The Drowsy Chaperone

The Drowsy Chaperone
The Playhouse Theatre
Saturday November 22nd 2008

This show was very sweet.
I can understand better now, why it didn't do nearly so well during its West End run, as it did while it was playing on Broadway. It is so kitch and cutesy and I think that the British mentality reacts differently to that than the North American one.
Case in point, the Canadians that I was with LOVED it ( as did the rest of the audience judging by their imediate reactions and the comments they made on the way out ), whereas I was left rather luke-warm.
The voices of the majourity of the cast were not especially strong ( with the exception of The Chaperone ), but it was still an enjoyable evening.
I have to say though that 'I Don't Want To Show Off' was done much better by the girl in the Bournemouth Music Festival!
Having said that, the Man In Chair was FABULOUS! Perfect comic timing and he kept the whole thing flowing beautifully.

Hairspray

Hairspray
The Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts
Saturday November 22nd 2008

This show was soooo much better than I was expecting! Isn't it great when that happens?!
It opened with Tracy in a vertical bed, which was pretty cool, and just got better from there! Even though I was sitting right at the back of the balcony ( I am poor, remember! ) the view was fine, and I could almost imagine that it was the movie cast on stage!
In Act 1, the biggest cheer came on the line, 'Honey, you're beautiful, but I'm afraid that boys just ain't that bright!' , and in Act 2, the actors playing Edna and Wilbur corpsed on stage during their song and the show stopped for a few minutes to accommodate the giggles coming from both the auditorium and the stage!
At the beginning of Act 2, the conductor turned to the audience and got us all clapping along to the overture, which was cute as well.
All in all, it was a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I especially enjoyed 'Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now' ( for obvious reasons! ) and I wish we had done it the correct way, with 3 girls and 3 mothers.
Ah well, you live and learn!