John Barrowman at New Theatre Oxford

Quite often these days when you buy tickets for a gig or concert you are buying them so far in advance that the event seems to be forever and a day away, and then all of a sudden it is upon you and so it was with seeing John Barrowman at Oxford.  Mike had decided to bow out of this one, I know he secretly likes JB but decided this time to leave it to Jamie and I, who totally love him!!

Jamie and I headed out as soon as he was changed after school, and as it was a Friday it didn't matter too much if it was going to be a really late one - not that Jamie minds a late night!!  The trip to Oxford was horrendous, the weather was not good and the road was so busy, we ended up stuck in several mini-jams.  We were lucky with parking and got a spot in our favourite car park for New Theatre and headed to Pizza Hut for a quick bite to eat. 

Jamie decided he really wanted the cheesy bites pizza but as they only come in large - I was reluctant to let him have a large one, when our waiter suggested we have the half and half so Jamie had his pepperoni and I had my vegetarian and we both had cheesy bits.  Well done to Pizza Hut and our lovely waiter who got us seated, served and out in plenty of time for the show. 

So we headed the short distance to the theatre, grabbed some drinks and took our seats, middle of front row of the balcony (good seats Mike, well done!!)  And we didn't have to wait too long before the band came out.  The show was fantastic of course, totally JB, lots of fun, some great songs, some really cheesy bits, which I think he kept just (but only just) this side of cringe worthy.  He is a great singer, a real pro and in time I am sure a national treasure to be. 

Support came from 'I'd Do Anything' and West End Oliver star Jodie Prenger, which was a total delight as she had been my favourite right through and she clearly works well with JB as they have the same wicked sense of fun.  Highlights of the night - a song of John's last album which I hadn't fully appreciated until I heard it live 'Unusual Way' which is just amazing, Fireflies which delighted Jamie, Don't Cry Out Loud (JB's version is great), The Doctor and I (slightly altered words from the Wicked song) and of course I Am What I Am (which brought back some totally wonderful memories of seeing John in La Cage Aux Folles on Halloween last year - a night to be truly treasured as he was totally brilliant)

The set list was - Let's Get This Party Started, You to Me are Everything, Viva Las Vegas, Don't Cry Out Loud, Unusual Way, Spiderman/Wonderwoman medley, Memory , Cry Me A River (Jodie Prenger), Mambo Italiana (Jodie Prenger), Fireflies, Rain on My Parade, Rhythm of the Beat/Turn the Beat Around, Let Your Love Flow, Man I Fell Like a Woman, Remember When, Proud Mary (Jodie Prenger), Nobody Does It Better (Jodie Prenger), So Close (duet with Jodie Prenger), Copacabana, The Doctor and I,  Rule The World, Let's Get Loud, and for the encore From This Moment On and of course I Am What I Am (a song which could have been written for John).

A great concert.  After a quick trip to the loo, in which poor Jamie had to wait just outside the ladies (where there was a long queue of ladies), then a couple of minutes to the car.  The car park and the centre of Oxford always takes a few minutes to get out of but then once back on the main road it took us hardly any time at all to get home.  I always feel I've got real value for money from a John Barrowman show including the 20 minute interval the show was on for the best part of 3 hours!

Ciao

Sue
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Reading challenge 15/16 - currently reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Best of Times Are Now

Saturday 31st October, La Cage Aux Folles (starring John Barrowman)

I am not sure I have enough superlatives to describe how wonderful this production was, in the man's own words, fantastic fantastic fantastic. In years to come I will be remembering this show and JB's performance, it was all truly magnificent. Quite simply John Barrowman was born to play the part of Albin and boy did he have fun playing it, and we had fun watching him.

We had managed to secure ourselves 2nd row seats for this one and it was so worth the cost. We headed off to London and had planned to park at Stanmore, which is one of our usual stopping places for getting into London, about 45 minutes to drive to Stanmore from home and then about the same on the tube into central London and it works out so much cheaper too. We had a minor hitch in that there were no tubes running from Stanmore, so we headed out of the car park, spotted a sign for Harrow and Wealdstone and followed that, less than 10 minutes later we were parked up at H&W tube station and were on a direct tube line to Charing Cross where we were planning to stop to find a restaurant on The Strand - so we hadn't lost out at all and now have another way to get into London too.

As it was late Saturday afternoon we decided not to mess about too much and headed to Pizza Express, where you can't go wrong really and suprisingly we were seated within 5 minutes. Jamie had dough balls (what else?), I tried the Formaggio Bread, which was yummy and Mike had Bruschetta con Funghi, which was also lovely - Mike and I tend to swap bits and pieces whenever we go out. We also got some cheesy garlic bread, which Jamie also demolished. For mains Jamie had the American (Pepperoni), Mike the Sloppy Giuseppi and I had Lasagne - all of which were good. For pud Mike and I had Tiramasu (what else could you have) and Jamie had the Fudge Cake. Where Jamie puts it all I don't know, but he is going to cost a fortune to feed when he is about 14 (ha ha!!!!!). I had my Pinot Grigio Blush (my usual at PE) and Mike the Perroni, Jamie had apple juice. Considering it was tea-time Saturday the service was excellent our waiter totally charming and we had a lovely enjoyable meal. Plus from PE it was less than 5 minutes walk to the theatre, what more could we have asked for.

The Playhouse Theatre is just near the River Thames, so it was already a pretty magical place, and the theatre itself was lovely, old, opened in 1882 and wonderfully decorated, small and intimate with fantastic views from almost every angle I could see. I love going to a new theatre, especially in London as they have such a wonderful history attached to them and The Playhouse is no different. Sir Alec Guiness made his professional debut there, it played home to the Old Vic Company after WWII when their theatre had been bombed, many of the greats of English theatre have played there Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Michael Redgrave, Dame Thora Hird amongst many others. In 1950 the BBC took the theatre over and it became a studio for Radio Shows such as Hancock's Half House and The Goon Show and The Beatles and Rolling Stones also performed for radio from there.

After laying dormant for 10 years it reopened in 1985 and as well as playing home to The Peter Hall Company, as well as productions starring Leo McKern, Sir Ian McKellen, Liam Neeson, Juliette Binoche, Jackie Mason and Al Murray, a diverse group indeed. More recently it has seen Kristin Scott Thomas, Val Kilmer, Bob Hoskins and Ian Richardson walk its boards and now its La Cage Aux Folles. So a lovely theatre with an extensive theatrical history.

The story of La Cage Aux Folles, which is set in the south of France, is the story of an unusual but very loving family. Georges and Albin have been a long time partnership and they run a club together where Albin performs as Zaza. Together they have brought up Georges' son Jean-Michel with Albin being his mother in everything but name. But Jean-Michel has fallen in love with the daughter of the bigoted local politician whose aim is to close down all the 'disreputable' clubs of which La Cage is one. Fearing that his unusual upbringing may frighten off his lover Anne and bring the wrath of her father down on them, Jean-Michel asks for Georges to abandon Albin, if only for the duration of the in-laws to visit. Thus the story is set for both the pathos and comedy of the situation.

Yes John Barrowman is an entertainer with a capital E, yes he was born to play this part but more than that, he has something very very special and you cannot take your eyes off him when he is on stage. He filled the stage with real charisma, passion, star quality, x-factor, whatever it is he has it in bucket loads, lorry loads. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see him in this production as it was something very very special, magical.

Albin, is tempremental and very high maintenance and does not take kindly to being cast aside, he does after all love Jean-Michel just as a mother would. He cannot understand and fears the changes and worries about the commitment of his long time partner and their child. But he is also who he is and cannot change that, and that brings on the highlight of the first half, a song which John Barrowman has claimed as his own, "I Am What I Am". I have heard him sing this song many times, several live and yet this time he imbued it with a whole extra layer of pain and passion.

His co-star Australian actor Simon Burke complemented him beautifully and they had a strong rapport on stage, which kept the whole performance this side of pantomime, yet at times, you could see the devilment in Barrowman's eyes. Burke too was superb and had just the touch of sophistication and gentility, the perfect foil for Barrowman as Georges is the perfect foil for Albin.


In the second half Albin pretends to be Jean-Michel's uncle, until Jean-Michel's fickle birth mother lets him down yet again and fails to turn up to meet his fiancee and future in-laws. Albin comes to the rescue and dons his dress again this time to play the perfect mother, in Chanel suit and pearls. Building up to the highlight of the second half with the rousing "The Best of Times", I was singing that song all the way home!! It was truly joyous. I won't spoil the ending but it is of course funny and loving.

The singing and dancing was all brilliant, out of the La Cagelles a mentioned must go to Kristopher Mitchell (I think) who played Mercedes (orange dress) I hope, and the boredom of his character he portrayed brilliantly, also Syrus Lowe Albin's butler/maid who milked his character for all it was worth and everyone else who were wonderful. The ensemble cast was excellent and at times a little naughty. A couple of times I thought has this gone just a bit too far for Jamie, but he loved it all, Mike loved it too so it was a winner all round for the O'Connors. Oh and a bit of gossip, when I went to the loo in the interval I saw Scott who is JB's partner, who is as equally handsome as Barrowman himself. John Barrowman's parents were there too, they have been at a couple of other shows we have seen him in too, what wonderful supportive parents, you can see how proud they are of him.

This show was a truly magical experience and in my top 2 of all time musicals I have seen.

We were on such a high after the show that we had a wander onto the Millenium Bridge and looking out onto the Thames at 10.45 on a Saturday night is wonderful too. The London Eye, the old GLC building and the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were all light up and looked magnificent. Below is Jamie and I on the bridge ......

Mike and Jamie, Mike doing what every good husband should, holding my coat .....

a look down the length of the bridge, with Mike and Jamie in the foreground, I think this is the bridge which was featured at the very start of Ashes to Ashes. And then we headed for the tube, where I was still singing!!


It was a magical evening and one we will remember for a very long time.

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins

Finally - They Are All Gone!

Friday 19th June

As Mike was off to do a couple of bits for his Mum this morning, I thought I would send over a couple of arrangements for her, so he was sent out with them and a list of the foliage I needed from her garden to complete my last arrangement. And I got on with all of my usual bits and pieces around the house. Binnie getting on very well, Jamie safely at school and I had Metallica on loud.


Mike came home with some exciting news, there is going to be another Friars Gig (hooray), after last time I can hardly wait - Friday October 23rd with Stiff Little Fingers. Check out full details at http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/.
We are going to have a busy October, what with birthdays, wedding anniversery, Spandau Ballet, Sound of Music, La Cage Aux Folles (with John Barrowman) and now a Friars Gig too. My own musical taste is nothing if not eclectic!

So here it is, I think I did about 14 arrangements with the flowers I bought at CRM, so actually they worked out very reasonably priced per arrangement! This arrangement is an asymetrical arrangement, it is triangled shaped, I tend to think of it as either an L or backward L - this one is the backward L. I am very pleased with this one. I had got some chyosia (a favourite, I love the smell), conifer, variegated laurel and a couple of other bits off Mike's Mum and they worked incredibly well. I used the conifer to give me the line and height, then used alstro to support the line, the lillies took centre stage backed up with peony (are they ever going to open?) and carnations.

Mike and I went up to school to view the portraits the children had painted during creativity week and have a look at the scrapbooks they had done. Jamie was disappointed he hadn't won anything in the competition (he should - but I'm going to say that). The winner was very good, I told Jamie he should be very proud of his, he had done all of the work himself and that is very important! Here is a picture of Jamie with his self portrait.

Jamie was happy, it is the weekend and all his new clothes arrived, (he chose his own this time with only a little help from me - I love Next online, have I mentioned I hate shopping!). He has got some super t-shirts and lots of shorts for the summer and very expensive sandals (Timberland). Mike is happy there is going to be another Friars Gig, I'm happy Mike is home for the weekend so we are going to have a lovely family, chillin weekend.


Ciao

Sue

XX
Reading challenge 2/16 - currently reading T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
SLYMI - 1/52

Saturday 16th May - Crop and John Barrowman

Busy old day. I was pleased to be heading off to the crop in the morning, I had planned what I was going to do so only took what was necessary. I was keeping my fingers crossed that some of lovely gals at the crop might have one or two bits for school and they didn't disappoint, in fact they far exceeded anything I was expecting and I had tons of stuff to take into school the following week. A very big thank you to all of them. I wasn't able to stay until the end as I had to head home, get changed and then Mike and I had to collect Jamie on our way to Oxford to see John Barrowman.

We collected Jamie from Mike's Mums and then headed off to Oxford, hoping we would be in time to have a bite to eat before settling down to watch the wonderful Johnny B, as we call him! We managed to get a table in Zizzi's which was less than 2 minutes walk from Oxford New Theatre. So we all enjoyed a lovely meal there, Jamie has pepperoni pizza, I had chicken in a tomato sauce and pasta and Mike had meatballs. It was all totally delicious!

We then headed over the road, to realise there was still a queue waiting to go in so either things were running very late or there was a problem. It turned out that there had been some technical difficulties which meant the start of the show was delayed by 20 minutes. Once in, we headed off to find out seats, and we were not to be disappointed with them. We were about 8 rows from the front and had a walkway in front of our row, so not only did we have fantastic leg room but had an amazing view of the stage.

Jamie and I are (as you know) mad about John Barrowman, he is so fun, enthusiastic and energetic, he just makes me smile and I guess my view on life is to try to do as much of the things that make you smile and I've found it makes the rest of life easier.

We were expecting a good show and we were far from disappointed, smiles, laughter and some tears too. This was John Barrowman showman and he was going to have a great time and he was going to make sure we did too. The audience was pretty full of woman of a certain age, a good few younger ones too and some others around Jamie's age, not so many men, but enough so they didn't feel out of place (it wasn't quite Daniel, Cliff or Barry audience thankfully). Quite a bit of audience chat to him and a fair bit of innuendo from JB too, especially with one of the band!

He bounded onto stage with his dancers (the same ones from his Saturday night show) and his shiny suit (it looked like the same on from his Saturday night show too!!) to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now and no-one in that audience was going to! I said to Mike that he didn't have to come if he didn't want, but despite protestations, he came along (I think there is something of the man protests too much and secretly really likes Barrowbum as we also call him!) The show was cheesy, very cheesy, but it was fun, it made us all smile, laugh and sing along and what more do you want from a show than that!

The songs were a trip through some of JB's own favourites, classics and standards that we all know and love, some of the highlights songwise were Solitaire, Just Help Yourself, Rhinestone Cowboy and of course I Am What I Am (which I am very much looking forward to hearing again when we see him in La Cage Aux Folles on Halloween). And the very best, well his duet with the lovely Daniel Boys - I Know Him So Well, because they can both sing beautifully.

For me I think JB gets away with a lot - because he can sing so well, he is full of charm and fun and he can take the mickey out of himself too. I love him too because a couple of years ago when I lost my boys ( my dogs Mika and Nelson) I spent a lot of time watching Torchwood, hiding from the world and getting through it and along with Mike and Jamie JB's humour, fun and charm got me through it. He did make me cry at this gig too, around the time I lost my dogs, he too lost a couple of his dogs and he sang a song about loss and had some piccies of his dogs, for a few minutes I was a blubbering wreck again, but I am not averse to using events like that for a catharsis and I'm never ashamed for doing it either, we all need to listen to our emotions and let them happen. We spend so much time looking after our physical well being I also think it is so important to look after our psychological well being too - its a lesson it took me a long time to learn, but boy am I glad I did.

It was great to hear a couple of tracks of his album too including the single What About Us and my favourite of the whole show is his version of I Won't Send Roses, which I think he sings to perfection in fact his version is THE best ever. A wonderful evening.

Ciao

Sue

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