I love an evening out at the theatre. A tasty dinner beforehand followed by a glass of wine and some chocolates in front of the show. Perfect!
It feels like quite an old school night out nowadays but I think that’s one of the things I love most about it. There are loads of musicals to choose from in London's West End and I’m far from seeing them all but I’ve been to at least ten or fifteen throughout the years.
After seeing another one a few weeks ago, I thought I’d write up on here about my 3 favourites (seems I am quite traditional with my musicals!).
Image source: Wormwoods Trading (http://wormwoods.tumblr.com/videos)
I remember seeing the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre as a kid and I saw it again recently with my girlfriends. I enjoyed it as much as I did back then – I’d say even better in some areas such as lighting and special effects. The cast are always top notch, the storyline is fantastic and the songs are brill. If you haven’t seen it already I recommend catching it whilst it’s still running.
Image source: postermaker @ Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/170984468/les-miserables-poster-35)
Next up on my list is Les Misérables. Last year my husband and I went to see it with a few friends. The women actually were the ones who wanted to see it and the guys had to be dragged along but actually we all ended up loving it – some of us even got goose-bumps on our skin during the songs. Even if you’ve seen the recent movie or read the book, I’d say seeing the stage production of Les Mis is a must, as the performance is just outstanding.
Image source: The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre (http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/boom-chicka-chicka.html)
Last up is Rent. This is the only musical in my list which sadly isn’t running anymore, and I’m really happy I managed to catch it at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Puccini’s La bohème adapted to late 80’s New York, it tells the story of young artists and musicians struggling with distress, poverty, AIDS, and forlorn love. Sounds depressing but it isn’t.
The message of the musical is really inspiring: live every day like your last and take everything that life has to offer. If a musical ends up inspiring me in addition to providing a great time, it just has to be here on my list.
If you’re into musicals too, I’d be really happy if you could recommend any which are really worth seeing in the comments – I’m planning another old school night out in a few weeks and it’s quite difficult to decide on what I should see next.