From Here To Eternity – Shaftesbury Theatre 04.10.2013

I don’t think I can put into words how excited I was to finally see that show! Since the first tweets and announcements came through, and since I had been reading the description of the book the show is based on on Wikipedia, my excitement had reached new highs. You have to know, I absolutely adore “Pearl Harbour”, it will always be one of my absolute favourite movies, and to have this show play at the same time in 1941, with the background story of the Army, World War II (which I am more than interested in), with a gorgeous cast…I was practically jumping up and down every seat I had been sitting in since I had bought my ticket a few weeks earlier.

When I came to the theatre with Ann & Mandy, who were joining me, at first it was pretty weird to see the Shaftesbury Theatre lit up with the entire show’s decoration and not getting to see the “Rock Of Ages” decoration all over the place anymore – somehow, it felt wrong but so right at the same time. And I have to say, what they have done with the theatre is amazing! I loved the logo of the show from the get go, and I love the exterior of the place SO much! Instead of having an aisle in the middle of the room, they now had rows going from one side to the other, and the orchestra is set right infront of the stage and the middle of the first row, together with stairs on the right hand of the stage, which the actors used all the time, to come up in their scenes or to leave when their scenes are over – different, but I liked it. And the design on stage was absolutely lovely!

The first moment the show started, the lights went down, the music started…I was absolutely in the right place. Then Ryan Sampson (who played Private Angelo Maggio) climbed the stairs up the stage, stood at the top and played around with a little Ukulele, testing his playing skills, all the time smiling like a little school boy when he hit a note that sounded good – safe to say he was already my highlight and I loved him, without even having seen his entire acting skills.
The show itself…was different. I wasn’t used anymore to a show with original songs, songs that no one had ever heard before, songs that had been written especially for a show. And I have to admit – though I knew what I had to expect, as it was a lovestory – that the love songs not really were mine, and probably will never be. Not because they were bad or anything – no way, they were excellent written and sung, I’m just usually not the love story type at all. Rebecca Thornhill as the Captain’s wife, Karen Holmes, was an absolute pleasure to watch on that stage. Her voice is wonderful, and her acting skills…wowza. I loved the absolute sarcastic personality that Karen has, the little puns against First Sergeant Milt Warden, her love affair, the cheeky innuendos, the shameless getting rid of her clothes on that table – wonderfully refreshing and an absolute pleasure to watch her play that strongminded character!
And don’t let me start on Darius Campbell as Milt Warden…holy cow. I had no idea what to expect, but man, that one is one classy, attractive, gorgeous young man in that army suit! Apart from this, I don’t think I need to explain how amazing his acting and singing skills are, he totally casted a spell over me whenever he showed up. I totally understood how Karen Holmes would fall for him (even without that cheating asshole of a husband she has in the show)…seriously, what is it with men in army clothing?
Then, of course, there were Robert Lonsdale & Siubhan Harrison as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt & Lorene…these two were SO lovely together, and they harmonized really perfectly; I absolutely adored the fact that in their “relationship”, it was Lorene who called the shots, who was this strongminded person who has seen a lot in her life as a Congress Club woman, and who teaches Prewitt the one or other thing – if he likes it or not. I was way too excited to see Robert on stage since I had seen a video of him performing “Fight The Fight” from the show on the West End Live stage, and he definitely did not disappoint me at all – thanks to him, that song is my absolute favourite of the show, and I keep listening to it over and over. I loved how he played his role of a thirty-year old soldier who is supposed to be a “real man”, and still, he has kept that little glimpse of an insecure little boy, especially when he is around Lorene. Also, I loved how his character is thought of, strongminded when it came to not boxing or playing the bugle anymore, due to his past – even when his only and best friend in G-Company gets arrested…and when things change for Maggio in prison, seeing that absolute priceless change in Prewitt’s decision, seeing his rage and desperation turning his principles around, but still, in his heart, still being insecure, kind and just wanting to do things right, to stand up for his decisions – it’s pretty hard not to love Robert and his character.
All in all, that show has a lot of potential, I’m not lying. The slow-motion scenes when the Japanese attack on December 7th, surprising the G-Company in their beds were absolutely amazing, and the (I’ll call it like that now because I don’t know any better word/translation for it) “in-scene” action just as Prewitt gets shot and the storyline changes once more before he dies and is found by Warden touched me so deeply. And the end…the end is a complete piece of gold, with the entire Cast coming on stage, the Congress Club women and everyone of the G-Company singing “The Boys Of ’41” together, which completely hit me and made me cry like a little baby, with knowing that all of this really happened 72 years ago. It’s really hard to NOT be touched by that.

At the Stage Door after, it was a bit weird and not really satisfying, as Ann & Mandy weren’t really up for Stage Door pics, but I was, as I really wanted to meet Robert Lonsdale, Ryan Sampson, Darius Campbell & Lucinda Shaw, Simon Lipkin’s girlfriend, who I had seen on a stage for the first time ever and who – although she wasn’t to be seen or heard a lot – seriously made an impression on me; man, what a voice she has inside of her! Sadly, I missed out on her while I was talking to Robert and trying to take a pic with him (with a – sorry to be so mean – complete incapable guy taking my pics, it still drives me over the edge today), but thankfully, at least, after I chatted a bit with him, and later Ryan & Darius, I got my pics after all 🙂

My resumé after that night – “From Here To Eternity” definitely has A LOT of potential that still part of lies dormant deep down, but I am more than sure that with time, there will be more and more improvements and it will get even better than it already is. With this amazing and talented cast, there is no doubt that this show could be running for quite a while – which I sincerely hope, as this first trip will definitely NOT be my last one!