Well, 2021 hasn’t been a great one for theatre inā¦ well, theatres so far but from the line up of film adaptations of stage musicals expected to come out this year, 2021 certainly is shaping up to brighter for theatre fans after all. So, letās dive into the musical movies that we should be seeing on our screens very soon.
In The Heights – Expected UK release date: 25th June 2021Ā
After being pushed back, the In The Heights movie is finally expected to hit the big screens this summer and I canāt wait. I adore the music from In The Heights and I canāt wait for all the new Lin Manuel Miranda fans who only know his work on Hamilton and Moana to see the big screen version of his other huge Broadway hit. The trailer is absolutely stunning for this movie and it looks like itās going to be the perfect pop of colour and musical movie magic we need this summer.
Dear Evan Hansen – Expected UK release date: 24th September 2021Ā
No trailers for this one yet but we should be seeing Dear Evan Hansen in cinemas this autumn. I have to say Iām not quite as excited for this one as In The Heights but Iām still curious to see how the show will be translated to the film medium. Iāve read that there are a few new characters and some switching around of the relationships of characters (Larry is now Connor and Zoeās stepdad for some reason) so Iām definitely intrigued as to how this will play out.Ā
West Side Story – Expected UK release date: 10th December 2021
Another one with a release moved back to 2021 to give it a splash in cinemas is Steven Spielbergās take on this Broadway classic. With this one, Iām excited to see Rachel Zeglerās take on Maria and Ariana DeBose as Anita as well as seeing how Speilberg is going to make it his own. Itās an iconic show and there havenāt been many recent movie adaptations of classic musicals in recent years so itās an interesting choice.Ā
Everybodyās Talking About Jamie – Expected UK release date: TBC
The only original British musical on this list and Iām so excited to see Max Harwood strutting about in those red heels as Jamie New. This one has also had itās release date pushed back but as of right now, there hasnāt been a new date announced just yet. We all could do with a new proper feel-good movie musical so letās hope it comes out soon!
Tick, Tickā¦ Boom! – Expected UK release date: TBC
This is from Netflixās now foray into musical theatre and features the directorial debut of Lin Manual Miranda. Iāll be honest, I havenāt actually listened to Tick, Tickā¦ Boom! all the way through yet for two reasons. One, because itās hard to get hold of the music (why is the cast recording not on Spotify?!) and two, because, after Rent, this is only other complete show from Jonathan Larson and as a huge Rent fan, it makes me sad to think once Iāve heard Tick, Tick… Boom! songs, thatās it. Saying that, I genuinely canāt wait to see the movie and I have high expectations for it. Also, Iām looking forward to seeing Andrew Garfield in a musical, who knew he could sing?!Ā
Which movie musical are you most excited to see this year? For me, In The Heights has the edge but Iām looking forward to all of them. Thanks for reading and bye for now!
Breaking news: Iāve found my new obsession. Since theatres across the UK have been shut for over a year now, Iāve not had much to say about musical theatre. Well, that was until I discovered my new favourite cast recording, The Mad Ones. And you should listen to it too.
The Mad Ones is a Kerrigan and Lowdermilk musical formerly called The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown. The show follows 18-year-old Sam as she tries to decide what to do with her life following the death of her best friend, Kelly. As Sam works through her memories and learns to fully come to terms with what happened, she is guided by Kelly in her imagination. The show also touches on Samās relationships with her mum and boyfriend too as she works through her grief and struggles to decide what her next step in life should be after graduating high school. Thatās really all you need to know about the plot going into your first listen.Ā
Though grief is a huge theme of the show and some songs are really packed with emotion, itās not a downer at all. Thereās plenty of comedy and lighter moments. I especially love the way the show presents friendship, especially teen female friendship. The people you grow up with shape your personality so much that when you spend more time apart after leaving school and entering adulthood, you almost learn to be yourself all over again without those people having as big an impact as they once had. For Sam, this is so much more intense after Kellyās death. But, the process that Sam goes through with trying to find herself and learning to not just see her identity through comparisons to Kelly (āShe was everything Iām not, my whole universeā) is really touching and shows just how intense and impactful friendship can be. The song Go Tonight, when Sam finally confronts all her emotions over losing Kelly is truly heartbreaking as she confesses the darker side of her grief, including her feelings of inferiority compared to Kelly and how she feels partially responsible for Kellyās death.Ā
One small part of the story that really gets me is Sam trying to recall the specifics of her last interaction with Kelly and struggling to pinpoint the details. Memories are so important in the grieving process but theyāre also so fragile. I think the way the show explores Sam piecing together her memories of Kelly and all thatās happened since she died is such a unique but realistic take on grieving.
I also love the small, intimate vibe of the recording. The whole show only requires four people, which reminds me of the likes of Next to Normal. Iāve been thinking about this a lot lately and ultimately, I think I miss smaller shows like this the most since theatres have been closed. Donāt get me wrong, I love a big West End show as much as the next Wicked or Les Mis fan, but thereās something special about these smaller-scale productions in off-West End and off-Broadway venues. Thatās not to say that I donāt believe this show has a place on the West End or Broadway, I just think it would suit a smaller, more intimate venue more.Ā
The three songs Iāve been listening to the most are The Mad Ones, Go Tonight and Run Away with Me. And, I mean, these songs arenāt just beautiful and emotional, theyāre also serious earworms!
Thanks for reading and if you havenāt listened to The Mad Ones yet, get on it! Bye for now!
Christmas bells are ringing! It’s December 24th, (and nearly!) 9pm Eastern Standard Time, which means it’s a great time to talk about one of my favourite musicals of all time, Rent. I watched a production of Rent online recently by the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester and it genuinely was a brilliant production. It still kept the 90s vibe but had some very clever staging choices to keep it feeling fresh. The cast were also brilliant. But, it got me thinking about Rent’s place in contemporary theatre as it is very much a 90s show. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it got me wondering, does Rent really stand the test of time?
Is it TOO 90s?
Ah, the days before smartphones and social media, when people communicated mostly through phone calls and meeting up in person (something fairly rare in 2020, at least!). When I watch or listen to Rent, there are aspects of the story that do feel a bit dated but in the grand scheme of things, the 90s weren’t that long ago. They haven’t crept into the 40-year cycle yet so Rent doesn’t feel old enough to be thought of as a historical piece. However, no one watches Shakespeare and is surprised when they throw in a few “thees” and “thous”, yet when we hear 90s slang in a musical, there’s something weirdly dated about it.
But, isn’t that dated feeling a part of the show’s charm? Ultimately, the story works because it’s set during the AIDS Crisis and at a time when American counterculture was starting to reject the hyper-commercialism of the time. By which I mean, it is a story intrinsically linked to the 80s/90s. The Bohemian lifestyle celebrated by the characters and lifted straight from the show’s source material, nineteenth century opera La BohĆØme, sees the characters choosing poverty and a life of uncertainty over giving in to the “yuppie” lifestyle. They choose art over career, instant gratification over forward planning, though some of this attitude is also presented as being a reaction to the confirmation that they’ll die young from AIDS. It’s a sad show representing a sad time in modern history. It weaves in and out of social injustices and presents a diverse cast of well-meaning modern Bohemians. From addiction to illness and homelessness to relative poverty, the show explores themes that are are both timeless and strongly contemporaneous to the 90s.
It might not be as easy to relate to Rent now as it was back in the 90s when it first hit Broadway but the show didn’t close over there until 2009, a time pretty far beyond its supposed relevancy. I think one of things that ultimately led to Rent closing may have been the 2005 movie adaptation. There was definitely an attempt made to make the show more suitable for film e.g. some songs were turned into dialogue or removed completely, but the film ended up being criticised for feeling a bit old school and for featuring many of the Broadway actors in roles they originated. The response was that, only 11 years after the show first debuted, the film version already felt dated and the actors felt too old. The critics’ responses to the film mostly coming to the same conclusion, that Rent was past its time, may very well have indirectly led to the show closing just four years later.
However, this wasn’t be the last the stage would see of Rent so, what has been done to update the show since its original Broadway run?
Let’s Talk About Rent Remixed
Rent created a pretty unusual situation. By the mid-2000s, Rent was still a well-respected show (it’s still only one of nine musicals to have ever won the Pulitzer Prize). But, it was feeling dated and new productions were struggling to find a middle ground between embracing the 90s nostalgia and attempting to update the show for modern audiences. Unfortunately, it was from this conundrum that Rent Remixed was realised. This was a revised production that opened in 2007 in the West End. The music was stripped of its 90s grunge sound and instead replaced with more of a noughties pop vibe and the show was updated to the then present day. It was absolutely panned by critics and closed after five months.
I never saw Rent Remixed but from what I’ve heard, everything that was changed about it took away what made Jonathan Larson’s show so poignant and well-respected in the first place. The diversity, the tackling of taboo issues with a mix of boldness and sensitivity and the use of modern-sounding music in a musical was all fairly new in 1996 theatreland but, bizarrely because of the original production of Rent, none of these things would have felt nearly as noteworthy in 2007. In fact, whilst all of those things are still to be praised in modern musical theatre, by taking a musical that had all of those elements anyway and changing it in an attempt to be more commercial, doesn’t it kind of feel like you’re missing the point in taking the risk of being original in the first place?
So, does it matter that it’s dated?
Back to the subject at hand. There are a few issues with the 90s setting that perhaps do cause problems and some of this is down to the problematic aspects of Rent. It’s not a perfect musical by any means. And, while the liberal views of the characters may make them feel almost like proto-millennials, there are a few issues with representation, stereotyping and hypocritical attitudes that might make the show feel a little bit misguided in places to a modern audience. For example, Maureen is a character who has dated both men and women and is presented as promiscuous. Whilst this isn’t an issue in itself, it does play into a recurring negative stereotype in fiction that bi-and/or-pan-sexuality is synonymous with promiscuity. There are quite a few more examples of times in Rent where I, as a modern viewer, get caught between wanting to praise the show for being a pioneer of diversity at the point of its inception and cringing at certain parts of the show that would likely be changed were it a new show doing through workshops now.
Ultimately, how I feel about Rent feels like a microcosm for how I feel about modern political correctness and cancel/call-out culture. I think these things are important but we all get things wrong sometimes and that doesn’t mean we’re not trying. Rent gets some things wrong but when it first appeared on Broadway back in the 90s, it was the first of its kind and actively tried to promote diversity and have something to say. Rent’s not perfect but it tried. We should be able to appreciate that. Sure, the show’s a bit dated and doesn’t always feel totally politically correct but I think we can forgive that for all the things it got right and for all the shows that it paved the way for.
The Hope Mill’s production really renewed my love for Rent. And, hey, as 90s nostalgia is due to come back more and more over the next decade, maybe we’ll be seeing a little bit more of Rent love on the horizon.
Hello! Welcome to the first in my Musings on Musicals, this is a new post series where I will be sharing my thoughts on everything musical theatre-related. It’s basically the content I was doing before I had my year hiatus but under a flashy new name that gives it it’s own special category. To kick this new series off, I wanted to share my absolute favourite shows. And, I mean these are my all-time favourites, not just current favourites.
Now, it would be impossible for me to actually put them into a list so I’ve instead picked my top nine and put them into tiers – everyone loves a good tier ranking system don’t they? So, tier one includes my top three absolute favourite musicals but I can’t put them in a 123 order so just know that I love all three of those equally. Tier Two is the my next three favourites which although I completely adore, just don’t quite make it to tier one and again, within their tier, they aren’t in any particular order and so on. I hope this makes sense, it did in my head!
Hamilton – Some say it’s overrated, I say we don’t talk about it enough for my liking. I really do think Hamilton is the best musical ever written. It’s achingly smart and the impact it has made, not only on theatre, but in modern pop culture is an incredible feat.
Rent – This is the musical that catapulted me from musical fan to super-fan. I think I’ll write a whole post about it when I’m feeling sentimental but the first time I encountered Rent was when I watched the film and I cried at four different moments. Rent is a total marmite show, you either love it or hate it and I completely adore it.
Les Miserables – This is another show that really got me into musicals and, well, it’s just a classic, isn’t it? This is a show that all my family love and we used to play the songs on long car journeys. For me, this show is greater than just my love of theatre, it’s also a part of my childhood and reminds me of family memories.
Bare: A Pop Opera – It’s the style of the music – to me more rock than “pop” – and the heartbreaking story that I really love with this one. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever related to a song from a show so much as Nadia’s A Quiet Night At Home. I wish more people knew this show because it deserves so much more love.
Come From Away – I always think of Come From Away as a musical hug. I’ve seen it twice in the West End and can’t wait to see it again once theatres reopen. I can’t help but smile listening to this amazing true story and Me and the Sky is one of my favourite songs.
Jesus Christ Superstar – I’m slightly ashamed that this is the oldest musical on this list as it’s only from 1970 but I’m usually more of a contemporary musical gal. There’s something about this show that I love though. It’s thought-provoking with amazing songs and I couldn’t tell you the amount of times we’ve watched the Glenn Carter version in my house.
Once On This Island – This is a really recent favourite as I only listened to it this year but it has grown so much on me from multiple listens – I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t move up a tier in time. This show is just gorgeous.
In The Heights – Weirdly, when figuring out this list, I was a bit surprised I found myself putting In The Heights this high but I can’t not put it here because it really is one of my favourites. I can’t wait for film next year so that I can rewatch the story whenever I want and more people can discover In The Heights.
The Last 5 Years – Again, I didn’t really expect to put this here and I was actually between this and Bat Boy which I’ve bumped down a tier. It’s the lyrics that I love most of all with The Last 5 Years, especially in songs like Nobody Needs To Know.
Whistle Down the Wind – Although Whistle Down the Wind isn’t an especially high-ranking favourite for me anymore, it was my first ever favourite musical so I think it needs an honourable mention. After seeing a production as a kid I fell in love with the show and it was the first musical I bought to play on my portable CD player.
Bat Boy – As I said earlier, this show nearly made it to tier three but I’ve moved it to honourable mentions instead. I love Bat Boy and it’s my favourite funny musical.
Dear Evan Hansen – It’s here because I felt weird not putting it somewhere, I love Dear Evan Hansen and You Will Be Found is a song that easily brings a tear to my eye.
What are your favourite musicals? Let me know in the comments!
It’s no secret on this blog that I enjoy a good musical. The diverse range of shows we’ve been blessed with in recent years means there are a good selection of spooky shows that are the perfect shows to listen to this Halloween. All the shows on this list are available to stream on Spotify now. Saying that, I want to give The Addams Family some recognition. It would have earned a place on this list if only there was a cast recording was on Spotify (why isn’t there an album on Spotify?!).
Little Shop of Horrors
Florist Seymour tackles a mysterious, wish-granting, blood-guzzling Venus flytrap in this hilarious Halloween classic. It’s got that campy take on horror that musicals do so well and the film version is an absolute Halloween classic. I nearly put it on my list of Halloween movies but I wanted to put this musical on here instead.
War of the Worlds
Ok, this isn’t really a traditional musical, it’s more like a concept album that was turned into an arena spectacle but I’m counting it as a Halloween musical because it’s got aliens in it. Martians, to be exact. Also the sound effects of the Martians communicating in the 2012 recording really do make me shudder.
Carrie
Despite an exceptionally short initial Broadway run, horrific reviews and… ergh I hate to type this… a Riverdale episode themed around it, Carrie has risen up from the ashes and is now considered to be a surprisingly good musical. Parts of it are genuinely quite creepy. I wonder if Carrie’s more recent success will introduce more Stephen King stories to the stage… It: The Musical maybe?!
Sweeney Todd
The Tim Burton film is a decent take on Stephen Sondheim’s show but, for me, listening to the original Broadway cast recording is way more sinister, especially as the film cuts out The Ballad of Sweeney Todd, arguably one of the creepiest songs in the whole show. The film’s good but the stage version is better!
Bat Out of Hell
The story itself isn’t massively Halloween-y and the songs existed before they were given the stage show treatment but there’s something about Bat Out of Hell that I just love and the title alone gives it a reason to be here. The story is a loose retelling of Peter Pan but set in a post-apocalyptic society and features songs written by Jim Steinman for the Bat Out of Hell albums.
Beetlejuice
I’ve got to be honest, I’ve not yet listened to Beetlejuice all the way through but I’ve heard enough to know I like it. Also, this show is incredibly popular right now and definitely has strong Halloween vibes so it deserved a mention. Since it’s been so big on Broadway (pre-Music Man situation anyway!) I’m hoping it might come to London soon.
The Rocky Horror Show
Speaking of shows I haven’t properly listened to but deserved a place on the list, let me also throw in this one. Look, I’ve seen the Glee episode and have heard the Time Warp plenty of times, I think that’s enough to put it here. I am determined to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show soon because it’s been on my list of films to watch for far too long. Strong Halloween vibes though, am I right?
Buried
This is a show about two people who meet speed dating and fall in love. The twist is that they’re both serial killers. There really aren’t enough shows out there that truly capture dark British humour and this show does just that. There’s also folk-sy sounding music in this one that’s different from the other shows on this list.
Bat Boy (TW: sexual assault reference)
This is one of those shows where the origin story of the show is nearly as weird as the plot itself. Bat Boy is a character created for a fake news tabloid and now he has his own spin-off musical. Bat Boy, or Edgar as he’s called in the show, goes on a quest of love, self-discovery and… well… blood in this darkly comedic musical.
Zombie Prom (TW: suicide theme)
I only just listened to this show and honestly, I’m not totally sure what I make of it yet but it’s definitely Halloween-y enough to be here and it pretty funny in places. After Toffee’s boyfriend comes back from the dead she must decide whether or not she still wants to be with him after he vows to clean up his bad boy ways in the afterlife.
Heathers (TW: suicide theme)
This is another show that is so popular it needs a mention even though I don’t think there are many musical fans that haven’t listened to this show yet. Based on the cult classic movie, this satiric musical features Veronica trying to put a stop to her boyfriend’s killing spree whilst turning her high school’s hierarchy upside down.
Honourable mentions: Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera
Both of these shows are musical theatre classics and have been running in the West End and on Broadway for ways (although whether or not Phantom is actually going to continue to run after the West End reopens is still a bit of an unanswered question right now!) but they both have some spooky themes so I wanted to include them too.
I hope you’ve now got some spooky tunes to carry you through the month. Let me know if I’ve missed any great Halloween musicals in the comments. Bye for now!
Iāve had a bit of break from blogging
recently. Apart from the odd couple, Iāve not posted much on here over the last
two/three months. Thatās because it has been a fairly busy time for me. There
have been some changes in my life and I went on holiday to Athens recently
(scroll down to read more about that!). That doesnāt mean I havenāt been seeing
shows or havenāt had anything to blog about though. So, I wanted to do a post
about what Iāve been up to these past few months and get back to blogging
regularly.
A few shows Iāve seen that I didnāt get around
to reviewingā¦
In June and July I saw three shows, the
touring productions of Little Miss Sunshine and Titanic and Bare: A Pop Opera
at The Vaults in London. Of these three, I definitely liked Bare best. I
already knew I loved the music going into the show and I think the cast did a
great job at bringing the emotion to it. When I left both my sister and I were
fighting back tears after this productionās powerful addition to the ending.
Iāve
read negative reviews which take issue with the layout of the venue and the
staging. Whilst I completely understand these issues I think they did a good
job with what they had. The choreography sometimes looked a bit dangerous as
the cast were dancing so close to one another on the small stage but I didnāt
feel like I missed any of the action due to the staging or direction.
Little
Miss Sunshine is a film I have loved for years. After seeing the musical I have
to say I think the story works better in film format but the stage show was
still fun all the same. The actress playing Olive was incredible and the VW van
staging was clever but the songs werenāt as memorable as other shows.
I
had a similar experience with Titanic, I liked it and thought the cast did a
great job. The songs were quite epic but not the kind Iād add to my Spotify
playlist. It was a good show but maybe not really my kind of thing.
Six days in Athensā¦
Earlier this month I went on holiday with
my school friends to Athens. Although temperatures during the day made us feel
like we were slowly frying, we had a great time. We had a look around the
Acropolis, which included stopping at the worldās oldest theatre (of course!),
the Theatre of Dionysus.
The
hike up to the top of the Acropolis was tricky in the heat, especially with all
the tourists stopping at every patch of shade you come across on the way, but
it was so worth it. The views you get over Athens are stunning and itās amazing
to think youāre treading the paths that people have walked along for millennia.
We passed the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, another ancient theatre, and the
remains of a temple for Asclepius before reaching the great staircase where the
audio tours weād downloaded began. From the staircase, you can see the temple of
Athena Nike and the Propylea, the gateway. We walked around learning history
and seeing the Erechtheion (this is where history and myth well and truly
collide as the holes in the side of the building are said to be the damage left
after Poseidon stuck the wall with his trident), and Old Temple of Athena before
walking around the Parthenon, one of the most recognizable buildings in the
world.
Another
one of my favourite places we visited was Aegina, an island near Athens. Aegina
has a lovely beach but even better yet for me, more ancient history. We visited
a museum, which led to a ruined Apollon Sanctuary. The views were beautiful and
the area itself was amazing to see. As well as visiting the Acropolis and
Aegina, we also went to an inspiring Turtle Sanctuary, watched the sunset from
Lycabettus Hill, went around Hadrianās Library, rode a āHappy Trainā, visited
some museums and ate some amazing food. So, all in all, it was a great trip!
Other bits and bobsā¦
I turned 23 in July and itās officially
been two years since I graduated university, Iām still a little puzzled about
where the time has gone! As I said, I havenāt been posting as much as usual
recently but I am planning on getting back to regular blogging from now on so
expect a lot more on here.
Thank you for reading and Iāll be back very
soon.
Itās Edinburgh Festival Fringe time again and Iām sad to not be heading up to Scotlandās beautiful capital this August (Iām determined to go back next year!) but I have been a couple of times before and it is a brilliant experience. So, for anyone lucky enough to be heading there this year, here are my top five tips for making the most out of your trip to the Festival…
1. Donāt have a plan
There are so many shows to see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that itās best to go in not being sure what youāre going to see and when. Likewise, if thereās a show you desperately want to see it probably is worth booking in advance to avoid disappointment but, for the most part, you can figure out what to see while youāre there. Trust me, take a walk along the High Street and youāll be handed hundreds of flyers for all kinds of performances, many of them cheap and many of them great.
2. But also do have some of a plan
This is probably more advice for next year at this point but make sure your travel and accommodation is booked well in advance. So many people descend on the city of Edinburgh in August that all the cheap accommodation is snapped up quickly so book ahead to avoid paying a fortune unnecessarily.
3. Surprise yourself with what you see
There are so many shows to see at the Festival and so many of them are so cheap that itās a great opportunity to push yourself to see something you wouldnāt usually see without the pressure of paying out a lot of money to see it. Iāve seen musicals, stand-up comedians, magic shows, spoken word, bizarre one-person comedy plays, a live sketch show, a beat boxer, burlesque shows, improvised performances and more at the Fringe and trust me, itās always the shows youāre most unsure about that end up being the most memorable.
4. Make the most of free fringe but make sure you also have cash on you
Free Fringe shows are perfect for filling
your free time between shows but you should be aware that āFreeā doesnāt
necessarily mean you donāt have to pay anything. At the end of Free Fringe
shows the performers will usually stand by the doors with a bucket for you to
add a tip so itās important to carry around some cash with you so youāre always
prepared.
5. See some variety shows
As Iāve said already, there are so many
shows that you could see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that even if youāre
planning to see five or six shows a day (which is actually perfectly doable),
youāre still not going to get through them all. A great way to counteract this
is to see some variety shows and cabarets. A lot of performers at the Fringe
promote their full shows by doing short segments at variety shows. This means
you not only get to see a lot of different short performances but it can also
help you pick your next show to see if you particularly liked one of the
performances. One particular variety show Iād recommend is The Midnight Show at
Just the Tonic. Itās a bunch of comedians doing 5/10 minutes of stand-up to
promote their shows in a cool underground venue at midnight. I went to The
Midnight Show both times I went to the Fringe and saw some brilliant comedians
both times.
So, there you have it. If you are heading
to Edinburgh for the Fringe this year, lucky you, Iām very jealousI hope you
have an amazing time and make sure you take photos and cram as many shows into
your time there as possible, you wonāt regret it!
The six wives of Henry VIII + sassy pop
music = one of the best theatre shows in recent yearsā¦ who knew?
Six may be a hit in the West End (and now over in Chicago too!) but if youāve yet to see this amazing show about girl power and rewriting history to turn it into āherstoryā (see what they did there??!), Iāve got six reasons why you need to give Six a shot.
No.1 It has an all-female cast and band
Theatre is traditionally populated with more men in the significant positions than women. A couple of months back the National Theatre came under fire for not including any plays with a female writing credit in their upcoming season. Women are so often overlooked off the stage so to see a show where ten talented and diverse women are on the stage every night is so refreshing. Henry VIII doesnāt make an appearance in the show because, for once, the story thatās being told isnāt really about him, itās about the six fascinating and fabulous women he royally screwed over.
No.2 Itās contemporary theatre at its finest
Each queenās song style takes inspiration from some modern-day muses, from Ariana Grande to Adele. This means that though these ladies are from Tudor England, nothing about this show feels stuck-in-the-past, in fact itās about as contemporary a show on the West End can get. There are catchy tunes with pop and RnB vibes and you can learn a lot about history in a way that is a lot more fun than opening a textbook.
No.3 It rewrites history from the womenās points of view
The separation of Henry VIII and Catherine and Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn is one of the most significant events in English history for bringing about the English Reformation but this is a story that is always taught from a very political and *yawn* male angle. If thatās not tiresome enough, all four other wives of Henry VIII are pretty much always glossed over when this topic comes up in school. To steal a quote from Cathy Parr in Six āthereās so much moreā to them than meets the eye. I could tell you all about the amazing things these queens did and their truly awful experiences during their reigns but I donāt want to spoil anything so just go and see the show, itās all based on real fact just told in the sassiest and catchiest way possible.
No.4 Itās a new British show
Ok, Iām not trying tot get into a debate about whether new British theatre is overshadowed by the Broadway shows that have been coming over to the West End of late. Iām certainly not hating on the Broadway-to-West-End hits either, I was one of the first in the virtual line to get tickets to the likes of Hamilton, Waitress and Come From Away (all fantastic shows, I might add) but it does feel like new British shows are sometimes lost in the sea of already-popular Broadway hits. Six has managed to gain a strong following online (with one of the sweetest fanbases I think Iāve seen for anything but more on that soon) and rightfully so because itās so damn good. The writing team behind it, Marlowe and Moss, came out of university and got a show on the West End nearly straight away, those are some top musical-writing skills right there! No.5 Every. Single. Song. Is. A. Jam.
Who doesnāt love a sassy feminist bop? In this show there are half a dozen sassy solo bops with three pretty unique ensemble numbers thrown in as well. Sure, the show might be short with only nine shows in the whole performance but those nine songs were chosen wisely and each one serves a clear purpose (even if Haus of Holbein is a bit weird). The cast album is short and sweet and the songs sound like something youād hear on the radio yet still have that magical musical theatre quality to them so whatās not to like?
Last night I saw the last performance of
Morgan Lloyd Malcolmās Emilia at the Vaudeville Theatre. It was a play Iād been
meaning to see for some time and ultimately I ended up leaving seeing it to
literally me last opportunity but Iām so glad I didnāt miss out.
Emilia
tells the life story of Emilia Bassano Lanier, an Elizabethan poet and proto-feminist.
She was one of the first published female poets in the English language and is
thought to be the āDark Ladyā from Shakespeareās sonnets. All this was pretty
intriguing for me. If she was such an important figure in English literature,
why had I never heard of her and why did she never even get a mention on my
English Lit degree? Because her story has been silenced and her work forgotten
for years.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The play stars an all-female diverse cast of very talented women. The three actresses who played Emilia, who each took on the role for a different portion of her life, were fantastic. Saffron Coomber who played Emilia 1 took the character from a bright-eyed child, scared to go to court but still mostly untouched by tragedy to a grown woman who had experienced the unfairness of the world she was living in repeatedly and had faced great losses, both personal and professional. The part of the play when Saffron walks from the stage for Adelle Leonce to take her place as Emilia 2 was genuinely incredibly moving and I think it was this section that created the most humour. Seeing the stage transformed into the Globe (the show was performed at the Globe before transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre so this scene must have been amazing to watch at the Globe itself) and the actors going into the boxes to watch a scene from Othello was brilliant. This scene created comedy and gave a lot of fuel to Emiliaās fire when Emilia 2 realises not only has Shakespeare stolen her words, heād also put them into the mouth of one of his characters who is, unsubtly, called Emilia.
It
was Emilia 3, played by Clare Perkins, who had the most powerful speeches
however. At the end of the show, her final monologue is more like a rally cry
for women to not forget their history and to keep fighting for equality in
their present and future. Itās a powerful moment which is followed by an
amazing dance sequence which sees the whole cast punching the air and shouting.
Overall
I really loved the humour, history, quirkiness and raw emotion of the play. To
see what Emilia went through, even creating a school to educate women, is so
inspiring and I canāt praise the cast and creatives enough for bringing this
incredible story to light and for making me feel so genuinely proud to be a woman.
I
do think the men were played more as caricatures than human beings most of the
time but women have been for years so maybe itās just evening the playing
field. Shakespeare is still shown to be literary genius, I particularly liked
the last exchange between Emilia and Will when heās trying to make sense of her
and Henry Carey is at least understanding of Emiliaās plight even if heās still
just interested in getting his leg over.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā I love the current focus on retelling the stories of women forgotten in history in London theatre right now in shows like Emilia, Six and Sylvia. And itās not just these shows that are forming a feminist revolution on the stage, walking around the West End district you see female faces on so many theatres with the likes of Waitress, 9 to 5, Wicked and Tina on right now. It just feels like a good time to be a female theatre fan. Emilia was funny and inspiring and I hope it goes on to have a life beyond this short run at the Vaudeville so even more women can see it and hear Emiliaās incredible story.
Itās time for Mayās top tunes. These are
the MT songs have I been enjoying this monthā¦
Livinā It Up on Top ā Hadestown
Well itās like he said, Iām an outdoor girl. Livinā it, livinā it up. Married to the king of the Underworld. Livinā it up on top. Trying to enjoy myself. Livinā it, livinā it up. Six months out of every twelve. Livinā it up on top.
Iām keeping this to one song per musical so this is the only Hadestown track to appear in Mayās top five. But, seriously Iāve listened to so much Hadestown this month, Iām one step away from booking flights to New York. Livinā It Up on Top is probably the song Iāve listened to the most from the original live cast recording. Itās fun, jazzy, funny and itās got Amber Gray in it. Whatās not to love? I just canāt wait for the new cast album to come out next week, I need it now (even though I think this song is really different in the Broadway version!). Check out my blog post on the Hadestown Live Cast Recording to read more about my love for this show.
I Donāt Need Your Love ā Six
So I sent that letter to my love, Got married to the king, Became the one who survived. Iāve told you about my life, the final wife. But, why should that story be the one I have to sing about, Just to win? Iām out. Thatās not my story. Thereās s much more, remember that I was a writer. I wrote book and psalms and meditations. Fought for female education, So all my women could independently study scripture. I even got a woman to paint my picture. Why canāt I tell that story? āCause in history, Iām fixed as one of six. And without him I disappear. We all disappear.
Just like Hadestown, I could probably put
any Six song on this list since Iāve been loving them all lately but I said one
song per show so Iām going with I Donāt Need Your Love. Not only is this a sad
and powerful break-up song for Catherine Parr and her one true love (not Henry,
obvs), itās also a ode to the idea that women are way more than what the men in
their lives have made them. Cathy P was basically a proto-feminist and this
song has probably one of my favourite verses of any song ever. Itās strong,
sassy and shows just how amazing and inspiring Parr was and how much of a shame
it is that sheās been reduced to just the āone who survivedā in history. Thank
God Six is changing that. Thank you to our current English history Lord and
saviours, Marlowe and Moss.
Somewhere Thatās Green ā Little Shop of Horrors
Iām his December bride. His father, he knows best. Our kids watch Howdy Doody As the sun sets in the west. A picture out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Far from Skid Row, I dream weāll go Somewhere thatās green.
I feel like Iāve been rediscovering Little
Shop of Horrors lately. I completely forgot how funny this show is. I really
need to rewatch the film. Iāve been listening to Somewhere Thatās Green a lot
because itās one of those songs that combines comedy with sincerity in a
genuinely quite moving way. Poor Audrey, she just dreams of the simple things
in life and a sweet little guyā¦ like Seymour.
We See the Light ā Something Rotten
We see the light. Youāve changed how weāre thinking, āCause we were blind but you showed us the way. Weāre wrong, youāre right. Salvation is yours if you do what is true to you And you do it with Luh-uh-uh-uh-ove.
Goddam is this a jam. Portia loves Nigel,
Nigel loves Portia but her preacher dad is stopping them from running off into
the sunset together so they imagine what it would be like if their families (and
her dadās whole congregation!) approved of their love and damn is it a tune.
There are several real jams in Something Rotten but this has to be my absolute
fave.
The Wizard and I ā Wicked
Unlimited. My future is unlimited. And Iāve just had a vision almost like a prophecy. I know, it sounds truly crazy And true the visionās hazy. But, I swear someday thereāll be A celebration throughout Oz Thatās all to do with me!
I saw Wicked for the first time in years
back in April and of all the songs in the show, this is the one that I left the
theatre thinking āI need to listen to that one againā. Itās such a big song for
Elphaba but it comes so early in the show that it almost gets forgotten about once
the show gets to Defying Gravity but it really is quite a show-stopping moment
when this song gets belted out. I wonāt be skipping this song when I listen to
Wicked ever again!
So there you have it, my favourite musical theatre jams from May. Check out my top April jams as well and thanks for reading!Ā
Georgia Haze 