Theatres: Fun in London

Theatres: Fun In London

 

After reading my last post about negotiating the maze that led me in and out of London, you might well ask:  What the heck, Bro?  Did you have any fun?

 

You bet I did.  I was traveling with a relative and he and I think along the same lines, to wit, pubs and theater!  We also threw in a museum, some shopping and a few very classy bars!

 

Over the years, I’ve written a few times about pubs I’ve enjoyed and I found some more, but this time I’m writing about three plays we went to see, a comedy and two musicals.  You can probably see the direction this is going.

 

There is something you need to know about plays in the West End of London.  First of all, the imperative tube stop:  Leicester Square.  Why is it important?  Because that’s where the discount ticket offices are!  The Northern Line and the Piccadilly Line will get you there. The offices open at ten o’clock and the line grows lengthy, so be early.

 

Now, how about the plays?

We’d been waiting over a year to see Magic Goes Wrong, a comedy by Mischief (the name of the company) and the great magicians, Penn & Teller.  Mischief has written  some great comedy, such as The Play That Goes Wrong, and Peter Pan Goes Wrong.  When you see one of their productions, you know you’ll be entertained by buffoonery and side splitting goofball humor.  Magic Goes Wrong is no exception.   If I had to pick it apart, I’d say the first half was not as good as the second, but of course, for humor to work, you have to set it up and I hasten to add, I laughed a lot in the first half as well.  But, the second had me rolling.

The second play was The Drifters Girl.  If you’re my age you lived through the birth of Rock and Roll, The Drifters was one of the founders, a four man group with hits such as Under the Boardwalk, and Save the Last Dance for Me.  This musical tells their story, with an emphasis on the woman who made them stars and kept the group going in spite of personal crises and a revolving door of performers.  As the musical progresses, the whole repertoire of magnificent songs keeps the ball rolling and lively.  A unique story, well told and I guarantee you’ll come out of the theater tapping your toes, with lyrics on your tongue and thoughts of your misspent youth and the high school dances, and, oh yeah, of course the girlfriends.

The last musical we saw was Moulin Rouge and what a spectacular production it was!  The sets were wonderfully elaborate, and the songs and dancing spectacular.  Only a couple of things bothered this purist. 

 

Moulin Rouge was set in La Belle Époque, from the last of the 19^th century, until the First World War. It was the time of postimpressionism and racy dancehall music, of which The Can-Can is the most famous.   Toulouse Lautrec, as you might recall, was the artist who captured so many scenes of the Moulin Rouge dancers and the bordellos and the ladies of the night.

 

Instead, in this production, Toulouse Lautrec was portrayed as a down on his luck hobo, who miraculously came out of the gutter to bypass art and direct a play.  Meanwhile, except for the Can-Can, the music in this production depended on bits of rock and roll, as well as those of Lady Gaga and Madonna.  Not that I hate those songs, I just found them unconvincing, as I would if Les Miserables featured songs by the Beatles. Picture Jean Valjean singing “try to see it my way,” or The Phantom of the Opera, with songs by Elton John, backed up with choruses by the Shirelles, with a little Buddy Holly tossed in.

 

But I have to admit, the crowd loved it.  Gave the performers a standing O.  I kept my seat and didn’t mind that the enthusiastic crowd blocked my view.  I’d had had enough.

 

And I have to mention, before you leave Leicester Square, with your pockets full of discount tickets, or even if you’re not in the mood for theater, Leicester Square is also the gateway to so much culture. It’s a short walk to Trafalgar Square and on the way you’ll pass the National Portrait Gallery, which is only a very short walk to National Gallery, not to be missed if you’re an art fanatic, featuring centuries of art, including all my favorite impressionists, Monet, Manet, Renoir and so many others.

 

And while you’re in Trafalgar Square, walk diagonally across the street to The Admiralty Pub, the only pub in Trafalgar Square, and a glorious place, adored with flags and a large balcony in the shape of a ship’s upper deck.

 

Ernest Hemingway called Paris a moveable feast.  I call London a banquet!