This week saw me pay two visits to the Liverpool Empire to see Jersey Boys. I love musicals and Jersey Boys is my absolute favourite - I saw it in London for the first time in 2015 and it's been my number one ever since. I don't know if it's the music, the story or the pure sixties vibes, but I love everything about it.
So you can imagine what I was like when I found out that the UK tour was stopping in Liverpool - absolutely, unbelievably, incredibly excited! Tickets hadn't been on sale very long and I'd already snapped up three seats in the stalls for me and my parents. It was part of my Dad's Christmas present, I knew he'd love the show and it seemed like the perfect present for him. Plus Mum and I were desperate to see it again. In the build-up to seeing the show, the soundtrack was (and still is) on repeat and Dad still thinks he can sing like Frankie Valli.
On Tuesday, we jumped on the train to Liverpool, had a lovely meal (and a gin or two) in Pizza Express before making our way to the Empire. It was absolutely freezing, so we were thankful to get into the theatre and wait in our seats for the show to begin. Before we knew it, the lights went down, the band sounded and I started dancing in my seat - I was so excited I could've cried.
Jersey Boys follows the true story of The Four Seasons; how they started out, the troubles they faced and the classic hits they blessed us with. I'm going to cut to the chase - it was beyond words. I've never come out of a theatre feeling so much joy and positivity, I just wanted to dance my way down to the Albert Dock.
We were very fortunate that we had a brilliant, talented cast; Michael Watson as Frankie Valli, Simon Bailey as Tommy De Vito, Declan Egan as Bob Gaudio and Karl James Wilson as Nick Massi. Michael absolutely shone in his role as Frankie Valli. My Eyes Adored You is my favourite song, I hold it really close to me and he literally brought me to tears when he sang it - he's incredibly talented and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Declan was hilarious in his innocent portrayal of Bob Gaudio and Nick's rant about the wet towels was just pure gold.
They had us laughing, singing and dancing from start to finish. They even struggled to stop the crowd from cheering at one point, but who doesn't love a good rendition of Walk Like A Man? We were sat in the stalls and I think that our seats made the experience as brilliant as it was. There was an electric atmosphere, everyone was stood up singing and people were dancing in the isles. I've never seen anything like it, but it goes to show that it's true what they say - Liverpool crowds are the best.
We saw the highs and lows of being in the band, each member getting the chance to tell their side of the story, as well as an insight into life on the road and an argument about wet towels. Simon Bailey's sassy, confident portrayal of Tommy De Vito was hilarious. But if the story isn't your thing, then I guarantee that the music will be - I promise you'll know more songs than you think, and you'll be singing them for days, even weeks, to come.
They received a standing ovation from the audience who stayed on their feet to dance to the end songs of Who Loves You and December 1963 (Oh What a Night!). We were even dancing when we left the theatre and our train was full of people singing along to the songs on the way home.
It was just amazing, so much so that Emily and I spontaneously decided to go and see the show again on Wednesday night. It was Em's first time seeing it and as you can imagine, I didn't take much convincing. It was brilliant, as always, and I walked out of the theatre feeling so happy and humming along to the soundtrack. I can't even express my love for this musical, I think I love it as much as I love Disney (and that's a lot!). A lot of the adults around us started talking to us, asking us why we'd come to see the show as they thought we'd be too young to enjoy the music. How wrong could they be? I've always said that I was born in the wrong generation as I love anything sixties.
After the show, Emily and I were stood outside Lime Street saying our goodbyes when I spotted Michael Watson across the road. After seeing him give two flawless performances, I had to go over and say something. I tapped him on the shoulder and told him how brilliant the shows had been. He couldn't have been lovelier. We chatted for a while and he remembered me tweeting him the previous night because of my photo on Twitter. I mean, I'm glad I've got a memorable face. We had a photo (thanks Em for being the best photographer) and he was so patient and kind - he really is a credit to the show and I urge every single one of you to get tickets to see it. Also, can we just talk about how cute this photo is?!
It's the perfect show to beat the January blues and it'll have you dancing and singing along from start to finish. If you want to find out more, you can get details and tickets here.
What's your favourite musical?
Lots of Love,
Meg
xxx
Jersey Boys follows the true story of The Four Seasons; how they started out, the troubles they faced and the classic hits they blessed us with. I'm going to cut to the chase - it was beyond words. I've never come out of a theatre feeling so much joy and positivity, I just wanted to dance my way down to the Albert Dock.
We were very fortunate that we had a brilliant, talented cast; Michael Watson as Frankie Valli, Simon Bailey as Tommy De Vito, Declan Egan as Bob Gaudio and Karl James Wilson as Nick Massi. Michael absolutely shone in his role as Frankie Valli. My Eyes Adored You is my favourite song, I hold it really close to me and he literally brought me to tears when he sang it - he's incredibly talented and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Declan was hilarious in his innocent portrayal of Bob Gaudio and Nick's rant about the wet towels was just pure gold.
They had us laughing, singing and dancing from start to finish. They even struggled to stop the crowd from cheering at one point, but who doesn't love a good rendition of Walk Like A Man? We were sat in the stalls and I think that our seats made the experience as brilliant as it was. There was an electric atmosphere, everyone was stood up singing and people were dancing in the isles. I've never seen anything like it, but it goes to show that it's true what they say - Liverpool crowds are the best.
We saw the highs and lows of being in the band, each member getting the chance to tell their side of the story, as well as an insight into life on the road and an argument about wet towels. Simon Bailey's sassy, confident portrayal of Tommy De Vito was hilarious. But if the story isn't your thing, then I guarantee that the music will be - I promise you'll know more songs than you think, and you'll be singing them for days, even weeks, to come.
They received a standing ovation from the audience who stayed on their feet to dance to the end songs of Who Loves You and December 1963 (Oh What a Night!). We were even dancing when we left the theatre and our train was full of people singing along to the songs on the way home.
After the show, Emily and I were stood outside Lime Street saying our goodbyes when I spotted Michael Watson across the road. After seeing him give two flawless performances, I had to go over and say something. I tapped him on the shoulder and told him how brilliant the shows had been. He couldn't have been lovelier. We chatted for a while and he remembered me tweeting him the previous night because of my photo on Twitter. I mean, I'm glad I've got a memorable face. We had a photo (thanks Em for being the best photographer) and he was so patient and kind - he really is a credit to the show and I urge every single one of you to get tickets to see it. Also, can we just talk about how cute this photo is?!
It's the perfect show to beat the January blues and it'll have you dancing and singing along from start to finish. If you want to find out more, you can get details and tickets here.
What's your favourite musical?
Lots of Love,
Meg
xxx
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