Mamma Mia - The Review

Just come back from Mamma Mia - the movie not the stage show.  

It was stupid, camp, with ropey singing - really Pierce Brosnan can sing nane and Colin Firth isnae much better.  I loved it.  Loved it.  Loved it.  The campness was delicious, the action was fantastically fun, the scenery was gorgeous (I have to go to Greece!), the acting was much better than the singing and it was just fantastic.

The dodgy singing is totally forgivable as its all done with great humour.  You should go see it.  As soon as possible.

Desperately Seeking Susan to Close

There are some things that you can see coming a mile off.

When will theatre producers realise we want to see either new and original musicals like Avenue Q or the classics, not just rehashed nonsense based on films/pop music. I blame Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, their success has led every faded pop star to believe that the audiences want to hear their songs in a "new" way. We don't - now bugger off and leave us singing about Porn.

Les Mis - In Lego

Absolutely brilliant

The Rainbow Tour Continues...

So Blair is spending his last 6 weeks touring the world being glamorous and saying cheerio to all his pals. I've always thought he was Evita-like in his pronouncements.

Better not meet any Italian former Admirals...

Any Dream Will Do

I'm already loving Any Dream Will Do the follow-up to last year's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. And narked that poor Johndeep got booted out on Saturday - I'd liked him.

My favourite is the fabulously twinkly-eyed Lee. I really do want him to win. No-one else is really standing out for me so far, although Lewis was great on Saturday.

But has anyone else noticed that the boys are much cry-ier than the girls were last year? Fabulous. And musical theatre has never seen quite so many "girlfriends" in the one room. Mmm-hmm.....

Sound of Music Review

One of the big events over Christmas and New Year (other than our very first time organising a family Christmas in our own wee home) was taking both sets of parents to see The Sound of Music at the London Palladium.

I was addicted to How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria and when Connie won we booked tickets pretty much before Graham Norton finished the show. My mum and dad were (are) huge Connie fans, even to the point that my dad voted. This was a Big Thing!

It was a fantastic night. Connie was fantastic as Maria, from the opening scene where she sings the big number right to the very end where the von Trapp family sing on the mountains she really shines. Her voice is really sweet and she is totally convincing as the will-o-the-wisp, and quite adorable when she realises she loves the Captain and has to run away.

Alexander Hanson is a handsome leading man who is strong enough to really sell his part, but has the nouse to know that really we only care about Maria.

The von Trapp children are great and the night we went the little girl playing in Gretl is just sooooo sweet.

I was also totally bowled over by Lesley Garrett as the Mother Superior, although Darren did think that she over-sold "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".

The set is fabulous, perhaps the best I have seen (excluding the Les Miserables one) and everything just came together beautifully.

If you can - get to London and see it. It's worth every penny.