My First West End Shows

So, this weekend has been crazy in London. For the American reading this and are unaware, England/The UK celebrated The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Jubilee celebrated Queen Elizabeth's sixty year reign. The only other diamond jubilee was Queen Victoria, so it is a big deal to have been here to be a part of it. While this is taking part in Downtown London, I decided to take advantage of the four day weekend and see some West End shows. For those that do not know, I have had a few pen pals from England since I was thirteen. I met one of them this weekend and we decided to go to see some musicals! Absolutely thrilled, we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and went to a half off/discount ticket booth and decided to do a double header of shows. We decided to see "Sweeney Todd" for the matinee and "Shrek" for the night performance, and let me tell you.... I was more than excited! As we walk into the Adelphi Theatre for "Sweeney Todd," I am filled with excitement, but I notice a few differences. One: Programs cost money. They do not give them out for free and they are not cheap, so I opted not to buy the first program for "Sweeney Todd." Two: The theatres in the West End are bigger than on Broadway from what I remember. I think they hold a lot more in their house than in the US. Now, three years ago, I saw "Sweeney Todd" with my good friend, Caleb, at the Fox, so I was expecting to see the same minimalistic staging with actors playing instruments, but no. The set was very.... industrial. The minute you sat in the audience, the actors were on stage cleaning or working like they are in a factory. People were mopping the floors, forming an assembly line,etc. The lights dimmed and a woman pulled a lever where a smoke signal goes off and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" began. I am on the edge of my seat with anti-ci-.... PATION! When they revealed Sweeney, a light appeared up center from a garage and he sat in red barber chair. ABSOLUTELY LEGEND! I could not get over it. Now..... For you Harry Potter fans, or as one of my friends says, "'Arry Ottah," Imelda Staunton aka Dolores Umbridge played the role of Mrs. Lovett. SHE WAS OUTSTANDING! Great comedic timing and voice. Michael Ball played Sweeney and I found out who he was and I saw him in the Royal Albert Hall of "Les Miserables" on TV. He was the Original Marius in the West End and his transformation from normal look to Sweeney is astounding. I could not get over his range of talent. IMPECCABLE! Now.... going to see Shrek, I was even more excited. This past fall, I music directed a revue at Emerson where we sang "Who I'd Be" from "Shrek." To make it even more exciting, the theatre is on Drury Lane, and the entire time, I kept asking my friend if we could find the Muffin Man. The vibe for Shrek is obviously different than Sweeney Todd... thank God! I was expecting to see a family fun show, but it was cop full of Adult humor and musical theatre references from making fun of Lion King to Dreamgirls to Wicked. Highlights of the show was the dragon's song, "Forever" I was lucky to see all these people perform this and let me tell you.... I was in awe! From the ensemble to the leads, everyone was spot on and I LOVE it about this show. Everyone was showcased! One thing that really bothered me was that in both theatres, no one gave a standing ovation. I asked my friend why and he did not have a clue. I really wanted to get up and show my appreciation for their hard work. I guess it takes a lot to get Brits to get out of their seats. To say the least, I am going to see more shows in the West End while I am here. So, while all the younger 19 year olds in my group go to the pubs, I will be heading to the West End to see: Les Mis Phantom of the Opera Matilda .... and whatever else I can see!