Review: The Play That Goes Wrong, West End

RATING: ★★★★★

I finally saw The Play That Goes Wrong last weekend and it's wonderfully funny and a technical marvel. I went with my best friend from back home, Alex, who was in town for about 30 hours, as an early birthday present and we were both amazed. The design and the set are definitely the stars of the show. 

I couldn't be more impressed by Nigel Hook, the set designer, for the way that he built a set that is able to fall apart over the course of the play -- and still somehow pass health and safety regulations. In addition to having some amazing functional aspects, it's just a lovely set to look at as well. Kudos also must be given to director Mark Bell for navigating an impressive cast through the piece. 

The Play That Goes Wrong is about a theatre group doing a show called The Murder at Haversham Manor, but things don't exactly go as planned. Between injured actors, forgotten lines, set pieces breaking, and a missing dog, their opening night is a bit of a disaster. Each actor plays two roles: their character and the character that they are playing in the play within the play which is quite good fun as you get to see them slip between the two as mistakes occur. 

I recommend getting to the theatre a bit early as some of the cast members and the 'tech crew' (mostly the understudies and swings, I believe) come out into the theatre and chat with the audience before the show begins. One running gag that I loved was that they're looking for the show's dog, which they've lost. The hijinks continue out in the hallways during the interval: I was handed a flyer for the lost dog on my way to the loo. 

I also would recommend grabbing a programme for the show, as the first part of it is a fake programme for the show within the show which is very amusing. 

Katie Bernstein is delightfully funny as Annie, the stage manager who is last minute thrust into an acting role. Edward Howells is similarly charming as Dennis and very good at the physical comedy aspects of the show. I love Patrick Warner's top of show and top of second act speeches as Chris, the head of the theatre company in addition to playing the lead in the show. 

We also saw understudy James Watterson as Jonathan, I believe, and I would never have guessed that he was the understudy before looking at the programme. My favorite performance though was Graeme Rooney as the tech guy, Trevor, who is absolutely hilarious. 

I highly recommend going to check out this show in the West End, on UK tour, or on Broadway if you have a chance. It's worth it for the technical aspects alone and just a fun night at the theatre. I may have to go see it on tour as well... 

Check out my video review of the show as well:

Photo Credit: Helen Murray of a past West End cast for The Play That Goes Wrong

A Little Life Update

I realized that the last life chat I wrote was in January, so I thought it might be nice to give you all a little update as the summer begins. I'm moving into the last stretch of graduate school and it seems crazy to me that I'll be moving back to the States in just a few months.

I've finished all of my graduate school classes and am just waiting for the results of my second round of essays. I'll be spending the summer working on my dissertation, which questions what factors influence a theatre choosing to film a certain production over another. I'm so excited to get working on it -- and thrilled that I don't have to go to class anymore!

I've been interning at the Donmar Warehouse in the development department since the end of January and I've never been so in love with anything before in my life. I was a little worried that my expectations were too high, but it's blown me away. Not only are the productions incredible (The York Realist is definitely one of my top ten shows I've ever seen), but the people are so wonderful and lovely. I've extended my internship so I'll be staying through to the end of July and I'm already dreading my last day.

I've done some traveling over the spring, from day trips out to Brighton and Oxford to a spring break trip to Paris with my friend Patrizia. We had a great time in Paris and I finally got to visit Victor Hugo's house and burial site so I was very pleased. I've got some amazing travel planned for this summer too, including a trip to Disneyland Paris.

I've also had some lovely visitors in 2018 thus far, including my cousin Kristi and my friend from Elon, Stefanie, and my friend from New York, Julie. I also got to spend some time with my friend Skylar when he visited for his spring break and my best friend from home, Alex, was here over the weekend on a layover for about thirty hours. I'm looking forward to seeing Julie again and having Kimmy visit this summer. But mostly I can't wait for my family to come!

I've continued working at the Dickens Museum one morning every weekend, in addition to picking up the odd additional shift. I continue to absolutely adore it and some of my co-workers have become lovely friends of mine. I have developed a strange fondness for Charles Dickens that has very little to do for his work -- I suppose I'm a bit grateful to him for his former house becoming sort of like my home here in London.

I'm also doing a lot of writing for BroadwayWorld, both interviews and reviewing. I saw a poster for a musical with a quote for a review that I wrote which has long been a pipe-dream of mine, so that absolutely thrilled me.

The other big development of the spring is that I fell head over heels for a musical called The Grinning Man. It's based on a lesser-known Victor Hugo novel and integrated semi-immersive theatre, beautiful puppetry by some of the same people who worked on War Horse, and stunning vocals by an actor called Louis Maskell.

I ended up seeing it six times: the most I've ever seen one production. It also makes it tied for my second most seen show (Les Mis is still number one, but The Grinning Man is tied with Kinky Boots for the number two spot). While it closed earlier this month, I have high hopes that it'll make it to Broadway one day.

I've also been spending a lot more time around the RADA with my friend Rhiannon who studies technical theatre there. I'm looking forward to seeing more of their shows in a couple of weeks.

I'll definitely check back in at the end of the summer, before I head back to the States and end my time in London. What have you all been up to in 2018 thus far? I'd love to hear in the comments below or on Twitter. 

Review: Bright Star, US Tour

A.J. Shively, Carmen Cusack, and Patrick Cummings

RATING: ★★★★★

While I was home in April, I was lucky enough to catch Bright Star on tour with my mom, sister, aunt, and uncle. It was my aunt and uncle who told me about the bluegrass musical a couple of years ago before I spent the summer in New York. I saw the show on Broadway and fell absolutely in love with it and then shared that love with my family (the cast album CD is always in my mom's car now), so it was great for us to be able to treat them to actually see the show.

The show is set in North Carolina from the 1920s to 1940s, so it was really special to get to see it in my home state. (You could tell the audience loved hearing town names that they knew.) The show follows two separate but connected storylines. The first is about young headstrong Alice Murphy and her beau Jimmy Ray, the son of the mayor of the rural town they live in. The second follows an aspiring writer recently returned from World War II named Billy, the girl who loves him, and his editor...Alice Murphy.

It's a charming story that will pull at your heartstrings and might even make you cry. Written by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell, it uses bluegrass music to evoke the North Carolina of the last century. The tour shares the same creative team, including director Walter Bobbie, as the show's original Broadway run in 2016.

A. J. Shively and Carmen Cusack 

Having seen the original Broadway cast and fallen in love with every member of it, I was a little bit nervous about seeing the tour cast. However, for the most part, they absolutely are as brilliant as the original cast and make the roles all their own. Audrey Cardwell plays Alice Murphy and she has a gorgeous, strong voice, even if it's not quite as bluegrass twangy as original Alice, Carmen Cusack. Her acting is similarly strong and I was particularly impressed by how she manages to differentiate her character's young and older versions. She brings a vulnerability to the role that I found compelling and her songs like "If You Knew My Story" and "Way Back in the Day" are definite highlights.

Patrick Cummings is wonderful as the charismatic Jimmy Ray. His two solos, "Whoa Mama" and "Heartbreaker" are my two favorite songs in the show, though they sit at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, and he absolutely does justice to both. While Henry Gottfried has a great voice as Billy Cane, I felt that his acting occasionally is a bit lacking. In a few scenes, Billy ends up feeling goofy rather than charming.

My favorite performance is definitely Liana Hunt as Margo, Billy's childhood friend. I saw Hunt as Katherine in Newsies a few years ago and was excited to see her in another role. Her big solo, "Asheville", is one of the most tender, lovely moments of the show. She makes me wish that Margo had more scenes!

Carmen Cusack 

Alison Briner-Dardenne (who also played the role in the original Broadway cast) and John Leslie Wolfe are very lovely as Alice's parents. Jeff Austin makes the small role of Mayor Josiah Dobbs, Jimmy Ray's father, actually a bit terrifying. I definitely recognized something in him that I see in many politicians in my country currently, unfortunately.

One of the best parts of the show are the staff at Alice's magazine's office, Daryl and Lucy (played by Kaitlyn Davidson). I remember adoring Jeff Blumenkrantz's hilarious performance as Daryl when I saw the show on Broadway, so I couldn't be more thrilled that he's a part of the tour cast. The pair provide the comic relief, which is much needed are certain points.

The show features beautiful choreography by Josh Rhodes, in particular the swing dance parts and the entire scene around the song "Asheville". The scenic design by Eugene Lee is similarly stunning, with the bluegrass band being located in a small cabin that's moved around the stage and sometimes used by the characters are well. I also love the small train that occasionally goes across a rail at the top of the stage. The costumes by Jane Greenwood are just wonderful; I wish I could wear every single one of Margo's dresses. 

A. J. Shively, Kaitlyn Davidson, and Jeff Blumenkrantz 

While the show was missing a bit of the magic of the original Broadway production, it's still a wonderful heartwarming show and definitely a tour worth seeing. As a North Carolinian, it is so special to see such a beautiful story set in my own state and based on the true story of the Iron Mountain Baby (look it up, but beware that it contains spoilers for the show). If you can't make it to the tour, I recommend checking out the album on iTunes. I personally would love to see the show come to the West End one day...I've already got a dream cast all worked out.

If you live in Texas or North Carolina, you've still got a chance to see the show on its last two tour stops later this summer. 

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz of the original LA tour cast 

All About SeatPlan.com

One of the biggest struggles that I have when booking tickets for shows is not knowing what the view will be like from a specific seat. Theatres are structured so differently that sometimes a seat in one theatre is great, while in another theatre that same seat might be terrible. Stages tend to be different heights (influencing the view from the front row), seats are spaced differently, and some theatres have columns that obstruct views.

Recently, I was booking tickets to The Play That Goes Wrong as an early birthday treat for my best friend when he comes to visit London later this month. I've never been in the theatre, but I stumbled across SeatPlan.com while trying to find out what the inside of the theatre looks like. Imagine my delight when they contacted me only a few days later to ask if I was interested in reviewing their sight!

The site has seating charts for a bunch of theatres from across the UK, including London, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, and a few others. (You don't even need to know the name of the theatre; you can search by show.) You can click on specific seats to see reviews of them, complete with star ratings of comfort, legroom, and view. A lot of the reviews also feature photos from the seat which are incredibly helpful.

I recently used SeatPlan to check out the seat that I bought for when I see Heathers at The Other Palace later this summer.

The Other Palace

 You can sign up to the site to submit reviews of your own. If you upload a photo with your review, then you get points which you can later cash in for theatre tokens. I haven't done this yet, but you can bet I'll be doing it in the future! You can also buy tickets directly through SeatPlan which is a great feature.

The Queen's Theatre

Have you guys tried out SeatPlan? Whether you actively submit reviews or just use it to check your seats before purchasing, it's a great resource for the British theatre community.

Advice for Theatre Reviewers

Recently, my editor at BroadwayWorld UK sent out a request for some advice about writing theatre reviews for a new initiative that is starting up. We ended up with a long email chain of advice, much of which I wish I'd heard when I first started writing reviews.

Of course, a lot of theatre reviewing is learning as you go, but I wanted to share with all of you what I sent in response in case any of my readers are thinking about becoming reviewers. I have four main tips:

Don't worry about what other reviewers are saying. 
When I first started writing reviews, I worried if mine differed from other reviewers' and if I was giving a show the same star rating everyone else was. However, I've since come to realize that I often enjoy when reviewers disagree about a show because it gives you a more holistic view of it as someone who hasn't seen it if you hear both the positive and negative opinions of it. Occasionally, I'm at odds with the rest of the critics on something, but I'm accepting that that's okay.

Don't try to take tons of notes during the show.
The first show that I reviewed for BroadwayWorld UK, I was surprised to see lots of other critics scribbling down notes furiously during the play. For the next few shows I saw, I tried to do this too but found it didn't help me that much -- and was disruptive to those around me. Now, I'll have a notebook within reach in case I want to quickly jot something down but most of the time I wait until interval and then the Tube ride home to write down notes. (My exception to this is when I review concerts as I note down who sang what songs.) 

Prepare before you go. 
Before I go to a show, I always make sure that I have whatever production photos I need from the PR and have read the whole press release. If I have time, I'll set up my review documents and even write down the names of the cast and creatives or write my paragraph about the production's history (example: is it a new play? Has this playwright done anything else recently? Is it a revival? If so, when was it last produced?). This makes my job easier when I get home to write my review.

Review the show for what it is. 
Nothing makes me more annoyed than when I read a review that clearly didn't take the show for what it was. For example, a lot of the other critics bashed Ruthless the Musical but I thought it was rather good...for a campy musical. In my review, I said that while it's not for everyone, it's a bit of good fun if that's what you want. Basically, don't review a panto as though it's a serious musical. I always try to acknowledge if something just isn't to my personal tastes, but is still a good production for what it is.

Do you have any tips for reviewing shows? What do you prefer to see in a review? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

All About Theatre in the Fields

When I first heard about the new venture Theatre in the Fields back in February, I knew I had to feature it on the blog (yes, this post has been a long time coming). Artistic Director Lee Dillon-Stuart and Creative Director Tabitha Tingey have created a brand new theatre festival for the UK this summer.

Also helping to organise 'The Furneux Fringe' are Herts writer Hester Tingey and Louise Seddon of Brook Cottage Farm.

Both Lee and Tabitha are actors in their own right; I actually saw Lee in Les Mis a few years back and he is also a budding writer and director as well. When they saw the success of a festival at Brook Cottage Farm last year which Hester helped organise, they realized it would be the perfect space for a new theatre festival.

The festival will launch this year on Saturday 28th July at Brook Cottage Farm in Furneux Pelham. Lee says to think of it as "a mini Edinburgh Fringe" all centralized into one compact space. They're reaching out to local acting charities and planning on splitting box office monies between actors at each mini-venue.

The festival is focused on inclusion and "giving people from all areas of the arts space, a chance to try it out", according to Lee.

Actors can choose to camp overnight at the venue so it should be a great time and a lovely atmosphere in the middle of the Hertfordshire countryside.

Last week, they announced their first few shows: Buckle Up Theatre Company's Bump and Blind Elephant's Games and After Liverpool. As someone who believes strongly in supporting new and upcoming work, I think this festival is a great idea - especially for those who can't make the journey up to Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe.

The farm has various small venues: the Black Box Barn, the Cabaret/Comedy Stables, the New York and Rehearsed Reading Tent, the Haybale Amphitheatre, the Yoga and Mindfulness in Theatre Bell-Tent, the Kids' Theatre Tent, and the Main Stage.

The festival will last from 10 am to 10 pm and there will also be food and drink stalls throughout the day. Theatre in the Fields is only a little over a half hour journey from London and tickets are very reasonably priced with just £10 for the normal rate.

Any performers or theatre companies wishing to take part should send them an email. You can also sign up to be a volunteer at the festival. Otherwise, make sure to follow them on Twitter to keep up to date and to buy tickets on their website ahead of their July premiere which is sure to be a blast.

Review: When the Curtain Falls (Album & Concert) by Carrie Hope Fletcher

It won't come to a shock to any of my readers that when Carrie Hope Fletcher announced that she was releasing an album, I was absolutely thrilled. Carrie has long been one of my favorite performers and I've always hoped that an album would make an appearance one day. "When The Curtain Falls" is certainly worth the wait as it's a lovely mix of musical theatre songs and Disney ballads. 

The album is certain to please Carrie's fans, but isn't exactly what you'd expect from her. While a Les Mis song does feature, it's "I Dreamed a Dream" and there's no Addams Family or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in sight. I've heard her sing "Burn" and "Let It Go" before and am excited to have professional recordings of them but her "Just Keep Moving the Line" blew me away. 

I was also delighted to hear "No One Else" from one of my favorite musicals Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 as it shows off Carrie's higher range which we don't often get to hear. And she recorded a gorgeous version of one of my favorite Disney solos "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" which is too often overlooked. 

I even learned some new songs thanks to Carrie's album as I'd never heard "Times Are Hard for Dreams" from Amélie or "What It Means to Be A Friend" from 13 The Musical before. I loved the jazzy rendition of "Journey to the Past" and "Summertime" is both lovely and very touching thanks to the backstory of it being the first song she learned -- and the fact that her dad plays guitar on the track. 

Overall, it's a beautiful debut album which showcases Carrie's vocal talents and I think her storytelling as well through her song choices. If the songs on this album are anything to go by, Carrie has seen some hard times but is determined and ready to make a great future for herself. At only forty-five minutes long, I find myself wanting more! (But that's the curse of someone who's used to listening to cast albums.) 

I did the pre-order of the album and while it only got to me on Monday of this week thanks to delays probably due to the Bank Holiday weekend, it was definitely worth it. There's some lovely photos and writing from Carrie and it's signed -- not just on the front cover, but on the CD inside as well which is a lovely touch. Plus there's a little bonus extra on the end of the album. I don't want to spoil it, but let me say that I was so shocked and happy I yelled, "NO WAY" when I first heard it.  

I was so excited to happen to be living in London when Carrie did her first series of debut concerts. I attended the Saturday night show at Cadogan Hall (one of my favorite venues in the whole city) for what was truly a magical night. Although, I will admit that I cried a bit while Carrie sang "Let's Go Fly a Kite" because I so wished I could have my little sister and parents with me to experience it.

The concert was wonderfully produced by Club 11 and I was also impressed with the array of merchandise they had onsale in the lobby. I of course picked up a (signed!) programme and a (signed!) poster. Truly, I feel for Carrie for how many things she had to sign for the event.

It also must be said that Alex Parker is an absolute joy to watch play piano. I was seated in the third row on the side of the stalls closest to him and I kept getting a little distracted by how into the music he was. There's nothing like seeing someone who clearly loves what they're doing.

At the concert, Carrie performed a mix of some of the tracks from the album and some that didn't make it on. Since the first time I saw her as Eponine, I said that Carrie would make a great Elphaba so it was amazing to have my belief confirmed by hearing her sing "The Wizard and I." I also loved her Disney medley and especially when she sang "A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" which is actually my favorite Disney Parks song that not enough people appreciate.

I cried again hearing Carrie sing "On My Own." I saw her in the role of Eponine three times and I think I got emotional because I didn't think I'd ever get to hear her sing that song again; in actual honesty, I've never heard another Eponine come closer to her performance. Perhaps it was also just knowing what that song and Carrie's performance of the character meant to me in my late teen years that made me so weepy.

Carrie was joined by two of her former leading men, Rob Houchen and Oliver Ormson, as special guests for the concerts. (Her brother Tom Fletcher was also at Sunday's concert as a guest, but I sadly missed that.) I was lucky enough to see both Oliver and Rob in their roles opposite Carrie so I couldn't have been more thrilled. She and Rob did a stunning performance of "Seventeen" from Heathers and she and Oliver sang "Only Us" from Dear Evan Hansen. If we could get a production of Heathers with Carrie as Veronica ASAP, that would be great.

I highly recommend the album if you're a fan of Carrie's, or just a fan of lovely musical theatre and Disney covers, as it's really quite special. And definitely keep an eye out in case Carrie decides to do more concerts; she may have been nervous (as she said on her YouTube channel) but she certainly knows how to put on a great show. x

I Went to the Olivier Awards!

Yesterday was the 2018 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London. For anyone who doesn't know, the Oliviers are basically the Tony Awards of the UK: the biggest night in theatre of the whole year. I was incredibly lucky to be asked to do social media for BroadwayWorld UK live from the red carpet and the press room.

I was so lucky to have fellow BWW UK videography Jamie with me as he was doing video interviews (going up on the website soon) and had attended the Oliviers before so had a better idea of how they worked. Plus, we took photos of each other on the red carpet before the event began!

In all honesty, it was a bit chaotic and hectic partially because it rained almost the entire time the red carpet was going on. By the end of the night, I was starving and still a bit soggy, plus my feet were on fire. But it was all absolutely worth it to get to be a part of such a magical night.

We got to speak to so many theatre legends that it felt a bit surreal. I also spotted many of my favorite actors on the red carpet who weren't doing the press line from Hadley Fraser to Rachelle Ann Go to Carolyn Maitland. 

Chita Rivera

Imelda Staunton

(Queen) Patti LuPone and director Marianne Elliot

Personally, I was so excited to see Carrie Hope Fletcher (who you are all probably very familiar with my love for) and Alfie Enoch. Of course, I know Alfie from the Harry Potter films (he played Dean Thomas) but I also met him at a Donmar Warehouse event recently and he's such a lovely guy. 

With Alfie Enoch

The beautiful Carrie Hope Fletcher

We also got to work the Winners Room where the Olivier winners come to do more interviews when they come off-stage. It was so endearing to see how shocked so many of the people were to have won. Plus, I can say I was in the same room as one of my favorite Broadway talents, Alex Lacamoire! #theroomwhereithappens

A cute moment between Jez Butterworth and Alfred Molina

Alex Lacamoire accepting the award for Hamilton

Director Marianne Elliot accepting the award for Angels in America

I'm still kind of reeling from the shock of actually being there. It's going to be hard to top that! Although I think someday I've like to be a guest at the Oliviers or the Tony Awards...and actually get to see the show! x

You can watch my Instagram story for BroadwayWorld UK here. 

Review: The Phantom of the Opera with Luke McCall (Phantom u/s)

Ben Lewis as the Phantom and Kelly Mathieson as Christine

RATING: ★★★★★

As a treat for Easter weekend, my friend Rhiannon and I went to see The Phantom of the Opera here in London. I'd seen the show twice before on Broadway, but never in the West End and the production at Her Majesty's Theatre is absolutely beautiful. It's one of the shows that first made me fall in love with theatre and seeing it again reminded me of why it's such a classic.

For anyone who doesn't know, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a young orphaned girl named Christine who is in the ballet corps of the Paris opera house.  She is receiving voice lessons from who she believes to be her "Angel of Music" sent to her by her father. This mysterious man is actually the supposed ghost who haunts the opera house, demanding his salary and adherence to his artistic input on all their productions. When Christine's childhood sweetheart Raoul becomes the opera house's new patron, things become rather complicated for her as she is thrust into the spotlight and into a love triangle between these two men.

I can only imagine what the reaction to Phantom's sets must have been when it first premiered in the 1980s because they are still stunning today. I have to admit that the chandelier rising in the opening scene made me gasp out loud and the "Masquerade" staircase is beautiful and perfectly evokes the real Paris opera house, which I visited last month. The costumes are equally beautiful; my personal favorite is Christine's "Wishing" dress.

The ensemble during "Masquerade"

While it's easy to view the show as a love story or even as centering around the dangerous but charismatic Phantom, seeing it this time made me realize that it's in many ways a coming of age story. I was struck by this tale of a young woman who has to fight to find her own voice and have a say in what's happening to her as multiple men attempt to manipulate her to their own purposes. (I cried during "Wandering Child" because I was so angry on her behalf!)

Georgia Ware is lovely as Christine's best friend, the promising dancer Meg Giry. Her dancing was beautiful (those lines!) and her voice was great as well. We saw the understudy for Carlotta, the opera's prima donna, Una Reynolds, who absolutely smashed what is a very difficult role. Her voice is perfect for this operatic part.

I thought Jeremy Taylor is a somewhat bland Raoul, though whether that's due to him or the direction is hard to say. Of course, Raoul is my favorite character, so I'm a bit picky but while Taylor's voice is lovely and well suited to the role, I feel that his Raoul is a bit lackluster and bland in terms of any character development.

Ben Lewis as the Phantom and Kelly Mathieson as Christine

We saw the second cover Phantom, Luke McCall, who is brilliant in the role. He's quite young to be playing the Phantom, I believe, but he is absolutely up to the task. In fact, he almost won me over to the Phantom's side! (And I am always one to point out that the Phantom's love for Christine isn't exactly healthy.)

Vocally, he reminded me of a mix between Ramin Karimloo and John Owen Jones (yes, an ideal Phantom) and his acting was amazing as well. While he was very dignified and sophisticated even in the first act, he really shone in the second act when his Phantom fell completely apart in the "Final Lair". I was legitimately a bit afraid of him, which is something I always consider a mark of an actor who understands the character!

Of course, the star of the show for me was Kelly Mathieson as Christine Daaé. I can't believe that it's her West End debut because she is absolutely perfect for the role. Her voice is effortlessly beautiful and she easily sings Christine's more tricky parts. (The role is undeniably very demanding.) However, what I appreciate most is that she brings across a real character arc. I love how playful her Christine is; it seems she takes the mask off the Phantom in "I Remember..." in a ploy to gain his attention, an angle I'd never seen played before.

If you've not seen the show before (or even if you have), the current cast of The Phantom of the Opera is well worth taking a visit to see. I may have to plan a return trip later this year to see Mathieson's Christine again and try to catch the principle Ben Lewis (who I've watched many times in the filmed Australian production of Love Never Dies) as the Phantom.

You can also watch my video review on my YouTube channel:

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

April Goals

Can you believe that 2018 is already a quarter over? I certainly can't! Here's my goal update for April; here's to having a productive start to spring!

Goals Update - March Goals

1) Properly document my trip to Paris. I definitely achieved this goal. Not only did I take lots of pictures for Instagram, I also vlogged bits of the trip. My friend Patrizia took all of our favorite photos and made a photo book for each of us; I know I'll cherish mine forever!

2) Decide on all my essay topics. I have now officially chosen my essay topics and am just waiting to hear back from my professors for their approval on them before really getting into my research. Luckily, because of the strike that's been going on this term, all our deadlines were pushed back a week -- something I truly needed.

3) Work out at least once a week. I utterly failed this one. I don't think I made it to the gym once in March, although I did a couple of Pilates videos at home. But honestly the amount of walking I did in Paris and the running about and lifting I did at the many Donmar events we had this month ought to count for it.

4) Make eight YouTube videos. I can't believe I hit this goal! I managed to upload eight videos during March and I'm actually so proud of all of them, especially my review of The Grinning Man and my Dream Roles video.

April Goals 

1) Finish almost all my essays. My essays are now due in late April and early May, but I want to try to finish them all during this month.

2) Film a video with my sister. I'm home for the last two weeks of April and since I didn't get to over Christmas break, I would love to film a video with my sister Hannah because I know she loves being on my channel (she's my biggest supporter for sure!).

3) Practice driving. I'm a bit worried that I've gone for so long without driving a car while living in London that I won't remember how to. So while I'm home, I definitely need to practice so I don't lose a skill I worked so hard to gain.

4) Workout four times. As I failed super epically at working out last month, I'm setting a very simple and achievable goal of working out four times this month. It's a really busy month but I'm hoping I can manage to fit four workouts in.

What are you hoping to accomplish this month? Let me know in the comments below. x