Sound of Music

Sound of Music has been my all time fav musicals- It is one of the few musicals I can watch again and again and never get bored of it. When Sound of Music came to the West End : it has been one of my wish lists of must-see musicals.

It has a feel good storyline, romance, cute kids, set in a beautiful location and most of all...great music! What's there NOT to like about the musical.

Initially, I was not sure whether the West end musical could ever meet the Sound of Music movie starring Julie Andrews. However, I was fortunately proved wrong. Summer (some of you might recognise her from Hollyoaks) played the part of Maria. She played the character well in her own right and was the star of the show. The Von trapp kids were adorable but I couldn't help comparing it with the kids in the movie.

The scene which I will remember most from the musical would be when the Von Trapp family had to perform their song in the competition. I have never been in a theatre where the stage had red Swastika flags hanging off from the balcony and the side stage. There were also actors dressed up as Nazi soldiers patrolling the stage. It was scary to experience what it might have been like to live in Nazi occupation.

Despite that, this movie is still a feel-good musical. It is a must-see musical: I was humming to all of the songs throughout the musical especially the old time favs: "My favourite things", "Climb every Mountain" and the "Hills are Alive".

Watch it before it is too late!

Woman In Black

Ivy, Chris & I went to the Women in Black play recently at the Fortune Theatre in the West End. This is one of the longest running plays in the West End and has been one of my wish list as one of the "must see" plays in London.

The screenplay is based on the chilling ghost story novel by Susan Hill. It tells the story of Arthur Kipps a young solicitor who has been sent to Eel Marsh House to wind up the estate of the late deceased Mrs Drablow. No one in the village was willing to help Mr Kipps with his work because they believed the Eel Marsh house was cursed. When he arrives at the house he sees a mysterious women in black....

The play focuses on Arthur Kipps telling his story to an actor who he hoped can help him overcome his experience in the house by reenacting the events to his family & friends.

The play has very simple props and set in a very small theatre. This added to the chiling atmosphere of the play. We were sat two rows from the front stage and I have never been so scared in a play in all my life! Although I knew at the back of my mind this was a fictional play the acting was so brilliant that the audience (myself) included were drawn into the play.
It was my first time where I've heard audiences scream with fright (again myself included!!) and it wasn't just girls screaming ..there were guys screaming tooo!

I'm glad I wasn't spending the night in a country house that night because I would not have had a good night's sleep that night thinking about the play.

Full credit has to be given to the screenplay because without the brilliant screenwriting and acting .. the play would not have been so successful and long running as it is now...I am not surprised that this play has been running for at least 20 years and I am sure it will continue to run for another few more years yet......

Definitely go and watch it if you are prepared to get the fright of your life!

Do we all have a wicked side??

Can we ever be pure good or pure evil and how do people turn from being evil or to being good? How can you define good from evil?

These are some of the questions beneath the glossy exterior and songs from the Wicked Musical currently being shown at the Apollo Victoria theatre which I went to see with my friend Omar last Thursday.

Both of us didn't really know what to expect from the musical except that it had received good reviews and voted one of the best new musicals recently.

We got good circle seats which was a good view. We were lucky considering we bought the tickets on the day.

Wicked is based on the Gregory Maguire novel which focuses on the life of Elphaba and how she became the Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. It is considered to some to be the prequel to the Wizard of Oz.

The musical portrays the story of the misunderstood girl known as Elphaba: her childhood, her friendship with Galinda (who became the Good Witch in the Land of Oz), and how she became the Wicked Witch.

It was an interesting musical and cleverly portrayed in terms of how the characters we meet from Elphaba's life became the familiar characters we are used to seeing in the Wizard of Oz. It's also quite heartening to see how a misunderstood girl is mistreated just for being different and having her own views on life.

The only minor negative point I have about the musical is that the music wasn't that memorable but I don't think it really mattered because the story is strong enough to make the musical a success. The star of the night was without a doubt Elphaba who acted and sang magnificiently.

I would recommend everyone to watch it. Thanks for the treat dude! The musical has even prompted me to buy the novel which I am reading at the moment. :)