Theatre in London #1

I currently feel extremely lucky to be not only in London for the semester, but taking a class that allows me to see one professional theatre performance each week. Now that I'm a quarter through the semester, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the shows I've seen so far.

I know, it looks like a still from Chicago. It's definitely not.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a movie that I recently watched for the first time. I didn't love it like many people I know do, but I didn't hate it. I went into the play expecting to enjoy it. I was very wrong. The play begins with Holly singing the sweet and melodic Moon River at the front of the stage like Christina Aguilera. The audience soon learns that Holly left for Africa a few years before by the conversation between "Fred" and the bar tender. Apparently the actress playing Holly is a British pop star, which would explain why she sang four times in the show, each time extremely anachronistic to the 40's with her riffs and chesty tones. The character of "Fred" was extremely confusing in this play. In the book he's an awkward, introverted writer, but in the show he was an obviously gay man actively obsessed with Holly. The book alludes to his being gay, but the show made it blatantly clear that he was gay the entire time. The constant quips about it got very annoying after awhile, and became very strange once Holly and "Fred" got in the bath tub together. Overall I actively hated this play. The casting was all wrong, the script was incredibly boring, and the set was annoyingly minimalistic. The only saving grace were the beautiful costumes.

This scene made me cry

A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was one of my favorite books in high school, and I was very nervous to see the play because I really wanted it to be done justice. After seeing the play, I have to say that it was even better than the book. The set is just a giant box made of black and white grids. It's supposed to feel like you're inside the main character's mind. The acting was incredible and raw, and the physicality of the show blew me away. There were a lot of choreographed scenes like the one I included above, which is an imagination sequence of Christopher thinking about what it's like being an astronaut. He runs up walls, does flips, and flies around supported by his fellow cast members. Oh, and there's an adorable puppy at the end. (I burst into ugly tears when it came out because it was so huggable)

Mrs. TV is crying because Gene Wilder is not there.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not a show that I would go out of my way to see, but I might enjoy it if done well. I was entertained by this production, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. The entire cast was incredibly talented (shoutout to Grandma Georgina and her sex obsessed brain), but this retelling was far too modernized for me. Mike TV was a kid with ADHD and obsessed with video games, Violet Beauregard was a bubble gum chewing internet sensation, and Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt were exactly the same as they were in the original story. Charlie was basically the same, just in this version he was an inventor. I don't love kids, so I did get sick of the main cast after awhile. Willie Wonka was alright, he wasn't Gene Wilder, but I would watch him act again. My main gripe with this show was the music. It was just really bad. The only song that they used from the original musical was Pure Imagination, and they just stuck it in at the end when Charlie and Wonka ride the elevator. The set was amazing, the cast was incredibly talented, but the music was really boring and I don't remember a single song from the show. (That says something about the music because I always leave musicals humming the songs)

How the Other Half Loves is my new favorite play. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I came into this show, I didn't even know a little bit of what it was about. I had no idea that it would be a comedy. The laughter barely stopped in this show. It was just so ridiculously wonderful that I smiled practically the entire time. I loved all of the actors, but the two shown in the picture were my favorites. They were both just so lovably awkward and uncomfortable that I primarily paid attention to them during more crowded scenes. I honestly cannot describe what this show was about, but I think that everyone should see it at some point in their lives. It was just wonderful.

Well, those are the shows that I've seen so far. It's been wonderful being able to see all of these, even if a few of them were less than enjoyable. This week, I'm seeing Kinky Boots and The Alchemist. I'll write another theatre update once I've seen a few more shows, probably two weeks from now.