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Post by Eunice and Roisin on Jun 17, 2008 13:40:36 GMT
We've just had a great weekend in London. We went to see Lee as we haven't seen him for ages & we got row C which was brilliant seeing him so close & he was fab. It was good to see Michael Quinn again - he is Dan & u/s Pharaoh & was a black guard. Stuart King is a swing - he wasn't on stage but was Simeon the day before. He has recently been in Chitty for over a year. Ricky Rojas is now u/s Jo. In the show when the coat was being ripped up, a sleeve landed on someone in the front row but an usher was very quick at getting it back. We went to the SD after the show & met a nice American called Brad Madison who is a swing & was playing Naphtali. We talked to quite a few of the cast but Lee didn't come out that way. We then went to check out the Savoy theatre where Never Forget is & went to the SD to see Eaton James & to meet Tim Driesen for the first time & he's lovely!! When we went for the tube we found Marlon waiting for the same train - he has been doing TV work but didn't want to say what in case it isn't shown, so that was a nice surprise seeing him. He also told us that Naomi is returning to the tour this week.
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Post by Tanith Messenger on Jun 17, 2008 21:41:35 GMT
Ooo I'm way behind on the casts for both shows hehe so thanks for the info - anymore would be great! Glad you had a good time and you got to meet mylovley Tim ;D such a sweetie! Would love to see him in Never Forget...hope your both well and thanks for the review xxx
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Post by Chrissi on Jul 15, 2008 8:30:42 GMT
Is it okay to post a review here tomorrow? I'm going to see the show tonight.
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Post by Lynda on Jul 15, 2008 9:18:22 GMT
Yes please, that would be wonderful Chrissi. West End reviews are very scarce on here due to other fan sites and threads springing up since ADWD.
Have a wonderul night. You must be very excited.
Lynda xxx
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Post by Chrissi on Jul 15, 2008 10:02:36 GMT
Yes, I'm very excited!! No problems, I will do that tomorrow at some point!!
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Post by Tanith Messenger on Jul 15, 2008 10:36:31 GMT
Look forward to your review Chrissi, hope you enjoy the show! ;D xxx
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Post by Lynda on Jul 15, 2008 20:32:15 GMT
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Post by Chrissi on Jul 16, 2008 9:56:16 GMT
It's a bit long I'm afraid Lynda and Tanith!!!
Jenna (Narrator) started the Prologue very softly and sweetly. I had a couple of guys near me who sort of nudged each other when she came on in that tight black skirt!!
As Lee descended for Any Dream Will Do, I was surprised as it only seemed to be me and a few others who started clapping, until the rest of the audience realised it was Lee and quite a cheer went up then! That Lee beam spread across his face and I melted!!! My heart was racing as I waited for him to start singing. His voice was amazing. He sang Any Dream Will Do the best I have heard him sing it in a long time. I love the bit when he bends down to interact with the children as I love watching the children’s faces when Lee gives them eye contact. I did notice that he winked at one of the little girls. She had a huge grin on her face. Lee finished the song with a sultry glance at the audience. The beam returned on Lee’s face when he got quite a reception from the audience.
Jenna came on carrying the dreamcoat, Lee grabbed the coat and ran off of the stage beaming (and bouncing!) Here, it was…the start of Jacob and Sons/Joseph‘s Coat. I was prepared not to see the old cast James, Paul, John as the brothers.(and Nat who is off at the moment). I have to say it was quite strange to see them walk out and announce their characters name! I was pleasantly surprised though and found some of them particularly funny. The little asides the brothers do when expressing their jealous over the favourite son is hilarious. Craig (Zebulun) threatening to use his stick and Derek (Asher) rolling his eyes and pulling funny faces were particularly the brothers I noticed. Lee was on top form in this scene whizzing round the stage flapping the coat about so much I’m sure I felt a breeze. I particularly like the way Lee sings “I am a walking work of art” the second time as he sings it like Stephen (Jacob) does in the megamix. It’s kind of like “A-a-rt” The bit of this song that didn’t sound right last night was when Jenna was singing the colours towards the end of the song, she seemed to screech a little, and it actually made me jump.
Joseph’s Dreams scene was another moment where the brothers little asides make it a very comical. Lee sounded note perfect and really really portrays the arrogance well here. You can understand why the brothers want to do him in while they’ve got the time!! Poor, poor Joseph was another time for the brothers to shine, but also a time for Lee to be comical with the snake in the pit. His eyes are so expressive. The new brothers seem to have gelled well with the old brothers. They are moving well and interacting brilliantly with each other, They do seem to pick on Tom (Benjamin) an awful lot!!! As Lee got pulled along to Egypt, he had desperation in his eyes as he pleaded with the audience to save him. The brothers make me laugh here as they leave the stage with the goats legs they have ripped off. Michael (Dan) was playing the violin with the goats legs!!! I always love Neal’s (Judah) naughty moment as he pokes out his tongue at the Narrator. He got quite a laugh here from the audience!
I quite liked the new Reuben who is played by Stephen John-Davis. One More Angel in Heaven was sung brilliantly and the brothers and wives gave it their all and danced their socks off!
The Potiphar scene was as camp as usual, with Stephen (Potiphar) really being very funny his expression and interaction with the first few rows of the stalls is amazing. Lee came onto the stage in his loincloth with a few “Oohs” coming from the audience. Charlene (Mrs Potiphar) is very petite, she has such a high kick!! I enjoyed her performance as Mrs Potiphar, but found she couldn’t get quite a good grip as Verity (Original Mrs P) did. She had a go though!!! As she pulled Lee down onto the bed, his loincloth flapped to the side, the Potiphar women and men didn’t seem too bothered to adjust the loincloth to protect Lee’s modesty!
Close Every Door was phenomenal tonight. I was anxious waiting for him to start singing. I love the way he starts so softly spoken, his head is down but in his voice you can hear the pain that he is experiencing. From my seat, he was directly in my eye line. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. He looked up during the song and looked so wounded. He built up the song beautifully, and finished clenching the bar belting out “a land of my own” and seemed to hold the “own” note for eternity. He was still holding it as the applause started but rounded it off beautifully, pitch perfect.
I love Go Go Joseph, it’s one of my favourite moments in the show! Russell (Butler/Gad) and Adam (Baker/Issachar) work so well together, they are so comical. Adam was straightening down Russell’s hair and preparing him to speak about his dream. The dreams were told very comically to Joseph. Then the burst of colour and song started and Lee was in his element bouncing and dancing around the stage, flashing his pants to everyone as he was bouncing, whizzing and clapping in time to the music!! With the song finished, the curtain came down and it was time for the interval.
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With the interval over it was time for the children to come on and sing the Entr’acte Jenna sang Pharaoh’s Story well. She belts out the notes very powerfully, but sometimes I think if it was toned down a little it would sound very special indeed.
Dean (Pharaoh) welcomed us to “Viva Las Egypt” His voice was brilliant tonight Song Of The King was sang well by Dean. He put in some notes which I’ve never heard him do before. Russell again was comical with his chair dancing and his expressions. I love the interaction between Dean and Lee here. They really work well together. The girls certainly had fun with Lee when they pulled him about the stage in Stone The Crows. King Of My Heart was sang well by Dean. Dean got a good reception from the crowd.
Those Canaan Days was different to what I was used to. I missed James’ voice here as usually you could hear him belt out the notes and sounding beautiful. I did notice Ricky’s (Levi) here though and Tom’s. The Apache dance was completely nailed by Craig and the new Apache Dancer (Sophia). Craig is such a good dancer and soooo strong!!
The Brothers Came to Egypt/Grovel Grovel is another favourite part of the show. Lee's eyes just express how powerful he is as Prince of Egypt, and the way he holds his body. He portrays the authority very well. He swaggered round the stage like he owned it oozing confidence and charisma.
Who’s the thief? was very good, but again I found Jenna quite shouty at this point. There was one brother’s name who she kind of screeched and it felt quite uncomfortable. The brothers are quite amazing when looking petrified of Joseph. Russell nearly flies of the stage, the others are petrified. It then comes to Benjamin being accused and I love Tom’s (Benjamin) acting here. He looks so scared and vulnerable as he shakes in front of Joseph. When Joseph comes near with the cup, he raises his upper body and shakes quite violently, there’s so much going on in Lee’s eyes at this point, he was really in the moment, as he smashed the cup down.
Benjamin Calypso was sung fantastically by Neal. He is also very comical and has such an expressive face. I think he works well with Lee, and comes across as being very protective over Benjamin. He was really giving it some last night, wiggling his bum and moving around the stage with ease!! It’s quite funny to watch Lee’s face and reaction to Neal at this time, if you can tear your eyes away from Neal, who has his moment to shine in this song. If you do manage to look at Lee, his eyes, again are expressive.
The reunion hug between Benjamin and Joseph is also one of my favourite moments. It’s the way Lee whispers “It’s me” and unveils who he really is. I was fairly close to the stage and heard Lee when he was bending down to Benjamin say “Come on Ben, look, it’s me.” I melted. Tom and Lee have a very nice hug, it’s so heartfelt and really is a special moment of the show as is the reunion between Jacob and Joseph. I noticed Stephen (Jacob) reach up to Joseph and stroke his face so gently, as if he couldn’t quite believe it was him. I love the atmosphere in this song, except we had quite a rude man who got up in the middle of it and walked to the toilet. Seriously, couldn’t he have waited? Jenna was very emotional in this song, her lips were quivering and she actually sang it very quietly with tears in her eyes. The Close Every Door reprise was amazing. Again, his voice was on top form and sounded very rich. He belted out the last line and held the note for so long, my friend told me to close my mouth!!! Oops!
The megamix was fun!! Unfortunately not a standing megamix but definitely an appreciative audience. The dancing and energy with exudes from the cast amazes me every time. My friend and I made sure the brothers and wives got their cheers when they came forward and did their dancy parts!! Neal is so great at getting the audience to react and make some noise. Lee came out to great applause and whoops and he looked thrilled. He was smiley and waving on the cherry picker. Quite a few of the audience got up at this point and he seemed pleased.
So, that was it! My 15th July show! Sorry it’s a bit long, but I truly was and still am amazed and how much energy and talent are in the show. Yes, Lee leads the cast, and does very well so.. .. and in every way is a fantastic leading man, but he leads a company of extremely talented, gracious people!!!
_________________
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Post by Lynda on Jul 16, 2008 20:16:53 GMT
Thank you Chrissi, that was a magnificent piece of writing. I loved reading it, you have made me want to go and see it again now.
wooooooooooooooooo ;D ;D ;D ;D
Glad you had such a good time.
Lynda xxx
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Post by Chrissi on Jul 18, 2008 14:51:07 GMT
Awww, thank you Lynda. That's very kind of you to say!!!
xx
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Post by claire on Jul 19, 2008 11:24:21 GMT
Hey Chrissi, that was a fab review! Thank you! You have given me courage now - I am going to the show next Saturday with my Mum and I would like to write a review here too, if nobody minds.
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Post by Lynda on Jul 19, 2008 13:49:02 GMT
That would be lovely Claire. We look forward to it. ;D
You and your mum will have a great time. ;D
Love
Lynda xx
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Post by claire on Jul 19, 2008 17:19:15 GMT
That would be lovely Claire. We look forward to it. ;D You and your mum will have a great time. ;D Love Lynda xx Thanks, Lynda! We have seen the show several times before and we both adore Lee. We were planning to go on 28th July because that's my birthday, but Lee is on holiday then so we swapped our tickets for 26th instead. I saw Lewis as Joseph once, when Lee was taken very poorly just before the show at Easter, and Lewis was amazing when you consider that he only had barely an hour's notice. I told him so afterwards, and he seemed really pleased. But we really want to see Lee because we voted for him every week, and he's our Joseph!
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Post by Tanith Messenger on Jul 19, 2008 21:06:24 GMT
Hi Claire ;D
Everyone's reviews are always welcome on here so feel free xx Always nice to have peoples out look on the show xxx
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Post by claire on Jul 19, 2008 22:25:12 GMT
Hi Claire ;D Everyone's reviews are always welcome on here so feel free xx Always nice to have peoples out look on the show xxx Hi Tanith! I got here eventually.... I am so looking forward to next week's show. I do hope Lee stays well enough to perform because I know he has been poorly just before his holidays in the past. My Mum and I love him! Hey, Tanith and Lynda, do you have plans to see the show again soon? Love Claire xxx
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