Theatre

The Theatre

Jersey Boys:

Fantastic! A slick, tight production, bringing back memories from the sixties, when the US music scene was where it was at. As kids we used to sleep out under the birch tree in our 3 acre back yard. Our transistor radio was able to pick up the “bounce “ of the NY stations. I distinctly remember our motley crew singing Sherry in our prepubescent voices at 0200 and watching the Perrier’s lights go on (our patient if not colorful Parisienne neighbours), in dismay. Mrs. Perrier usually sought her revenge with playing her tunes starting at 0700 the next morning. She never called to complain, we never stopped playing WABC for the latest tunes.

I am told that it is still true today, even with the internet that the US radio plays the latest releases, Catherine says that Hamish always reported to her what was cool from Dartmouth! My God radio remains such a powerful medium.

The Jersey Boys tells the unlikely story of Frankie Valli. Interspersed with tunes I never knew were theirs ,  is a story of genius in writing and performing, loyalty and trying to do the right thing in the face of  many challenges.

Stuff I observed and learned: “Walk like a man “ was one of our anthems, how did this sell when sung in such a high voice?!

“Big girls don’t cry”, same theme as walk like a man, was this the start of feminism? This man and this group sold 175 million albums, why do they not get more respect?

The bottom line it is a great show and the performance in London was A1

Billy Elliot:

Saw the movie, this musical was energized, tight and dramatic. The 12 year old actor as Billy carried the show and it was hard to believe his age given his professionalism. A great story and a great performance, it deserves1

Mama Mia:

We had a host of choices, War Horses was sold out and I wanted to be up lifted. The performance we had seen in Vancouver was ace so I expected the same in London. Alas I was disappointed and had to settle for a second rate production and fortunately did not pay full price. The positive is that Catherine loved it and is far more generous in her reviews than I !

Theatre is grand  ( am I beginning to write like a Scot?) and to have 33 shows from which to choose a real treat, especially when we could walk or be 1-5 stops away by tube. I can easily see a visit here every 2 years to catch up .