West End Live 2019

Yes it’s busy and crowded, and this means you can’t always just turn up and see the shows you want to see, but I still think this is a fantastic event for something that’s free. The queues get out of hand and the earliest part of the day is the hardest time to get in; I’m not sure I’d go then if I didn’t have a contact there.
But, if you’re prepared to go later on the day and watch what’s on, without being too fussy about seeing a particular show, it’s much easier to get in and out. Sunday is usually far less crowded too.
The performances are great, whether you’re hanging on the front rail, in the midst of the crowd or watching a giant screen around the edges. (There was a particularly nice area with deckchairs at one side).
I think if it were any bigger, hardly anybody would see anything, and moving the location would make it harder for West End casts to pop along from their venues. Seeing a full cast walking through the streets on their way to the WEL stage is always fun (although I’m sure Anthony can’t have seen Motown?).
It’s designed to be an event that people go in and out of and watch a few shows. I understand everyone’s frustration, but we need to remember that it’s FREE. And for a free event, I think it’s well organised and has so much to offer.
There were a lot less stalls/tents this year and I’m sure they’re struggling for sponsorship.
I was lucky to see a lot of the shows I wanted to see, didn’t care much for OFAH but enjoyed the rest. Having Louise Dearman as a presenter was great.
I’ll try and review the rest later.

Falsettos is the one I'm also looking forward to plus I love a bit of Avenue Q.
Will probably have to watch Magic Mike too purely for educational purposes.

Hardly anyone was buying programmes yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up giving them away later today. Was a bit of a jump from free to £5.

Not showing off honest.
But I'm in the VIP area. So able to sit and looking forward to a great day.
Have a great day everyone who is here.
Oh and Jason Manford. Really like him

OK here's my round up from Saturday:
Aladdin - Trevor Dion Nicholas introduced A Whole New World, then Somebody's got your back (which he joined in), then Friend like me. All good, but no 'Disney' costumes, which I thought was a shame for any kids there.
Adrian Mole - sound issues here meant we couldn't hear Adrian at first, but it got better. Looked OK but not groundbreaking, I liked the second song better, and the little lad who plays Nigel stood out.
Wicked - Sophie Evans and not sure who was Elphaba. For Good & Defying Gravity in full costume - wonderful.
Jamie - Don't Even Know it and Place where we belong - very lively and the crowd responded well (of all the people in the crowd dressed up, a decorated Jamie jacket seemed a popular choice). Layton on good form.
On Your Feet - a vibrant medley, another crowd pleaser. Looks a fun show.
Come From Away - Cast in show T shirts & jeans standing behind mics, quite a few alternates on. Welcome to the Rock and Me and the sky, both excellent.
Phantom - full costumes, Christine (?) did Wishing you were somehow... and then Tim Howar joined her for the title song. Very good.
Only Fools - hmmm. Does what it says on the tin but not somethng I've been bothered about seeing and this didn't change my mind. Did both theme toons, fully staged and Diane Pilkington a more serious solo, which was a bit dull. Full marks for putting on a showcase though.
Tina - Wow! Really upbeat and energetic. Tina and back up in shiny leggings and T shirts, vocals amazing and joined by 'young Tina' towards the end, who was excellent.
Les Mis - always a favourite. Full costumes. Carly Stenson did I Dreamed a Dream, then there was Drink with me, Bring him home (poss one more?)and One Day more. Still very stirring no matter how many times you've seen it. This cast looks so young though! I prefer my Javert and Jean Valjean a little more rugged and mature.
9 to 5 - full cast, I think, even Brian Conley, who didn't do much! Title song and a solo from Amber, who was excellent.Costumes.
Mamma Mia - another reliable favourite, very slick up tempo performance, full costumes, crowd all singing along.
Waitress - First Charlotte Riby sang (?), then David Hunter and Lucie Jones performed Bad Idea. David's mic failed, so it was a little messy, but they ended up sharing a mic, which was actually quite sexy! The Lucie did a lovely She Used to Be Mine. I thought she was an excellent Jenna. No sign of Ashley or Blake.
Fiddler - difficult show to present well among all the pop-music scores; I wanted to like it but I'm afraid it seemed a bit dull. All the black costumes didn't help. Matchmaker was OK, but then it got pretty boring, not sure what the song was.
Six - fantastic! Five of the main leads were there, in costume, with an alternate as Parr. Much was made in their intro of how far they'd come since their performance at WEL last year. They did Get Down and Six - they crowd seemed to really sing along and enjoy it.

Then I had to admit defeat, although saw a bit of &Juliet later on, which looks fun and was very well received by the crowd.

A lovely day, if a bit hot!

Was it possible somewhere to book tickets for the VIP area?

That was a great day out. Even think I have caught a bit of sun through the cloud.
Even though it was Sunday there were still some good shows to see.
My favourite was On Your Feet and apparently they did a longer show today than they did on Saturday. Came over well and got a great reception from the audience.
Six is a show I know I will never like but the girls did a great opening to the day and sounded good. Big fan base in the audience.
I think I might be sold on Waitress now as the 3 songs they did were really good and Lucy Jones was amazing.
The poor boys from Magic Mike were so hot after dancing that they had to take off their shirts. Didn't seem much of story though to that musical. Will probably give it a go though.
Really enjoyed the singalong and Ferris and Milnes.
Stayed for Falsettos which I really wanted to see as I have booked for it and wanted to see Daniel and Laura perform. Quite a few fans of Falsettos in the audience. Not sure it sold the show but its a kind of difficult show to put across in a couple of songs.

Had a very interesting conversation with the man sitting next to me who was one of the American producers of On Your Feet. Told him how much I enjoyed the show on Friday. He said Gloria Estafan is arriving in London tomorrow. I asked him what else he had produced and he said Company. So I then spent 10 minutes embarrassing myself and gushing about how much I loved it, but he did seem genuinely pleased. He told me that they are hoping to take it to Broadway and I said that they must take Jonathan Bailey over and he said that was the idea.
All in all a lovely day

Having finally got home from the WEL weekend, overall despite the crazy queues and at times it was too hot, for me it was a great weekend of theatre. It was really great to see Trafalgar Square full of people of all ages coming to celebrate this great art form and have a good sing along (though not necessarily in tune!)

It was nice to revisit some shows that I haven’t seen in a while (Mamma Mia! and Six and Come From Away being my favourites over the weekend) along with being able to see some new stuff (Waitress, which after this weekend, I’ll definitely be booking for) and &Juliet (this is going to be absolutely crazy when it comes up to Manchester in September) as well as 9 to 5.

I really enjoyed Jason Mansfield presenting the early Sunday slot. He really brought a lot of energy and comedy to proceedings. He even managed to get a cheeky plug for the Curtains tour (You might as well do a bit of self promotion given the chance).

Ok, there may need to be some serious discussions by the event organisers as to whether WEL has outgrown its current location for next year, but certainly despite the issues, I’ve come back from the weekend full of energy and a sore throat from singing a lot, but nevertheless, it was definitely worth it.

They’ve never done it

It's all well and good Hamilton not doing any promo apart from a few posters here and there, but not many people outside the theatre bubble know it's happening! Shows like Wicked have made a brand, people can see what the logo is a mile away, and it is advertised well beyond London. Increasing audience awareness. Hamilton on the other hand has a few star logos floating about the underground and the buses in London.

No doubt the ticket sales will slow within a few years, as I feel this won't last a long as bway will sadly. What are they to do when they need to start seeing the show to the regular paying punters, not theatre regulars? I think it could be a struggle, but they have the money behind them to go all out, it's not as if they're a little new fringe musical. They will have no choice but to do WEL and TV spots etc. I just don't get why they aren't doing them now to help build a brand when demand drops off? If anything it will help them make more buzz for the show!

School of Rock haven't done WEL for some time, and I would've thought that show would be in more need of promo than Hamilton.

Just been watching some of Sundays performances on youtube. Does anyone know the name of the Franki Valli act people as 2 of them look familiar to me?