West End Advice?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 3:53pm

So I'm making an impromptu trip to London for a few days at the end of February to see my partner (a reunion this soon is unprecedented for us, so it's sort of a big deal). We're definitely seeing Oliver as we had so much fun watching the entire series of I'd Do Anything (I adore Jodie, she was my pick from the very beginning). We have time for one more show, but are unable to decide. We were thinking about the Sunset Boulevard scaled-down revival at the Watermill, which has received raves, but I'm really not into the whole actors-playing-instruments thing. What are the hot plays at the moment? Any suggestions?

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 3:55pm

You know, you might want to post this on the West End board if you haven't already-- they're very helpful over there. (They helped me immensely with a fan mail issue!)

EDIT: Okay, so I'm a dingbat. You DID post a thread like that on the West End board. Sorry for my pointless post...

Updated On: 1/23/09 at 03:55 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 4:10pm

LOL No problem. I posted here first, then there. You were probably just very quick on the draw.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 4:55pm

I strayed over from the West End board, I will go with your instinct and see Sunset Boulevard, I do not like the A/M thing, but this production just blew me did bits, the lead (Norma Desmond) is played by Kathy Evans and she no how to belt out a song or two!

Other shows worth checking out maybe Blood Brothers, very quintessential English, with a great score. Had a relative successful Broadway run too.

La Cage aux Folles, you might of seen this already, as it had a long Broadway run, but the London production is shear bliss.

Have not seen this myself but everyone raves about Zorro.

Hairspray is also excellent with Michael Ball.

If you were in London from March 10th, I would definitely want to catch the Australian smash Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

One to miss Wicked, lol, I think you know what I mean by my West End thread.

Hope this helps?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 5:32pm

Thanks Phantom of London! I saw Blood Brothers both on Broadway and in the West End. I would see it again, but my partner just saw it in London last year. I've been thinking about Hairspray since I love the show and have never had the opportunity to see Michael Ball perform. I listened to the CD of Zorro and I'm hesitant. I haven't heard much about La Cage, so I may check into that a bit more. I'd love to see Priscilla, but I won't be staying long enough, I'm afraid. And I definitely don't need to see Wicked again for a very long time.

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 5:34pm

I heard Oliver was just OK.

[Weez]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 5:40pm

Zorro is a whole bunch of fun. If you want fire, swords, flamenco, and a little bit of cheekiness (and don't mind getting 'Bamboleo' stuck in your head for months), you could do a LOT worse.

La Cage is a good production but with debatable leads. Graham Norton is not being widely well received as Albin. If you want to give him a shot, he'll maybe have grown more into the role by the end of February, or there are certain dates he's scheduled to be out, so maybe one of those will coincide with your trip. Who knows?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 5:55pm

Weez - After hearing the CD, I had Bamboleo stuck in my head for three days. Now it's back.

Wait...Graham Norton is Albin??? How did I not hear about this? Good God, my partner is going to wet his pants when he hears this. I think you may have just tilted the scales for us. I'm not a huge fan of La Cage in general, but my man would kill me if he missed the opportunity to see Graham Norton in anything. I'll look into that.

I have heard the mixed reviews regarding Oliver, but seeing the show is more of a personal thing for us, so Oliver is set in stone. I missed the previous production and really wanted to see it, so I'll be happy with it, regardless.

[Taryn]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 7:52pm

I just had the good fortune to be in London for two weeks for a class where we got to see about 20 shows, so I'll give a rundown of my favorites.

After seeing Billy Elliot both in London and NY, I definitely preferred the London production (minus one particular revision in the broadway production). I really disliked Greg Jbara's portrayal of Billy's father (even though so many people on this board seem to be raving about it). The actor in London is miles ahead.

La Cage, as has been noted, is fantastic. It's the only show I saw that got an immediate ovation where the majority of the audience stood up. I came to learn that this is incelredibly rare in London. I was really underwhelmed with the New York revival several years ago, but this production absolutely blew me away. Norton grated on me a bit at first, but by the end of the first act I was absolutely won over and ended up thinking he was wonderful.

The Cordelia Dream is an absolutely fantastic new play commissioned by the RSC. I'm not sure if it's still open.

A Little Night Music is also fantastic. Great to see age appropriate casting.

War Horse at the National has some breathtaking puppetry and one of my favorite theatrical images. The play itself is very solid and moving if not fantastic.

A comment on Zorro, since it's been mentioned: it is absolutely awesome during dance numbers and absolutely painful during ballads and/or inspirational numbers (mostly due to atrocious lyrics). But it was a very fun evening I theatre.

[jacco]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 5:13pm

The best show I saw last month was Sunset: AMAZING production which finally did justice to Lloyd Webber's troublesome show.

Also adored La Cage, but saw the original cast (ecellent!) so cannot comment on Norton. But this production is amazing.

Little Night Music was very good too (though still prefer the NT production from the 90s). Caroussel was okay, especially vocally (but preferred the NT production of that as well!). As for Zorro.......ehm......it had its moments, but there is so much more to see....like the UK version of Spring Awakening which started yesterday.

[Lenexajones]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 9:13pm

I just got back and saw Billy Elliot which blew me away and also saw Wicked [part of the trip...] and it was less than great. I've seen that in NY and the touring version and the West End version was my least favorite.

[Taryn]

Posted: 1/25/09 at 12:24am

Oh! The Tempest was also fantastic! Forgot about that one.