Sister Act and A New Start

I went to see Sister Act for the second time on Wednesday. My ticket was a present for my 22nd birthday which was on the 22nd of September. I went to the Matinee performance. It took a while to get in the front door of the palladium because I got stuck behind an old lady and her zimmer. It was definitely pensioner Wednesday at the Palladium. In the foyer before entering the auditorium I was surrounded by old people trying to organise other old people so they ended up in the right seats. There can't have been anyone under 55 other than me. There was a group about 20 pensioners from Northampton sat in the row behind me with a beer bellied leader called Verne shouting along the row that one of the women was sitting in the wrong seat. Finally he got them in the right seats but not before the oldie on the end complained about having to get up to let people out. I couldn't wait for the show to start so I didn't have to listen to them. The show was excellent again. I really love it and will probably end up seeing it as many times as i've seen Wicked as long as it is on for a while which I really hope it is. At the interval the Palladium emptied as every pensioner shuffled their way to the loos. Two people sitting 4 seats away from me left at the interval and didn't come back followed by a man with a dodgy wig who was sitting next to them who had a train to catch so he was off not long after. The three people on the end of the row in front had brought their own sandwiches. I can't imagine how long they had been in the bottom of the woman's hand bag and they were only wrapped in kitchen towel. Verne appeared again shouting at the pensioners and asking if they remembered Ian Lavender from Dads Army. One of them apparently fell asleep during the first act I don't know how because it's not a boring show. The second act was delayed because of a technical problem. I wasn't too bothered as my train back to Birmingham wasn't until 7.45pm. At 5pm there was an announcement that the second act would begin in 2 minutes when it didn't the pensioners started again with the complaining. By this point I would have liked to have strangled each and every one of them. The two oldies on the end talked over the beginning of the second act after complaining that it hadn't started when the announcer said it would and then one of their mobile phones rang. Neither of them knew whose mobile phone it was. Finally they settled down to watch the rest of the show and I could enjoy myself. The cast were great again I think each one is perfectly suited to their role and they have brilliant comic timing. I can't wait to see the show again.

I had an interview on the 25th September at Birmingham Hippodrome and I got the job it's only part time but i'm thrilled to be working again 12 months after I left my last job due to redundancy. It's 20 hours a week but the money is good and will pay for multiple trips to the West End and I really can't wait to get some shows booked. It's highly likely that I will book Sister Act again and probably Wicked too when I get my first lot of wages. 12 months without regular trips to London is not nice and i'm happy I can start going more often again. I start on Monday the 5th October and working 4 hours a day until Friday. On Saturday the 10th October i'm going to see Wicked for the 10th time which I really can't wait for.

At the moment i'm really happy. It's hard to be happy when you spend all day at home for 12 months and you can't go out because you don't have any money. Hopefully this is the beginning of something really good.

Second Visit to We Will Rock You & A Busy Few Weeks Coming Up

Today I saw the touring version of We Will Rock You for the second time. This time I saw Sarah French-Ellis in the role of Scaramouche and Brenda Edwards in the role of Killer Queen. Amy Hathaway who I saw as Scaramouche during my first visit was playing the role of Meat in place of Georgina Hagen and Matthew Craig was on for Jonathan Wilkes in the role of Khashoggi.

I thought Sarah French-Ellis was brilliant it's hard to compare her to Amy Hathaway as their voices are vastly different. I'm no expert on voices but Sarahs voice was much deeper than Amys and I enjoyed both of their Scaramouche performances. Amy Hathaway's performance as Meat was very good although I preferred her as Scaramouche. Both Actresses have excellent comic timing and kept the audience very entertained. I think that Amy Hathaway has a very bright future ahead of her although i'm no expert on careers since I still don't have a job myself.

I'm unsure of Brenda Edwards her voice is good but it wasn't great today. This is the eleventh and final week of the shows stay at the Hippodrome, Birmingham and it seems like eight shows a week has taken it's toll. I'm not going to go into great detail about Matthew Craig as Kashoggi although I did think his voice was better than Jonathan Wilkes'. Like last time there was a standing ovation at the end. I do believe that the show has been a triumph in Birmingham and I really would like to see the show in the West End not only to compare between the two versions but also because I genuinely enjoyed every single minute of it.

I have a busy few weeks coming up. I'm going to a hen party on the 16th of September which I am really looking forward to it is at my favourite Greek restaurant and the hen is such a lovely lady I'm sure we will all enjoy ourselves immensely. Following the hen party it is my 22nd birthday on the 22nd of September and I will be going to see Sister Act on September 30th which is a birthday present from my parents. I've also been invited to a fancy dress Halloween party on the 24th of October. I've never been to a fancy dress party before so it will be a new experience but one i'm very much looking forward too. I spend a lot of time wondering what other people think of me so have always refused to look stupid but I plan to have a really good time.

10KM Sponsored Walk in Aid of Birmingham St Mary's Hospice

Just a short blog regarding the Sponsored midnight walk I did back on July 4th. I completed the walk in 2 hours and 5 minutes. I have raised £65 pounds for the charity. Although that doesn't sound like a lot of money it will of course help the hospice. I am unemployed and have relatively few people to ask to sponsor me so £65 is quite good. I walked the course with 6 other women. I am unsure of the total amount raised between the seven of us but I am sure it a fair few hundred pounds.

We Will Rock You Touring

It's been a while since I last blogged. Over a month ago now. I really need to blog more often but being unemployed still, my life is just not that exciting at the moment.

I went to see the touring production of We Will Rock You on July 29th at Birmingham Hippodrome. I haven't seen the show in London as I was unsure whether I would like it so when I heard last year that it was going to tour I was excited to say the least. I really loved the show and have been listening to the soundtrack non stop since seeing it. The storyline is not perfect but I knew that before I saw it and the music more than makes up for it. I'm not a big Queen fan but I enjoyed the music a lot.

There were two understudies for the performance I saw. Amy Hathaway replaced Sarah French-Ellis in the Role of Scaramouche and Ashley Russell replaced Brenda Edwards in the Role of Killer Queen. I thought Amy Hathaways performance was excellent she has a very good voice. I loved her singing Somebody To Love. I have not seen Brenda Edwards in the Role so I do know how good she is compared to Ashley Russell. I enjoyed Ashleys performance as well. The rest of the cast Alex Gaumond, Georgina Hagen etc were really good there voices were phenomenal. I was surprised at how well Kevin Kennedy can sing. His role in the show is relatively small but he was very funny. Jonathan Wilkes also surprised me in regards to his singing voice it was much better than I was expecting.

My favourite songs were I Want To Break Free, Under Pressure, No One But You, Who Wants To Live Forever and of course We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody.

I enjoyed the show so much. You just can't help singing to the songs as they are so well known. I have booked to see it again on September 9th and I hope to see Sarah French-Ellis and Brenda Edwards this time around as I like to compare actors and actresses I have seen in the same role. After the show I had an overwhelming urge to learn the Electric Guitar. Sadly the closest I will get is Guitar Hero.

I also saw the Freddie Mercury statue in Selfridges in Birmingham Bullring. It was a good statue I don't think it was a brilliant likeness to Freddie Mercury but there won't be another Freddie so that's the next best thing.

Since seeing We Will Rock You my top 5 musicals have changed again. Every time I see a show for the first time it changes my top musicals around. My top 5 are currently

1. Wicked

2. Sister Act

3. We Will Rock You

4. Les Miserables

5. Miss Saigon

Anastacia, Heavy Rotation Tour & Wicked

I've had really good week! I went to see Anastacia at Birmingham's NIA on Sunday. She was fantastic her voice gets better and better every time I see her. My favourite is still her concert in the grounds of Warwick Castle in 2005 during the Encore Tour. That concert was amazing. She sung most of my favourite songs including Left Outside Alone, Paid My Dues, Cowboys and Kisses and You'll Be Fine. It was great to see her back after 4 years and although the latest album isn't as good as her previous ones the songs are still really good.

My favourite part of the week was Wicked. I really love that show i've now seen it 9 times and i'm not going to stop seeing it. Only Oliver Tompsett was missing from the cast although his understudy was very good. Alexia and Dianne were perfect as always. Alexia's Defying Gravity was probably the best Defying Gravity i've ever seen or heard she has really grown into the role since I last saw her.

The new cast were also brilliant. I remember Sam Kelly from 'Allo 'Allo I used to watch it with my mom when I was little and I really enjoyed seeing him on stage his Wizard of Oz is very good. Natalie Anderson was also very good I thought however I do prefer Katie Rowley-Jones and Caroline Keiff as their voices are much stronger when singing The Wicked WItch of The East. I can't fault Natalie Andersons singing or acting though.

This Weekend is my 10KM midnight walk. I'm looking forward to it a lot hopefully we will all raise plenty of money for Birmingham St. Marys Hospice. Here is the link to the Hospices web site http://www.bsmh.org.uk/

The weather this week has been unbearable. It was boiling inside the Apollo Victoria on Wednesday and the Underground was even worse. There's no pleasing the British though if it gets too hot we complain and if it's too cold we still complain.

I will Blog again after the walk.

A Busy Fortnight

I'm really busy over the next two weeks. I'm on the compulsory Pertemps Gateway To Work course until 3rd of July. It's really not very exciting and it's at St John The Baptist Community Centre. The place can't have been cleaned or decorated since John The Baptist walked the earth. I'm up at 7.50 to get there on time. I have a lie in on Saturday but on Sunday evening i'm going to see Anastacia at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. On Monday and Tuesday I'm back on the course apparently there is going to be a group talk on Drugs and Alcohol awareness. Like I need to know about that i've never done any drugs, I hardly drink and I don't see how it will help me to get a job.

Next Wednesday is the most exciting day, I will be back in London for Wicked I really can't wait i'm so looking forward to it. I'm back on the course on Thursday and Friday then it's finally over. On Saturday evening (4th July) and into Sunday morning I will be taking part in a sponsored 10KM midnight walk in aid of Birmingham St Mary's Hospice. As it falls on the 4th of July there is an American theme. A member of our party suggested red, white and blue pyjamas. So far I have £58 which isn't great but every little helps. There is still a few more

sponsors to get so the total will be pushed up.

I'm doing it with My aunty and her friends. That's my schedule for the next to weeks. Theres not enough lie ins if you ask me.

West End Live & Sister Act

Yesterday was such a cool day. West End Live in Leicester Square was fantastic I got there about 10:40 but the queue was massive so didn't get in until 11:05. I got in just in time to see Alexia Khadime sing The Wizard and I. It was brilliant her voice gets better every time I see her. I left at about 1:30 because I had to get to the Palladium for Sister Act. My favourites were Wicked, Sister Act and We Will Rock You. We Will Rock You sounded really good I can't wait to see it now on July 29th at Birmingham Hippodrome.

I saw:

Hairspray

Wicked

Sister Act

Dirty Dancing

Chicago

We Will Rock You

Jersey Boys

Priscilla Queen of The Desert

Thriller Live

Oliver

The King and I

My favourites were Wicked, Sister Act and We Will Rock You. We Will Rock You sounded really good I can't wait to see it now on July 29th at Birmingham Hippodrome.

Now onto Sister Act. I loved it it's such a fantastic feel good musical. You can't really compare it properly to the film because it's all brand new music and it's set in the 70s so there's lots of disco music. I thought Patina Miller, Katie Rowley-Jones, Claire Greenway and Julia Sutton were fantastic as Deloris/Sister Mary Clarence, Sister Mary Robert, Sister Mary Patrick and Sister Mary Lazarus, they kept me laughing all the way through the show. My favourite song was "How I Got The Calling" for me it was the funniest part of the show. The entire audience seemed to enjoy themselves immensely and the standing ovation at the end went on for about 10 minutes. I didn't hear a single person say they didn't like the show on the way out. I will definitely go and see the show again I hope it is in London for a very long time. Sister Act has cemented it's place as my number 2 favourite musical after Wicked. That spot was previously held by Les Miserables.

I went to the stage door afterwards I don't always but I had plenty of time before my train home so I did. I got signatures from Ian Lavender, Chris Jarman, Ako Mitchell, Claire Greenway and Julia Sutton.

I got home at about 9:00 I had such a great time immersed in Musical Theatre I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Next up for me is Anastacias Heavy Rotation Tour at the NIA in Birmingham this Sunday and Wicked for the 9th time a week on Wednesday.