Nicole schreibt...

For some reason I never got around to writing my reviews immediately after seeing the shows in March, so doing it in retrospect is a bit difficult. Maybe it says something about the shows I saw this time round on one of my little quickie trips, flying in with Germanwings on Friday afternoon only.
The first one was "Dear World" a very little known show by Jerry Herman that flopped on Broadway and was never seen again - although a fairly nice cast recording with Angela Lansbury does exist. The reason for wanting to see this was the return of Betty Buckley to London, a lady whose Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd was one of the best performances I've ever seen in my life. While prices for this small fringe production at the Charing Cross Theatre were rather steep, they did sell a few cheap 15 pound seats on two benches at the side of the stalls - very close to the stage and with an excellent view.
Since I had been unwilling to spend more, these seats turned out to be a real steal for the price and I was glad I hadn't spent more. The musical - based on the play "The Madwoman of Chaillot" which was also filmed with Katherine Hepburn - is the rather twee tale of batty Countess Aurelia who defends her corner of Paris against a bunch of greedy prospectors. Very timely in these days one might think, but overall rather too light-weight and silly to convince. Having said this, it was nice to see La Buckley again and hear her sing the timeless classics that have taken on a life beyond "Dear World" as well as some other very talented people, among them Jack Rebaldi, who had only recently done the "Cats" tour in Germany and Ayman Safia, the "Palestinian Billy Elliot" whose real story would probably make for an exciting show as well.

Saturday morning I trudged to the Palace Theatre first thing to avail myself of a day seat for "Singin' in the Rain" - initially I had planned to catch the very first matinee of the muchly hyped "Once" and when that was cancelled, I was stumped for something to do. Having heard so much praise for this transfer from the Chichester Festival and wanting something light-weight and fun ahead of a play in the evening, "Singin' in the Rain" seemed just the right thing to do and for only 20 pounds, I got a great seats in the front stalls - in the "splash zone".
I spent the morning chasing a pair of particular shoes - one of these fool's errands that keep me entertained in London when I have little to do - and after lunch at my favourite Vietnamese pho place returned to the Palace Theatre for the show. And I was really glad I had gone, because I enjoyed myself immensely. The standout performance for me was Jennifer Ellison as Lina Lamont, having only known her as a rather lame Meg Giry in the "Phantom" movie before. Here she was comedy gold and a great team with Adam Cooper as Don Lockwood, Stephane Anelli as Cosmo Brown and Louise Bowden as Kathy Selden. The "splash zone" did get rather wet during "Singin' in the Rain" and once more during the final, but it was all rather good fun with the fourth wall coming down between Cooper and the shrieking people in the front rows. Just one of those shows that lets you out into the street with a big smile on your face.

After another wander around Covent Garden and a little dinner it was time for the main event that had dragged me across the channel this time: "Peter and Alice" - my chance at last to see Dame Judi Dench live on stage. While I wouldn't regard myself as a huge fan of hers, I've come to appreciate her great work on screen in the last years from "Cranford" to James Bond and considering her age I don't know how many more opportunities I would have to see her live. The fact that Ben Whishaw was starring with her certainly helped too. Another one whose work I've appreciated during the years, even more so since I saw his fabulous Richard II. in the BBC "Hollow Crown" adaptations (that rightly won him a BAFTA this year). Not to mention that I saw him in the audience for Eddie Redmayne's Richard II. at the Donmar last year. So here I was, seeing the new play by John Logan (whose last success "Red" also starred Eddie Redmayne, just to muddle things further). It's based on the real life meeting of Alice Liddell Hargreaves, who provided Lewis Carroll with the inspiration for "Alice in Wonderland", and Peter Llewellyn Davies, who provided J.M.Barrie with the inspiration for "Peter Pan". Nobody knows what went down during the real meeting, but Logan uses it to let them reflect on their childhoods and lives and the clash of fictional worlds and reality when not just Carroll and Lewis appear but Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan as well. While it was decent enough, I kept thinking that this would be great material for a musical - if only there were original fresh musicals today instead of lame movie adaptations. Nonetheless,I quite enjoyed it and actually ventured to the stage door afterwards for autographs. The dame had already left apparently, but I got to meet Ben Whishaw, which was nice enough really as he was quite adorable and swoonworthy.

As so often more recently I realized that I really rather add -another- quick trip to London to my year than waste money on overpriced German productions and all the hassle involved for just one show - long drives or train rides, hotels, etc. In London I get three shows for the price of one show and just being there still gives me so much joy. So, not surprisingly, the next three trips are already booked - with the next one in June.