Musical of the Month - Minchin Around

Hello everyone...do you know what being at the end of July means!?! That it's my 21st birthday really soon, as in on the 1st of August...eek!!! Anyway this month the Musical of the Month isn't really a musical at all but, panic not, it is relate to a musical.

Basically, I was in HMV recently and in the 'Soundtrack' section there was a CD from one Tim Minchin's stand-up concerts: So F***ing Rock. Well, I was tempted as I love the music from Matilda (for those who don't know he wrote this as well) and was interested to hear more of what he has written. 

To start off with...it's incredibly random and very rude (as you've probably guessed by the title), however if you aren't easily offended and can cope with a good dose of randomness then it's absolutely incredible...so much so that I'm turning it into an honour musical so I can feature it as a Musical of the Month :p 

I think the best bit about every song is that there's a catchy or beautiful tune and all are very intelligently written. Another thing that's brilliant about the majority of the song is that, in addition to the comedy element, they are littered with an awful lot of home truths about the way we live out lives. Also, it's clear how brilliant Minchin is at playing and composing for the piano as it's this that really makes each and every song. 

Currently my favourite songs are 'Canvas Bags', 'Some People Have It Worse Than I' and 'Not Perfect'. 'Canvas Bags' is probably the most random song on the entire album yet it is all very true...basically it's a song about remembering to take your canvas bags to the supermarket...umm total genius! 'Some People Have It Worse Than I' is very catchy and the perfect song to make you realise that your life could be much, much worse than what it is now. Finally, 'Not Perfect' is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard; Minchin describes it as a song about the feeling you have when you feel like you're the smallest doll in the Babushka doll. To me the song is very good at explaining how wealthy we all are just by having a little bit of earth, a body and a brain to call our own. Also, this song is the one that can be related most to Matilda as it sounds like a mix between 'When I Grow Up' and 'My House'.

Overally, I strongly recommend you buying this CD was even though it's not a musical it is we'll worth the title of Musical of the Month!

Have any of you listen to Tim Minchin's music or been lucky enough to see him perform? If so let me know either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox. 

Love you all

Kat

Quacks and Laughs

Heya everyone, finally here it is my blog about The Duck House, which I saw back in January (January 25th to be precise)...OMG that's really bad, please forgive me! Anyway, The Duck House is an amazing political satire which was playing at The Vaudeville Theatre. For me it is quite strange to see a play, particularly when I'm down in London, as musicals tend to be more my cup of tea. However, I'd seen this advertised and decided to pop along as I'm rather into politics and love anything that can make a joke out of it; yes i'm an avid watcher of 'Mock the Week'! The other advantage The Duck House had was that it was starring Ben Miller, who I've always found to be really funny, so this was just a bonus in my book. 

I was sat quite near the back of the stalls for seeing the show, which felt quite restricting as the overhand from the Dress Circle was very low. We'd (my mum and I) had been assured by the booth we'd brought the tickets from that they weren't restricted view so were quite shocked when we got to the seats to find how low the Dress Circle was, in addition to the fact that the tickets actually had 'Restricted View' printed on them (check your tickets before you walk away people). Nevertheless, when the show began all the action happened on the ground so we didn't really miss anything in the way of the action of the play, it just would have been nice to not feel quite so hemmed in.

The play itself had just the right level of humour and actually had some bits that made me laugh out loud...for someone who really likes comedy I'm not really your rolling round the floor laughing type of person so this is a real mark of respect to the show. The plot, as simply as possible focuses on the MP's expenses' scandal and the way MP Robert Houston and his family try to worm their way out of the trouble that they are now in by not paying for everything quite legitimately. Anyway, I won't say too much more incase the show goes on tour and I promise the show is a lot better than my description.

As for the cast they were all brilliant and worked well together with all the relationships being believable. As previously mentioned, Ben Miller led the cast as Robert Houston, the MP whose life the play focuses on. Nancy Carroll plays Houston's wife, Felicity, a very snobby and stuck up woman who believes the way to impress people is by things looking good. Debbie Chazen played the hilarious Ludmilla, the Russian housekeeper to the Houston's, with James Musgrave playing the Houston's student son, Seb, Diana Vickers playing Seb's girlfriend, Holly, and Simon Shepherd playing Tory grandee, Sir Norman Cavendish. I think all the cast have to be commend for their fabulous portrayal and quick delivery; they were what made the show so hilarious.

Overall, if comedy plays centred around politics is your idea of fun I'd definitely recommend you see this show if it ever goes on tour, and if it's not, why not give it a go anyway; you could surprise yourself. If you have any more questions about the show, or anything else musical theatre related, please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox; I'd love to hear from you.

Love you all.

Kat

xx

Musical of the Month - Do You Want To Build a Snowman?

Well hello everyone, I back...did you miss me? To start off with let me give you my reasons as to why I haven't been blogging; the first part is that I have now officially finished uni so, basically, up until the end of April I was busy, busy, busy writing essays and putting on a play with my friends.  Also, the other major thing that's been going on is I found out at the end of January that my mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer so life has been a whirlwind of hospital appointments meaning that there's not been a lot of time to sit down to do blogs. On that matter, two weeks ago I completed the Race for Life at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire, in 36minutes and 4 seconds, to raise money for Cancer Research UK; if anyone would like to sponsor me for this please click to be taken to my JustGiving page. 

Anyway, back to blogging...now I have a bit of a backlog due to the time I have taken off but coming up shortly, and i do mean shortly, are my blogs on: The Duck House; We Will Rock You; Rock of Ages on Tour; the closing of the Priscilla Tour; and West End Live. Please keep your eyes peeled for these as I will be posting them in the next few days.

So that's all the background information, now it's time for June's Musical of the Month...I know it's now July but I hope you can forgive me. I bet many of you have guessed from the title of this post that the musical I am going to be talking about is Frozen...now I know this is technically a Disney film but it does have songs set to the story line, there is talk about it turning into a stage musical and the music (the songs with singing) was written by Robert Lopez who, also co-wrote the music to The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q.

The music is one of my favourite things about Frozen as you seriously cannot get the songs out of your head and I have ended up singing them for days on end. The other thing is how much Olaf  from Frozen sounds like Elder McKinley in Turn It Off (Book of Mormon), Elder Cummingham in Two By Two (Book of Mormon) and the Bad Ideas Bears (Avenue Q). It always makes me smile when I hear the songs and can see the other characters singing them. Additionally, it's nice to see that Lopez can create beautiful, serious music as well; let's just say Let It Go always gives me goose pimples, which I know is partly due to the amazing-ness of Idina Menzel's voice but is, also, due to the beautiful way the song has been written...well done Lopez :)

I, also, think the story is pretty cute, no, it's not the most complex and in-depth plot but it definitely does have some good features and shows that self sacrificing love doesn't have to be between a romantically involved couple but can be between two sisters, two brothers, two friends, etc. The film, also, has some really sweet quotes like, 'Some people are worth melting for.'.

The final things I love about Frozen is how cute the characters look, particularly Sven. Additionally, it's nice that they used well known people is the musical theatre world; Jonathan Groff as Kristoff who is known for Glee and Spring Awakening amongst others, and Idina Menzel as Elsa who is best known for her performance as Elphaba in Wicked in addition to starring in Rent and the concert version of Chess and is currently starring in If/Then on Broadway.

(From Left to Right and Top to Bottom: Anna, Hans, Else, Kristoff, Olaf, Sven and Pabbie)

The other thing I want to share with you on the topic of Frozen is this little video that a friend from uni filmed of me singing Love Is An Open Door, now it's not the most technical but it is quite funny, or so everyone at work has told me.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this blog and if you haven't already please go and watch Frozen :)

Love you all

Kat

xx

Musical of the Month - Playing the Game

Hi everyone, yes I know I've still got to post my blog on The Duck House but I've only got two months at uni left so bear with me :) Anyway, it's the end of March so that means it's time for Musical of the Month. I thought I was going to struggle this month to pick something as, although I'd been listening to musicals, nothing had really stood out to me as being exceptional. That is until just over a week ago when I was copying out some notes for uni and thought it would make it more exciting to listen to something. Now I didn't want anything to lively as I would concentrate but I wanted something new-ish that would keep my interest (by new I mean something I hadn't given much time to before). The musical I went to was Chess and since then I've been hooked. 

I'd always liked the song 'I Know Him So Well' so when they released the concert CD and DVD in 2009 I bought them both, however, I'd never really got into either of them. I did watch the DVD once but found it really confusing and had to keep reading up what was coming next; let's just say it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. 

I decided to give it a second chance and fell in love completely from the first note to the last. I think the thing that really got me about the music was the mixture of styles that were used; one minute you're listening to a slow, soothing ballad the next an unbeat pop song, then it's a piece akin to the classical era and the next thing you know it's your listening to a song that would fit into a Bollywood movie! If we're comparing it to musicals I'd say there's elements of Wicked (though I don't know whether that's the composers doing or the fact Idina Menzel plays Florence), The King and I, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables and Sister Act...an odd combination I know but that's the main reason I love the music; it keeps you on your toes. Another thing I like about the music is how meaningful all of the lyrics are; there isn't a wasted lyric insight. The best example of this is 'One Night in Bangkok' which is so thought through it's amazing. It references Yul Brynner who, as many of you will know, is famous for playing the King of Siam in The King and I (with Siam being the previous name for Thailand where Bangkok is the capital of). It, also, mentions the Tyrolean Spa which is a direct reference to Merano, where the first act is set (in the UK version). The other main interesting point is the fact the song mentions Iceland, The Philippines and Hastings which are the places where chess is most popular. The song, also, contrasts Bollywood style music (at least I think that's what it is) with your more tradition musical theatre style so as to show the difference between the culture of Thailand and the sophistication of chess as a game. This could sound quite negative to Thailand (and was thought that by officials in Thiland as it was banned there in 1985 for it's disrespect to Thai culture, in addition to Buddism), however, in my opinion it seems to be making a point that things aren't always as they seem as the sophisticated chess game that is suggested is not what is shown during the plot of the musical. 

So what is the plot, well I won't go to much into it so if you want to buy the 2008 Concert Version on DVD and find out about it yourself you can. Firstly, it is necessary to say that not only is the storyline complex itself, pinning down what the official story is as it has seen many changes and adaptions over the years. Nevertheless, in the booklet that comes with the DVD, Time Rice (part of the original Chess team) says that this it what he would call the official version, which is why my brief plot discription is based on the 2008 Concert (in addition to the fact that it's the version I've watched). So in brief then, the show I know, centres around the world chess championships over two years, firstly in Merano, Italy, and then in Bangkok, Thailand. The theme of chess is greatly overshadowed by a deeper and darker world of politics. The show is set in 1979 and 1980 so falls within the boundaries of the Cold War (1947-1991 approximately), which is at the heart of the show. The main characters are either Russian or American (to some degree) meaning that the majority of play goes on inside the world of politics rather than the world of chess. To me the meaning of the plot is that the Cold War is a big chess game with America and Russia (the Soviet Union) trying to psychologically outplay each other and not caring who got caught up in the cross fire. 

Linked in with this, the song "Nobody's Side" really embodies the depth of the play because, as my mum pointed out, at first it sound grammatically incorrect as the line "Nobody's on nobody's side." would technically mean that everyone was on everyone's side. This got me thinking about the plot and in actual fact I think the grammar is correct for all the characters have their own agenda and dislike the majority of the other characters, however, the majority of them all end up working together to achieve their personal goal. This, therefore, means that everyone is on the same side yet no one really is, a.k.a. Nobody's on nobody's side. The only character who ends up going against this idea is Anatoly who decides that the only way to win is by staying true to himself and not getting involved in anyone else's schemes; he sees this as the only way that he can grant himself self peace and give his lover, Florence, the one thing she wants, her father. 

Florence's father is another interesting political concept as Florence and her family originally came from Hungary but in 1956 the Hungarians revolted against Russian control and Florence's family were either captured or killed (she doesn't know). This theme interlinks with the song "1956 - Budapest is Rising" (Budapest being the capital of Hungary), which sings of the Hungarian revolt and briefly what happened during it. 

The other song of importance is "Anthem" (a great song in itself) but within the show, where it is sung at the end of both acts, it demonstrates that people know where they are from; there is no escaping your nationality and not many people want to entirely. The song comments on how people may not be entirely happy with the politics of the country of where your from but it will always be your country just the same; "...my land's only boarders lie around my heart."

Before I move onto cast I do need to say that my favourite songs, in addition to the ones mentioned, are "Where I Want To Be", "Someone Else's Story" and "I Know Him So Well"...just so you know. 

The cast for the concert version were, in my opinion, fantastic...but then my two favourite leading ladies do star in it. The main cast list is as follows: 

Josh Groban - Anatoly Sergievsky - Russian (plays for Russia in Act 1 but seeks British citizenship at the end of Act 1 so is playing for Britain in Act 2). 

Idina Menzel - Florence - Hungarian (Freddie's second and lover in Act 1 and Anatoly's second and lover in Act 2). 

Adam Pascal - Frederick "Freddie" Trumper - American (defending world champion in Act 1 and presenter for Global, the TV company, in Act 2). 

David Bedella - Alexander Molokov - Russian (it is quite clear that he works for the Russian government but it is suggested he's working for the KGB, which is the Russian Secret Police). 

Kerry Ellis - Svetlana - Russian (Anatoly's wife who Molokov brings over to distract him in Act 2). 

Clarke Peters - Walter de Courcy - American (Freddie's commercial agent in Act 1 and a presenter for Global TV Company in Act 2). 

Marti Pellow - The Arbiter - neutral. 

So there you go, a stella cast if ever there was one who have made this special show truly astounding. 

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this month's Musical of the Month about Chess, sorry if it's been a little deep but I hope you've inspired you to listen to the CD and buy the DVD and give it a chance so you can fall in love with it as I have. 

And I hope you have a great April. 

Love you all

Kat

Xx 

Musical of the Month: Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Hi everyone, hope you've had a good, theatrical February and are ready for all the joys that March will bring you. I realise that I've still got my blog of The Duckhouse to write but thought I better do February's Musical of the Month first as we're nearly at the end. 

Being truly honest, this month I've been raving about three shows but I've blogged about two of them before, Book of Mormon (first blog and second blog) and Witches of Eastwick. The other show that I've had a bit of an obsession with is Mary Poppins. I re-found my liking for this show after seeing the film Saving Mr Banks at the end of January; if you didn't catch it at the cinema I really recommend that you buy it when it comes out on DVD. Anyway seeing the film made me decide to pop my Mary Poppins musical CD in my car CD Player and I've loved re-listening to the songs.

The CD had always used to be the CD my family listened to when we went to see my friend, Megan, in Kent. My favourite song then used to be 'Brimstone and Treacle (Part 2)', however, nowadays I'm in love with, 'Let's Go Fly a Kite'. This is partly because it's such a great song but, also, because the part of Saving Mr Banks that went to this song was so beautiful and happy it would capture anyone's heart. The other song I really love is, 'Being Mrs Banks' which is really sweet, romantic and, to me, embodies what the story is really about.

As for the show itself, I saw it ages ago, when I first started getting into musicals, when I was about 11 or 12. I remember the plot being a bit of a shock at the start as it was quite different to the film and a lot more scary, nevertheless, once I relaxed into it, it was a really great show. From what I can remember the set was amazing and the cast were brilliant and, overall, it was such a beautifully, sweet show that was suitable for all the family; I really wish it would come back or at least tour. 

Anyway, that's enough for now; did any of you see Mary Poppins when it was in the West End and what are your opinions on the musical?
Let me know either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox

Hope you have a good March.

Love you all

Kat

xx

Dreaming Baby Dream

Well, well, well, finally here it is, my blog about Dreamboats and Petticoats which I saw at Nottingham Theatre Royal in November last year...yes it does feel like ages ago doesn't it! If you haven't read my blog before I have been meaning to write this post for ages and haven't got round to it what with all the chaos that has been going on in my life (I won't explain as I'll be here for pages and pages and you'll get bored and switch your computers off) in addition to writing my dissertation for my third and final year at uni...scary!

So what of Dreamboats and Petticoats, well if you're wanting to go to the theatre for a highly educational and deep production with lots of twists and turns then this show is not for you. However, if you want a little bit of light hearted relief from your day to day life then go on and buy yourself a ticket (the tour finishes at the end of May in St Albans so you've got plenty of time yet). Basically, the show itself is pretty cute-sie with an decent plot and some great tunes. 

The song list is truly phenomenal, well I do like music from that era, and is really what makes the show, however, I won't go on about this too much as I reviewed the music on my blog previously so if you want to see a more in depth discussion of it click here. Nevertheless, seeing the show in the flesh really brought the music alive particularly as there was a live band on stage. The only annoying bit about this was one of the Saxophone players seemed to have a thing about bending her head backwards so the Saxophone was vertical; now I do agree that this can look cool and jazzy when done once or twice but when she did it two or three times during every song it got a tiny bit repetitive...just a little moan there. However, the rest of the cast were brilliant and truly brought the teenage love story feel to life.
The set and lighting were simple but just right for the show. Everything was very realistic, which was just the right tone for the show. I particularly liked the realism during the fairground section when the dodgeums were brought onto the stage...I don't know what it is but seeing a fairground brought to life on a stage always makes me smile :)
I think that's all I've really got to say...so if it Dreamboats and Petticoats comes to your area I'd definitely say you should get a ticket if you want a fun, cute night out to escape from the reality of the world.

If you've seen the show or just fancy a chat please either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox.

Love you all

Kat

xx 

Musical of the Month - The Revisited Show

Hello everyone, well we're at the end of January already and I still haven't written my Dreamboats and Petticoats review...I will do it I promise. Anyway, it's time for the Musical of the Month so let's get going. 

This time I'm going to do it a little differently as I'm not going to do a specific show but a type of show: the revisited type. This is the type of show that draws you back in again and again. Before you get scared this isn't another Priscilla blog, although I have seen that a lot, no, the reason behind this blog is that last week I was down in London as decided to take the time to see three shows that I'd wanted to see again for ages but hadn't got round to it. 

The first show I saw was Matilda, which I'd seen twice before and had been lucky enough to have a back stage tour thanks to the lovely Mark McGowan. This show is truly magical and the kids are super talented; I don't know who else I had but Georgina Pemberton played Matilda and was fabulous. The adult cast is super, as well, but special mention must go to Joshua Wyatt (Michael Wormwood), Lisa Davina Phillip (Mis Phelps) and Alex Gaumond (Miss Trunchbull). The scenery is, also, quite something and Tim Minchin's score is quirky and brilliant. To see the show I was sat a few rows back in the dress circle and had a great view, which was made better by only paying 50p of my own money thanks to saving up my theatre tokens that I'd got from previous birthdays and Christmas'. Overall, this was a truly great show and I was glad I went back to watch it again. 

The next show I was lucky enough to revisit was Les Miserables, which was made all the better by meeting fellow blogger, Dawn Smallwood, and her friend, Alexandra Lewis, at the stage door after the show. For this performance, Simon Shorten played Valjean and was superb at it, as was Tam Mutu (Javert), Na-Young Jeon (Fantine), Cameron Blakely (Thénardier) and Wendy Ferguson (Madame Thénardier)...well actually the whole cast was fabulous but these were my favourites. The show itself was fantastic with some great scenery and the classic score (made better by my front row seat in the dress circle for only £45), which made a truly phenomenal night out at the theatre. I was really pleased to see this legend of a show again as I have wanted to see it another time ever since I saw it when I was about 15ish but I had always put other shows in front of it, going back made me realise what a great show it was and how I probably wouldn't be leaving it so long before going back.

The other show I revisited was Mamma Mia, which again I think I saw when I was 15/16 so was a good 4 - 5 years since I'd been. I'd, also, been meaning to go back for a long time as I had to leave before the finale the last time I saw it so I could catch my train so needed to go back and see this part. Once again I managed to get a brilliant day seat; front row of the Dress Circle for £20 with the most perfect view ever (the ticket said restricted but it really wasn't)! I was a bit doubtful of the cast to begin with, mainly because they weren't what I pictured in my head (naughty me for watching too much of the film), but after the first few songs they grew on me and gave a super performance, particularly Dickie Wood who played the mischievous Pepper. As many of you probably know the songs are taken from the music that the band ABBA wrote and as an ABBA fan this means they are just my cup of tea and produced a good party atmosphere. The set itself was good, however, I think more could have been done to decorate the stage area as it ended up looking like a blue box, and the dangling tree was a little questionable as well. Nevertheless, once I got into the show this was forgotten and with some truly comic as well as touching moments the show was definitely worth the revisit. 

But what makes a revisited show so special, well I think it allows you to really explore the show and to focus on some on the details that you may have missed the first time. Also, it's interesting to see how different cast portray the characters differently and how a show changes when put in a different theatre (aka Mamma Mia). Additionally, if you're like me you'll find that you forgot certain magical moments from the first time you saw a show and it'll touch your heart when they're played out and you remember them. Furthermore, shows do change and are adapted to fit with the times; there was quite a few moments in Matilda that had been updated since the last time I saw it and it was interesting to see what changes had been made. And, finally, I think if you really enjoy a show there's no harm in going to see it again and again; theatre is there to make people happy so I see nothing wrong in seeing the same show again and again if it makes you really happy. It's because of these reasons why "The Revisited Show" is my Musical of the Month for January :)

I hope you've been having a theatrical month; are there any shows you like going to see again and again, if so please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox, I'd love to hear from you.

Love you all

Kat

xx

Musical of the Year - Flying Free

Hello everyone, I know I've missed several Musical's of the Month and I've still got a Dreamboats and Petticoats blog to write but I thought it would be a good way to finish of 2013 (well start 2014 but it's really finishing 2013, just a bit later than planned) by having a Musical of the Year. 

This musical has ticked all the boxes for me, not only is it a truly spectacular show but it's, also, been my lifesaver this year and reminded me what is really important. For those of you who are regular readers of my blog I think you may be a little surprised to hear that the show in question is not Priscilla! Priscilla, itself, is in a very close 2nd place but this particular show just pipped it to the post. The show in question is the last show I've been to see and was the perfect way to finish off my year of 2013. However, this wasn't the first time I've seen this particular show, in fact I've seen it 11 times now (I think), including twice on Broadway; yes, I'm talking about the sensational show Wicked. 

Before discussing the cast at my most recent viewing let me give a bit more detail as to why this show is my Musical of the Year. Well, firstly, Elphaba is me in musical theatre character form; the odd ball who stands up for what she believes is right no matter what the cost. Then there's some really beautiful lines such as, 'Do you think I want to be this way? Do you think I want to care this much? Don't you know how much easier my life would be if I didn't', 'Elphaba: You're the only friend I've ever had. Glinda: And I've had so many friends, but only one who mattered', 'Elphaba: You're still beautiful. Fiyero: You don't have to lie to me. Elphaba: It's not lying...it's looking at things another way' and then, perhaps the most beautiful lines of all, in my eyes, 'So if you care to find me look to the western sky! As someone told me lately: "Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"

And if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free to those who'd ground me take a message back from me. Tell them how I am defying gravity. I'm flying high defying gravity and soon I'll match them in renown. And nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was, isever gonna bring me down!'.

Too me all those lines are capable of touching a special place in my heart but the last ones, the lyrics to the last verse of Defying Gravity, are more special to me than anything as they serve as a reminder to say that you shouldn't let anyone, no matter how important, stop you from achieving your dreams, whatever those dreams may be. 

If that wasn't reason enough as to why Wicked should be the Musical of the Year, the show, also, has amazing costumes, brilliant special effects, the right balance between humour and seriousness and, as hinted at, a killer set of songs, to the extent that the first lines of Dancing Through Life gave me the inspiration to my education dissertation; 'The trouble with schools is they always try to teach the wrong lessons. 

So that's why you should make this your number one priority to see in 2014, but why are the current West End cast so brilliant. Well, over time I've seen quite a lot of people in the cast, including the formidable Kerry Ellis and Oliver Tompsett. No one had ever really loved up to Oliver's performance of Fiyero until this last time. The chap (I'll do a full list of names below) was nothing like Oliver but there was just a little something special about his portrayal that really got me liking him. In fact, there was just something special about the whole cast who delivered a truly stunning performance of an already spectacular show; there was just a little something, and I can't quite put my finger on what, that made the show feel extra specially magical. I, also, must mention that the girl who played Elphaba was mesmerising and had the clearest diction and most amazing voice I've heard in a long time. The current cast are just the cherry on top of an already perfect show. 

So that's why Wicked has to be my Musical of the Year. All that's left to say now is I'll see you all in 2014; happy new year everyone. If you ever want a chat either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox, I'd love to hear from you. 

Love you all

Kat

xx

Cast List:

Elphaba - Willemijn Verkalk

Glinda - Savannah Stevenson

Fiyero - Jeremy Taylor

Madame Morrible - Sue Kelvin

The Wizard - Sam Kelly

Nessarose - Katie Rowley Jones

Boq - Sam Lupton

Doctor Dillamond - Paul Clarkson

A New Year

Well, here we are and it's 2014! Its doesn't seem that long ago since I was writing my new years post for 2013 but so much has changed since then as well. I've seen so many shows, with the two main shows of the year having to be Priscilla, which I saw in Manchester, Oxford, Wimbledon, Southampton, Nottingham, Belfast and Hull, and Rocky Horror, which I saw in Grimsby, Cambridge, Manchester, Cardiff and Nottingham (to see my blogs please click the locations). I, also, got the chance to review Spamalot or Last Minute Theatre Tickets, which was an amazing experience. Another well deserved show mention is Wicked, which I have doubled my love for this year as it, particularly, have stood by me and built me back up after the times of trouble. Finally, the new gem of  a show I found this year was Newsies which I hope so much comes to the West End as it is one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen.

As for life in general, well 2013 has not been the best year for me, saying that it's through the times of trouble that we notice the light that is around us in our friend and family; suddenly you realise which are the people who are always there for you and I'm pleased to say there is a lot of people out there for me and I'm truly blessed to know so many. I won't, however, go naming names as I'm more than likely to forget someone and don't want to cause offence but I'm sure all these wonderful people will know who they are. 

And then what of the hope of 2014, well hopefully I'll have a better time and be a lot less accident prone. However, let's look at the most important thing, theatre, well I hope to see Priscilla at least once more in the new year (well I bet you could guess that anyway). I, also, really hope to see Miss Saigon as I've heard the music and very good things about previous productions of this show so cannot wait to see a new production. As well as this, I'm hoping to see The Duck House as it looks like a very funny show that is a little different than my usual musical theatre show (due to the lack of songs). 

So that's all for my sum up of the year, before I go I'll leave you with my best three theatre bloggers. Also, I feel it's necessary to pause for a second to pay a thought for all involved with the accident that happened at The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and hope that everything gets sorted out as quickly as possible.

The Best Three Theatre Bloggers:
Dawn Smallwood: http://dawnsmallwood.blogspot.co.uk
Thoughts of a Blue Eyed Girl: http://thoughtsofablueeyedgirl.blogspot.co.uk
Ignited by a Dream: http://ignitedbyadream.wordpress.com

Hope you all have a good year and remember to defy gravity, be a little bit naughty and remember to seize the day! It would be lovely to hear from you, please contact me either by commenting below or tweeting me on @GreenGirlsRox.

Love you lots

Kat

xx