Annie – The Musical

Hello Loves!

What a week! I don’t even know where to begin. There’s a lot of conversation at the moment about different roles and it’s become quite exhausting. Thankfully, I’ve found solace in reading and booking more trips. I’ve also drank a lot of fruit tea as well! I do find it very calming. I need bucket loads!

Anyway, I’ve been super excited about seeing Annie since the tour was announced. The role of Miss Hannigan is so prolific and I was thrilled to see the original line up for this role of Craig Revel Horwood and Paul O’Grady. I managed to bag myself some tickets to see the show in Birmingham at the Alexandra Theatre. It was incredible!

The Plot

This show transforms the audience to 1930s America where The Great Depression has taken hold. Young orphan Annie is forced with the other children at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage to live a life of misery. Miss Hannigan clearly hates children and uses them to do all the jobs she doesn’t want to do.

However, Annie’s luck is about to change when she is picked out of all the children from the orphanage to spend Christmas with the famous Billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. However, Miss Hannigan has other ideas… she will do whatever it takes to spoil Annie’s search for her mother and father.

The Cast

Craig Revel Horwood is honestly sublime. He plays Miss Hannigan beautifully; from the way she moves and behaves. I love seeing Horwood perform, it’s a real treat.

Alex Bourne plays Warbucks and he was really excellent too. Amelia Adams has one special voice, she sounded like an angel I swear. The children were all really great too. Each had their own personality shine. Suki Hillier playing Molly was just wonderful. I’m always in awe of children performing on such big stages because they’re so young and small!

Of course, along with Craig Revel Horwood, the other stand out performance was Zoe Akinyosade who played Annie. She was utterly charming and such a talented little girl. What blew me away was that she is 9 years old and completely owned that stage. The future of musical theatre is bright with fresh, young talent like the child cast of this show, coming through. I also think they did a really amazing job working with a real dog (role shared by Darcy, Boris and Lily.

You can find out information on all the cast here.

Staging, Singing and Dancing

Annie is so popular and the soundtrack is one that everyone knows. It features the classics like: It’s A Hard Knock Life, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile and Little Girls.

The staging is also really clever. For a touring stage too, there’s a lot of props and materials that need moving. I loved the details to the bedroom of the orphans – including the teddy bear on the light!

Overall

I loved it. Each and every second was just joy. I’d definitely see this again and again. There was also a lovely tribute to Paul O’Grady at the end of the show too which brought a rapturous applause again. I can only imagine what he would have been like in that role. The audiences in Edinburgh were so lucky to see him.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Paul O’Grady.

Big Love xx

Pretty Woman – The Musical

Hello Lovelies!

How are you all? I’ve started my Easter break with a quick trip to London to see Pretty Woman the Musical at the gorgeous Savoy Theatre. I saw it last year and loved it. I knew I had to see it again before it heads off on tour around the country. There was another pull: Danny Mac. I’m a huge fan and always have been since Hollyoaks so the fact that his run as businessman Edward Lewis was ending at the start of April, I had to see him one last time! To be perfectly honest, this cast is one my of all time favourites.

The Plot

A chance encounter between Vivian Ward, a prostitute, and Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman begins the story of a most unlikely couple. After picking Vivian up for directions on Sunset Boulevard, Edward proposes a business deal where Vivian will accompany him for a week. The two become closer as the week progresses and both learn that they cannot possibly live without each other.

The Cast

I said before that this is one of my favourite castings. The absolute powerhouse that is Aimie Atkinson plays Vivian, Danny Mac (now Oliver Tompsett) plays Edward Lewis. Courtney Bowman (what a talented woman!) plays Kit de Luca beautifully. Matt Bateman is also a stand out star. I’ve seen him play Happy Man and Mr Thompson. I have so much love and respect for this cast. A special shout out needs to go to Alex Charles for his character, Giulio. Absolutely first class! You can see the full listing here.

Staging, Singing and Dancing

The show features some absolutely brilliant songs. The obvious to mention is the Roy Orbison classic song, Pretty Woman. However, there are some excellent songs. I love the soundtrack so it’s hard to pick a couple. Aimee Atkinson is a supreme talent and her solo songs really shine. My favourite is I Can’t Go Back. I love Edward’s solo Freedom too. There’s some great numbers featuring a number of the cast. Long Way Home, Together Forever and Never Give Up on a Dream are some highlights.

The staging is really clever too, seamlessly moving between Sunset Boulevard, the Penthouse Suite and various business settings. The lights and set up were really attractive.

Overall

I cannot gush about this enough. I love it. It’s uplifting, the cast are excellent, it made me laugh and smile and I was totally onboard for the singalong to Pretty Woman at the end. What an amazing show. I’m more than likely to go and see this when it’s on tour. However, if you’d like to see this phenomenon cast at home in London, please click here.

What a super start to the holiday! Here’s to more reading and watching! I can’t wait to catch up with you all.

Big Love xx

Dirty Dancing On Stage

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend. The weather has been really odd – glorious sunshine and then dark clouds and showers. It feels more like April! Anyway, half term feels like a blink ago now but I’ve been meaning to write my review of my trip to see Dirty Dancing in London’s Dominion Theatre. I’m making a real conscious effort to see as many shows as I can. There’s some absolute classics on this year. I just don’t want to miss out! I hope you enjoy!

The Plot

The plot of the show follows the plot of the film. It’s the summer of 1963 and Baby Houseman and her family head off for the holidays to Catskills Mountains in New York. The entertainment is dated but as chance would have it, Baby stumbles across an all night party. The dancing is the most sublime thing of all and at the heart of it is Johnny Castle, the resort’s dance instructor. Their worlds collide and so begins one of the greatest love stories of all time. Baby becomes one of the leading ladies in Johnny’s life and the two very different characters have the best summer of their lives.

There were some differences from the film, noticeably the political aspects. As we know, America in the 60s was a very difficult time. It was refreshing to see this portrayed on stage.

The Cast

The cast is really something else! Michael O’Reilly is the perfect Johnny. The crowd did go wild when the shirt came off! He’s a glorious dancer too so it really was hard to keep my eyes off him. Kira Malou was also an excellent Baby, starting off as the naïve, young girl who becomes a woman. However, my favourite cast member is Charlotte Gooch, playing Penny. My goodness this girl can dance. She’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I was also thrilled to see Georgia Castle, playing Lisa, as I absolutely loved her in Cinderella! The ensemble really were just as good as those taking centre stage. It’s a truly excellent cast.

Staging, Singing and Dancing

It was a Thursday night so I imagine the crowd is different on a Friday or Saturday. However, didn’t stop the fun filled evening I had. I was lucky enough to be on the front row (but you didn’t see the actors feet) and the dancing was just amazing. It was glorious to have an uninterrupted view. The singing came from a live band on stage which was good but I also appreciated the songs from the film version being played too. We can’t not talk about the final dance and THAT lift… Wow. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was transported to America in the 60s. It was impossible not to smile and enjoy the show.

“I carried a watermelon.”

Overall

I love the film, I grew up watching it with my mum so I am proud to say I know it word for word. I loved hearing the songs and seeing the dancing for real in the flesh. For me personally, the first half was a tad rushed but the second half definitely made up for it. I’m so glad I’ve seen it! I’m also super excited because it’s touring this year too. To get yourself some tickets, click here.

See you next time! It’ll be for my book choice for February for my reading challenge and of course, my round up for this month too.

Big Love xx

Sister Act The Musical

Morning loves!

Happy half term to all my friends in education and happy weekend to all who aren’t. I am so relieved the holiday is here. Granted it’s dark and raining outside but it doesn’t dampen my spirits for the holiday. I’ve got a number of posts planned but today I wanted to share with you my review of the amazing Sister Act The Musical touring show. I managed to get tickets to see this at the Birmingham Hippodrome for my mum’s birthday.

The Plot

For those who are familiar with the 90s classic film (I grew up watching that and feel a sense of pride at knowing every single word…) the story isn’t too dissimilar. Deloris Van Cartier finds herself in a bit of trouble as she witnesses her partner murdering someone. She’s therefore taken to protective custody and hidden in one place she shouldn’t be found – a convent. Struggling with the confines of her new life, she’s given one job to do: help the convent choir. As she helps the sisters find their voices, she realised just how fabulous she is herself.

The Cast

There are some absolutely treasures forming this cast and actually as a whole cast body, it really felt like they were a group of best friends. Sandra Marvin plays the lead role and my goodness she was fabulousness personified. I also thought that Lesley Joseph, playing Mother Superior, was incredible. She really hit each comedy note and it was just hilarious to see the on stage battles between the two. The casting of the sweet, quiet Sister Mary Robert had to be perfect – and it was! Lizzie Bea was divine. Another high note was Eddie Souther, played by Clive Rowe. Basically a massive cast with big souls and big voices. Amazing.

Staging, Singing and Dancing

Considering it’s a touring company, the staging was excellent. The lights, the moving pieces, the way there’s a bucket on stage for the leak in the roof. It’s all highly powerful. The overwhelming message of this show is fabulousness and the staging oozes that. I loved the colours. My previous admitted knowledge of the songs from the film were redundant here because all the songs are new BUT they really are catchy. I absolutely love Fabulous, Baby and Sunday Morning Fever are my particular favourites. However, for me the most uplifting and influential song is the title song, Sister Act.

“And as a sister and a friend,
I’ll be a sister ‘til the end,
and no one on this earth can
change that fact –
I’m part of one terrific sister act.”

Overall

I was so gutted to have missed this show in London but wow, it was so worth the wait. It’s touring all over the UK and Ireland and if you can, I urge you all to go and see it. You’ll leave feeling uplifted and high on life. The talent of this cast reigns supreme. I enjoyed it so much that I’m off to see it again next year in Leeds. If you need a boost, go see this. You wont regret it. For more information and to bag yourself some tickets, click here.

See you in my next post. Here’s to a week of reading, relaxing and adventures.

Big Love xx