one of the things keeping me so happy in london is the theatre. more to the point, musical theatre. i just love it. boyfriend isn't really into 'musicals' so much as 'good music', so i have been able to sneak a few of the classics past him like 'jersey boys', 'thriller' and 'the wizard of oz', and just last week i was able to add one more to that list; let it be.
both massive beatles fans (we hauled ass up to liverpool last year, hot on the trail of the beatles experience tours and obligatory cavern club visit), it was something that had been high up the list of 'when that goes on sale, we're definitely going' shows to see - despite the terrrribly mixed reviews it had received in it's first year. well, we didn't have to wait long, because last week lastminute.com released it's much loved £15 tickets. granted, they're usually for terrible nose-bleed section seats, and rarely do you get the coveted upgrade anymore, but a beatles expereince for £15 was too good to pass up, so we snapped them up and went last wednesday.
and, i am pleased to report that it was 2.5 hours of toe-tapping fun! was it an award-winning show? no, no it wasn't. was it two hours of beatles classics played really well, sung perfectly, and styled to the tee? yes, that it certainly was. we even managed to switch seats when the lights went down and sat in the front row (of the nose bleed section, natch), and sing along at the top of our lungs without annoying anyone around us.
the guy who played sir paul mac was a genius on the guitar; playing his bass left handed a la the real p-mac, then switched to a right-handed accousitic guitar for his solo rendition of 'yesterday'. brilliant. 'while my guitar gently weeps' was also a massive highlight, with the lad playing george harrison doing eric clapton no favours by shredding on lead guitar, and into a guitar solo that had all the mums and nans out of their knickers and on their feet. it was truly a spectacle.
so, if you're ever stuck for a night out in london and you get the chance - and you are infact a fan and not looking for a meaningful show, then you should definitely head along. it's not going to be winning any awards for the acting skills in the company, but by george, did i have a sever case of beatlemania that night. if that's the closest i get to a beatles performance (short of actually having seen paul mccartney play 'let it be' and 'hey jude' at the jubilee concert last year), then i can die a happy little lady.
have you seen 'let it be'? what did you think?