Jersey Boys London West End 2016/2017 Cast

After loving the cast of 2015/16, I was definitely interested in going to watch the new cast.

As you will know from my first blog on Jersey Boys, it tells the story of Frankie Valli and the four seasons in the late 50's about how they became to be in the rock and roll hall of fame.

The show includes songs such as Sherry, Big Girls don't Cry, Walk like a man, December 1963, Cant take my eyes off you and many more.

The show stars Matt Corner as Frankie Valli, Simon Bailey as Tommy DeVito, Declan Egan as Bob Gaudio and Matt Hunt as Nick Massi.

The show is currently in its 8th year in London and is still wowing audiences from all over the world.

I have also seen the show on Broadway and i can honestly say that the West End Jersey Boys has the best casts, past and present.

Matt Corner as Frankie Valli came across a serious Frankie, but with a heart of gold. Matt's voice was fantastic. Enjoyed the whole of Matt's performance. Bravo Matt.

Simon Bailey portrayed a great Tommy DeVito. A very serious character and means business. A fantastic all round performance.

Declan Egan portrayed a cheeky but shy Bob Gaudio. Loved Declan singing 'Cry for me'. A professional performance and definitely one of my favorite characters.

Matt Hunt portrayed a quiet but confident Nick Massi. A strong performance. In my opinion the best Nick Massi i have seen.

Dont think twice about going to see Jersey Boys as its such a fantastic feel good show.
The west end cast are absolutely incredible and you will not be disappointed.

In The Heights - London West End 2016

I was very interested in seeing another musical that Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics too and that was In The Heights.

In the Heights is about a vibrant Latino neighbourhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan.
A musical full of Latin rhythms of salsa and merengue alongside soul, pop, hip hop and RandB.
Usnavi who's a shop owner, looks after an ageing Cuban lady next door and falls in love with a girl working in a beauty salon across the street and dreams of winning the lottery and escaping to his native home in the Dominican Republic.

The show starred Sam Mackay as Usnavi, Lily Frazer as Nina, David Bedella as Kevin, Christine Allado as Vanessa, Joe Aaron Reid as Benny and Josie Benson as Camila.

Sam Mackay was a brilliant Usnavi. My favourite character in the show. I loved every minute of Sam's performance. A very convincing and professional performance.
Lily Frazer portrayed Nina amazingly, Lily had some power house songs to sing and performed them fantastically. What a voice.
Christine Allado was a charming Vanessa. A sort of ' the girl next door' type of character.

I have two favourite songs from the show and they were 'in the heights' and 56,000.

The only thing about the show was that it needs to be in a bigger theatre on a bigger stage with a bigger set, but he cast and crew made it work on a small stage.

It's still a fantastic show and well worth a visit as it's different and has a Spanish vibe to it.
I only saw the show once, loved it and now I want to see it again.

Hamilton - Broadway 2016

After having problems with our tickets, to not having any tickets which viagogo sold to someone else, it was a miracle that my friend and I got to see Hamilton. 

Social media is a wonderful thing.

It all started with a hashtag #getsamtoham, one of the cast members saw the hashtag and asked my friend what had happened. My friend explained.

My friend and I arrived at the theatre to speak to a gentleman that was instructed by the cast member and the gentleman managed to get us two standing tickets. We couldn't believe our eyes. The gentleman called us over once we had the tickets and said I am going to give you seats as there is no reason for you to stand seeing that you already paid for seats. Well instead of sitting near the back of the mezzanine they sat us at the back of the front stalls. We were very happy and greatful for what this gentleman and the cast member had done. So we took our seats and could finally relax and enjoy the show.

Hamilton is a musical about Alexander Hamilton, a Scottish/French Caribbean who travelled to NYC in the late 18th century and became the right hand man to George Washington. He was a hero of the American war for independence. He was also an abrasive character who was involved in a notorious sex scandal and died before he reached 50 in a duel with the former Vice President of America Aaron Burr.

Music and lyrics are written by Lin Manual Miranda.

I was lucky enough to see the original broadway cast starring Lin Manual Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Jonathan Groff as King George, Leslie Odom Jr as Aaron Burr, Renee Elise Goldsberry/Phillipa Soo/Jasmine Cephas Jones as the Schuyler sisters, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Daveed Diggs as Lafayette/Jefferson, Anthony Ramos as Lauren's/Philip Hamilton and not forgetting Javier Munoz as Alexander Hamilton at certain performances.

Lin Manual Miranda portrayed a fantastic Alexander Hamilton. Lin was perfection throughout the show. Lin's singing was great, I mean to rap 7 days a week is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed Lin's performance.
Phillipa Soo portrayed a wonderful and sweet Eliza.
Jonathan Groff as King George had me on the edge of my seat with laughter, Jonathan's performance was very camp, loved the British accent and loved Jonathan singing 'you'll be back'.
The rest of the cast were brilliant a lot of talent and amazing performances.

My favourite songs in the show were you'll be back, Alexander Hamilton and My Shot.

I didn't think that I would enjoy Hamilton but I was wrong. It was absolutely amazing. It's very different to other musicals but that's what makes Hamilton unique.
A piece of American history from the 18th century turned into the 21st century where the story is told through cast members singing and rapping.

Definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in NYC.

Finding Neverland - Broadway 2015

Finding Neverland was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go to NYC/Broadway as well to see Matthew Morrison.

I saw the original broadway cast that starred Matthew Morrison as JM Barrie, Laura Michelle Kelly as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and Kelsey Grammer as Mr Charles Frohman/Captain Hook.

I was also interested to see what the score was like as the music and lyrics were written by Gary Barlow and Elliot Kennedy.

It tells the story of how Peter becomes Pan and takes your through the life of J.M Barrie and how he got the idea from writing the famous novel Peter Pan by meeting the Llewelyn Davies Family.

I absolutely enjoyed this musical, everything about it from the lights, to the set, to the music and last but not least the cast.
Was truly amazingly magical and it really did make me believe.

The music is absolutely breathtaking to listen too, my favourite songs had to be Believe, Something about this night and When your feet don't touch the ground.

Matthew Morrison portrayed a fantastic J.M Barrie. His performance was very believable and Matthew owned the stage. Matthews voice was amazing especially in Stronger as I can imagine its a hard song to sing, but Matthew did it justice. Bravo Matthew.

Laura Michelle Kelly portrayed a charming Sylvia Llewelyn Davies the mother of the boys Michael, Jack, Peter and George. I never saw any of the shows Laura had done beforehand but in this show Laura was fantastic. Laura delivered a strong and convincing performance throughout the show.

Kelsey Grammer portrayed a very convincing and fun Captain Hook. Also a very smart businessman Charles Frohman.

The boys were very cute and talented and had great voices.

The score of the show is unbelievably amazing and has a pop feel to it.

My favourite broadway musical.

Definitely a musical worth seeing if you get the chance to head to Broadway. But if not do not worry as it's hopefully heading to London's West End in 2017.

Jersey Boys London 2015/2016 Cast

Jersey Boys being one of my favourite jukebox musicals. It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in the late 50s about how they became to be in the rock and roll hall of fame. Starts off with 3 band members including Tommy Devito as the group leader trying to get gigs but not having the greatest of success, until Devito discovers talent of a local boy Frankie Castelluccio (later Valli) and their success changes.

It's a show you could go and watch over and over again and you will never get bored.
It's such an amazing show I have seen the show 28 times and still counting and the best cast in my opinion had to be the London Cast 2015/16.  Which starred Michael Watson as Frankie Valli, Edd Post as Bob Gaudio, Jon Boydon as Tommy Devito and Gary Watson as Nick Massi.

The show includes hit songs like sherry, big girls don't cry, walk like a man, December 1963, beggin, can't take my eyes off you, working my way back to you, who loves you, just to name a few. You can't help but to fall in love with each one of the four seasons as the show takes you on a journey through the good and bad times of the bands success.
This is one hell of a feel good show, you come out the theatre with a big smile on your face and singing the songs.
I have seen 6 Frankies and Michael Watson was the best by far. I have had the pleasure of seeing Michael perform 23 times and all the time Michael was perfection. Michael came across as a very cheeky and flirty Frankie. Every time I heard Michael sing 'can't take my eyes off you' it completely blew me away and deserved a standing ovation and always received a massive cheer from the audience. Michael had an amazing voice and the first time I heard Michael sing as Frankie my jaw opened wide as to say wow this guy is fantastic. Bravo Michael.
Edd Post was a charming Bob Gaudio, I loved Edd's take on 'December 1963' as you couldn't help but to sing along.  Amazing vocals. Played a very convincing businessman. A very professional performance.
Jon Boydon portrayed Tommy Devito fantastically. I can imagine it is a demanding role to play. But Jon delivered an amazing performance every time, as his character said 'Devito Delivers'.  Jon brought a certain cheekiness to Tommy as well. As Jon did play the role for an amazing 6 years.
Gary Watson as the quiet Nick Massi was fantastic, a strong performance.
It's fair to say I do have a soft spot for the show and if I didn't I wouldn't go back for more. It's amazing, full of fun and the songs are just brilliant, after all I have had the songs in my head for 6 months.
Currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. If you haven't see the show what are you waiting for, go and see it, as 'The Crowd Really Does Go Wild'.
Now playing with the all new 2016/2017 London cast.