News about Chess in Concert

For those interested I found out that Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall will be on PBS in the spring of 09 and the CD and DVD will shortly be released following. It was an amazing concert and worth watching (Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal - who wouldn't want to see them sing together). Also if you are interested you can watch pretty much the whole concert on Youtube. Just type in Chess in Concert Royal Albert Hall and you can view pretty good clips of the concert. It really was amazing.

[This is a picture of the bows at the end of the concert. You can pick out Josh, Idina, Adam (he's looking at Idina), and Kerry Ellis (the blond).]

I'm on "Nobody's Side"....

I took this during the Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. That's right, I bootlegged. Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, and Kerry Ellis all sang in it. This video is Idina Menzel singing "Nobody's Side". It made me think of all the girls who sang it in the MCC summer kid shows. This is for them. Enjoy.

A Plethora of Shows: my London Theatre experience.

Here is the official list of all 46 shows that I had the chance to see while I was studying in London. As you can see it is a very long list and each show was a huge learning experience for me. I truly felt like I was in theatre heaven. I sucked the marrow out of the London theatre scene and I was filled to the brim with the joy of experience good theatre (and some bad). Hope you enjoy the list. If you want to know more about any of the performances just let me know and I will fill you in.

Theatre brings me closer to my Savior and helps me understand the importance of the gospel in my life. Theatre is a rare outlet where we can see up close the human existence and learn from it. It connects us to the divine. I know that Heavenly Father loves theatre and my experience in London confirmed that to me. So enjoy.

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre (musical)
Small Change at the Donmar
The Lover/The Collection at the Comedy Theatre
Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Roundhouse
Into the Hoods at the Novello Theatre (hip hop/break dance show)
The Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House (ballet)
War and Peace 1 & 2 at the Hampstead Theatre
Visiting Mr. Green at Trafalgar Studios 1
The Year of Magical Thinking at the National Theatre
King Lear at The Globe
Happy Now? at the National Theatre
Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (musical)
Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall (musical)
Pygmalion at the Old Vic
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe
The Bird Sanctuary at the Rosemary Theatre
The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre (spoof)
Hello and Goodbye at Trafalgar Studios 2
Fram at the National Theatre
Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace (musical)
Gone With the Wind at the New London Theatre (musical)
God of Carnage at the Gielgud Theatre
Aspects of Love at the New Wimbledon Theatre (musical)
The Cherry Orchard at the Chichester Festival
Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre (musical)
Life coach at Trafalgar Studio 2
Good Soul of Szechuan at the Young Vic
The Pitmen Painters at the National Theatre
Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre (musical)
Troilus & Cressida at the Barbican
Harper Regan at the National Theatre
Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Opera House (ballet)
Romeo and Juliet at the Open Air Theatre
Brief Encounter at The Cinema Haymarket
The Merchant of Venice at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard
The Taming of the Shrew at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard
Major Barbara at the National Theatre
The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal (musical)
The Deep Blue Sea at the Nimax Theatre
The Chalk Garden at the Donmar
After Life at the National Theatre
The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Globe
Story of a Rabbit at the Pit Theatre at the Barbican (multi-media performance art)
Fat Pig at Trafalgar Studios 1
Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre (musical)

(the picture is of me at The Globe Theatre at the production of King Lear)

Is it really the circle of life?

The first show I saw here was Disney's The Lion King. It was the first time I have seen it and I was really blown away by the spectacle of the production. The costumes, set, and lighting were amazing! The first scene when all the animals gather to honor Simba was breathtaking. But other than that it was kind of a let down. The majority of the acting was really campy and cheesy. The singing wasn't the best either. One of my favorite songs in the world is the song that the grown up Simba sings about his father called Endless Night. That song is deep and emotional and if sung right can really stir great emotion. Unfortunately the actor playing Simba screamed the song rather than sang it. It was a hard blow to us as audience members. On the other hand the actresses playing Nala and Rafike were brilliant. Their voices were amazing and their acting was strong. Overall I give this production a 7 out of 10.

Updates on London Shows

The following post will be short blurbs on the different shows I have seen here in London. It has been an interesting journey through the theatre world of London. Lot of ups and downs. I hope you enjoy these reviews.

Loving Life in London!

So I am currently in London participating in a study aboard program for theatre and it has been amazing so far. I've been here a week and since I arrived I've seen three plays, two musicals, and one ballet. My goal is to try and see a show every night because I'm here in order to gain the most theatre experience from this town as possible. From here on out I will give a full report of shows I've seen and the places I've been. I hope you enjoying reading what I write almost as much as I had in experiencing it.

So I've been thinking a lot about love lately. That's right. I'm a boy and I think about love. Shocking I know. Anyways. I was watching Dan in Real Life and at the end of it I found that I was really frustrated. Love isn't like it is in the movies. DUH! I know. Yet those of us who aren't gettin' any turn to these types of movies to fulfill our needs. Am I right or am I right? So I was confused to why I was so upset after watching Dan when I should be like, "Awwww, isn't love great." I realized that love has never come easy to me or anyone I know like it did in this movie. It is not possible for Dan to be so in love with Marie so quickly. How does he know that he loves her when he did all the talking when they first meet? During the rest of the movie did they ever see each other at their worst? Or best? Did they ever get to really know each other? No. In the real world it takes work to gain love. It takes time to know some one's inner workings before you actually fall in love. I recently heard a song that said, "I want to love without the push and the shove." Then what is the point in loving? I see love as something so precious and edifying that should be worked for and fought for. Before that happens its just lust or infatuation, not love. The people I love the most in this world are those that I have had hard times with but we worked through it and THEN our love grew for each other. It started out as appreciation or infatuation but it wasn't really love until it was truly tried or I should say we were tried and we worked through it. This idea of "movie love" gives us the notion that real love can happen in an instant and I say, that from my own life, this is not true. And it is difficult to date in a society that seems fixated on "movie love" in real life because when things get tough then people bail out. I'm a hopeless romantic. I love being in love. I love watching chick flicks because of this. But from my personal experience I know that to gain true love one must work for it. So my new title for Dan in Real Life is Dan in NOT Real Life. Its a more accurate description of the movie. If I offended you with this post....good. Because this is what life is like. Its work but in the end it can be worth it. I look forward to being in love again and finding that person who is willing to work at our love because they're going to have to :).

To blog or not to blog.......is that the question?

Why do we blog? What need does blogging fulfill? Why is our society beginning to base itself on this form of communication? The real question is: Why am I blogging? The answer to these questions is: who knows. Seriously. But here I am making a blog and here you are reading my blog and the world is still turning. I basically see this as a chance to let those around me know about my life and about how amazing I am. Seriously, again. So from here on out I promise excitement, love, adventure, and above all sex. Like the gender, duh. Get your mind out of the gutter. Anyways, I hope that all my blogs are interesting and they keep you coming back from more. Peace out!