#off west end

[thesnappiestoperator]

I am what you want me to be And I'm your worst fear, you'll find it in me

Next To Normal - Donmar Warehouse - September, 2023

Taper: @lasagnatrades

Jack Wolfe is one of the best Gabe's I've ever seen and one of the most adorable

Stars: Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Jack Ofrecio, Trevor Dion Nicholas

[earlbrainrot]

Lara Vina Uzcatia in “Starlight Express”

@callmelasagna's master.

it’s greaseball! it's greaseball! it's greaseball the diesel! she’s the champion, she’s number one! back off, girls! she's mine!

Part 2 of Lara Greaseball gifs.. one more set left!

Do not use without credit and do not upload on any other platforms.

[hellyescharlesedwards]

Charles Edwards as James in The Ballad of Hattie and James (2024)

[ofbooksandteacups]

"Ben and Imo" - or: one of the most beautiful plays of 2024 - is coming back on stage, and closer to London! The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond will present the show's Off West End première next year, starting previews on April 19th. The show's only staying for a month, closing on May 17th.

But what's this show about? I'm glad you asked!

Ben and Imo is a two-hander, telling the story of the not so easy collaboration between composer Benjamin Britten and musical assistant (and composer herself) Imogen Holst. The show is set in a composition room in Aldeburgh, a charming little coastal town in Suffolk. Music composition is - at times - just a background topic to the play's true centre: polar opposites Imo and Ben, whose relationship is just like the waves of the sea, with its highs and lows. The themes developed in the play can be touching to anyone who's worked in the music and theatre field: facing a writer's block, fearing no one might like your art, ultimately accepting rejection and an unsatisfactory result. Ben and Imo are incredibly different - one is led by rage and unfiltered emotion, the other is calm and loving - but they work beautifully on stage. I won't spoil the end of the play - but can you really spoil something that actually happened? - just, be warned: bring a handkerchief. Or a thousand of them. You'll need it.

Erica Whyman and Mark Ravenhill are theatre rockstars, managing to condense everything that happened during the creation of Gloriana in a show that's a little over two hours without losing its pace and its emotional value. The score is effective, a leitmotiv that accompanies the audience throughout the play. The piano was remote played live by Connor Fogel while the actors mimicked it on the silent piano on stage. The cast - aka Victoria Yeates and Samuel Barnett - is possibly one of the best I've ever seen on stage, one of those cases in which I could never be able to choose who I liked best, because they balanced each other to perfection. Five stars overall - and almost one year later my opinion hasn't changed.

Trust me - you don't want to miss this.

You can buy your tickets on orangetreetheatre.co.uk and if you're under 30 they are only 15 pounds!

[cantheywinthehungergames]

Submitted anonymously

Tribute Name: Jeremy Heere

Age: ~16-17 (high school junior)

Restrictions: No use of the SQUIP (keep this in mind when reading the propaganda)

Propaganda: "If he gets to keep the SQUIP, he has the bonus of a smarter and likely much less panicked being in his head who can keep him calm and composed, as well as keeping watch of him while he sleeps. [Assuming the SQUIP doesn’t deactivate when Jeremy sleeps, which is unclear on the Off-Broadway show.]"

If you would like to see your favorite character either as a tribute or as a mentor, please fill out this Google Form. Just keep in mind that for mentor polls, they will be posted every Saturday so chances are it could take a long time before they are posted.

Please also look at my pinned post for submission rules as well as a list of previously submitted characters prior to submitting your character.

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

Charles Edwards and Sophie Tomson in The Ballad of Hattie and James (Kiln Theatre, 2024)

[wild--antinous]

Newsies dance is ace but the choreo should be edgier. Jerome Robbins would not stand for beautiful pirouettes- tell me a story!! Having said that they are all breathtaking dancers so this is a churlish complaint

[thesongofpurplesummer]

Why I love Legally Blonde the Musical^ 💖

I absolutely love Legally Blonde (the musical). Elle is such a great character!!

The audience is introduced to her in such an amazing way, with her mathematically trying to figure out what to wear. “It may be perfect for a blonde, but I’m not that blonde. I may be in love but I’m not stupid, lady, I’ve got eyes.”

Elle in general is so good. She’s so smart and she’s legitimately the most interesting character to follow.

But!!! The best!!! Part!!! At the end of the musical, when she says she’s leaving, Emmett confessing that he loves her isn’t what convinces her to stay. Instead, it’s the other female characters showing their support for her!!! The way the girls in this movie support each other!!! The “Greek Chorus” is perhaps my favourite example, if only because they’re so supportive of absolutely everything Elle does!!! It’s so sweet!!! “We came to see our president be legally blonde”? Best line, I love it, it’s so good.

But also, the romance between Elle and Emmett is so fucking good. Emmett supports her through absolutely everything. Emmett is such a great person, but also his musical cue is an oboe, which means I’m biased to like him anyway-

“They laughed at me like they’re laughing at you. We can’t win if we don’t follow through.” “Though it’s hardly my business to say, could it be the real thing in your way is the very man you’re trying to impress?” “But I know it’ll all be worthwhile when I win my first lucrative trial, and buy my mom that great big house out on the cape.” “As I hugged my mom and told her, with the chance I’ve been given, I’m gonna be driven as hell.” All of Emmett’s lines are so good, all of his songs are perfect, Emmett is the best character ever.

I love the ending, when Elle proposes to Emmett. It’s the character coming full circle. She begins the musical by planning an outfit that will be perfect for Warner to propose to her to; “This dress needs to seal the deal, make a grown man kneel, but it can’t come right out and say bride.” “I’ve got t leave Warner his pride.” She’s fulfilling the stereotypical idea of the woman having to be proposed to. She can’t propose to him or look too desperate to be proposed to, because that will ruin his “pride.”

Elle proposing to Emmett at the end shows such an amazing character growth. She knows she doesn’t have to fulfill the stereotypical female role in their relationship. She proposes in a room full of people, proving that she is no longer concerned with her partner’s “pride.” She proposes by saying “Emmett Forrest, please make me the happiest woman I know.” She proposes in the stereotypical male style, but it’s so fucking sweet because Emmett is so excited and they just love each other so much-

But the best way to portray the character growth is two specific interactions. To set it up, the Greek Chorus mentions, in the very first song, that being married won’t come between Elle and their “sacred bond of sisterhood.” Later in the same song, the Chorus sings: “We love you guys.” And Elle responds: “No, I love you guys.” Note that she specifically says “I,” because presumably, Warner doesn’t actually care all that much about them.

Now, in the finale, the Chorus repeats the line, this time to Elle and Emmett: “We love you guys.” But, this time, Elle and Emmett respond together: “No, we love you guys.”

Emmett supports Elle’s interests to the point that she feels comfortable sharing them with him. She feels comfortable introducing her best friends to him and he actually likes them. It comes full circle. Elle finally has someone who supports her completely, just like she supports Emmett completely, they make each other happy. It’s so sweet.

Also, it’s kinda funny because Emmett is Elle’s sugar baby-

[loureviewsblog]

Review of the revival of the Philip Ridley play, currently running at Park Theatre, London.

[thesnappiestoperator]

Those weeks full of joy, then a moment of dread Someone simply said your child is...

Next To Normal - Donmar Warehouse - September, 2023

Taper: @lasagnatrades

Stars: Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Jack Ofrecio, Trevor Dion Nicholas

[earlbrainrot]

Lara Vina Uzcatia ft. Eve Humphrey in “Starlight Express”

@callmelasagna's master.

greaseball, you're hurt! no dinah, please don't cry.. i'm washed up, i'm finished.. but dinah i.. i don't know how to tell it! come on greaseball, you can spell it! ok dinah, i'm s-o-r-r-r-y!

Part 3 of Lara Greaseball gifs.. the final part! probably. for now at least

Do not use without credit and do not upload on any other platforms.

[hellyescharlesedwards]

Charles Edwards in The Ballad of Hattie and James (2024) at the Kiln Theatre.

[we-are-inevitable]

woke up in a cold sweat to remind people that while davey has it better than jack and the other newsboys, he is still poor. he is still a child working on the streets. he is still a child who had to drop out of school, put his life on hold, to feed his family. he’s not well-off by any means and i am a little baffled at how many people seem to think he’s the “rich one.” in reality, they were probably struggling for a long time before davey stopped going to school- i can’t imagine esther and mayer would just spring this on him, or even want him to lose his education- and they were using every last penny to make it work but it just wasn’t enough. davey, sarah, and les leaving school was a last resort because the jacobs family is poor. they are poor. davey is not the rich one. davey is not the mom friend just because he has a family. davey is a scared teenage boy who wants to do right by the people he loves, who has the world on his shoulders, who is desperate to help his family out of the hole the systems in power have pushed them into. david jacobs is not the rich one.

[theatreism]

JEREMY JORDAN timeline (broadway, off-broadway & west end)

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

First look at Hattie and James at the Kiln theatre, 2024

[mind-less-boy]

If I had a nickel for every musical about a group of six that compete in song form, each getting their own song, to be the winner only to find out at the end that not everyone get to win/not one wins and that okay, I’d I’ve two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s Wierd that it’s happened twice