Which musical/theatre show in London?

[fizz47]

It's been about 15 years since I last went to see theatre or a musical so have decided to go with my o/h. What recommendations do you guys have?

So far have been thinking about the following:

Blood Brothers
Thriller Live
Lion King
Stomp
Wicked

Where should I purchase the tickets from as there seems to be various sites all selling the same thing. Prices also vary considerably between type of seats. Is the price difference really worth it? Are upper stalls really that bad?

Edited by fizz47 on Sunday 30th January 13:47

[nsmith1180]

Blood Brothers, Definately Blood Brothers.

Fantastic show in a great venue.

[Eric Mc]

I would recomment "The Lion King". Pretty good music and impressive effects.

[SammyW]

Eric Mc said:

I would recomment "The Lion King". Pretty good music and impressive effects.

+1

Saw it over Christmas and, while not to my usual taste, I was pleasantly suprised. Entertaining and great effects.

[spaximus]

I went to see Wicked last year with the family. Against all my expectations this was fantastic from start to finish

[bigdavy]

+1 for Wicked, it's superb.

Tickets, well i'd say depends when your going? If Friday / Saturday book in advance if during week get tickets either on arrival or buy day before sort of thing, you'll save a packet. Generally speaking there is always tickets available during week*.

• obviously check beforehand, ie its not my fault if you turn up and there's no seats left

[Mojooo]

woman in black

[Eric Mc]

I think he was asking about what he listed. I could suggest loads of shows that aren't on the list.

[Mojooo]

No he definitley is asking for any siggestions.......

with regards to seating I guess it depends on what the theatre is liek but I would only sit at the top is it was a)cheap and b) it wasn;t too much of a hassle to get there

If I was going for a special occasion or had to make a trip up I would probably stump up for a seat somewhere in the stalls

but it all depends on what th show is like I guess.

[sjp63]

Eric Mc said:

I think he was asking about what he listed. I could suggest loads of shows that aren't on the list.

Black and White minstrels show finished years ago

[missdiane]

Anything you go and see will be good

Saw Stomp, funny and a sound extravaganza- you will never see some things in the same light again

Saw Billy Elliot Friday night, very good, seeing a lil 6 years old shout wker to the rest of the cast was funny (scripted of course)

I have a friend who is selling her Mamma Mia tickets as she can't go, and she has had no luck, was thinking of buying them from her, but not a fan of Abba really... Surely I would enjoy it no matter what? anyone seen it?

I chose the billy elliot seats carefully, near the front but not the ones with restricted view (front) when we got there it was quite small so any seat would have been excellent, even the 'restricted' view ones at half the price!

Edited by missdiane on Sunday 30th January 16:17

[Eric Mc]

I don't remember the Black and White Minstrel show ever being put on in the London West End.

If people are interested in musicals and shows, maybe they should consider the very good amateur productions that are performed all over the country all the time. The West End is not the be-all and end-all of musical theatre in the UK.
Of course, with their ability to spend big budgets on the technical aspects of productions they sometimes are, despite all the money spent, not always that fantastic.

A couple of weeks ago I went to see the London production of "Oliver". Technically it could not be faulted - but to me there were lots of issues around the way some of the characters were portrayed and some amendments to the dialogue which were additional to the original script did not sit well. I was not impressed with Griff Rhys-Jones' interpretation of Fagin either.

[silverthorn2151]

Jersey Boys wold be my choice, although it's not on the list.

[alfa pint]

Absolutely despise musicals as being bland, middle class, cheesy tunes ste. Proof being that the Simpsons and Family Guy can knock up a show tune just about every episode that's just as bland and 'catchy' as anything by ALW /Tim Rice et al.

Go and see War Horse. The puppetry is amazing. The story is pretty damn good. It's moving and it's real theatre. She'll love it, you'll love it. You'll feel cultured while enjoying yourself.

One of the best things about Sarah fkwit Kennedy retiring is not having to re-tune the radio at 720am because of some fking awful showtime slot.

[twister]

nsmith1180 said:

Blood Brothers, Definately Blood Brothers.

Fantastic show in a great venue.

Fantastic show yes, but the venue lost a few points due to the lack of legroom (and I'm only 5'11", so not expecting an unusual amount of room) in the stalls seating - it's a measure of how good the show itself is that I was able to almost entirely ignore the discomfort in my lower limbs towards the end of each half.

[Sammo123]

Thriller is an excellent show, but I would also recommend Chicago! Lots of scantily clad ladies dancing around

[Eric Mc]

alfa pint said:

Absolutely despise musicals as being bland, middle class, cheesy tunes ste. Proof being that the Simpsons and Family Guy can knock up a show tune just about every episode that's just as bland and 'catchy' as anything by ALW /Tim Rice et al.

Go and see War Horse. The puppetry is amazing. The story is pretty damn good. It's moving and it's real theatre. She'll love it, you'll love it. You'll feel cultured while enjoying yourself.

One of the best things about Sarah fkwit Kennedy retiring is not having to re-tune the radio at 720am because of some fking awful showtime slot.

It always amazes me that people who seem to despise musicals want to contribute to threads about them.

There are over 1,000 musicals available since the genre was invented about 100 years ago (300 years ago if you include opera and operetta) so to write them all off as being cheesy and middle-class reflects your ignorance of the medium.

[Z06George]

Lion King was absolutely epic in my eyes, had great seats in the royal circle. As already mentioned the music was great to.

[Eric Mc]

Sammo123 said:

Thriller is an excellent show, but I would also recommend Chicago! Lots of scantily clad ladies dancing around

"Chicago" is excellent - although I prefer the original version to the re-written version which is curently running. However, despite their best effotrs, the current version is still good with very relevant messages about the fallibility of the courts and the effect of media on the application of justice.

And the scantilly clad girls - of course

[shakotan]

If you want alternative theatre, I'd highly recommend La Soirée.