Oops I've been a bit lax here lately, sorry! I think I have gone into hibernation mode as I have spent so much of the time between my last post and this post asleep!
We had a wonderful day on Saturday, for Chris's birthday which was in December I bought us tickets to go and see Cats at the Palladium. It is one of our favourite musicals and although I had seen it with the school years ago my memory of it is vague. Chris never got to see it, and with it being taken off stage never thought he would be able to see it, certainly not at the Palladium. So we have fuelled our love for it with the soundtrack and the DVD and both know most of the lyrics! Anyhow we were so excited to finally be able to see it!
We arrived in London a few hours early, and like the big kids we are spent a couple of hours exploring Hamleys. We both left with the impression that while it was a good and fun experience it was way overpriced and a lot smaller than we remember! Oh to have the magic of childhood again!
Then after a quick McDonald's we went to the theatre. Where we were well looked after (I was in my chair so one of the staff members looked after us, he pushed me to our place and at half time he took our. order and went to the bar for us! [Half time??? That is Chris's influence...I meant during the interval!]) And then the lights went down, the music began and the show began!
We both had a couple of reservations about it although we were excited to see it. Firstly they had completely changed Rumtum Tugger to a rapping/hip hop kind of character and we didn't think it would work. We thought Nicole Sherzinger would not make a good Grizzabella. We also were worried as we love the original so much, whether it would live up to it or not.
Well, Rumtum wasn't right for me during the first half, but we agreed it wasn't as bad as it could have been. During the second half however...I really fell for him and he got nearly the biggest cheer from me at the end.
Nicole, didn't look right at first, but when she sang, OMG she was amazing! By the end I had completely forgotten that it should have been Elaine Paige. Nicole made the role her own and did a wonderful job of it.
As for whether it could live up to the original...IMO it surpassed it! As well as all the costumes/singing/dancing there was amazing work with the lights it was spectacular. Also the Cats spent a lot of time coming into and interacting with the audience. Towards the start one of them focussed on the man in front of me and stood next to him. While she was singing she was giving him such an intense look, it was honestly like a cat about to pounce on its prey. He wasn't very comfortable with it, which made it all the funnier. We both chuckled after the interval as well, as when he came back he had swapped seats with one of his companions so he was no longer by the aisle!
During the interval Old Deuteronomy remained sitting on the stage, and people queued up to go on stage and get his signature.
My two absolute favourite characters/routines (always have been always will be although Rum Tum, especially the original, is a very close second). They are Mr Mistoffelees and Skimbleshanks. Neither of their routines disappointed. There were some amazing effects in Mistoffelees routine. I really struggled to sit through Skimbleshanks's routine without doing the actions and ended up sitting with tightly crossed arms!
During the second half there were more adventures into the audience. Towards the end one came up to me and put his head on my shoulder, so I stroked his head (well his wig!) I didn't realise but Chris told me afterwards it had actually been Skimbleshanks, which of course made it even more special for me.
I was buzzing all the way home!
It has meant I spent most of yesterday and all of today in bed recovering (from both tiredness and pain) but it was SO worth it!
Am hoping to go and see Once for our Valentine's treat we wouldn't normally go so often BUT Ronan Keating is in it until March, and I have a big celebrity crush on him and have done for years. He has such an amazing voice, and doesn't look too bad either.
The other thing I was going to talk about is Thank Yous. I am a strong believer that when somebody does something well, or good, or above and beyond they should be told that they have made a difference. People are all too quick to complain, but I think we should be even quicker to praise. After I have written this I am going to be e-mailing Hamleys and the Palladium to praise a member of staff from both who went above and beyond. Planning that got me thinking.
About 18 months ago I looked up an old teacher of mine on Facebook (after I had a random dream about her). She only taught me for a year, but throughout my school years we would often talk. She never failed to make me smile, and even when I was being badly bullied she could make the day just that little bit brighter. I have hummed and harred about whether I dare message her to say thanks or not. Tonight, I decided to go for it, so I have sent her a message. I hope that she sees it and that if she does I don't freak her out/come across as more of a weirdo than I already am! I also hope (but doubt!) She remembers who I am! There are a couple more I would like to thank, but I will stick with just sending one and seeing what the reaction is first. (Plus they are not on Facebook so I may need to do some detective work in the future if I decide (dare) to!
Sadly the teacher who had the most impact on me, my form tutor Mrs Platt, died while I was still at school. I would love to be able to thank her, she did so much for me and meant so much to me. Actually she continues to do so much for me now! Whenever I am really stressed/sad/scared ie when Chris has had cancer, I will dream about her...and it always calms me down/improves how I feel. See, I am most definitely a weirdo!!
I have decided to stop doing my positives as a daily thing, I will do them sometimes but having the rigid structure of having to do them daily isn't working for me, and actually keeping me away from posting.
Fibro Fog Friday has also turned into Fibro Fog Fun, if I think I have done something that will make people laugh I will share it on the day...I can't remember half of the stupid things I've done/said by Friday, Fine o Fog is to blame!
I
No comments:
Post a Comment