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Am a self-confessed fan of Stephen Sondheim (to the annoyance of some friends), and this was to be the first musical of his that I'd seen 'live', dvds sadly do not count. The day was proving to be a nightmare, due to the horrendous rain, slightly abnormal (supposedly!) for July. Arrived soaked at the National Theatre, and sloshed inside, grabbing a coffee along the way. Now I know this building to be slightly....well, posh, so put on a smart blazer jacket, it's only problem being that it's bright yellow and white striped. Also had smart boots on, though the jeans kind of ruined the effect, and had debated on putting on a nice smart shirt, but my fave orange shirt had screamed at me from the wardrobe. Alas! My sister had dressed in a similar style, and whilst fetching 2 more cups of coffee, walked past a gentleman who looked her over, and commented to his companion, "Yes, we get all sorts in here." I thought that was quite funny, and my sister laughed too, but I could see the murderous glint in her eyes. Most people were dressed in 'classy' evening wear; suits, off the shoulder dresses. That's all very well if you're lucky enough to be dropped off outside the theatre, limo and all, but you try wearing that on the bus all the way back up to north noooorth London! Anyways, no one seemed to be passing judgement on the old woman who was wandering round in an entirely pink suit (I thought it was pretty funky!).
Got slightly lost finding the Olivier theatre itself (there's 3 theatres inside, dontcha know), and nearly ended up in the car park at one point. We sat down in row d to the left, which is actually the front, and right on eye level with the actors. A lovely, intimate theatre, and a few years ago, had seen Guys and Dolls in there. Everyone packed in, and the show began!
It's worth mentioning that this was a preview perfomance, so the final show might be slightly different. There was some hilarious ad-libbing at points, when characters called each other the wrong names, but then carried on laughing slightly ;) I'd read some reviews describing the backdrop as 'cheap', but I thought it worked well, and y'know, people do have imaginations. The first song was the most memorable, 'Comedy Tonight', and already had me laughing, with all the leaping around. ("Ooooh those guys aren't half flexible, eh?" I said in letchy tones). The plot was mainly told by Pseudolus (Desmond Barrit), who was hilarious. His character is *such* a stirrer, making a mess of the lives of those around him. His carefree attitude was probably what made me laugh the most, and his laidback dancing a joy (am thinking of the song 'Everybody Ought to Have a Maid', the way he lazily swung his legs!). My favourite was probably Hysterium (Hamish McColl), a restless character, whose eyes always looked ready to pop due to the constant mad antics of those around him. There's nothing like a guy in drag, and he of course dressed up as a pretty, 'dead' maid, who flustered far too much to ever be considered a corpse! My sister found the character Senex (Sam Kelly) amusing, who was such an old perv, and reminded me of SO many people I know (myself not included)!
Ahem, now one of the other reasons I saw the show that night was for one of my fave singers, Philip Quast (best known as Javert from the Les Mis 10th Anniversary Concert performance). I don't think anyone was ready for his entrance as the completely over the top Miles Gloriosus! "I am a paraaaaade!" he sang, and it's safe to say everyone would agree. The clothing left little to the (perverted) imagination, and this was one of the few instances where I was glad to be seated at the front - what a view :D My sister has a sequin and feather obsession (both of which appeared throughtout the evening), and Mr Quast's costume certainly had much of the latter! I'm not sure how comfortable/annoying he found it, as I dressed up with a feather last Halloween, and was ready to tear the thing apart with my teeth by the end of the night! But that short skirt was the highlight of the costume for me........ANYWAYS!!! (I better stop before it all goes x-rated). His singing was wonderful, am glad to have finally experienced it in person. And for such a big guy, he has quite a high scream!
During the interval the whole auditorium seemed to empty. "Where is everyone?" I wondered, and stomped off for a brief search. Ahhhha! Look no further than the cramped bar, should have known! No wonder everyone is always in hysterics through the second half of a show; they're drunk! Anyway, there's a point in the second act where it all turns into utter chaos, and I found myself laughing outloud every other second (I hadn't touched the spirits, I promise)! I'm always weary of films that claim to be comedies, as they usually turn out to be the opposite, and can only drag a faint "Huh" from me. Thankfully this was not the case, but due to my constant laughing, missed out on some of the dialogue, whoops! Luckily, due to this show being part of the tenner season, I'm booked up to see twice more before it finishes, so should hopefully catch more the next time around! :) A fantastic evening out, recommended for those who like a good laugh, aren't afraid of stereotypes, of woman in rather revealing costumes (or men for that matter......................*drool*), and slightly drunk audience members.
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