Can you recommend a play in London?
 

We will be in London in 2 weeks and want to see a play- comedy or musical. Has anyone been to the London theater lately who can offer suggestions? I know tastes vary but I would appreciate the input.FYI we are 5 adults.

A straightforward recomendation from anonymous persons on a message board sounds like a losing proposition from my perspective.....but:
I very much enjoyed: Stones in His Pockets, Mamma Mia, Woman in Black, and Blood Brothers. This list includes a variety of genres...

But seriously, I'd advise you to look at the official London Theatre website, and get a "short" review of the different things that are playing while you're there.....Then simply pick one (or 2) and either: book online, with a small service charge or wait till you get to London and try the 1/2 price booths near Leicester Square....

P.S. - My favorite of these shows was Mamma Mia...
Best wishes for a great trip! Dave

We see shows every year in London and last month saw Mamma Mia (again! it's great), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (you don't have to be a kid to enjoy this one), Arsenic and Old Lace (not a musical but an oldie, but oh so funny, with a great cast including Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfiel), and Ragtime (it was not my favorite, but worth seeing, very good cast). I can also recommend Chicago, My Fair Lady (very good production), The Lion King, and of course, the old standards, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserable.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks Dave and Lori. Good suggestions.

And now for something completely different

""Jerry Springer, The Opera" has grown into one of the funniest pieces of modern music theater ever to be seen at the National Theatre.

With lots-and I mean lots-of foul language, blasphemy and invective insults.

..music is so consistently invective and inspired that its delights never seem to pall"

The above quotes are from the May 8 Wall Street Journal.

The show is on until July 5. The website is:
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Another vote for Mamma Mia--I've seen it twice in London and absolutely love it!

Also seen Les Miz three times while there. I believe it's ending its run sometime this year and tickets can now be had at the 1/2 price booth.

Heard great things about "Stones in his Pocket," but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Phantom!

We Will Rock You. A musical based on the music of Queen. Play extended through January 2004.

A great foot-tapping musical with old-time tunes that has been playing continuously in London for many years, is "Buddy." It's the Buddy Holly story, and when they say they will have you dancing in the aisles, they mean it. You'll have a grin from ear to ear when you leave. I can also recommend Mamma Mia. Have fun.

Yet another vote for Mamma Mia- such a feel good musical! Saw it in London first, then here in Pgh., and it was much better in London!

Thanks to all who offered suggestions. It looks like "Mamma Mia" is in the lead but a few others look interesting.

We went to London in March and and saw "Chicago," "My Fair Lady," "Mama Mia," and "The Compleat Works of Shakespeare, Abridged."

We loved them all! We were the most surprised by the Shakespeare one, none of us (3) really like Shakespeare much and just picked it because we were a little late getting to the half-price ticket booth and that was the only comedy left. It was hysterically funny, we were almost sick from laughing so much. It has a 3-man cast and they are all masters of comedy, ad-libbing, and audience participation. We are now wanting to see all in their "Abridged" series.

Hope this helps and that you enjoy whatever you see,
Sandy

The review from the WSJ intrigued me so much, I looked for another and found this from The Times.


Benedict Nightingale's best London shows

JERRY SPRINGER , THE OPERA
National: Lyttelton, SE1, continuing (020-7452 3000)

IT SEEMS weird to present events in America's sleaziest talk show as they might have been set to music by Handel, Wagner and others, but it works brilliantly. The fun-level drops in the second half, when Springer (Michael Brandon, above) brings Satan, Jesus and God into a crumbling studio for fisticuffs; but when the opera's creators Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas deal with losers, betrayed lovers, coprophiliacs with nappy fetishes or any other variety of trailer trash, it's hilarious.

I had the same dilemma for our London overnight in a couple of weeks. After searching this site, discovered an excellent Web site at http://www.theatremonkey.com/

They give the scoop on what's playing in London, tell you where not to sit in each theater, and even have some deals (we found a good deal for Blood Brothers which had very good reviews). We bought the tickets online, no problem. (Well, not as far as I know because we haven't used them yet!) We just pick tickets up at box office before the play.

I second the vote for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged.

It is hilarious. I love Shakespeare, but I went with 2 people who don't, and my sister was laughing so hard she was practically crying! We are all in our 30s. I would see it again in a heartbeat.

Karen

Blood Brothers is fantastic!

"shakespeare abridged" is wonderful. we're taking the teenagers to see it in a couple of weeks. a word of warning to those who want to see the other "abridged" performances. we saw "america" last spring. first half was good...borrowed heavily from firesign theatre. second half was not v good - too preachy. but, if you can get in for half price, why not?

Blood Brothers AND We Will Rock You. Both are GREAT!

The Mouse Trap, definitely

FAME, less talked about but a VERY entertaining musical! Must See!!