As with movies, books have a specific release date and there are usually weeks of advertising and promotion leading up to that date.  I, however, am never normally caught up in any ‘book hype’ and haven’t been since the final Harry Potter came out.  That changed when I heard that Felicia Ricci was releasing a memoir of her time as Elphaba in Wicked.  I even ended up buying a kindle so I didn’t have to wait for the paper edition to reach the UK!

It only took me a few days to read the book because Felicia writes in such a laid back and relaxed manner.  Her language reads as if it were spoken and, having set out to entertain the reader, she does just that.  She provides an honest and frank time of her life as a standby and her first time being greenified and flying.  Her memoir is funny, while providing the reader with an incredible insight into what goes on behind the scenes of one of the greatest shows on the planet.  As an audience, it is an eye-opening look into how our actions affect the lives of the performers we follow and adore.  Felicia recognises the power of YouTube videos on performers and dedicates a section of the book to her realisation of the final 1:30mins of Defying Gravity making or breaking opinions over Elphabas online!

All in all, this is just a fantastic book to help musical fanatics appreciate shows that little bit more.  It is a witty tale of dreams, challenges, hurdles and even love written in an accessible and real way.  Just a final warning.  If you, like me, have always wanted to join the cast of a hit musical – this book is only going to worsen that desire!!

Enjoy!

MH

I know it’s been SUCH a long time and I promise I will do a massive update at half term including Ghost and Wicked reviews and tonnes of wedding information!  However, before then I just wanted to let you know about something exciting that has come to my attention!

Wicked the Musical is amazing! I have loved it since the day I saw it.  I have seen no less that 10 standbys/understudies in my 10 visits to Wicked and so was thrillified (see what I did there) to find out (a while back) that Felicia Ricci, who was once a standby in my favourite musical (Wicked that is – for those of you still asleep) across the pond in the United States of A has written a memoir of her time as standby Elphaba.

No one puts it better than Felicia herself:

There aren’t many jobs which require you to sit around doing nothing most of the day.  There aren’t many jobs which require you to be painted green.  There’s only one job that requires you to do both!

I’ve been waiting aaaages for Felicia’s book to be released to a UK audience.  At the moment there’s no chance of a hard copy but below is the link to the Amazon Kindle (UK) version!!

I’ve read the first chapter and it’s hilarious! I can’t wait to read the rest.

Let me know how you get on in the comments below!

MH xXx

For those Wicked lovers out there…here it the new Cara/Louise Dearman advert that you can currently catch on TV screens all over the UK!!

Enjoy and leave your lovely comments below!

Jo x

You may have come across my review of the royal wedding…well here’s a slightly different take on it by our friend at Confused.com, Cara (singing voiced by the lovely Louise Dearman!).  She has written her own blog post on the royal wedding and then her friends at Confused.com have done some Wills and Kate research to discover who would have which car according to statistics!! It definitely made me chuckle and you might fancy a look yourself!!

How did everyone enjoy their extra bank holiday weekend?? I did some shopping and saw the incredible Kerry Ellis at the Royal Albert Hall…review is here!!

JxXx

Date: 1st May 2011

Starring: Kerry Ellis, Brian May, Adam Pascal, Escala, Dan Gillespie, The West End Chorus

Words and Music: Various!! Queen, Steven Schwartz, Don Black

Opened: One day only at RAH but first day of national tour

Theatre: The Royal Albert Hall, London

Seats: Originally 3rd Tier but we were upgraded for free to Stalls L Row 4 Seats 84 & 85

Seat Review: Amazing view and the RAH has these awesome swivelly chairs so you can face any part of the hall!

Price: £35 for 3rd tier seats.  The people in the stalls near our upgraded seats paid about £60

Visit number: First and only!

Rating out of 10: 100

Recommend: Absolutely – you MUST see this tour!

Describe it in 5 words: A truly spectaular anthemic extravaganza.

MiniHobo’s Review:

WOW! It is so hard to know where to start with this review.  Do I start with the magnificant building in which I cheered, clapped and standing ovated? Or perhaps I should begin with the ecstatic atmosphere filled with musical theatre fans, rock fans and Brian May pilgrims? Or would it be disrespectful not to mention first the unquestionably important work of Leukemia and Lymphona Research?  Do I go with my head and review in detail the set, lighting, sound, direction and the many costume changes? Or do I go with my heart and start with the reason most of use were there – KERRY ELLIS!!

Nearly 2 years to the day since she left WICKED (May 9th will always be known as Kerry Ellis Day!), Kerry signed, sealed and delivered, confirming that she is indeed the QUEEN of musical theatre.  With 4 impressive costume changes, rifftastic anthems (both vocally and guitarally!) and flawless, stunning vocals, she went from stage songstress and friend of Brian May to international megastar.  She growled the crowd into no less than 3 standing ovations and her vocals could’ve become a live recording with NO editing necessary – at one point I was longing for her to miss a note just to show she’s not perfect but, I am jealous to confirm that indeed, she is!!

Kerry has an incredible way of effortlessly making her concerts a personal performance; I felt she was there for me and only me.  And while proving herself a superstar, never once did she show diva tendencies – she gave recognition where due to every single person on the stage; a very humbling trait in such a well-loved performer.

You may notice I haven’t mentioned too much detail about the performances.  This is because you, as the reader, will fall into one of the following 3 catagories:

1. You were at Anthems: The Concert. In which case you are looking at this with your own opinions already in tact….please stick them in the comments so I can have a nosey at them…I’d love to know what you thought!!
2. You are going to Anthems: The Concert when it tours. In which case I don’t want to give away anything except that you will have the time of your life and the Ellis and the May will not disappoint.
3. You didn’t go and you aren’t booked in. In which case…whyever not?  If you love Kerry, or Brian, or rock, or musicals, or music full stop…you need to book tickets.  It’s a showstopping production that puts X Factor alumni and many of the chart topping artists to shame!

We were very lucky last night to also witness the musical talent of Adam Pascal, Escala and Dan Gillespie.  Dan (from The Feeling) joined Kerry and Brian on stage to sing ‘I love it when you call’.   He added an extra dimension that we hadn’t heard on the CD and they were having a ball  up there on stage!! Adam Pascal sang a selection of songs from RENT, HAIR and Spring Awakening.  My personal favourite was Seasons Of Love! Escala performed a couple of Anthems however I don’t think the concert would have been any more or less enjoyable without them there.

If you were at Anthems…what did you think?  If you are going…how excited are you? If neither…why not?? Leave me a loverrrrly comment!!

Thanks

Jo xXx

First and foremost, and probably most importantly…THE DRESS.  It wasn’t a visual feast for the eyes, it was simply a stunning design that flattered and enhanced Kate’s natural beauty.  She looked every part the princess and not at all like the public spectacle she has become in the last few weeks.  I’ve never liked lace and even now, having seen her dress, will not be having it on my personal wedding dress, however, it completely complemented her gown and personality.  Put simply – it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Rumour has it Pippa Middleton’s dress was designed and made to complement the creation made for Kate and she, also, looked stunning.  She was beautiful in her own right and yet didn’t take away from the bride she was supporting.  Kate’s bridesmaids and page boys not only looked the part but had the kind of smiles and waves that any couple would fall for.  It just happened, they whole world awwwwed along with them!

Special mention must go to Carole Middleton whose outfit was a beautiful shade of blue.  I think apart from the bride and her sister, Mrs Middleton was the best dressed woman in the house!

I wasn’t a huge fan of the trees in the Abbey – surely it’s a magnificant enough building??! However the procession and parade were so much a part of the day and made the reveal of ‘the dress’ so much more anticipated. I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall at the Palace during the exquisite meal that will have been eaten.  I wonder what the couple will have discussed at the dinner table.

In total, it was an important and romantic day for Wills and Kate but it was an incredible day for Britain as a country.  With huge crowds gather on the streets of London waving red, white and blue flags singing Jerusalem at the top of their lungs to celebrate and greet their future King and his new wife.  It really was a fairy tale, one that not many could have predicted 9 years ago but one that will be remembered for far more than 90 years to come!

So all that’s left to say is ‘Come on Harry!! You’re next!!’

What did you do today? How did you celebrate? What did you think?

Jo xXx

Date: Thursday 14th April 2011

Starring: Maria Ylipää, Anna-Maija Tuokko, Vuokko Hovatta, Antti Lang, Ursula Salo, Heikki Sankari,

Words and Music: Steven  Schwartz (Translate into Finnish)

Opened: 26th August 2010

Theatre: Helsingin Kaupungin Teatteri (Helsinki City Theatre)

Seat: 184

Seat Review: Seat was brilliant, all seats have a cinema style view and plenty of leg room.

Price: 51 EUROS (Programme cost 6 EUROS)

Visit number: 3 in London, 1 in Broadway and 1 in Helsinki

Rating out of 10: 7

Recommend: Yes, for any avid Wicked lover

Describe it in 5 words: A loving yet different take.

John from The Public Reviews review:

“Something has changed within me, something is not the same” and these little lyrics couldn’t sum up the experience of seeing Wicked in Helsinki, Finland any better.

When I found out from Jo (Minihobo) that there was a Finnish production of Wicked, which was playing at the same time I would be on a business trip to Helsinki, I set out to get myself a ticket. Now I must point out that I did get my ticket for free as I am currently working with the Finnish National Theatre (you have to have some perks right?) However a top price seat in comparison to its West End cousin or Broadway sister is relatively cheap at only 51 euros.

So what makes this production such an interesting show to see, well for starters it was the 1^st non carbon copy production of the show, i.e everything about the production is new, from the orchestrations, the set, the costumes and even a little tinkering of the storyline too.

I won’t go into the storyline of the show as per a normal review as I think everyone who reads Minihobo knows it like the back of your hand, what I will try and do is point out some of the differences both good and bad.

The first thing the struck me as I entered the hideous 1960’s theatre building  Helsingin Kaupungin Teatteri or Helsinki City Theatre, for us English speakers (seems like its been modelled on the National Theatre) is that the experience of Oz happens as soon as you walk through the doors into the enormous foyer. For hear you are greeted with an atmospheric soundscape of the howling wind, the chatter and cries of the flying monkeys, and of course some great audience interaction from the Guards of Oz who are reprimanding members of the audience, but you need to be aware what is also going on above you heads as Flying Monkeys trapeze through the air and hang off the balconies causing mischief.

As we enter the auditorium we are greeted with a familiar site, the projected map of OZ and I have to say was a little disappointed not to see a giant Clockwork Dragon, but unfortunately the projection was out of focus and blurry and screamed of a lack of attention to detail…was this the shape of things to come???

Luckily not, as the first bar of music is blasted out from the Orchestra one thing struck me, this is the best I have ever heard Stephen Schwartz’s score, the new orchestrations sound fuller, richer and more intricately formed, whilst the sound balance of the whole production was faultless, every not was heard of every bar whilst not over powering the vocals of the cast, superb!

So onwards and upwards, the director with permission of the original creators have added a few little tweaks into the storyline the main one being the actual physical appearance of Dorothy (with Toto) throughout the show, and this adds a subtle yet immediate reference point of classic moments from the iconic film.

So the set is much simpler and stylised than its rich counterparts; consisting mainly of 4 individual towers which circumnavigate the stage electronically are the main principles of the design however, most of the time they did little to actually enhance what was being performed, ok the chorus would use them to hang off during several numbers but for me although they looked good seemed a little superfluous to the actual needs of the production.

Another major design change is that of the Wizards angry mask façade, which in this production has been replaced by a projected vision of a blood shot eye, which on first impressions seem a little odd but when paired next to the Stalinist portrayal of the Wizard himself ( a brooding and moody Eero Saarinen) then it seems to fit with the ‘Big Brother’ nature of the Russian influence on its neighbouring country.

It has to be said that the costumes of this production are brilliant, with nods to the iconic costumes of the film, but with a touch or originality perhaps provided the design team with the biggest win of the show, as the narrative gets darker and more menacing so do the costumes and this can be evidently seen in Elphaba’s “Bad Witch” costume in Act two with blood red veins running through the dark black and Madame Morribles S&M influenced leather costume.

So what of the performers? Well I must say now that I do not speak a single word of Finnish so it is hard to say how good the interpretations of the script are, but I know the show well enough to be able to follow the story line and know what should be happening at every stage of the way. Although some of the references that stick in mind that didn’t seem to work in front of an audience include ‘Blonde’ in Loathing not really funny when 80% of your audience is in fact blonde!

Well needless to say the performances in general are slightly more exaggerated, but this again is closely linked with the general performance style of Scandinavian theatre. I really enjoyed Ursula Salo as Madame Morrible, who delivers a nicely balanced portrayal which contrasts the nice and evil side of the character brilliantly. Tuukka Leppänen as Fiyero gives a more masculine performance than what we are used to seeing in the UK and this is a breath of fresh air, here we have a character who really does appear to have military experience and it is clear to see why the female characters would fall in love with him, his roguish good looks and husky singing voice moulds into a great rendition.

Taking on the role of Galinda is Anna-Maija Tuokko and she is every bit the blonde female  we have come to love about the character, she is ditzy and as comical as the best  of them and has a beautiful crisp singing voice that is a delight to hear, but the show is really stolen by Maria Ylipää whose Elphaba also takes on a fresh delivery giving us a witch that is slightly more cheeky than geeky, her expressions are first class and had me mesmerised from the off, It is also right to point out that it is the first time in a production of Wicked that I have perhaps found the character of Elphaba attractive (I don’t know what that says about me!) Ylipää brings a clarity in the role that is so often lost, her transition through the narrative is wonderfully conceived, I could listen to her rendition of ‘Not that Girl’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ again and again.

What stuck out for me about listening to the songs being sung in a foreign language as I listened more intently to what was being played and indeed the pitch of the vocal delivery and this only heightened my appreciation for Schwartz’s compositions.

One of the things that is clear to see throughout the production is that it has been designed with a regionalised audience in mind, and has been designed to include references and cultural aspects which may seem a little odd at first glance to someone from another country. Yes this production lacks the multi-million pound budget that has clearly graced Broadway/Australia/London but it is evident that the team care for the product that they have presented.  Some of the decisions are a little strange whilst others work so much better than what we have become accustomed to in the UK.

Let’s start off with the strange choices – the first comes with the Wizard’s Show in One Short Day, which has almost been turned into a hard house club complete with pole dancers, it all seems a little lurid and salacious, perhaps though this is a nod back to the original Maguire novel and its extremely dark undertones that seem to have been missing from the family friendly musical. The other strange decision was the inclusion of dancers clad in body stockings giving a naked appearance and rolling around in blow up balls and moving around the stage during ‘Wonderful’ to this day I still do not have clue what that is about. The final directing bone of contention came during my favourite moment of the show ‘For Good’ this for me is a song that deserves the audiences full attention, the lyrics and sentiment of the whole show rest in this one song, so to have aerial acrobatics going on throughout the first verse and chorus taking away the powerful connection between the two leads seems a little misguided.

What of the good? For most the simplicity of the staging means that focus has to be on the storytelling and as mentioned above the inclusion of Dorothy throughout really benefits the narrative and helps strengthen the sub plots throughout the piece.  The next was the staging of Defying Gravity, and for me the way in which it was presented and the flight delivered is so much more effective here the simplicity of actually being flown rather than hoisted on a hidden platform is much more magical, whilst we are on the subject of magical moments Elphaba’s melting scene is brilliantly conceived thanks to the use of smoke and lasers and If I was in charge of the productions around the globe, this would be adopted and implemented in every production as soon as possible.

Overall I really enjoyed my Wicked: Helsinki experience and am grateful that I was able to experience it first hand. If you are a wicked fan then this may be the unique experience you need to relive that ‘first time’ feeling all over again. Although how long it will run is another question altogether as the Thursday night performance I attended was only two thirds full…again though on first instinct that doesn’t seem too positive but from my experience of Finnish theatre, which runs on a system much akin to our old 1960’s style rep, long running shows don’t seem to be a common occurrence, in fact they are extremely rare indeed.

Thanks so much John for sending in this review…it makes me want to buy tickets (and a plane fare) and go and see it right now!!  Who else is feeling that after reading it?? John is the Editor of amazing theatre review website www.thepublicreviews.com (where the public review shows) and can be followed on twitter on @publicreviews and @laughingmonsta.

Jo x

Link to the official programme to view online: http://www.b-guided.net/kat/1145.html

I hope you’re all doing well.  I don’t know whether it comes with being recently engaged or just is a part of me anyway but I am so excited about this royal wedding!! I remember watching Sophie and Edward’s wedding as a kid and absolutely loving it.  I know that loads of people are hating all the hype surrounding it but I am defo on ‘Team Wedding’!! I can’t wait to see Kate’s dress and will definitely be watching the ceremony from start to finish.  I don’t think I’ll be up at 6am for the beginning of the broadcast though.  I can’t wait to see Scofe (Phillip Scofield) doing the coverage but I will miss Holly by his side.  With all this talk of weddings, super car insurance and Louise Dearman loving website Confused.com have compiled some facts and stats about some mega important weddings for us wedding junkies to compare and contrast!!

I hope you enjoy looking through them, do comment if you see something interesting/intriguing!

I’ve got a wedding planning update in the pipeline but am having a busy time at the moment!! See you next time…

MH xXx

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT!! Thanks to Confused.com for sending this!!

Infographic by Confused.com – Compare cheap car insurance in minutes.
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So…if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you will know that it’s been quite an exciting few weeks. Not only is the second MiniHobo giveaway in full swing (this time it’s WICKED themed) but I was lucky enough to be given tickets to see Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for my birthday. Both of these are fabulously exciting things to be happening. However, in my personal life, things have been extremely exciting too! On the 19th February 2011 my boyfriend, Matt, took me to my favourite place in the whole world, a residential centre set in the heart of the South Downs called Dalesdown. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and I said “Yeeeeeesssss”!!

So, being an engaged lady in her final year of university with parents who don’t spend much ‘holiday’ time in the UK, it was important to set a date and get a venue booked soon as these places fill up. We spent the following week toying with places big and small, new and old, pretty and pretty ugly to find our perfect venue. We’ve chosen a date during the Olympics in 2012 as the special day!

So…what does this have to do with MiniHobo.com?? Well, as I will be busy wedding planning and starting a new job over the next 12 months, I won’t have the time or money to be buying expensive musical tickets. That being said, there will be the odd visit – for example Kerry Ellis Anthems at the Royal Albert Hall and a Wicked visit soon to see Mark Evans as Fiyero – and reviews will still come in from other people like George, Donal and maybe even another few international reviews! If you want to review anything you’ve seen for MiniHobo.com just email me at minihobo.jo@gmail.com .

In order for me to keep up the blogging and for you to know what I’m up to I’m adding in a new dimension to MiniHobo.com and so I present you with the ‘Wedding Planning MiniHobo Style’ section (of which this is the first post of many). Here I will keep you up to date and this section will involve three things.
1 – News about how my wedding planning is coming along.
2 – Reviews of venues, bands, photographers, make up artists, hairdressers…etc – basically some Sussex based people providing wedding services.
3 – Tips and tricks that can make a wedding better, cheaper, cooler…etc
And possibly…
4 – Some guest posts from other future brides giving an insight into their experiences and giving advice.

So, what is left to say is I hope you still follow the site, like I say everything else will NOT stop…I am just adding another dimension to MiniHobo.com. If you know of any future brides (or are one yourself) who would be interested in guest posting do email me at minihobo.jo@gmail.com and I’d love to hear from you.

And let me know if there’s anything I can do for you or anything else you want to hear/see/read/watch!
Hope you’re all good!
Jo
(MiniHobo)
xXx

Date: 22/3/11

Starring: Ruth Bratt (Donald!), Pippa Evans (Kate), Sean McCann (Director), Adam Meggido (Frank), Philip Pellew (Jackie Chan) and Andrew Pugsley (Kalica/o)!!

Words and Music: All of the above with Duncan Walsh-Atkins and Chris Ash.

Opened: Only 8 Tuesdays in March/April

Theatre: Ambassadors Theatre

Seats: B7 & B8

Seat Review: Front row seats, absolutely amazing, a very high stage but didn’t miss any of the action.

Price: £17.50

Visit number: 1

Rating out of 10: 10

Recommend: Abosutely – I don’t recommend this…I insist you book tickets to see this show – YOU MUST!!

Describe it in 5 words: Genius, hilarious, unbelievable, indescribable, unique.

MiniHobo’s Review:

WOW!! In order to begin this review I’m going to have to give you some idea of what happened!! This show advertises itself as a ‘fully realised musical made up on the spot based on audience suggestions.’  It sounds insane and unbelievable.  That’s what I thought when my friend gave me the info sheet for my 22nd birthday.  ‘No way’, I thought, ‘can they make up a full musical – including music, lyrics, storyline, plot, setting, characters and theme – on the spot according to what the audience suggest.’

The MC/director sets the scene with a phonecall from Cameron Mackintosh proposing a new musical production including a recap of the previous shows title and plot (also chosen by the previous audience).  Mackintosh rejects that idea and so we, as an audience, must help the director with ideas for his new production.  At this point the audience erupts with ideas of a setting (for us a nightclub in taiwan), specific characters and details (Jackie Chan and Desmond Tutu were to be involved) and themes for some of the musical numbers (Priscilla and Lion King numbers were suggested with a mash up of Mamma Mia and Kurt Vile).  This is all noted at the front of the stage and then a title is suggested, again from the audience.  Ours was ‘Dancing With Jackie At Twelve’.  All our ideas were displayed and the Director told Cameron that he’d be ready to present the show in 70 minutes and so…the show began.

Now, as much as I loved the idea of this on paper, I truly did not believe it could work in reality.  I think, for that reason, this show completely knocked me off me feet.  Not only was every element of the show decided by the audience…every musical number, of which there were at least 10, was made up ON THE SPOT with an extremely talented pianist having to decifer keys that people had burst into song in, keep to tempo with the singers and direct the woodwind player beside him.  It was just insane and incredible.

The plot of the story unfolded through improvisation…as did the characters.  Occasionally the actors would freeze while the director either summarised the scene occurring or prompted the next scene.  E.g. at one point he stood up and announced that the 6 characters would create a sumo-wrestling ring in the style of a Lion King number.  What followed was the funniest piece of theatre I’ve ever seen – it’s so hard to believe it was completely improvised but it was from start to finish.  Each actor and actress came out in different lion king appropriate attire (from all the red and black props) howling Lion King style warbles and singing in Elton John style lyrics.

On their website, ShowStopper! keeps an archive of every show they’ve ever performed so you can head there to have a look at some of the insane titles they’ve had to wrestle with including ‘An elephant sits on Justin Bieber’ and ‘I saw it in the laundry’!! They also recap on the plots and highlights of every show.

So, to summarise, this was quite simply the most amazing piece of theatre I’ve ever seen.  I will be booking to go and see it again and if I didn’t have a Uni Assignment in this week I would be going to Brighton to see them tomorrow (Thurs March 24th).  If you appreciate comedy, music or theatre in any way you absolutely must see this show.  I can’t guarantee what the plot of the show you see with be BUT I can guarantee that if you share your ideas at the beginning they will weave it somehow into their crazy but genius songs, words and actions!

Have you seen ShowStopper!? Did you hear it on the radio? What do you think??

MH xXx

Tickets can be bought here.