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kalihaLocation: Birmingham Hippodrome (which, strangely enough is in Birmingham)
I ought to warn you that, as this is my favourite ever musical (ever!), I may be somewhat fangirly. Sorry. I was already rather excited by it all, as was Lil Sister. His Lordship wasn't.
I was also squeed up by the fact we passed 12 (TWELVE!) billboards for Lost in the 6 miles between my parents house and the 'Hip. (They've got one right by their house. My sister gets to see it everyday. I'm jealous.
The theatre itself was surprisingly quiet. The Stalls had totally sold out, but there was huge sections of the Circle that was empty. It made me sad. Then again it's only the second day of run. Hopefully they'll have a few packed houses between now and September.
I've seen it twice already down in London and was very taken by the fact the race track at the Apollo Victoria runs around the inside of the stalls, the edge of the stalls and then around the circle. I was hoping that there'd be that here too. Sadly it wasn't. Just a runway stretching out into the stalls. This got me wondering how exactly they were going to do the racing as the stage was very small, but I decided not to worry about it and spent my time until Curtain up teasing His Lordship for coming along.
When we came into the auditorium the ushers gave us 3-d "safety goggles". I was intrigued.
The set was circular, with the runway, a curved half-pipe and a second level to skate on (that looked like a viaduct).
Act I
Overture/Entry of the National Trains
"This is Control, this is Control. Tonight is race night..."
The English train is always late, His Lordship joked that it must be a Central Trains train. All the little train helmets lit up. It made the costume!geek in me squee.
Rolling Stock
"I'm just the fastest thing you'll ever see"
Got slightly worried when one of Greaseball's hench-trains lost a wheel about 15 seconds into the song. he kept going though. Some nice little flips and stuff from the dancers. (Which is always more impressive when they're on rollerstakes). Greaseball's lost the teddyboy look, but still reminds me of Kenickie from Grease
A Whole Lotta Locomotion
"I'm the brand new girl, my springs still bounce, my fans still whirl."
The first of the 're-imagined' songs of the night. Most of the lyrics remained but the tune was different. A bit more Coyote Ugly. His Lordship liked the short skirts and the splits.
He Whistled at Me
"I need steam that's under pressure..."
This is one of my favourite songs from the OST. Didn't really like Pearl's voice though, it's got the Britney Spear-'neyh' quality to it.
Freight
"Forty tons of empty chrome, the lights are on but nobody's home."
No Rocky the boxcar in this new, improved version. Oh no. To get down with the kids the boxcars have been rplaced by Hip-Hoppers. Hip-Hopper #1 is not a very good skater. The other two were flipping and all sorts but he was just going round and round and round. Bless.
AC/DC
"Electra is cool, Electra is hot, cool, hot, a megastar a megawatt"
No Armaments truck in this version either, so Dinah lost her cringey "He's got a gun!" line. I liked Electra, all glittery mohican, glimmering costume and sauce. He's also a very good skater, which helps.
Pumping Iron
"Man, I'm so beautiful"
I'm sure I detected a little bit of footapping from His Lordship, but I can't quite be sure. I caught myself singing along too. :)
Coda of Freight
"Earth, Water, Air, Fire, see the steam rise higher"
Missed some of what was going on as the cast trundled off onto the catwalk in the stalls and we couldn't see anything. *cries*
Crazy
"Ride with me, you'll know you've been riding"
Yes, I was 'do-whopp-ing' along, much to His Lordship's (and probably my sister's) embarrassment. What can I say, I love the song, it's my vacuuming song :)
Make up My Heart
"One of them has style, sets the world alight"
His Lordship did make muttering noises about Pearl being a bit of a tart during this.
Poppa's Blues
"So by the time you get to the third line, you've had time to think of a rhyme."
Poppa, by far, had the best voice of the night. Like hot, melted chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. His Lordship was annoyed with Rusty's 'train hands' that he kept doin, even whn he was standing still.
The Races
Very small stage, no racetrack to speak of. How are they going to do the races. (Which for me were the best part of the London show.) The 'trains' got ready to race and a large screen came down with a sign saying to put on our 'safety goggles'. So we did. Craftily all the races are pre-recorded on a huge race set and CGI'd up into 3-d. Very nifty. A bit disappointing that they wren't real races, cos they're fun.
Starlight Express
"Starlight Express, Starlight Express, are you real? Yes or no?
I'm positive I saw Rusty in the London production when I saw it for the second time. Unfortunately all my programmes are in the loft so I can't get at them. He's sweet. Lots of shooting stars and stuff.
Act II
The Rap
"Are you ready for the big one?"
Another 're-imagined' song. And I don't think this version is as good as the original. But that's just me.
U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.
"But I'll get my R.E.V.E.N.G.E."
aka kareoke U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. with two screens showing the lyrics and a little bouncy ball. (This is my ringtone on my phone at the moment). It even got a giggle out of His Lordship. Dinah, annoyin, kept going towards the back of the stage so you couldn't see her for most of the song.
Right Place, Right Time
"You coulda been a contender, coulda been a star"
Definitely prefer them as Boxcars. Aiiight.
Starlight Sequence
"I am the Starlight..."
On of my favourite bits of the show, with magic floating!Rusty, lots of disembodied stars (which were probably on thin guazes, but it looked soooooo effective)
One Rock 'n' Roll too Many
"My mojo ain't working, and my pill has just popped"
Now with added CB. Didn't really spoil it though, although CB got lots of Electra's lines. They came very close to falling off the stage.
Only He/Only You
"Only He, has the power to move me"
They've switched back to the original Rusty/Pearl duet. (I do love 'Next time you fall in love' though, the harmonies are brilliant - I did it in choir, back in the day). His Lordship mutters that Pearl doesn't deserve Rusty 'cos she's a bit of a slag. He doesn't understand the OTPness of them :D
Light at the End of the Tunnel
"There's a light, there's a liht, can you see the light?"
More memories of choir come flooding back (I had to turn this into a 4-part harmony for my A-levels, back in the day). Hip Hopper #1 takes a tumble very early into the song, when they were all standing still. Lots of imprssive backflips and stuff off the Prince of Wales (the train not the nearly!monarch) and two of the swing trains. Got lots of oohs and ahhs. And lots of impressionable children signed up to the Rusty/Pearl OTP with a big kiss between the two of them at the end.
I loved it, not as much as I did when I saw it in London. It'll always have a special place in my heart though.
8/10
I ought to warn you that, as this is my favourite ever musical (ever!), I may be somewhat fangirly. Sorry. I was already rather excited by it all, as was Lil Sister. His Lordship wasn't.
I was also squeed up by the fact we passed 12 (TWELVE!) billboards for Lost in the 6 miles between my parents house and the 'Hip. (They've got one right by their house. My sister gets to see it everyday. I'm jealous.
The theatre itself was surprisingly quiet. The Stalls had totally sold out, but there was huge sections of the Circle that was empty. It made me sad. Then again it's only the second day of run. Hopefully they'll have a few packed houses between now and September.
I've seen it twice already down in London and was very taken by the fact the race track at the Apollo Victoria runs around the inside of the stalls, the edge of the stalls and then around the circle. I was hoping that there'd be that here too. Sadly it wasn't. Just a runway stretching out into the stalls. This got me wondering how exactly they were going to do the racing as the stage was very small, but I decided not to worry about it and spent my time until Curtain up teasing His Lordship for coming along.
When we came into the auditorium the ushers gave us 3-d "safety goggles". I was intrigued.
The set was circular, with the runway, a curved half-pipe and a second level to skate on (that looked like a viaduct).
Act I
Overture/Entry of the National Trains
"This is Control, this is Control. Tonight is race night..."
The English train is always late, His Lordship joked that it must be a Central Trains train. All the little train helmets lit up. It made the costume!geek in me squee.
Rolling Stock
"I'm just the fastest thing you'll ever see"
Got slightly worried when one of Greaseball's hench-trains lost a wheel about 15 seconds into the song. he kept going though. Some nice little flips and stuff from the dancers. (Which is always more impressive when they're on rollerstakes). Greaseball's lost the teddyboy look, but still reminds me of Kenickie from Grease
A Whole Lotta Locomotion
"I'm the brand new girl, my springs still bounce, my fans still whirl."
The first of the 're-imagined' songs of the night. Most of the lyrics remained but the tune was different. A bit more Coyote Ugly. His Lordship liked the short skirts and the splits.
He Whistled at Me
"I need steam that's under pressure..."
This is one of my favourite songs from the OST. Didn't really like Pearl's voice though, it's got the Britney Spear-'neyh' quality to it.
Freight
"Forty tons of empty chrome, the lights are on but nobody's home."
No Rocky the boxcar in this new, improved version. Oh no. To get down with the kids the boxcars have been rplaced by Hip-Hoppers. Hip-Hopper #1 is not a very good skater. The other two were flipping and all sorts but he was just going round and round and round. Bless.
AC/DC
"Electra is cool, Electra is hot, cool, hot, a megastar a megawatt"
No Armaments truck in this version either, so Dinah lost her cringey "He's got a gun!" line. I liked Electra, all glittery mohican, glimmering costume and sauce. He's also a very good skater, which helps.
Pumping Iron
"Man, I'm so beautiful"
I'm sure I detected a little bit of footapping from His Lordship, but I can't quite be sure. I caught myself singing along too. :)
Coda of Freight
"Earth, Water, Air, Fire, see the steam rise higher"
Missed some of what was going on as the cast trundled off onto the catwalk in the stalls and we couldn't see anything. *cries*
Crazy
"Ride with me, you'll know you've been riding"
Yes, I was 'do-whopp-ing' along, much to His Lordship's (and probably my sister's) embarrassment. What can I say, I love the song, it's my vacuuming song :)
Make up My Heart
"One of them has style, sets the world alight"
His Lordship did make muttering noises about Pearl being a bit of a tart during this.
Poppa's Blues
"So by the time you get to the third line, you've had time to think of a rhyme."
Poppa, by far, had the best voice of the night. Like hot, melted chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. His Lordship was annoyed with Rusty's 'train hands' that he kept doin, even whn he was standing still.
The Races
Very small stage, no racetrack to speak of. How are they going to do the races. (Which for me were the best part of the London show.) The 'trains' got ready to race and a large screen came down with a sign saying to put on our 'safety goggles'. So we did. Craftily all the races are pre-recorded on a huge race set and CGI'd up into 3-d. Very nifty. A bit disappointing that they wren't real races, cos they're fun.
Starlight Express
"Starlight Express, Starlight Express, are you real? Yes or no?
I'm positive I saw Rusty in the London production when I saw it for the second time. Unfortunately all my programmes are in the loft so I can't get at them. He's sweet. Lots of shooting stars and stuff.
Act II
The Rap
"Are you ready for the big one?"
Another 're-imagined' song. And I don't think this version is as good as the original. But that's just me.
U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.
"But I'll get my R.E.V.E.N.G.E."
aka kareoke U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. with two screens showing the lyrics and a little bouncy ball. (This is my ringtone on my phone at the moment). It even got a giggle out of His Lordship. Dinah, annoyin, kept going towards the back of the stage so you couldn't see her for most of the song.
Right Place, Right Time
"You coulda been a contender, coulda been a star"
Definitely prefer them as Boxcars. Aiiight.
Starlight Sequence
"I am the Starlight..."
On of my favourite bits of the show, with magic floating!Rusty, lots of disembodied stars (which were probably on thin guazes, but it looked soooooo effective)
One Rock 'n' Roll too Many
"My mojo ain't working, and my pill has just popped"
Now with added CB. Didn't really spoil it though, although CB got lots of Electra's lines. They came very close to falling off the stage.
Only He/Only You
"Only He, has the power to move me"
They've switched back to the original Rusty/Pearl duet. (I do love 'Next time you fall in love' though, the harmonies are brilliant - I did it in choir, back in the day). His Lordship mutters that Pearl doesn't deserve Rusty 'cos she's a bit of a slag. He doesn't understand the OTPness of them :D
Light at the End of the Tunnel
"There's a light, there's a liht, can you see the light?"
More memories of choir come flooding back (I had to turn this into a 4-part harmony for my A-levels, back in the day). Hip Hopper #1 takes a tumble very early into the song, when they were all standing still. Lots of imprssive backflips and stuff off the Prince of Wales (the train not the nearly!monarch) and two of the swing trains. Got lots of oohs and ahhs. And lots of impressionable children signed up to the Rusty/Pearl OTP with a big kiss between the two of them at the end.
I loved it, not as much as I did when I saw it in London. It'll always have a special place in my heart though.
8/10
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Date: Saturday, August 13th, 2005 02:55 pm (UTC)