I didn't get it either.
'John' has got a mini set list underneath the piano to follow with,
along with a few starting words to a certain song to help him remember the lyric order.
Which I thank him for - because after seeing that, I'm never going to forget that order either.



It was very cool to see how the show looks from the other point of view.
And I'd never actually been on a West End stage before, so I was a bit giddy about that too.

And having the centerfold for this entire visit was The Beatles.
And there's nooooooooothing in the world I like more than some rousing good ol' Beatles things!


Let It Be Live runs at the Garrick until 5 September 2015 - see it while you can!
Performances run from Monday - Saturday 7:30PM with matinees Thursday & Saturday 3:00PM.
Get your tickets HERE.

This will forever be one of my favorite Beatles tunes.
Just because it's great.
And sometimes you don't need a better reason than that.


We Can Work It Out has two distinct melodies in it - both way too catchy.
I remember the first time I really heard a lot of Beatles songs, and this is one of the most memorable.
On our first visit to the Cavern Club, we decided to catch the tribute band that plays on Saturday nights,
and this song specifically played, and I was - of course - jamming hard.

The next day we woke up in the hostel, I was talking to Heather about the songs I knew and liked.
And I specifically remember saying,
"There was this one that is really fast, then gets really slow, then it gets fast again... and that's the only way I can describe it.."
& Heather was all - "OKAY. I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT"
We spent about 20 minutes searching on her iTunes because it was right on the tip of her tongue.

Really slow .. then really fast .. then gets really slow .. then fast again ..
Um .. what?

She finally found it and absolutely knew it was the exact song I was talking about.
And I still tell her to this day I will never be more impressed by anything she does after finding that song
from that poor, poor description.

FUN FACTS:

- The song was recorded in only two days, amounting to about 11 hours.

- The song was written about arguments with Paul's then girlfriend Jane Asher.
Who I love. And hope Paul is still regretting ruining the relationship.
Because, to put it simply - Jane. Is Perfect.

- It was released as a double a-side single with Day Tripper.
There were disputes about which song should be the a-side and which the b-side.
So instead of figuring out who gets their way,
they just went on and made them both a-sides - releasing the world's first double a-sided singles.
Because they are THE BEATLES. And they can do whatever the hell they want.


 I could watch the promo videos for this over and over.
How cute is Paul cracking up at John - they're having so much fun!
JUST THE GREATEST DUO EVER.

If you follow anything of mine, I won't have to explain much about my week, as I'm sure you've already seen.

After I finished up my finals, Heather and I had the entire next week (last week) booked up with just about everything that I am in love with.

You should already know this by now too. It's Paul McCartney and Liverpool.

Paul started his European tour last weekend, and Heather and I had booked tickets to see him on Saturday.

It was an amazing show, despite being so far away from the stage -

a much different view than the last time I saw him!

 

Even so, seeing Paul from anywhere is always a highlight in my life.

After this show, we didn't have our next show booked until the coming Thursday,

where we would be seeing Paul again in Liverpool.

THIS was the show I was dying for.

Seeing a Beatle in his hometown - and that hometown being my favorite place in the world?

 TOO MUCH HAPPINESS!

BUT - before that even happened,

those crazy Beatles vibes that keep coming around appeared again,

and Heather and I were off on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Birmingham

where a friend of ours had left guest passes and floor seats waiting for us.

My mind is still blown about this, and I am pretty sure I owe him my life for these.

We went to a pre-show reception, where we met a few of the band mates, their friends & family,

and it was just insane. I felt like a fly on the wall to the in crowd. And I was loving it more than ever.

The show was incredible - we happened to be in the 12th row

and I danced so much I was surprised my legs didn't buckle in by the end of it.

And the best part? The next day we were headed on a train to Liverpool to see him AGAIN!

Call me crazy - I will probably agree.

The show in Liverpool was a special one.

This was where Paul was brought up, as well as the beginnings of The Beatles.

You could tell how happy he was to be home, and he was rocking so hard the entire time,

and yes - we were rocking right with him!

After the show we headed down to Mathew Street - or as I like to call it; home.

We jumped down into the Cavern and the other bars around,

where we ended up meeting the family of Pete Best

who you may know as the guy who got kicked out of The Beatles.

The next day we headed outside of the City Centre,

which was great because we rarely walk around further what's around Mathew Street.

We went out to John Lennon's house and Strawberry Fields,

found a cute cafe with the sweetest owners,

and then headed over to St. Peter's Church for a pretty legendary show.

The show was put on by The Quarrymen,

and if you haven't heard of them - they are the first band that John Lennon started back in 1956.

The guys that we saw were the actual Quarrymen; meaning, the guys that were with John at that time.

St. Peter's Church Hall is also the building where Paul met John for the first time, auditioned, and was accepted into the band.

So here we are - in the building where the beginning of just about everything happened,

with the very guys who were witnesses to it.

My mind was blown.

My mind is STILL blown.

Literally standing in the spot where John Lennon met Paul McCartney for the first time.

I will never be able to fully grasp this.

After The Quarrymen's show, we headed back to Mathew Street for some more fun.

We met up with some friends and hung out with them for the night,

and this continued on through the weekend.

 

My ears are muffed, my body is sore, my photos are blurry,

but it was a filled with my favorite music and my favorite people,

so I'm a very happy gal.

Seeing Paul McCartney three times, a show from The Quarrymen, and a weekend in Liverpool?

I'd say it was definitely a week for the books.

And I stand by my continuous statement - Liverpool is the greatest city in the world.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rose, who I like to describe as a 'momager' to the extreme,
will stop at nothing to bring her children, June and Louise, to fame.

Choreographing a few [terrible, but hilarious] musical acts, she grabs a couple of outsiders as well as Lousie
to make up an ensemble to center around Baby June, who, in her eyes, is the 'star of the family.'

June becomes frazzled with the constant pushing and takes off.

An unfortunate circumstance for Rose to realize she has a second daughter,

but nonetheless, she grabs Louise and seizes the opportunity to make her into a star.

There is always a buzz about big shows coming to the West End,

but I have never heard so much praise for a performance than for Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose.

Obviously I had to see for myself to make sure they were right.

And yes. They were right.

Imelda Staunton is loud, raucous, and determined.

She lit up the stage with energy and carried the show beautifully.

Her performance of  Rose's Turn is one of my favorite performance I've seen.

STUNNING.

Lara Pulver takes on the role of Louise

and makes the beautiful transfer from a shy and untalented daughter

into the fierce, confident, and grown-up Gypsy Rose Lee.

The ensemble was fantastic as well.

It was a different set up than I had seen,

where each of the ensemble only made a major appearance in one act.

The show was extremely centralized, with Imelda and Lara on stage more on their own

than with others.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is possibly the hottest ticket in town right now,

and I think it's going to stay that way for a while.

They are pretty pricey, but day seats are available for £25 at the box office.

I was a little weary - I will admit, I am a stalls lover when it comes to the theatre.
I like to sit on the floor, and normally quite close.

These seats are in the upper circle, so I was very hesitant.

BUT the seats were absolutely fantastic!

I enjoy sitting close because I love the connection you can get with the performance;

you can see facial expressions, little movements and things you may not catch from farther away.

In the Savoy Theatre, though, I didn't miss a thing.

I did not feel as far away as I initially thought I was, and felt right in the action.

Which is very telling of both the theatre as well as the performers.

Simply wonderful.

To sum it up,

SEE THIS SHOW!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The running time for this show is approximately 2 hours 50 minutes with one interval.

Matilda the Musical is based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.

I'm going to hope that you had a childhood and already know this classic story;
five year old Matilda, blessed with a magical brilliance beyond belief,
shows that you can be small and still have the power to stand up to the bullies that are knocking you down.

The musical opened when I lived here in 2012, and for some reason I put it off
until I was headed back to the states and missed it completely.

Very similar to my Sweeney Todd horror story - which really just sums it up to that being my year of stupidity when it came to good theatre.

 This show had a lot of hype when it came out - both in the West End,
and when it made it's debut on Broadway.

It's still got a great reputation, which only told me that I needed to FINALLY get to it.

All that I expected was children. A lot of children.
And that's exactly what the show was.
A ton of insanely adorable, and freakishly talented children running around
and making this show absolutely incredible.