Legally Blonde

             On the 26th October 2011, my Mum, Rose and I went to see Jerry Mitchel's Legally Blonde musical tour. It was in Manchester- the Manchester Opera house. The Theater itself was incredibly beautiful and antique and had recently been restored. We didn't have the best of seats but that couldn't be helped.

       My overall feeling of the show was very good. I hadn't seen anything much like it before and I loved the story line. The humour was well balanced with the drama and I loved the use of costume. The set was also especially clever and what with it being a reasonably new musical I was surprised with the number of songs I recognized. The musical numbers were incredible and being an instrumentalist, I had a special appreciation for their performance: which was very good. My favourite musical number was probably chip on my shoulder, below is a video of the song but i think that the version in the tour i went to see was much better but ya know... The only thing I think could be improved was the length. This isn't very easy to fix due to the fact it is a very precise, international musical but i do think  it seemed to pass especially quickly: this probably wasn't helped by the fact that i enjoyed it so much!

I would recommend it for most people, although i'm not sure some younger men would appreciate it due to the 'girly-ness' of it, for example I would not take my two older brothers (who are 18 and 20).

Until next time

Katie

xxx

The 'Big-uns'

This post shall be about the big shows I have been to see: some on the west-end and some elsewhere- enjoy:




The Sound Of Music:
I do believe that I was 8 when I went to see this as a birthday present. It was at the Palladium on the west end and was very inspirational for me. Starring in it was Connie Fisher: winner of the BBC show 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?', and having watched it from the start and voting for Connie at least once every week, you imagine my excitement. I don't remember much about the show apart from the fact that the set was incredible and it was from then on, my ambition to be one of the Von Trapp children one day. Like many of my West-end dreams-  have not quite achieved it yet. 
For me, the most exciting part occurred after the show, when we went to the stage door to meet the actors and actresses. I was literally bouncing along the tube train after I had my picture taken with Connie and got Connie, Captain Von Trapp, Mother Superior, Fredrick and Liesl's autographs. It is something I shall never forget and I seriously recommend this show to everyone!


Joseph and his Technicolor Dream-Coat,
This I do know the year of: 2009. I went with my primary school during our residential to London It was very exciting to go with my school friends and It's funny when we look back and realize we were probably too young to be drooling over Gareth Gates topless, who starred in the production. It was a great show and I set myself a dream yet again to be just one of the children in it. I was disappointed not to go to the stage-door to get his autograph, which had now become the norm for me.


My Fair Lady
I think this was the first big show i went to see. It was at the Theater Royal in Plymouth and I loved it. I loved the musical number: 'I'm getting married in the morning' and 'Get me to the Church on time'. I loved the romance in it and I distinctly remember the use of a gramophone- by which I was fascinated. I wish I remembered more about it but I think I was only about years  old.


Billy Elliot
My family and I went to see Billy Elliot in 2008 at the Victoria Palace Theater in London, just before heading off to Canada on holiday. The reason we went was because a Friend of Matt's from School was starring in it: Josh Fedrick (type him into YouTube-there are some videos about him and he was also the Billy Elliot who danced with Bruce Forsyth on his birthday tribute (BBC)). The whole thing was absolutely amazing and i realize now how much of the humour in it went over my head. As usual with big shows- we went to the stage door and I loved seeing peoples faces as they had been waiting for ages and Josh just casually walks up to us and starts talking to us.


Wicked
What can I say about wicked, apart from the fact that it was just astonishingly, beautifully amazing, I'm not sure what I can say. I think it has to be one of my favourite things I have seen so far. Another of my dreams sprang up in 2011 when I went to see it for my birthday present like Sound of Music, I will be Elphaba one day. The production starred Rachel Tucker as Elphaba and Louise Dearman as Glinda the Good-witch. 




Okay so now i have done that we can get on to the proper reviews that I know everyone's been waiting for- hehe :P
See ya soon
Katie
xxx

BA: Before-ANLO :D

  

          Before I turned 14 and was eligible (again) for the ANLO scheme, I went to the theater less frequently (due to the price), and when we did go it was to big shows. I have been going to the theater since a very young age and instead of posting boring things about shows I don't remember very well, I have decided to write one post detailing all the things I have been to see and maybe a few things about them. Here goes....

(By the way they won't be in order as i don't have a clue when some of them were),

I think the first things I went to see at the theater were little plays in the Drum Theater in Plymouth. They were put on especially for very young children (ie, age 6 and below) and included things such as Peter Pan. I briefly remember a scene from one which was set in the antarctic and included a penguin and an iceberg, but that's about it.

I also went to see many Christmas Pantomimes, I remember a few but I especially remember one I went to see when I was in year 6 (2008/09), this is because Alice, a friend of mine was in it. I specifically remember the 12 days of Christmas rendition they performed which was hilarious and involved a load of loo rolls landing on Thomas Bradley's head.

I have been taking ballet classes since the age of 4, and because of this I have been to see many ballet performances, including: Matthew Bournes Nutcracker, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

I am also a keen reader, and enjoyed Roald Dahl when I was quite young, I have seen The Witches and The BFG on stage and I remember The Witches quite vividly even though I was only about 7. I especially loved the stairs scene when the giant mice were using an equally giant quality street to get up them. I also remember the fact that it is the only thing I have ever seen with my brother Matt (at the Theater Royal) and I distinctly remember him enjoying it loads: even if he won't admit it now.

It was tradition for any years that my family and I go to Sterts Theater in Cornwall to see the performances put on there: they included the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Wizard of Oz, Wind in the Willows, Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang and possibly a few more (but i can't remember). They were put on by more amateur troops and I loved them. I also loved the theater: what with it being outdoors (we always brought plenty of blankets and cushions).

With School (secondary school) we went to see the Diary of Anne Frank at the Drum Theater in Plymouth as we were studying it at the time. I don't think the theater had ever seen so many tears (it didn't help that we are an all girls school). It was such a sad story and it was especially good as it starred 2 girls from our school.

 I think that's enough to be getting by with for now: I have decided to just do minor things on here and bigger shows on a seperate post so that i can show them more appreciation.

Goodbye for now!:)

Katie

xxx

Hello :)

Heya, 

So this is my blog about all performances to do with the performing arts I have ever seen: but especially the times I go to the theater (mainly at the Theater Royal in Plymouth). It is partly for my silver arts award but also because I just love going to the theater and want to share my experiences.

I will be saying alot about ANLO (A Night Less Ordinary- like the name of the blog) which I a government/arts council scheme for young people where you can get free/discounted tickets to go to the theater. The link tells you more about it.

I go to the theater very frequently- especially in the last 5 months, so my reviews of recent things I have been to see will be very different to the reviews of shows I may have seen years ago.

With this blog I hope to not only share my experiences but inspire others to go too as theater is a dying art form due to the price of going.
Other experiences may include concerts and recitals.

Enjoy!
Love Katie :)


Find me on Twitter: @katie_w_x
This is the link to more information about the ANLO scheme!
http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=1451