May 26th 5 p.m show

[Jazz]

Oh dear!Well, the last show was energetic...today's show was energetic and just crazy! This performance left me completely speechless!! I really have no idea what was going on stage at the Prince of Wales at this show, but mental madness pretty much sums it up! The dialogue, the expressions, were just all mad and has to be in my top five favourite performances of this show!! It was so funny I could've peed my pants! It really was that funny to see the cast bouncing off the walls!

The only covers we had were Sarah Lark as Lisa, Marc Leslie as Eddie, Suanne Braun as Tanya....and I wouldn't have it any other way without Lucy Harris as Donna!

Tasha Sheridan and Sarah Lark are just a blast to watch! Tasha is showing a lot of that diary when she's got it in her hands!!

Enter Suanne Braun, now I had heard a lot about what a great Tanya she was, today was the day I got to see what the fuss was about...and YES, she lived up to the HYPE!! As soon as Suanne Braun made her entrance with her little wheelie, Sunglasses on, come down those steps in that dress...I was loving that character again... I just can't seem to warm to Geraldine and seeing Suanne today just isn't going to help that!! But for one night and one night only The classy Tanya was back! :-P

It was great to see Marc Leslie, Ben Heathcote, and Gareth Derrick make their entrance before Money...Uh, Breathe Jazz!!

I must say I love Paul Hawkyard's Bill Austin, he is just crazy to watch, he seems like he is having such a great time on stage! He makes me laugh!! And Iain Fletcher is just the perfect Sam! He's got the voice, the looks and his expressions are all perfect...he's oozing the "you hate him for breaking Donna's heart!".

Mamma Mia...Lucy Harris is tiny standing next to Iain Fletcher but she really freaked me out with that drill today....she was waving it all over the place, either that or it had a mind of its own!! But her vocals were back on top form today!! And regardless of how she's feeling...she always gives 110%!!

And the chemistry well...as I said before Lucy and Iain are cooking!!! Someone better have a fire extinguisher handy :-P

Donna and the Dynamos!! OH MY CHERRRRRRR!!! Joanna Munro is amazing! Yes, I have come to love her! I have loads of respect for her with what she has done to Rosie. I love her madness...and Suanne was just brilliant...can't she be Tanya more often?? Add Lucy's Donna freaking out over the dads...the three of them were just AWESOME!! As I said it was all about the expressions today...they were just soooo funny I was in hysterics!! Chiquitita and Dancing Queen were frickin' great! It was award winning!! The three vocals complimented each other in just the right way!! And Lucy's belt...YAY..I love that belt!

As for Lay All Your Love on Me...i don't think i've seen Michaela and myself gawk soo much!! I think I gave myself a headache cuz I didn't breath for all of the song! Lots of talent and Too many wetsuits on stage at the same time! hahaha but in all seriousness Tasha Sheridan and Gareth Derrick are a great pair!

I love Super Trouper! This is now my ring tone! Joanna stuck her arm out in front of Lucy's face...it was just so funny seeing Lucy laugh! I will never tire of Lucy singing this number with the cast.

When I saw the show the first few times, I never really had much of an opinion of this number! Go Figure! But now I love watching the dancing and the moves. Rachel Spry is just all over the place with Harry and Bill!!

That bit where Donna is telling off Sky, Eddie and Pepper is just hilarious. It was lots of fun today to see Marc Leslie shine as Eddie!

Oh wow! Lucy's One of Us is always great...(I'm not too sure about the crazy Americans in the audience clapping along to this number though! More about them later)...I love the staging and lighting of this number, I love watching Lucy and then Iain sitting there with his pad...

Does Your Mother Know...this number was back to being brilliant today. Suanne is just right as Tanya! and she connects so well with Ben's Pepper....

The Winner Takes It All...ay ay ay...Lucy's showstopper..I really can not fault her at all!! (Silly Yanks clapping half way through the song...Abba fans? Not MM fans! Silly People! They would have known the best was yet to come!)..Still Lucy was amazing..and Slipping Through My Fingers...woah! Great vocals, great expressions..and they're both so great with the tears!!

I think, there are a few zeros on that cheque...i don't know but i'm sure i sure some...i'm guessing 50,000..that's my random guess today!! We tried to look!!

Joanna and Paul's Number...well..they are just crazy...they are insane!!

The Wedding!! Oh yeah! i love this soooooo much! It has the best line in the show Donna's protest "...I haven't slept with hundreds of men!" , Dylan Turner standing up at the end, and the bet...between Rosie and Tanya, I'm sure I've seen it before. But today, Michaela and I spotted it together and that was it, we burst out laughing!! Oh I feel sorry for the mamma mia virgins wondering what was soo funny! Lucy's pause to the proposal is getting longer and longer, it's gone from 5 seconds to something close to ten!! and today..those silly Americans said "I do" for her! (Definitely not MM fans!!). It's soo great to see Donna and Sam get married at the end...

Everyone was up dancing for the finale, and it's just such a rollercoaster of emotions, the show is over so you're sad, the show was soooooo much fun and filled with more madness than one has ever seen..so you're just delighted you've spent another 2 and a half hours of your life having "the time of your life", your head is hurting cuz you forgot to breathe for certain numbers! LOL!! What a JOY!!! And I challenge anyone to find a better way to spend a Friday afternoon!! Cuz I haven't!! Everyone in the cast just made today sooooooo special!! I gotta reiterate what Michaela once said..LUCY, Rachel, Tasha, Ben, Iain, Gareth Derrick...PLEASE DON'T LEAVE!!





that's my review...and now i've gotta go put it on my site

AS i said..the cast


BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS i tell ya ;D

[Skinny Minnie!]

From what i could focus on! it sounds like u had a fab time!! But i'm a lil drunk (ok alot )

[chellie]

Great review Jazz!!! I know what you mean about Suanne, I wish she could be Tanya all the time and I love the way she handles the Does Your Mother Know routine I love Joanna as Rosie, (Mark says she plays Rosie as if she were playing me whatever that means ) but then haven't seen anyone else in the role yet.

[CAKE]

admin said:

(Silly Yanks clapping half way through the song...

LOL Last week when we went, there was people clapping along to every single song too.... itwas very strange!!

[Jazz]

cake said:

admin said:

(Silly Yanks clapping half way through the song...

LOL Last week when we went, there was people clapping along to every single song too.... itwas very strange!!

it was just weird..and they clapped at the end of Under Attack too...NO ONE HAS EVER CLAPPED AT THE END OF UNDER ATTACK!! LOL!!
i think i joined in ;D

[Jazz]

i just want to add...having had a flashback to Friday..WHAT ON EARTH WERE SUANNE, LUCY and Joanne on?? OMG ...the Dynamos bit from Chiquitita thru to the end of DQ was pure mental madness....it was crazy!!!

[michaela]

Well, a lot has been said already, but thought I write down my thoughts too, done again on the plane yesterday..

Show no 20 of three different Mamma Mia productions – and what a show it was!
Already with the intro, there was an intense feeling, a vibe, from the audience, wherever that this was going to be a special show!
“I have a dream” – I had so much wanted to see Tasha a second time to see whether she could repeat the marvellous performance from April, and she didn’t disappoint at all, quite the contrary, there was even more of a Sophie which was not just sweet but also witty, charming and cheeky – a girl who knows exactly what she wants – to find her dad and to get married!
“Honey, Honey, Honey” – Sarah is on as Lisa, yay! Some people know how much I love her, so seeing her and Tasha together onstage made my day! There’s so much energy between the two that I felt slightly sorry for Miriam as she seemed to be a bit left out – what were the girls on at that early time of the day? Also fun to watch on how much we get shown of the diary this time, the more often Tasha showed the writing to the audience the longer she did it…
Rosie and Tanya arriving – Joanna definitely has made the role her own I feel from the beginning, she shines so much, seems to enjoy her time onstage a lot, love her facial impressions even more this time, a wink here, a look there, it works so well, and how she brings her lines, such a great comedy talent, she definitely has won me over – I haven’t seen someone like her who uses gestures, impressions etc so well for a long time, and Suanne – what an aura there is around her, oh yeah, she is nearly the posh Tanya I would like to see… The boys come onstage: how much had I missed seeing Marc as Eddie? It was so funny how Eddie tries to be charming and flirty when introducing himself to Tanya, and Ben as Pepper – as cheeky as always… He’s such a boy! lol and the spark is back I used to see between him and whoever was Tanya in the last cast when I saw the show – how much did I miss it five weeks ago… too much!
The dads’ arrival: Iain, I liked when I saw him the first time, but back then he was just a bit too nice for me, too little emotions for a man who went through a lot in the last 21 years, but that has changed now. There is a Sam who shows from the beginning that there is a heart inside him that has been broken and hurt… Paul as Bill – he looks even more Indiana Jones like than before, what a strong character, gives Bill so much edge this time. Big surprise was James as Harry, not as camp as the last time, his little “back problem” when he did the “Harry head-banger” thing is a nice change to the show. The three interact so well now – so funny as well to watch when Sophie back onstage for “Thank you for the music” how they play with her – especially when they all three stand around her and get closer – and Sophie starting to panic!
“Mamma Mia”: there was so much tension between Donna and Sam, it might just have needed a tiny spark to create a fire! Just a very few inches missing between the two when they stand in front of each other – uh, don’t get any closer – yet! Wonder how I would react if I met any of my exes I haven’t seen for years… lol
Rosie and Tanya in their room: the fight for the bed was slightly different, loved Tanya’s slightly b**chy reaction to Rosie’s “Blow….”, not sure whether it was adlibbing, well hope so, it made a great change to get these extra lines which worked greatly – there seemed quite a few of adlibbing going on especially from Joanna anyway or were they changes to the script?
And how mental did the two go when they found the trunk? Am sure people in front of the POW must have heard them shouting and screaming!
“Chiquitita” how well do the two voices complement each other? There is so much harmony between the three best friends, so different to last time, not sure whether that is because of Geraldine not being in or whether they just needed time to get used to each other??
“Dancing Queen” : Suanne didn’t bring the “I rest my case” line, just noticed it as I love that line, but the look she gave Rosie when asked about what to do with three men was priceless – if looks could kill!!! Lucy; Joanna and Suanne make such a great trio onstage with the madness, the other girl trio started – I really fear they were on too much sugar already!
“Lay all your love on me”: what a spark between Sophie and Sky! Am just waiting for Gareth not just to blush when Tasha as Sophie is trying her best to turn him on and then to tease him by pushing him away to start then all over again! Boys onstage, uh, the familiar lack of oxygen, especially cause of having Ben and Marc directly in front of me – Marc certainly looks very nice in a wetsuit!
Girls back onstage, more time for me to enjoy Sarah onstage – why can’t she be on every time I see the show? There is such a twinkle in her eyes, so much liveliness, such a power girl… And the stage overall is a madhouse once again – what is Rachel doing with the guys?
“In the name of the game”: usually the number I like least, but today even that one I enjoy. There is so much despair and sadness in Tasha’s voice when she sings as Sophie’s longing for the truth of who her father is and Paul as Bill plays so well the shocked and confused man who has to handle the fact on his own that he might have a grown-up daughter.
After a well needed break for everyone, the second act starts as energetic as the first one finished. Have I ever sleepwalked? Am sure I would if I had to go through what Sophie has to…
The boys coming back from their night out, have me in stitches, the three harmonise so well as best friends as they have never been anything else. Love the moment when Donna gives Pepper that evil look when he is to go after Sky, another if looks could kill moment, nearly fearing that Pepper might not see the wedding – and did I hear one of the guys barking? And am wondering how Marc is like when drunk in real as he is playing a drunk already so wonderfully and funnily.
“One of us”/”SOS” – another moment of pure sadness and despair brought onstage – the wall Donna and Sam built around each of them are starting to fall, I just cannot stop thinking how ideal Sam and Donna are for each other on all levels, just all the sadness and bitterness needs to come out first.. the words are spoken/sung…
“Does your mother know”: another of Suanne’s great Tanya moments, loved the accent she put on when Harry asked her about the advice, she is so elegant, sophisticated in her moves – just would want her to sound a bit posher when she talks, though she definitely clicks with Ben as Pepper, I do believe him falling for her, lovely odd couple! And Suanne’s singing certainly is faultless, wished she was not just understudy! Everyone continues to give their best, how tired must everyone be after all these shows in a week?
“Knowing me, knowing you”: Sky and Sophie arguing – how lost does she look like? I would help her and not push her away… Sam appears – again Iain puts so many feelings into that number, and is not just nice, he is a heartbroken man who regrets decisions made in his life and wants to make things better now…
“Slipping through my fingers”: Lucy as Donna being emotional from the first moment of that scene, fighting back those tears and Tasha – you could see how clearly something hit Sophie suddenly – and the two singing together was so beautifully arranged (great job from the band as always of course too).
“The winner takes it all”: I have tears in my eyes, feel so touched by Lucy’s voice, just can’t take my eyes of her. She portrayed so beautifully the hurt woman in that number!
“Take a chance on me”: Have I said already how much I love Joanna’s Rosie? Certainly my favourite number of her in it! And Paul’s “doh” – why does that remind me of Homer Simpson? lol That number just show the talents there are in her, and she and Paul as Bill just make a hilarious couple. The chairs are again everywhere when Pepper discovers them!
The wedding, Paul’s/Bill’s reaction to when Sam tells Donna off for running off with another guy was indescribable, and the bet between Rosie and Tanya, great moment bursting into laughter earning a strange look from the people next to me (they must have been the only bored people in the theatre), oh well…
Finale: everyone on their feet – what a great way to finish one of the best Mamma Mia! shows I have seen, my two favourites, Sarah and Ben, dancing with each other a lot, awww how cute are they together? Can’t take my eyes of the two… Still so much energy, spark, power, vibes going on onstage… I really do not want that show to finish… But then the show is over – and I need to start counting the days till I see the show the next time…

[Jazz]

that's a wicked review!! OMG you are sooo right about Winner...
Lucy singing that brings a lump to my throat every time...for any woman who has had her heart broken, when she sings that number..she will get you every time!!

but yes you are sooooo right..it is definitely one of the best MM shows i've seen...definitely top ranking!!

[Jazz]

i was thinking the same thing...it could "possibly" be one of the best performances of MM i've seen to date...but the Jan 27 show with Rachel is pretty hard to top!! ..i don't know yet...

and Does Your Mother know...Ben and Suanne were just great weren't they? it was nice seeing Tanya back to being Posh and fun!! i can definitely see why Pepper falls for Suanne's Tanya!!
Soooooooooo great...she should not be understudy!! ;D

And Tasha and Sarah were great..........awwwwwwwwwwwwww


And Grace...yes those two numbers were just out of this world!!

;D