The End of Fall

Fall's ending in London. It was a lovely long fall full of beautiful weather. But with Halloween comes the chilly air. Apparently, before 5 years ago London did not celebrate Halloween. However, once people started realizing how much money they could make on merchandise, it started to spread. Now, it's not to New York's psycho standard's, but but it's still got some spirit. I have to admit I did miss the pre-Halloween buzz though. The lead up to the madness.

There's still plenty to do though. Yesterday, I saw a play called Birdsong, starring Ben Barnes (AKA Prince Caspian from the Narnia move Prince Caspian). The play started out rather slowly with a look at an unconvincing love story in aristocratic France. Didn't really seem to have much heart to me. But, with the second act came World War I and a bit of a pick up in pace and intensity. Afterwards, I got to meet Ben Barnes, which was great! Then it was off to see Easy A. It was delightfully American, and overall a good job by Emma Stone (who I coincidentally saw in a Duane Reade once buying a copy of Obsessed.) There was also a cool carnival going on in Leicester Square where I got to go on this amazing ride that took you up to get an incredible view of London and then flipped you over plummeting to the ground. AWESOME.

Earlier in the week I went to a quadruple mixed bill of the Royal Ballet. I found the new piece Invitus Invitam quite moving. And the interpretation of Three Sisters, called Winter Dreams, was beautiful, but would have been better if I knew the story. La Valse was distractingly imprecise for a ballet, and Theme and Variations didn't move me like the narrative pieces.

I also saw Men Should Weep, a play about the tenements in Glasgow, Scotland in 1930s. Although the accents were a little hard to understand, overall, I found the piece very believable and moving. The family dynamic was intriguing, and it truly gave you a window into the lives those in Glasgow might have lived.

Belgium!

Guess what I did last weekend. Visited four amazing cities in three short days. Then passed out as soon as I got back to my room.

BELGIUM IS AWESOME.

First, my friends and I went to Bruges, which ended up being my favorite city. It's smaller, not as overwhelming as Brussels, but we didn't get bored at all there. It's so beautiful, quaint, and distinctively Belgian in style. We climbed The Belfry and got an amazing view of the city. Took a relaxing and scenic boat ride on a canal. Visited a brewery, and sampled some of their brewed-on-the-premises beer. Went to the stunning Cathedral where they have a Michelangelo sculpture. Ate some local food, including the AMAZING Belgian waffles. Hung out at some pubs. And, checked out the local market. All and all it was incredible.

Unfortunately, what you think of a place is often defined by the weather when you go there. And when we went to Antwerp, it rained. All day. We did try and make the best of it though. We started by getting lost trying to find these houses that were supposed to look like castles. We did eventually find a street of very interesting houses with various ornate and strange styles though. Then, after discovering that the permanent collection at the museum wasn't there, we went to check out the cathedral. It was sort of a combination of a museum and a church because it had artwork all throughout it. The main pieces were four incredible Ruebens. From there we checked out the main square and the river, and then Ruebens' house. We didn't stay in Antwerp for though night though, so we hopped on a train (part of Belgium's great train system that is really easy to navigate) and ended up in Leuven.

Leuven's a student town. There's not a lot there besides students, schools, and bars. In fact, it has what it claims to be the longest bar in Europe, as a string of bars wraps all the way around a square. We visited a couple, and it was fun to see how they each had developed their own personality. Out hostel here was also really nice, which was a pleasant change.

Our final stop was Brussels. It was obviously the most touristy of all the cities, and the most overwhelming in this way. We started by seeing the Atomium, which can't really be explained, so just click on the link to see what it is. It was nice that Brussels had a subway though, so we didn't have to walk quite as much. Then we checked out some of the main squares and markets, and of course, bought some chocolate. We also finally managed to go to a museum and saw a great collection on Orientalism featuring a lot work by Delacroix.

Tons of fun, and really exhausting. But, totally worth it.

Past Performances

Just to keep consistent, here are all the shows I've seen recently.

Faust - Same performance as previously mentioned, but I got to see the second act this time. Sadly, I actually liked the first act better anyway. The second act followed the Faust legend even more loosely than the first and was a little too hectic for my taste. Overall though I really enjoyed the show with it's net-based acrobatics and intense energy. I'd suggest seeing anything by this up-and-coming Icelandic group, Vesturport.

Krapp's Last Tape - I did a full review of this one for class, so here that is.

A study of a man’s entire life is a hard thing to do in fifty minutes, but Michael Gambon, and further Samuel Beckett, the author of Krapp’s Last Tape, do it about as well as it can be done. It’s a very particular type of play you walk into when you see this, and it’s important to be aware of that. It shouldn’t be placed next to West End musicals and be called boring, because on that scale, then yes, it probably is. But, if you take it for what it is, a snippet, a rare glimpse, at a man at his end, then you can begin to see this play for what it’s meant to be.

There’s no denying the first few absolutely silent minutes were a bit painful. Michael Gambon sat motionless while people in the audience coughed and squeaked in their chairs. It seemed more like a social experiment; see what a crowd will do if the show just never started. But, start it did, eventually. Krapp’s Last Tape examines a man as he looks back on his life through many years of tape recordings of himself. And Gambon was the essence of everything Beckett had written, a man falling apart at the seams literally and figuratively. His attire, his face, his walk, this was a man who’d let himself go. At the same time, the written actions and those contributed by Gambon were those of a man who seemed severely afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Once this thought creeps into the mind, it’s hard to ignore. His repetitive walking, his tapping of the desk, his inability to control his banana-eating, years and years of precisely catalogued tape recordings of his life - one couldn’t help but see a man trapped in his behavior, and longing to break free to find deeper meaning.

While Gambon fulfilled the requirements of the role, the audience wasn’t left with the sense of a complete journey by the end. There was no moment of understanding, when one could see this man plainly. Whether this is because of some shortcoming in Gambon’s acting or because Beckett didn’t want the audience to know the whole story is unclear. But even if one couldn’t fully comprehend Krapp by the end, it was still easy to see some of the other messages laid out clearly. When you’re at the end and the dearest thing you have is a memory of a girl one afternoon, what does that mean life is really about? These types of questions are probably what this play is supposed to inspire, and it does. But, it doesn’t rock you to your core the way perhaps it should. One is left intrigued, but not moved.

Spending a long time on the content is very necessary with this show, as everything else is rather sparse. The set consisted of a desk, disheveled, and matching the description Beckett so carefully left. The lighting is stark, one shining directly down on Gambon and two others that created “other rooms” offstage. The sound was Gambon, or rather younger Krapp, speaking, perfectly timed on previously recorded tapes. Because of this minimalism, you were forced to analyze every moment Gambon spent on stage. The play requires you to think about not only what you are seeing and hearing, but also what you are supposed to get out of Gambon’s interpretation of Beckett’s Krapp. That was a lot to ask, and I am not sure anyone who left the theater really had a good answer to that question.

Enlightenment - A play about a boy who goes missing and the trying emotional time his family goes through in dealing with this. It's marketed as a psychological thriller which does not come across at all in the first act, but can definitely be seen in the second when a different boy shows up who believes he's their son. I thought the characters were quite well done, but the show wasn't very cohesive. It felt as if it was trying to say too much about too many big topics all through this one family.

Philharmonia - I saw a concert of Sibelius, Grieg, and Rachmaninov conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. I feel like I can't really critique this properly because I haven't been to many classical concerts. The music was lovely and moving, but I definitely found my mind wandering at parts. The most enjoyable segment of the evening was during the Grieg when Nikolai Lugansky did things on the piano I didn't know were possible.

Lots and Lots O Stuff

I feel like this week has been really busy! I guess it might be because we're technically having midterms right now, even though no one really calls it that here. Let's see...

I saw the play On Ageing which was an experimental piece where a group of 7-13 year olds said the responses that elderly people gave in interviews when asked about aging. I thought it was going to be really deep and blow me away, but I can't say I really found it that moving. It's style was kind of interesting, with the design team actually forming the structure of the play instead of a plot. But, even the adorable kids couldn't quite deliver whatever message the director was trying to send. I was also supposed to see Faust, as interpreted by an Icelandic acting troupe, but after a highly entertaining first act someone came on the speakers to inform the audience that one of the actors had been seriously injured and that the play could not continue. Hopefully, I'll get to see the conclusion this week.

I also went to see The Wallace Collection, a permanent collection of art and other random doodads in a beautiful old english house. We had a delightfully British old man for a guide, and I got to see some great art. Afterwards my friend and I had tea in their charming restaurant, which was AWESOME. I love tea and I love little cakes and little sandwiches AND SCONES. Man I love scones.

I went to Cambridge today. It's very pretty, but as with many British towns, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do there. I saw the Chapel, which was incredible, and I ate at the oldest pub in town, The Eagle. My highlight was probably getting some amazing rings at the market though. Historicalness is totally lost on me.

To round this off with a couple random notes. I did some shopping this week. TopShop had a student sale where for two nights only students got 20% which was great. I also had a cooking meltdown. I had put some hamburgers in the freezer, but when I took them out, two were frozen together. I tried running them under hot water, but gave up and just threw both in the pan assuming they would come apart. They did not, so I ended up stabbing them and having beef bits for dinner. Very frustrating. Also, I got an A on my marketing test!!! Sweet success!!!

On a Better Note...

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Yesterday, a performance of Les Miserables was held at the O2 in London in honor of the production's 25th anniversary. It was simultaneously shown in movie theaters around Britain, and I went to one such showing. I think this was probably the best option at my budget because if I'd gone to the actual arena, I probably wouldn't have been able to see much of anything, but in the theater, I got a great view of the whole performance. Now, I could warn you and say that I have a strong bias towards this show, but I think that's true of the entire country of England, so oh well. Deal with it. With that said...

This show was incredible! Even from the cinema, and not the actual arena, the energy was electric. I wanted them to do the whole show, and not just a concert version. But, even the music alone was enough to take your breath away. And all the singers certainly did their fair share of acting to make sure the show was complete, and not just a dull rendition of a great work. The casting was flawless, with talent hailing from various countries. The one weak spot in the show was Nick Jonas, as Marius, who try as he may could not keep up with the seasoned musical and opera singers on stage. He did however give an enjoyable performance, even if it wasn't the strongest. All the others received uproarious applause at the end of their solo numbers (in the arena and in my movie theater). Simon Bowman was the most confident and quite frankly best Jean Valjean I've ever heard - bringing the crowd to its feet after his perfect "God on High." Norm Lewis was dignified and pitch-perfect as Javert, and gave him all the depth the character is meant to have. The true standout to me though was the young Samantha Barks, a relative unknown, who was simply incredible as Eponine. She not only sang the most beautiful "On My Own" I've ever heard, she made her duet with Jonas, "A Little Fall of Rain," absolutely touching. The Thenardiers were humorous, as is expected of them, and kept the show going when it started to become too heartbreaking. There were a few too many endings, similar to LOTR Return of the King, but bringing back the original 1985 cast was a nice touch. All and all, one of the best nights I've spent in the theater here in London, and I wasn't even in a theater.

On a side note, did you know that Pizza Hut is a sit down restaurant here? A pretty good one too. It's very casual and relaxed with yummy American style food.

Jersey Boys Review

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Please note that this is a review for the Jersey Boys now showing in London. I've never seen it anywhere else, and feel it would in fact be very different in New York.

Jersey Boys Review

I blame you. Yes, you. All of my trusted friends and the many random acquaintances who went on and on about Jersey Boys – “The best musical I’ve seen in years!” You told me that I was so lucky to have the amazing opportunity to see such a great show, in London nonetheless. You told me I’d love it.

You lied.

Of course, I had good reason to believe you. Everyone raves about this show. Everyone goes to see this show. There are numerous tours on multiple continents, and it’s still going strong. But, as I sat watching it, all I wanted to know was “Why?” Do not mistake me; I thoroughly enjoy the music of The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (which the musical goes to painfully great lengths to distinguish between) for that matter. So don’t assume that I disliked it just because the music wasn’t my taste. The music is my taste; the performance was not.

There is no arguing with the fact that there’s an incredible amount of talent on the stage. Ryan Molloy, playing the incomparable Frankie Valli, does in fact “have a voice like an angel” and a devil of a supporting cast. There was not a single note out of tune all night. But, candidly, that just made this show more like a technically proficient, but nevertheless boring, concert instead of a truly captivating musical. Sure, the songs you love are sung accurately, but where’s the real entertainment?

It certainly did not help that when these guys sang, not one of them smiled, ever. Maybe they thought that was supposed to be a “Jersey” thing, or maybe the originals didn’t smile either so the cast thought this was true to life, but for me, it sucked the life out of their performance. Well, with the possible exception of Stephen Ashfield, who played Bob Gaudio, and actually did smile on occasion, which is probably why he seemed like the only one with any life in him.

These four seemed to be trying so hard to play their parts that they forgot to make sure to let these characters be real people as well. There was no breathing, no scratching, no natural guy movements of any kind, just choreographed dancing across the stage and singing on cue. This was particularly obvious because of the bland performance sequences, but also because of the extreme effort that was going into talking with a Jersey accent. Three of the four leads were able to keep it up for most of the night, but Eugene McCoy, who played Nick Massi, was truly horrendous. I couldn’t concentrate on anything he was saying because he was so obviously and terribly straining to try and say it with the correct dialect, and failing miserably. Though autumn is one of my favorite seasons, that night I couldn’t wait for “Fall” to be over.

The performance left so much to be desired that it even made the plot seem weak as well. This is a history that has fascinated audiences around the world. But this cast made the story of four Jersey boys’ improbable rise to fame into a dull caricature. It seemed like a mere outline, rather than a gritty reenactment of what their lives were, what went right and what went wrong. Sure, the important events were there, but the details that made their lives so interesting were not. Just like the flat and lifeless comic strip-type projections behind them – the story came across as two-dimensional.

Perhaps you’ve seen the movie Across the Universe, a story about American youths in 1960s where the plot is based around Beatles songs. Perhaps, like me, at the end of it you thought, “I would have much rather just listened to the album.” Don’t know why that came to mind…

Let's Ruck!

And ruck we did! I had the enjoyable experience of going to a rugby game yesterday, and it was certainly the most incredible rucking I've ever seen. Okay, so I didn't really know what was going on. But, I think it says something for a game when it's still really fun to watch even when that's the case. My friends and I eventually figured out some of the rules, but many of the aspects still remained a mystery by the end. The whole kicking and running with the ball combination was confusing, but the figuring-skatingesque lifting of one of their players into the air when the ball was thrown in from out-of-bounds provided endless entertainment. The crowd was probably the best fun of all though. There were so many different and very strange calls that one person could start and then have the whole arena join in on. And we yelled and booed and cheered and grunted with the best of them. Often the crowd would make a noise and it was very unclear whether they were happy or upset, so we would make similar excited grumbling sounds. The half-time entertainment consisted of little kid rugby players going at it on the field below. This was just... awesome. Oh the circles they ran in. At the end of the day the home team, the Harlequins (the ones wearing the multi-colored jerseys as we eventually figured out) won, and the crowd left the stadium quite jolly, until the next rucking day.

Scotland - and all the other stuff I did

View from Edinburgh Castle

Wow, so I'm behind. Time to summarize.

Last week's plays:

A Disappearing Number - Done by a very up-and-coming theater company and director. Finds the beauty in math and life. Tried to create/explore common ground between everyone. Lots of hype. Didn't quite live up to it.

Jersey Boys - Disappointing (perhaps my scathing review, done for my class, will be posted soon)

This week's plays:

War Horse - Incredible and not at all ridiculous giant horse puppets on stage - seriously amazing. Story based on a children's novel about World War I, so very accessible and enjoyable. Disney but with millions of deaths.

Faust - First opera I've seen. Singing was incredible. Story was outdated and strangely executed.

I went to Scotland! Edinburgh more specifically. This involved a 5 hour layover in a middle-of-nowhere train station (from 1 am to 6 am) that was FREEZING. Once I actually got to the city though, it was incredible. The architecture is really beautiful, but the whole city seems to be filled wall-to-wall with tourists. Saw the Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral, The Hub, Hard Rock Cafe, the National Galleries, and climbed Scott's Monument. Oh, and went shopping. So, it was a pretty jam-packed two days. Stayed in my first hostel as well. Not an ideal situation staying in a room with 15 other people, but not as bad as I expected.

Massive Update

Hey everybody! Sorry it's been a few days since my last update, and that this update is going to be so long. But, I'll include some pretty picture to make it more enjoyable. I'm also not going to do full reviews of shows most of the time now, but instead just give you a snippet about each one.

This is the insane and awesome stage where I saw Earthquakes in London. The stage includes a long and winding orange runway that part of the audience is sitting around in swiveling chairs. The actors also used the areas behind the curtains that looked like windows but functioned as stages (another of which was on the opposite side). I sat on the floor, in the middle of the action, but there were seats above the stage to the left and right. I loved this set up, as you were constantly spinning to keep up with all the chaotic action and dialogue of this fast-paced play. The show itself uses a dysfunctional family as a foil for the deteriorating state of the earth because of global warming due to recent and massive amounts of human activity. I found the first 80% of the play very moving and meaningful, but the end was a little too out there and far too preachy to be enjoyable to watch.

DON'T STOP READING! I know it's a poster for Charlie St. Cloud, but I didn't actually see it. My friend and I found the UK premiere of this movie happening just a short walk from our dorm, so we stuck around to see what it was like. There were a lot of British stars who we didn't recognize, but who all the girls around us were screaming for. The only one I knew was Anna Popplewell (from the Narnia movies), and that was mostly because I'd met her once before at Disney World. We saw Zac Efron further down the blue (who knows why) carpet, but we had to leave before he made it to where we were. Overall, kind of exciting, and I'll have to go to another premiere for a movie I'm actually interested in.

The thing we had to leave to go to was Design for Living, a production of one of Noel Coward's plays. At first, I was kind of wishing that I'd stayed to see Zac. I found the first act of this show to be fairly boring - well-acted - just not very entertaining to watch. However, once we got to the end of Act II, things started to look up substantially. There's a brilliant scene between the two lead male characters, Otto and Leo, where they are both extremely drunk and frickin' hilarious. Both these guys are comic geniuses! They continued this hilarity through the third act, which made the end of the play a riot to watch. At some points the actor who plays Leo would do something so totally random that you would see the cast members try to hold in a laugh for a minute, and then actually burst out in what I assume to be (because of the uncontrollable nature of it) real laughter. Amazingly the actor who plays Leo will be coming into one of my classes, and I'm SO EXCITED!

And wait... THERE'S MORE!

I went boating! It sounds very lovely and picturesque, and parts of it were - mostly the parts where we weren't in the boat. Did you know that it is REALLY DIFFICULT to maneuver a row boat? It's practically impossible. But, Regent's Park is absolutely beautiful, so even though I will never be able to use my arms again, I'd say it was worth it.

On a final note, I made my fall break plans! Hooray! Be excited! It was really difficult and time-consuming so you better be jumping up and down! Now you can look forward to incredible posts about Venice, Rome, Athens, Mykenos, Santorini, and Dublin!

Because you couldn't be there...

Out on the Town and the Thames Festival

Let me just say that although I did not experience a whirlwind shopping montage like Mary-Kate and Ashley, lots of fun can be found around here if you know where to look. I'd been told by many a previous London student that London can be extremely boring as pubs close at 11 p.m. And I thought this was the case... until last weekend.

Saturday night began at the magical Thames Festival. My friends and I checked out the most important event... DUH the Feast on the Bridge!!! We started at the beer stand because we're Americans of course! But, that actually turned out to be a bad decision as whatever they served me was surely the worst-tasting liquid ever brewed. Then came the fantastic, the marvelous, the French... Nutella crepe. If you've never had a Nutella crepe, you haven't truly lived. If you don't know what Nutella is, how on earth do you find the motivation to get up in the morning? Anyway, you might have picked up that it was frickin AWESOME! After chowing down for a while at the banquet style tables, we moved to the mostly-cheesy concert that was going on. We attempted to copy the really intense people who'd come dressed up and with years of dancing experience, but mostly we just made fools of ourselves - in the most fun way possible.

From there we contemplated walking back to the dorm as most of the festival had finished for the night (by 10 p.m. - so those nay-sayers did partly get the early thing right). But, we ended up finding a bar that was open past 11. There we met a whole slew of delightful (and not so delightful) British characters. One, who we decided to refer to all night only as David Beckham, had some killer dance moves, by which I mean that Carlton would have been proud. But, he did have that Beckham look, so no one cared. Another guy ended up showing us around various bars and clubs all night, which an adventure on a scale I didn't know London had. Overall, (and that was definitely a SHORT summary), perhaps those past students should try London over again because I think they missed it. I also went back to the Thames Festival on Sunday and watched the Carnival (like as in Rio) and the spectacular fireworks. They were shot off from a boat on the Thames and everyone was squishing in trying to get the best view from the bridge. It was amazing to watch them go off right in front (or rather above) me.

On a final and side note, I made tacos! So that can be added to my three-item long list of things I can cook! Hooray!

More Reasons Why I May Never Leave Here

I had my last first (got it?) class today. Guess what? It rocks as much as the others! We get to see a play every week (in addition to the entirely different set of performances I get to see with the other class), and there are only TWO assignments for the whole semester! I'm beyond excited.

I also got to see Deathtrap tonight for my previously mentioned journalism class. And let me tell you, that is the most I have ever heard a British audience laugh. They were rolling in aisles. I saw one of the Harry Potter movies here, and the crowd was silent as death, or a really awkward moment you wish would end, but won't. But any words that came out of the lead actor, Simon Russell Beale's, mouth caused them to practically wet themselves with joy. This is not to say that I wasn't laughing along, but I think there was definitely more support for this national celebrity. For a thriller, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was entertaining, witty, surprising, scary (yes, legitimate screams came from the audience), and of course, cheesy (but not to the usually very high standard). The set and lighting were perfect for the genre and beautifully executed. The acting was what it needed to be, but nothing, besides the very comedic lead performance, was really praise-worthy. So, overall, if that had been my day, I would have been pleased. BUT WAIT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THAT'S NOT ALL. BESIDES WINNING A FREE TOASTER FOR STICKING AROUND, YOU'LL ALSO GET TO HEAR HOW MY NIGHT GOT BETTER! Impossible, you say? Well listen to this.

After the show we went outside the theater to see if we could find our professor, and guess you was standing a convenient five feet away from us - JOHN C. REILLY! (You know who he is, just look up his picture on Google). He was really nice and took a picture with us! Yay! And just for kicks, I'll tell you that a cat wandered into our dorm, and it was really funny. It just walked right in the door and started strutting around the hallways.

British People love their KARAOKE!!!

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Soooo... yesterday night my friends and I went on the epic adventure of finding a British pub with karaoke. And let me tell you, it started out pretty interestingly. When we arrived at our pre-determined meeting place, one of my friends, let's call her Carla, was telling a story. The middle of this story involves her screaming, "I'M A BISEXUAL! DEAL WITH IT!" Now "Carla" is not a bisexual, but the 80 year old lady who still maintains her residence in our dorm building now thinks that Carla is, as that's what she was yelling as this poor elderly person peeked out of the main door. Carla then made it much worse by mumbling, "Oh no, not me. I'm not bisexual... sorry," but the woman had already broken the people over 70 record for warp speeding away. A few minutes later while this instant classic story was being retold, a bike rider (fairly attractive) was riding by, and he caught the same words as the old woman. He almost fell off his bike, whipping his head around, and proceeded to turn back looking at us his entire way down the street. All before we got to the pub.

Now, "British People" may seem like kind of a broad title considering I'm in England, but let me tell you, it's nearly impossible to get one to engage in conversation with you. That is, except on karaoke night. Something about the cheesy 90s music brings the Brits alive. Everyone sings, dances, AND EVEN TALKS TO THE AMERICANS. We met an unbelievably nice girl who swore she would dance through our entire, off-key rendition of "Respect," and not only kept that promise, but continued to dance throughout the night. While in the "loo" we met another charming young lady who complimented are terrible singing and informed us that she would be heading to New York soon, and who was eager to hear all the advice we had about it. After this discussion my friend and I, still in the bathroom, began commenting how nice British women are, especially compared to British guys, and out emerges a British woman say, "So why are British women so nice?" While she may have been somewhat condescending, overall she seemed to enjoy talking to us (perhaps because she was mocking us) just as much as we enjoyed hearing a different perspective. When asked about how to approach British guys, she suggested "being subtle," but sort of laughed and said "that might be hard for us Americans." She came up to us later in the night to discuss comedy and how no one can mock Americans like an American. The grand sum total of these conversations doesn't equal much, but I'm glad to have just had someone from this native country say something other than, "What kind of beer do you want?" to me.

Theater with a Little Theater on the Side

Into the Woods set in Regent's Park

Hello to all those in a country where eggs are in the refrigerated section of the grocery store! Just another day in paradise here. My paradise at least. So, I've attended my first class of the semester, and let me tell you, I may never go back to New York. Not only is our teacher fairly brilliant, but the class itself sounds more like scheduled fun than something to be graded on. Every week we'll be heading off to either a theatrical, dance, or musical performance, and then writing about it. I KNOW! Can you believe I get credit for this? This week's play is entitled Deathtrap, and surrounded by an outstanding cast is the incredible Jonathan Groff of Glee. I'm so excited and will be sure to post my thoughts. As if that isn't enough, I have another class that focuses solely on theater (so not the dance and music) with multiple theater trips around the city. However, it doesn't begin until Thursday.

Tonight I was lucky enough to see Into the Woods in the Open Air Theater in Regent's Park, which was great. The location itself is enough to make the trip worth it. There are lights strung all around the absolutely beautiful park and tons of food to be had right outside the theater. Everyone sits at picnic tables and chows down before the show, with no rushing to their seats like in the U.S. The tickets were even reasonably priced at 15 pounds. As this show is my favorite musical it is pretty much impossible for me to not enjoy a production; however, it also means that I have seen many variations, and I know what I like and expect. While the set and lighting were incredible as they seemed to grow out of and be a part of the wooded area that surrounded them, they did come with a somewhat scattered feeling. Often chorus member were just hanging about the scene, with no apparent purpose, but still strangely choreographed. The changes made because of the environment were brilliant though. The recreation of the giant, the bed formed from humans, and the umbrella beanstalk were all delightful touches.

The cast as a whole was a joy to watch, with the group numbers standing out as very strong pieces. Perhaps it's because I'm used to Broadway, but across the board, I felt the solos could have used more power. I wasn't quite as blown away by the voices as I usually am. The notable exceptions to this were the "charming, not sincere" princes. They won the show with their comedy and truly stunning sound. Their comedy did seem to be the only bit that was consistent with what I'd seen in the U.S. though. Overall, I found the show played less to the comedic side that I'm used to, and more to the weirder and slightly more sexual side. Perhaps it was the British actors or perhaps it was the British crowd, who seemed to laugh far less than their American counterparts. The switch of the narrator to a young boy seemed a stroke of genius to me. He tells the story with innocence and imagination, as fairy tales should be told. I thoroughly enjoyed the show as a whole, and am sure to be singing the tunes from it for weeks.

On a non-theater-related note, I MADE CHICKEN SALAD TODAY! To anyone normal this is not a big deal, but as my specialty is chocolate chip pancake and only chocolate chip pancakes, it was a great achievement. Picture may be on the way.

London Calling

Princess Louise Pub

Hello Blog-readers! If you read the title of this blog and you're still reading, I would guess you and I would get along pretty well. Of course, Winning London was one of many Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen instant classics to come out during my childhood. Every Christmas my sisters would get me the newest one - mostly to mock it, which was somewhat traumatic as I still found them delightfully enjoyable at the time. ANYWAY... this blog will be about my one semester abroad in London as a student. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll stop watching that great movie that made you laugh and cry for a second and then glance at this. A good time will be had by all. So stay tuned for all the drama that comes with being in a country slightly different than your own. Heaven knows I'm destined to repeat the "Where is your saran wrap?" - insulted/confused look - discovering it is called "cling film" grocery escapade. I know, you're at the edge of your seat. Well, as that's probably an uncomfortable position, I recommend just falling off and waiting perfectly still on the floor, or finding a paper bag to breath into until my next post.

Until then-