The Musical Traveller

For those of you who haven't seen my Instagram and TikTok, I spent last week in New York for my birthday! Whilst I was there, I got to see the Tina Turner Musical at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway and it was incredible! The story follows the inspiring journey of Tina Turner from being a young girl growing up in Tennessee to the world famous performer she is now. It explores her turbulent marriage to Ike Turner, with whom she separated from after years of physical abuse, as well as her damaged relationship with her mother, who left her as a young child. Despite the clear difficulties that Turner has had in her life, the actual performance is both light-hearted and humorous in parts yet emotional when needed.  The score is the highlight of the show, due to it consisting of some of Turner's greatest hits, along with some of her lesser known but equally powerful songs. I went into the show only knowing a small number of Tina Turner classics, such as 'River Deep Mountain ...

  Last weekend, I went to the Manchester Opera House to see my favourite musical of all time- Waitress! Having seen it in London back in 2019, ( see my review here! ) I knew what to expect, but this time was even better than last.  I was fortunate enough to be able to see the incredible Lucie Jones as Jenna, for the second time, before she leaves the role at the end of the year to take on Elphaba in Wicked. In my eyes, Lucie is the best Jenna Hunterson. She plays the role effortlessly, with her outstanding acting and vocals highlighting that she really is at the top of her game. I've never seen a round of applause last as long as it did after she finished the emotional ballad 'She Used To Be Mine'.  I was very impressed by Matt Willis' portrayal of Dr Pomatter. Having seen David Hunter play the role last time, I wasn't sure what to expect from Willis, but I was very pleasantly surprised. He took the character in a different direction, taking on a more awkward and sh...

  On Tuesday, I was invited to the opening night of Tell Me On A Sunday at The Lowry Theatre in Manchester. I wasn’t familiar with any of the songs (bar the title track) or really what the story was about, so it was exciting to watch it completely blind. The show wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before, as it is a one-woman show. Jodie Prenger plays the role of Emma, an English woman living alone in New York as she experiences the trials and tribulations of love and dating. The story is told through a series of letters to her mum back at home, as well as through songs directed at characters, such as Emma’s multiple love interests, who are never seen by the audience. The venue was very intimate, which enabled the audience to really connect with Emma’s story and feel apart of it. The simplicity of the set and stage keeps all of the focus on the music and the narrative. The nature of the show meant that all of the pressure was on Jodie to express to the audience exactly what was ha...

Hi Guys! I thought that today, I would share some of my favourite musical theatre movies. I first discovered my passion for musical theatre through some of these films, and I have found that they are great to watch whilst we are all stuck inside. The soundtracks are great and they provide some much needed escapism from all the chaos that is going on in the world right now, which I think we all need sometimes!  Let me know your favourite movie musicals - especially if they aren't on the list- as I'm always on the lookout for new musicals to obsess over! Here's mine... 1. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999) This was the first movie musical I ever saw as a kid and it holds a dear place in my heart. I used to watch it (on tape!!) at my grandparent's house and I fell in love with it. I think I must have watched it every week for about 2 years! It is definitely one of the older ones on the list and you can tell from the quality of the p...