London 23.-28.07.2014

After two months, I was finally back – and this time, I would spent almost a week here, with one of my best friends around me 24/7, plus, 6 amazing shows and one soccer game. Safe to say I was beyond excited. And as I don’t want to spam people with numerous blogs about each show, I’ll put them all in here.

Wednesday, 23rd of July: “Billy Elliot”

This was my 2nd trip to the Victoria Palace Theatre since January 2013, and although at first I hadn’t been a huge fan of the show (with not having seen the film and not even being slightly interested in changing that), but even back then I thought it had potential and it was truly hilarious. Now, after this 2nd time of seeing the show, I keep asking myself: “Why haven’t I seen it more often whenever I was in London since last January?” Because hands down: it has gotten to me. Big time. I absolutely adored every single second of the show, and the Billy we had that day – Matteo Zecca,- was beyond amazing. He didn’t impress me as much as my first Billy, Harris Beattie, but then again, no one can beat your first, right? Just as with Tomi Fry, who is just hilarious as Michael, and who always is one of the highlights of the entire show for me. The woman who played Mrs. Wilkerson, Ruthie Henshall, was flawless. Not only her dancing talent, or simply her acting, but the entire way how she displayed the Ballet teacher, and how she treated Billy. Even the moments where she got pissed off at things, or excited, or sad, they were massively impressing, and I think her acting talent is really worth every pound you invest into that show when you decide to see it. Of course, the guy playing Mr. Braithwaite, David Muscat, was adorable, and his ability of tapdancing and doing a split was a real “Wow” moment for me, considering his stature. And the little girls who played the ballet class were beyond adorable, and so absolutely talented in everything they do, and the audience could easily see how much they enjoyed their roles. It’s always impressing when you can see kids on a stage, because sometimes, they can even upstage the grown-ups with their talent. I have to admit that I even kind of fell for the songs this time, especially “Solidarity” or “Electricity”, two really amazing tunes, and, of course, the best thing about the show: the opening of Act 2, “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher”. That never fails to make me laugh.

Thursday, 24th of July: “Wicked”

My birthday show! One short notice beforehand: I do not hate the show itself, because that’s the impression a lot of crazy “Wicked” fans will get when they read this. Thing is: when I booked my ticket together with my friend Sarah, we decided to go up into the circle, because she said up there you could have a good overview of the stage and everything around it. Which was more than true. The stupid thing is that back then, I did not think of the fact that I was short-sighted, and that, when far away from something, I sometimes have problems with the acoustic in a room like this, meaning I barely understand a word…which made my first experience of the show one that I wish I wouldn’t have made. And the story just isn’t my kind of thing, I have realized after seeing it. The Cast, however, was mindblowing. We had both understudies for Glinda and Elphaba that day, Sophie Linder-Lee and Emma Hatton, plus, Jeremy Taylor as Fiyero.
Sophie was amazing, I loved her display of the bitchy Glinda, the girl who thinks the world evolves around her and who’s just so dislikeable at the beginning; but still, she was hilarious in it, and her voice sounded beautiful. And Emma Hatton…just wow. That girl can sing, and wow, HOW she can sing. I knew her from seeing/hearing her on the “We Will Rock You” stage, and I always knew she had an amazing talent, but what I was honoured to witness on the “Wicked” stage that day was breathtaking. Her voice has improved even more, and the vocals she belted out were giving me goosebumps. No surprise that she got the biggest Standing Ovations together with Sophie, and that various people afterwards said to her they were shocked to hear she was “only” the Understudy, and thought that she should have the principal role.
After the show, when me and my friends were waiting for her and the others at the Stage Door, the biggest surprise showed up: Katie Paine, former Cast Member of “We Will Rock You” (Killer Queen Understudy) and good friend of Emma. We were all so pleased to see her, and it was funny to confuse people at the Stage Door when we ran up to her, hugging her, and everyone thought she had been on the show, too. Whoops.

Friday, 25th of July: Charity Football Match on Old Street
This football match took place in small pitch where the Cast member of various West End shows – “The Commitments”, “Billy Elliot”, “Miss Saigon”, “Matilda”, “Wicked”, etc. – were playing for a good cause, and it was highly entertaining, yet a bit scary to see how those talented men all turned into aggressive sportsmen with the will to fight and to win their games, and how some of them could turn into very bad losers when challenged (don’t look at me like that, even the Cast Members themselves called some of their teammates “twat” at some point!)

Friday, 25th of July: “Miss Saigon”

A show I was excited about since my best friend had made me read its summary on Wikipedia months back. I am highly interested in “War Drama”, as I like to call it, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam War, you name it. And I am really happy that this show didn’t disappoint my expectations, despite the fact that it reminded me of “Les Misérables”, with not more than two or three sentences spoken normally, but sung. In some way, the music in “Miss Saigon” made it easier for me, and almost all of the songs were absolutely beautiful, mostly due to the fact that the people performing them were total stunners. Eva Noblezada, for starters, who plays the bar girl Kim. That girl is only 18 years old, but my God, she can sing like there is no tomorrow. Best voice I have heard in a long time, and her performance of Kim was flawless. She gave me goosebumps all over, and more than one tear in my eye. I see her having a very bright future on the stages of the world ahead.
Then, of course, Alistair Brammer as the soldier Chris. I could go on all day about how beautiful he is, how fit, how absolutely gorgeous and every girl’s dream. But most of all, his voice is breathtaking, and his acting talent was out of this world. I know now that this show isn’t easy at all, it doesn’t have a happy ending, but especially the last scene of it, just before the Curtain Call, is beyond difficult to play, I imagine. And Alistair was stunning in that scene, and in every single one before. You could see how emotionally caught up he is in his role, and that makes his display of Chris even more convincing.
Also, Kwang-Ho Hong as Thuy, Kim’s to-be love interest – WOW. I totally get why he’s so well-respected and popular in Korea. That man is amazingly talented. and it’s no suprise that he got one of the loudest Standing Ovations after the show.
Last but not least, one person who also impressed me was Hugh Maynard, who played the soldier John. His performance of “Bui Doi” was just amazing, and so heartbreaking, with all the pics of poor little kids in the background. These are the things that captivate me most about shows like that: the realistic inputs that remind you that all of this is real, that it has happened at one point in history. Overall, this show blew me away, and I think I will definitely be back at some point.

Saturday, 26th of July: “The Lion King”

That show was something I had heard different things about, and it made me partly wanting to see it and partly to avoid it. I get one of my friends’ disappointment when she first went to see it years back, saying how the heads on the actors heads were confusing her, making her dislike the show because the costumes were so disappointing (which, if you compare it with “Tarzan” definitely is a true thing, I can tell you). But after now having seen it, I am glad I gave it a shot anyways – after all, it was the first childhood movie that really impressed me 20 years ago. And right at the beginning, my tears had already started running down my cheeks, because when I listened to and watched the performance of “Circle Of Life”, all those memories came back to me, and it was a beautiful thing to watch all those animals coming onto the stage, filling it with life and music, and constant goosebumps were the result. Although even the woman right next to me said how silent the sound/acoustic was compared to the tour version she had seen once, and despite the fact that this show is definitely not one that has a lot of challenging vocals compared to other shows, I was impressed and loved it. The Cast was absolutely talented, especially the guy who played Simba that day, Nic Vani. When he came on stage during his “growing-up scene” in “Hakuna Matata”, I constantly fell in love with his amazing voice.
The highlight in this show, though, for me, were 4 people who don’t even have the biggest roles: Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, who played Rafiki exactly as I always thought he should be on stage, and the 3 people playing the hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai & Ed: Sarah Amankhwah, Taofique Folarin & Mark McGee. Just wow. I absolutely adored their costumes, and together with the one of Pumba, they were my favourites and the best in the entire show, and even more so, their acting talent was both flawless and hilarious. Watching them definitely made my night, because they were playing exactly as I remembered it from the movie. Though a few things were completely different to what happened in said movie, it even gave the show more spirit, and those changes were necessary to make it such a successfully running thing on the West End.

Saturday, 26th of July: “Book Of Mormon”

Cast Change day. I wasn’t aware of that until only a few days before my departure, and I knew the theatre and the Stage Door would both be packed, because the two Principal Roles, Gavin Creel (Elder Price) & Jared Gertner (Elder Cunningham) would be having their last show. AND WHAT A SHOW IT WAS. It was my 2nd time seeing it, and I can say nothing else than that I fell in love with it even more than during the 1st time. Everyone on that stage was and is beyond talented, and it’s the most hilarious thing I have ever seen in my life – and don’t even try and get me to explain it to you, because, hands down, “Book Of Mormon” simply is something that you can’t explain to anybody. So I advise you to go and see it yourself as soon as you can 😉
As we had Jared Gertner, who is the First Cast for Elder Cunningham, it was a different experience for me than the first time, when I was lucky enough to get David O’Reilly in that role. Jared was flawless, without a doubt. His Cunningham is beyond adorable, and he has a certain thing around him that makes you forget that behind all that clothing and Make-Up there is a grown man. You can’t help but love his talent and his display of that role, and although his role doesn’t really require huge singing talent (in my opinion, that is), his voice was wonderful to listen to, and there’s no doubt about his future acting career in the USA. Still, I have to admit, I desperately missed David O’Reilly on stage that night, because for me, he is “my” Elder Cunningham, someone who makes that role even more special in my opinion.
Gavin Creel…what can I say? He was flawless, his Elder Price is breathtaking, and with just a few words, a few moves, a few vocals, he has the entire audience tightly in the palm of his hand. His talent is insane, and the way he plays his role is indescribably good. Whenever I listen to him, I can’t help but at least bobbing with my head, or tipping my feet on the ground, and just smile widely the entire time. He has this certain thing around him that makes you feel welcome, that makes you feel kind of “home”, and I am truly blessed and honoured I had the chance to see the massive talent of his twice on stage. And although I hope he will be back on the West End stage more than soon, I wish him all the best for his life and career in the USA.
Alexia Khadime, as usual, was breathtaking, can’t say it any other way. That woman is just wow, no matter what she does or says or sings. I don’t know what is more stunning, her acting or her singing talent, and she is – without a doubt – the best Nabalungi that anybody who goes and sees the show will ever get to see.
With the rest of the Cast, especially the Elders, there is massive talent on that stage. No matter if it’s singing or acting, whenever I see them on stage (I know it’s only been two times, but it feels like way more), I am beyond impressed by how fitting each and every single on of them is in their roles, it never fails to amaze me. And I hope everyone of them will be staying for a while longer in this show, because without a doubt, you can see how much they love and enjoy to be part of it, of the Mormon Family. And they just simply deserve to be in it.

Sunday, 27th of July: “The Commitments”

If you have read an earlier post of mine on here about the show, then you know how little I liked it, mostly due to the fact that I barely understood anything (I blame the thick irish accent). And I think if you don’t understand a show, there is no way that even the best Cast can help you enjoy it anyway. I had, however, decided to give it another shot. And yes, I am SO glad I did.
I have never seen myself as a soul person, and although the songs sounded familiar, I never really liked them, they’re not my kind of thing, I guess. This show changed everything, though. The Cast was absolutely on fire, and I can’t even emphasize anyone in particular, because hands down, what the guys and girls on that stage do up there every night is mindblowing. May it be Ian McIntosh, who is the understudy for Deco, and who is just one of the most talented and blessed young men any stage has ever seen, or Mark Dugdale, who is just hilarious as Derek in any way I could think of, or Joe Woolmer, who I massively adore since the first time I saw him in the role of Mickah (seriously, if that guy doesn’t make you almost pee yourself laughing, then something really is wrong with you), or John McLarnon, Andrew Linnie, Sarah O’Connor, Denis Grindel, who we had as Jimmy that day (and who was good but not as brilliant as Thomas Snowdon on my first visit last November), Brian Gilligan, Stephanie McKeon…I could go on and on. The thing is: the talent on this stage is what makes the show vivid, and even more so, makes it such a feel-good show. I didn’t realize it the first time I went to see it, maybe because I had no idea what it was about, didn’t understand Jack Squad and was accompanied by just the wrong people, but I can safely say that now I absolutely adore this show and its brilliant Cast.
The Stage Door afterwards was total madness for us and I don’t even know how to understand anything that happened that might, but at some point, Mark Dugdale re-named me “Helga” because he thought “Tanja” wasn’t a very german name, hugged me multiple times to apologize that he forgot we had already met and was just a total star, like everyone else. Definitely made that last show experience of the week the best of all. Go and see the show if you can, you’ll come out with the biggest grin on your face and soul in your feet (if you’re not like me the first time you see it, that is 😉 ).
 

Apart from all the theatre experiences, I, overall, had the most amazing time in my favourite city, with the best people I could ever ask for, who not only made my birthday special, but the entire trip. I have amazing friends in them (old and new), and I feel absolutely blessed that they could be with me during almost all of that week. Thank you Sarah, Simone, Laura, Ali, Noor, Sigal, Steph, Jus, Carol, Tracie, Natalia, Gabby, Kim and whoever I have forgotten now. You all rock, thank you for making this trip so absolutely fun and unforgettable!

Cover Songs are bad spirit…aren’t they?

There is a saying out there somewhere among people that says that the basic thing the TV Show “Glee” does is ruining original songs by turning them into miserable, horrible covers. Now, I’m not as much of a fan anymore as I used to be at the beginning (because in my opinion, that series made a massive way downwards from a certain point in Season 3 on), but I still watch it, and yes – for the songs.

Over the past years there have been loads and loads of covers from the Cast, songs which were horrible, even before being covered (I’m just going to throw “Friday” in here, that says everything), songs that weren’t horrible before but then, after they were performed on the show, were ruined. And then, there are the songs that I seriously, seriously despised from the moment they were released. Each to their own, and basically, most of the songs I hate nowadays are the ones everyone else seems to like, so maybe I am the real problem here. But fact is, for me, “Glee” has these tiny moments that make me fall in love for a song that I hated before.

One of the biggest examples I can name is definitely “Defying Gravity”. I have never watched the musical “Wicked”, where that song is originated in. Neither did I ever have any ambition to – and the fact that Chris Colfer sang the song in Season 1 with one of the most annoying voices ever didn’t help. Now I’m going to be slated by everyone, so I’m quickly going to say that he has developed. His voice got a lot deeper, and when, a week back, the song was performed again on the current 5th Season (together with Lea Michele & Amber Riley) – I fell in love with it. I have heard the musical version of the song, and it has never been “mine” at all, I’m just not a sucker for love songs/ballads on a show (only very rarely). But the Season 5 version of the song gives me goosebumps to no end and – which is even more important – has now made me plan my 1st visit to the show at the Victoria Apollo Theatre in London somewhen in July.

Another good example are the songs “We Are Young”  & “Some Nights” of the band FUN. I never liked the band, neither did I like their songs, sorry. But the “Glee” Cast versions of these two songs always make me massively smile whenever I hear them. The vocals of everyone together are insane, in my opinion.

And then…there is Michael Jackson. Don’t get me wrong, may he rest in peace forever. I just always despised him. I had no respect for him due to all this face surgery thing with him, his weird character and behaviour and…I don’t know. His music gave me absolutely NOTHING when I listened to it. Then the Michael Jackson-themed episode on in Season 3 came. I’m not going to lie, until this day forward, the songs in that certain episode remain few of my favourites from the entire show. Whenever I hear “Smooth Criminal”, I’m totally rocking it in my mind, have the scene with Naya Rivera & Grant Gustin in my head. Listening to “Black & White” even makes me love Chris Colfers voice to a certain extent, because he has amazing vocals at a certain part in the song. Not to speak about the “Thriller/Heads Will Roll” mash-up in Season 2 – boom, that one always gets me.

There are so many songs on that show that in general don’t really bother me, but whenever I hear them being performed on that show, I notice how I start bopping my head to the tunes, tipping my feet on the ground. And hell, there are a few more than talented people on that Cast, especially Lea Michele, Amber Riley, Darren Criss & Naya Rivera (seriously, her version of “Girl On Fire” is loads and loads and loads better than that awful Alicial Keys version!!!). I think these 4 are few of the most underrated singers/actors that I have ever seen performing (on a screen). Their voices and performances give me goosebumps, and the songs that they are singing are most often the songs on the show that I disliked beforehand and fall in love with after watching them perform them.

So my opinion is: no, “Glee” does NOT ruin original songs (apart from the fact that they have a few killer songs that are originated on the show itself, “Loser Like Me” will always be my all-time favourite), neither does the show diminish the value that the actual performers have for their songs, whenever they sing them on a stage at a concert or even in a musical. In fact, I think that when certain songs are sung on “Glee”, they get even more attention than before, and that is everything else but a bad thing.

This all, of course, is only my personal opinion, but I feel sorry for the show/the actors for being slated so much after performing certain songs on the show, and it pisses me off to no end, because everyone on that show is talented in their own way and they deserve a bit of respect and appreciation for what they do. After all, it’s not as easy as everyone thinks to walk in the footsteps of a Michael Jackson, Adele, Madonna or whoever. It takes guts.

And these actors have them. Period.

Caissie Levy Live At The Hippodrome 26.01.2013

The Hippodrome Casino, in the middle of London, right on Leicester Square – what a venue. I’ve never been to a Casino in my entire life, so I really had no clue what to expect from this one, but I was taken aback when I first stepped foot in its big hall. The many poker tables, the lights, the people, the decoration…it was an amazing view to take in.

We knew that the Concert would be in the Matcham Room, so we soon found our way up to the 2nd floor, where quite a few people were already queueing to get in. I was kind of bouncing off the walls, as I had just got out of seeing “Les Misérables” at the Queens Theatre, and the adrenalin was still rushing through my veins. And the fact that all of a sudden, Oliver Tompsett, and, shortly after him, Paul Ayres passed me and my friend standing at the Top of the Staircase, didn’t make it any better. They both looked so good, and I was so excited to see them on stage that night with Caissie Levy, though I had just seen Oli on stage at the Dominion the night before. It was actually pretty surreal, when I also saw Nathan Amzi crossing our way and entering the Matcham Room; that were so many West End Actors/Singers that I had no chance to actually realize what was happening here. And then that one thing happened that was totally killing me.
As I said, my friend Kim and me were standing at the Top pf the Staircase, and we both took in the scene around us, the people playing Poker and everything, and it was such a stimulus satiation, I can’t begin to explain it. At one moment, I was standing with my back to the Stairs, looking to the Bodyguards standing at the Entrance of the Matcham Room, when my friend suddenly said nothing more than “Stairs, Stairs, Stairs, RIGHT NOW!” I was confused for a second, believing there was someone of HER favourite West End people, but when I turned around, there he was, MY favourite West End person: Simon Lipkin. You have to know: when I was planning that weekend in London, I couldn’t even begin to imagine to be there and not going to see him at “Rock Of Ages”. Sadly, since they’ve moved the Show to The Garrick Theatre, the ticket prices have been increased and there were no day seats available anymore. And as I had already 3 Shows and that Concert in 2 days, I just couldn’t afford an expensive Stalls Ticket for RoA (because, come on: sitting in that Show for me means to sit in the Stalls, period). My heart was honestly bleeding, knowing I was in my favourite city and wouldn’t even get a glimpse of Simon, my favourite RoAdie, as there wasn’t even time to go to the Stage Door for a few minutes. And when it was clear I was going to see the Caissie Levy Concert with Oliver Tompsett & Paul Ayres as Special Guests, my heart was all like “Maybe Simon will be there, too, maybe he will be, who knows?” the entire day, while my rational head was all like “Stop daydreaming and hoping, why on earth would HE be there?!” So when my friend said this Stair thingy (knowing VERY well that he was my favourite, as I couldn’t stop talking about him), and I turned around and saw him coming up the Stairs, just one metre away from us, I was sheer speechless. I hope he didn’t notice it, but I wasn’t able to do anything than just standing there, staring at him passing us…and my mouth was gaping open widely. VERY widely. That had never happen to me before, and when I saw him walking all the way to the end of the queue, it was over for me. That was so surreal, seeing him – who I consider a star at the West End, sue me – just acting like a normal person, and he didn’t show any airs and graces at all, and I couldn’t help but fall even harder for him than I already had three months before. So from the moment me and my friend were taking our seats in The Matcham Room to the beginning of the Concert up to its end, my heart was pounding like crazy. Standing in the queue, I was turning around the entire time, just to get a glimpse of him, and when me and my friend had taken our seats infront of the Stage, my eyes were practically glued to the Entrance, hoping they’d get to see him. Guess I was telling myself that if that would happen, I’d bring up the courage to walk up to him and chat a bit or maybe get another hug and pic with him *lol* Instead, Nathan Amzi came through the entrance just before the show started, and he saw me and my friend looking at the “Les Misérables” Souvenir brochure we brought with us from the Theatre, smiling at us and giving us a thumbs up 🙂
Well, then the Concert started, and what can I say? Everyone was just breathtakingly amazing. EVERYONE. Paul Ayres & Jenny Fitzpatrick sang “Lovebug Lives”, and then, Paul sang alone, “Out Of The Blue”. His voice was perfect in every way, and seeing him on stage so up close was amazing. Everytime he came to the higher notes, my skin was full of goosebumps; he was really, really great.
Sadly, when it was Oliver Tompsett’s turn to sing his solo, I hadn’t switched on my camera, so I don’t even know what his great song was called, only I remember that at first, it was a wonderful ballad, but after a while, turned out to a wonderful uptempo number. And of course, he was absolutely amazing; I totally fell for his voice when I had seen him in “Rock Of Ages” three months before, and he didn’t disappoint me ever since. He has that special thing in his voice that just makes your entire skin turn into massive goosebumps, your heart pounding like wild and your heart just wanting to melt and yourself? Well, it makes you squeak like a little child and feeling the urge to storm onto the Stage and give him massive hugs. He’s absolutely wonderful and the best West End Singer that there is right now.

After that, the main person of that evening stepped onto to the stage, the breathtakingly beautiful Caissie Levy. I already knew her voice inside out from the “Ghost-The Musical” Cast Recording, but still, I was taken aback when I heard her singing live. She was absolutely amazing. Every note was perfect, there was nothing to complain about, and the songs that she presented from her new album were all so wonderful! (though I’m really not a ballad person unless I’m sad and lonely or sth). After a few songs – of which I totally fell with the beautiful “You Are The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” -, Caissie called Oliver back onto the stage, and they both finally sang their duet together, the song “As Long As You’re Mine” from the Musical “Wicked”, where they had both worked together for quite a while, but somehow never sang together! The first take of that song was already amazing, but when everyone in the audience wanted to hear it a 2nd time, it was even better, as they started off with Oliver running off the Stage and Caissie calling him back up with  compliments, pretending he hadn’t already been there just a few seconds ago, it was hilarious.
After the last song, wich was my absolute highlight – she sang “Without You” from “Ghost” live, it actually brought tears to my eyes because it was so beautiful and I felt like there was no way that anybody could sing that song more perfect and breathtaking, – the Concert already ended, which was really sad, as I had really enjoyed it. I actually wanted to get a picture with Caissie or Oliver or Paul or Simon or Nathan, or to have a chat, but somehow, that didn’t really work out that well, as I just didn’t want to intrude their private space that night (for me, it’s different to wait for them at the Stage Door, sue me). So after half an hour of walking around The Hippodrome, watching the people play Poker, Black Jack, etc., my friend and me finally made our way back to our hostel. And for me, that night was priceless, not only because of the stunning and amazing Concert, but also because my wish came true and I got to see Simon without even being at The Garrick! 🙂