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.

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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!

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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.

It was the season of Sweeney!

London had two productions of Sweeney Todd playing within the past few weeks.

A huge production from the ENO starring Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel,

and a smaller fringe transfer with Jeremy Secomb and Siobhan McCarthy.

The last time I was in London, Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball starred in a production
at the Adelphi Theatre, that for some reason I just 'decided I didn't feel like going.'

......???????????

I'm still working on forgiving myself for that.

SO, with that traumatic experience of stupidity looming over my head, I knew I had to see at least one of these.

With ENO's production prices in the hundreds and Tooting Arts Club's all sold out, though,

I was pretty sure Sweeney himself was blatantly holding this show just out of my reach.

Luckily though, I stumbled on the website one day to find a single seat returned for Tooting Art's Clubs production - and yes. I JUMPED.

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Sweeney Todd ran at Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop down in Tooting,

and to much praise, it made a short transfer to the West End

in an exactly replicated shop right on Shaftesbury Avenue.

Look closely though, because you might miss this little door smacked between the massive Les Miserables and Thriller marquees.
Once inside,  you'll be taken downstairs into a lobby filled with photos and descriptions of the old shop

that will lead you to where the show will be played.

There are a few, narrow rows of tables to sit at, as well as a back line of chairs.

Very small and intimate - and in my opinion, the best kind of theatre.

You'll get cast members literally in your face, on your table,

shoving you down the rows.

I even left with a bit of shaving cream on my dress,

which makes you feel much more like you aren't just watching the show,

but apart of the show.

that created only a mildly terrifying atmosphere...

Sweeney Todd runs at Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop until May 30.

Performances run Monday - Saturday 7:30PM with matinees Thursday & Saturday 2:30PM.

The running time for this show is approximately 2 hours 40 minutes with one interval.

The show is currently SOLD OUT, but keep checking the site for returns to pop up, as I have seen plenty come.

I'm a little late on this, but it takes about 3 weeks to get over the fact that you actually saw Carole King,

so forgive me.

Beautiful opened on Broadway in 2014 to rave reviews,

so it wasn't a surprise when the announcement came that it'd be making an appearance in the West End.

The musical follows Carole King,
in her life from the beginning of her career at the ripe age of 16,
with her first hits It Might As Well Rain Until September, and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,
to the making of her legendary album Tapestry into her first live performance at Carnegie Hall.

The story captures her success in topping the charts with husband and song-writing partner, Gerry Goffin,
along with the growing relationship with best friends, and fellow music legends, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann,

and moves on through the journey she takes of finding herself as a solo artist.

From some of Carole's most popular solo songs, 
You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, It's Too Late, and You've Got A Friend,
to others that were given away to some of the top artists of the day,
Up On The Roof, Pleasant Valley Sunday, and Chains,
the show features hit after hit, making it quite hard to stay in your seat.

The cast compliment the music beautifully, giving a perfect portrayal of the story that plays alongside;
Katie Brayben is a force to be reckon with, leading the show as a Carole King,
Lorna Wants gives Cynthia Weil the spunk she deserves,
and Ian McIntosh adds the humor to the show as an overanxious Barry Mann
Each give a standout performance and are more than deserving of their most recent Olivier nominations.

Is there any better way to celebrate Paul coming back to Europe other than an event that literally centered around The Beatles?

Let It Be is less of a musical and more of a tribute.

It previously hit the West End in 2013 where it played at The Savoy Theatre,

and has recently found its way back - this time, though, at The Garrick Theatre.

Wednesday was opening night for the show, and in celebration, there were a few events held leading up to the evening performance.
The first, that I was invited to with the lovely Rebecca at Official Theatre,
took place at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel

They've recently become the hotel sponsors for the show, and have redecorated one of their suites in a Beatles-themed paradise.

  
Beatles being Beatles

The suite was filled with Beatles memorabilia and photographs from the production.

Beatles fanclub letters on the desk, playing cards, and even a guitar with a song book to try and teach yourself a few tunes.

The bedroom had more photos I couldn't stop gushing over and Sergeant Peppers pillows on the bed that I was resisting urges from taking home with me.

There was also champagne

and cake pops

and if you haven't already caught my drift, a LOT of Beatles stuff.

I was a very happy girl.

The band had a short acoustic set to play for us during the event

and as much as I wished they were taking requests, they did play If I Fell which was one I was hoping to hear, so I was pretty satisfied.

After, the guys gave some interviews and took a few photos with fans.

They were a bit rushed for time and others had prepared legitimate questions to ask them about the show and their role,

which was much better than my position, which was really just wanting to talk about the actual Beatles with a bunch of people who obviously loved them too.

So while the others got all professional, I gushed over how cute the boys were in A Hard Days Night that was playing on the TV while trying not to jump on the snare that Ringo left open...

The event ran for about an hour before the boys were rushed out for their NEXT pre-show event,
which was a 'rooftop concert' recreation on the balcony of the Garrick Theatre.

I was finishing up my 1st (or 4th) glass of champagne
and coming to grips that I was, in fact, not going to be allowed to call this suite my new home,
so we unfortunately missed the performance, but made it just in time for the actual show.

Now I'm a stickler when it comes to The Beatles.
If you don't know, I am a pretty big fan.
I notice the little movements and mannerisms, and can be pretty critical when they aren't up to par.
Overly picky? It's possible.

Anyways, even with this particular attitude,
I will say Let It Be is incredibly authentic.
For how much you can capture who John, Paul, George and Ringo were on stage,
these guys do a pretty good job.

The most impressive aspect of the show, though, is when they sing together.
Their harmonies are so close to what you'd hear on an actual record it blew my mind.
And that's coming from ME - so you know that means they did it really well.