms of location and historical context, Blood Brothers can be enjoyed also by those who do not have this background knowledge. The one thing I would point out to those whose first language is not English, though: some of the characters speak in a fairly strong accent so you may not catch absolutely everything they say. Don't be frightened off by that though, and I thought this one was easier to understand than Billy Elliot.

One would expect Mickey and Eddie to be the main characters and in a way yes, they are the ones referred to in the title and without them there really would not be a story to tell. However, it is Mrs Johnstone who sings and is featured the most along with the narrator who eerily hovers around. The part of Mrs Johnstone has been portrayed by many famous singers because that distinct musical theatre voice is not essential to play the part. And now that we are on the characteristics of Blood Brothers that make it different to most musicals, I might mention that it does not have tons of those spectacular in-real-life-no-one-would-dance-there-like-that kind of dance numbers - you know what I mean. 


All of the cast did a great job, especially Vivienne Carlyle as Mrs Johnstone and Louise Clayton as Linda. The former had a very pleasant singing voice and the latter succeeded particularly well in conveying Linda's aging process (one could really see her getting old before her time). Abigail Jaye also had a gorgeous voice (a little more of a musical theatre one) and she is the understudy for Mrs Johnstone - it would be most interesting to see her play that part. On the whole, however, I don't think this musical is as much about who's in it. People will go and see it regardless because it has gained the classic status. 


Tell Me It's Not True from the 1995 London cast recording (if people know one song from the musical, it is usually this one): 

'Sweeney Todd' - My favourite Sondheim

I am sure lots of people with an interest in musical theatre and otherwise have seen the Tim Burton film, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The film is based on this Stephen Sondheim musical which was first performed on Broadway in 1979. 


Sweeney Todd at Adelphi Theatre
Performance: Friday 18th May at 19:30
Seat: Rear left Dress Circle, £30
Cast included: Michael Ball (Sweeney Todd), Imelda Staunton (Mrs Lovett), John Bowe (Judge Turpin), Peter Polycarpou (Beadle Bamford), Robert Burt (Pirelli), James McConville (Tobias), Lucy May Barker (Johanna), Luke Brady (Anthony), Gillian Kirkpatrick (Beggar Woman)

This always reminds me of a film poster.

This production transferred to the West End after a successful run at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Its popularity does not surprise me. After all, the film has made Sweeney Todd the musical more popular, and it stars Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton. I would happily have paid fora ticket just to see the two of them perform. Michael Ball has done a lengthy career both as a stage actor and a solo singer having played, amongst others, Marius in the original London cast of Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love in both West End and on Broadway as well as more recently Edna in Hairspray. Imelda Staunton is perhaps nowadays best known for her portrayal of Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films but she has also participated in a large number of stage productions.

Photo: Jonathan Hordle/Rex Features

Staunton pretty much stole the show: she acted the part of Mrs Lovett brilliantly and her comic timing was excellent. I had had a difficult time imagining Professor Umbridge as Mrs Lovett to be honest but as it turned out, Staunton's portrayal of Mrs Lovett was nothing like Umbridge. You could not tell it was the same person behind the two characters! She also sang well: her voice was rough and focused on acting and character rather than attempting to make it sound pretty.
Michael Ball did a great job of Sweeney. He also had a 'Sweeney voice' - his singing as the character sounded very different to the sound I have learnt to associate him with and I was very much in agreement with the choice he had made there as it suited the character.
The third special mention goes to Gillian Kirkpatrick for her portrayal of the Beggar Woman. In comparison to the film, the part of the Beggar Woman had been given much more weight in the stage version throughout.


Having just made a comparison between this stage production and the film (because you do that automatically if the film is the reason behind being acquainted with Sweeney Todd in the first place), I feel obliged to point out that they are completely different from each other and that one probably would not get very far if they went to the theatre expecting to see a replica of the film. The characterisations are totally different and obviously that famous artistic touch Tim Burton tends to add to all his work is naturally not there. You will get much more out of it if you go and treat the two as separate things.

Photo: Catherine Ashmore

Visually Sweeney Todd was amazing. The overall darkness and gloom had been brilliantly captured. I did not expect there to be as much fake blood as there was as well. I thought Todd would be cutting the throats open out of view but with a bit of blood you could well do it in front of the audience. There was even a chair which tipped the body down the passageway in the floor. All this was very believable! I should not even need to comment on the music - it is magnificently powerful. This one is now definitely my favourite Sondheim musical.


Sweeney Todd is only doing a limited run, until 22nd September 2012 so get your tickets booked!
Official website: http://sweeneytoddwestend.com/

Louise Dearman's album launch

A ticket to Louise's album launch I had had booked for months. I had enjoyed Louise's gig so much last time that this was a must-see. This gig was to celebrate the release of her second solo album, Here Comes the Sun.

Put together by Amanda who makes lots of
amazing things like this one.

Date: Sunday 13th May
Time: 19:00
Location: Bush Hall, West London


I arrived at the venue at about 6:45pm. The queue outside already extended a long way around the corner of the building when I joined it. I have to admit I felt slightly awkward standing there on my own when just about everyone else was queuing with their friends. I started playing around with my phone and pretended to text. Standard. I kept a look out for any 'famous' people, the word 'famous' in inverted commas because the people who were likely to turn up would be people famous to me and other musical theatre fanatics rather than mainstream famous (I could get into a whole discussion on how 'fame' is defined but I don't quite know how that is relevant). First I spotted Zoe Rainey and Ben Stott whom Louise had worked with in Wicked and a little bit later Julie Legrand who still stars as Madame Morrible in the show. I completely froze when Lee Mead casually strolled past. He played Fiyero in Wicked for a while and Louise joined him as a guest star on his solo tour earlier in the year. I had never seen him in real life before!


It was 8 o'clock by the time everyone was inside and ready to begin. The size of the hall nicely fitted everyone who had come to see Louise. The VIP lounge was located upstairs and you could not help but glance in the direction of the window every now and then in case any other familiar faces would appear. Rachel Tucker (surely she does not need an introduction!) sneaked down at the interval to have a stroll among us. I was one of the first people to notice her slip in and I watched, highly amused, as people gradually became aware of her presence: I could see their eyes widen and mouths falling open in total surprise before regaining their senses and  joining the crowd already gathered around Rachel. The star herself did not seem to mind and she signed autographs and took photos with everyone while chatting away.

Photo: Fonsaca Malyan-Brooker

Anyway, back to Louise: as the music started, she sprung on stage accompanied by applause and cheers from the crowd. The entrance did not turn out quite as grand as planned as she was supposed to go straight into her first song but I think she missed the start or something and ended up having to stop the band, babble a little and start again. She sang through her whole album with one break in the middle. The music on the new one has taken a turn away from musical theatre which her debut album, You and I, was heavy on. I do not think there are any songs Louise could not pull off -she seems to be able to sing anything at all- and the power in her voice always astounds me. The guest-star of the evening was Steve Balsamo who sang a duet with Louise. He features on her album and he has quite a distinctive voice. Look him up and have a listen.


It's difficult to pick a favourite track on the album but I do really love the title track as well as Gravity and Little Bird. That might be because I have heard them all before, though, and Louise does brilliant versions of them. The more I listen to the rest of the songs, such as Squander, the more I realise I like it so if you ask me in a few weeks' or months' time which track I like the best, he answer is very likely to be different.


If you haven't yet seen the music video for Louise's Here Comes the Sun cover by the way, here it is:

Although the atmosphere was amazing and Louise was being her babbling, funny, sweet, talented self, I much preferred the intimate setting of her January gig at the Alleycat. However, aside from the fantastic performance, the great thing was that I got to meet several people with whom I have become acquainted with on Twitter. It was lovely to finally meet them and also seeing those I have already met previously. Thanks, guys! You made the night so enjoyable! :)


Louise's website where you can listen to some more tracks and buy the new album if you haven't already: http://louisedearman.com/