The ExTra Factor

Well! Celebs everywhere, a girl almost went dizzy. T'was my own fault, I turned to fast. Seriously , I did, well all those stars Colleene Nolan, Lisa Riley,An them two from 't nicker factory on Corrie, and that was just in the audience. All out for the first night of a touring production on a short engagement in our fair city. Yes The Xtra Factor came to the Opera house. Written by Dave Simpson, and Directed by Steven Leatherland. The guys how brought you "The Naked Truth"Stars of the show included Anthony Costa (Blue) Russ Spencer(Scooch) The Very Delish.... Anthony Kavanagh (Grease is the word finalist) Not forgetting the fabulous Kevin Kennedy Better known to us lesser mortals as Curly Watts. Oh and three girls, A Pop Idol, the none related one from Eternal, and a Hollyoaks star. A Good ensemble who, on the whole, work well. Mr Costa is a gem as a slightly geekish mummies boy,who may or may not get the girl, Kavanagh is perfect as the skally with a secret. What was that? Oh the plot? Its set in a TV Studio and the house where the six finalists of a reality show are lodged. It follows there last two weeks on the show with all the ups downs and side swipes that can happen in shows like this. The songs are a vehicle to show them in true Pop Idol , X factor stylee More a play with music than a musical.That said it ain't so bad. Kevin Kennedy as the wisecracking recovering alcoholic is for me the real star.Hopefully we will be seeing more of his talents SOON PLEASE. Feel good factor? A 7 1/2. singing 9. If its coming to a theatre close to you make the effort you might get a surprise. All N All a tongue in cheek look at the world of reality TV.

Willow Wood's 'Fifth Enchanted Evening.'

As the name suggests, this indeed was Willow Wood's 'Fifth Enchanted Evening.' Organised by Mike Styan, a member of a few local amateur operatic societies, this event was held especially for the wonderful work done by all at the Willow Wood Hospice.

The evening was held at Ashton Town Hall, and featured a variety of performers from the local societies, singing all the well-known songs from the musicals, ranging from The Phantom of the Opera, to Fiddler on the Roof, to Grease and Chess.

Overall, the night was very well executed with a definite 'In Concert' feel (the performers plus a piano,) and a definite range of voices singing the standards. I think special recognition should go to Vincent (I forget his surname,) but his deep Bass voice gave a wonderful rendition of 'Ol' Man River' and 'If I Were A Rich Man.'

However, the performance of the night was easily a rendition of 'O Mio Babbino Caro,' which shook the chandeliers on the roof, even though the Phantom's 'Music of the Night' did not. The evening was hosted by Graham Norton who's been on the amateur circuit for many years, and he did a good job of entertaining the audience who must have had an average age of 60, and I was easily the youngest person in the audience by at least 40 years (asides from my girlfriend, who is 17.)

Anyway, the performances were all very well polished, with only two slip ups noticed by myself -which were only wrong lryics (the same verse of The Music of the Night was sung twice, and the lyrics to Hey! Big Spender, were all mixed up,) but my 'musically trained' girlfriend (she plays the violin!) noticed quite a few intonation problems. Still, nothing major and nothing which didn't take away from the enjoyability factor of the show.

Overall, a very pleasant evening, all for a good cause! -There was even a raffle at the interval, with prizes of £15 worth of Timpson vouchers! ---If you need your shoes repairing, or your keys cutting -you know where to go!

Virginia Woolf's Waves

At The Lowry tonight I was surprised by the play "Waves".
An adaptation by Katie Mitchell of the Virginia Woolf Novel"The Waves". Using a combination of live film and sound effects, the eight strong cast take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions Following a group of friends from 1893 to 1933. Not one for the everyday,this thought provoking piece of theatre took me about ten minutes to settle into, its all there the repressed sexuality, the oppressed feminism, the inner child.
If you like your theatre light and frothy DO NOT GO TO SEE THIS PLAY. however if you enjoy challenging theatre book now.This National Theatre Company are touring with this next stop is Bath taking in Dublin ,The Hague and Luxembourg before a short run on Broadway.
I wish them well.

The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center

Broadway veterans Bebe Neuwirth and Tom Wopat were among the stars on hand to launch a great new service for theatre lovers which opened yesterday in the Times Square Information Center located at 1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Street. The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center is the only place in New York where you can get tickets to just about every Broadway and many off-Broadway shows. It's the official one-stop shopping source for Broadway tickets and information.
The Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center offers a wide variety of services, including general Broadway information in six languages, show recommendations, ticket purchase (regular and premium priced tickets), restaurant reservations, hotel reservations, car services, attraction reservations, added-value experiences for individuals and groups, parking information, free neighborhood maps, as well as special events and giveaways. It's open Monday to Saturday 9am - 7pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm.

Miracle in the Studio

I was in for a bit of a shock on our second visit to the Lowry Studio. Miracle is the story of Will Hung, Ex rent boy and porn star who has an amazing gift, and no I'm not talking about his endowment. He can cure any disease, yes a true miracle..only catch is you have to sleep with him. Not a problem for his adoring Hungians (fans) but imagine, You have an incurable disease and you are straight. What levels will you go to, to ensure you continue to live. And what if you are a Catholic priest. Miracle explores sex and sexuality and morals and morality on a very uncomfortable level. The performance was superb, The casting EXCELLENT. The story compelling. I must confess I am finding it very difficult to review as the performance left me literally speechless for most of the journey home. I still feel uncomfortable comprehending the dilemma left at the end of the show and without wanting to "give it away", It really leaves you with the ultimate of moral questions with no easy answers. To try and explain how draining it was for the audience I have to mention the fabulous cast at the curtain call. Usually you will see a see of smiling but tired faces...Not in this case. All the cast looked like they needed to go in to counselling themselves to recover from the emotional whirlwind this show leaves you in.
A special mention must go to Ste Myott who portrayed Will Hung so expertly.
If you can cope with a show that will make you uncomfortable, think and question morality on more levels than you could ever imagine then this is the show for you. A word of warning..This brilliant show will leave even the most open minded person questioning what is right and wrong and believe me there is no answer to the dilemma you are left with....
Last word well there are three ... A MUST SEE

Musical Madness with Our House

Our House is very reminiscent of the film Sliding Doors. It explores the consequences of choices you make and how one simple choice can change the whole of your life. Surprisingly this heavy moral backbone to the show does not detract from the fun of the show helped by the amazing energy on stage by all of the cast, the old adage of "I was tired just watching" is certainly true here. The staging was superb and Paul Kieve's costume effects were stunning. A simple but very clever concept of changing the colours of the doors and costume of the main character to show which of the consequences you are watching was pulled off brilliantly with the changes from one to the other raising applause from the audience on a number of occassions.
The casting was spot on, Steve Brookstein as Joe's Dad was totally believable and Gwyneth Strong as Kath Casey was spot on. The lead role of Joe Casey was played by Chris Carswell who was making his professional debut in Our House, and if his performance in this show is anything to go by, the start of a promising career.
Our House is a massive feel good musical with good humour, innovative dance and stunning special effects. I didn't want to leave when it finished...

Applause to Charles Strouse, A Musical Genius

It's not often you meet someone of Charles Strouse's caliber. He's a true genius and I so admire genius. And a really, really nice man. If you're wondering who he is. Well, I'm sure you've heard his music. Have you seen Annie, or Bye Bye Birdie or Applause? They all won Tony Awards for Best Score? And he was nominated for four other scores. Then there are the scores he wrote for movies such as "Bonnie and Clyde", "The Night They Raided Minsky's", "All Dogs Go to Heaven" and "Ishtar" (okay that one bombed but not because of the music). Well I had the good fortune to spend an hour in his company a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about what a wonderful hour that was. He was so personable and very humble and very real. (I could go for a guy like him even if he is 80 years old. Not that he'd have me, and I'm already taken anyway. And so is he. In fact his wife of many years was there and she was lovely.) The adorable and brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator, composer, lyricist, and star of this year's Tony Award winner for Best Musical, sat with him in the front of the room asking him questions about his childhood, his first girlfriend, his first song, and his first break. Mr. Strouse shared anecdotes about the shows and movies he worked on and the people he worked with, both the actors and the creative teams. There was a piano in the room so he was able to play some of his songs including "It's A Hard Knock Life" from Annie and "I Got a Lot of Living to Do" from Bye Bye Birdie. Ironically, Lin-Manuel Miranda had played Conrad Birdie in his first school play in sixth grade, and he sang the song complete with the Birdie snarl. Charles Strouse introduced us to lyricist Susan Birkenhead with whom he is writing a new musical adaptation of the movie "The Night They Raided Minski's" (this is inside information guys). Afterwards we were able to chat and take pictures with both Charles Strouse and Lin-Manuel Miranda. I was even able to chat a bit with Lin-Manuel Miranda's parents. It's easy to see where he gets his adorableness from. They were both lovely. And Charles Strouse, Buddy to his friends, was so open and sweet to both me and my daughter Jade who he seemed to be very taken with. It was a glorious night, one I won't soon forget.

In bed with Lord Arthur

This was our first visit to The Studio at the Lowry, the performance space was reminiscent of my college drama studio, compared to the other performance spaces at the Lowry you would describe it as intimate and I think that worked for Theatre North's production of Lord Arthurs Bed by Martin Lewton. The play is set in modern day in the apartment of Donald & Jim, a modern couple in a post civil partnership era. Between them they tell the audience the fascinating true story of Ernest Boulton, Frederick Park and Lord Arthur Clinton MP and the interesting and often graphic story of cross dressing and "un-natural acts" in the late 1860s. However for me the really clever part of the play was the portrayal of the relationship between Donald & Jim, often uncomfortable to watch this performance would be very close to home for a lot of couples. The play also touched on the very real effects of homophobia in a politically correct world, where looks and snigger's have replaced the in your face abuse. The characters Donald & Jim were played superbly by Paul Kendrick and Paul Spruce and were entirely believable as a gay couple, something that is often done completely wrong. Donald is comfortable with his sexuality but Jim has issues with his Mum, work and ultimately his own identity and his "Catholic Guilt". With all this you may be surprised to find that I would describe this as an uplifting show, however on leaving this show I was left with the feeling that love will get you through anything and also a greater understanding of struggles that gay people still face in this so called equal society.

Avenue Q is so Q-ute!

I took my husband Jerry to see Avenue Q yesterday for our wedding anniversary. The whole day was my treat. We took the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan, a 35 minute ride from Rockville Centre. Then walked to 51st street where I had made reservations at Ruth Christ's Steakhouse, one of Jerry's favorite restaurants. After dinner we walked over to 45th street to the Golden Theatre. I hadn't told Jerry what we were seeing so when we got to the theatre he said to me "are we seeing a puppet show?" I jokingly told him "yes it is a puppet show, but you'll love it because it has puppet nudity in it." The Tony Award winning Best Musical (2004) just celebrated it's 5th anniversary. I was glad to see it was a full house, a good sign, since Broadway shows are not doing well in our depressed economy. The set is in view as you enter the theatre. It is a tenement, a rundown building on Avenue Q.

The overture begins and a puppeteer in gray clothing comes out carrying a very colorful puppet, Princeton, the newly graduated student who is looking for affordable housing and a purpose in life. Gradually we are introduced to the other residents of Avenue Q, some puppets, some human, including the building superintendent, Gary Coleman (yes, the child star from "Different Strokes" but played by a woman). So there are human characters, puppets and puppeteers acting and singing and making the puppets come alive. Some of the puppets are supposed to be human, some monsters. It all sounds very confusing but it works.

Avenue Q is sweet, charming, touching, hilariously funny and definitely not for kids. And guess what? There is puppet nudity as well as salty language and adult content. They touch on everything from racism, sexual orientation, pornography, Schadenfreude (pleasure in someone else's pain), to first love, coming out, purpose in life and idealistic desires to make a difference in the world. The score is great with funny yet touching lyrics ("It Sucks to Be Me", "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist", "There's a Fine, Fine Line"), the characters are all very endearing and the cast wonderfully talented.

I don't want to give too much away because it is some of the surprises that made it really fun but I will tell you my favorite character is Christmas Eve, a Japanese immigrant with two master degrees in social work who can't seem to book a client. So if you're looking for some good laughs and a purpose in life, take the Q train downtown to Avenue Q and stay a while.