Half A Sixpence

Oooo if it turned out to be an Xmas show ala Gypsy, that would be so fabulous, it is such a family show!

Returned for the fifth time last Thursday, purely to see Sam O'Rourke as Kipps. Sam was good, but, sadly, he was obviously no Charlie. Now, I don't mean that in a harsh way as, obviously, Sam has been on very few times meaning it was unsurprising that he had not had much of a chance to be a bit of a stamp on the character. He did make Arthur seem very sweet though, I thought this was very touching in his last scenes with Helen, and I could definitely see how his characterisation would charm Ann. Dancing was largely very good, but I did think there may have been a few moments were the choreography had been simplified, during the beginning of Act 1, although this could be me mistaken as I hadn't been for two months.
To my surprise, Rebecca was also on for Ann. Of my five visits, I've seen Rebecca three times and more and more she is becoming my vision of Ann. It has been really nice to see how she has grown into the character compared to her first visit. A much stronger voice, and she adds some sassiness which really helps her embody the character as her own. With time, I imagine this will be something Sam can do for Arthur.
The remaining cast were all very strong, as usual. Especially Jane Howe who I thought was much more hilarious with some new quirks as Lady Punnett. Also, Vivien Parry seemed much better vocally, and not saying that she is a bad singer at all, but it seemed like she was singing during 'We'll build a palace' a bit higher, which definitely suits her better and allows for better acting.

By and large the show is still in fantastic shape. One thing I did notice, which greatly bugged me, is that a group of fangirls is already developing. One who had to boast loudly, from the front row, that this was her 12th time seeing the show. Another who had a photoshopped album of Charlie on her phone of roles he should be playing etc. A third who had to boast along the lines of 'oh Andrew Wright told ME...', and 'Sam said 'x' to me on Twitter/Instagram (I can't remember). There was also the thing of giving a card and orchestrating a standing ovation at the end of the show and dancing around and waving hands a the finale, which I didn't like because, firstly, this isn't the type of show that I really think caters for dancing around, as, it is in some ways a dance show and for the finale the audience behind will want to be able to see the finale. A standing ovation is fine, in my book, but stand still and don't wave your arms about.

Hopefully, when I go back, we'll get a calmer audience, and this doesn't develop Wicked tendencies.

I liked it in general, but jeeezzz that first act went on and on and on. Definitely liked the second act better!
btw was it me or was one of the songs pretty much 'bang, bang, chitty, chitty, bang, bang?!'

Had an impromptu visit to this for the Thursday matinee as it was my Birthday. (Message me for details of where to send presents.)

I really enjoyed it. It's a really nice show. The cast elevated it for me. I can imagine that with a few weak links this show would fall flat. A tiny bit of bad behaviour (singing along) but it was just about bearable - but we still downgraded our seats for Act Two to be that little bit further away.

I've ordered the soundtrack, which is a good sign and I bloody hope the lyrics are contained in the CD insert because all I keep singing to myself is 'Stick it up your jacksie, dumb bum!'

I would see it again but not in a massive rush. I'll be pleased if the actors win awards.

What time does it finish and would I have time to get to Waterloo by 10.25 on a Tuesday night?

Thanks DJ.

You could sprint and make it if you are willing to skip curtain call which is long bows, a reprise then more bows haha. But even then I don't think you'd make it.

The cast will be performing on ITV tomorrow, 8pm, on Tonight at The London Palladium.

Pretty stunning performance on Palladium tonight. It just grew & grew with incredibly executed choreography with some seemingly effortless tricks from Charlie! Brilliant to also see them do another number other than Flash, Bang, Wallop! and it certainly made me want to see the show!

What a brilliant advert for the show! I must grab one of the bargain £12.50 seats on a quiet day again at some point

Anyone else seen Sam in the role of Kipps? I booked on TodayTix to take my my mother for a second time on Friday, not realising Charlie was off (I should have realised when the tickets were so cheap!). Absolutely in love with Charlie's take on the role, so just wondering how Sam compares, now that he's got a few more shows under his belt?