The Magic of the Musicals

Last night Sat Nav and I were excited.
We were braving the traffic and heading up the A1 again, in the dark ugh, en route for Darlington to see The Magic of the Musicals Show at the Civic Theatre.
For once the traffic was a breeze so we arrived early but, when we got to the theatre, it was under siege. This was obviously a very popular show.

Settled in our seats in the front row of the dress circle - and coincidentally I was sitting next to a fellow author - we waited expectantly for the show to start. Wish the seats were a bit more comfortable though, and, we could have done with more leg room.
At 7.30pm the curtain went up and the theatre became alive with The Sound of Music (and so did Darlington), then together we Climbed Every Mountain, loitered High on a Hill with a Lonely Goatherd, and rode along in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Bliss.

Next up were two of my favourite Abba songs, Waterloo and Mamma Mia. Well . . . I had to sing along, didn't I? (Don't worry, I'd already asked the people around us not to throw their Malteasers at me when I sang!)

Along the way we had some Summer Loving from Grease and lingered for a while on The Street Where You Live (Sat Nav's favourite).

This was one hell of a show. Melanie Stace was the female lead vocalist, and gave a cracking performance. Dr. Hyacinth would have loved her glittery purple dress.
Robert Meadmore was the male lead vocalist. He kindly encouraged the audience to sing along with him - which we did with gusto!
The charismatic Wayne Sleep surprised us all with his vocal talents and his brilliant dancing. He is just so clever . . . his funky version of Swan Lake was brilliant.

We had the absolute joy of live music from The Magic of the Musicals Orchestra (Sat Nav is now seriously considering finding time to go for those Sax lessons she has been talking about for ages . . . I've ordered cotton wool for myself and the dogs to protect our ears!).
Then there were the singers and dancers who were very much a part of this show. What can I say about them except that the girls were as sweet as a Spoonful of Sugar . . . lol!
And my God they must all be really fit to sing and dance at the pace they do.

So, Sat Nav and I applaud them. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and if you can get tickets to see the show . . . GO.
There aren't many performances left as the show finishes its UK run on 19th November at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
BUT, it is in London at the Palladium for one show only on 18th November at 4pm. Don't know what the state of play is with tickets but you might be lucky.
Flying Music presented the show so you might like to check out dates and venues on their website Flyingmusic

Got to go now . . . I need to be On My Own for a little while . . . Sat Nav is going out so I will be Master of the House till she gets back . . . lol!
Wait a minute . . . I forgot to tell you what their finale was . . . very appropriately the entire cast performed I Am What I Am . . . and the entire audience joined in. Terrific stuff.