I had the most wonderful weekend at the theatre. My parents had told me about how on
Leicester Square, you can go and find theatre tickets for half price. On Saturday night, I set out to get
cheaper tickets to see The Lion King. First off, Leicester Square on a Saturday night is INSANE. The atmosphere is so busy and amazing. Everyone is headed off to the cinemas or the theaters, and people are just EVERYWHERE. It was really an amazing feeling coming up from the underground station and being met with this glorious, bustling atmosphere.
Now, after going to almost every single
booth, I gave up because most tickets were in the £80 range or they were sold
out completely. There were a few
other shows I was looking for too but they all had the same scenario. I decided to take a walk around
Leicester Square and then onto Piccadilly Circus. Once at Piccadilly Circus, I found the theater where The 39 Steps was playing, The Criterion. I
had heard this show was hilarious, so I decided to see if they had any cheap
tickets left. Sure enough, they
did.
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| My view for The 39 Steps |
Let
me tell you, The 39 Steps was absolutely
HYSTERICAL. I was crying from
laughing so hard at parts. The
same four people play all 130 parts in the show. It was a riot.
The cast was incredible, especially the guy who played Richard
Haney. I may have just been biased
because he had the same voice as the guy who played Robin Hood in Men in Tights, and I am absolutely in
love with that actor.
Anyways,
the tube ride home, I kept giggling to myself thinking about certain moments in
the show. If you have the chance
to see this show, please take the opportunity. You won’t regret it.
After
seeing The 39 Steps, I was on such a
theatre high. So today, I tried
again for The Lion King. I was lucky
in getting a £35 ticket to see the matinee performance. I then spent four hours
wandering around London before the show.
I found a little French bakery that was so precious. I had a quiche and a pot of tea while I
sat, read The Hobbit, and wrote in my
journal. Anyways, finally the time
came to head to the theater, The Lyceum.
I should probably give a little description to why I wanted to see The Lion King of all shows, in London. My family and I moved from the U.K. in August of 1999. On our last trip to London before leaving, we saw all the costumes and puppets for The Lion King in the display windows across the city, but the show wasn’t actually coming until after we left. Although I saw The Lion King back in 2003 at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, I also wanted to see it in London, since we never got the chance back in 1999. That is what brought me to The Lyceum today.
It was really embarrassing because as soon as the show started, I was bawling. Seriously, tears were streaming down my face almost the entire time. It was such a beautiful show with incredible harmonies and amazing actors. I am getting chills just thinking about it. My favourite part was definitely “He Lives in You” during the second act. It was such a powerful musical moment that there was no way I could not hold back my tears.
Although
both shows were thoroughly entertaining, and obviously The Lion King was incredibly emotional, I was able to separate
myself from my general emotions and recognize the flaws of each show. It is this, which makes think I would
make a decent theatre and film critic.
Sophomore year, I took a theatre class for journalism majors, where we
learned how to write theatre reviews.
I think becoming a critic would be one of the coolest jobs. I know it was only in high school, but
I have been on both sides when it comes to theatre. I have been on stage and I have been going to live shows
since I was 4 years old. I think
with some more studying, I would make a pretty damn good critic.
It’s
something to think about.
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| My view for The Lion King |
Cheers,
Janelle
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