Phantastic!

Tay is off on a week long Venture Crew Adventure so I get the house all to myself....or at least the picking of the movie for family night all to myself. Tonight when I was done working I went and laid along the bottom of my parents' bed and we watched TV (something I haven't done in a very very long time). My family has that recording satellite feature and they'd recorded a show especially for me - Phantom of the Opera: Behind the Mask. It was all the background information on my favorite musical - some of which my mom had ingrained in my brain as a kid. Everything from the idea, to the first designers, to how many people they fired in the production process, and finally to the first performance. I loved the clips, pics, and stories that broadened how much I love that musical. It also made seeing all the places I'd visited many times in London even more unbelievable. "I went there" or "I saw that" escaped my lips many many times. (My dad even threatened to change the channel if I didn't stop) :)

LONDON BUDDIES - the theater where Phantom of the Opera is playing now (accross the street from Godot) is where the play was performed for the very first time ever. Neato! Yay for "Her Majesty's Theater." Also, Simon Callow ("Pozzo" in Godot) was interviewed and I had to look at his autograph one more time just to be sure I hadn't dreamed the whole trip up. (He starred in the movie version of Phantom).

London Adventures

Theater Overdose...Almost!

We've seen so many plays here and there are still more to come. Most of which are required and paid for by the program. Outside of the required plays I've only seen five and of course they were Musicals...aren't you surprised?!?! There are some people here who have seen a show EVERY DAY!!! That's insane. I love theater but not that much...I need a break now and then. Anything that doesn't say "not required" is something we had to see for class and the tickets were paid for by the program. "Bonus" productions are ones where the program had extra money left over so they bought us tickets to them. They're great because we don't have to worry about a paper or test on them so we can just sit back and relax.

• Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)
  
• Alphabetical Order (comedy)
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare)
• Time and the Conways (early 1900s)
  
• Lion King (musical) -- not required
• Wuthering Heights (Bollywood)-- not required
  
• Carousel (musical)-- required...I promise
  
• All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare)
• Jersey Boys (musical) -- not required
• Cherry Orchard (drama)
  
• Sunset Boulevard (musical) -- not required
• Waiting for Godot (tragicomedy)
  
• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) -- Bonus
• Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare)
• Winter's Tale (Shakespeare)
  
• As You Like It (Shakespeare)
• Peter Pan -- Bonus
  
• Mamma Mia (musical) --not required

Waiting for Godot....More Like Sir Ian McKellen

Tonight we saw the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot starring Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen. The play is an absurdist play with no plot....literally. After the play we went to the stage door to get autographs - the first time I've ever done so...Disney characters don't count. We waited for about a half an hour and I was right up front. When the door man came out, he gave us certain criteria for when they come out:

1. They have their own pens
2. Don't shove
3. They will only sign things having to do with Waiting for Godot...no contracts, lawsuits, prenups, etc
   
4. Don't talk to Partick about the score of the World Cup Finals

So we waited and out they came. I not only got Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart's autographs, but Simon Callow who plays the Theater owner in Phantom of the Opera. It's odd how people treat celebrities like objects. As soon as they had the autograph, everyone dispersed immediately as if they'd never come.

Jersey Boys

"A definite must-see!!" That's what they said and it really was. Dayton and I went and saw the musical about Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - a 60s boy band. Everything about it was fantastic! As soon as the curtain went up (even though there was no curtain TO go up) I had the biggest grin and couldn't stop smiling the entire show. Singing along...well mouthing along was equally fun because every other audience member was doing it too. The audience was full of people who had grown up listening to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons so we really had the essence of fun in the air. The singing and acting was phenomenal and the Jersey accents were flawless. We left singing and humming every song and it only continued when we got home. By far, my favorite show we've seen...so far! It's great to have a student discount to get into this kind of thing really really cheap ($25) yet sit in the more expensive sections - we had 4th row balcony. To top it off, before the show we found a little diner and had some amazing food.

Wuthering Heights...Bollywood Style

Tonight I saw an interesting theatrical performance of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. The only real difference is that this version was BOLLYWOOD. Okay so that's a BIG difference and it was quite an experiment. The ending was tweaked and a couple key parts of the story left out, but the bulk of it was true to the book. The play was lively, colorful, and musical. Every so often, the characters would break out into song and dance. The costumes were phenomenal and the set was quite amazing. I can't say that I'd go see it again, but it was definitely worth the cheap tickets we found. Not having read the book beforehand, I went in with an open mind and a smile and came out with jiggling shoulders and interesting hand gestures. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'm glad I went (once). Amundsen was the one who I went with and she made the event even more entertaining. Her laughter was infectious and her insight fantastic. When leaving the theater she found the script and purchased it. Now she can relive the excitement anytime she wants. I, on the otherhand, left only with memories and a song stuck in my head.

Archuleta in London - for Ruthie Baby

One of the girls in the program sat in front to David Archuleta at church on Sunday. She didn't realize it until the testimonies when she turned around to listen to someone. SURPRISE!!