It was certainly a camp way to spend a Sunday afternoon - watching a succession of snippets from some of Theatreland's most lauded musicals, on stage in Trafalgar Square, in the sunshine,
free of charge!
West End Live has (remarkably) been going for
ten years now, and yet this was the first time (to my
chagrin) I had ever been! So when Paul suggested we pop along for a bit of
alfresco entertainment, I jumped at the chance to get away from boxes, boxes and more boxes everywhere in our slowly-emptying house.
It was great fun, as we caught the "Ten from Ten" slot that formed the run-up to the two-day event's grand finalé - ten classic shows that are not currently in the West End (some perhaps on tour) by ten leading performers/ensembles. Among the highlights were
Leanne Jones singing
Good Morning Baltimore from
Hairspray,
Caroline Sheen singing numbers from
Mary Poppins,
Charlotte Wakefield singing
The Sound of Music, and
Vivienne Carlyle and
Stuart Boother from another sadly-missed show
Blood Brothers.
A particular fave was the ebullient
Jodie Prenger (a good mate of
Paul O'Grady; she often sits in to present his Radio 2 show when he's away) with
As Long As He Needs Me from
Oliver and
Secret Love from her forthcoming show
Calamity Jane. [There was a mad flurry of excitement later when Miss Prenger arrived at Halfway to Heaven to catch the drag show by Crystal d'Canter and Kelly Mild!]
Oh - and the
sing-along-a-Sound of Music slot, when we, and the assembled thousands in the audience, got a chance to exercise our tonsils with
Do-Re-Mi was great fun, too.
Among the very best of the best, however, were the rather gorgeous
Daniel Boys performing
Any Dream Will Do and
Close Every Door from
Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat. [Never mind the songs, get yer kit off!]
...and the
sexy totty brilliant cast of (birthday boy Bob Fosse's)
Chicago:
...and
Avenue Q:
...and
Priscilla Queen of the Desert:
Campness abounds!
I shall certainly not be missing this wonderful free entertainment next year.
West End Live
