tigerlily

Hey Folks,

We are traveling to London This month and would like reccommendations on any shows you thought were good to take in while we were there. This is mostly things like plays or musicals, for us. Anything mystery as well.

Thanks,
Tigerlily

YVR Cockroach

Checkout www.thisislondon.com

MIKESILV

London has the best choices for plays of any city in the world. Last October was able to see two good ones, the highly regarded BLOOD BROTHERS and a show my wife had to drag me to and I was very glad she succeeded,
THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, yes it was the adaption of the old Jack Nicholson, Cher movie but since I did'nt remember the story line I enjoyed even more, Stars Luci Arnez and Ian Mc Shane ( of A&E/BBC's LOVEJOY series)
It you go to any of the West End theatres I would recommend a really good ( but expensive restaurant as all good London resturants are) named AXIS it is within walking distance of the Prince of Wales were
Witches plays and pretty much many of the major theatres.
One other thing if you like mysteries the must see is Agatha Christies AN INSPECTOR CALLS saw two years ago, excellent.
Enjoy, you may have a hard time making a decision.
If you are like me and like to plan a bit ahead you can get the phone numbers from the various websites do a search for London theatre and call the playhouse direct, they will allow to make a booking by credit card and all you do is pick up you tickets at the box office.
Mike

slawecki

Mama Mia is the hot "new" show. only a year old. Tough ticket. music of ABBA.

If you have not seen the Buddy Holly Story, it is well worth it. We go every other year.

Barns & Noble carry Time Out. It will have all the shows, mini reviews, full data. It is the London standard.

If you want to ride the Eye, book now. It has week-month wait lists.

If you are a feeder, get Time Out Eating and Drinking Guide. Had to buy it in London. Got it at a Saintsbury's grocery store.

Have a good show.

jer

The most enjoyable stuff is way out on the fringe. The West side stuff is half Webber, and 10 years old.

tmorse6570

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tmorse6570

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UK Stages

ah, well... i must admit i'm one of those folks who has not been won over by mamma mia. i saw the original cast last year and thought the actors were all good, that the show had a lot of spirit, but that it made very little sense. i must confess, however, that most of the audience absolutely adored it.

essentially, it's a collection of abba songs pieced together with a wafer thin plot that exists only to provide song cues. but only the first few lines of each song make sense within the context of the plot... most of the time, the rest of the lyrics make almost no sense at all. it's a big hit and a must-see for fans of abba, but it may not pass muster with the average theatregoer, which is why i predict it will ultimately fail in new york. (abba is a much bigger draw in europe than in the USA.)

i thought witches of eastwick was also pretty poorly done, but the three ladies - lucie arnaz, joanna riding and maria friedman - were all first rate. ian mcshane is a good actor, but he was miscast in this and in way over his head musically. (his understudy recently filled in during mcshane's illness and got very solid reviews.)

the sets are interesting in witches, but the word is that the sets have been redesigned to accommodate the show's new home at the prince of wales (it formerly occupied the much larger drury lane, where it couldn't fill the seats - except on weekends - and cameron mackintosh took a risky gamble by moving it, rather than closing it.). some say that the show has been tinkered with in other ways, with some songs added and some songs cut in the transfer.

blood brothers is good, a popular favorite and the quintessential british musical, if there is such a thing. it's a story of twin brothers separated at birth.

buddy is good and a lot of fun, but it's become more of a theme park attraction than a true piece of theatre. but if you're a fan of buddy holly, you should definitely go and dance in the aisles and have a good time... just don't expect any dramatic surprises.

i saw the london production of chicago again just last month and it's in tip-top shape and very entertaining; highly recommended. the actors were all good with one major exception: in another case of unbelievable miscasting, sascha distel, who had a big hit in britain years ago with "rain drops keep falling on my head," was playing billy flynn. well, actually, he was playing sascha distel... which is totally wrong for this role. as the gentleman sitting next to me said, "he's also a bit past his sell-by date, isn't he?" but i believe sascha has since been replaced.

the mega musical hit at the moment is a revival of my fair lady, with jonathan pryce playing henry higgins. it's at the national theatre and tickets are pretty much unavailable - unless you line up for reduced price day seats (generally in the first two rows of the theatre) on the day of performance. tickets go on sale when the box office opens at 10 AM, but the queue can start as early as 6 or 7 AM these days because of the intense interest in this sold out hit. go on a matinee day (when they're selling double the number of tix) to improve your chances - and if you miss out, be flexible and see another show at the national and/or take a tour of the theatre. it's well worth it.

there's a highly regarded production of shakespeare's midsummer night's dream at the albery starring dawn french (french and saunders, vicar of dibley).

starting april 24th, there's the west end transfer of blue orange, the olivier-award winning play first seen at the national. highly recommended.

the importance of being earnest is at the savoy ...the theatre's interior, completely rebuilt after the latest fire, is worth the price of admission alone. the show is supposed to be pretty good, too, but i haven't seen it.

yazmena reza's latest play life x 3 is at the old vic and is a comedy about what happens when guests show up for a dinner party a day early. this is a short play, by the way, only about 90 minutes with no interval... and they have a 5 PM performance on saturdays. so if you want an early night or want to dine after the theatre, this may be a good choice. reza also wrote art, which has been running in the west end since '96. i think life x 3 is a better play, frankly.

i also highly recommend stones in his pockets, recent winner of the olivier award for best comedy.

if you want to be a bit more adventurous and don't mind bad language or "adult situations," go see japes, a new play by simon gray. it's the story of a love triangle involving two brothers and the young woman who is intertwined throughout their lives. i thought it was very much worth seeing.

finally, don't forget the official half price theatre booth in leicester square for same day half price tickets (plus a small service charge):
http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/booth.cfm

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Take Me 2 London!

[This message has been edited by UK Stages (edited 04-06-2001).]

happywanderer

Agree that Mamma Mia and Buddy provide great entertainment (Try the 5:30 matinee on Friday -- every seat is half price and quite often the understudy is Buddy and he is even better, I think than Gus MacGregor). For a great musical drama try The Beautiful Game -- it's about the troubles in Northern Island. Witches, with Luci Arnaz, also is well worth seeing. Except for Mamma Mia, tickets for these plays are available at the half price ticket booth and all seats are generally in front three rows. I was able to get Mamma Mia tickets by waiting at the ticket office at the theater on the day of performance for returns -- no need to by from brokers.

dgordon

I would also recommend Stones in his Pockets. It is going to NY, I think with the original 2 member cast, so I don't know who will take their place. I thought it was REALLY clever - the two actors play lots of roles. Also thought ART was well done. Have fun.

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DtG

jmiyazawa

In addition to all those mentioned earlier, "The Woman In Black" is also a good standby if you haven't seen it.

0524

Our friends loved Mama Mia! They are still waving their arms and humming "Dancing Queen".

magic111

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful information. We are taking our neice to London in July and she wants to see a musical (she will get two)
Many thanks to slawecki also about the Eye. As much as I travel and here I thought I could do a walk-up
Do you have a link for booking the Eye?

magic111

Found a link for Eye already http://www.ba-londoneye.com/

dgolds

I saw Mamma Mia with Raffy during a recent trip to London. If you're looking for fine drama, go see something else. If you would enjoy a silly plot built around Abba songs, with lots of great pop singing and dancing, go see it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it but it is very lightweight. Hard for me to believe it's the hot ticket in London.

By the way, we were able to get tickets the day of the performance at a ticket booth in Covent Garden.

paradocs

On two different visits we adored "Mousetrap" and "Woman in Black". Even our teenagers loved them.