The Sparkles of a Year!

Hello my lovely readers. Hope you are all well and had a lovely Christmas and are well prepared for the New Year. This blog is going to be slightly different and not particularly theatrical but I read a fellow theatrical blogger (Ignitedbyadream) who did a similar type post and felt inspired to do the same. As my last blog of this year I think it's very fitting to look back on 2012 and then look forward to all that's happening in 2013.
At the start of 2012 I was just a uni student who liked musical theatre and really liked Priscilla. I felt as though I was the only person in the world who was completely nuts about musicals...how wrong I was! During the past year I have made so many great friends who like me (and all you lot) have a passion for musicals but more than that they are simply great people; people who even when I fall pick me back up and set me on my feet again so I can continue to fight. It's here that I'd like to give a big shout out to Sharon McLaughlin, Jane Cuming, Carol Clowes, Bex Clowes, Faye, Rob Jones, Lisa Vessey and Callum Mathers...you guys are totally amazing and are proof of how family isn't always blood!
Moving on...2012 saw quite a few theatrical highlights for me including starting this blog (thank you all for reading), going to West End Bares, finding my favourite theatre in the world (the Wales Millennium Centre) and going to London on my own! All in all I think 2012 was a really good year and quite a turning point for me both as a person and theatrically.
So what does 2013 hold in store? Well a hell of a lot of theatre trips, more than I've ever been to before. Mainly Priscilla but with a bit of Rocky Horror, Once, Loserville, Cabaret and Kerry Ellis thrown in. Hopefully I'll be seeing West End Live and West End Bares again (it'll be lovely to see some of you there as well...and basically just a load of rushing round and finally feeling like I fit in.
To finish off I'll give you my three New Year’s resolutions:
1. To remember that life will never be perfect but that I have perfect friends who will help me face it.
2. To see as much theatre as possible and travel round the country whilst doing so.
3. To dance like no one is watching, to sing like no one is listening, to dream as if I'll live forever and to live as if I'll die today!
I hope you enjoyed reading this rather random last blog of the year! Please, please tweet me on @GreenGirlsRox, I'd love to hear from you. Just before I leave for the year I just wanted to add this little quote I made up myself...think it's very fitting...

Lots of love

Kat

xxxx

Musical of the Month - Money and Magic

Happy Christmas and happy New Year to my wonderful readers! Hope you're all well at this festive time of year. Anyway, I thought I better get going with this month’s Musical of the Month.

Well this month I thought I'd do a show that completely blew me away when I saw it and when it came on my iPod I remembered how much I'd enjoyed it. The musical in question is How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

I saw this when I was lucky enough to go to New York nearly two years ago. I remember wanting to go and see something that wasn't over in the West End so we asked the advisor at our hotel what she'd recommend and she recommended this. She, also, said that Daniel Radcliffe was in it as the lead. Now as a major Harry Potter can I was quite excited, however, the age old doubt of celebrities is musicals resurfaced. I know Dan had acted on the stage before but I'd never seen him and was very worried about his ability to sing and dance!

The next evening we headed over to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and were handed our playbills (free of charge...Broadway is certainly better that the West End in that respect!) before taking our seats. Well the curtains opened and wow for the next few hours I was carried away into another world!

Now the show itself isn't particularly spectacular...I mean there's not clever scenery, fancy lighting or amazing special effects but the story, the performance and the songs were just wow!

The story is very funny and extremely clever and very, very real! I don't want to go into too much depth in case any of you ever get the chance to see it.

The songs were very quirky and funny and I still love listening to them now. My absolute favourite has to be Brotherhood of Man which is just fantastically clever, witty and a beautiful uplifting piece. My one criticism is that although I find the songs good, they may not be as amazing of you haven't seen the show, however, I'd still recommend that you try them out!

And finally the performance...firstly as a Fosse show you'd expect the dancing to be second to none...well it was better than that, it was a gazillions times better than Chicago...WOW just WOW is all I can say. The actual performers were brilliant with all of them being perfectly tuned to each other. I was particularly impressed by John Larroquette who was incredibly funny and just exceptional. However, the person who really stole the show was Dan...and I'm not just saying that as a Harry Potter fan, he was literally superb! Not only was his acting amazing (kinda to be expected) but his singing and dancing were out of this world! I'll attach a video so you can all watch in awe and wonder. I think what made it better was that it was totally not expected. I think it is safe to say that Dan definitely has the crown of best celebrity in a show ever!!!

After the show I decided go to the stage door expecting a similar thing to the West End...how wrong was I!!! The whole theatre had turned out and there were barriers and police men who kept telling people off from standing on the road! I managed to get a pic of Dan's hat and that was it but it was lovely to see such support for the actors!!!

Overall, this was a brilliant show and I'd recommend anyone who gets the chance to see it or Dan on stage to take it! I, also recommend you all to have a look at the YouTube videos! I definitely think this is a very worthy musical of the month!

Have any of you had the chance to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying? If so what did you think? What do you think of the YouTube videos?

Hope you're all having a great time at this festive time of year.

Lots of love

Kat

xx

 

There's A Little Ditty...

Hiya everyone,

Yet again I feel like I haven't posted in ages, I'll tell you what I'll be better next year as I have like a million and one theatre trips planned. Since last time I have booked to go and see Kerry Ellis on 12th May at the London Palladium. I have, also, booked my hotel for when I see Once (which I won tickets to!)...I'm telling you one thing I am so in love with that hotel it's just beautiful!

Anyway let's get on with the blogging...I wanted to try something slightly different this time and see what you make of it. I recently rediscovered my passion for doing these little ditty's when I wrote a Priscilla one to try a cheer them up. Basically they're little stories (not sure if that's the right word but hey ho) using the titles of/quotes from musical songs. So here we go...

Well due to the title of this blog, the first one has to be Oliver, which is done to the tune of 'Oom-Pah-Pah ...

 

There's a little ditty they're singing in the city,

Especially as long as he needs me.

And I'd do anything to buy those sweet red roses,

Or just to get some strawberries ripe.

 

Oom-Pah-Pah, Oom-Pah-Pah,

There's a boy for sale!

Oom-Pah-Pah, Oom-Pah-Pah,

Who will buy?

There's sausage and mustard

Cold Jelly and custard!

When we sing Oom-Pah-Pah.

 

Oh when we're reviewing the situation,

You've got to know we'll be back soon.

Just consider yourself that it's a fine, fine life,

And know that you'll have to pick a pocket or two.

 

Oom-Pah-Pah, Oom-Pah-Pah,

There's a boy for sale!

Oom-Pah-Pah, Oom-Pah-Pah,

Who will buy?

Magical, wonderful,

Marvellous food!

Oh let's just sing Oom-Pah-Pah

 



 

 

Well, you've guessed it, the next one has to be Priscilla...would it be me if it wasn't would it!?!...no tune, just a bit of randomness :)...

 

 

Well when I looked at both sides now I thought to myself that I will survive as long as I say a little prayer for you. However, that a bit difficult as I'm in the downtown section of boogie wonderland right in the centre of Venus, just sat here eating my swedes looking at the cock in a frock on a rock. So why don't you just come and colour my world but please don't leave the cake out in the rain because I'll never have that recipe again as I lost it in MacArthur Park and it was very sad as me and that recipe, well, we belong together because we both go west and listen to the pop musik together but I suppose I'll have to cope, let's just say, thank God I'm a country boy! 

 

And finally, for now, let's have something a bit more traditional and do Les Mis, to the tune of 'Do You Hear the People Sing...

 

 

Oh do you hear the people sing,

About the fact I dreamed a dream,

And the lovely ladies sing,

'bout a castle on a cloud.

And when I'm all on my own,

The stars will look down,

On the master of the house,

Once again!

 

Oh oh will you bring him home,

To the little fall of rain?

And will you drink with me,

At the end of the day?

There are empty chairs at empty tables,

When I'm all alone.

Oh please do bring him home,

just one day more!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed those little bits of randomness... please let me know what you thought by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox...I'd love to hear from you :)

Love you lots and jelly tots

Love

Kat

xx



Musical of the Month - Dancing with the Devil

Hi guys, hope you're all okay :) Well after my mad few weeks of musical tour ticket buying you'll probably be surprised to know I haven't brought any tickets in over 2 weeks!...I am having cravings though!

Anyway, let's crack on with Musical of the Month...well at the start of this month I went to the gym and was trying to decide on a song with a good beat to run to...after a few moments of deliberation I was drawn to Dirty Laundry from The Witches of Eastwick which I've heard many a time on my favourite musical radio show Westenders (for more details check out September's Musical of the Month) and already loved, hence why I already had the album. Being rather lazy I decided to just let the album play on rather than trying to find another song and I was so pleased that I did as I have been addicted to the album ever since.

The version I have is the Original London Cast soundtrack and all I can really say is WOW! The music is a real mix of jazzy, uplifting numbers and beautiful ballads that are artistically mixed so there is no chance of boredom setting in. All the songs are amazing (well except for Words, Words, Words in my opinion) and you can get a real flavour of the story without having seen the show, which is always a bonus, and in my opinion is what makes an excellent soundtrack.

My absolute favourite song would have to be Another Night at Darryl's which has all the p'zazz and sparkle of a true showstopper! My other favourite songs are Eastwick Knows, I Love a Little Town (which is one of the most hilarious songs ever in my opinion!), Dirty Laundry, I Wish I May and Dance with the Devil. As you can tell I like quite a few of them!

Additionally, the vocals are amazing...I tell you this I am in love with Ian McShane's (Darryl) voice! Lucie Arnaz's (Alexandra), also, has a truly amazing voice as does Rosemary Ashe (Felicia). In actual fact the whole company is amazing but these three impressed me no end!

Oh and the additional bonus (well for me anyway) is that there is a character called Felicia! I screamed so loudly when I heard this name in the song Evil the first time and had to repeat it about ten times just to be sure. You're probably all wondering why this is so exciting but to a total Priscilla-holic (well I couldn't leave my favourite show out of a Musical of the Month post completely now could I?) this got me very excited!

I am definitely going to be buying tickets if this comes back to the West End or tours the UK as if the soundtrack os anything to go by the show would be absolutely amazing!

Hope you enjoyed this month's Musical of the Month :) Have any of you seen Witches of Eastwick? What do you think to the soundtrack?

Please subscribe by e-mail at the bottom of this post and follow me on Twitter at @GreenGirlsRox I'd love to hear from you all...don't be shy now!

Lots of Love

Kat

Basques, Music and Silver Stilettos!

Hi guys, feels like I haven't blogged in ages! How are you guys? Enjoying life I hope :).

Well, November seems to be a quiet month as far as going to the theatre is concerned for me. However, it has been the month for setting up next years theatre!

Next year seems to be the year of the tours...well as far as I'm concerned it is! For me the major occasions are Rocky Horror and yes, you've guessed it, the PRISCILLA tour!!!

Let's start with Rocky Horror...so far I've booked 3 shows, two in Stoke and one in Grimsby and will be spending the shows with some of my Priscilla friends! Oh and yes we will be dressing up for one of the shows...well you've got to dress up for Rocky Horror! I managed to get the perfect outfit in Anne Summers and Claire's...a random combination I know! I went shopping as I decided to help a friend out and advertise her Rocky Horror event by dressing up and dancing round central Lincoln to the songs...oh and there were a few performances of the Time Warp as well!!! I really enjoyed myself and was very pleased as I'll know I'll be a lot more confident dressing up for the show in Stoke :).

Now onto the really exciting news, for any of you who had fallen off the theatrical planet...PRISCILLA is going on tour! Well I'm up to 6 shows already and if you think that's mad one of my friends has 10 booked!!! So far I'm seeing it once in Manchester with my friend Rob, once in Wimbledon with my mum and best friend Megan (who needs to be educated into Priscilla ways!), twice in Stoke with my friends Rob and Lisa and then twice in Woking with Rob!!! Yes we're completely crazy but hey it's going to be epic!!! At the minute I'm hoping that it's going to go to the Wales Millennium Theatre (the most beautiful theatre ever) and Nottingham! Oh and if you want personal info about the tour please follow @PriscillaTourUK or like Priscilla Tour UK on Facebook...this isn't the official sites but they're my favourite site and are very factual with they're information!!! Anyway, I can't wait for this tour to actually begin...2013 is going to be one hell of a year!!!

Oh and the final bit of excitement this month is that I won two tickets to Once the musical on Twitter. I was completely amazed that I actually won as I am the sort of person who never wins anything! So in March I'll be heading down to London see Once, oh and I'm taking Rob with me...well it only seems right as he was the one to introduce me to the show!!!

So, even though I haven't been to any shows this month, as you can see I've been very busy booking far too many tickets!

Have you booked any 2013 tour tickets yet? Are any of you going to see Once?

To finish off, here is a pic of me in my Rocky Horror outfit for you lot!

 

 

Please subscribe at the bottom of the post and follow me on Twitter...I'd love to hear from you all!!!

Lots of love

Kat

Xx

Musical of the Month - Calling the Men

Hello babes, how are you all? I can't believe it's the end of October already! Well this month I'm going to be doing something a little bit different for 'Musical of the Month'. The reason for this is rather than being obsessive over a musical (well other than the overly mentioned Priscilla) I've been obsessing over two songs.

The first is 'Bring On The Men' from Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde the Resurrection. I don't know what made me listen to the song in the first place but after hearing it once I literally haven't been able to go a day without hearing it. The song is dark, sensual, sexy and, also, shows a dark sense of humour. The music of the song changes between fast and slow so you are always interested with what's going to happen next and the lyrics are serious yet funny at the same time. Overall, this song is a perfect little package.

The other song I've been rating in Kerry Ellis' version of 'I Love It When You Call'. Although this song is not from a musical I thought I'd still mention it as it is performed by the amazing Kerry Ellis. Kerry was in We Will Rock You (sadly I didn't see her in) and Wicked (surprisingly I saw her more than once), did a tour with Brian May (I was lucky enough to see this), is doing a Born Free concert tour with Brian May (sadly I'm not going but if you have a free ticket send it this way!) and will be performing in the We Will Rock You Arena Tour in 2013 (ditto previous comment!). Anyway, back to the song...well her whole 'Anthems' album is incredible but for this month my repeat button has been overused for 'I Love It When You Call'. The song is so catchy anyway but Kerry's rocked up version makes it one of the most addictive things on the planet. Oh and then there's her voice which could make any song sound amazing!

So there you have my 'Musical' or rather 'Songs of the Month' and if you haven't heard them go and listen now and let me know what you think either by commenting below or tweeting me (@GreenGirlsRox).

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

 

The Dreams You Come In With May Not Always Be The Dreams You Leave With But Hey They Still Rock!

Hey guys...hope you're having a great time :). Well throughout last week I was feeling a little sad as there was a Priscilla reunion in London on Saturday and it didn't look like I was going to be able to make it because I was working. However, I got talking to one of my Priscilla friends, Jane, on Thursday evening and found out that a few of them were going to see Rock of Ages on the Sunday. So, to cut a long story short, I spent Friday morning buying train tickets for Sunday and that was that, trip to London sorted!

Well Sunday morning came round and, needless to say, I was very excited, although I was, also, a little bit scared as it was my first time travelling down to London by myself! However, other than the fact that my train was slightly delayed and incredibly busy meaning I spent the entire trip sitting on the floor doing my uni work and feeling very student-y, everything was fine.

My train got in at just after 10.30, which meant I had just enough time to get to Covent Garden and do a bit of browsing before heading over to the Shaftesbury Theatre at 12 where we'd arranged to meet.

Being well prepared I got to the Shaftesbury with ten minutes to spare but it was quite lucky I did as there were already 4 sets of people queuing to get tickets!

Now I'd never met Jane, and her friend Faye before, although we'd talked quite a bit on Twitter, but I instantaneously knew who they were as they crossed the road to meet me. After hugs and hellos we immediately started chatting like we'd know each other for years!

All that was left was to find the fourth member of our group, Rob, who I'd met twice before and is probably the most Priscilla obsessed person in the world!!! We met him at the Palace theatre (our previous home) with the news that we'd got four seats together in row BB (which is basically the front row) for the matinee performance of Rock of Ages!

By now it was 12.30 so we had three hours before the show started...now what do you do when you've got time to spare in London?...well you hot foot it over to the nearest cocktail bar. The nearest one to us was Balans which Jane had been to many times (although she's never had a cocktail before!) and one of our other Priscilla friends, Lisa, has a loving relationship with their Porn Star Martinis. Well after a bit of persuasion Rob managed to persuade Jane into having the Porn Star and, thus, she was officially inducted into the world of cocktails and the Porn Star is definitely the way to start...put it this way, I'd definitely be going back again for one!

Well we spent a good two and a half hours in Balans, had a good old natter and had an absolutely fantastic time getting to know each other and just generally chatting the day away! In the time we were there we had a total of six cocktails, three for Rob (Porn Star, Weeping Jesus and Sicilian Kiss), two for me (Apple Martini and a Porn Star), one for Jane (the famous and beloved Porn Star) and a coke for Faye...well someone had to be sensible!

We arrived at the theatre at 3.15 so had 15mins to get settled before the show started. Our seats were amazing and we had a great view of the stage, although the actors at the back were missing their legs but this didn't really impact too much on the overall show.

Firstly, we were really pleased as Simon Lipkin was playing Lonny. I was even more excited as the last two times I'd come Simon had been understudied and even though Nathan Amiz was brilliant it wasn't the same. Well, as you can probably gather, Simon was absolutely fantastic and the highlight of the show for us was being the ones he picked on at the start. He started off with yours truly but then decided that I may be too young (which nearly made me fall off my seat with laughter!) so decided to change to 'my mum' Jane who was apparently 'more in the appropriate age range'! Well we all completely lost it at that point and although it was slightly embarrassing it, also, completely made the show for me, especially as I now have a new (and very beautiful) mum who in my opinion doesn't look nearly old enough…love you Jane!

The rest of the show was completely amazing, for a more complete review please see my previous blog 'Rally the Masses People'. Nevertheless, since then there has been a cast change. The main change for me was the fact that Oliver Tompsett (Drew) had been replaced by Ross Hunter. Now it would take a lot for anyone to better Oliver for me, however, Ross brought a new, more boyish style to the role which worked very well and I was actually very impressed! The cast change, also, meant Stacee Jaxx was played by Tim Howard and Dennis was played by Daniel Fletcher. Both of these two were amazing and it seemed like they had been playing the roles for years! Well done guys…you rock!!!

All in all, I have to say this was my favourite time of seeing the show, although I'm uncertain as to whether that's because of the show or the company I was in…probably a mixture of the two! Nevertheless, I've always said that for a show to be brilliant I have to cry and for the first time I found I had tears in my eyes during Don't Stop Believing!

After the show we went outside and met Simon and had a picture with him! It was then back to the hotel where everyone else had stayed so they could pick up their cases before heading over to Paddington where Jane and Rob were getting their trains. All too soon it was time to say goodbye, which was really hard and I felt very emotional as I got the tube back to Kings Cross.

Overall, I had an amazing time with some great friends at a great show! I would highly recommend Rock of Ages to everyone as it is such a fantastic and feel good show, however, I would, also, recommend to everyone to start talking to people who love the same show as you, or just theatre in general! Meeting Jane, Faye and Rob was truly fantastic and I can't wait to meet them again...if there's one thing I'm sure of is that we, and the rest of my Priscilla pals, will be friends for life!!!

I hope you enjoyed my rather random and very long blog about the amazing time I had! Please subscribe below and you can follow me on Twitter at @GreenGirlsRox, oh and please message me as I'd love to hear from you!

Before I go I'll leave you with a few pics from the day...hope you enjoy :)

 Me with the lovely Simon Lipkin <3

 Rob and me in Balans

Jane with her very first cocktail :)

The Shaftesbury Theatre

 Jane and me in the Shaftesbury

Rob and me in the Shaftesbury

Love you all 

Kat

xx

An Idiot in America

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been on in a while but I've been busy with uni work...no excuse I know! Anyway last week I went to see Green Day's American Idiot at The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff!

Now let's just say I don't really follow Green Day and had absolutely no idea what the plot would be about so I was going in blind!!!

The plot itself was quite confusing to begin with and it was not made clear that one of the characters was another's alter ego. By the end of the first act I was in quite a bit of doubt as to whether I liked the show. However, halfway through the second act it all clicked into place to deliver a very potent and relevant message. It is for this reason that I'd say the show is not for everyone and if you like a linear style plot then I'd definitely advise you to stay away. If you like Hair, however, then go and book a ticket now as, in my opinion, the plot and its delivery was Hair but modernised.

The cast was fabulous and worked extremely well as a unit. The principals were Alex Nee (Johnny), Thomas Hettrick (Tunny), Casey O'Farrell (Will), Alyssa Dipalma (Whatsername), Kennedy Caughell (Heather) and Trent Saunders (St Jimmy). All were absolutely fantastic and really made the show; their voices were strong and they played the parts with conviction. Additionally, Ashley Tobias who was part of the ensemble was brilliant and is a real star in the making. Overall, the cast was one of the strongest I've ever seen and it was exceptionally refreshing not to have any celebrities playing roles!

Moving on, the set design and lighting were really clever and worked really well, although there was an awful lot of strobe lighting so at times I felt like I'd been blinded. The backdrop was mainly made up of TV screens which were very effectively used so that if your view was slightly restricted you wouldn't miss too much of what they were showing.

And now, for the most amazing part, the theatre was just breath taking. I wasn't expecting much as I wasn't in the West End, however, it was so much more beautiful than any of the theatres in London. The stage itself was massive (quite akin to that of the Gershwin in New York) and the architecture of the auditorium was simply beautiful! The outside of the theatre was, also, magnificent and not what you'd have expected a theatre to look like. Overall, I was incredibly impressed and I think I have fallen in love with The Wales Millennium Centre; if you're ever in Cardiff just go and see a show simply to view this beautiful building! Here are a few pictures, taken by my friend Rob Jones (who in my opinion is amazing at photography),  so you can admire the beauty!

 

 

 

Overall, I would highly recommend seeing the tour of American Idiot, if you're into the more abstract musical. It was a great show with a lot of promise, oh and an amazing soundtrack!

Have a good day guys,

Love you all

Kat
xx

 

Musical of the Month: The Perfect Rom Com

Hi everyone, well as it's nearly the end of September I thought I better do my 'Musical of the Month' post. As I said in my last 'Musical of the Month' (http://stageright11.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/musical-of-month-large-dose-of-glitter.html) if I was being truthful I would probably have to say Priscilla every time. However, although there are some people I know who wouldn't mind me rambling on about the amazing-ness that is Priscilla, I suspect that the majority of you would get a little tired of it.

So "What is the 'Musical of the Month'?" I hear you cry. Well, after rediscovering the CD in my car I have decided to go for a little known musical called 'I Love You Because...'. To clear things up, I have never actually seen the show as it was last on in the West End in the September to October of 2009 (I think...please don't kill me if I'm wrong) at The Landor Theatre, and it wasn't until 6 months later that I fell in love with this show.

I first heard the music on a gem of a radio show called Westenders. This broadcasts every Sunday between 6 and 8 in the Lincolnshire and Humberside area and if Elaine Paige is Phantom these guys are Priscilla (whoops...mentioned it again). Don't worry if you don't live in Lincolnshire or Humberside though as you can always access it though the internet on 'Listen Live' or 'Listen Again' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7zf)

Anyway, as I was saying before I stared promoting, I first heard of 'I Love You Because...' when someone requested the title track on Westenders and from that moment on I was hooked; it was one of the most beautiful and touching songs I'd ever heard. So after hearing this the next time I was in London I hot footed it to a certain musical shop to buy the CD and wow...just wow! The whole soundtrack is one of the most magical things in the world, with so many moving and/or uplifting melodies. However, the magic does not stop there as this soundtrack is one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard; how a song can touch your heart and make you roll around the floor laughing at the same time is beyond me but 'I Love You Because...' somehow manages it.

It, also, doesn't matter too much that I've never seen the show, in terms of understanding the music, as you can pretty much pick up what's going on just by listening. Basically, there's a guy (Austin) who is in love with a girl (Catherine) except he finds out she's sleeping with another man so his friend (Jeff) suggests the best way to get her back to hook up with another woman. At the same time a girl (Marcy) has just broken up with her boyfriend and her friend (Diana) suggests that to find the ever elusive 'perfect guy' see needs to date someone 'perfectly wrong' while she's on the rebound; hence Austin (who leads one of the most structured lives known to man) and Marcy (quite normal but, also, a bit flighty) meet. So, to cut a long story short, whilst they date with the idea that by doing so they will get their perfect partner, however, along the way they fall in love with each other...awwwww. Additionally, Jeff and Diana, who set up a 'friends with benefits' relationship, also, end up falling for each other...yet again...awwww. As you can see, the storyline is basically about life and love with a bit of comedy thrown in for fun (if you want more information check out http://www.iloveyoubecausethemusical.co.uk/) and as the title of this blog suggests, it is the perfect rom com.

So, you know what you've got to do know, go and listen to this amazing soundtrack and be wowed...oh and look out for the show resurfacing...I'll let you know if I hear anything :).

To finish, I will leave you with some paintings I did that took inspiration from the songs of 'I Love You Because...'...some are better than others but oh well I'll let you see them all...

 

 

01. Another Saturday Night in New York

 

 02. Oh Waht A Difference

 

 03. The Actuary Song

 

 04. But I Don't Want To Talk About Her

 

05. Coffee

 

06. The Perfect Roman

 

07. Because Of You

 

08. We're Just Friends

 

09. Maybe We Just Made Love

 

10. Just Not Now

 

 11. Alone

 

12. That's What's Gona Happen

 

13. Even Though

 

14. But I Do

 

15. What Do We Do It For?

 

16. Marcy's Yours

 

 17. Goodbye

 

18. I Love You Because...

 

I hope you enjoyed the paintings.

Were any of you lucky enough to see 'I Love You Because...'? If so, what did you think?

Let me know what you think of the soundtrack by commenting below.

Oh, and please click the 'Subscribe by email' button at the bottom of the page :)

 

Love

Kat

xx

 

 

Rally The Masses People!!!

Well, I have finally got round to writing my blog on Rock of Ages (ROA), which I last saw on 2nd September...my only excuse is I've been drowning under pre-uni reading :(. Anyway, here we go...

On the 2nd September I went to see ROA at the Shaftesbury Theatre for the 4th and 5th time. I was originally going to the matinee and that alone as I had to show my friend the amazingness of Oliver Tompsett as Drew before he left at the end of this month (it has now been announced he will be joining We Will Rock You as Galileo...new favourite musical!!!). However, we were both persuaded (well it doesn't take a lot where musicals are concerned) to go and see the evening show as well.

My obsession with this show started because of a certain Mr Tompsett who I was already in love with after seeing him in Wicked a number of times. As soon as I heard he would be in ROA I just had to buy tickets. However, I was completely blown away by the whole package of the show enough to go back and see it one day after the other (I thought that was mad enough at the time) and then twice in one day.

You may wonder what the point is of seeing the same show twice in one day as all the jokes and quirks will still be fresh in your mind. Well, have no fear, I was still in hysterics the second time and was still blown away by the brilliance of the whole performance.

As hinted at, the show overall is absolutely hilarious, brilliantly written and has a killer soundtrack. The storyline is not the most challenging in existence but then who really wants to sit there analysing in a feel good show, so I'd say its line is perfect for the show's mood. My only advice with the storyline is that it, and some of the jokes involved, are rude and sexual so it always worries me when I see parents bringing their 6 year olds...this is not a show for the kids!!!

The music is truly amazing, however it is 80's rock so if this is not your style I would suggest you stay away. The volume, I would say, is possibly louder then We Will Rock You, so yet again if you have an aversion to loud music stay away. On the other hand, if loud rock music is your thing I strongly suggest you beg, borrow or steal a ticket just for the pleasure of sitting through over 2hrs of amazing songs.

So what about the actual talent in the show? Well, on the 2nd September the majority of the cast was understudies. My main worry that Lonny, who is normally played by the amazingly talented Simon Lipkin (another obsession of mine), was to be played by Nathan Amiz. As I watched the show for the 4th time I did not have high expectations as I didn't think anyone could get near the perfection of Simon's Lonny, nevertheless, I was completely wrong and although Nathan portrayed a different type of Lonny, it was still one of the most hilarious things is ever seen and I have to say I'm rather disappointed that Nathan is leaving with the upcoming cast change, although the good news is that Simon is staying...YAY!!!

The other main cast members that were understudied were Stacee Jaxx (normally played by Shayne Ward), Dennis (normally played by Justin Lee Collins) and Sherrie (normally played by Natalie Andredu). Now I'm not normally one for celebrities taking roles in shows as they are normally picked for their name and not their talent, however, in the case of Shayne and Justin I take back this statement as the two of them are fabulous and yet again it's a shame they'll be leaving when the cast changes. The understudies for all the above roles (Dylan Turner as Stacee, Grant Anthony as Dennis and Cordelia Farnworth as Sherrie) were amazing and completely matched the brilliant talent of the actual cast members...in a sense it's a shame that there are not more lead roles as all the understudies deserve one.

Onto the parts that weren't understudied...as you can probably guess I thought Oliver Tompsett (Drew) was absolutely fabulous and could not be faulted. Near the end of the show, in the song 'Oh Sherrie' he holds a note for flippin' ages...trust me it's one of the most amazing things I've ever heard...the guy is just fabulous!!! The other cast members are Jodie Jacobs (Regina/Candi) and Sandi Moffat (Franz) who are truly hilarious, Rachel McFarlane (Justice) who has one of the most powerful voices I've ever heard and Rohan Tickell (Hertz) who is just brilliant...oh and not forgetting the ensemble who are the most talented group of people ever. If you get chance to see the current cast before the cast change I strongly advise that you take the opportunity with both hands. Nevertheless, I'm sure the next cast will be just as talented...well I'll let you know as I'm sure to be sitting in one of those super comfy seats at the Shaftesbury again!!!

Before I go I will mention a few other points. Firstly the set is so clever yet basic and the lighting is out of this world although a little bit blinding at times. Additionally, during the show, the in house team wander round selling beer and other drinks...just be warned you are in a London theatre so the prices are astronomical!!! Also, if you sit on the front row you need to remember to keep your feet in to avoid any near misses of tripping cast members up when they come running by. And finally, if you're staying in a hotel you may want to apologise to the cleaning staff for the state your room will be in when you return...I'll say no more but you'll see if you go!!!

So, basically, go and get tickets for this amazing show...go on go...what are you waiting for...GOOOOO!!!

And I'll leave you with a picture of me with the amazing Mr Tompsett...however it is from the 1st time I saw the show as he's in costume and in the pictures from the last shows I look  like a startled chicken :(

Have any of you seen ROA? Did you think it was amazing as I did? PLEASE comment below...oh and click on subscribe by e-mail (at the bottom of the page) as well :)

Love you lots

Kat

xx

Revealing All

Hi everyone, I'm here to do the third instalment of my blog on the amazing time I had at West End Bares. However, this one is slightly different from the last two as it is a picture gallery of my two amazing days in London.

Nevertheless, before I start there are two things I would like to say:

Firstly, I would like to thank Rob for taking the majority of these pictures, which are truly amazing!!!

Secondly, as the name of the event suggests there will be a few revealing pictures so if this will offend you, as much as it pains me to say, it's best you stop reading now and come back and read my next blog about Rock of Ages which I will publish shortly!!!

 

So let's get on with it...

 

 The Opening Ceremony

The First Event - Sailing

 

The Secong Event - Synchronised Swimming

 

The Third Event - Gymnastics

 

The Forth Event - Wrestling

 

Interlude - The Pants Project

(All the West End shows and some celebrities designed a pair pants that are now being sold on ebay. To find them just type West End Bares in the search bar)

Here is Oliver Thornton in the pants he designed

 

The Fifth Event - Table Tennis

 

The Sixth Event - Boxing

 

The Seventh Event - Equestrian

 

The Closing Ceremony

 

The Rotation

(the final picture is of Alys and I putting our MAD money down Oliver Thornton's pants!)

 

The After Party

Alys and Emma with their West End Bares bras 

 Me with Olivia Phillip

 Me with Oliver Thornton

 Alys and I getting our things signed by Oliver Thornton

Matt Krzan, Callum Nicol, Oliver Thornton and Olivia Phillip

 

And now for some fun pics...

 

The Long Walk Back

(The first four pics are of Sharon, Janette, Alys and I being allowed on some really nice Policemen's motorbikes. The other pics are of Sharon, Janette, Rob, Alys and I having a bit of fun with a broken telephone box) 

 

The Morning After the Night Before...a.k.a. Maxwells

(The first pic is of the Alys' favourite...The Japanese Slipper) 

 

I hope you enjoyed looking through the pictures of West End Bares and my time afterwards.

Sorry about the layout...even with some help from one of my best friends Megan (http://megsbudgetboutique.blogspot.co.uk/) I still couldn't work out (other than in a few cases) how to lay the pictures out other than just going down the page!!!

 

Love you all

Kat

xx