At the end of June, I was walking past the train station in Birmingham on my way to meet a friend for lunch. Just across the road is the now-iconic Black Sabbath mural, a striking tribute created by the brilliant Daniel Mr Mural. As I glanced over, I noticed a small crowd gathering and photographers.
And then I saw Tony Iommi and Bill Ward.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A jubilant and nostalgic homage to one of Britain’s most beloved pop groups. Sensational!
Back in February I had the privilege of speaking with award-winning director Rachel Kavanaugh and writer Shaun Kitcherner about their new project: Here & Now, a brand new musical based on the songs of British pop band Steps.
At the time, the casting process hadn’t yet started, but right from the beginning they were both passionate about roles being made available for “all types of ordinary people of all ages, young people, older people of all shapes and sizes, all heritages, all gender identities.”
And almost nine months later, after seeing snippets of cast rehearsals and interviews, ticket sales that were so poplar that extra nights were added and glowing initial reviews of early performances, I was eager to see whether it would deliver.
The wedding is off, but the honeymoon is on as the Stock, Aitkin and Waterman musical I Should Be So Lucky comes to the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
After Ella (Lucie-Mae Sumner) is left at the alter by fiancé Nathan (Billy Roberts), she decides to still go on her honeymoon to Turkey, accompanied by her family and friends. With guidance from video projections of THE Kylie Minogue in a large mirror, her broken heart starts to heal when she meets the handsome waiter Nadeem (Matthew Croke). Nathan realises his mistake and follows Ella to Turkey to win her back, but will she give him a second chance?
Stock, Aitken and Waterman are considered to be one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, with more than 100 UK top-40 hits, over 150 millions records sold, and have worked with some of the biggest selling artists in history.
When the announcement was made that a Stock, Aitkin and Waterman musical was in production, I was beside myself with excitement. Their music was the soundtrack to my youth and represents my earliest and favourite musical memories – Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan’s debut albums were the first I ever received on vinyl, I waited in line for over two hours at a music store in Blackpool to get an autographed single from Sonia, I had a poster of Big Fun on my wall… Even now, at 42 years old, I still remember every word from every song of that era.
Let’s just say I’m a fan. A huge fan.
FINALLY, we have the musical that all Steps fans (myself included) have been waiting for.
HERE & NOW is the hilarious and heart-warming brand new musical based on the songs of British pop band Steps, and I was lucky enough to bag an invite to the press launch at The Alexandra Theatre.
Welcome to seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after?’ Or does love have other plans in store…?
Formed in 1997, Steps has sold over 22 million records worldwide, and HERE & NOW is produced by the band themselves, along with ROYO and pop legend Pete Waterman. With an enormous (and loyal) fan base, the production has already broken the Alexandra Theatre box office records, selling TEN THOUSAND tickets within the first 24 hours of release ahead of their November shows.
A little while ago I was given the incredible opportunity to see a preview of the Christmas show at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham: Dreamgirls.
Dreamgirls tells the story of Effie, Lorrell and Deena – three talented young singers in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, a revolutionary time in American music history. We follow the journey of the three friends as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit.
In an effort to inject some positivity into my daily mindset and the online world I have created a Daily Gratitude Challenge and I am inviting everyone to participate. If you have missed my introductory post that explains the challenge and maps out the daily post schedule, visit here.
Day 14 of the Daily Gratitude Challenge focuses on songs and pieces of music that you are grateful for. A universal language, music is the one thing that we all have in common. Whether it is a song that makes you smile, reminds you of an amazing moment, celebration or a favourite memory, this is an opportunity to think about the songs and pieces of music that you are grateful for. Continue reading
*Warning: Spoilers*
Last night The Bloke and I went to see Hugh Jackman in concert at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.
While he’s most famous for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men film franchise and Barnum in The Greatest Showman, his career was built by performing in various musical theatre shows and his world tour entitled ‘The Man. The Music. The Shows’ takes the audience through his life and influences as a performer.
It’s something I have been looking forward to since The Bloke surprised me with tickets a few months ago – I’m obsessed with The Greatest Showman and when we were in New York last year we missed him by about half an hour at the coffee shop that he owns, so I couldn’t wait to be in the same space as someone who has achieved so much and still, by all accounts, remains a down-to-earth nice guy who adores his family. Continue reading
In 1996 I went to a Party in the Park festival with some of my friends. At the tender age of 15 I was generally a stadium rock and Brit Pop enthusiast and had started to go to concerts – my first being Bon Jovi, supported by Van Halen and Thunder at Cardiff Arms Park for the These Day’s tour in 1995, followed by Blur at the GMEX. Despite my general rock persuasions, I also had a perhaps stereotypical penchant for boy bands and teen-focused male singers. Take That tickets had always been impossible to get and they were on the verge of splitting up, so when I saw that Peter Andre would be performing I jumped at the chance to see him.
I remember it being a beautiful day, and I was looking forward to singing along to Mysterious Girl and screaming about how gorgeous he was. Unfortunately, when we arrived there was an announcement that he wouldn’t be attending that day as he was ill, along with a voice message from him apologising to fans. I was gutted. Continue reading
Those who follow the blog regularly will know that I love a good musical. I’ve been lucky enough to see a number of musicals performed in theatres both locally in Birmingham, in Manchester, on the West End in London and even on Broadway over the last decade. However, there’s one musical in particular that is my favourite above all the others, that I know inside out and will watch over and over while feeling like I’ve been reunited with a group of friends every time I do…
RENT.
As with most things, I was very late to the RENT party, only discovering its brilliance in 2016 – 20 years after its first Off Broadway performance, 11 years after the release of the movie and 8 years after its final Broadway performance. Continue reading
The Bloke and I are in London to celebrate The Bloke’s 50th birthday. We’re staying in an awesome apartment and have had a whole bunch of things on the itinerary for the last few days.
Last night we went to see Wicked for the first time. It has been something that we have both wanted to watch, and I have always been jealous of the fact that I never got to see the Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel partnership. Whenever we have come to London and wanted to see a show it has always seemed to either be sold out or too expensive and we have ended up going to watch something else instead. However, this time at least, as if the stars had aligned, we were able to get reasonably priced tickets in great seats, and I had been looking forward to it. Continue reading
Suzie Speaks 
You must be logged in to post a comment.