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Audience Reviews - please email me with yours plus any photos you might have!!
Review of St Pancras and the show - 20th December by Brenda! Dawn and I travelled down to London from St Helens the night before the St Pancras event, in the hope that we would be able to see Lee outside the Adelphi that night. However, it was obviously not meant to be - the train was diverted, then it took us about 40 mins to find the hotel which was in fact only 10 mins away. We rushed into the hotel and straight out again to the tube to go to Adelphi. When the tube arrived, it was displaying ‘out of service’ and the driver got out and disappeared. An announcement was made asking him to return and move it when the next one was arriving. We jumped on and asked a lady which was the best stop for the Adelphi Theatre. She said it depended whether we were in a hurry and that it would be about 10mins. Dawn and I just looked at each other and laughed – it was already gone 10 pm and we had no time to spare. The lady looked at us strangely. Anyway we got off and ran down the Strand, got to the Theatre and he had gone!!! A lady outside the Theatre said he had gone towards the station. We were exhausted – we’d been travelling for 6 hours - and we just stood there feeling absolutely gutted. I said to Dawn “do you remember me knocking that man out of the way and saying get out of the way you curly haired git - we’re in a rush” - joke!!! On the way back, we called in at St Pancras to check it out for the next day.
We arrived at St Pancras at 8.45 on 20th. Very excited. We were wearing our home-made Loppie badges, our cameras in hand and bag with our photos we wanted to get signed, and a gift bag with Christmas present for Lee. (I’d managed to get hold of an “Oliver” programme from 1998 production at Manchester Opera House with Russ Abbot – after listening to the Elaine Paige interview where he mentioned this as one of his essential musicals, and a poster he saw advertising it while he was performing at the Palace Theatre in Manchester had stayed with him and he would like to play Fagin one day). A couple of people were already there when we arrived, then more and more came, closer to 10am. We met lots of lovely Loppies, and stood with Suex and Kirsten waiting for Lee to arrive. Then there he was, relaxed and gorgeous in that lovely brown leather jacket, and said hi guys to us all, as he walked onto the stage, and introduced us to Flora from GOSH. He proceeded to start a count down which we all joined in with and opened the Calendar. All the time we were all taking lots of photos, and there was a nice banter going back and forth with him. Just before he was leaving the stage, I asked him if he would sign a photograph I had brought. He said of course and bent down to sign. Then he signed a few others. I then said his name again before he walked off the stage, and handed him the gift bag and told him it was a Christmas present for him. He looked so surprised and said thank you so much. He had earlier noticed Donna in the crowd and said hello to her and said he wanted to speak to her before he left. When he left the stage he walked over to her and told her to thank all the fans for the Christmas card. We all stood in amazement and took more photos, especially of Donna’s expression after he said goodbye. Then he was gone! We all went for coffee at O’Neills. It was a brilliant morning, meeting everyone, and we all stood outside and had our photo taken. I proudly stood at the front holding my signed photograph.
That evening we had tickets for the Show. We were on row F in the stalls. We met up with Suex and then found we were sitting next to Ann (Abs2512) and Tricia whom we had met at St Pancras. The seats were brilliant. Lee was fabulous, we could look into his eyes when he was singing CED. The whole show is completely mesmerising and it was over in no time. I had sat at the back of the Circle last time I went (in P33 which Andrew Lloyd Webber sits in when he watches it), but I felt I saw more of it somehow this time. Lee has such a presence that you don’t look at anyone else when he is on the stage. At the end, SueX showed us where to stand outside to be in a good position for ogling/autographs etc. We waited patiently and then again, there he was. I started taking a video of him but after about 20 seconds, it comes to an abrupt halt as Lee was handing me a signed photo. Then I asked him to sign another photo I had taken with me. I then said to him, “I saw you earlier at St Pancras”, and he looked genuinely surprised and then I said “I gave you a Christmas present,” and he turned and said again, thank you so much and then WINKED at me. Apparently Suex has me on her video speaking to him. Can’t wait to see it. He was really charming and was smiling the whole time. There were some girls screaming behind us (as reported by Kate) and he was just saying hello to everyone. The next minute he was gone again. We were just stood there smiling, we waited for a few minutes, then we saw some other people coming out of the theatre, then behind them was Andrew Lloyd Webber. I shouted Andrew, and he turned round, smiled and then got into a waiting taxi. If only I’d still had my camera out! But he took us by surprise. He must have been checking to make sure Lee was over his illness. He sure sounded as if he was. Dawn and I went back to St Pancras the following morning around 10 am and no crowd! We asked the press girl who was opening the calendar, and she said it was supposed to be Saffron Burrows - a model apparently. However, she was sick and so Rupert Everett was supposed to be doing it but had cried off, so it was only a 10 month old baby and her mother. We decided to stay around and wait and took a couple of photos. We then went to catch our train to come back home. As this is the first chance I’ve had to write the review because of Christmas, it now all seems like a dream, but I keep looking at the photos and the video just to re-live it again. We have a few more visits planned for next year so roll on the next time! Would also like to say a big thank you to Dawn, my sister in law, for helping me make what was just an “idea” a few weeks ago, into a brilliant few days away – I had an absolutely unforgettable time with her and although we were exhausted most of the time, I've never laughed so much! Review by Karen C - 15th December matinee I went on my own on Saturday 15th Dec matinee, but bumped into a friend who had gone with daughter, hubby and family. She was as surprised to see me as i was her!! They had gone as a result of seeing ADWD, She knows I’m a Lee fan and we had a bit of a laugh as to why I was there again!! It was a different type of audience to my previous visit, which was an evening performance. There were lots of families with children. Consequently I thought the audience took a long while to warm to the show, unlike the first time, when as soon as Lee appeared on stage the whole place erupted. Probably that night there was an army of Loppies and Lovelees in the audience.
The show opened as usual with the
children singing and the narrator telling the story, Lee then appeared
on stage descending as he does, on this occasion, into massive amounts
of dry ice. I had a big in take of breath, had to remember, breathe,
Karen breathe!! But you almost couldn’t see him when he got to stage
level though. As soon as he started singing it really affected his
throat. He looked like he was struggling throughout the opening bars of
the song. He coughed, covered his mouth with his hand missing a few
notes then looked at the audience and smiled. Like a trouper he carried
on but missed a note completely when no sound came out. He recovered as
the song went along but i have to say i was on the edge of my seat
worrying whether he was O.K. Think they need to go easy on the dry ice
in future!!! The rest of the show went along without mishap as far as I can tell. Dean Collinson was absent as was Preeya Kalidas and her role was taken by Kate Tydman. I haven’t seen Preeya yet, hopefully 3rd time lucky! No one got up and danced during the mega mix which was a disappointment and not everyone gave the cast a standing ovation at the end either which surprised me. There I was in Row B in the stalls, on my feet, on my own, clapping like a mad woman! (Only for the ovation you understand otherwise I would have looked daft!!!) Fantastic show, Lee gave it his all and the rest of the cast were wonderful too. Now I want to go in January (when lee is back from his holiday of course) to see him in loin cloth with tan!!! Not sure how I’m going to go about that as the shows are sold out. After the show had finished went outside for the signings. Haven't done this before but on the advice of previous postings on this site I took my time, ambled my way out and stood to the side of the ramp. The ropes were put up and i found myself in the second row from the front. We didn’t have to wait long for Lee to appear and a huge roar went up as he bounded out. He handed out signed cards first then began autographing. He signed for those in front of me and they left, so suddenly I was up front with my camera. I looked back to see my friend and her daughter behind me and managed to squeeze her daughter in front of me. Suddenly Lee was back to our end and started signing young Carly’s programme for her, Lee suddenly looked up and said 'Did you enjoy the show?' I realised then he was asking me, (Oh my god!!!!) I replied something along the lines that the show was brilliant and that I had had a great time. He then said 'Glad you liked it'. Well I was on cloud nine after that!!!
Before I could get him to sign my
programme, time was called; he said goodbye, waved to us all, we all
said goodbye and he was gone. Not to worry I already had his autograph
from HMV and hopefully some photo’s. What am I like? I blame Lee for getting me into a tizzy, I don't know if I’m a Loppy or loopy!!! Arrived home an hour late but I didn’t care because I had just Seen Joseph and spoken to Lee. That will keep me going until Thursday when I will hopefully see him again at St P's .
I have got my photos developed
and posted a couple through my friend’s letter box today, for Carly to
go with her signed programme. I have just heard that my friend & her
daughter have both put one each beside their beds. ‘I now know what you
mean about Lee, he’s’ gorgeous!!!!’ quote. Think we have two more
Loppies in the making!!!! As you may have gathered ... yesterday was my birthday, (11th Dec) and I was going to the Joe ... my best friend, though not a LoveLee herself, does 'get it' and arranged a little birthday surprise for me :D Her brother is a musician and apparently knows half the band at the Adelphi ... so a few phone calls ... and it was all set up ... a backstage tour after the show for me and the friend who would be at the show with me. Of course, she first told me last week, when Lee was off ... another reason for hoping he was fit and well and back where he belonged by my birthday! With apologies for length and incoherence ... here is the story ... - we'd agreed at the interval that my friend and I (who were sitting separately) would both make our way to the stage right end of Row A at the end of the show ... I had to make myself known to 'Pete' somehow! - we duly arrived at the appointed place just before the band finished the playout ... gave a loud whoop from just above their heads when they did and were rewarded when the guitar section all looked up and grinned ... I said, 'so which one of you is Pete then?' and the one nearest me said, 'that's me ... are you Ro?' ... so far so good! - asked what the form was, and he told us to make our way round to the stage door and he'd meet us there - arrived at the stage door and Pete appeared a minute or so later ... - and so we signed in ... yes, that's right, my name is in the visitors log at the Adelphi on my birthday ... squeeeee!! ( My name is in there too where is says meeting Lee Mead, forgot was an amazing feeling it was writing that down!) - and headed downstairs to stage level, past props and the quick change areas ... and out on to the stage itself (yellow carpet, didn't expect that!) ... the gold chariot was still in place (I didn't get in it ... missed opportunity that!) - my friend put her foot on the 'frame' and squeeed 'his toes curl round here' ... Pete gave us a slightly bemused look! I tried to rein in the worst excesses of squeeeefulness ... it didn't really work!!!! - headed back to the rear of the stage and my friend made a slightly strange noise and pointed over my shoulder ... there was the rack containing Lee's wardrobe ... dreamcoat on the end ... suffice to say, I've stroked the dreamcoat ... and have a photo to prove it! It was from this photo that I learned that all of Lee's wardrobe was on this rack ... at the time I only saw the dreamcoat ... friend assures me she did check for the loincloth and it wasn't actually there ... I choose to believe however that it was in fact behind me which is why she couldn't see it and my back was brushing against its folds even as I caressed the dreamcoat ... ;-)
- over yonder was Reggie the camel, complete with sign hanging over his rump saying 'Camel Charging' (as opposed to 'charging camel' which would of course have been hung on the front!) - he was indeed plugged into the mains! - took a quick pic of the snake (see further down), then a much better one of friend with Reggie
- as we left the stage area, I fell down a step through a doorway and landed squarely on my knee, clipping my chin on the doorframe opposite ... doorframe was fine (as was chin), can't say the same for my knee, ouch! jumped back up (I've learned that from the master) and from there we headed down another level - had a quick look in the orchestra pit ... very strange view from there, they can just about see a few heads in the dress circle and anyone standing right on the front of the stage, but otherwise nada ... - more props down here, including the sheep (not the technicolored ones, they were hiding behind the dreamcoat), Tom Gillies ambled by in a bathrobe (I refrained from commenting on his loincloth moment ... which won't mean anything to you until I've written a show review later today!) The sheep stand up well to close scrutiny ... and the snake was also plugged into the mains for the night!
- headed back upstairs ... Pete explaining that there really wasn't anything else of interest for him to show us (that he could show us that is!) he said 'so you've seen the show quite a lot then?' ... I suggested I may have seen it rather a lot and he said, 'so how does this production compare' ... at which point I had to confess that I had only seen this production ... rather a lot of times!!! - went back to the stage door and signed out and just as we stepped through the door, Pete kinda nodded over his shoulder at me and said Lee had just walked by, heading for front of house to do the scrum ... if I'd actually written the time rather than a line in the Out column, we'd still have been standing at the desk when he came by ... ah well, that bit just wasn't meant to be! - realised that if he'd only just headed that way, we could probably still catch him out front too, so legged it round there to arrive just as he started signing ... wormed my way through to as close to usual spot as I could get, Lara spotted me, looked at her watch and shook her head at me, tutting!!! - Another Donna, who was up at the brass railing, told Lee it was my birthday and suggested I'd like a kiss, I just shook my head at him and grinned ... he gave me a thumbs up, said happy birthday, and carried on with his signing ... it only occurred to me afterwards that I should have asked him to sign my 'birthday ticket', just to put a fitting end to a most incredible day Lee is back from his bout of Bronchitis - Roro's account from 10th December! GO GO GO LEE! I warn you now, this is going to be a very disorganised squeee ... because that's the way my day has been ... Earlier I discovered I hadn't received my ticket for tomorrow ... well, trust me that was nothing!!! I got from my Christmas lunch back to the office (did a little work ... mad fool that I am), then headed off to my 'apartment' (oooh get her!!!), spent too much time online, headed off to the Adelphi ... got as far as Waterloo, Bakerloo line shut, thought 'I can walk from here ...' Walking along the pavement towards the Hungerford Bridge ... suddenly had a flash of insight ... I'd left my ticket in the apartment ... no time to go back for it, already 7pm ... so dialled SEE with one hand, hailed a taxi with the other (can't walk and talk at the same time!) and managed to sort out a reference number to quote to the box office on arrival! So I now have another handwritten ticket for my collection and no doubt yet another one tomorrow! Stopped for a chat with Lara on the way in ... said 'he's back!!!!!' ... she said, 'I know ... how did you manage that ... all last week he's off and so are you!' *grins* Made a quick dash upstairs to say hello to Fiona (Stage Loppies), then dashed back down to my seat. Sat next to a Mum and daughter who were serious Lee fans on their first trip to the show ... had no idea he'd been off sick. The same went for most of the audience, so there was no noticeable difference in the reception he got when he descended to the stage ... except that I cried when I saw him ... haven't done that since the first show! And when he opened his mouth ... OMG ... he sounded as good as I've ever heard him sound ... his voice wrapped round me like velvet and I was lost ... Completely lost ... for the rest of the show! CED had me in tears again, serious tears ... it was simply stunning. Rang a friend during the interval and was almost beyond words ... well at least sensible words, I just couldn't stop saying how amazing he was (much to the amusement of everyone walking past me on the stairs down to the bar!) Headed back upstairs and had a chat with Lara and the blonde girl who sorted out my front row seat when I got double-booked ... when I say chat, I mean squeeeee ... said how amazing he'd been, that you'd never know he'd been ill ... they said 'really? oh fantastic, we didn't see ... haven't ever watched the show except the megamix' (how sad ...). I said what a shame it was that James or Ricky hadn't got a chance to go on last week ... they said 'that's what we all think too' ... I said, 'but James was off sick as well wasn't he' ... 'he came back on Wednesday because Lewis had the flu too and he thought he'd be on, but he only managed the first half of the show (as a brother) and had to go off at the interval' (am thinking that if Lewis was ill too, that might explain the dodgy vocals which have been mentioned by quite a few people who saw him - then again, that might just be Lewis, I don't really care ... LEE WAS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) A few more bits on the show: - Dean, Russell (Butler), Nat (Napthali) and James (can't remember which brother - sorry!) were all off, so we were down to ten brothers with all the swings in action (and hence six cows ... although no-one ever seems to notice!) - Paul Basleigh is still covering for Dean and doing so very well (IMHO!) - Preeya was on really good form, best I've heard her sing ... no shrieking! - Lee fell over in the 'coat of many colours' bit ... landed briefly on his very pert behind, then bounced back to his feet and carried on - when Mrs P grabbed his butt, she got her hands under the loincloth! gave us a very interesting view! - now I've mentioned those last few bits, everything else has gone out of my mind .... After-show - he did come out front, although Lara and I were glad to see he was wrapped up nice and warm ... have got photos but forgot to bring the card reader with me, so will have to wait until Wednesday (unless I go into the office tomorrow and I'd really rather not) ... jacket and nice thick scarf ... and he looked fit ... and no, I don't mean healthy although he looked that too! Can't think of anything else for now ... really am rather mind-blown ... more intensely emotional tonight than I've ever known ... even the first show didn't have quite this effect on me, I think because I was just so god**** proud of 'our boy' *goes to lie down in darkened room* Review by Rosefire who crossed the 'pond' to feast her eyes on the GO! Traveling from New York to London can be a daunting task but I was determined to do it at all costs. I arrived in the UK Sunday morning and spent nearly two days meeting up with various fans from the Lee Mead is Joseph forum. It was so strange at first to be seeing people you had only talked with online but the LoveLees were so supportive and helpful to an outsider like myself. Hannah, a friend from the forum, and myself stayed at the Adelphi Hotel which is conveniently close by and rested up for the night. On Monday, Hannah and I picked up our gifts for Lee and headed behind the theatre for “stagedooring”. We arrived extra early and chatted with two more Loveless, Rachey and Rachel, who were confident and had much experience in this scenario. but Lee didn’t show up until around six o’clock and by then, several other fans had come to greet him. I panicked at the thought that I might not get the chance but Rachey shouted, “Lee! There’s someone you have to meet!” and almost magically, everyone parted back. It happened so quickly that I hardly realized what was going on. I couldn’t describe what Lee was wearing but I noticed a purple and pink collar sticking out of his coat. The curls were all ruffled by the chilly wind. Lee looked like he was in a hurry so I just said, “I’ve come from America for the show.” I don’t know if he understood that I hadn’t come for a holiday trip—I had come specifically to see him on the sage! He gave me a warm friendly handshake. “Yes, it’s a great show, great cast,” he smiled at me. (Oh Lee, so modest, aren’t you?) I quickly handed over the gift back and allowed him to be devoured by the other fans before getting himself into the theatre. At that point, I burst into tears, probably overwhelmed by the experience. But I was comforted by two facts. First, Lee was now in the possession of a T-shirt that said, “If I can make it there: New York, NY”. All the fans know where THAT came from! He also received a menorah (glass candelabra) and box of rainbow candles. Second of all, the man shook my hand!
Rachel and Rachey
originally intended to leave after stage dooring but they had just
gotten tickets at the box office in the upper circle. Lunalee and I
bought posters and T-shirts before making our way to Row G, seats 31 and
32. I must say they were very good seats and spent a good twenty minutes
just unfolding the poster and stroking Lee’s picture. How clever of it
to be two sided. One side shows Lee singing to children and the other
side is him in his loincloth. So you've got "naughty" and "nice" that
you can flip depending on your mood that day. As the the lights dimmed
and the music started, you could feel the buzz in the air.
The
Joseph Remix had the entire audience clapping and booming along. I
noticed Judah (Neal Wright) up in the front and couldn’t help but be
reminded of the show STOMP that I saw last summer. When the curtain
fell, everyone headed outside but Hannah didn’t want to face the scrum
in the front where Lee comes out. I understood and we went backstage to
watch the rest of the cast come out. I was torn between seeing Lee and
the other brothers but felt they deserved their appreciation just as
much. I must point out that I had just heard Lee came down with bronchitis and needed to take some time off took so I consider myself very fortunate to have seen him that. It made such a difference to a “Leftpondia LoveLee” who had come so far to see him in the flesh. After ogling his picture online and watching youtube clips, I can finally say that is no figment of my imagination. Oh no, Lee IS real. He is alive and there singing his heart out night after night. I wish him a safe and healthy recovery and thank him for such a special night.
WHEN JOSEPH MET
MARIA...Sunday 2nd December review by Briony The first hour wasn't so bad but as the second hour went on and it started to get darker, only about 8 more people had joined the queue. I started to get a worrying feeling that something was amiss. Knowing how popular this show was, I couldn't imagine people would be daft enough to leave it so late to wander over to reception? By this reckoning, there could be lots of guests inside the studio already. Also, I was intrigued as to why a group of 20 or so ladies in front of us seemed to know each other? If tickets were allocated sparingly and only two at a time, how could they have so many mates with them? Hmmm...puzzled (and more than a little worried) I carried on listening to my iPod and tried to think positive thoughts. As the third hour approached (and shivering set in, with my toes now numb!) the queue built up to a healthy 50 or so behind us, I was feeling much happier. Doors opened for admission at 7.30pm and then - my fears were confirmed. The rumoured studio audience of 300 was actually more like 175. Then, BBC staff scanned down the queue, and those 50 people behind us were marched up to the front and let in! It was awful. My heart sank to the floor. I took myself up to the ladies grouped at the front to confer. Yes, apparently the "queue jumpers" were indeed legit Production Team guests (just as Claire had warned me). Damn. So, making small talk I enquired how these ladies knew each other? "Oh, we're John Barrowman fans -been following him for years" But how did you all get tickets? I said, still confused. "Details were released onto his fan website before the BBC tickets page. In fact, there's a few of us who got tickets but haven't come". Can you believe that?? So there you go Loppies and LoveLees...The ticket shortage mystery is solved!!! Production friends, families and JB fans.
I was furious inside
and blurted out "Do you realise that NO other Lee Mead fans have got ANY
tickets because of that?" Her reply was "Lee Mead? Oh, you can keep him!
It's John Barrowman we want to see. Yes, we were wondering where all
the Lee fans were".She was friendly, but it was weird it was to be
surrounded by adoring fans, who didn't share the love of all things Lee!
Are they mad? I know that some of you Loppies and LoveLEEs also love JB,
but at least you have room in your heart for them both! Anyway, now
happy to have some answers but definitely NOT happy with the answers I
got, I strode back to my place in the queue and put in my headphones to
listen to something a little more feisty this time. "Paint it Black".
Perfect.
Another half hour
passed (nearly 9pm now) and with a sudden buzz of activity and relayed
messages, the BBC lady suddenly confirmed that the remaining 14 of us
could all come through to the studio. I almost hugged her! I WAS going
to see Lee after all!!! (Husband breathed sigh of relief that he didn't
have to cope with any sobbing -phew!) I think I probably floated across
to the studio, still in shock, and we were quickly shown to our seats,
right at the front! My husband started to panic that we would be in full
view of cameras. Then we turned to look at some paper signs on our
chairs. Mine said "Denise Van Outen" and his said "John Barrowman",
which made us laugh. Sure enough, they realised that we needed to be
moved again, and we were shown to some good seats right in the middle at
the back. I'd be surprised if you actually see us on the recording as
it's probably too dark, but when it's been 'you tubed' by our very own
Queen of Clips Karen, then I'll give you the timings if there's so much
of a glimpse of us! And if I do appear, you'll see me grinning inanely
and cheering throughout as I was genuinely thrilled to be there! The 5 Josephs accompanying him Lee were Daniel, Craig, Lewis, Rob and Keith. All the boys were clearly enjoyed seeing each other again and acted like old mates with lots of banter, back slaps and chatting off camera. They did a fab rendition of the "Boys are Back in Town" (Lee looking very loveLee in a rock T-shirt number). I won't spoil the show for you by telling you all the songs, but suffice to say they are classic Christmas numbers which everyone went crazy for. The VT footage interviewing all the performers and looking back on the year sums everything up perfectly. There are 'live' interviews and chat with everyone in the studio as well. Lee still sounds genuinely amazed at his own success and is incredibly modest. In fact, whilst the Lee clips played, he often didn't even watch himself on the screen and just stayed focussed waiting to do his next bit. When he did occasionally glance at some footage, it was very bizarre for me to be watching him watching himself!
Clearly, I got my priorities right
wasn't going to miss a minute of this, so I did what any self respecting
Loppy would do and decided to focus wholly on watching the real Lee in
favour of the video! So, I'm afraid I can't fill you in much on the
clips and I will have to watch it myself when the programme airs! Lee
did a solo Elvis Presley number (sung beautifully of course) JB sang a
number with the Marias draped around him, and then Graham Norton
announced that DVO was to perform a number with all the Josephs. She
was looking super slinky in a tight satin red outfit, and it's sad to
admit, but I was actually relieved to see that Lee wasn't one of those
Josephs! The final number was a romantic duet with Connie Fisher and it
was one of my all time favourite musical theatre songs and I promise
you, it will make you MELT! His performance was just spellbinding!!
(There is however, one shock moment at the end though which you'll have
to wait and see!) There was no question of photos as cameras were banned, but on my way out I spotted Lee's Dad. Still temporarily relieved of my usual shy manner, I abandoned my poor husband again to speak to Mr Mead Senior. I am praying today that he didn't think it was to much of an imposition to introduce myself and ask him of Lee's whereabouts after the show (just in case there was a photo opportunity). He politely explained that No, sadly Lee would now be at a backstage party. I mentioned about being a fan, and he immediately sounded delighted to have a Loppy there to cheer on his son. I can confirm that both he and his wife do check in on the websites from time to time, as we'd heard they might do from that article. He mentioned you too Donna! Imagine my surprise when Lee's dad then introduced me to Jo, who said "Briony? Yes, I've seen you write on the site!" Wow! Too much. More fame for the Loppies.
Sadly, I then entered
gabble-mode and explained how much we all loved Lee, about the JB fans
getting tickets, about how we were so glad she read our threads, about
how it was all good things and that we'd all so enjoyed her fantastic
article in the Times and how I had a son and hoped that we'd have that
same closeness one day etc etc etc! You get the picture. All 100
percent true, but my goodness, I hope I didn't come across as a crazed
fan. I really am just a very ordinary person who's a very genuine fan
and had never acted like this over a performer before. I just felt
compelled to seize the opportunity to talk on your behalves and I didn't
imagine I'd ever be at a show again where Lee appeared and I was the
only one to see him! He'll always be swamped with adoring fans.
Anyway, Mr & Mrs Mead were absolutely delightful. It was a true honour
to talk to them, they were just so lovely and warm - just like Lee. Jo
kindly introduced me to Lee's wardrobe mistress too ("Lucky lady" I
said). At this point, I was dying to chat to them more - I was bursting
with questions, but we were ushered out by staff and told the cloakroom
was being locked. I had to make a hasty exit, my husband reappeared and
I can't even remember saying goodbye properly. I really hope I did, and
I also hope I get the chance to meet them again one day.
Review by Debbie - 19th November Monday 19th November - a day I've been looking forward to for ages finally arrived! Unfortunately I couldn't get to HMV but as I was seeing (my first ever) Joseph that night I of course bought the CD that day in the hope that Lee would sign it later.
I'm
not going to repeat everything you've all said before - Lee was
everything you'd all said and more - his voice was much much better than
I remembered on Any Dream Will Do - his acting and comic timing amazing
- and the whole company was fantastic. In the opening "Any Dream Will
Do" Lee faltered quite badly a few lines into the song - and a lot of
the audience laughed. We felt so sorry for him - he must have sung that
song SO often - and he clearly just lost his concentration for a moment.
However he was certainly determined not to let it happen again - Close
Every Door was hairs-standing-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck stuff and the
second Any Dream Will Do was the same.
After the show we took up our places outside along with many others.
Shortly before Lee appeared, his brother appeared in the foyer and stood
just out of the way - plenty of curls in evidence by the
way.... Lee then arrived - commenting on how cold it was (the mother in
me wanted to say - should you be out here with wet hair? - but how sad
would that have been?!) - handed out his signed pictures and then
started personal signings. As he signed my CD I managed to blurt out -
"Brilliant show Lee and you were fantastic on Strictly Come Dancing last
night" - he looked at me, smiled (thud of course!) and said "Thank you
very much - I really enjoyed doing that" - he later gave my daughter an
even lovelier smile. Not surprising of course - she's young (26 - same
as Lee) and much prettier than me!
Read about Linda's Lee filled weekend!!!! Hi, hope you enjoy this; it is my first review, well actually my first contribution in any form for the site. I have been reading all your Lee talk and thought you might enjoy my fantastic Lee weekend. It started way back in September, on return from my hols I found that the CIN tickets had been released, I debated and then thought why not and phoned up. The conversation was much along the following lines “have you any CIN tickets left, yes, what is the best seat you can offer me, front row stalls seat 25, I’ll have it I said, the cost was not a consideration”. Last Friday finally arrived, Sky plus set for CIN and off to the Adelphi I went. I started chatting to the lady in A26, a Lee fan as well; it was her eighth visit, my fifth. Her friend in A27 was down from Scotland for a week and had been to nearly all the performances that week. If you are reading this it was nice meeting fellow Lee fans, made me feel that I am not quite as mad as I feel at times. Well what a night. Lee is getting better and better and was obviously extremely hyper. I have to say that if you were there to see the show the front row stalls is not necessarily the best seat, you don’t automatically see the whole stage, however I was there to see Lee. Best seat in the house. When he sung Close Every Door I was looking directly at him, forget the rest of the theatre there was just me! I don’t care what you all say he was singing to me and me alone! My heart was just pounding. You see a different show from the front row, you can actually hear the actors without their mikes, you hear the side discussions, you see their facial expressions better, you see far more detail, well I am back to Lee again, and that very tiny loin cloth, well just use your imagination, I will say no more! What was different from other performances was that the kids from Brampton School choir joined the normal kids after the interval and at the end on stage to take a bow. But best of all was when Lee had finished singing Close Every Door the second time and before the mega mix the house lights went up and Lee made a speech. As he said he didn’t particularly like doing it, not the speech but actually making it. If you see what I mean. He thanked us all for going and for helping to raise £600,000 for CIN, he thanked the chap who ‘signed’ the show. It always amazes me how actors find it hard to be themselves. There were lots of cheers and a standing ovation, he was absolutely fantastic. In the mega mix Pudsey’s were thrown into the audience. We were all up and moving/clapping along. Usually I have sat in the dress or upper circle and when Lee rises on the cherry picker it has been great to see but when you are standing under it you do realise how high up he goes. Every penny, pounds, I spent voting for him and for theatre tickets has been well worth it. Really pleased I got a ticket it was a special night. When the show was over out the front I went and managed to get Lee to sign the special programme for the CIN performance. Considering he was off to the BBC studies after the show he did come out to talk and meet his fans as usual. Then around the back to the stage door to see Lee off to the BBC studios. He apologised for not being able to stop. Shows he is a nice guy. Then home just in time to see him perform GMYAS on the TV. Well Saturday I watched his CIN performances I don’t know how many times. Then the Sunday performance of PIB on SCD. Wow. Then Monday and HMV Oxford Street. Had the afternoon off work and caught the train up to town. Found my way to HMV and joined the queue, again met three complete strangers and we talked about our obsession with Lee. Thank you for making the wait go so quickly. Then Lee arrived. Again spoke to us, thanked us for being there and that he was pleased we had turned up because he wasn’t sure if anybody would be there; does he not know about us lot? Well you all know what happened as I am sure you have watched the videos. But it was great being there ‘up close and personal’ as they say. Had my album signed and a kiss on the cheek, face beginning to smell a bit now, never going to wash again! Then home to listen to the album, I don’t care what the so called critics say but I love it, especially Lee’s version of Stronger. All in all I had a fantastic weekend. Lee’s life may have changed dramatically since June but so has mine. Never thought I would go to the theatre quite so much and be so obsessed by a certain 26 year old. Oh well it makes me happy and that is a good thing. I have seats booked every month until October; excluding July and August at the moment, I am sure this will change before long. I don’t always go on my own I do have friends that laugh at me about my Lee obsession, but its funny how I am going a second time with some of them. It’s amazing how once non Lee fans have seen him perform they become addicted. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed my weekend. Linda Review by Diana - CIN Night at the Adelphi - what a night? Finishing work early was the start of an amazing day on CIN night. I caught the train to London and then the tube to get to Leicester Square. A short walk later and I was in Porters where I met up for the first time with my fellow Loppies who I had met online only before, thanks to our Donna! Pam, Alison, Michelle, Val, Deanna and Ann, together with Ann's daughter Kate and Val's husband, John, who is a keen photographer and braved a night of Lee mad women. What a star! We had been chatting daily on line for 7 weeks and within minutes of finally seeing each other face to face, we were off and running - loads of Lee chat. Isn't it incredible? How quickly it felt as though we had known each other for ages. After a really traditional filling of English comfort food, of which I ate far too much, we set off for the stage door. Knowing Lee would be coming by bike, we thought it worth trying to catch him in leathers! Not too many people were waiting so we took up position and chatted some more. After what seemed like hardly any time at all, a motorbike with a pillion passenger appeared and slowed to a halt beside us. Lee jumped off the back, all in black, and began taking off crash helmet and jacket. Under the jacket was the white he had been wearing at the TV studio and off came the helmet causing tumbling curls to be released.
A girl rushed over to
him and asked for a picture. Lee, looking extremely apologetic, replied
'But I've only got 10 minutes before I'm on stage'. Now some people
could have been irritated by the request (not that I can blame her for
trying) or just rushed off, but not Lee. His expression said 'really
sorry, I would if I could, but I really do have to go'. Always the
perfect gent! a huge smile and a wave, which Donna, has caught on camera, he was away through the stage door and out of sight. With happy smiles we made our own way round the front and into the theatre. At this point we split up as we had seats dotted around the theatre. I was sitting with Deanna in row E of the stalls so had a fantastic close up view of the GO. Lucky Alison was in Row A! The expected roar of approval greeted Lee's first appearance on stage and I couldn't believe what a view front rows of the stalls give. He is almost close enough to touch and no detail gets missed. For those of you who want to appreciate the rest of the cast this is virtually impossible to do when Lee is on stage and SO close. I know I saw less of the others' performance than when I have been in the dress circle due to such close proximity to Lee. You can therefore imagine how Alison felt in Row A. I swear the first half lasts 10 minutes only, that's how it felt anyway. Tiny Preeya has improved since my last trip in August and Dean Collinson opening the second half was his usual funny and fantastic Pharaoh. I think I mostly appreciate the brothers in Those Canaan Days as Lee is not there to distract. Close Every Door blew you away and I could see his whole diaphragm working to hit those massive notes and the way his throat pulses as it he projects the sound all around the theatre. It was great to see him leaping around the stage with no sign whatsoever of an injured ankle - Mrs Potiphar had her boy back! Boy is that loincloth short!! In the interval Alison and I managed to get to speak to Donna who showed us some lovely pictures of Lee arriving on the bike. We insisted she tell Lee on the 24th that she is the Meadsmistress. Donna, I dont blame you if you don't. However, you ARE the mistress of all things Lee, as your website proves. Then it was back to our seats for Act 2, which again was over in a flash. At the end of the second CED, Lee, all in his gold Prince of Egypt outfit and headress, came right to the front edge of the stage and held the final note for EVER. The curtain fell behind him leaving him alone on stage as the cheers began. I thought, hang on, there's something different happening here. Within seconds the entire theatre were on their feet, whooping, whistling, clapping and cheering. Lee stood there wearing that famous megawatt smile and saying 'thank you'. Eventually we quieten down and he then does a little speech. No I cant remember every word, I was too awestruck at the time but I'm sure others will and tell you in time. He said it was a special night, he thanked the children's choir who had appeared at the start of Act 2 with the usual choir, but said they had gone now. He thanked the guy who had been doing the signing who he said he had known for about 5 years. He said that £600,000 had been raised - lots of cheers and applause greeted that announcement. Yikes, cant remember much else. I do remember he looked a little nervous as he was obviously completely ad libbing but he did a great job and we were thrilled to get an extra bit of Lee. Then away went the megamix and they were throwing Pudsey's into the audience. Lee held a signed one (I didnt notice but Alison saw it was), kissed it and threw it high into the air. It fell near the front of the dress circle to some lucky person - come on who was it? Own up! We stayed on our feet all the way through the megamix - lots of aching hands form clapping at the end. Two curtain calls and some of the brothers threw themselves on the floor so they could see under the curtain as it fell for the last time. We waited for the theatre to clear before venturing outside through the crush. Goal achieved, right at the front by the cordon. One lucky lady waved Lee's album in the air while we were waiting and a big cheer went up. I called over to her 'What's it like'. Reply - Amazing! (Judging by her recent story on the site this HAS to have been Ro!) The poor security guys really had their hands full. We were all refusing to budge an inch and they were trying to get us all to move to allow other theatre goers out. However, even the threat of 'if you move forward Lee will have to go back in for his own safety' and 'unless you let people leave the theatre Lee wont be coming out' was falling on deaf ears. Those who did want to leave were eventually able to squeeze through and escape. The slim guy who is always out front is Eric and we told him he had appeared on Donna's site so often he was now famous which broke the tension a bit. The other guy was trying his best to be stern with us but even he couldn't get too cross with all the cheeky comments fired at him. Anyway enter the GO complete with damp curls and his handful of signed pictures. Having already got his autograph I snapped away with my little digital hoping for the best and later found I had 18 shots - most of which are great. I'll send them to Donna later. Kate was standing right by my shoulder and said to Lee 'Are you getting bored yet Lee?' to which he replied 'What? With all these screaming women?' accompanied by a naughty grin and a slight shake of the head before moving along the line. He signed loads of offerings, talked to as many as he could and with a smile and a wave was gone again. We lined up by the Joseph poster for a group photos before saying our goodbyes and making our way home to the recording of CIN on the TV. Wow, wow, wow, what a fantastic night!! Cant wait for the next one. Enjoy all you lucky people going to the HMV signing on Monday! Diana x Review by Angela Owen our own resident artist!
On Wednesday 31st Sally and I arrived
at the Adelphi full of excitement and anticipation. It was our first
visit to Joseph and it had been a long wait to see the production and an
especially long wait to see Lee. We had tickets for the evening
performance but had arrived very early because I wanted to take
photographs of the outside of the theatre in preparation for a new
painting. We were also meeting Joan who had contacted me through Donna's
site and, of course, we were hoping to photograph Lee when he came out
to sign autographs after the matinee.
I was very impressed by the way Joseph
grew in self knowledge as well as age during the show and felt a great
deal of sympathy with his brothers. It really wasn’t fair! Daddies pet
dancing about in his new coat; was he all innocence or was he winding
them up a little? I think the latter. Perhaps throwing him in the pit
was going a bit far but you could see where they were coming from. All
this was done with great singing, gusto and comedy, the brothers working
as a team and Joseph pulling hilarious facial expressions. Perhaps, when
he eventually ended up in prison, he had time to reflect upon his
favoured position in his family which is why, as a man, and Lee’s Joseph
really does become a man, he forgave them.
Review by Sarah - performance 30th October
Poor, Poor Meady! Review of Sat eve performance 27/10/07 by Nicki Sonja & I were so excited at getting last minute tickets on Saturday, Upper Circle - but view was OK apart from the annoying woman in front of me leaning so far forward she was almost climbing over the seat in front. But I digress. Having seen it before, we knew what to expect from the show & the GO and as always a huge reception and huger smile as he descends from the clouds. The show started as good as ever, Lee doing his thing, jumping up to high-five the children's choir, energetic as always - la,la,la - red & yellow & blah,blah,blah….Then the brothers turn round & ….who looks handsome & smart? No sign of GO! Down comes the curtain. Gasp. Technical hitch – D***n that revolving stage we think. 10 mins, 15 mins. Another announcement…technical hitch still being fixed. Felt like forever. Finally the curtain comes up & to huge applause he's back. Phew. All OK. Then in the Potiphar scene they strip him off & our poor boy has a bandaged ankle! The wenches were very gentle with him & didn’t throw him around as much as usual but he seemed OK at this point – CED was, in a word, PHENOMENAL!!! After the interval he was clearly struggling in his bare feet, really hobbled up & down the stairs in the Pharaoh scene, couldn't kneel at his feet - so sat on his ROTY and did very little dancing, although the gold boots (Love `em) seemed to support his ankle more later on. But still his voice was out of this world – we agreed we've never heard him sing better. Don't know if he was trying to make up for it all but believe me he pulled out all the stops. And he still went up in the cherry picker – brave boy. And my God, at the end of the show – he went NUTS. Might have been relief at pulling it off, whooping & punching the air. Needless to say, a full standing ovation at that point!! He is a STAR!! Despite clearly being in pain – the show went on and he was truly outstanding. AMAZING. Dean was fabulous too, better than ever, and overall the show was a thing of joy as always! Huge smiles, aching cheeks & sore hands from clapping we went away very happy, if a little worried for poor Lee`s poorlee ankle.
Review by Helen Friday 26th October Having been a massive Lee fan since ADWD, I was ecstatic to get tickets to see him in the show! Especially as they were selling out left, right and centre! I got tickets for myself and my boyfriend, who is really good about my obsession with Lee! We got fab seats, stalls row G 11-12 so we could see so well and felt really close to them all on stage. The show was completely AMAZING!! And on the last song, most people (including myself!) were standing up clapping and dancing along and he got such a standing ovation when he was elavated into the audience at the end. What a complete buzz!! As I left I heard that he goes outside about 10mins after the performance so I hung around and got near the front which was lucky as it was so busy!! I was lucky enough to get a signed photo, an autograph and a 'hello'. I was screaming and skipping the entire way home!! I couldn't believe I was so close to the man himself after watching him and voting for him all those times on ADWD!! He is such a lovely guy and made sure people at the back got the signed photos and even reached across to a little girl close to the back on someone's shoulders to sign her notebook. Basically, I love Lee so much and I cannot wait to go again!!!
Wednesday 17th October 2007 - matinee review by Ruth I made the trip from Manchester down to London to see Joseph for the first time last Wednesday....well worth the trip and the wait! What a fabulous show! The stage, the costumes, scenery, everything is great! A truly great cast thoroughly enjoying themselves which is great from an audience point of view! It goes without saying that Lee Mead has one of the finest voices I have ever heard. It sounds so natural when he sings, not at all forced and he has such a powerful voice that its easy to close your eyes and just allow his voice to wash over you. Nobody else would have been as good in that role. Its hard to imagine but his voice is better now than on ADWD. Roll on 19th November! I can't wait to have that CD in my car! It was a great day and one I am going to repeat in March and April next year! Lee is fabulous and can't get enough of his voice and good looks but the show itself is also really impressive. Thanks to the British public for making the right choice in voting for Lee.
Review by Pat, my partner in crime! -23rd October extra matinee performance Wow!! Wow!! Wow!! What more can I say to a day that was perfect from start to finish!! I had so been looking forward to meeting up with Donna especially after our long and often very humorous chat history - she truly is a wonderful person and very good friend now and all thanks to our lovely Lee. Our first mission was a coffee, as at 10.45am it was still freezing in London and a long chat was in order, besides we had an hour to kill before our walk (Don’t mention walking and the new boots, BIG mistake to wear them) around the corner to Claire’s office. And what a lovely girl she is too, very relaxed and friendly and lots of time for Lee chat. The signed artwork by the way looks fantastic in real life, so the lucky winner of the raffle will definitely not be disappointed!! Next lunch, we found ourselves in Covent Garden after a short walk via the Stage Door - well you can’t go to the theatre without taking a glimpse of the Stage Door now can you? It’s amazing how many Lee fans were waiting patiently in the cold for a glimpse of him to arrive for the matinee performance. I hope they got to see him! But our tummies were rumbling so we happily made our way to find food and shelter from the cold. Delicious food we found, shelter unfortunately not, we found ourselves being seated out of the sun, but we had our Lee chats to give us the warm fuzzy feeling that we all get when discussing our favourite person. Well with nervous excitement and sweaty palms we made our way to the Adelphi and found a very nice young man called Darren in the foyer, who very kindly agreed to look after the signed artwork and the Camel until after the melee of Lee loving fans had departed from the front steps of the theatre. So all things signed by Lee, safely tucked away, we made our way to our FRONT STALLS ROW D seats!!!! Oh my goodness what a view. I for one could not wait for the show to start and to breathe the very same air with his loveleeness!! I saw the show for the first time last Wednesday evening but from the Upper Circle Row A. Very good for watching the show as a whole and not at all disappointed, but FRONT STALLS ROW D, nothing compares to this!!! I won’t go into too much detail about the show, as most of us by now have already seen it and also read the other brilliant reviews, so I’ll keep that to a minimum. Suffice to say a huge, big well done and thank you for entertaining me and that goes to all the cast who are all equally fantastically brilliant including the lovely Fiona Reyes as the narrator and the brilliant children in the choir. Now Lee - words cannot explain how I felt when I got the first glimpse of him behind the screen, my heart missed a few beats and I think I forgot to breathe. Donna pinched me once or twice I think, just to convince me I was not dreaming. However my condition worsens as he steps to the front of stage, spitting distance away from me!!! From this seat, I noticed every little detail about him. His little belly pumping in and out as he tries to get his breath just at the start of CED, his perfect hands and the soles of his feet. The war wounds on his back, clearly from a stage prop accident of course (dangerous job that being on stage)!!! But aside and not above all his velvety powerful voice which I’m sure even the men on moon can hear, just sends you into a state of ultimate ecstatic deliriousness! I say aside and not above because our Lee is made up of so many equal beautiful qualities, it’s hard to know which the best bit is. He is just so perfect in all ways, looks, voice, personality acting skills, charm, kindness……….and the list is endless!!) By the end of the performance the whole theatre were on their feet, singing dancing, clapping, waving, shouting and screaming. Then Lee gives us his real Lee smile, and for me that was the icing on the cake!!! Not such a good day for photos today sadly, as it is the half term matinee performance and the children are considered first and foremost to meet Lee and get his now famous autograph signed on their programmes etc. But he is genuinely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of his adoring fans, as he steps out onto the front steps of the theatre. His smile says it all!!!
Review by Donna (me) - 23rd October extra matinee performance Well today was a day of firsts! Not the first time for seeing Joseph, as I have seen it twice already! But still a day of firsts! Today was the first time I went to see the show with a true Lee fan, Pat! Today was the first time I met her! More of that later! Today I got to meet Claire Lloyd from Lee's agents, was presented with a signed camel and got a date in the diary for my cheque handing over with Lee!!! ALL FIRSTS too!!!!!!! So it really was a great day from start to finish! I went up on the train where by complete coincidence sat next to two girls I teach and was thoroughly entertained all the way to Waterloo! Pat and I have been in contact through this site since its first few days and we have texted and emailed each other repeatedly since then! So I was desperate to meet her, but it seems like all the stories I have heard about people meeting people through their appreciation of the GO are true! We hit it off straight away and it was strange to think that this was our FIRST meeting. We didn't pause for breath once. At 11.45am we made our way to Garden Studios to collect the autographed artwork from Claire. Another FIRST, Claire is delightful and so friendly it was lovely to be able to chat about Lee and his success to someone who knows Lee and I appreciated being able to put a face to a name and would like to thank Claire for all the support she has given me and the Children In Need appeal. But then was the next FIRST, the signed camel! (It's a long story!!!!) Pat who only knows me through the site had been in collusion with Claire and had arranged to get one of the Joseph camels signed by Lee and gave it to me then and there. I don't know how I didn't burst into tears there and then, I hope Pat knows how much that gesture meant and I would like to thank her for that too! I was overwhelmed by her kindness and thoughtfulness!
Then it was time for lunch which was full of Lee chat, what else and round to the theatre for the performance. Today we sat in Row D and were greeted by lots of Lee fans who were there too!!! Today was going to be a special performance that was for sure. The curtain rose and the actors shone, the show just gets better and better!! This was the first time that I have seen Fiona Reyes in the role of the narrator and she was special! Lee was as usual awesome, he is so much Joseph it is untrue but in between the songs, he smiles and Lee shines through. He is clearly loving it! The rest of the cast are all fantastic, I said it in my last two reviews that are on this site but I will say it again - A FANTASTIC ENSEMBLE SHOW! But like so many others, it is Lee who does it for me! All I and have done at all the performances is watch for Lee to appear, to watch him breathe, every expression is carefully studied and every note is savoured! It is such a good job that he is not on the stage the whole time otherwise I truly believe that I would not watch anyone else!!! After the show, and our mad clapping and cheering during the Megamix, we waited like so many others to see come out, he did and he smiled and waved, paying special attention to the children. I took many photos but due to the large numbers of people they are not that great! But they still are a perfect reminder of a truly perfect day and another truly perfect Joseph experience! However, there is still one more FIRST, I got home to an email from Claire, saying that she had pencilled me in for the cheque handing over on 24th November in Lee's dressing room at the Adelphi! So the final FIRST of the day, is the prospect of my FIRST official meeting with Lee!!! WOW what a day!!!!!
Review by Karen
So, I was finally there, in the Adelphi, sat in my seat and the
anticipation was just incredible. Then the lights dimmed, the music
started, the children and Preeya appeared, I took a sharp intake of
breath and almost forgot to let it out again until, suddenly, there he
was!!! My eyes filled with tears - after all this time and all the
waiting he was finally there, right in front of me, in person. After
reading all your reviews and talking to you all I thought I was prepared
and ready for this but, let me tell you ladies, as good as all your
reviews have been nothing, but nothing, had prepared me for that first
sight of Him. He truly is the most beautiful man! As if that wasn’t
enough what came next knocked me for six. The crowd erupted into
applause and there came the megawatt smile and I was blown away. Of all
the images I will take from seeing him it is the smile that stands out.
Photos and the television just do not do it justice. It not only lights
up his face but the whole theatre and the face of every person in it. He
smiles and you just cannot help your self - you smile too, it truly is
infectious. And so, on with the show. Next, is the first time you hear the voice
in person and again, it completely blows you away. We all know by now
what a fantastic voice he has, but unlike, many of today’s recording
artists who do not sound as good live, he sounds even better, if that’s
possible. And what we didn’t get to see much of on ADWD was his acting
ability which, along with his comic timing is excellent. Is there no end
to this man’s talents!? So, the next “first” is the loincloth and that
body. If you haven’t already melted then you do now. He is perfection,
including the legs. And then comes CED. I knew this was going to be good and I was
gripping the edge of my seat. He started singing and the hairs on the
back of my neck stood up, and, for me, this is where we really saw his
acting ability because the emotion on his face as he sang was
incredible. The power too, I could see his diaphragm and stomach muscles
working overtime. You could have heard a pin drop. I loved his dancing and the fact that he just looked to be having
such a good time and he took us all along for the ride and made sure we
enjoyed it too. As has been said before, it is impossible to take your eyes off him
when he is on stage which does make it a bit difficult to follow the
rest of the action but the brothers were great and very funny and
pharaoh was simply brilliant - his interaction with the audience was
fabulous. It looked to me like there were a few ad-lib moments but
obviously I don’t know that for sure. The second ADWD & CED both got standing ovations. Just as he was
about to start singing the second CED somebody in the audience shouted
something to him. I didn’t hear what she said but he giggled, yes ladies
we got the giggle!! It was perhaps not the most appropriate time to make
him giggle but it was so lovely to see and hear and he soon recovered
himself and sang the song to perfection. And then came the megamix and just about the whole audience were up
and dancing and clapping and having a ball. The energy of the whole cast
is unbelievable. And as he rises up at the end the emotion that I had
most of all was pride. Taking nothing away from Kerry and his family but
that was our boy up there and I can only begin to imagine how they must
feel about him. There are moments during the show when he looks out into the audience
and sings or pulls a facial expression and you actually believe he is
looking at you and right at the very end when he was taking his bow and
waving to the audience, most of the people in my section had sat back
down again, a couple were still stood up but were clapping and, as he
turned in our direction I began waving to him and I am certain he looked
directly at me and waved back. Whether he did or didn’t matters not to
me - that’s how it seemed and that is one of the many wonderful memories
I shall take from the show. After watching his progress through ADWD it has been a true pleasure
and a privilege to follow his career from there and see the culmination
of all his efforts. I am in no doubt that this is the start of a long
career for him in which he will become a huge megastar and I think we
will all be with him for the journey supporting him and, hopefully, each
other, all the way. Review by Helen and Kay - 12th October Well, we had waited patiently (or perhaps not so patiently!!), to see Lee since booking our tickets on the night he won. We had exact centre stalls 5th row back. Perfect seats! We decided to spend the day in London on the Friday (Helen’s birthday) and then stay over to Saturday seeing the show on the Friday eve. Well scene set so here we go!.. We arrived in London and spent the first half an hour checking out the hotel and then pacing the distance from hotel to Adelphi couldn’t risk being late!!! It was only about 5 mins walk!... We arrived in the Theatre at 7pm and spent the next half hour with baited breath; at every announcement we expected someone to say ‘At tonight’s performance the role of Joseph will be play by……….’. Of course, it didn’t happen and as the lights went down we sat hardly daring to breath. The children started the show and then the spot moved to Lee…. He was lovely.. it was breathtaking to see him as he transcended to the front of the stage and the screen went up. He stopped for a brief moment, crouched down to the audience and took the adulation that echoed around the theatre for a few seconds, before in a split moment reverting back into character. The show then began in earnest. Lee was perfect and sang so beautifully and true – his emotions ever on display (how he does that night after night I shall never know), but we felt we couldn’t write this review without mentioning the brothers. They were FANTASTIC and deserve some super credit of their own. The brothers worked as a team, none outshone the other, they seemed to fully enjoy themselves and they supported Lee in his lead role and you felt the whole cast was working together as ‘one’. If you read the comments about Lee he always mentions his cast and this showed we felt. A true Leading man; a team player but also the leader needed to lead the cast to such an incredulous performance night after night. It would be wrong to try and highlight any of the brothers and single them out as they worked so perfectly as a ‘whole’. Having seen the show a good few times between us we agreed it was the best ‘band of brothers’ we had ever seen. But watch out for the young man who plays Benjamin it’s his West End Debut – but we feel he will be around for a long time! Anyway, back to Lee. From the 5th row you can see every muscle in every movement, every slight facial expression, every change of eye contact he has with the audience and the cast members. He was absolutely everything a Joseph should be and more. Although we have both been Lee fans from day one of the TV series, it was without doubt a perfect and faultless performance – words cannot express the emotion we felt when he sang ‘Close Every Door to me’ and that beaming smile shone and shone whenever his character allowed. He had perfect comic timing too and although some critics have mentioned this as being far from perfect we felt he hit the comic parts just right. Also he can dance – something we wish we had seen more of in the series. A true West End Star needs to be able to Act, Sing, Dance and be a nice guy! And a guess Lee fits the whole part perfectly. We stayed behind to get some pics when he came out front and also to get his autograph. Helen wanted to ask him to write Happy Birthday but couldn’t manage to utter a word.. except we both just said ‘thanks Lee’ in a dreamy little voice! From there we went to The Ice Bar for a drink but that was another experience in itself!! We had a perfect two days – first time either of us had been away on our own without 5 kids in tow (between us) we left the Hubby’s behind too. Although they said we were behaving like two silly teenagers! As parents ourselves we can only imagine how proud Lee’s Mom and Dad must be of him – all that hard work and dedication was worth it – as anyone knows who has been around the theatre world, the path to a Leading role often involves, an enormous amount of dedication, will power and perseverance – this Lee demonstrated in the TV series too – he treated every moment as part of the audition even when he was sitting in the seats watching the others he was still sitting upright and proud. We will of course be going again when we can convince the Hubby’s to take charge once more. Just on a final note to make you smile both Dad’s had to do the ballet lessons and swimming lessons on the Saturday!!! Helen’s youngest is only two so Daddy had to actually go into the ballet class with her….. now that may be worth a picture or two!!!!.
Review by Marilyn - 12th October I went to see the show on the 12th October with my Husband for my 40th birthday. We had booked the tickets on the Saturday morning of the final of ADWD. We just knew Lee was going to win. So it was along wait before that special night, I couldn't wait to turn 40!! (not many ladies would say that.) Anyway back to the review. We got up to London at lunchtime after a 25 minute journey on the train from Hemel Hempstead to Euston. Done a bit of shopping and had a nice meal in Covent Garden. But I was so excited about seeing the show I just wanted to get to the Adelphi. Unfortunately we didn't have the greatest seats, we were in row M of the dress circle, so a bit too far away from the stage, however, I had a gap in front of me and have very good eyesight so had no problem seeing the gorgeous Lee. The show was everything I hoped it would be, so entertaining, really funny - a real 'feel good' show and Lee was absolutely brilliant what an amazing voice and body!!! After the show I managed to persuade my Husband to wait outside with me so I could get an autograph (bless him, he hung around in the background trying to take some pictures on my mobile that I had only just bought and neither of us knew how to use it properly!) Amazingly there wasn't that many people waiting for Lee to come out, I thought it would be a real crush. I got myself positioned right at the front and he finally appeared in a blue t.shirt looking very cute and very young. He came up the line towards me with signed photos, but I didn't manage to get one of those, hands seemed to be appearing from everywhere grabbing them, and being quite short I missed out. But what happened next was even better. He went back down the line and started signing peoples programmes he then came back up towards me, I had my programme positioned to get his autograph (I wasn't gonna miss out again!!) he stood right in front of me, looked me straight in the eyes with a big grin and held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity - WOW!! (but it was probably only about 5 seconds) he said 'alright' and I could hardly mutter a word I think I managed a very weak 'yes'. He signed my programme then I managed a very weak 'thanks'. Then he was gone and they called him back in. Now I'm looking forward to the next time, got to get better seats! But it was still an amazing experience, and it was the first time I'd ever been to the theatre. It certainly won’t be the last.
Review by Liz - 8th October - read her Up Close and Personal story too!
Lee Mead is NOT
just some gorgeous guy in a loincloth who sings and dances a bit. Lee
has truly special talent, rarely seen. As Bill Kenwright said he is a
consummate. He knows musical theatre and he pulls out all the stops to
give his audience and his fans the best performance he can possibly
give. His fellow cast members match him with their talent and
enthusiasm and, altogether, the Joseph experience is absolutely
wonderful! |
