After seeing my last show in London Thursday night, show number 18, I wanted to give my recommendations and praise to a few of my favorites that I have been so lucky to see while living here. I could rant about these for days but I'll try to keep them short. Choosing favorites is impossible for me, but I'm going to try to stick with a top 7. We'll see.
1. Everybody's Talking About Jamie
The first show I saw here outside of my theatre class and it has stayed my number one the whole time - About a high school boy who dreams of being a drag queen and only wants to be accepted by his friends and family. The night we went we ended up having the understudy playing Jamie which we were not aware of until after the show. We have had an understudy in almost every show we saw here and Luke Bayer has by far been THE BEST understudy I have seen. I love the story, I love what it stands for, it was just such a fun show that also hit the heart strings - I told everyone I knew here to see it. It took everything in me not to go and see it again. Did I contemplate waiting outside the stage door on a random night to tell Luke Bayer how great he is in person? yes, yes I did. But I controlled my crazy. I truly hope this show makes it to Broadway some day so more of the world can see it - but I don't know how it could be as good without Luke.
2. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
I wasn't initially planning on seeing this because it was Hamilton level expensive - but then I read the script for my final paper in my theatre class and after that I had to see it and holy crap. 5 hours I sat there with my jaw on the floor trying to figure out how they did all of that magic stuff on stage. I won't spoil anything because I have to 'Keep the Secrets' but it is insane. How J.K. Rowling took one small detail from the other Harry Potter books and created a whole new story is incredible in itself. But the whole production was done so brilliantly and smooth I was in shock. I knew it would be good - but that was SO GOOD. I got to a point where it felt like I was watching a movie and they would do something magical and it would take me a full 5 seconds to realize that whatever they just did should not be possible to do on stage - that's how real they made it all seem. Definitely go see it if you get the chance either in London or New York.
3. The Jungle
The last show we saw for my theatre class was by far the most powerful piece of theatre I have seen in my life. The Jungle tells the story of the refugee camp in France. Three of the actors actually lived in the camp and continue to tell their story through this production. They transformed the theatre to look like an afghan cafe by taking all the stalls seats out, the floor was dirt, old TVs playing real news footage of the events, sheets, and paper on the walls with a kitchen and snack area, and everyone sitting on the floor (where we sat) sat on benches and tables as if at the cafe and the actors performed on around the tables. The detail and raw emotion put into this production made it one of the hardest pieces of theatre to watch - one scene I will always remember is when a young kid was standing on the table in front of me with blood all down his body, his feet, and scars on his back. Sitting during intermission we were speechless - it felt so real, was so eye opening, no one knew what to say. I'm so glad this show is coming to the US because it is a show that is so relevant to what is happening today in many countries and everyone should see it.
4. Matilda
Musical number one of the semester - also one I would love to see again. How kids that young can be so good at that amount of dancing and singing is incredible to me. I loved Matilda the movie, but after seeing the stage performance there is no going back. It's just one of those fun, colorful and energetic shows that makes everyone feel like a kid again. If you're not convinced, just go to see the school song - that is the best part.
5. Company
I contemplated seeing Company for like 6 weeks, and finally decided to just go during the last week. A new version of Company where all the characters are gender swapped - which I did not know going into it. However, I did already know some of the songs..so I guess I partially knew it already existed. Not your usual musical, but it was very funny and I liked how the gender roles were swapped - I don't think I would enjoy it as much the original way. Is that bad to say? It really showed how great women are on stage and giving a fantastic, emotional and relatable portrayal of a situation. Also Patti Lupone was in it and she signed my program so what can beat that.
6. Lion King
I've wanted to see Lion King for a while now, but it is so expensive in the US - I paid $25 to see it in London. By far the most visually awe-inspiring and jaw dropping stage and costumes I have ever seen. Of course I knew what the costumes were like, but wow. How they used people on stage to create the scenery and the use of props and body movement to portray and human-animal relation was jaw dropping. The tubes and busses were down that night which led to us sprinting through every single christmas tourist area in London for 30 minutes to get there in time...but it was worth it.
7. Phantom of the Opera
Not going to lie I was very hesitant to see Phantom on stage because I know and love the movie so much and nothing beats Gerard Butler. But I was pleasantly surprised. The staging was super cool - especially the scene where the phantom takes Christine down to his 'dungeons' and the candles came up from under the stage. It was vocally incredible as well - still doesn't quite beat the movie but it still gave me goosebumps. And the costumes during Masquerade....holy crap.
Honorable Mentions
- Caterpillar
- Winter's Tale
- I'm Not Running
- Sketching
- 42nd Street -- TAP DANCING. SPARKLES.
- Comedy about a bank robbery
- Kinky Boots -- SUCH A LIGHT HEARTED AND FUN SHOW
- Aladdin -- um how do they do the magic carpet...?
- Les Miserable
- Book of Mormon -- this would be in the list but I figured since it was my 3rd time seeing it I should let another show sit in the spotlight for a bit.
- Chicago
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