Mike Thomas - Different Man EP

Many moons ago in my teenage years I joined a group called the Rhondda Rock Choir and Orchestra, which is where I first became friendly with the incredibly talented Michael Thomas. Even back then when we were kids he was a budding singer/songwritter. I remember well scratching away on my violin in amongst the rest of the orchestra accompanying him singing a song he'd written himself. Tho rock orchestra may no longer exisit and my violin playing days are well and truly over but Michael has gone from strength to strength. I am very proud to say his first EP entitled Different Man is out now!

The EP kicks off with the upbeat Don't Wanna Play Anymore. The changes in rhythm and timing make it fun and interesting to listen to and there's something about the arrangement that puts me in mind of some of The Beatles songs. In a complete change of feel, the title track Different Man transports the listener to the winding down phase at the end of the evening in a smokey jazz club.

(You'll Always Be) A Better Man is by far my favourite track. Even without Michael telling me I instantly knew that this song was very personal to him. He has pitched the lyrics perfectly to not only make it sound personal to him but also be personal to the listener. I defy anyone not to relate to this song. It really is beautiful and even if you only listen to one of his songs, listen to this one.

Picking up the pace again, Since the Angels Left the Tower also uses interesting rhythms to keep the listener hooked. Although it's still a great song, it's probably my least favourite track on the EP.

I know this will probably mean nothing to most of the people reading this but it's what pops into my head every time I hear the final track, Marsha Brady. It outs me in mind of a band called Brothers in Sound. It's not exactly their style but there's something about Michael's sound in this song that reminds me of them. Anyway, I liked them so it's a compliment!

Michael will probably be mortified with what I'm about to say but a lot of the reasons why I list musical theatre performers as my favourite artists are the same reasons I love listening to Michael sing. I'm not talking about cheese and jazz hands - he couldn't be further from that. In musical theatre the songs are often an integral part of the story telling so it is important that every word be understood. Michael writes lyrics that tell stories and describe situations and emotions that the listener can relate to and he sings them so that every word can be hears. He, like my favourite musical theatre performers, also beautifully expresses the meaning of the lyrics in his vocals, conveying the emotion behind each line.

It's refreshing to hear an artist producing new songs that don't conform to normality, experimenting with styles and rhythms to create a fantastic sound that is like no-one else out there at the moment...but don't just take my word for it. You can get a taste for Michael's music on his myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/mikethomasmusic
And you can catch him singing live tomorrow (Thursday 30th June) as part of the Unity Festival's cabaret night in ffresh Bar at the Wales Millennium Centre. The evening kicks off at 8.30pm with Michael's set at about 9pm.

Mike Thomas, Different Man is available to download from iTunes now for the bargain price of £3.95:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/different-man/id438355145?i=438355177&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Sheytoons at the Dublin Castle

A while back I got a message from a friend asking if I was free Easter weekend and did I fancy going to London. I said yes...then asked what we'd be doing! So I found myself spending Easter Sunday at a Sheytoons gig, a band that I hadn't heard of until we started planning this little adventure; although in my defence they are relatively new having started out last summer.

Sheytoons are an indie folk-rock band fronted by Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser. Any musical theatre fan like me will be familiar with the amazingly talented Ramin Karimloo who is currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies. I was pretty sure that in his capable hands I was in for a good night (my YouTube stalking backed this up) and I was quite excited about seeing him live for the first time - he did not disappoint. What did disappoint however was that a large proportion of the audience were quite obviously there just to see him and many (but not all) didn't give the support band, Dharma Sunset, the attention or encouragement they deserved. I really liked the set performed by this duo, made up of James Mackintosh and Joel Tudor-Owen, and I was quite surprised to read on their Facebook page after seeing them at the Dublin Castle that they were only formed in January this year. I thought they were a perfect choice to support Sheytoons and they definately desereved a better reception than they received.

As I've said, I was expecting great things of Ramin Karimloo and he completely lived up to my expectations. His solo, Lonely, was one of my favourite songs of the night and some lovely person has uploaded a video of it to YouTube so you can check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iJeGxGDE0I&feature=related
Although award for favourite song of the night has to go to Steal Our Moments, which unfortunately I can't find a recording of from Sunday night on youtube but you can hear a version of it and many other Sheytoons songs on the official Sheytoons YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialSheytoons

So Ramin Karimloo was the known quantity to me and Hadley Fraser the more unknown, or so I thought. It turns out I've actually seen Hadley live before! I had no idea until we briefly spoke to him after the gig and he mentioned that he'd been in panto in Cardiff. He played the prince in one of the productions of Cinderella that made up my pantofest at the beginning of this year and I just hadn't associated the two (Hadley if you ever end up reading this I'm REALLY sorry!). It's had me baffled ever since as to why his perfromance in Cinderella didn't make more of an impact on me. I can only put it down to the fact that Brian Conley as Buttons didn't so much steal the show as take it over. However, Hadley very much made an impression on me Sunday night. Not only does he have a voice that I could listen to forever but he has a wonderful stage presence that, coupled with the fantastic relationship and banter between him and Ramin, made for a fun night filled with laughs as well as fantastic music.

The line-up for this gig was completed by Tom Deering on keyboard, Nick Pini on bass, Ruth Irons on Violin/Viola, Roy Pfeffer on drums and Rosalie Craig on backing vocals. If you'd like to know more about Sheytoons check out their website:
http://sheytoons.com/

Cranford

My review of Cranford on Tuesday 19th April for The Public Reviews:

http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cranford-–-new-theatre-cardiff/

Wicked

We have an honourary onion blogging for this post, my wonderfully theatrical and Wicked obsessed friend, Katy. I am the very jealous friend she mentions because she got to see Mark Evans as Fiyero before me but since I got to see Idina Menzel as Elphaba I guess we're now even.

My obsession with wicked began, as many, with the soundtrack. Hearing songs like The Wizard and I, No Good Deed and of course the unbelievable Defying Gravity sang by the insatiable Idina Menzel it was hard to believe any other actress could do these songs justice. Then in February 2009 I saw Kerry Ellis perform as Elphaba in London, I was blown away and she instantly began, in my mind to challenge Idina for Elphaba’s crown. For 2 years Kerry was ‘my’ Elphaba until now....

I liked Rachel Tucker when she appeared on ‘I’d Do Anything’, she was by no means my favourite contestant but I liked her. When I heard she had won the role of Elphaba I was worried, was there any way she could be that good to take on such an iconic role?

I did the usual super fan research, listened to bad illegally recorded versions of Defying Gravity on YouTube and read mixed reviews of her portrayal. I watched and listened to a heavily cut adaptation of the iconic song when she performed on Dancing on Ice, I was impressed to a certain degree but unable still to decide (due to much of the song being omitted) if she was Elphaba...only time would tell.

Two months later and I sat nervously awaiting the curtain rise at a Wednesday matinee, 30^th March 2011. Before my wonderings about Rachel could be solved there came Louise Dearman as Glinda. I had seen her the year before performing as Eva Peron in the UK tour of Evita, and although the two roles couldn’t be further away from each other I had no problems in envisaging Louise in the Glinda bubble.

My vision was almost like a prophecy...honestly.

I was immediately drawn into the story via Louise’s performance. Having already seen the show once before I wanted to look at it from a different viewpoint as much as was possible. I watched Louise throughout ‘No one mourns the wicked’ and the sheer pain and agony on her face as the ensemble bad mouthed her dearly departed best friend had me in tears less than five minutes into the performance.

Having had Louise captivate me as Glinda there was now only one thing I needed from this performance – A perfect Elphaba. Cue Rachel Tucker. Even before the first bars of ‘The Wizard and I’ fell upon my ears I was enthralled by her portrayal of my favourite character from a musical ever! Her opening outburst to the students of Shiz instantly showed her strength of character all the while letting the audience become aware of her insecurities in life. I couldn’t keep my eyes of her, much like Louise’s first entrance.

A girl who is so superior...superior indeed!

By the end of a spectacular rendition of ‘The Wizard and I’ (with Rachel riffs aplenty) I was simply desperate to discover if these two wonderful actress’s would possess the chemistry needed to make the roles their own. On my first visit to Wicked I saw standby Glinda Sarah Earnshaw alongside Kerry Ellis. Excellent as she was in my opinion there will always be less chemistry between a regular and a standby than both regular leads.

What is this feeling....could it possibly be perfection?

I didn’t have to wait long before finding out if my suspicions were to be found correct. From the opening lines of ‘What is this feeling’, I knew that here the casting directors of Wicked had stumbled upon a twosome that could well be as successful as the now infamous Idina and Kristin. The anger was there, the hatred and pure disgust of having to share a room with someone green, or someone blonde! In fact that one line ‘Blonde’ was the funniest I have ever heard it delivered (and I’ve watched a lot of poorly recorded videos on YouTube!)

I loved watching the relationship develop between these two characters, they never gave too much away and even though I know the story inside out I was excited at each twist and turn and the introduction of each new character.

Let’s go down to the Ozdust Ballroom

I had little knowledge of Mark Evans prior to seeing this production, only one very jealous friend as I was seeing him as Fiyero before her. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had seen the great Oliver Thompsett perform the first time around. I had initially been excited when Lee Mead was given the role yet (again through scrupulous YouTube research) I was left disappointed. This was not to be the case with Mark Evans, he arrived (probably swoon worthy if I was that way inclined) in his cart and it was difficult not to fall in love with this lazy, brainless oaf. I have loved studying most of my life and yet here I was wondering why I had wasted much of my life doing it! His voice was faultless and dancing perfect and it was plain for all to see why Glinda was so obsessed with him instantly. He, as well as our two leading ladies gave little away about how his character would develop and in this instance was simply....simple...exactly the way he should be.

You’ll be Popular...just not quite as Popular as me!

Kristin Chenoweth had always, to me had the monopoly on ‘Popular’ performances. Not any more, Louise Dearman brought a whole new dimension to the song. Her fit of excitement when surveying her shoe collection made me laugh so loud people turned around to look at me. How Rachel sat two feet away from her managed to keep a straight face is beyond me! The song, and possibly character defining ‘toss toss’ was another belly laugh moment as Rachel’s Elphaba fell off the bed and onto the floor. This song actually made me fall further in love with Glinda, something that had never happened before with any other actress. Louise played it perfectly, excitedly and most of all comically with a hilarious face plant onto the bed to finish (Cue more stern looks from audience members as I guffawed behind my programme) It was to me now decided that there would definitely be nobody as ‘Popular’ as Louise Dearman!

So if you care to find me...Look to the Western skies

Since my realization early in the first act I had longed for this moment. It was time for ‘Defying Gravity’ I was literally gripping the back of the seat in front of me in pure excitement. The tension was built flawlessly by Tucker and Dearman and aided by a wonderfully evil performance from Julie Legrand (of Footballers Wives & Bad Girls fame) as Madame Morrible. My heart was practically beating out of my chest as I heard the words ‘Something has changed within me...’. Many hardcore Wicked fans have always lauded Kerry Ellis for her distinct way of performing this infamous song, numerous ones focusing on the growl leading into ‘Look to the Western skies’. Although Tucker’s performance was growl free let this take nothing away from the pure passion and power in her flawless voice. It has been argued in the past that previous London directors had been strict in making their actors stick impeccably to the score; this is most definitely no longer the case. The riffs that Rachel was singing throughout this number in my opinion were pure perfection and made the song, if possible, even better than I had ever heard it. Every note was faultlessly hit and I could barely keep my eyes off her as she flew above my head. The moment I had longed for most had been spectacular and was most definitely over too soon, as I walked to buy my interval ice cream my legs were like jelly and I was confident in the knowledge that I had just witnessed something very special indeed!

No one cries...They won’t return

This final heading could not be further from the truth. If I do not get to see Rachel and Louise perform as Elphaba and Glinda again I will most definitely cry. I may be shedding tears as we speak just thinking about it. The entire second act I willed to run so slow it would never end. I could have sat all day mesmerized by a faultless and undeniably talented cast. Zoe Rainey shone in a heart wrenching rendition of the often forgotten song ‘Wicked Witch Of The East’ – Why this song never made it onto the soundtrack is completely beyond me! Of course the moment I most looked forward to in this second act was the breathtaking ‘No Good Deed’. The song that shows the clear change that has occurred within Elphaba is for me the defining moment of the second act and I look forward to it with as much intense as ‘Defying Gravity’ in act one. Once again Rachel didn’t fail to amaze me, the riffs were stupendous and not for one moment did I feel she was holding anything back for the evening show as sometimes happens with matinees. I expected a special feeling during the second ‘Fiyero’ I certainly wasn’t expecting to feel as though I was being lifted out of my seat with the sheer power of a vocal riff – Rachel Tucker you never cease to amaze me and you ARE my favourite Elphaba.

The tears returned once again, as they always do from the first bars of ‘For Good’. They were of course helped along the way due to the fact this now meant the story was almost complete and I would have to return to reality leaving the wonders of Oz behind me until next time.

I cried for Elphaba, and for Glinda, and as I did at the opening of act one, watched the pain and anguish on her face as she was unable to mourn the loss of her best friend, knowing she would never see her again.

My time with the citizens of Oz had come to a close and I walked bleary eyed from the Apollo Victoria safe in the knowledge that sometime in the future I would see them again, and I would advise all other theatre goers to do the same. You cannot afford to miss this cast, they are too special! The chemistry between the two witches is nothing short of perfection and this coupled with an outstanding supporting cast serves for a magical production that should not be missed at all costs!

If you enjoyed reading Katy's review then make sure you follow her blog, The Wonders of my Brain - http://thewondersofkatysbrain.blogspot.com/

Wicked – March 30^th 2011 (Matinee)

Ordinary Days

Ordinary Days is a musical following the ordinary lives of four ordinary people living in New York, but ordinary is one thing this show is not. It follows the lives of couple Claire (Julie Atherton) and Jason (Daniel Boys) as they experience the joys and stresses of moving in together, and the seperate lives of Deb (Alexia Khadime) and Warren (Lee William-Davis) who form a friendship after Deb looses her graduate thesis notes and Warren returns them to her. Although completely unaware of each other, the two stories, written brilliantly by Adam Gwon, fit together and interact perfectly in a true to life way with the characters passing through one another's lives just like that stranger that you pass on the street every day. In fact it is in the truth of this piece that it's beauty lies. Each of these characters are somebody that you know or that you can see yourself in, experiencing events and emotions that everyone can relate to. I could certainly see different aspects of myself in each of the them, from Claire's hording instinct to Jason's 'seize the day' attitude and Warren's slightly rose tinted outlook, but it was Deb that I related to most closely. As she described how she carries with her everywhere a book containing her hand written graduate thesis, I was very aware that my own hand written masters dissertation notes were, as they usually are, sitting at my feet in a Spongebob notepad in my handbag! Couple this with over ambitious designs for the future and a general desire to always want to be somewhere else doing something else and who does that remind you of?

Of course, no matter how good the writing, a character is only believable if it is played in a believable way, and this cast were faultless. First to enter the stage was Lee William-Davis and from the moment he appeared I took to his portrayal of Warren. I'd not seen Lee in anything before but he's certainly one to watch out for in the future. He and Alexia Khadime bounced off each other brilliantly, with Alexia delivering much of the comedy of the piece with exceptional timing. Daniel Boys and Julie Atherton took the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, through laughter and tears, as they gave the audience an insight into the strains of Claire and Jason's relationship without you ever taking the side of one character or the other. Both of them had me close to tears at different times, firstly Daniel Boys at the end of 'Hundred-Story City' and then Julie Atherton's deeply emotion filled rendition of 'I'll Be Here'. 

The whole show is sung and ran for around 80 minutes with no interval. I think this was the right way to go as an interval would have broken the flow of the piece. Telling a story entirely in song runs the danger of the songs working within the piece but not standing up out of context. While I was watching the show I was so engrossed in the story that these songs as a collective were telling that I didn't really expect to come out of the theatre with several of the tunes going round in my head...but they were and have been ever since! Ordinary Days has a wonderful catchy score and has left me very much wanting to buy the soundtrack.

I was lucky enough to catch Ordinary Days twice during it's recent run in Studio 2 of Trafalgar Studios (once on Friday 25th February then again for the last night of the run on Saturday 5th March). I love Studio 2 as a venue and this show worked brilliantly there. The intimacy of the tiny auditorium meant that the audience were really drawn into the story and felt like a part of it. There were a couple of instance when Alexia Khadime was looking me straight in the eye and talking directly to me! I had my concerns before I saw the show having heard that there would be a three piece band on the already small performance area with the actors but the staging was designed so that everything fitted neatly and effortlessly together within the available space. I was however a little surprised and disappointed that on both of my visits the auditorium was uncomfortably hot, and I really felt for the actors having to perform in those conditions. I saw Wolfboy in Studio 2 last summer when it was 30 degrees outside and it was cool in there then so I'm not really sure what the reason for the sauna conditions was this time. I was also surprised to find that on my second visit there were no longer programmes available and apparently this had been the case for a few days. This may not sound very long but with only a four week run it becomes quite a significant length of time and doesn't really reflect very well on the venue if they cannot provide people with programmes.

Ordinary Days is a beautiful and emotional piece of musical theatre that I would happily go and see again and again. I sincerely hope that we see another production of it very soon.

10 - Daniel Boys' Cabaret

Throughout his run in the musical Ordinary Days at Studio 2 of Trafalgar Studios, Daniel Boys has been performing cabarets after the Friday night shows at this wonderfully intimate venue. So on Friday 25th February I went along to see both the musical (which I'll dedicate another blog post to) and the cabaret.

I was lucky enough to see Daniel's 'So Close' cabaret three times last year. This showcased songs from his debut album of the same name along with a few other live favourites. I thoroughly enjoyed this cabaret every time I saw it. Although some people may think seeing the same set three times may be a little boring, Daniel's natural demeanor on stage coupled with the wide variety of venues, guest stars and accompaniment set ups (from a full band to just the incredibly talented Douglas Whyte on piano) made every show a new and unique experience. So I was rather sad to hear Daniel saying at the Leicester Square Theatre back in November that the 'So Close' cabarets were coming to an end that night, and I was one very happy bunny when it was announced that he'd be doing a brand new cabaret, '10'.

It's nearly ten years now since Daniel graduated from the Guildford School of Acting and '10' looks back over his subsequent highly successful professional career. Comprised of familiar songs from his album and the 'So Close' cabarets (after all these have been a big part of his life over the last two years) and pieces from the varying musicals and concerts he has performed in, this new show gives a wonderful insight and very personal perspective on Daniel's working life. The performance is dotted with anecdotes relating to each song and his explainations as to why each one holds special meaning for him.

Daniel's vocals, as always, were on top form and I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of songs that I hadn't heard from him before but I still think my favourite of the night was one I've heard him sing several times. His rendition of Run Away With Me is nothing short of mesmerising...and that is exactly what he did to me! He had me so caught up in the story and the emotion and the moment that when he came to the end of the song I didn't start applauding straight away, I was still there in that moment! Truly captivating.

Such an intimate look at someone's life is best suited to an intimate venue so Studio 2 was exactly the right place for this cabaret. Having just Daniel and Douglas on stage in a venue with only three rows of seats was absolutely perfect and coupled with Daniel being rather hyped up having just performed Ordinary Days made for some rather fun banter between the two of them and the audience. Daniel even pulled two of my friends out in front of everyone to show off their home made fan t-shirts (and rightly so because they were fabulous t-shirts!).

Daniel will be performing just one more of these cabarets before Ordinary Days closes and appearing as his guests will be Helena Blackman and Lee Mead. This promises to be an amazing night so if you get chance to go on Friday 4th March make sure you take it. '10' is not to be missed so book your tickets here:
http://www.ambassadortickets.com/2394/677/London/Trafalgar-Studios/Daniel-Boys-In-Concert-Tickets

Dinnerladies: Second Helpings

I saw Dinnerladies: Second Helpings on 1st March and reviewed it for The Public Reviews. Find out what I thought here:

http://thepublicreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/dinnerladies-second-helpings-new.html