Tooby Ooby Walla

Full frontal nudity. I can’t believe I just said that…….Full frontal nudity. Oops I did it again! Well this column is not usually somewhere you find that sort of thing and no, don’t worry, you are safe to scroll down to the photo – no nudity there. In all honesty just as such a thing is rare here it is also rare on the musical stage – but with some notable exceptions….

2008 sees the fortieth anniversary of, that most celebrated of exceptions, “Hair”. Despite having originated Off-Broadway the previous year it was in 1968 that this ground breaking musical debuted on the Great White Way, and indeed in London. Every now and then a show comes along that has a seismic effect on theatre and this trailblazing “tribal love rock” musical seemed to rock the genre to it’s foundations. Long on passion, yet short on plot, “Hair” is a snap shot of a post second world war generation that was striving for change and rebelling against the relatively young Vietnam War. The sixties had seen a sexual revolution happening as well as hard drugs becoming more common place – not to mention the civil rights movement. All of these elements were part of this era defining show and all of them were embraced in one of the most joyful and infectious pop rock scores to hit the boards. And it was practically the first!

As I have said the show is pretty short on story and the only real plot thread is the dilemma of Claude - whether he should be drafted or refuse to fight along with his friends – but with such a great bunch of songs who needs plot?
The show begins with the wonderful “Aquarius”. After all, the late sixties were indeed the dawning of the age of the Aquarius if astrology is to be believed. Also a year later was the dawning of me, an Aquarian, so the song has always been a favourite of mine.
Right at the start of the show we are confronted with a whole list of sexual taboo’s in musical form with the list song “Sodomy”, and only minutes later we get a celebration drug culture with “Hashish”.
Race was brought to the fore with songs such as “Coloured Spade” and “I’m Black” - and delightfully later in the show with “Black Boys/White Boys” where three white girls espouse the attractions of black men followed by a Supremes-like trio who eschew the “chocolate flavoured treats” in favour of “a pretty juicy white boy”. Of course these days political correctness would probably prevent such lyrics, but back in 1968 they were presented in an innocent way, and also one which celebrated our differences.
“Ain’t Got No” and “I Got Life” continue to be popular thanks to Nina Simone’s ever played version, and “Frank Mills” had a new lease of life back in the nineties when The Lemonheads recorded a version of it. “Frank Mills” is a whimsical little love story that contains the memorable lyric “ I love him, but it embarrasses me to walk down the street with him”. Bizarelly touching!
The wonderful protest/heartbreak song “Easy To Be Hard” is another highlight along with the uplifting “Good Morning Starshine” and the sombre “Flesh Failures” which merges into the effervescent “Let The Sunshine In” when the cast tends to invite the audience to take to the stage.

So bookwriter/lyricists Jerome Rado and Gerome Ragni, along with composer Galt MacDermot conjured up one of theatres biggest hits ever.
It ran for 1750 performances on Broadway where stars such as Diane Keaton, Ben Vereen and Keith Carradine were amongst it’s many casts.
Legend has it that the London run, at the Shaftesbury only closed after 1997 performances because the theatre roof fell down. Many of the London cast went on to become big names in the arts, Paul Nicholas, Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry and Elaine Paige all went on to create iconic roles in other musicals during their careers.
Further afield, the German production saw future disco diva Donna Summer in it’s cast.

So yes, all of the above participated in the full frontal nudity if you are wondering. As stage nudity goes, it has to be said that, “Hair’s” is particularly innocent with them merely entering the stage singing of beads, flowers, freedom and happiness. However it still courted controversy for this scene in it’s day.

There is an adage that great musicals don’t just get written but they get re-written and “Hair” was no exception as it’s journey continued new songs were added and changes were made. Therefore, it was a little odd that when it was revived at the Old Vic in 1993 starring, the now ubiquitous, John Barrowman it was rather too faithful to the original. The revival failed to capture the public imagination, where despite the energetic performances it was felt that the cast didn’t really get what made the characters tick.

Of course most of us know “Hair” best because of Milos Forman’s movie version of 1979. Some of the songs were ejected, and a more structured plot was introduced along with making some of it’s character’s barely recognisable by really only sharing the stage characters name and nothing else. For instance, as played by Beverly D’Angelo, Sheila Franklin was no longer a radical peace protestor and was instead a high society debutante.
The famous nude scene is not even featured – the nearest we get are some buttocks bared during a skinny dipping sequence.
The movie is not without it’s highlights though and has much to enjoy.
Twyla Tharp’s choreography is stunning. Seeing horses “dance” on their hind legs in Central Park as Ren Woods sings, for my money, the best ever version of “Aquarius” is just one stunning moment. Quite how she choreographed horses is beyond me but the human beings get ample time to shine too as her creativity is unleashed through the films two hours.
Another highlight of the movie is Cheryl Barnes. It is said that Cheryl was working as a maid when she accompanied a friend to an audition. Of course Cheryl got the part and gets to sing a devastating “Easy To Be Hard” in New York’s Washington Square. It’s this location and Central Park where the majority of the action takes place and this is why the latest revival of the show is of particular interest.

Yes, forty years after it first appeared in New York, and almost thirty after it was filmed in Central Park, “Hair” has returned – and this time to the park itself. Much like Regent’s Park in London, New York has long had an open air theatre – the “Delacorte” - and what better place for a revival of this show.
This concert version opened in July and runs until 7th September so if you are heading to NY then you can still see it. The good news is that it’s totally free! I will leave it to you to discover how to get the tickets. After all if you are going to NY then I am already jealous! I am so not going to make it easy for you!!!!

Recommendations
See the movie! Very cheap on DVD.
I have heard several recordings of “Hair” and they all have their merits. The movie soundtrack has the great versions of “Aquarius” and “Easy To Be Hard” I mentioned.
If you caught Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” you might like her version of the latter song which is on the 2005 Actors Fund of America benefit recording, along with many of the current crop of Broadways leading performers – including Liz Callaway’s lovely “Good morning Starshine”.
Everyone from Elaine Paige and Sarah Brightman to the Lemonheads have recorded songs from “Hair” and many are worth a listen, however I recommend going camp! Camp? Well, if you get Shirley Bassey’s “Something” album from 1970 you not only get her stunning version of “Easy To Be Hard” but you get Shirley at her most psychedelic as she performs many songs from the late sixties in her own spectacular fashion! Go Shirley!

So You Want To Be A Nun?

So what is it with all the Nazi’s? I worked for years in the West End without a Nazi in sight but in the last few years they seem to be everywhere. It’s ironic really. There were less than a handful of musicals which included them amongst their characters, and now not only have most of them been produced, but more have been created.

First we had the comedy Nazi’s of “The Producers” and from then on it appeared that London’s theatrical producers well and truly jumped on the bandwagon. “Cabaret” with it’s take on pre-war Berlin has only just recently closed in fact. That show even managed to follow me to Paris where I saw it at the Folies Bergere - albeit in a different production. Of course Nazi’s (and nuns) are much in evidence at the Palladium currently where “The Sound Of Music” has been in residence since late 2006. It is also rumoured that some of the actors on stage as Nazi’s also appear as nuns at different points of the show! The less said about that the better!

Now of course we have two new musicals featuring Nazi’s. Over at the Theatre Royal Haymarket we have Ruthie Henshall singing Michel LeGrand in “Marguerite”. This show also presents us with a quirky piece of casting. Yes, erstwhile Captain Von Trapp, Alexander Hanson - who spent a whole year standing up to the Third Reich, appears to have gone over to the other side and become a Nazi general. Now it goes without saying that he is an actor and obviously only playing a role, but what wonderfully contrasting roles they are.

I am reliably informed that, until recently, there were only four musicals with these elements in the cast. “Cabaret”, “The Producers”, “The Sound of Music” and one so obscure that even I haven’t heard of it. You can’t blame me for being a little bewildered that they (the ones I HAVE heard of) have all been in town within the same period. I seriously suspect that, given the subject matter of “Imagine This” the West End is to have a few more Nazi character’s treading it’s boards before this year is out.

I suppose that this proliferation of show’s does give us pause for thought to remember some of the greatest atrocities the modern world has ever known. We should remember, so that’s no bad thing, but I can’t help feeling that in the world today we need more uplifting show’s. Something that gives us a reason to smile. You get the idea. “The Sound of Music” delivers this in abundance of course and I feel that a large part of this is down to our chorus of nuns. You really can’t beat a comedy nun. They really aren’t comedy nuns, in this instance, but working in a theatre we do see some funny things on occasion. It was shortly after the show opened that I popped next door into the theatre only to become trapped within a group of giggling nuns clutching glasses of what I could only assume was gin. My assumption was erroneous as you may realise. The afore-mentioned sisters of theatrical indulgence had merely left the auditorium (via the front of house) after their opening number and were clutching their glass votive candle holders. I would prefer to believe it was gin but alas that’s just my warped mind!

The unintentional comedy this moment provided me did make a good case for nuns treading the boards. I am sure there are many musicals already featuring them but am at a loss to name many of them, although I do feel the time is right for the sisters to do it for themselves and shine in the footlights. I strongly suspect that, legendary flop, “Bernadette” had it’s fair share of nun’s and I believe that they feature in Maury Yeston’s “Nine” shortly to become a movie featuring Daniel Day Lewis. Mr Day Lewis’s great versatility aside he will NOT be playing a nun!

Back in the eighties the Fortune Theatre saw one of the sisterhood’s finest moments with “Nunsense”. It really was one of the oddest show’s I have ever seen. The plot was basically that the nun’s needed to raise a large sum of money at short notice so were putting on a show. Bizarrely this was because most of the order had been the fatal victims of the cook’s tainted vichyssoise. Luckily for the remaining nuns they had been out playing bingo so hadn’t shared in that particular last supper. Now luckily (by selling greetings cards) they had managed to raise enough money for the majority of the sisters to be buried. However the Reverend Mother had squandered some of the capital on a VCR, and four nuns remained unburied. In the deep freeze no less! It’s no surprise therefore that it’s a really odd show. One of the songs was even called “We’ve Got To Clean Out The Freezer” – and one (rather forgetful) nun had the wonderful name of Sister Mary Amnesia! You couldn’t make it up could you? It really was the strangest, yet hysterical, show and in the US many sequels have followed. But twenty years have passed since “Nunsense” played the West End and what the world needs now is nuns sweet nuns – or at least a new Nun musical. Needless to say, I am not without ideas…..

First off the block is “The Singing Nun”. Back in the early sixties a real live singing nun from (I believe) Belgium had a hit in the pop charts called “Dominique” and it even ended up inspiring a movie starring Debbie Reynolds.

Possibly a better bet, which could perhaps include some breath taking special effects, would be a stage version of Sally Field’s 1968-1969 sit com “The Flying Nun”. It failed to strike gold as a TV show, but if flying monkeys can keep audiences in thrall at “Wicked” then why not a flying nun. The possibilities are endless.

Then of course there is art Sister Wendy Beckett. I am not sure of how this sister turned art critic could be immortalized on the West End stage but it certainly makes for an interesting idea. Even better, why not have a show featuring three all singing, all dancing, nuns? “Once upon a time there were three little girls from the convent, one liked to strum her guitar and sing, one had a taste for the impressionists, and one thought she could fly – well I took them away from that. My name’s……….god?”

Yes I am being quite ridiculous but am not incorrect in suspecting that, following on from all the shows featuring Nazi’s, the day of the nun may be fast upon us. Yes, one of the big rumours at the moment is that “Sister Act” is heading towards the stage. So give it a year or so and we could all be makin’ whoopee with the best of them…..


p.s.Thanks to Anna Keighley for services to nun googling!

No Me Diga

It’s always interesting to keep an eye and ear pointed towards Broadway to see just what is going on there, and to ponder what shows may make their way to the other side of “the pond”. Of course there are those amongst us that make regular forays to the big apple and see all of the new shows at first hand. I am not one of those people. Boo Hoo. However it’s well known that I am a CD addict so I do manage to discover some of these shows via their recordings. Obviously you can only get an idea of a show through the cast album but, let’s face it, the songs are pretty important when it comes to a musical.
I had high hopes of one of the current crop of Broadway Musicals. With a book by Harvey Fierstein and John Doyle as it’s director “A Catered Affair” is of immediate interest. Add to the equation song writer John Bucchino and I couldn’t wait to hear it. The show marks Bucchino’s first time on Broadway but he has long been a favourite of both musical theatre and cabaret performers in the states. His songs have been recorded by Barbara Cook, Maureen McGovern, Liza Minnelli. and Patti Lupone amongst many others and are always intelligent and witty songs. High hopes indeed.
The show has fifteen songs and three reprises, Sadly despite starry performances from Fierstein himself, Faith Prince and ex “Duke” Tom Wopat, the first ten songs barely improve on “dreary”. It’s a simple story about a couple who want a quick small wedding until their parents decide otherwise and take over. Even having listened to it a good few times these first ten songs fail to command my attention. In fact I am more inclined to give up on them and fast forward. Happily it all changes with the eleventh track, “One White Dress” where Janey (Leslie Kritzer) admits that she was never one of those “silly little girls” who had dreamed of a big wedding and all the attendant pomp and circumstance. Trying on the white dress, of the songs title, turns her head however and she becomes smitten with the idea of a white wedding and all that it entails. It’s a truly lovely song but this part of proceedings is a little late for a first good song! As the show draws to its finale we do get at least three more songs (and the three brief reprises) that have something going for them. Tom Wopat gives a moving performance of “I Stayed” where after stating that everything is “always my fault” strikes back and extols his own virtues! Janey and fiancé Ralph (Matt Cavenaugh) get a sweet ballad called “Don’t Ever Stop Saying I Love You”, and the poignant “Coney Island” between brother and sister, Fierstein and Prince, more or less brings proceedings to a close.
The future for “A Catered Affair” doesn’t seem to bright and it’s easy to understand given some of the failings of the shows old fashioned score. John Bucchino’s work will always be of interest though and something tells me that “One White Dress” is a song that will be used in many a concert engagement or cabaret in coming years.
For the latest Tony Award winning best musical “In The Heights” it goes without saying that the future is much brighter. It’s simple story is of the everyday lives of a group of Latin Americans in New York’s Washington Heights. At it’s heart the show is about dreams and , ironically for a city that many dream of going to, it’s of a desire to escape to somewhere else. The brainchild of Lin-Manuela Miranda who not only wrote the music and lyrics but also stars as Usnavi – who runs a Bodega which is a kind of coffee stand/paper stall, the album is catchy and engaging from the opening bars of it’s opening and title track.
From the very beginning the score evokes a hot day in the city. If I had to imagine the music of an urban summer then most of these sounds would feature in this show. Somehow it combines a current Broadway sound which conjures everything from Jason Robert Brown and “Rent” to “Annie”, with street music and latin sounds. Many of the songs feature a main melody with counter melodies sung in Spanish which are amazingly evocative of it’s setting. Somehow current trends such as hip-hop, r & b, and rap are alongside almost every type of Latin groove that you can imagine. Samba, Tango, Salsa – it’s all there. There really are some great songs. My particular favourite would have to be “Breathe” when Nina comes home from college revealing what a struggle it was. “Inutil” provides her father, Kevin with an opportunity to sing of what it means to be a father and “96,000” sums up the dreams of the entire neighbourhood as they hope to win the lottery- having heard that Usnavi sold the winning ticket. From the dramatic “Enough” to the energetic “Carnaval Del Barrio” and the touching “Sunrise” Miranda’s score is one that really get’s under your skin. Of course having talents like Andrea Burns, Mandy Gonzales and Priscilla Lopez (the original Morales in “A Chorus Line” ) on board it’s hard not to succeed.
I am not sure if “In The Heights” is a show that would work in London as it seems to be so very New York, but if you aren’t planning to go to NY any time soon it’s definitely worth following my example and logging on to order yourself a copy of this fantastic double album. Just find yourself doing a salsa!!!! You never can tell….

Well Well - Do tell!

Ten or so years ago the country, well most of the western world, was in shock. The dreaded event had happened. Yes, Take That had split up! This was by no means the first time that the world was “shaken” by events in the pop industry however. For that we have to look back around fifty years ago to the seismic shock that was felt at the news that Elvis Presley was going to do his national service! As you can imagine everyone was all shook up by this turn of events!

These days the rock and roll era is often featured in stage musicals – we only have to look at current west end hits “Grease” and “Hairspray” to realise that. Back in the late fifties though this was far from the case and it was the afore-mentioned seismic event that was to inspire one of the first musicals to feature “rock and roll”. As early as 1957 producer Ed Padula felt that it was time for rock and roll and indeed “the teenager” to take to the Broadway stage and he signed up composer Charles Strouse (“Annie”) and his collaborator Lee Adams. The writers had only ever written for a handful of revues and were certainly not familiar with writing rock songs but in the course of their “research” Strouse actually managed to write a bona fide pop hit with “Born To Late” for girl group The Poni-Tails in 1958. With the legendary Gower Champion coming on board for his directing debut along with Michael Stewart as book writer by 1960 work on the musical was complete and “Bye Bye Birdie” opened at the Martin Beck Theater for a successful run of over 600 performances.

The show tells the story of Albert Peterson the debt ridden manager of rock’n’roll star Conrad Birdie. Albert’s fiancé, and secretary, Rosie is determined that Albert give up showbiz and become “An English Teacher” so hatches a plan for Conrad to have “One Last Kiss” with a girl, chosen at random, before he joins the army. All being well this will make Albert enough money to pay off his debts. The lucky girl is Kim McAfee so Albert, Rosie and Conrad – with Albert’s cantankerous mother Mae not far behind, head off to Sweet Apple, Ohio - Kim’s hometown - to put their plan into action. From the moment the show begins we know that we are going to get a happy ending but that doesn’t mean to say that there won’t be a few problems before that happens and believe it or not this is more or less all that happens in this slight yet delightful story.

With a mix of (then) contemporary Broadway type songs alongside a handful of tunes with a real rock and roll spin the score of “Bye Bye Birdie” is a joy from start to finish. Ed Padula’s idea of putting teenagers on the Broadway stage happens almost at the beginning, when the “Sweet Apple Teens” take over the stage in the classic gossipy “The Telephone Hour”. The infectious “Put On A Happy Face” is possibly the shows best known song but there are many others such as “One Boy”, “Rosie”, “One Last Kiss” and “How Lovely To Be A Woman”” which continue to have a life beyond the show and, if nothing else, put a big smile on your face. Amongst this cavalcade of catchy tunes I think my own favourite has to be the raucous “Lot Of Livin’ To Do” sung by Conrad and Kim.

As well as becoming a big hit it was “Bye Bye Birdie” that made a star of two of the biggest names in musicals. Chita Rivera had made her mark previously in “West Side Story” where she played the supporting role of Anita to great acclaim, but it was playing Rosie that made her a star. When the show came to London (Her Majesty’s ) Rivera made the trip across the Atlantic with it and of course since then she has become one of Broadways biggest names and has come over to London several times. The big discovery of the show was, without a doubt, Dick Van Dyke. It wasn’t long before he was starring on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” on TV and movie roles were not far behind. Dick returned to the role of Albert Petersen for the movie version (Opposite Janet Leigh as Rosie) which starred Ann-Margret as, a more prominent, Kim. Then “Mary Poppins” happened and the rest is history.

“Bye Bye Birdie” was a big hit in it’s day, and despite it rarely being produced on these shores, remains one of the worlds most performed musicals. With it’s American high school setting and young, largely female, cast it’s the ideal show for regional and school productions in the States. It’s for this reason that in 1995 ABCTV decided that they would make a new television version of the show with Jason Alexander (of “Seinfeld”) starring opposite soul diva Vanessa Williams (who having taken over from Rivera in “The Kiss Of The Spider Woman” seemed quite a good choice) as Albert and Rosie. This new version stayed closer to the stage show than the previous film (which had Albert becoming a chemist who invents speed) although it did introduce a few new songs. Williams was given the lovely “Let’s Settle Down” and as Tyne Daly (“Cagney And Lacey”) was cast as Alberts mother it was only right that she get her own song too with “A Mother Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. With a supporting cast drawn from televison (“Cheers” George Wendt), Pop (Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips) and broadway (Sally Mayes and Marc Kudisch) it’s this energetic and entertaining version that I am most familiar with and it’s definitely a lot of fun.

“Bye Bye Birdie” may well be the product of a more innocent age, but if you enjoyed “Hairspray” it may well be worth seeking out this 1960 show and joining in a chorus of “I love you Conrad, oh yes I do” , as you wait for him to have that “One Last Kiss”

recommendations.
At least four versions have been recorded with the original Broadway Cast Recording being easily available. It is definitely worth a listen to hear an early Chita Rivera showing the star quality that has made her a Broadway legend, and indeed the London cast recording also starring Chita is available too. I would miss out the original soundtrack as it’s not great and the film itself isn’t particularly inspiring. The 1995 TV movie is available quite cheaply through Amazon and (although it does wane a little at the end) is a lovely way to spend an afternoon, I believe that particular soundtrack has been deleted but if you can get it then do, as it’s fantastic!

Really Useful People - Adam Ellis

So what is “Really Useful People” all about? Simply put, it’s a new feature where we get to find out about people connected to Really Useful and/or the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Our first subject is performer Adam Ellis. Adam graduated from Laine Theatre Arts in 2003 and has been in “Barnum”, “Do I Hear A Waltz” and “The Pirates Of Penzance” over the last few years. Most notably Adam has appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Starlight Express” both in Germany and on the UK tour where he holds the distinction of being the last person to perform the lead role of “Rusty”.

To begin I asked Adam if he could remember the first musical he ever saw, and if this influenced him in pursuing a career in theatre?
Yep, it was Tommy on tour, can’t remember much about it to be honest, but the first west end musical I saw was Miss Saigon at Drury Lane and watching this definitely was the decider that I wanted to be an actor. Just a great cast, beautiful story and Music.

Are there any other shows that had an influence?
When I was auditioning for Colleges here in London I watched Starlight Express and I honestly remember thinking playing Rusty would be my dream part.

What do you recall of the first role you ever played? (And school plays count!)
Well my stage debut was as the all singing all dancing Donkey in a school production of Meredith the Camel!!!!! I received great critical acclaim for that. Professionally my first job was Tom Thumb in Barnum. I left College a few weeks early to start rehearsals, it was all very exciting and new and just remember thinking “I’m actually doing this now as a living” Great Job but it didn’t make me want to join the circus.

In the world of theatre who has inspired you ?
Performers would have to include Peter Joback, Daniel Evans, Jenna Russel, Ruthie Henshall, Idena Menzel, Joanna Riding, Bernadette Peters, Adam Pascal, but there are so many other great performers I’ve seen who have truly moved me and made me realise why I love this profession.

If you could play any role in any Andrew Lloyd Webber musical which one would you choose?
Well getting the chance to play Rusty in Starlight Express was a dream role for me and one I’d always wanted to play.

Who would you like as your co-star and why?
I loved working with Jane Horn who played Pearl with me, we had such a great time and she is so talented. I’d love to work with Bernadette Peters in something, maybe she could play my mum.

You have performed as “Rusty” in “Starlight Express” many times, what did you enjoy most about the experience?
My Rusty Journey started as an understudy, I did get on quite a lot but actually getting asked to be Rusty in the Final UK cast was amazing. Singing “Starlight Express” every night was amazing and the last night was really emotional.

What were the major differences between playing “Starlight Express” in Germany and the UK?
I never played Rusty in Germany but being involved in the German production is far more about the spectacle, it’s HUGE!! It was really daunting when I first got there having never skated, and it was also very strange singing in German. The UK tour for me was far more about telling the story of the show and introducing the characters in it. However the audiences seemed to love the 3D goggles and races and I honestly didn’t miss racing one little bit, The show is hard enough anyway.

If someone was going to see “Starlight Express” in Bochum where should they go to eat?
Well there is a street there called Kortum St which is a long pedestrian street full of Café’s and restaurants. My faves (if they are still there - because I was there in 2005) were Salsilitos, and The Living Room.

What show tune most sums you up?
“Why Should I Wake Up?” from” Cabaret”, it’s good to dream.

Outside the world of theatre who inspires you and why?
Cliché, but true, my parents. They have been so supportive of everything I’ve done.

If you weren’t a performer What do you think you would be?
A door to door salesman.

What makes you really happy and why?
Sunshine, being with my mates on holiday, and a bottle of Corona. Sometimes being in this business we get so wrapped up in what’s coming next we forget to enjoy what we are doing now.

What makes you really angry and why?
People walking slowly in London taking up the entire pavement drives me mad. Mad I tell you!!!

Shoes or Skates?
Shoes are more practical but skates are much quicker!

Spring or Autumn?
Spring every time because Summer is on the way

Summer or Scarlet?
Haha, of the Strallen Variety?? Scarlet is great but Summer is a really great friend of mine so of course I’d pick her, and she’s a great Maria in Sound of Music!

Where do you see yourself in ten years time?
Hollywood as an A list Actor. Well someone has to be!

Do you know the way to San Jose?
No, but google maps are very informative

And finally can you share a handy household hint with us?
A happy working song really does help get those chores done.

Reviewing The Situation

Small pleasures? Well some things are more of a guilty pleasure. Cream cakes, Marks and Spencer’s crisps, facebook and of course “I’d Do Anything” all definitely fall into that camp. What often amuses me is how much my facebook friends seem to obsess over the television search for “Nancy”. They are joining groups announcing their support of a particular contestant and their status often bemoans that weeks performances. A couple of weeks ago one of them even said “First Boris, now Sarah – what are the public thinking?” You’ve got to love it! So when it came to write a little something about the show I thought it only fair to canvass the opinions of these facebook friends.

My old friend Debra Jackson, a soon to be forty regional business manager (OK so I know she will kill me for that but she’s got a few months on me so I am going to milk it!) told me she absolutely adores and loathes the programme. I think we all know what she means! Anyway she asked if she could comment and be hideously bitchy. Well why not, after all that’s half of the fun.

Bitchy isn’t the half of it! The comments of the people who aren’t watching it were downright nasty. “Beat the Stylist’s” John Scott merely asked “Does anyone watch it?” but box office manager, Berni Green said “sorry i dont watch cruise liner singers and ugly people, my TV wont allow it.” Meeow! Then there was performer Marc Joseph who commented “I refuse to watch it- makes my stomach turn, but then maybe i'm bitter coz I always saw myself playing that part - !!” Hmmmm

But of course there are some of us who are watching the show and loving it. The last two years have seen major talents discovered in Connie Fisher and Lee Mead (not to mention the burgeoning television career of the lord himself) so now the contestants really have an understanding of what’s at stake and how a win could change their lives forever. This makes for an entertaining show that’s just perfect for a Saturday night and also does a good job in getting people to come to the theatre who otherwise may not have done.

Anyway enough of the back ground , it’’s time to dish! I think we will begin proceedings with Deb – what does she think?
“I love the Irish bird - the stage-school/beauty school reject one (Jessie) dances like a puppet but far less fake than the rest. MY BIG Fave
Oldest contestant (Jodie) , ex- weight watcher of the year - would be great as an Elvis impersonator, good lip-curls - seriously over-acts, cries on demand.Niamh - whippet-like bird, looks nice in a dress, looks like she needs a good feed; can u imagine her matching Bill Sykes, she looks so young, Rachel? - if this is the black-haired one, with the crooked mouth, then I like her sincerity, but she reeks of desperation, never a good smell.”

Poor Jodie! Elvis impersonator???? The other feedback I had was very much at odds with Deb’s comments. Former “Chicago” cast member A.J. O’Neill is very much a Jodie fan
“It should be Jodie. She just IS nancy. Sam should be shot quick before she gets the job and they realise that she's a pop singer who is too young and inexperienced and just cause she's hot and has the support of an entire island she'lll never be in the bottom two. Gah” Hmmmm the bitchiness keeps coming back!

Box Office clerk Nic Myers joins the praise for Jodie….
“Best choice look wise and she is a strong singer, but her belt is not great at the top....Sam is a friend so (I am a ) little biased, but she is more suited to pop, or rocky musical, and she is a strong talent, but far to young.I thought at the start Rachel was best choice but she’s not done anything startling the last few weeks, and I think she slipped (out of) the public favour”

Current bookies favourite, Jessie is also not immune to A.J’s criticism.
“(She) can't do the accent or move. lovely voice but no. Way too early in her career, though she will have one. and probably be great. WHY OH WHY are Niamh, Sam and Jessie still in it after Sarah (Lark) was kicked out? Ridiculous. Admittedly she's not very Nancy either but you can't FAULT her performances. Sigh ….

Box office manager, Alan Ferris, too is firmly in the Jodie fan club.
“I believe that she will come across as a strong woman, with honest working class charm and heart. I can believe in her sexual attraction to a Sykes type and her compassion for Oliver. She seems to wear her heart on her sleeve which is an absolute necessity for Nancy. She has the laughter and the life.
Jessie has spent far to much time practicing being a singer with her hairbrush and bedroom mirror - it shows in her stance and that awful grimace she makes while singing. I see her abilities but not her heart.
The others (are) far too young or as in Rachel's case too practiced. So for a true reading of Bart's Nancy it has to be Jodie. Plus they can then say we found a singer and made her a West End Star. Most of the others were or would have been anyway! Jodie is a find! “

But these are the opinions of people who work in the theatre industry (and I must admit I agree with them) . However, I did get a late response from Tony Davies. Now Tony is a chiropodist – not show-biz at all!
“Jodie is the Nancy for me as she has that warmth of character that makes her the surrogate mum for all of those urchins; she's a woman of the world too.Samantha is a little too sweet to be wholesome for the role - she'd be great as Sandie in “Grease”. Rachel could be Nancy, yet she has a hardness of look that doesn't do her justice - she needs to smile more and soften her facial expression a little Jessie is not Nancy because she is too clumsy on stage, cannot dance and curls her mouth in that way that the panel were critical of Craig of in 'Any Dream Will Do', yet none of them have picked up on this. My money's on Jodie!”

So the bookies favourite, Jessie, seems to be scoring low with the facebook fans – with the exception of Debra. I guess this all goes to show that it’s anyone’s game. In just over a week the winner will be crowned and we will know (now that Niamh has been eliminated) which of the remaining four contestants is that lucky winner.

In conclusion? I guess I will give the last word to Debra who says…..
“I say Barrymore for Nancy, better singer, better looking, looks fab in a dress x”

Why Can't The Past Just Die?

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away……well actually just a short way across the west end…..I set foot in a theatre box office for the first time. Before I say anything else I should probably clarify that I was VERY young. In fact I was just eighteen. It wasn’t the first time I had worked in a theatre either, as I had worked at the Palladium as an attendant for the previous three school summer holidays, however I had left school and moved to London full time. The time was 1987 and the place was Her Majesty’s Theatre on the Haymarket. Oh the glamour of it all!!! Oh the naivety of youth!

As anyone who actually works in a theatre would realise, glamour is usually in short supply for those of us who work front of house and behind the scenes. But this was 1987 and working at Her Majesty’s was never less than exciting. The previous year had seen “The Phantom Of The Opera” open to rave reviews, and the beginning of a phenomenon the like of which I doubt we will ever see again. Almost every day the news papers would run a story connected to the show. Wogan would have cast members appear on his TV chat show. Memorably, even “Eastenders’” Dirty Den got in the act when he said “I’m going to see the phantom of the opera – and I’m taking ‘er to the theatre”. Poor Angie! Well Den may be dead and gone (twice) but the Phantom is still going strong, and back in 1987 I stepped into this world of endless masquerades and opera ghosts shortly before its first birthday.


So there I am young and naïve (as we have already established) and starting my first day in a job which I still do to this day. Of course, to a novice like me, I expected to walk in, sit on the box office window, and start selling tickets immediately. That is usually how it works but there was one big draw back! There were NO tickets. For almost a whole year! The show was well and truly sold out. Not sold out like now where you can often go in and get single seats etc. but totally sold out. Actually we did hold back some restricted views until the morning of the show but that was because if we didn’t there may have been a riot. Most mornings there were between forty and sixty people queuing for them and quite a number would have been there overnight. Now that’s dedication!

Anyway, after being introduced to the box office manager – bizarrely he was from Texas yet had an impeccable English accent – I was taken to head office. For a month! The head office of Stoll Moss Theatres (as we then were) was in Leicester Square and called Cranbourne Mansions. The whole building reeked of theatre (by which I mean atmosphere not the smell of the greasepaint!) and there was probably nowhere else that felt quite so theatrical without actually being a theatre. I had no clue why I was there but was to discover that when it came to selling tickets this was the hub of the operation.

The only way you could get tickets was by postal applications. Boy, were there a lot of those. I began my career in a room with fourteen sacks of mail. My first job was just opening them up and throwing them in plastic containers. Next they were sorted into “Weekends”, “Weeknights” and “Wednesday matinees”. Then they were attacked with a marker pen as all the most important criteria were highlighted. Next they made their way to the important and uberstressed Judy, Amanda and Steve (a.k.a. the “crumbly muffins” – lord knows why!) who were in charge of allocating the seats. In due course some of the applicants received letters offering them tickets and giving them a deadline to pay for them by. The largest proportion of the letters sadly ended up getting “N/A” letters – as in nothing available. So this was my lot for the next month. Chief letter opener!

One month in and everything changed. Finally I was in the box office and just in time for the shows first birthday. So ok, life wasn’t that glamorous generally but there were exceptions and the first birthday was one of them. The party was very swish and was held at the art deco Roof Gardens in Kensington. Champagne flowed, flamingos strutted and Sarah Brightman shimmied as a wonderful time was had by all.

Only a week or so later Michael Crawford left the show to prepare for the Broadway production. The queues for “returns” had begun a week before and some people had been camped out all that time. Now that really is close to insanity! I remember one lady called Geraldine who had seen the show over a hundred times in the first year alone by queuing for returns. Of course we didn’t know her as Geraldine but as Dolly, because she had, allegedly, built a life size papier mache mannequin of Michael Crawford. You couldn’t make it up could you? I was lucky enough to be in the audience for Michael’s last night and the atmosphere was incredible. However, sacriligious as it may sound I much preferred Crawford’s successor in the role of opera ghost. Dave Willets joined the cast at the same time as a fresh faced Michael Ball became Raoul. Ball’s predecessor Steve Barton was to join Crawford and Brightman in New York. Returning to the role of Christine was the lovely Claire Moore. Claire was much loved by those of us in the box office, you couldn’t meet anyone friendlier or more down to earth. On one occasion I remember her even taking over the window for a while (whilst wearing her dressing gown!) so I could pop to the loo! Without the titian wig the audience really didn’t have a clue! We had a great relationship with all the cast but particularly Rosemary Ashe the original Carlotta who was very camp and even wrote her cheques in pink ink! I should also mention the late Mary Millar who was so effective in her role as the original Madame Giry and a truly lovely woman.

So what of our work in the box office? Well, I was there another two years and it was pretty relentless. Quite often the back log of post could be over forty sacks. We were usually absolutely sold out a year in advance. People would even buy up all the single seats just for a chance to see this show that had so much captured the public’s imagination. I doubt the West End had ever seen anything like it before and the industry has now changed so much that I doubt it would be possible for a show to have quite that level of success. It truly was astonishing. In these days of call centres with large numbers of staff it’s amazing to think what we achieved with just a dozen people in two small offices. What seems particularly absurd is that all of this was achieved without a computer in sight. The tools of the trade back then were a pile of manual plans, a handful of brightly coloured crayons and of course those brightly coloured tickets that really did look like theatre tickets!

So the decades have passed, the way we do our jobs has changed, and indeed the landscape of the whole west end has changed. However one of the few constants is “The Phantom Of The Opera” which continues to thrill audiences at Her Majesty’s Theatre and long may it do so!