What to watch on the West End

“I’ve heard it said.. That people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn and we are lead to those who help us most to grow, if we let them.”

– Wicked

Now this is an area that I really am an expert in!  A night at the theatre is one of the things I look forward to most in life (closely following a holiday), and musicals give you the opportunity to zone out for a couple of hours and immerse yourself in the cringy world of singing out of nowhere.  In this post I’ll run you through my personal favourite musicals at the moment and why, so if you’re interested… Read on!

In no particular order but… Starting off with my personal favourite – Hamilton.  There really aren’t enough words for me to explain how much I adore this musical but as with all musicals, it’s not for everyone.  It’s all R&B music, composed by the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda (big fan over here) about the life of one of America’s founding fathers Alexander Hamilton.  I have to be honest, I first watched the Broadway version of this on Disney+ and wasn’t overly impressed, mostly because I didn’t understand the storyline.  It wasn’t until I researched the history and rewatched with subtitles (there’s a lot of rapping) that I started to understand what was going on and really began to appreciate what a masterpiece it is.  For my musical and history lovers out there, this is the perfect one for you!  

“Look Around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now”

– Hamilton

Moving on to a whole different genre of musical, a much more Disney based favourite of mine is The Lion King.  This one truly transports you to Africa, with lifelike puppets and incredible puppeteers behind them, as well as such beautiful sets and costumes, it has to be in my top 5 and I don’t know anyone who would say differently.  The Lion King is such a classic Disney movie that there is no doubt we’d love it even if they had finger puppets and amateur dancing but that is miles from what it really is.  The singing, dancing, acting, casting and emotion within this musical is something I haven’t experienced anywhere else and would recommend this musical everyday.

Now my next one is a classic – Any musical fan (or Thespian if you will) will know of or will have seen Wicked.  For anyone who’s been living under a rock, Wicked is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz and tells the most wonderful story of friendship between Glinda, the good witch, and Elphaba, the so-called bad witch and how their lives intertwined for good.  It’s full of music and colour with incredible actresses such as Sophie Evans and Lucie Jones taking on these roles on the west end and Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel AKA Elsa being the first pair to be cast on Broadway.  These names alone confirm that this show is seeping with talent and is a performers dream to be a part of such a production, but for now I’ll just take my seat comfortably in the audience and dream!

Another one that everyone will have heard of before is Mary Poppins… possibly the most magical show I’ve seen and it is so disappointing to say that it’s no longer on the West End.  Mary Poppins had her final performance in January of 2023 and I was lucky enough to catch it a couple of months before and only wish I would’ve seen it sooner!  As a dancer this one had to be in my favourites just for the level of stamina those performers had, as well as exceptional choreography and tap ability!  Coming out of that show I could not tell you how many podcasts and interviews I read of Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins) and Charlie Stemp (Bert), both of whom were made to play their roles, dare I say it but they were Practically Perfect!  If only I could recommend you go and see for yourself but take my word that it was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ;).

“Go and chase your dreams, you won’t regret it. Anything can happen if you let it!”

– Mary Poppins

A musical that I never thought about watching was Sister Act, until I was offered last minute tickets and thought I’d take my mum as neither of us had ever seen it.  Boy was I blown away!!  It was one of the most uplifting, hilarious and joyous musicals I have ever seen.  I was laughing and crying through the whole performance, it was full of colour and life but also the most wonderful storyline.  I’d recommend this musical for anyone having a bad week as it’s impossible to come out of this musical in a bad mood.

Lastly (for now), my final recommendation is absolutely one that every woman, man and their dog needs to see at least once – Les Miserables.  Do I really need to say much else?  For anyone who needs further explanation… Les mis is a musical about the French revolution and the decade surrounding it.  I can’t say I’ve ever listened to a Les mis song and not cried,  due to not only the fact that it is the most beautifully composed soundtrack but also because I can picture each moment of the musical in my head for every song and can picture the power and emotion you feel when you’re in that theatre, there isn’t a feeling like it.

I can assure you that this will not be my only musical post and hope to inspire more Theatre lovers out there to book that seat!  

“Tomorrow we’ll discover what our God in heaven has in store.”

– Les Miserables