With our study abroad program we were given the opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera in London's West End. For those of you unfamiliar with the West End, it's essentially the Broadway of London. I had never seen Phantom of the Opera before so I was really excited since it's one of the more classic musicals. Since my college at home is near NYC, I've had the opportunity to see many Broadway shows such as Billy Elliot, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Wicked, Newsies, and Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. Needless to say, I love Broadway shows! Seeing one in London though was something I needed to do while here. That's why it was really lucky that our program scheduled Phantom of the Opera for all of us. The show was held in Her Majesty's Theatre and Tara, our two friends, and I hurriedly rushed to our stall seats (the UK's equivalent of floor or orchestra seating), making it just 5 minutes before the show was to start. I was familiar with some of the music, but really had no idea about the plot. Yes, I know... most people know what Phantom of the Opera is about, but I honestly didn't. As the show started I was instantly impressed with the main character, Christine, whose voice was unlike anyone I had ever heard... and I've been to a lot of shows! We were all saying that her voice was literally the voice of an angel. The phantom was a great singer as well and definitely pulled off the tormented character that gains the audience's sympathy. Besides the amazing acting, singing, set, and special effects, I was perplexed by their microphones. They actually have these small mics attached to the middle of their foreheads! It was funny that their microphones would be so visible to the audience, showing a difference between technology in the UK versus that of the US. I'm really glad I got to see the show though because I was having Broadway withdrawals... I usually see at least one show every semester! You don't get the opportunity to see a West End musical every day so I'm so thankful to my program for making it possible!
I am in love with Broadway shows just as much as Cailin and was so excited to see Phantom. I had already seen it on Broadway in 6th grade with a play club, but I thought it would be really cool to see the differences in how the West End production performed it. Like Cailin said it was amazing. It was actually pretty similar to the NY version, but their singing voices were just unbelievable.
Another amazing opportunity that we have gotten through one of our classes is being able to see West End productions of Shakespeare's plays. The first play we read in class and saw was Twelfth Night. Cailin and I knew the plot from the modern day retelling in the movie She's the Man, but we didn't get the chance to read the actual play in high school so we were anxious to see one of Shakespeare's most renown comedies. The production was at the Apollo Theatre right in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. The inside of the theater was very ornate with a lot of decorative molding and sculptures.
We were in the highest level of seating and the theater is pretty tall so we had to look down to see the stage, but we were in the front rows of the section. The play was put on in traditional Elizabethan style so their costumes were made to match as closely as possible to the type of clothing that would've been worn on the stage in Shakespeare's day.
Additionally, all the female parts are played by males since in Shakespeare's time there were no female actors. We got there early so we got to see the traditional dressing of the actors. During the time of the actual Globe Theatre, those that came early could watch the actors get in their costumes and put their makeup on. Their costumes are very intricate and they don't miss a detail even though the audience might not even notice. They also put white makeup on all the men playing female characters to make them more feminine and regal. It is really funny to watch a grown man getting fitted into his corset!
Twelfth Night was so funny and even more interesting to watch because Viola is a girl who disguises herself as a boy, but in the play the part is actually played by a boy playing a girl who is pretending to be a boy. I laughed out loud several times and the actors did an incredible job. The cast was made up of some big names like Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry, and they didn't disappoint.
The only thing that could've made this night better was a celebrity sighting! As we were walking out of the theater one of our friends thought she saw someone that looked like Paul McCartney get into a taxi that was parked outside of the side entrance. We just laughed and thought how cool that would be if it were actually him. We were coming out of the specific entrance you went into to get to the nose bleed seats so we didn't expect to see any celebrities. Other people started to look in the cab so out of curiosity we kept stalling in front of the exit. Then someone knocked on the taxi car to say goodbye and when the door opened we ran over and it was Paul McCartney! It was so cool since as far as British celebrities go we would say he is pretty legendary. Cailin snapped a quick photo and all of our friends proceeded to have a fan girl moment as we walked back to the tube to get home.
A week later we went back to the Apollo Theatre to see Richard III. It was the same cast with Mark Rylance playing the lead role again. Richard III is one of Shakespeare's longest plays so we were a little weary about how long it would be since Twelfth Night went for 3 and a half hours long. However, they cut out a few portions of the play and it also ended in 3 and a half hours.
Richard III is a history play so I really enjoyed it. I also had my class presentation on this play so I did a lot of research into Richard III's life. Today it was actually found out that the bones archaeologists discovered in Leicester, that were supposed to be Richard III's, were in fact his! The play is attributed for sealing in the general public's mind that Richard III was the most evil king England had ever had.
He is blamed for the deaths of two young princes in the Tower of London as well as killing almost everyone in the line of succession to the throne. There is much controversy into whether he was the hunch-backed murderer that Shakespeare portrays him as, but as far as historical fiction goes, Richard III is the perfect villain and makes for a very entertaining show.
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