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lLee
as Lord Arthur Savile
Credit "Newsshopper.co.uk"
My photos from the stage door at
Manchester:
My photos from the stage door at Richmond:
 
 
My photos from the stage door at
Cheltenham:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LynneD sent in this lovely shot from the
Stage Door at Windsor.
Thank you to Jo4 for sending in some
photos taken on various nights of the opening week of LASC, at
the stage door in Windsor.
 
 
Opening Night reviews
Shirley
Opening night -Well girls
he was just fabulous - did you expect anything less and the
play was funny and charming. He spoke in a very aristocratic
Lordly voice and his comedy prowess just shone through. To
begin with he was a tad - how shall I put it 'stiff' until
he relaxed into it - once he did get into it which was very
soon he was brilliant. I didn't notice any fluffed lines -
though we were sitting well back so I may have missed more
subtle things although Kate O and Gary W made a few
mistakes. We were in stalls P and Bill K was about 5 rows in
front of us with a couple of guests. Full house apart from a
few odd seats here and there from people who obviously
couldn't get there. A couple of unscripted comedy moments
that had them giggling - I wont say too much as it will give
plot away. Anyway - be assured you will LOVE it!!
2nd night - Another Great
Evening - much more slick tonight, they had made a few
changes with the song/s, not sure what exactly but it was
much better (incidentally the song is sung, not spoken -
there are lots of spoken verse bits between scenes). In row
D so could see all expressions etc clearly and hear every
word - unlike last night when I was 3 rows from back stalls
and missed bits. The GO was faultless - you'd think he'd
been doing it for months, totally confident and enjoying it
immensely.
Cassie
Well! What a night! I had such a good time
yesterday. Went quite early with Maggie. We met up with a group
of other Lee fans & tagged along for a meal. (Great to meet old
& new faces) It was quite distracting sitting in the restaurant
& thinking Lee was next door.
8:00 and I could hear my heart beating as the play gradually
started. Then suddenly there he was. Ladies you are in for such
a treat. Costume as in the mock ups. Patent shoes, “snug“
trousers all topped off by beautiful long curls. Basically,
heart-stoppingly gorgeous.
Can’t say too much about the play as that would spoil it for
everyone but suffice to say it couldn’t be more Victorian down
to the last detail. The plot is very funny & the actors squeeze
every bit of comedy out of it.
What about our boy you ask. Well he was awesome; totally in
charge & confident & more importantly, hardly ever off the
stage! He was at turns charming, cheeky and also (calm down
Coofy!) VERY authoritative at times. Oh what a treat it all was.
Lee was virtually faultless as far as I could tell, which
considering how much he had to learn, was most impressive.
Plenty of familiar Lee expressions to look out for especially
the surprised one with the eyes & shake of the curls.
Most important of all, Lee seemed to be relishing every moment &
his face at the end. Aaagh! We gave him a good cheer too.
The rest of the cast were great too, particularly Gary Wilmot. I
have to say I found the song rather strange and tuneless.. would
like to know what others thought.
Some of us waited behind afterwards but I seem to be a Stage
Door jinx as we had no luck. But that did not spoil a wonderful
evening. AND I’m doing it all again on Saturday!!!!!! I won’t
have even calmed down by then!
So when your turn comes to go & see LASC I just know you will
enjoy it as much as we did last night. Hope I haven’t said too
much but I have tried to be as general as possible so that I
don’t spoil it.
Jazzylou
'I'm so happy
now, what a weight off my mind after nearly a week of
worrying how I would get there. All my worries melted
when I sat down in that seat.
It took us less than an hour to get there. Got a bit
lost but found the back of the theatre and stage door
first....no one there so carried on round to look at the
town and find the front.
It was quite
strange but
lovely to see lots of familiar faces but in a different
place. There was a table of 8 fans in a restaurant
right next to the theatre so we went in and sat nearby
for a little chat. It was lovely to see you all again.
Saw Trevor Baxter arrive he adapted the play according
to the program. No sign of Bill Kenwright or Denise from
where we were. The place was full of excited faces.
I won't say much about the story of the play as that
would be totally unfair but there are some lovely
moments.
The story surprised me, its pleasant, funny and
uplifting. I liked it far more than I expected to.
Lee was charm itself. We've all noticed his slimmer
appearance lately....well it totally suited the look for
Lord Arthur. He did have lots of words as has been said
before and he delivered them confidently.
He only made one tiny mistake that I noticed but it was
just one word wrong and he adjusted it so well that if
you had not been listening fully, you would never have
noticed.
The one thing I loved is the little monologues he says
at the front, I could hardly recall any of it now if you
asked but it was just lovely to see him standing there
and actually talking on stage!!! I just have to go back
for more, I'm totally hooked. It’s easily watchable more
than once.
My OH hadn't realised his part was so significant. He
thought he was good too (so its not just me) There were
lots of mutterings of his name around the theatre. I
heard 'Lee Mead',
‘Joseph’ ‘London’
‘West End’ ‘TV program’ many times. I’m pleased to
report that I heard nothing derogatory. Many were
obviously regulars at that theatre.
The singing is short but heavenly.
Leeisms are rife and there are lots of remnants of
Joseph left in that expressive face of his.
Shiny black patent shoes.
Locks untouched and beautiful. No wedding ring for the
entire show! I could go on but I'd be giving too much away.
Gary Wilmot was very good (again better than I had
expected), they all were. Kate O'Mara’s speech seemed a bit
slurred in places showing her age. I'm not sure how many
more stage days she has left. She still added depth and
comedy to the show.
Lee will learn so much from this. I'm really interested to
see him in Richmond now to see how he beds down.
There is so much more in my head but its all a blur.
No applause at the beginning but it fitted and seemed
totally natural,as was discussed on here. When Lee did his
final bow we cheered him. He looked really happy and so he
should! I'm so happy it went well for him.
As soon as he was on stage I was not nervous as he was so
confident.
Went round to the stage door afterwards and said goodbye to
the group of fans who were waiting but didn’t stay as we had
to get back.
I had a lovely time and will go
again very soon.
Be proud Lee, very proud xx
Thanks to Chrissi for being our first
reviewer. She went to Windsor for the Opening Night!
Opening night last night was truly
amazing. He was brilliant! I cannot believe how good he was and
can't even bring myself to express it. He's so funny, looked
absolutely stunning, had amazing acting eyebrows, fantastic
comic timing and the lines were delivered beautifully.
Now, me always being curious about how other people view him
that aren't fans- I turned and asked what the couple next to me
thought and they said "It's really really good, we're enjoying
it so much!" YAY!
If I'm honest, I didn't think the songs were that great and
seemed a bit under rehearsed but there's time for that to have
work done on. Also, I didn't think Kate O'Mara was that good.
Quite surprised by that.
Louisa Clein who plays Sybil Merton was fantastic. She's a very
lucky lady! I was very impressed with the whole production.
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