Nicole schreibt...

I found myself oddly unexcited about going to London - perhaps the Grandage season and the other plays that had felt like unmissable must-sees had led to an overdose in some way. And while three fairly interesting shows were waiting for me, none really felt like "unmissable" to me - it was mostly a case of taking advantage of the fact that we had to change planes in London anyway on the way to Jersey in the Channel Islands and it made perfect sense to do a stop-over first to catch a few new shows.
After arriving on Friday afternoon and checking into my favorite Covent Garden hotel, I did the usual (albeit ever-shrinking) tour of my favorite shops before stopping at Five Guys for a fairly decent burger (and lousy fries) ahead of the theatre. Show for the evening was Noel Coward's classic "Blithe Spirit" which heralded the return of Dame Angela Lansbury to the London stage after forty years or so - and was hyped accordingly. Now admittedly I have no connection to her, having missed her big time on Broadway as well as her TV shows like "Murder She Wrote", but I do like Coward, the cast seemed overall interesting and I could bag a seat for £25 in the right-hand corner of the Dress Circle.
The evening was pleasant enough with Lansbury playing Madame Arcati, a supposed medium who actually manages to conjure up Elvira, the dead first wife of posh country gent Charles Condomine - much to his second wife Ruth's dismay. I was mostly pleased to see Charles Edwards live on stage, one of the finest actors of his generation (and now mostly known as "the guy from Downton Abbey who disappeared in Germany and left poor Lady Edith alone"), but both Jemima Rooper and Janie Dee as Wives 1 and 2 were excellent too. As for La Lansbury? Well, I suppose there's more to be gotten out of the part, but if I'm half as sprightly when I get to her age (IF I get there), I'd be very grateful indeed. The whole "I can't believe that woman is 88!" overshadowed the performance for me though.
Saturday morning I didn't do much at all, except poke around Waterstone for a long while until I had to change hotels and meet up with my Mom in Leicester Square briefly - before leaving her alone again to walk all the way down to the lovely new St. James' Theatre just off Buckingham Palace to see "Urinetown". It had seemed like a fun little show when it first opened Off-Broadway years ago, but has never made it to London until now.
The small and new St. James Theatre is just about perfect for it and while I did have to crane my neck somewhat to see the upper level of the stage, my front row seat was still great (and amazing value at £17.50) - with no separation at all to the stage, thus being very close to the action. And while Richard Fleeshman (Bobby) isn't my type at all, I sure don't mind to be close to such a hunky fellow :) Though for me it was mostly Officer Lockstock (Jonathan Slinger) and Little Sally (Karis Jack) who stood, being both funny and endearing in their functions of commenting on the action and sometimes breaking the fourth wall. Great performances too from Jenna Russell as Penelope Pennywise and Simon Day as creepy magnate Caldwell B. Cladwell. Rosanna Hyland, who played his daughter Hope, just totally reminded me of Kate Middleton all the time and it was hard to take her seriously.
But overall it was really a funny little show with great performances all around that manages to both satirize corporate greed and musical theatre in one go. I hope it gets the chance to live on somewhere else.
It was back to the West End then for a quick dinner with Mom and onwards (with her) to se "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" which also arrived from New York with a huge delay. Based on the movie of the same name, it's solid entertainment in a very classical old-fashioned musical comedy sort of way, which I loved. Great performances here, too, with non-musical performer Samantha Bond being my stand-out as Muriel (but then, I remember she already impressed me very much as Lady Macbeth opposite a rather weak Sean Bean years ago). Both Robert Lindsay and Rufus Hounds as the two scoundrels of the title and Katherine Kingsley as the sassy lady who out-scams them both were pretty good too, though not really "wow" for me. Though to be fair, I was also wrestling with a little headache, so I may not have enjoyed the show as much as I potentially had otherwise.

After a final night in London, it was on to Jersey via Stansted Airport for a proper holiday - and for the first time in ages, I don't have ANY future tickets in London waiting for me. And that may be just as well, as I need a longer break before I am able to appreciate my favorite place fresh again, I suppose!