It's Time to Dress Up!

Hi guys, I know it's been an age since I published a blog but I'm going to appeal to your better nature and ask if you can bare with me while I'm in my final year of university, which constitutes running around like a headless chicken for the majority of the time...I'm sure any of you who have been to university will understand.

This blog is going to focus on two shows, mainly because I have written blogs about them both before so don't want to go on about them too much, I do, however, feel that it is nice to write about them again as, as you'll know, every theatre experience is different, exciting and new in their own way. 

The first show is The Rocky Horror Show (to see my previous blogs please click the venues: Grimsby, Cambridge, Manchester and Cardiff), which sadly finished its tour during November (don't kill me if I'm wrong!). My last stop off at this show was in Nottingham on 28th November where I saw the show twice...yes I'm crazy enough to have seen the same show twice in one day! I saw the matinee performance with my mum and then saw the evening show with my mum and two friends who had never seen the show before. Well, a great time was had by all with much dressing up and time warping in the aisles.

Overall, the show was much the same as when I have previously reviewed it...which if you can't remember was A-MAZE-ING! However, there was one cast change, which was that Richard Meek was playing Eddie/Dr Scott rather than Joel Montague. I have to say that, although Richard played the role differently to Joel, I'm not sure which one I prefered as they were both great performances and really got the character of Eddie/Dr Scott across. It just goes to show that just because someone plays a role differently doesn't make them better or worse than the original, just different.

So I would say that I am rather gutted that the tour finished, though I do understand that a 40th anniversary tour cannot run forever, but if any of the main cast (I'll list them below) appear in another show I would be tempted to go and see them in that and I would, also, be tempted to go and see the show again in a future version of the tour...both cast and show are fabulous.

Rocky Horror Cast (some roles were played by more than one person over the course of the tour, I'll only list those who I saw):

Frank N Furter - Oliver Thornton

Ben Forester - Brad Majors 

Sam Attwater - Brad Majors

Danny Harmer - Jannet Weiss

Roxanne Pallett - Jannet Weiss

Harry Neale - Rocky

Henry Davis - Rocky

Rhydian - Rocky

Philip Franks - Narrator

Kristian Lavercombe - Riff Raff

Ceris Hine - Columbia

Abigail Jaye - Magenta

Maria Coyne - Magenta

The other show I wanted to talk about was my latest visit to see the tour of Priscilla, which this time was in Hull (for any of my previous blogs please click the venues: Manchester, Oxford, Wimbledon, Southampton, Nottingham, Belfast). The main thing to say about this show is I cannot believe how much I can still enjoy it after seeing it so many times yet each time I know that I will definitely be going back as many times as I can before it the tour finished (I'm secretly hoping that it won't and it will just be an ever going tour).

One thing that was different this time is something that is more to do with the business that goes on backstage than what the audience sees. I, reliably, found out that due to the backstage area of the theatre being really small it was only possible to fit one acts worth of props and costumes backstage so during the interval the company had to take all of act one's stuff back to the lorries that were parked outside the theatre and move act two's stuff into the theatre. I don't know about you but I found this particularly interesting and an insight into the complications of life with a touring show.

I, also, have to come out and say that I am now fully converted to the touring production of the show and will confess to preferring it more than the West End version...and yes that is even with the tour not having a 'full bus'. As well as the fantastic cast, what really has sold me on the tour is the replacement of Downtown with It's Raining Men, as an opening number this song really let's you know you're in for one of the most fantastic shows ever.

So that they don't feel left out I will, also, list the full Priscilla cast, and if the sad day comes when the tour closed I will be making a point of finding out which shows these guys are going into as they truly are fantastic. 

Priscilla Cast (some roles were played by more than one person over the course of the tour):

Jason Donovan - Tick/Mitzi

Noel Sullivan - Tick/Mitzi

Richard Grieve - Bernadette

Graham Weaver - Adam/Felicia

Giles Walting - Bob

Julie Stark - Marion

Emma Kingston - Diva

Ellie Leah - Diva/Shirley

Laura Mansell - Diva

Frances Mayli Mccann - Cynthia

Alan Hunter - Miss Understanding

Regan Shepherd - Farrah/Young Bernadette

Ian Oswald - Dance Captain

Bleu Woodward - Dance Captain

Hope all you're all ok and are having fun in the run up to Christmas. Keep looking out for my blog on Dreamboats and Petticoats, which I saw when it came to Nottingham in late November, and, also, a blog about Wicked, which I'll be seeing tomorrow :). If you have any questions or queries or just want a chat please comment below or on Facebook or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox.

Love you all

Kat

xx

    

Manic Monday's (and other days as well)

Hello everyone, well I've officially started back at uni so my life is currently manic...I mean, for goodness sake, I haven't even written up my last Rocky experience from the end of September...it's coming soon people. Anyway, if truth be told my Musical of the Month would be exactly the same as last month as I still haven't managed to take the Newsies CD out of my car CD player for more than a day yet (well except for when I crashed my car but that's another story boo hoo). However, that may be a bit dull for me to go rabbiting on about the same show (I know I do it for Priscilla...oops) so for any of you who are interested in this fabulous show here's the link to my last Musical of the Month. But what about this month, well I'm going to cheat and do a play not a musical as the other show that has been completely taking up my life is Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie. 

This play has been monumental to me this past month (well actually for quite a few months) as my friend, Holly, and I decided to put it on at our university. The date we performed was the 10th October (so actually it was pretty near the start of October but hey ho) and, as far as we could tell, people seemed to enjoy it and learnt something from it. 

The play itself focuses on a person (who is non gender specific) who is assumed to be schizophrenic and explores the reasons why they have ended up that way. The play raises issues such as lack of love, loneliness, loss of childhood, friendship, parental abuse and mental health; however, Claire Dowie (the playwright) claims she wrote the play about nothing at all. 

For our depiction we chose to opt for portraying the play in a in-yer-face style so there was a lot of going up to people as shouting in their faces, pushing people and at one point I went over and sat on a person's knee for five minutes. This seemed to heighten the tension and create more dramatic impact to the play. 

We, also, had the audience sat separately and in the round. The separation was so that people would feel isolated and, particularly wouldn't be able to grab onto their friends hand if they became scared; they'd have to deal with their fear themselves, just like the character did. We chose to do the play in the round as we felt this made the audience closer to the play (they weren't just sat in one big block). Furthermore, the roundness of the audience was akin to a brain, which depicted the fact that the play was happening within the character's brain. We extended this thought by chalking words such as 'crazy' and 'lunatic' on the wall so as to show that these were the words spinning around the character's head as it was what other people were calling them; it, also, brought to life the phrase "The writing's on the wall". 

Additionally, we based our concept around childhood as we felt that the main impact on the character's life was their childhood. This resulted in the space being strewn with toys from our childhood, including building bricks, toy trains and a very large teddy to name a few. 

The highlight, and also the worst moment, of the play for me was when I accidentally pushed one of the audience members a bit too hard and they fell off their chair (ooops). Although I was extremely worried it was, also, very hard to stop laughing and lots of the audience came up to me at the end saying how bad they felt for laughing. Luckily said audience member, who just happened to be my boyfriend (and no I don't usually go around beating him up, I just didn't realise quite how strong I was) was ok and the show carried on quite well after that. 

We are now very sad that the experience is over and are hoping to revive it at some point. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my experience of performing Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie; if any of you have any other topics you'd like me to cover in the coming weeks please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox and I'd be happy to oblige (I'm a bit theatre-less at the moment). 

Anyway, love you all

Kat

Xx

 

P.S. Please forgive me of any speling errors as my computer has only just been fixed (thanks to the my amazingly clever boyfriend and his brother) after becoming very infected so I don't have Microsoft Word yet to spell check everything on.

Carrying the Banner

Hi everyone, I can't believe we're nearly at the end of September already meaning that I'm about to start my 3rd and final year of my uni course...now that's majorly scary. Well anyway, enough of that, let's get going with the Musical of the Month for September. 

Now I did mention this show a bit in my vlog about Washington and New York but I wanted to do a bit more of a full review to just emphasise how amazing this show is. The show in question is said to be coming to London in Spring 2014 to either the Savoy or Piccadilly Theatre (but don't quote me on it). It, also, won the Tony for Best Choreography and Best Original Score. Finally, it is now one of my favourite shows ever and I cannot get enough of it. I am, of course, talking about Newsies, which is currently playing at the Nerderlander Theatre in New York. 

I was a bit sceptical about seeing this show as I didn't really know what it was about or too much about the music; but WOW when I came out of that theatre I had had one of the best night's I have ever had at a theatre!

The whole cast were just incredible, especially the young boy (Nicholas Lampiasi) who played Les and the guy (Corey Cott) who played Jack. I seriously don't think I've seen such a strong cast in a really long time. 

The dancing, well you could see why it won a Tony, was cool, quirky and very, very fun. There was even a tap number in King of New York, which was exactly my cup of tea. 

The set was simple yet effective as it mainly consisted of metal structures that interlinked and moved around...it was probably more exciting to witness. 

The story itself was sweet and had a brilliant message full of love, hope and joy. It was one of those stories you could watch again and again and again. 

The main reason Newsies is Musical of the Month though is because I have not taken CD out my CD Player since I got back from New York. The music is just phenomenal and I cannot get enough of it. I think the real amazing thing is that every song is amazing: you get so many shows where just one or two songs are great and you end up skipping the rest, well this isn't like that, all the songs on the album are fantastic and completely out if this world. I think my favourite of all would have to be Watch What Happens but that's mainly because it's the main female song so I can really get my teeth stuck in when singing it...truth be told they're all my favourites at different times of the day. 

Overall, Newsies is a great show and if the rumours are right I encourage everyone to go and get tickets as well as buying the CD right this moment. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading a bit about Newsies. If any of you want to ask any more questions about it my Twitter is @GreenGirlsRox but please remember if you don't follow me I won't be able to see your message which is sad. 

Love you all lots and see you soon. 

Love Kat

Xx

Bare it all at the Fun Fair

Hi everyone, I feel all behind like a dog's tail; it's already the 17th September and I have written about West End Bares. So, shall we get that sorted? 

I went down to London with my friend Ellie and after unpacking we headed for Covent Garden to do a bit of shopping, which, yes, did include the Disney Store of course. We, also, had dinner at a Bella Italia and got a tad tipsy and had great fun trying to get the waiters to bring us extra strawberries rather than straws! (You probably had to be there.)

After this we headed off back to our hotel to get ready for the party that is West End Bares. For those of you who don't know, West End Bares is a show where West End stars get together and take their clothes off to raise money for the charity MAD Trust, and this year's theme was All The Fun Of The Bare. And I tell you what, it certainly was fun!

Featuring stars such as Matt Krzan (Book of Mormon), Callum Train (Top Hat) and Jenny Victoria Wickham (Dirty Dancing) and acts such as Popping Candy, Bearded Ladies and House of Mirrors, West End Bares was certainly a night to be remembered. 

Personally, the highlight of the show for me was when Lisa Riley and Anita Dobson persuaded Robin Winsor (off Strictly Come Dancing) to strip by auctioning off his clothes...you may not see the attraction (other than the fact he's majorly hot) but when you're a huge Strictly fan like me, even being that close to him was pretty amazing!!! Plus I got a photo with him at the after party, which was pretty special. 

That's another good thing about West End Bares, if you go to the 11.59pm showing you can, also, but tickets to the after party and get to meet the stars of the show. The tickets when the after party is included are £65 which when you consider that's cheaper than your average top price West End show tickets plus the money is going to a good cause, it's definitely worth it. 

What I found incredibly special was that the entrance into the section where the show took place was done out like a circus tent and they were serving cocktails that were blue in colour and came in a zipper bag with a plastic fish in. To me it was these touches that made the night extra special. 

Overall, I had an amazing time and, as always will leave you with some pictures below. 

From Left To Right and Top to Bottom: 1. Bare it all at the Fun Fair, 2. The Carousel Horses, 3. Me with Robin Winsor, 4. The Rotation, 5. The Show, 6. Ellie and Me Getting Ready, 7. Ellie and Me with the Carousel Horses , 8. West End Bares Calendar, 9. The Robin Winsor Auction. 10. One of the Freaks, 11. It's Getting Bigger, 12. The Rotation, 13. Poppin' Candy, 14. The Freak Master.

 

I hope you enjoyed my blog about West End Bares and if you feel like supporting the MAD Trust please check out their eBay site which has some amazing things on it, as well as, checking out the West End Bares calendar. Also, I love to hear from you if you saw West End Bares or just like musical theatre in general so please either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox (remember I can't get your tweets if you don't follow me). 

Love you all

Kat

Xx

Musical's of the Month - It's Up to You, New York, New York!

Hi everyone, I know I'm dreadfully late with August's Musical of the Month but it's because it's a little special. That's because it focuses on four musicals rather than one and is actually a vlog (well actually two vlogs, as if I'd done just one it would be mega long!). Now I've never done one before so I hope it's ok and I hope you enjoy. 

 

Part 1 - Washington D.C., Kinky Boots and Pippin

 

Part 2 - Newsies, Wicked and Ellen's Stardust Diner

 

 

Kinky Boots - The Al Hirschfeld Theatre

Cast in Order of Appearance - Main Parts Highlighted. 

Mr Price - Stephen Berger

Young Charlie - Sebastian Hedges Thomas

Young Lola - Marquise Neal

Simon Sr - Eugene Barry-Hill

Nicola - Lena Hall

Charlie Price - Stark Sands

George - Marcus Neville

Don - Daniel Stewart Sherman

Lauren - Annaleigh Ashford

Pat - Tory Ross

Harry - Andy Kelso

Lola - Billy Porter

Lola's Angels - Paul Canaan, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Kyle Taylor Parker, Kyle Post, Charlie Sutton and Joey Taranto

Trish - Jennifer Perry

Richard Bailey - John Jeffrey Martin

Milan Stage Manager - Lucia Spina

Pippin - The Music Box

Cast in Order of Appearance - Main Parts Highlighted. 

Leading Player - Patina Miller

Fastrada - Charlotte d'Amboise

Berthe - Tovah Feldshuh

Lewis - Erik Altemus

Charles - Terrence Mann

Pippin - Matthew James Thomas

Catherine - Rachel Bay Jones

Theo - Ashton Woerz

Newsies - Nerderlander Theatre

Cast in Order of Appearance - Main Parts Highlighted. 

Jack Kelly - Corey Cott

Crutchie - Andy Richardson

Race - Ryan Breslin

Albert - Garett Hawe

Specs - John Michael Fiumara

Henry - Iain Young

Finch - JP Ferreri

Elmer - Evan Kasprzak

Romeo - Tommy Martinez

Mush - David Guzman

Katherine - Caitlyn Caughell

Darcy - Hogan Fulton

Nuns - LaVon Fisher-Wilson, Julie Foldesi and Liana Hunt

Morris Delancey - Michael Fatica

Oscar Delancey - Brendon Stimson

Wiesel - John E. Brady

Davey - Ben Fankhauser

Les - Nicholas Lampiasi

Joseph Pulitzer - John Dossett

Seitz - Mark Aldrich

Bunsen - Nick Sullivan

Hannah - Liana Hunt

Snyder - Stuart Marland

Medda Larkin - Julie Foldesi

Stage Manager - John E. Brady

Mr. Jacobs - John E. Brady

Scabs - Tommy Bracco, Jacob Guzman and Jess LeProtto

Mayor - John E. Brady

Spot Conlon - Tommy Bracco

Bill - Garett Hawe

Governor Roosevelt - Tom Alan Robbins

Wicked - Gershwin Theatre

Cast in Order of Appearance - Main Parts Highlighted. 

Glinda - Tiffany Haas

Witch's Father - Michael DeVries

Witch's Mother - Kristen Gorski-Wergeles

Midwife - Briana Yacavone

Elphaba - Lindsey Mendez

Nessarose - Catherine Charlebois

Boq - Michael Wartella

Madame Morrible - Carol Kane

Doctor Dillamond - John Schiappa

Fiyero - Derek Klena

Ozian Official - Michael DeVries

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Tom McGowan

Chistery - Christopher King

All cast lists are correct for the days I saw them on (some do include the understudies) 

The music used in the videos is:

The President's March - Victor Herbert

Step One - Kinky Boots

No Time At All - Pippin

King of New York - Newsies

What Is This Feeling - Wicked

Once again I hope you enjoyed watching my vlog's and I'd love to hear feedback from you either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirls Rox.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

One Singular Sensation

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok...I'm feeling a little behind on blogging but here goes. 

Well last week I was living in London as I was doing the Musical Theatre Audition Techniques Course at Arts Educational. Over my life I've got used to the write up to courses being slightly exaggerated in relation to what the course delivers so was completely amazed when this did exactly what it said on the tin. I have to say it was, probably, the most useful, interesting and fun thing I've ever done! I haven't done any other Musical Theatre course so I haven't got anything to compare it to in that sense but in terms of life experience it was definitely one of the best. 

Well during the week (on the Wednesday) my mum came down and we went to see A Chorus Line together before it closed. My main reason for picking the show was because I love the song One and, thus, thought I'd love the show. I have to say I was a little worried about the fact there was no interval due to the show being set in real time. However, although I did get a tad restless toward the end, this didn't really seem to bother me; the only really strange thing was just getting up and walking out the theatre rather than having an ice cream in the middle, if that makes sense. 

The show itself was rather strange but very good. The plot centred around an audition and the life stories of the auditionees so probably doesn't sound the most exciting, however, it was fascinating and exiting with some great songs thrown in there. 

As I mentioned I went to go and see the show because of the song One so of course I loved it when they performed it. The other songs were really good too and all had little funny quirks, just like the characters who were singing them. The other song I knew already was What I Did For Love; now I don't want to spoil the show so I won't go into too much detail but I have to say I wasn't expecting it to be sung in that sort of context...any of you who've seen A Chorus Line will probably get what I mean and for those of you who haven't, well, it's probably not what you think...knowing what the song is actually about makes it so much more powerful to me now; it's a song anyone who wants to be in showbiz or has succeeded will get. 

Now onto the set...well what appears to be a rather bland black stage is transformed into a classy performance space when the mirrors turn round and actually create a beautiful space to perform. The addition of the mirrors adds depth and another layer to the dances. For a set that is very minimalistic it is, also, very beautiful. 

And, finally, the actors...well they were just amazing and all round triple threats. For the performance I went to there was quite a lot of understudies (LucyJane Adcock was Cassie, Genevieve Nicole was Sheila, Alice Jane Murray was Judy, Harry Francis was Mike and Michael Steeldon was Mark), nevertheless there were all fantastic and you couldn't tell at all. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the show and am very pleased that I went. I would urge you to go and see it before it closes as it was a one of a kind show. 

As usual, I'll leave you with a few photos from my trip.

The London Palladium

 

 Me Outside the Theatre

And finally, keep your eyes peeled as I'm jetting off to Washington and New York this coming Monday so will be blogging (or perhaps vlogging) about some of the theatre out there. 

Other than that I'd love to hear your opinions by either commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox. 

Love

Kat

Xx

It is a Plane...I've Just had its Wings Clipped!

Hiya everyone, just a quick-y this time as I know I've done many, many reviews on this show before (please click the venues to see: Manchester, Oxford, Wimbledon, Southampton and Nottingham). I've just a few points to add about the amazing show that is Priscilla. 

Well, after I'd seen the show in Wimbledon I turned to my mum and said that for my birthday I just wanted to be as happy as I was at that moment...and so it was decided that we'd go and see Priscilla as my birthday treat. It just so happened that the show was in Belfast!!!

So after a lot of planning we jetted off to Belfast. The city itself was really nice even considering we spent an hour on my birthday walking the wrong way in the pouring before deciding to get a taxi...this did mean we found a really nice hairdresser to re-straighten my hair!

So what do I have to say about the actual show? Well, firstly Noel Sullivan was playing Tick rather than Jason Donovan. When I'd seen Noel in Southampton I hadn't been too sure and, especially as I'd fallen in love with Jason in the role the week before in Nottingham, I was a bit disappointed when I realised it would be Noel. Well, I needn't have been as he was fantastic and had really grown into the role. I now really don't mind who I see play Tick again, out of the two, as both are a-maze-ing and play the role uniquely but super-ly as well. 

The other thing I really wanted to say was how beautiful Belfast Grand Opera House is. I walked into the auditorium and was just stunned by the magnificence and the ceiling was fantastic. It's such a shame it's so far to travel for me as it really was one of the most beautiful theatres I've ever been in and I urge you, if you're ever in Belfast, to see a show there just so you can marvel at its splendour. 

That's all I really need to say as I do know I go on about this show but there are so many new things to see plus each venue is different...I mean the evening performance in Belfast was the best and most electric yet! 

So all that's left to do is leave you with a few photos of my trip...

From Left to Right: Mum and Me at Belfast Grand Opera House; The Outside of Belfast Grand Opera House; Me with Liam Marcellino (Ensemble); Me Outside Belfast City Hall; Me with Regan Shepherd; Me at the Airport with Belfast Bear; The View from George Best Belfast Airport; Me with Richard Grieve; and Me in the Grand Opera House.

 

Right I'll love you and leave you. Please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox if you have any comments on this blog or just want a chat. Keep your eyes peeled for my next blog on A Chorus Line. 

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain

Hello everyone, hope you're all well as July draws to a close. Now I've know I've already done my Musical of the Month post (please click here to view) but Well I just got to say a little bit about my latest trip to see Priscilla. I know I've seen this many times before (please click the locations to view my previous blogs: Manchester, Oxford, Wimbledon, Southampton) but there are a few extra things I'd like to say. 

Firstly, it was really nice to see the show on sort of home turf. This past week the show was in Nottingham which is what I class as my local theatre...there is a theatre in Lincoln but it never gets any of the big tours. But, really, sitting down to watch the show so close to home was really something special plus it allowed me to see it three times in a week with breaking the bank on a hotel. 

The other thing I was amazed at was how many new things I saw, which considering by last Friday I was onto my 7th tour is something. 

I was, also, really pleased with Jason Donovan. I know I've seen him before but he really, really impressed me this time. There's some Priscilla fans who aren't too keen on his performance as Tick but to me he's just right for the role. I don't know whether it was because he was the first Tick I saw but when I imagine Tick I think of him. Furthermore, this time I was especially impressed with his voice and characterisation, which was really hilarious. Well done JD...you rocked Notts. 

Another thing to mention is that Nottingham was a venue where the Diva's didn't fly. I'm presuming that this was because the theatre didn't have capacity for flying as that is what was said when they didn't fly in Torquey. It was a bit of a shock to begin with but I don't feel it detracted anything from the show and, actually, they way they did it worked really well. 

Additionally, Nottingham was another venue, like Wimbledon, where the dance captain, Ian Oswald, along with Aaron Sweeney-Harris came out during the interval and chose people. Now you could only go up once in a week, which is fair enough, so I managed to get up on Thursday. I was picked to go on Wednesday but too many people had been picked by accident so I volunteered to go back as I had two more chances...what really impressed me was that both the guys remembered and saved me a slot on Thursday...this Priscilla cast is just so amazing and filled with such lovely people...perfection. 

Finally, I can't leave without mentioning the two guys who, for me, steal the show...I literally can't take my eyes off them. Please give a big cheer for Alan Hunter and Regan Shepherd. What makes them even better performers, other than their great legs, brilliant characterisation and stunning charm, is how nice they are at the stage door. I'm not saying that everyone else isn't nice, just that these two are exceptionally nice. Additionally, it was Regan's birthday last Thursday so I got him a little gift...just a framed painting I'd done. 

All in all I had a great time last week and can't wait to see it again on my birthday next Thursday in Belfast (yes I'm double showing as well!). 

I'll leave you with some pictures from my trip.

 

Me Outside the Theatre

Jason Donovan

 

Me with Regan Shepherd (with the birthday present I gave him)

Me with Alan Hunter

 

Now all that's left to say is I hope you enjoyed reading this. If any of you are Priscilla fans please either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox...I'd love to hear from you. 

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

I Met Him on a Monday and my Heart Stood Still

Hi everyone, I thought I'd post my Musical of the Month post a tad early as on the 31st I'm jetting off to Belfast to see Priscilla for my birthday on the 1st August (best day of the year!). This is, also, a rather special post as on the yesterday (25th July) Stage Right celebrated it's first birthday. It's strange because it doesn't seem like yesterday since I started blogging and wondering if anyone would actually read what I wrote but then again so much has happened in this past year: I've made friends, lost friends, completed my 2nd year at uni, discovered a whole blogging and Musical Theatre community, found some great shows and revisited some old ones (many times) and just generally changed a lot as a person...here's to another great year :) 

On a similar note, watch this space come August as I'm extremely busy Musical Theatre wise...as mentioned I'm seeing Priscilla in Belfast but I'm, also, spending a week in London at the Arts Ed Musical Theatre Audition Techniques course, continuing working on Adult Child / Dead Child with Holly...oh and just happen to be spending 5 days in Washington and 5 days in New York...busy, busy, busy. I've, also, seen Priscilla in Nottingham twice already this week and am going back today (keep your eyes pealed for the blog on this). 

Well, anyway what's this month's Musical of the Month. At the start of July I decided to sort out my iTunes and whilst doing so I remembered my mum had brought me the Dreamboats and Petticoats CD for Christmas so after uploading it to iTunes I decided to bung the CD into my car CD player where it has stayed to this very day!

Now I haven't seen the show but it is currently touring so I  hoping to go when it comes to Nottingham in November. However, I do know the show is set in 1961...get your polka dot skirts and quiffs out...and the music is just stunning. 

Other than musical theatre my music tastes consists on anything from between 1920-1960's oh and a bit of 1980's too...basically pop before I was born. This means that the music used in Dreamboats and Petticoats is, to me, perfect as not only is it from an era of music I like but it's got a musical theatre twist to it. The other thing that is perfect about these songs is that they just suit the warm, sunny days we are having down to a T. 

I can't really say much more about this show other than this is definitely a soundtrack worth buying...I just love it!

Have any of you seen Dreamboats and Petticoats? And are you doing anything interesting this summer? If so I'd love to hear from you either by commenting below it tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox. 

Love

Kat

Xx

Taking Off the Heels and Make-Up of Rocky Horror (Spoiler Alert)

Heya everyone, hope you're loving all this sunny English weather...and to those of you who aren't English, hope you're having great weather too! So my last theatre trip was a road trip down to Cardiff, with my friend Ellie and her friend Mandy (who is really nice as well), to see Rocky Horror again. 

To put things in perspective I live in Lincolnshire (East Midlands) so am about 200miles away from Cardiff...crazy right!!! Well, after some crazy singing, a few wrong turns, a car boot that wouldn't open and a pit stop to buy and fill up with windscreen washer fluid we arrived at the Travelodge in boiling hot Wales! We then relaxed for a bit before grabbing a bite to eat at the conveniently placed Weatherspoons next door before donning our outfits and heading off to the theatre. 

Now I have been to see Rocky Horror three times already (please click here the locations to view: Grimsby, Cambridge and Manchester) so I've decided to do this review a little bit differently. I will start, however, with the few differences from the last time I went...

The differences with this performance were that Rhydian from the X Factor was playing Rocky. He actually surprised me in being a better than I had expected him to be. 

The theatre was, also, a bit smaller than Manchester (and had ridiculously too few ladies loos...I know most theatres don't have many but this was simply crazy!) and I was a bit disappointed by the atmosphere...I mean the cast were still on fire and Oliver Thornton was still perfection in motion but the audience weren't quite as hyper as they had been when I saw the show at Manchester...although this could be seen as a good thing as it meant I could practice my shouting out..."Just one big one!".

However, what I really wanted to talk about in this blog is the message of Rocky Horror. I think I may have skimmed over this briefly in past reviews but I'd like to go into a bit more depth...please prepare for me to go full drama nerd! Oh and, also, be warned there are some MAJOR SPOILERS...if you don't want to know the plot it's probably best if you stop reading now!

For the majority of the show it would appear that there isn't really a message and that the show is just fun...well I suppose the whole show may appear like this to some. However, as it says in my bio at the side I study drama at uni and, anyway, I always like to look into a show to see what meaning can be taken from it and applied to the my everyday life...maybe I look too deeply into these things but I really do think theatre is there to teach people things (please click here to see my blog on this). 

To start off let's take Brad and Janet, two seemingly normally young adults who seem to come out of a time of innocence where everyone was nice and weddings and your woman cooking tea were all that mattered. These two then get corrupted into a world if debauchery and sexual pleasure when their car breaks down and they decide to try the castle down the road for a phone. To me, Brad and Janet seem to portray how easily innocence can be corrupted and suggest that being a bit worldly wise about the constantly changing world (rather than sticking your head in the sand) can save you from corruption...after all look at Riff Raff, Magenta and Dr Scott. 

The three characters previously mentioned all demonstrate some knowledge of the world and the corruption that goes on in it yet none appear to fully succumb to it. Riff Raff and Magenta act along with Frank and his life of overindulgence and sexual pleasure yet we never see them in any sort of sexual manner. And it is suggested (despite his German twinges) that Dr Scott has been sent to by a government to put a stop to Frank's way of life and to end the corruption that takes place in the castle. By the end of the play these are the only three characters who have not changed for the worst which to me can be surmised to be because of the fact that they know of the corruption that goes on in the world but do not fully enter into it. 

And then we come to the most interesting character in the show...Frank, the main man himself; the epitome of corruption. Frank lives a life of sexual indulgence and expects everyone to bow before him. I always love to hear Columbia's line to him, "You chew people up and then you spit them out again...You're like a sponge. You take, take, take, and drain others of their love and emotion." as it just sums up the character of Frank; the only person he cares about is himself. It is because of this corruption, self-indulgence and caring only for himself that Frank ends up dead. To me this can teach people a lot particularly when combined with the fact that Columbia dies because she cares too much about someone who only cares for them self...in this world there is a fine balance that will lead to survival and happiness which involves sometimes putting others before yourself but making sure that those who you do would do the same for you...we can't go around treating people like dirt because all too soon we'll look around as see that there's no one there to really care for us. 

So there is a great deal that can be taken from this supposedly 'just for fun' show. I don't know whether you'll agree with it all, maybe you'll have found something different in it, but this is my opinion and what I get from it. 

I'll leave you with two things...a picture from my trip (and yes I've dressed up...there's nothing wrong with having fun at Rocky Horror, it's just, in my opinion, there's a bit more to it than that)...and a quote from the show for you to ponder, "And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time. And lost in space, and meaning.".

 

 

Me Outside the Theatre

 

I hope you enjoyed reading my views, as mentioned they are just my opinions...but I'd love to hear what you get out of the show. Please either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox. 

Love

Kat

Xx

Eating Jam, Ham and Spam-a-lot!!!

Hi everyone, hope you're all enjoying the sunny weather. This is a rather strange blog in the sense that most of the blog won't actually be on this page. This is because I was asked last Tuesday if I'd go and review Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre on Friday (5th July)...umm yeah of course. 

So at about midday my friend, Ellie, and I set off to London with some glorious weather in tow. Because the show started at 6pm we decided to hit the shops in Covent Garden. Well after spending far too much, getting a rather strange look off the guy in Paperchase when I asked Ellie of we she wanted to go to the Disney store (I don't see what's wrong with an 18 and a 19 year old going to the Disney store) and Ellie buying a the gorgeous Lots-O-Huggin bear (who really smells of strawberries) we stopped off at Maxwell's for some dinner (and yes we did get the waiter to sniff the bear!). 

And then it was off the the theatre with us. Now as I mentioned at the top, I'm not actually writing about the show in this blog but for my full review please click here and please browse around the rest of the website as well :). 

After the show we decided to take a look at the River Thames as we were right near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. I know it goes without saying but the views were really breath-taking and it was really pleasant to stand there in the warm of a summer's evening. 

All to soon we had to head off back to Kings Cross (buying some chocolate pasta from Hotel Chocolat on the way...yes you did read that right!) and back home for us. 

Before I go I'll leave you with some pictures from the trip...

 

The Theatre

Ellie with Lots-O-Huggin Bear

View of the Houses of Parliament from the Golden Jubilee Bridge

View of the London Eye from the Golden Jubilee Bridge



Me Outside the Theatre

I have to say I really enjoyed this experience and am really grateful to Neil from Last Minute Theatre Tickets (@LondonTheatre1) for giving me the opportunity. Please do check out my full review, I hope you enjoy it. 

Love you lots

Kat

Xx