Well what a tremendous night’s entertainment. After a couple of weeks racing around London, underground, over ground and generally Wombling free, I was more than ready for a good night out. The decision was made to take in a meal followed by a West End show and tickets were booked, as with most things these day, online through Lastminute.com. Can I just point out that I have, or possibly had, or did have, or might still possibly own shares in Lastminute.com. I jumped on the dot com bandwagon shortly before everyone else jumped off. It was something akin to being on a seesaw with a rather portly gentleman and then having your partner unexpectedly disappear. Everyone knows how much that hurts….. and where.
Anyway, as a part owner of the company (to the tune of £130) I was obviously looking for a first rate service. We ended up with dinner and tickets to see the Jersey Boys. It came to twenty eight quid all in which, in my book, is a pretty darn good deal. Dinner was served up at Ruby Blue, a smart little place off Leicester Square. We arrived late – fashionably so I might add – and so didn’t have a great amount of time to spend. Despite our somewhat tardy timekeeping, the restaurant managed to serve up three extremely good meals, and a bottle of vino, in literally minutes flat. I can only assume that someone else must have ordered them, before realising the time and bidding a hasty retreat. If the food was good, then paying for it afterwards was even better. After mopping up my gravy with the last of the bread, we simply got up and walked out, flashing our dinner vouchers in the general direction of the till as we went. It felt so wrong and yet, somehow, incredibly liberating, all at the same time.
Suitably fed and watered, we then dashed to the Theatre. Well, I say dashed, picked our way nimbly would be a more accurate description. Dashing anywhere around Leicester square is of course impossible. We managed to take our seats shortly before the 7:30pm kick-off. For those of you unfamiliar with the Jersey Boys musical, let me enlighten you. It traces the story of Frankie Valli’s rise to fame with his Band, the Four Seasons. Like many, I knew practically nothing about the band, short of being able to hum a few bars of 'Cheri'. It amazes me how people can simply take a story like that and write a musical around it. I suppose the score was pretty much done for them but even so. 'Cheri', I later found out, was in fact their first hit and was written by Bob Gaudio on the way to the bands first demo recording session. The fact that he didn’t even have any proper words for it makes for an even better story, not to mention priceless pub quiz material. The story, like many of that ilk, is one of drama, love, sadness, booze, drugs, money, sharp suites, four-part harmonies and of course music. Lots of it, coupled with an ever changing set. Floors disappearing, walls appearing, things falling from the roof; the show is constantly in motion. And intertwined with all those spinning drum kits and fluorescent signs, is a cast of near super-human actors. They were absolutely stunning, and not once did they miss a beat or hit a bum note. I suppose if you’re a regular to the West End theatre scene, exceptional talent is something you come to expect from a cast. Personally, to see so many people with that much ability on one stage was a real privilege. The performance gave a whole new meaning to the word ‘tight’, and of course just about every number they played has been etched into the memory after years of radio and television airplay.
So that was it; a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I left the theatre humming, clicking my fingers and desperate for another couple of those sausages they served me at dinner.
Anyway, as a part owner of the company (to the tune of £130) I was obviously looking for a first rate service. We ended up with dinner and tickets to see the Jersey Boys. It came to twenty eight quid all in which, in my book, is a pretty darn good deal. Dinner was served up at Ruby Blue, a smart little place off Leicester Square. We arrived late – fashionably so I might add – and so didn’t have a great amount of time to spend. Despite our somewhat tardy timekeeping, the restaurant managed to serve up three extremely good meals, and a bottle of vino, in literally minutes flat. I can only assume that someone else must have ordered them, before realising the time and bidding a hasty retreat. If the food was good, then paying for it afterwards was even better. After mopping up my gravy with the last of the bread, we simply got up and walked out, flashing our dinner vouchers in the general direction of the till as we went. It felt so wrong and yet, somehow, incredibly liberating, all at the same time.
Suitably fed and watered, we then dashed to the Theatre. Well, I say dashed, picked our way nimbly would be a more accurate description. Dashing anywhere around Leicester square is of course impossible. We managed to take our seats shortly before the 7:30pm kick-off. For those of you unfamiliar with the Jersey Boys musical, let me enlighten you. It traces the story of Frankie Valli’s rise to fame with his Band, the Four Seasons. Like many, I knew practically nothing about the band, short of being able to hum a few bars of 'Cheri'. It amazes me how people can simply take a story like that and write a musical around it. I suppose the score was pretty much done for them but even so. 'Cheri', I later found out, was in fact their first hit and was written by Bob Gaudio on the way to the bands first demo recording session. The fact that he didn’t even have any proper words for it makes for an even better story, not to mention priceless pub quiz material. The story, like many of that ilk, is one of drama, love, sadness, booze, drugs, money, sharp suites, four-part harmonies and of course music. Lots of it, coupled with an ever changing set. Floors disappearing, walls appearing, things falling from the roof; the show is constantly in motion. And intertwined with all those spinning drum kits and fluorescent signs, is a cast of near super-human actors. They were absolutely stunning, and not once did they miss a beat or hit a bum note. I suppose if you’re a regular to the West End theatre scene, exceptional talent is something you come to expect from a cast. Personally, to see so many people with that much ability on one stage was a real privilege. The performance gave a whole new meaning to the word ‘tight’, and of course just about every number they played has been etched into the memory after years of radio and television airplay.
So that was it; a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I left the theatre humming, clicking my fingers and desperate for another couple of those sausages they served me at dinner.
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