(no subject)
First things first (with thanks to beren_writes) you can switch off that ridiculous LJ Times banner at the bottom of all pages here: http://www.livejournal.com/manage/settings/?cat=extensions
Now onto more interesting things :-P yuletide assignments are out and I'm pretty excited by mine though I think it's going to involve a fair bit of research outside the central canon to do it justice. Thankfully I think said research could be fascinating anyway *g*
On the rather less positive side I called our GP yesterday about my everlasting cough. Super impressed with the service- phone call 2 hours after I rang and then a same day appointment with a nurse who handed me a prescription for an inhaler which I then immediately filled at the onsite pharmacy HOWEVER surprisingly enough it wasn't a magic cure and I had an awful night last night with very little sleep :-| hopefully it will start to improve soon.
Right. On Wednesday seiyaharris, N & I went to Chichester to see Gypsy <3 Having had an awful journey last time we set off early and, of course, other than the inevitable M40/Heathrow traffic got there with no trouble so we had lots of time to wander around Chichester in the rain which was dangerous because 1) Sea Salt 2) Lush and 3) Montezuma Chocolates... we also had a look round the Cathedral which I rather liked- particularly their modern tapestries and stained glass! Definitely proved I eed to buy new boots though as mine were rubbish in the puddles and drizzle *sighs*
Chichester Festival Theatre
Oh this HAS to transfer to London, it really truly does <3
I've seen the film of Gypsy but not in a properly concentrating wayand I've never seen it on stage before but it's a great show. I mean yes the irritating children's song/dance act that punctuates the first half is MASSIVELY irritating but then it's supposed to be and when Gypsy finally uses it in her Burlesque act it's perfect!
I'm going to finish with Imelda because if I start with her I'll never stop SO Lara Pulver is brilliant as Louise/Gypsy. She's so awkward and clumsy and hunches over for all the time she's Louise and I wanted to hug her and take her home. I mean clearly she looked gorgeous even as the back end of a cow (and especially when just in casual menswear) but when she finally came into her own as Gypsy it was amazing to see the way her whole body, manner and voice changed.
And she has a sweet singing voice too which worked particularly well with Gemma Sutton who was playing June. I particularly loved the way Gemma's voice, so irritating and squaky when she was being Baby/Dainty June suddenly became much more beautiful when she had her duet with Louise that wasn't part of the "show".
Oh and the kid versions of June and Louise were amazing too- June especially with all her shrieks and high kicks but the baby Louise too (who N pointed out was one of the Olivier Award winning Matildas)
The supporting cast were all good too- Dan Burton was Tulsa and his dancing was beautiful and absolutely swept me away into seeing the act he was describing and the Burlesque dancers were just brilliant. Not the greatest singers out there but then why do they even need to be? You Gotta Have a Gimmick was hilarious.
And then of course we have the wonderful Mr Kevin Whately as Herbie. His accent wandered a little once or twice and he's not exactly the strongest of singers but, again, he doesn't need to be and what he does bring is that wonderful sense of warmth and caring that he always does. You can see he's madly in love with Rose and that he really wants the best for Louise, June and the boys and when he proposes to Rose in front of Louise it was just adorable ♥ I loved You'll Never Get Away From Me and I loved Together, Wherever We Go which is why it's so awful when Rose finally succeeds in pushing him away. I hate that Louise doesn't get to say goodbye too.
Which brings us back to the undoubted star of the show- Imelda Staunton's Madame Rose ♥ She really was utterly magnificent. Stubborn and proud and ambitious as hell and an awful awful person but also funny and offhandedly caring and broken by her own past. And Imelda Staunton can sing! I mean I knew that but it still amazes me how a voice that large can come out of a person that small.
Everything's Coming Up Roses was genuinely frightening because of the looks on Herbie & Louise's faces but also because all the power and belief she poured into is and by the time she got to sunshine & Santa Claus she was clapping her hands like a little girl but in exactly the same way that Umbridge is scariest when she's trying to be at her sweetest so is Rose.
And then all that bitterness and pain in Rose's Turn which seemed almost to pour out of her despite herself. I really don't have the words. She was magnificent.
If it does transfer to the West End not only do I recommend everyone trying to see it I think I'll probably be going again too.
We saw Penelope Wilton & Allan Corduner in the theatre which was rather fun. They're currently in the thing that's on in the Minerva but it was nice to see them supporting the Festival Theatre's show. It was even nicer when halfway home in the car we finally figured out Alan's name!
The first bit of the drive home felt very week-of-Halloween appropriate. Despite the weather being meant to improve it was very foggy and the first bit of the drive is along completely unlit country lanes and then up through a wood and over a hill where we could barely see the trees either side of the road! In fact it was so foggy I had to turn off the full beam lights because they were just being reflected back to me in the dark and blinding me! Not the most fun drive I've ever done but certainly atmospheric.
Once we were on bigger roads and everything was a bit more visible we spent quite a lot of the drive home discussing what the best/our favourite musical of all time would be which is, it turns out, an entirely impossible question to answer. N went for South Pacific but whilst I agree it's fantastic it doesn't top any of my lists. I came up with half a dozen things "favourite new" "favourite sad" "favourite for the dance elements" but all of them were equivocal anyway!
Now onto more interesting things :-P yuletide assignments are out and I'm pretty excited by mine though I think it's going to involve a fair bit of research outside the central canon to do it justice. Thankfully I think said research could be fascinating anyway *g*
On the rather less positive side I called our GP yesterday about my everlasting cough. Super impressed with the service- phone call 2 hours after I rang and then a same day appointment with a nurse who handed me a prescription for an inhaler which I then immediately filled at the onsite pharmacy HOWEVER surprisingly enough it wasn't a magic cure and I had an awful night last night with very little sleep :-| hopefully it will start to improve soon.
Right. On Wednesday seiyaharris, N & I went to Chichester to see Gypsy <3 Having had an awful journey last time we set off early and, of course, other than the inevitable M40/Heathrow traffic got there with no trouble so we had lots of time to wander around Chichester in the rain which was dangerous because 1) Sea Salt 2) Lush and 3) Montezuma Chocolates... we also had a look round the Cathedral which I rather liked- particularly their modern tapestries and stained glass! Definitely proved I eed to buy new boots though as mine were rubbish in the puddles and drizzle *sighs*
Chichester Festival Theatre
Oh this HAS to transfer to London, it really truly does <3
I've seen the film of Gypsy but not in a properly concentrating wayand I've never seen it on stage before but it's a great show. I mean yes the irritating children's song/dance act that punctuates the first half is MASSIVELY irritating but then it's supposed to be and when Gypsy finally uses it in her Burlesque act it's perfect!
I'm going to finish with Imelda because if I start with her I'll never stop SO Lara Pulver is brilliant as Louise/Gypsy. She's so awkward and clumsy and hunches over for all the time she's Louise and I wanted to hug her and take her home. I mean clearly she looked gorgeous even as the back end of a cow (and especially when just in casual menswear) but when she finally came into her own as Gypsy it was amazing to see the way her whole body, manner and voice changed.
And she has a sweet singing voice too which worked particularly well with Gemma Sutton who was playing June. I particularly loved the way Gemma's voice, so irritating and squaky when she was being Baby/Dainty June suddenly became much more beautiful when she had her duet with Louise that wasn't part of the "show".
Oh and the kid versions of June and Louise were amazing too- June especially with all her shrieks and high kicks but the baby Louise too (who N pointed out was one of the Olivier Award winning Matildas)
The supporting cast were all good too- Dan Burton was Tulsa and his dancing was beautiful and absolutely swept me away into seeing the act he was describing and the Burlesque dancers were just brilliant. Not the greatest singers out there but then why do they even need to be? You Gotta Have a Gimmick was hilarious.
And then of course we have the wonderful Mr Kevin Whately as Herbie. His accent wandered a little once or twice and he's not exactly the strongest of singers but, again, he doesn't need to be and what he does bring is that wonderful sense of warmth and caring that he always does. You can see he's madly in love with Rose and that he really wants the best for Louise, June and the boys and when he proposes to Rose in front of Louise it was just adorable ♥ I loved You'll Never Get Away From Me and I loved Together, Wherever We Go which is why it's so awful when Rose finally succeeds in pushing him away. I hate that Louise doesn't get to say goodbye too.
Which brings us back to the undoubted star of the show- Imelda Staunton's Madame Rose ♥ She really was utterly magnificent. Stubborn and proud and ambitious as hell and an awful awful person but also funny and offhandedly caring and broken by her own past. And Imelda Staunton can sing! I mean I knew that but it still amazes me how a voice that large can come out of a person that small.
Everything's Coming Up Roses was genuinely frightening because of the looks on Herbie & Louise's faces but also because all the power and belief she poured into is and by the time she got to sunshine & Santa Claus she was clapping her hands like a little girl but in exactly the same way that Umbridge is scariest when she's trying to be at her sweetest so is Rose.
And then all that bitterness and pain in Rose's Turn which seemed almost to pour out of her despite herself. I really don't have the words. She was magnificent.
If it does transfer to the West End not only do I recommend everyone trying to see it I think I'll probably be going again too.
We saw Penelope Wilton & Allan Corduner in the theatre which was rather fun. They're currently in the thing that's on in the Minerva but it was nice to see them supporting the Festival Theatre's show. It was even nicer when halfway home in the car we finally figured out Alan's name!
The first bit of the drive home felt very week-of-Halloween appropriate. Despite the weather being meant to improve it was very foggy and the first bit of the drive is along completely unlit country lanes and then up through a wood and over a hill where we could barely see the trees either side of the road! In fact it was so foggy I had to turn off the full beam lights because they were just being reflected back to me in the dark and blinding me! Not the most fun drive I've ever done but certainly atmospheric.
Once we were on bigger roads and everything was a bit more visible we spent quite a lot of the drive home discussing what the best/our favourite musical of all time would be which is, it turns out, an entirely impossible question to answer. N went for South Pacific but whilst I agree it's fantastic it doesn't top any of my lists. I came up with half a dozen things "favourite new" "favourite sad" "favourite for the dance elements" but all of them were equivocal anyway!