Ghost The Musical, Comparison Review, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 29/5/2012 / Leeds Grand Theatre, 21/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific dates including understudies*
Cast, Piccadilly Theatre, London
Sam Wheat - Mark Evans
Molly Jensen - Siobhan Dillon
Oda Mae Brown - Sharon D Clarke
Carl Bruner - Andrew Langtree
Willie Lopez - Ivan De Freitas
Subway Ghost - Scott Maurice
Hospital Ghost - Ashley Knight
Clara - Lisa Davina Phillip
Louise - Jennifer Saayeng

Ensemble
Paul Ayres
Samuel Edwards
Francesca Hoffman
Callum Francis
Spencer O'Brien
Olivia Phillip
Rebecca Trehearn
Jez Unwin
Amy Webb
Sally Whitehead

Cast, Leeds Grand Theatre
Sam Wheat - Stewart Clarke
Molly Jensen - Rebecca Trehearn
Oda Mae Brown - Wendy Mae Brown
Carl Bruner - David Roberts
Willie Lopez - Ivan De Freitas
Subway Ghost - Michael Cortez
Clara - Karlene Wray
Louise - Keisha Atwell

Ensemble
Mrs Santiago - Maeve Byrne
Kimmy Edwards
Gabriela Garcia
Lewis Griffiths
Bradley Jaden
Gregor Stewart
Michael Stewart
Amy Webb
Amy West
Luke Wilson

Okay so a couple of first observations....Rebecca Trehearn ensemble in London, Molly on tour a year later! Ivan De Freitas is the guy I saw as Willie Lopez twice. I didn't even realise. Paul Ayres, well, there is that name again....see my 'Rent In Concert' review...

Songs. This is the first part where I say I'm not happy. (I'll take this moment to remind you all that this is mainly a comparison review...) The soundtrack, upon release when the musical first opened in March 2011 (June 2011 in London) was incredible, and I really really mean that. It had amazing harmonies and the overture was absolute perfection. But wait, the overture has gone?! That's right, the amazingly heartbreaking overture has disappeared. Instead we got this rather upbeat and jazzy piece of music as a projection flew us through New York at night. I'm not cool with that. Also, with not too much complaint from myself, one of the other songs changed fairly soon after. This made the role of Hospital Ghost (played by Ashley Knight in London) redundant as they got rid of his song. Now, don't get me wrong, Ball Of Wax was never my favourite and was pretty dull but I did enjoy the ghost doing a tap dance. Instead it was replaced by a song called You Gotta Let Go sung by three ghosts. But hey, whatever, it was a better song anyway. Anyone remember I Can't Breathe? Where Sam had this nervous breakdown and sang a little song with projections of his screaming face all around? Well, it's gone. I mean, okay, again it wasn't the best song. But it did make sense. On tour we got Sam screaming some Unchained Melody lyrics with a screaming face and that was it. Weird. Bring back I Can't Breathe. Now for my biggest issue with the songs. WHAT HAPPENED TO LIFE TURNS ON A DIME?! That song was perfect using lines from the film in the lyrics it really worked! Well the song was still called that. However what he sang was more a Here Right Now reprise and it was very strange. I didn't like that at all. May have just been me but I'm sure the arrangement of More was changed too but at least it was still there.

Projections. At the Piccadilly Theatre I loved these. I was a little unsure to start with as I thought maybe they might be trying too hard but once Here Right Now was over I was already in love. The ones at Leeds Grand I was not as keen on. For some bits I still completely agreed but I felt almost as if they were trying too hard with them and there was maybe too many projections? Especially the sex one being repeated over and over. I don't remember that happening in London. Also the moment of Sam walking through the door was not handled as well. This time it was obvious how he did it where in London I was completely baffled. On this small note of set, let me just mention how much I missed the conveyor belts. I understand you can't keep installing them in theatres but they just added something extra before. Especially to the dance routines.

Another small note about script changes. Now these were very little things that I just didn't understand...first was the transition into Here Right Now had changed. I know that in London I did find it funny as Molly did a kind of "Wait.....here right now, here right now..." which was kind of strange but this time she just started singing whilst they were talking. Plus the mic levels weren't quite right to start with so you could still hear Sam and Carl talking over her quite loudly! The other is the address of Willie Lopez. Again this is a very small thing. In the London version (and on the soundtrack) his address is at Prospect Place but on the current tour it is Lennox Avenue. Why? We'll never know.

A good weep and a shock. In London I received both these things. Perhaps it was simply because it was the first time I had seen it (apart from the film) but I feel effects wise it was done better in London. First issue is Carl's death. In London, Oda Mae lay over the body for a little while so when Carl's ghost gets up and runs you think Oda Mae has died yet on tour she fell straight off the body so it wasn't much of a shock. The 'weep' moment (won't go into too much detail for those who haven't seen it yet) of Sam dancing with Molly caused a gasp at the theatre in London as it was so unexpected yet on tour it was easy to see it coming (this wasn't just from my perspective, I took my mum and she worked it out was going to happen).

Casting. Ooooh, my favourite bit of all. The first thing for me to admit is that in Here Right Now on tour I was a little unimpressed by the three leads. For me, I think this is just because I was lucky enough to see Mark Evans, Siobhan Dillon and Andrew Langtree who were absolutely phenomenal. Once I got over this, I really enjoyed them! Especially David Roberts who was playing Carl. I found he was very connected with the character and the moments Carl was battling with himself were really readable and believable. Both Wendy Mae Brown and Sharon D Clarke were exceptional as Oda Mae and I couldn't have wished for better cast members there! Playing a role originally portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg is never going to be an easy task for anyone but they were great. I also really enjoyed Karlene Wray and Keisha Atwell as the assistants much more than the two in London. I felt these two put a lot more effort in.

I tried not to make this too long! Now don't see this all as criticism as the majority of the audience came out crying and my mum, having also seen it for the first time, was really impressed. Overall it is an incredible show and it is well worth seeing especially over and over again!

Ditto x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES

The Bodyguard, Adelphi Theatre, London, 20/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific date including understudies*
Cast
Rachel Marron - Heather Headley
Frank Farmer - Lloyd Owen
Nicki Marron - Janet Kumah
The Stalker - James Wooldridge
Tony Scibelli - Nicolas Colicos
Sy Spector - Sean Chapman
Bill Devaney - Ray Shell
Herb Farmer - Mark McKerracher
Ray Court - Oliver Le Sueur
Rory - Gareth Andrews
Fletcher - (Not Specified) Michael Matias/Malaki Paul/Joshua-James Thomas

Ensemble
Jordan Darrell
Shanay Holmes
Holly James
Robert Jezek
Gil Kolirin
Nicholas Maude
Ashley-Jordan Packer
Dharmesh Patel
Lucinda Shaw

You'll all be pleased to know that this will be a rather short review as....I really really enjoyed it. There, I said it! So let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

I very nearly wet myself. Okay, so this sounds rather strange out of context, I know. But it is simply because the show has no overture or dimming of the lights to prepare you for the opening. Instead, the show started so abruptly making all the audience jump around a foot in the air and then laugh through the opening of the show. Not cool, guys. However, it worked at getting our attention. And, no, I won't tell you how the show started, you'll have to see it yourself.

The humour was spot on. I laughed as hard as I did the first time I saw 'Avenue Q' (obviously not all the way through) as all the comedy was so well timed and so well placed. The comic timing of Sean Chapman as Sy was particularly brilliant so that when he walked on stage you automatically knew the spirit of the scene just by his stance. The amount of innuendo was fantastic as well used in a way the entire audience would crack up including phrases like, "What's got into her?" - Nicki: "Her bodyguard" with the timing of the response absolutely perfect.

Casting. Just, woah. I was lucky enough (as told at the bus stop afterwards) to have Tony Award Winner Heather Headley playing the lead of Rachel Marron. Now, having seen her perform on the Olivier Awards this year it is safe to say I was less than impressed but seeing her this time round her presence filled the stage and her voice was like nothing I'd ever heard. Seriously impressive performance. We had the understudy for Nicki Marron, Janet Kumah, and if she was the understudy, God only knows what the main was like! Kumah was fantastic. The character was well understood, the voice was incredible and the chemistry between Kumah and Headley as sisters was believable. On the subject of understudies, James Wooldridge was a really convincing stalker (sounds awful, I know) and the sense of fear when he appeared on stage proves my point! Despite hardly speaking, he still managed to make an impression. Lloyd Owen, from reading his bio in the programme, should go without saying on his performance. On a comedy aspect and understanding of the character it was a job well done. Especially as before the finale, he was required to speak about Help For Heroes and he immediately said "Don't worry, I'm not going to sing again" referring to his earlier performance of I Will Always Love You. Priceless.

One negative point. Perhaps due to me never having seen the film, a lot of the plot points were never tied up including the motive of the stalker and what pulled him to Rachel Marron in particular.

Generals to conclude. The set was outstanding, the projections were well used although possibly overused at times and the soundtrack was to die for. Considering what an influential artist Whitney Houston was, it was better that this wasn't done as a standard jukebox as using 'The Bodyguard' meant it already had a plot and music to fit the story.

We will always love you, Whitney x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES

We Will Rock You - 10th Anniversary Arena Tour, Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, 1/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific date including understudies*
Cast

Galileo - MiG Ayesa

Scaramouche - Lauren Samuels

Killer Queen - Brenda Edwards

Khashoggi - Sean Kingsley

Britney - Rolan Bell

Meat - Lucie Jones

Pop - Kevin Kennedy

Teacher - Chloë Brooks

Rebel Leader - Dean Read

Ensemble

Ashley Cooper

Michelle Crook

James Alexander Gibbs

Grace Holdstock

Matt Holland

Waylon Jacobs

Matthew Jeans

Antony Lawrence

Alice Mogg

Aaron Ashley Parker

Kane Oliver Parry

Stephanie Powell

Micha Richardson

Catriana Sandison

Danielle Steers

Sasha Wareham

Emily Whitehead

Now, before I throw myself into this review, let me hold up my hands and admit i'm not actually a big fan of juke box musicals. Having said that, I have actually seen, and really enjoyed, 'Jersey Boys' on Broadway so I decided that maybe I shouldn't judge before I see! So when my friend asked if I wanted to go to the arena tour, being a Queen fan, I thought "why ever not". So here we are. This brings me very nicely to my first point...

The songs often seem to appear at random. Now, I am not insulting all of the soundtrack placement here. For example, I Want To Break Free, Under Pressure and Seven Seas Of Rhye are among the songs that did fit into the story and supported plot points. On the other hand, Fat Bottomed Girls, Who Wants To Live Forever and No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) were not particularly necessary despite all being incredible songs. Considering that to Queen fans No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) is a very important song as an ode to Freddie Mercury, I feel it could have been placed better rather than The Bohemians saying "All the best stars died young..." then listing many late performers.

Lighting. Arena lighting really is something else. During the overture, the lighting was so incredible that I could have seen Queen themselves walking onto that stage which was clearly the desired effect so, on that front, well played. As with everything though, a couple of negatives. One being that there was absolutely no warnings for the several strobe lights that were used during the show. Lucky for us there were no accidents but some people may not have been so lucky. My second negative is actually a personal peeve...there was UV lighting on the audience throughout the show. I was wearing a white t-shirt. This meant I was rather distracted during the show and, in the end, had to put my hoodie on as my eyes were hurting. Not cool.

Casting. Always my favourite bit to talk about! Firstly, I thought MiG Ayesa was absolutely fantastic. Such a perfect casting as Galileo as his energy never faltered throughout the performance and his vocal performance never suffered as a result of his stamina. I especially enjoyed his performances toward the end as his voice never sounded too far from Freddie's and his understanding of the songs was spot on. As the performance went on, I began to enjoy Lauren Samuels' portrayal of Scaramouche more and more. When she performed Somebody To Love at the start I really wasn't so sure but she stepped up and grew as the character grew and I then found myself loving her. Kevin Kennedy as Pop was brilliant. I have not seen such a perfect casting since seeing Killian Donnelly play Raoul in 'The Phantom Of The Opera'. I find the 'star' often lets the cast down so I was quite sceptical about seeing Kennedy on this tour but I was very pleasantly surprised. He really seemed to understand the character and his comic timing was faultless. This is the bit I never like so much. I really enjoyed when Lucie Jones (of 'X Factor' fame) sand No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) but aside from that, I found her character of Meat rather two dimensional and when she wasn't bouncing off Rolan Bell she was rather flat. Speaking of Bell, as Britney, my friend pointed out (he has knowledge of the musical) that his voice was actually too high for the role. He also had a Jamaican accent during his acting parts but lost that during the song. Ensemble as usual, I loved you. Arlene Phillips (of 'Strictly Come Dancing' fame) did an outstanding job with the dance routines. So simple but so effective especially in the routines set in Cyberspace. Very quickly to credit Brenda Edwards. Not much to say but wow, what a voice. Spectacular performance.

Finally, the Arena itself. Firstly, I felt this show wasn't as built for and Arena tour as I expected especially as Sheffield Motorpoint has a smaller stage than you would see in a West End theatre. Also, I was at a matinee show. Being in an arena, this didn't really pull off too well as it was possibly only half full at most. The mix levels of vocal alongside the band weren't sorted out until a fair way through the first act which meant a lot was missed near the start. Lastly, there was no "Welcome to the Motorpoint Arena, may we remind you that all mobile phones should be switched off and flash photography is not permitted". This meant many audience members were taking flash photos ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SHOW. That frove me up the wall.

So there you have it! Sorry for another lengthy post. I did find this experience extremely enjoyable and would definitely see the show again! 

We'll remember forever x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES