Complete With a Water Slide

Christmas was wonderful. So much better than last year. Of course, seeing as I had a fever and coughing everywhere last year, it wasn't really hard to beat it. But this years was truly great, because we had my uncle and aunt with their three children over, plus my granddad and grandma and my grandmother over. So we were many and it was lovely.

One of my cousins is just eight, and I'd totally forgotten how much of an awesome day Christmas Eve is for a eight year old. Being twenty-one now, I'm very used to all the "fake threats" of "Oh now we have to do the dishes, and then we have to rest and let the food sink, and then we have to brew the coffee, and THEN we can unwrap the presents!" So I know that of course as soon as we've cleared the table and unwound a bit, we'll start on the gifts, but him, being eight, did not. I think my dad really enjoyed having a kid around to react to all his tomfoolery.

My favorite present this year is definitely the London trip. Me and my Mum are going to London in February! We've booked everything. We're actually flying with a decent airline (NOT Ryanair for once) and actually landing in Heathrow, something that I find more exciting than I probably should. We've also gotten a really nice hotel in the West End. We have booked tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera.

Which is a bit of a funny story, because we booked these tickets in October. The reason why the trip is booked in February is because I really wanted to see John Owen Jones as the Phantom and in October it was said that his last show would be in March so we booked tickets for February. Then! No, JOJ is going to be the touring Phantom and had his last show in December. Earl Carpenter took over for him then, and I thought, "Hey, Earl! That's not so bad!" But then, I find out that the day we're seeing Phantom is the one day in February Earl isn't on! So, I'm understandingly a bit mad about that, but think, hey! I still got Killian Donnelly as Raoul. And then, NO! KILLIAN IS OFF ON HOLIDAY THEN!

-- So I'm a bit pissed about the whole PotO thing. Bad luck all around really. Not that I think it will be a bad experience or anything. I'm sure the actors we'll get will be fabulous.

But I am going to book tickets for Les Miz too, because I just can't miss the Ramin Karimloo/Hadley Fraser double act. I need to see them both play Jean Valjean and Javert!

While I was in London I managed to catch two musicals! We had planned to see Les Miserables and got tickets for that in advance. But Friday night I spontaneously decided to get a ticket for Love Never Dies. I had been thinking about it, of course, but I never made a decision before I left. I don’t have much of a relationship with The Phantom of the Oprah. I own the movie and like it well enough. The reason why Love Never Dies was the other musical I wanted to see was not because of the story, but because Ramin Karimloo plays the Phantom and David Thaxton plays Raoul and I really, really wanted to see both of them. Why? Because both Ramin Karimloo and David Thaxton has played Enjolras in Les Miserables! I saw Ramin in the 25th Anniversary concert, but have never seen David and he’s supposedly the best Enjolras ever. So I really wanted to see him!

And I did!

Oh wow! They were brilliant! Ramin has the most amazing voice, and when he went full force on Till I Hear You Sing, my goosebumps got goosebumps. And David, oh David! Not only is he incredibly yummy to look at, but he has such a presence on stage. Maybe it was just me, because he was fifty percent of the reason why I was there, but whenever he was on stage my eyes never left him. The scene when only Ramin and David was on stage was understandably my favorite. I just sat there and totally fangirled out inside my head.

( SPOILERS for Love Never Dies )

Love Never Dies in of itself is not something awesome. It was good. I enjoyed myself immensely, and the sets and costumes and lighting was gorgeous. And my boys were brilliant! And that was the sole reason why I went, so I’m very, very happy.

On Thursday we, my brother and I, went to see Les Miserables. And that was a wonderful experience as well. Except for Simon Bowman as Valjean who was a bit of a disappointment, everyone were great. The cast is brilliant! I was actually mostly looking at them because they do a great job in the background. Master of the House and Lovely Ladies was really, really great. I don’t know who played the Pimp during Lovely Ladies, but he was truly mesmerizing to watch.

Killian Donnelly as Enjolras was marvellous! So good, and when he died, I cried a little, and watching them as ghost during Empty Tables was chilling.

Norm Lewis as Javert was great as well. Very American though. In an all British cast his American accent stood out, especially when he said "lord".

But Simon Bowman... At some points he was really good, not going to take that away from him. But! When he sang Who Am I? he completely cheated on the 24601! I was sitting there waiting for the epic 24601 that always makes my hairs rise and just go yes, here we go! But he... didn’t! I’m not music savvy or anything, so I don’t know the right terminology, but he lay it a few notes lower, so it was horribly anti-climatic. And Bring Him Home... well, at least he hit the notes, but it was so soft, no power behind it, and then he overcompensated on the notes he could hit and powered through those parts and it just... wasn’t right. I’m going to pop in my newly acquired 25th Anniversary dvd and hear Alfie Boe nail all of it now, just to make myself feel better.

But don’t get me wrong! It was a great experience. Les Miz can never disappoint me. It’s always awesome. I was also being a major dork who was mouthing the lyrics while watching. But I really want to see the next cast that comes this fall. Hadley Fraser is coming in to play Javert, and Alfie Boe as Valjean, I hope I’ll find a way to see it, but... I don’t know.

To end on a geeky note: I bought two Les Miserables t-shirts and one Love Never Dies. I am one happy nerdy cookie right now. Some people buy band t-shirts at concerts, I buy musical t-shirts! So now my collection is: Wicked, We Will Rock You, Les Miserables and Love Never Dies. I also bought the collection programe from Love Never Dies, so I could scan some of the pictures if you want me to.