It's been a busy few days, so I'll try and sum up my recent shows pretty briefly.
Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty's Theatre)Yes. Went in with low expectations and it blew me away. Had goosebumps as soon as
that riff kicks in and the Chandelier goes up. Fantastic set design and costumes (the Phantom's suit in Masquerade is brill) The actress playing Christine was lush, and the occasional bits of humour work quite well. Too many songs where seven or so people sing completely different lines over the top of one another, though (Notes and the other one with the whole production gang spring to mind)
Variations (Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Hippodrome)Three short ballets (Theme and Variations/Kin/Enigma Variations). First part was fairly standard, pretty forgettable, second was
amazing, more of a modern ballet so it seemed to have a lot more of a flow to the dancing, third had a bit of humour but dragged.
That's the preview video for Kin. The dance with the couple was absolutely sublime
Dogfight in Concert (St James' Theatre)On the fence about our seat choice (very very front row, so I had a little bit of a neckache all the way home), but oh my god. Absolutely stunning. I can see Laura Matthewson going far (she'd be perfect for Elpheba in the next few years). I can't really pick a highlight, because the entire show is just brilliant. The title song stole the whole thing, though. Rebecca's performance is just insane (can't believe there's no videos of her doing it on YouTube
) The applause just didn't stop
Hope it comes back properly soon.
Also, Emma Williams' new show is coming to the West End
It's a musical version of Mrs Henderson Presents (everyone remembers the film with Will Young, right?). Need to get tickets to it ASAP.