So I have to take it all back to TV pop stars. Last night I went to The New Wimbledon Theatre to see the touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar. PY bought tickets for my birthday. I had heard the soundtrack as a child but never seen the musical until I was in Norway a couple of years ago when I saw it in Norwegian – which of course made little sense to me but was an amazing staging in an outdoor setting. This one was, thankfully, in English. Fame Academy star James Fox was Judas, and he put in a superb performance. He was very impressive, with a much more powerful voice than I thought he had the last time I saw him perform his own material.
Glenn Carter was excellent as Jesus (although it seems to have been a role he has played many times), and the rest of the cast were also very good. The only thing I found a little odd was Herod’s Song, which was unnecessarily campy, but overall, it was an excellent night out and worth seeing. Last night was the first night, and it was sold out. I hope the rest of the run is like that, as it deserves it.
I went to see Boy George’s Taboo last Friday and have been contemplating the blog entry ever since. I have to say that I thought that it was fabulous and I want to see it again (I even ordered the soundtrack last night!). It’s a fictional account of a lot of real people, but most of the plot must be based on Boy George’s own life story, as I recognised many of the characters and plot lines from his book Take It Like A Man. Obviously, he is a key (though not the central) character. I would thoroughly recommend this to anybody visiting London, regardless of the way you feel about Boy George. It’s a strange time capsule of a musical, and his songs are great – although several of them are old (some of which are taken from the underrated album Cheapness and Beauty, which I regard as one of the best of all time). The story is tender, the performances top-rate, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny (especially Julian Clary). Lastmiunte.com often has cut-price tickets a few days before a show. Go see it. Often.
I thought Taboo was fantastic – and I wasn’t sure what to really expect. I think I had envisaged it as something akin to Closer To Heaven, but it wasn’t really like that at all. I loved the fact that The Venue is quite small and quite intimate, which made you feel closer to the stage (and the audience bits help) and, of course, it brought memories flooding back (although I was watching events in the early ’80s from the safety of the north).
I am a big fan of Boy George’s more recent albums – Cheapness and Beauty is one of my all-time favourites. When I heard some of the songs were being reworked for the show, I was worried. Luckily, few have been re-penned, and those that have been re-done are still as good as they are on the CD (although different). I was stunned by how much the mannerisms of the Boy George character seem to be like the Boy George we see on TV, etc. It was a remarkable performance. Duncan Bennett as Billy was superb (was he really in the band Point Break? I don’t remember him) as well as being some appealing eye candy 😉 It was a thoroughly entertaining night out, and I would recommend it to anybody.
Julian Clary was superb and, of course, looked stunning in those Leigh costumes. I would be interested to see how other people play the part, as he put his own stamp on it without it seeming to be too Julian Clary.
I’ve ordered the CD – the cheapest I could find it was £10.99 at Play247 – although it was on back order, I noticed tonight that they have posted it to me. I’m sure the CD doesn’t do the show justice (they rarely do), but I hope it will be brilliant anyway! Lastminute.com always seems to have discounts on top-price tickets. I bought the cheaper seats directly from the box office and, to be honest, I think my view was as good as anybody with the more expensive ones (the theatre isn’t really large enough for it to make a difference). However, Lastminute’s discount seats are even cheaper, and I shall certainly be going again.
I saw The Full Monty at The Prince of Wales Theatre, London, last night. I have to admit it was much better than I expected. The central story you’d recognise from the film is there, but it’s adapted for the stage and set in Buffalo, New York.
In particular, the introduction of some new characters (the excellent Lynda Baron as Jeanette and the lovely Julian Essex-Spurrier as Keno, a professional male stripper) helps the story along well. The songs were strong, and I shall be looking forward to getting the CD. In my opinion, Ben Richards (Jerry) was excellent as the show’s main character, which is useful, as he seems to carry most of the show. The rest of the cast were great: Paul Keating made Ethan into an amusing character, adding a slapstick dimension to the humour, and David Ganly carried Dave’s insecurities and vulnerabilities well.
Without taking anything away from the show, I would have liked to see it set in the UK, and the main narrative driver (Jerry’s need for money to keep seeing his son) was somewhat unbelievable (even for a West End musical). However, if you fancy an evening in a theatre that is 70% groups of women (although it didn’t seem overly hen-nighty), then I would thoroughly recommend it.
