Wow, celebrating 50 entries in this London blog with news of my next London trip!
I was sooo excited when we came back from London, and I couldn't stop myself from checking out flights and hotels - and before I knew it I had found an amazing trip!! So again, couldn't help myself, and now I'm in the process of planning for another London trip! *LOL!*
So I'm leaving on 5 October, will spend five nights at what I think is a really great hotel, then go back on 10 October - the flight was almost ridiculously cheap, I paid about 365 SEK for it, which is about £32 (or EUR 40, or $53)!
The hotel was quite cheap as well, by London standards £375 (about 4400 SEK, EUR 474, $625).
I haven't planned much yet, as I have a lot of other things to do right now, and the trip is still more than a month away - but I simply had to book a ticket to Les Misérables, AND I managed to get a decent seat on the evening show of 8 October - when they celebrate their 29th birthday! I am SO looking forward to that! :)
Will continue to update this blog with more news of my upcoming trip!
Showing posts with label les miserables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label les miserables. Show all posts
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Photos: 4 Agust - Various Photos
Beautiful Marble Arch.
Les Misérables at Queens Theatre.
London at night - Piccadilly Circus, and Hamley's on Regent Street.
Creepy looking church on my way to the hotel.
Les Misérables at Queens Theatre.
London at night - Piccadilly Circus, and Hamley's on Regent Street.
Creepy looking church on my way to the hotel.
Day 5: 4 August 2014
Traditional breakfast with Dad and his family, quite a lovely tradition actually.
My sisters were a bit in hyperdrive this morning, as I had promised to take them to Hamley's and we had agreed it would be before lunch this day.
I wanted to go down to Parliament Square and take some photos, as Hamley's didn't open until 10 - so we agreed to meet outside at 10.30, and went to catch a bus at Bayswater Road straight after breakfast.
I just love Parliament Square, I think the atmosphere there is amazing and I love walking around there and taking in all these amazing buildings. As I did have to be at Hamley's at a specific time I didn't feel like I could walk there forever, but sometime it would be nice to have more time to spend there, maybe find some cool photo angles of the various buildings ...
Anyway, I took a bus to Regent Street and even though I was a bit early I caught a glimpse of the whole family across the street, so I hurried to catch up with them!
And I just have to say: It was WONDERFUL to go to Hamley's with kids!! What can I say?! I've been there before, but it's just sooo different when you're there with children. We hardly made it in through the doors before a really cool pirate came up to us and welcomed us, asked where we were from, and how old the girls were! (And yes, everyone was pretty amazed when I said we were from Sweden, and it was their first visit to Hamley's!)
We said we were going to meet with the girls' parents about 1½ hours later, which actually wasn't a lot of time ... We ended up walking through all the floors (accept the bottom floor, as it's basically only video games and things like that, and the girls aren't in to that at all) - and then of course we had to buy something. I had said I wanted to get them each a gift from Hamley's, as it was quite special - and they had also been saving their allowance to be able to shop there.
Unfortunately, basically everything is super-expensive there, but finally we managed to find some nice things. They got a cuddly Hamley's bear from me each, and my older sister bought a beautiful little dog, while my younger sister, naturally, had to have a bunny (she definitely has a thing for bunnies!)! :) We stood in line, and I think it's amazing how big the girls have gotten. The older one, who is ten, walked up to the counter all on her own (I had to stay with my younger sister), paid for her doggie without any issues and got a beautiful Hamley's bag! Then I walked up with my younger sister, and she paid for her bunny all by herself, and got her own Hamley's bag - and then I paid for their teddy bears! :) :)
We split up after Hamley's, after having made plans to meet back at the hotel. As it was the last night in London we decided to go out for dinner, before I was off on Les Misérables, so we decided to meet back at the hotel.
I went to do some shopping at Oxford Street, but I was really extremely tired, and I had been on my feet more or less constantly since about 8.30 ... I ended up buying a really nice London bag, and found a (for me!) brand new HMV at Oxford Street - yay! I was a bit too tired to check it out properly, but I ended up buying the first two seasons of Falling Skies before dropping dead (well, almost anyway!).
Even though it was early I headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a while, before I took a shower and got ready. My Dad and his family also came back a bit earlier than expected, and the girls came up to my Tower Room to collect me! :) We spent a little time i their room (which was really large!) before heading out. While I took the girls to Hamley's, the girls' parents had been checking out restaurants, so we took a (very slow!) bus to Oxford Circus and found this great restaurant. It was a bit crowded and loud, but worked out really nice and the food was yummy!
When we had eaten the others decided to walk with me to Queens but unfortunately it was SOOO many people everywhere we could hardly speak a word to each other.
As usual, a proper review of Les Miz will come in my musical blog later on - but it really was a great show!! We had an understudy for Valjean, which always makes me a bit nervous, but I knew of Chris Holland, who has been involved in the show for a while now, and he did a really great job! Not one of my very favourites, and he missed a few things - but mostly, great performance!
Also, extremely impressed with the three children this time! Amazing!!!
After the show I went to Piccadilly Circus to take a bus home, only to see that they had closed the nearest bus stop, and referred to a temporary bus stop. Yeah right! There were to temporary bus stop, so I ended up walking all the way up to Hamley's, to the next bus stop. And once there, no bus 23 came. I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited. Eventually I gave up and took a 94 bus to Bayswater Road. Wasn't exactly sure where to get off, and managed to almost get myself lost between Bayswater Road and Sussex Gardens!! Granted, it's not a great area to get lost in, so it's a bit embarrassing, but to my defence: the streets in there are extremely confusing!!! It was a bit nervous, as it was getting really late, but I hardly saw anyone, and I finally ended up at the hotel - although Les Miz ended around 10.30, and I don't think I was at my hotel until 11.45 or so ... *yikes*
My sisters were a bit in hyperdrive this morning, as I had promised to take them to Hamley's and we had agreed it would be before lunch this day.
I wanted to go down to Parliament Square and take some photos, as Hamley's didn't open until 10 - so we agreed to meet outside at 10.30, and went to catch a bus at Bayswater Road straight after breakfast.
I just love Parliament Square, I think the atmosphere there is amazing and I love walking around there and taking in all these amazing buildings. As I did have to be at Hamley's at a specific time I didn't feel like I could walk there forever, but sometime it would be nice to have more time to spend there, maybe find some cool photo angles of the various buildings ...
Anyway, I took a bus to Regent Street and even though I was a bit early I caught a glimpse of the whole family across the street, so I hurried to catch up with them!
And I just have to say: It was WONDERFUL to go to Hamley's with kids!! What can I say?! I've been there before, but it's just sooo different when you're there with children. We hardly made it in through the doors before a really cool pirate came up to us and welcomed us, asked where we were from, and how old the girls were! (And yes, everyone was pretty amazed when I said we were from Sweden, and it was their first visit to Hamley's!)
We said we were going to meet with the girls' parents about 1½ hours later, which actually wasn't a lot of time ... We ended up walking through all the floors (accept the bottom floor, as it's basically only video games and things like that, and the girls aren't in to that at all) - and then of course we had to buy something. I had said I wanted to get them each a gift from Hamley's, as it was quite special - and they had also been saving their allowance to be able to shop there.
Unfortunately, basically everything is super-expensive there, but finally we managed to find some nice things. They got a cuddly Hamley's bear from me each, and my older sister bought a beautiful little dog, while my younger sister, naturally, had to have a bunny (she definitely has a thing for bunnies!)! :) We stood in line, and I think it's amazing how big the girls have gotten. The older one, who is ten, walked up to the counter all on her own (I had to stay with my younger sister), paid for her doggie without any issues and got a beautiful Hamley's bag! Then I walked up with my younger sister, and she paid for her bunny all by herself, and got her own Hamley's bag - and then I paid for their teddy bears! :) :)
We split up after Hamley's, after having made plans to meet back at the hotel. As it was the last night in London we decided to go out for dinner, before I was off on Les Misérables, so we decided to meet back at the hotel.
I went to do some shopping at Oxford Street, but I was really extremely tired, and I had been on my feet more or less constantly since about 8.30 ... I ended up buying a really nice London bag, and found a (for me!) brand new HMV at Oxford Street - yay! I was a bit too tired to check it out properly, but I ended up buying the first two seasons of Falling Skies before dropping dead (well, almost anyway!).
Even though it was early I headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a while, before I took a shower and got ready. My Dad and his family also came back a bit earlier than expected, and the girls came up to my Tower Room to collect me! :) We spent a little time i their room (which was really large!) before heading out. While I took the girls to Hamley's, the girls' parents had been checking out restaurants, so we took a (very slow!) bus to Oxford Circus and found this great restaurant. It was a bit crowded and loud, but worked out really nice and the food was yummy!
When we had eaten the others decided to walk with me to Queens but unfortunately it was SOOO many people everywhere we could hardly speak a word to each other.
As usual, a proper review of Les Miz will come in my musical blog later on - but it really was a great show!! We had an understudy for Valjean, which always makes me a bit nervous, but I knew of Chris Holland, who has been involved in the show for a while now, and he did a really great job! Not one of my very favourites, and he missed a few things - but mostly, great performance!
Also, extremely impressed with the three children this time! Amazing!!!
After the show I went to Piccadilly Circus to take a bus home, only to see that they had closed the nearest bus stop, and referred to a temporary bus stop. Yeah right! There were to temporary bus stop, so I ended up walking all the way up to Hamley's, to the next bus stop. And once there, no bus 23 came. I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited. Eventually I gave up and took a 94 bus to Bayswater Road. Wasn't exactly sure where to get off, and managed to almost get myself lost between Bayswater Road and Sussex Gardens!! Granted, it's not a great area to get lost in, so it's a bit embarrassing, but to my defence: the streets in there are extremely confusing!!! It was a bit nervous, as it was getting really late, but I hardly saw anyone, and I finally ended up at the hotel - although Les Miz ended around 10.30, and I don't think I was at my hotel until 11.45 or so ... *yikes*
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Les Misérables - Sept. 26
I went to the matinee show of Les Misérables on Wednesday September 26, and overall it was really really great show! :-)
Though I had booked fairly late I had somehow managed to get a fantastic seat, A10, which is exactly what it sounds like - first row, almost in the middle!
Quite amazing, I haven't had a seat like that since I saw Phantom of the Opera in Stockholm in 1995!!
You get so up close to the stage, and if we stretched a bit, we could see the orchestra which was totally cool! The conductor was a really nice guy and as he was doing last minute preparations before the show he suddenly turned around to us and said: "Good afternoon! I hope you enjoy the show!" :-)
I got so much out of the show, the performances from the actors and the attention to detail that a stage production like this actually pays, from sitting so close to the stage. I had for instance not previously seen the burn mark on Valjean's chest, which is visible both in the beginning of the show and when he goes before the court at the end of "Who am I?" - and I had not seen the fact that he has the number 24601 on his prison clothes!
When it comes to details it was almost too much so in "A Little Fall of Rain", as there was more blood there then I would have thought!
Another thing I hadn't seen before occurred during the fight on the barricade, when Valjean comes to join the students. It is not until the first fight is over and Enjolas says "Marius, rest!" that Valjean knows who Marius is! It was quite clear in this show that that was the moment he discovered who Marius was among all the students.
I also actually never knew how much 'in contact' the conductor is with the actors on stage. Of course, now I realized he'd have to be in order to time the music, but I'd never really thought about it before. It was quite clear as I sat so close to them, the conductor at times looked more at the stage than at the orchestra! Very cool! Also impressive to see how well the conductor read some of the actors, it was almost as if he could sense, through a look or a turn of the head, when the actor was going to start singing. Amazing!
As for the performers, for the most part, I was really really lucky and had an amazing cast!!
Gerónimo Rauch - Jean Valjean
He did a very good job with a difficult part, he definitely has the vocal capacity for the part, and for me, the ultimate "test" of a good Valjean is "Bring Him Home", which is probably the most difficult song to do really well - and Rauch passed the test! :-) He also possessed stage presence and charisma which is very important. The only thing I have to say that I'm not very pleased with is the fact that because of his choices on intonation he often had to sing certain parts very quickly, and that meant that he didn't have the time to articulate properly ... It happened every now and again, and while I know the entire musical by heart, it was still a bit disturbing to me (I imagine even more so to some one not quite so familiar with the musical).
While I still have to say, David Shannon will probably always be my Jean Valjean, Gerónimo Rauch did a very good job!!
Tam Mutu - Javert
Javert is my favourite character in the show and so I do have high demands on the actor who plays him ... unfortunately, this time I was quite disappointed. Everybody is different, and Mutu had a great support in the audience, but I can't say that I liked how he interpreted the part.
During the first act I felt he was way to soft and did not portray the authority of Javert (at times I almost felt it would have been better if Rauch and Mutu had swapped parts there ... until I remembered that Valjean is a tenor-part and Javert is baritone - so a change might not have been such a good idea after all *lol*).
I felt that Mutu had a strange intonation in most of the songs and put emphasis not quite where it was supposed to be, which - to me - made his character quite strange and hard to figure out. "Stars" is one of my favourite songs but I didn't make much sense of it here.
Sierra Boggess - Fantine
This was the first time I truly realized how difficult the part of Fantine must be to play. She doesn't have that much stage time but still has to go through so much and portray so many different emotions. I can't say that Boggess was an outstanding favourite of mine, but she did do a very good job with the part!
Samatha Dorsey - Cosette
Hands down, my favourite Cosette!! No doubt whatsoever!
I usually find the character very difficult to understand, I have never quite figured Cosette out and no matter how talented actresses I have seen playing the part, I just don't get it ... Until now. Dorsey managed to play on Cosette's innocence without making her silly and awkward, but instead keeping the sweetness of the child singing "Castle on a Cloud". Amazing!!!
Cameron Blakely- Thénardier
He did a good job, the character is quite easy to "like" (if you know what I mean), and most of the songs and scenes he's in are very funny - can't say that he was a favourite, but still, quite all right!
Linzi Hately- Mme Thénardier
Fantastic to see Linzi Hately live again - saw her in an International Tour of Chess a number of years ago, and she is very talented!! I liked the fact that they hadn't given her quite so much make-up as Mme Thénardier usually has, and to me this was a fast improvement. I have never quite understood why she had to look like some cartoon character, and I have to say I enjoyed the character more this time, as she somehow felt more 'real'. Hately is so talented and for me, who had previously seen her in quite a serious part, it was wonderful to see her do comedy, and do it SO well!
Helen Owen - Eponine
Helen Owen was the understudy for Eponine and she completely blew me away!! My favourite Eponine too! She was absolutely fantastic, and she balanced the difficult mix of tough street kid with innocent girl in love in an amazing way! "On my Own" was absolutely fabulous!!
Craig Mather - Marius
Yes, another favourite!! Third favourite in one show, not bad, right?! Craig Mather portrayed Marius better then anyone I've ever seen before, mostly because his understanding of the character, and the character development that takes place during this show!! Marius singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is a quite different person from the young rebel student, bumping in to Cosette - "I didn't see you there, forgive me!" - and falling instantly in love. Mather is the first actor who really played through the changes the character experiences, and I really loved that!
Liam Tamne - Enjolras
Not my absolute favourite Enjolras (don't think I really have found one yet, actually!), but I really liked his interpretation of the character! I felt he, more than many others, emphasized the fact that Enjolras is more experienced than the other students, he is their leader and he is really the only one of them who truly realizes what they are about to get themselves into. The lyrics speak of it, but I don't think I've seen an actor really act it out as clearly as Tamne did! Great job!
The kids were adorable of course - they always are ... unfortunately I never figured out who played in the show I saw! :/
I especially liked Little Cosette, who was absolutely fantastic and SO sweet - she was played by either Anya Evans or Ashley Goldberg.
All in, while I am a bit disappointed that my favourite character didn't quite see Javert as I see him, it was a really great show!! Fantastic seat, learned so many new things and found three new favourites! Fantastic!!!
Some pictures from the souvenir brochure: (and I do apologize for the quality ... I have been stressing all day, so it was these pictures or no pictures at all!)
Monday, 1 October 2012
Photos - Day 3
First, some photos from Trafalgar Square.
And from Marble Arch (with the typical phonebooth!):
Around Queen's Theatre (Shaftesbury Avenue) before Les Misérables:
And photos from the no. 23 bus (first one from somewhere between The Royal Courts of Justice and St. Paul's Cathedral, then from St. Paul's Cathedral and last from somewhere between St. Paul's Cathedral and Charing Cross - all photos taken from the bus):
And from Marble Arch (with the typical phonebooth!):
Around Queen's Theatre (Shaftesbury Avenue) before Les Misérables:
And photos from the no. 23 bus (first one from somewhere between The Royal Courts of Justice and St. Paul's Cathedral, then from St. Paul's Cathedral and last from somewhere between St. Paul's Cathedral and Charing Cross - all photos taken from the bus):
Day 3 - September 26
I didn't sleep very well the second night in London, and I woke up not feeling that great. I decided to take it easy in the morning and try to get myself in better shape in order to face the day, so decided to skip breakfast (which was served between 7.30 and 8.45 a.m.) and get a bit of a late start.
I went out about 9.30 in the morning, and it took a while to find the buses going into town ... as usual in London the buses travel different streets in different directions - which is a bit confusing at times. I did however find the bus stop without problems and went from Praed Street down to Charing Cross Station to pick up my London pass. The directions I had gotten were both very detailed but at the same a bit vague (yup, definitely confusing) but it turned out the address was a ticket booth where you, for instance, could buy cheap musical theatre tickets, but if you went downstairs, through some quite terrifying stairs, you ended up at the London Pass Desks! I collected my pass without any problems at all, and went to photograph a bit around Trafalgar Square.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great, so I didn't take a lot of photos, and I only used my small camera (am I a bit more scared for the larger camera, with regards to damages from humidity).
I walked up to Leicester Square and walked around there, found a (rather small) HMV there (dvds, books, games, cds - great store!!) but I didn't find much. The only thing I really fancied was a dvd box with all three seasons of Millennium, but I didn't buy anything in the end.
I took a bus from there to Marble Arch and had some lunch, walked along Oxford Street a bit, and went into the Disney Store! Apparently it's a new store, different from the one Annika and I went to in 2009, but they had tons of lovely stuff, already starting to prepare for Christmas with fantastic gifts already wrapped up!
It's difficult in these kinds of stores, I think, because there are lots and lots of things you want, but everything is so expensive, the question is: do you want it that much??! I ended up buying nothing at all! :-)
From the Disney Store I took a bus to Regent Street and went to Hamley's - the most amazing toy store!! It's absolutely fantastic, and I walked up most floors and checked it out, although I didn't buy anything!
Walked down to Piccadilly Circus and continued up Shaftesbury Avenue, even though it was a bit early. I took some photographs outside the Queens Theatre, and realized the Box Office was in fact open.
Collected my tickets, very smooth, and by the time I had done that, they had opened the theatre and I could go in. Bought a programme + souvenir brochure before I found my seat in Stalls. And what a seat?!?!?!?!!?
A 10!!!!
First row, basically in the middle (a little to the side!)!! Fantastic!!
I will make a separate entry on the Les Misérables show, so I won't go into that here now ... stay tuned! :-)
Les Miz wasn't over until about 5.30 p.m. but the weather was clearing up, so I took a bus to Liverpool Street, bought some snacks and took another bus back - got seats on the top floor at the front, and had planned to do some photographing from there (great angles!!)!
I got some photos of St. Paul's Cathedral - but after that the traffic came to a complete and utter STOP!! We basically didn't move at all, and by the time the traffic let up and we were closing in on Trafalgar Square, it was too dark to photograph! :-(
The trip from Liverpool Street Station to Sussex Gardens (normally about an hour) took nearly two hours, and by the time I got to the hotel, I was pretty worn out!
I went out about 9.30 in the morning, and it took a while to find the buses going into town ... as usual in London the buses travel different streets in different directions - which is a bit confusing at times. I did however find the bus stop without problems and went from Praed Street down to Charing Cross Station to pick up my London pass. The directions I had gotten were both very detailed but at the same a bit vague (yup, definitely confusing) but it turned out the address was a ticket booth where you, for instance, could buy cheap musical theatre tickets, but if you went downstairs, through some quite terrifying stairs, you ended up at the London Pass Desks! I collected my pass without any problems at all, and went to photograph a bit around Trafalgar Square.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great, so I didn't take a lot of photos, and I only used my small camera (am I a bit more scared for the larger camera, with regards to damages from humidity).
I walked up to Leicester Square and walked around there, found a (rather small) HMV there (dvds, books, games, cds - great store!!) but I didn't find much. The only thing I really fancied was a dvd box with all three seasons of Millennium, but I didn't buy anything in the end.
I took a bus from there to Marble Arch and had some lunch, walked along Oxford Street a bit, and went into the Disney Store! Apparently it's a new store, different from the one Annika and I went to in 2009, but they had tons of lovely stuff, already starting to prepare for Christmas with fantastic gifts already wrapped up!
It's difficult in these kinds of stores, I think, because there are lots and lots of things you want, but everything is so expensive, the question is: do you want it that much??! I ended up buying nothing at all! :-)
From the Disney Store I took a bus to Regent Street and went to Hamley's - the most amazing toy store!! It's absolutely fantastic, and I walked up most floors and checked it out, although I didn't buy anything!
Walked down to Piccadilly Circus and continued up Shaftesbury Avenue, even though it was a bit early. I took some photographs outside the Queens Theatre, and realized the Box Office was in fact open.
Collected my tickets, very smooth, and by the time I had done that, they had opened the theatre and I could go in. Bought a programme + souvenir brochure before I found my seat in Stalls. And what a seat?!?!?!?!!?
A 10!!!!
First row, basically in the middle (a little to the side!)!! Fantastic!!
I will make a separate entry on the Les Misérables show, so I won't go into that here now ... stay tuned! :-)
Les Miz wasn't over until about 5.30 p.m. but the weather was clearing up, so I took a bus to Liverpool Street, bought some snacks and took another bus back - got seats on the top floor at the front, and had planned to do some photographing from there (great angles!!)!
I got some photos of St. Paul's Cathedral - but after that the traffic came to a complete and utter STOP!! We basically didn't move at all, and by the time the traffic let up and we were closing in on Trafalgar Square, it was too dark to photograph! :-(
The trip from Liverpool Street Station to Sussex Gardens (normally about an hour) took nearly two hours, and by the time I got to the hotel, I was pretty worn out!
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Updates!
Some updates to this site has been done today.
There are now photos available from the London 2009-trip I made with Annika - not that many perhaps, but I did have a hard time choosing what photos to include, as I have quite a few to choose from! :)
I have also added reviews from Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables from 2009 on the London Musicals page. These are basically taken from my old blog (just like the review of the 2009 trip) - but I hope you enjoy them anyway.
I'm hoping to update on the trips from 2004 and 2006 as well, maybe tonight and/or tomorrow!
Enjoy!
Oh yeah - if you have any comments, stuff you like, or don't like, stuff you want to see here etc., feel free to leave a comment and tell me! :)
There are now photos available from the London 2009-trip I made with Annika - not that many perhaps, but I did have a hard time choosing what photos to include, as I have quite a few to choose from! :)
I have also added reviews from Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables from 2009 on the London Musicals page. These are basically taken from my old blog (just like the review of the 2009 trip) - but I hope you enjoy them anyway.
I'm hoping to update on the trips from 2004 and 2006 as well, maybe tonight and/or tomorrow!
Enjoy!
Oh yeah - if you have any comments, stuff you like, or don't like, stuff you want to see here etc., feel free to leave a comment and tell me! :)
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Musicals
I have rather mixed feelings about musicals right now.
I have booked two, and I'm looking forward to them enormously - but I kind of really wanted to see two others as well, which won't happen, so I'm a bit upset about that.
Let's deal with the 'bad' news first, shall we?
Okay, so I really want to see The Lion King in London!! I absolutely adore all three movies and I think they make a fantastic musical ... so I did some checking, and sure enough, I could get tickets to The Lion King. One tiny problem; they are almost twice as expensive as the other musicals I plan to see ... I mean, I know it is expensive, and for the most part I think it's worth it, but these tickets were about 1000 SEK (about £94, $150, 117 Euros)!! And I think that's a bit much ... Granted, had it been Philip Quast, I probably would have payed it - *lol* - but not for anyone else! :-)
So no The Lion King ...
I also really wanted to see Sweeny Tood! I have seen the movie, which I think takes things too far, but I was hoping that the stage version wouldn't be quite as intense as the movie. Also, starring Michael Ball!! Hello?!? A chance to see Michael Ball live ... wow!!! Yeah, I had my heart set on booking tickets and started checking out times and dates and the theatre - and found out it's playing until Saturday September 22nd!!! What a bummer!!! :(
So, no Sweeny Todd either!
Now for the good news! :-)
I have booked Phantom of the Opera, which is one of my favourite musicals ever!! It's truly amazing and creates the most extraordinary mood in the theatre. Unfortunately, since the whole London trip came on rather suddenly, I did not get a good seat at Her Majesty's Theatre. I tried and tried and tried, but I'm a bit anxious about watching the evening shows and finding my way back to the hotel on my own that late at night, so I really wanted to see if I could catch the matinee show. Needless to say, if I could have gotten a great seat on an evening show I would have taken it, but as it stands, I'll be sitting in the back of Stalls on Thursday the 27th (matinee show).
I also really would have loved to see Swedish musical artist Peter Jöback as the Phantom - I have heard him sing "Music of the Night" and he's outstanding! - but as soon as I heard he would only play through August, I knew I wouldn't be able to see him ... :/
More good news, as I have also - of course! - booked Les Misérables for the matinee show on Wednesday the 26th! Managed to get a much better seat there which I'm very happy about ... after all, Les Miz is my number one favourite and it always will be, nothing can ever come close to it!!!
I know David Shannon did a stint as Jean Valjean this spring, and yes, I would have loved to see him! He was Valjean when I saw it in 2009 and I finally - after having seen the show four times in London (I think), once in Sweden, and listened to numerous recordings - found my Jean Valjean. No such luck though, as he's not currently in the show.
When I tried checking out the cast I really didn't recognize anyone, so I'm thinking I'm in for a bit of a surprise, which might in fact be a good thing! However, I did learn that since September 10th, Linzi Hately is playing Mme Thénardier!!! Totally amazing!! She's played Eponine early on in Les Miz in London, she's on my favourite recording of The Secret Garden, and she played Florence in the Scandinavian Tour of Chess, which I was lucky enough to catch in Olso (and there I also got to see David Shannon as Anatoly!) - and she's absolutely outstanding!! I was so taken with her in Oslo, and while Florence is quite a serious part, I have no doubt at all that she will be fantastic as the comedic Mme Thénardier!! So all fingers crossed that she actually will be doing the matinee show on the 26th!
Yes, now I've rambled on and on and on about the musicals! :) Will definitely come back with detailed reviews after I've seen them!!
I have booked two, and I'm looking forward to them enormously - but I kind of really wanted to see two others as well, which won't happen, so I'm a bit upset about that.
Let's deal with the 'bad' news first, shall we?
Okay, so I really want to see The Lion King in London!! I absolutely adore all three movies and I think they make a fantastic musical ... so I did some checking, and sure enough, I could get tickets to The Lion King. One tiny problem; they are almost twice as expensive as the other musicals I plan to see ... I mean, I know it is expensive, and for the most part I think it's worth it, but these tickets were about 1000 SEK (about £94, $150, 117 Euros)!! And I think that's a bit much ... Granted, had it been Philip Quast, I probably would have payed it - *lol* - but not for anyone else! :-)
So no The Lion King ...
I also really wanted to see Sweeny Tood! I have seen the movie, which I think takes things too far, but I was hoping that the stage version wouldn't be quite as intense as the movie. Also, starring Michael Ball!! Hello?!? A chance to see Michael Ball live ... wow!!! Yeah, I had my heart set on booking tickets and started checking out times and dates and the theatre - and found out it's playing until Saturday September 22nd!!! What a bummer!!! :(
So, no Sweeny Todd either!
Now for the good news! :-)
I have booked Phantom of the Opera, which is one of my favourite musicals ever!! It's truly amazing and creates the most extraordinary mood in the theatre. Unfortunately, since the whole London trip came on rather suddenly, I did not get a good seat at Her Majesty's Theatre. I tried and tried and tried, but I'm a bit anxious about watching the evening shows and finding my way back to the hotel on my own that late at night, so I really wanted to see if I could catch the matinee show. Needless to say, if I could have gotten a great seat on an evening show I would have taken it, but as it stands, I'll be sitting in the back of Stalls on Thursday the 27th (matinee show).
I also really would have loved to see Swedish musical artist Peter Jöback as the Phantom - I have heard him sing "Music of the Night" and he's outstanding! - but as soon as I heard he would only play through August, I knew I wouldn't be able to see him ... :/
More good news, as I have also - of course! - booked Les Misérables for the matinee show on Wednesday the 26th! Managed to get a much better seat there which I'm very happy about ... after all, Les Miz is my number one favourite and it always will be, nothing can ever come close to it!!!
I know David Shannon did a stint as Jean Valjean this spring, and yes, I would have loved to see him! He was Valjean when I saw it in 2009 and I finally - after having seen the show four times in London (I think), once in Sweden, and listened to numerous recordings - found my Jean Valjean. No such luck though, as he's not currently in the show.
When I tried checking out the cast I really didn't recognize anyone, so I'm thinking I'm in for a bit of a surprise, which might in fact be a good thing! However, I did learn that since September 10th, Linzi Hately is playing Mme Thénardier!!! Totally amazing!! She's played Eponine early on in Les Miz in London, she's on my favourite recording of The Secret Garden, and she played Florence in the Scandinavian Tour of Chess, which I was lucky enough to catch in Olso (and there I also got to see David Shannon as Anatoly!) - and she's absolutely outstanding!! I was so taken with her in Oslo, and while Florence is quite a serious part, I have no doubt at all that she will be fantastic as the comedic Mme Thénardier!! So all fingers crossed that she actually will be doing the matinee show on the 26th!
Yes, now I've rambled on and on and on about the musicals! :) Will definitely come back with detailed reviews after I've seen them!!
From the Tenth Anniversary Concert (TAC), 1995
Philip Quast - Javert
Philip Quast - Javert
Colm Wilkinson - Jean Valjean
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