Theatre in the West End!

So, I thought I'd do a little play critique of the musicals I've seen here.

As you may know, the West End is London's equivalent to Broadway. TONS of shows are playing right now. You can go see Wicked, The Wizard of Oz, The Phantom of the Opera, Crazy For You, Billy Elliott, as well as MANY others. London's theater district is phenomenal.

The longest running musical in the history of the world, Les Miserables is a show you can't miss, and the London cast does it best as anyone can. Alfie Boe plays Jean Valjean and blows us away with his beautiful voice. Absolutely fell in love. The young Alexia Khadime plays Eponine, who surprised me with her incredible set of pipes as well! Grown-up Cosette is played by Lisa-Anne Wood, Fantine by Caroline Sheen, Marius by Craig Mather, the Thenandiers by Katy Secombe and Cameron Blakely. All incredible, all talented. This show will have you tearing up several times no matter how many times you've seen it. AND I met the cast at the stage door and got autographs :)

Favorite numbers were In My Life, Castle on a Cloud, One Day More, On My Own, Master of the House, and Lovely Ladies (as expected.)

Saw this tonight after probably six years of wanting to see it live. This production starred America Ferrera as Roxie Hart, if anyone remembers her from Ugly Betty, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, or probably six different issues of Seventeen magazine. This was my first time seeing this show live after many people had warned me that you shouldn't see a live version AFTER seeing the movie. But I went into it with the attitude that no one could ever top Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma (and came out with that same attitude), so for me, it worked.

America was definitely cute as Roxie. Cute, pathetic, and made Roxie a much more humorous character. Needs a couple more voice lessons. Velma and Mama Norton definitely had the best voices, as well as some of the cell block tango girls. 

If you've only seen the movie, I'd say it's worth it to go see a live production. There were some scenes and tactics I actually preferred, although the 2002 movie will always have a place in my heart. Plus the dancing is to die for- Fosse will always be incredible.

Our seats were cheap but fantastic and right up close. Oh yeah, and WE MET AMERICA FERRERA!!!!! 

Her autograph!

Sarah, Megan, Alexandra, and me outside the theatre.

I wanna go to at least one more musical while I'm here. Any suggestions? (:

xoxo emmy

Crossing the border....Weekend in Scotland!

Hellooooo everyone,

Well, seeing as I'd seen just about all there was to see of London, I took a weekend trip to Scotland!

We covered a lot in just a few days, starting in Edinburgh, and heading up to the highlands and down to the lowlands. It certainly doesn't give off that energetic vibe of the city, but if you like mountains, ghost stories, gray skies, and are not a vegetarian then it's perfect for you.

                                         The Scottish highlands! Don't you feel like you could just fall in love here? Yes, you do.

  Loch Ness ! I saw Nessie but no one believed me. Some of the brave (crazy) people on our trip actually took a dip in the 40 degree water.  

 Trying Scottish whiskey at a whiskey distillery! Had a very smoky, strong flavor. I didn't like it, although I imagine it goes better with haggis at dinner than with an empty stomach at 10 in the morning...sometimes I wondered what our tour guide was thinking.

Looking out at a beautiful view of the lowlands. There is something so mysterious and beautiful about the landscape.

Don't leave with the impression that Scottish food is all greasy meat and potatoes! The Scots are also famous for their shortbread...light, sweet, and buttery! 

You can't walk ten feet in Edinburgh without running into a cashmere shop. Taken from the undercoat of a certain breed of goat, this is the softest material you will EVER touch. I just wanted to cuddle with all the scarves! Oops, did that make me sound weird?

Oh, and our tour bus gave us the LOVELY pleasure of playing the same Scottish folk songs again...and again....and again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njUQJIJzFY4  Listen to that about sixty times and you'll be ready to rip your ears off, or at least your tour guide's.



Overall it was a lovely trip. Cold, but lovely. We learned quite a bit about Scottish history, scoped out a few Scottish pubs, and went on a creepy ghost tour in Edinburgh. Still, it was nice to come back to London. What can I say, I'm a city girl.

xoxo emmy