Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Monday, July 31, 2023

Little Shop of Horrors @ Westside Theatre…

Yesterday afternoon Stuart and I went to see Little Shop Of Horrors at the Westside Theatre in New York’s glitzy Hell’s Kitchen. And what a fantastic show it was.  Without doubt the best production we have seen of it. 

We’ve both always loved the Little Shop Of Horrors musical and of course Frank Oz's 1986 cult classic film version was sublime. Little Shop actually has it's origins in the late 50's as a sci-fi B-movie starring new-comer Jack Nicholson. Rather like Rocky Horror Show and Return To Forbidden Planet before it, it provided an ideal bit of campery to set to music. Done so rather wonderfully by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Their songs are indeed both memorable and loveable. In fact when I went to go and see Ellen Greene in concert a few years back she confided that the songs Suddenly Semour and Somewhere That's Green as being two of her best friends.  

The show last night captured all the fun of the original Little Shop staging, much of the quirkiness of the musical film, and stubbornly resisted to tack on that happy Hollywood ending. Hurrah. 

Lead player Jeremy Jordan was energetic, bouncy and pitched the nerdy but easily tempted Semour just right. (I've always had him down as the sexy nerdy type). 

The very talented Joy Woods as Audrey was just the right mix of vulnerable, dizzy and sexy. She had us in tears as she sang Somewhere That’s Green. 

And Arron Arnnell Harrington's voicing of the plant was deliciously deep and suitably menacing.  

That said, Audrey II herself was of course the star of the show. Growing and growing with each bloody drop of blood and the bite movements were spot on and we were all happily suspending our disbelief way beyond the finale.  

So with a night of great acting, great singing, great dancing, plenty of laughs and a production which was beautifully designed and perfectly executed there was nothing to fault. It was just perfect. A killer of a show. 

We can only hope in transfers to the West End - it is bound to be a smash. And deservedly so.
















Saturday, July 29, 2023

Here Lies Love @ Broadway Theatre…

Ok. Forget Stuart’s 50th birthday… the real reason we are in New York… is for me…. for me to see a show. A show I’d be seeing for the eighth time…

What's that you say? A musical about Imelda Marcos? A DISCO musical about Imelda Marcos? A disco musical about Imelda Marcos written by David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim at The Broadway Theatre just off New York’s glitzy Times Square? Set in a Studio 54 style night club? With flashing lights, a giant disco-ball, non-stop dancing, podia that twirl and slide and glide across the auditorium and banging tunes that stick in your head like earworms? I… sorry WE… were so here for you Here Lies Love. 

Who cares if there is no reference to shoe collection? Who cares if politics takes a bit of a back seat to the disco bangers at times? The audience were clapping, singing, and on their feet dancing along. We (and when I say ‘we’ I probably mean ‘I’m) simply fell in  love with show all over again. Every thumping, thrilling ecstatic 90 minute of it. 

I was laughing, I was crying, and bless him Stuart was simply enjoying watching me do both. He’s a keeper. 

Let's hope for a transfer of Here Lies Love back to the West End soon! Either that, or Stuart will get flown out to New York again. And he must hate that. 😂










New York City - Hudson River, Times Square, One Vanderbilt. Loved it.

Our first full day in New York was fab. Wandered down to the Hudson River, walked across Times Square, but most fabulously went up One Vanderbilt to the spectacular viewing platform.