I hadn’t seen this show on my first trip to London, so when I ended up in London one night with no show to see (which is a story for another time), I decided to run over to the Pheonix and see if I could get in for that night. Luckily I could, and I was able to see the show for my first time!
The bad news is that I was sitting in the upper circle, so I probably didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I might have if I’d been sitting closer. But I still enjoyed it very much! Linda Nolan was really good as Mrs. Johnstone – I particularly liked the way she interacted with the “kids”. Paul Crosby as the 8-year-old Mickey had me in stitches, and he continued to impress throughout the show. Ditto for Mark Hutchinson, who I’d heard good things about before, and he lived up to all expectations.
I’m not sure if it’s because of where I was sitting, but the sound on the songs was a bit off – the actors tended to get drowned out by the orchestra. The dialogue was fine though, I could hear everything with no problems.
I thought it was really interesting that none of the songs in the show have a traditional “big ending”, which prompts applause. As a result, there is no applause after any of the songs, only at the end of the first act and at the end of the show. It is pretty unusual for a musical – I don’t know if I can think of any other show where I’ve experienced that. But it was nice in a way, as it didn’t interrupt the flow of the story at all.
And even from sitting way above the stage, I still got sucked into the story – I didn’t even realize how much until the end, when I was sniffling with tears running down my face. It is a really powerful ending.
I would really like to see the show again, preferably sitting a little closer next time! 🙂
|
Mrs. Johnstone |
LINDA NOLAN |
|
Narrator |
PHILIP STEWART |
|
Mickey |
PAUL CROSBY |
|
Eddie |
MARK HUTCHINSON |
|
Mrs. Lyons |
LOUISA LYDELL |
|
Linda |
RUTH GIBSON |
|
Sammy |
DANIEL TAYLOR |
|
Mr. Lyons |
STEPHEN PALLISTER |
|
Policeman/Teacher |
ANTHONY JORDAN |
|
Donna Marie/Miss Jones |
AMANDA MINIHAN |
|
Perkins |
JULIAN DUNCAN |
|
Neighbour |
SETH JEE |
|
Brenda |
NIKKI DAVIS-JONES |
|
Bus Conductor |
MATT ROBINSON |