Outing Ii (The Sequel)

[FastFreddy2 282]

Early days yet, and the event is in September .....

But booked tickets this morning to see "Wicked" at Apollo Victoria Theatre, London. I've only been waiting about 2 years ..... Finally, ticket promotion/availability/date/seat position, finally lined up.

I'd been looking at seats in a particular area, that usually had gone for around £90. With demand reducing, the tickets had reduced a little in price too, and there's a promotion during late September/October. Got two tickets, and all fees for £90. REALLY good seats too.

Had tried to book some good seats before, around birthdays or Christmas, the tickets being so costly they'd have to form part of a 'gift'. Getting a good day meant Mrs Freddy having the next day off work, as we're bound to have a fairly late night having to eat after the show. Had spent hours in the past trying to just get these three parts lined up. Today, I was in the right place at the right time.

I've a month to work out what shoes to wear. Heels, obviously .... but which ones?

[euchrid 21]

Wicked is coming to my hometown in 2014. That being the case, I checked it out to assess my likelihood of enjoying it.

- it's supposed to be a good show & it's been running for ages after all.

I was quite surprised therefore to discover a large number of extremely negetive reviews.

Some have likened it to a poorly-rehearsed school musical!!!

Suffice to say, it's put me off completely, even though the local ticket price will be in the £35 area.

I will just have to wait til Rocky Horror comes calling again.

[FastFreddy2 282]

I hope the reviews regarding "poorly-rehearsed school musical" is the travelling rep version, rather than the West End show? As far as the original one is concerned, I've read about people going several times, they liked it so much.

2014 still seems like a long way off. Plenty of time to hone their performance? If the West End show is as good as I hope it will be (and I don't much like musicals), I might be tempted to see it again in a more local venue. Though not too local, obviously ...

[euchrid 21]

I hope the reviews regarding "poorly-rehearsed school musical" is the travelling rep version, rather than the West End show? As far as the original one is concerned, I've read about people going several times, they liked it so much.

Alas, the bad reviews are all of the Apollo Victoria Theatre show.

a typical one:- http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186338-d2181739-r145613378-Wicked_the_Musical-London_England.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

There are plenty of excellent/very good reviews, although i suspect that a great many of those are posted by people with vested interests (know what I mean!) . Anyway, it's a case of Caveat Emptor as usual i suppose.

[hh4evr1 18]

Wicked is on my list of shows I want to see. I would have liked to see it when Idina Menzel played Elphaba (the wicked witch).

Defying gravity and For Good are my favourite songs from Wicked.

I have the cd of the original cast

I'm a musical fan and have seen afew in the West End and have more I would like to see.

Edited August 28, 2013 by hh4evr1

[FastFreddy2 282]

Alas, the bad reviews are all of the Apollo Victoria Theatre show.

a typical one:- http://www.tripadvis...HECK_RATES_CONT

Of 2282 reports, only 126 were disfavourable. That's 5% of those bothering to report. Given that the motivation for most reporting is dissatisfaction (as a human trait) I'm very happy with that ratio.

The four most recent reports:

"We are still humming the tunes"

4 of 5 stars.

Reviewed 28 August 2013

It was a full on show with all the extras. The theatre is gigantic and the show was packed. We got the tickets the same day and did not know what to expect. But it is understandable that it is still running after 9 years. Great night!

"Fabulous"

5 of 5 stars

Reviewed 28 August 2013

I took my 70 year old mum, 11 year old daughter and 8 year old son and we all absolutely loved it. The stage set is fab and the whole production just brilliant. The singing from the two "witches" is fantastic. We will definitely be going again. Only downside is due to the lack of toilets in the theatre, nothing to do with the show itself.

Visited August 2013

"Hot show (in more ways than one)"

5 of 5 stars

Reviewed 27 August 2013

Our favorite musical. However this one was unusual. We went during a heat wave and everyone in the theater was sweating. But it didn't detract from the show at all. Still one of the best first act endings in history.

Visited July 2013

"Simply Amazing"

5 of 5 stars

Reviewed 27 August 2013

The show was amazing!! Cast, music, scenery was of the highest quality!

If you like musical theatre and haven't seen this show, you must book!!

Visited August 2013

I had to go to reviewer No.8 to get this:

"Average"

3 of 5 stars

Reviewed 26 August 2013 (via mobile)

Very slow story line and difficult to follow but the singing, acting and good orchestra made the show bearable. Most musicals I would happily watch 2 or 3 times but not this one.

Coming from someone who found the Diana Princess of Wales Fountain "Moving" but also found the rebuilt Cutty Sark "average, so won't be returning...." I don't for a second believe our tastes are similar, so her experience is not pertinent to me anyway.

Given I don't much like musicals, I'm not expecting a life changing experience. But I've waited a long time to see it, and just as importantly, it's going to be a great excuse for wearing a 'girlie' heel. If I like it, I'll be doing it again at MK next year, providing I'm able to get tickets of course.

.....

Edited August 29, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[FastFreddy2 282]

Wicked is on my list of shows I want to see. I would have liked to see it when Idina Menzel played Elphaba (the wicked witch).

Me too, but I will not pay £92 for two hours of any entertainment, no matter who the singer is. [unless someone with a time machine goes back for Karen Carpenter.] I'm only going now, because I got in on a 2-4-1 deal which makes the ticket cost, just about bearable.

My big love is Puccini's 3 opera masterpieces, Turandot, Tosca, and Madam Butterfly.

After selling my first property, I moved back in with my parents. A bit flush I went to see Madame Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall. I (somehow) shared a box, not sure how that came about, but it was a very very very good seat. The let down was Pinkerton - a US Naval Officer in the early 1900's - being played by a (very competent) black singer ..... And the 15 years old Cio-Cio-San played by another competent singer, who wasn't slim and didn't look to be a day under 40 - despite the make-up. "Casting", obviously not very interested in character portrayal .....

Now that was a missed Trip Advisor report .....

Edited August 29, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[euchrid 21]

Anyone seen Rock Of Ages?

Now that the ginger tosser Justin Lee Collins has left the show, i wouldn't mind checking that one out.

Would need to be a 'discount tickets' thing though. I'm not an american tourist!

[FastFreddy2 282]

Anyone seen Rock Of Ages?

Now that the ginger tosser/convicted abuser Justin Lee Collins has left the show, i wouldn't mind checking that one out.

"Queen" ...... Probably gods to you heavy metal folk ..... But highly over-rated to us soul boys.

[euchrid 21]

Nope, it' not the Queen one - that's 'We Will Rock You'. All Queen songs presumably.

'Rock of Ages' covers a whole set of AOR / soft rock / hair metal bands, including Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Toto, Boston, etc.

Certainly not heavy metal although hopefully it'd be a powerful (i.e. Rocktastic!) show.

[FastFreddy2 282]

'Rock of Ages' covers a whole set of AOR / soft rock / hair metal bands, including Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Toto, Boston, etc.

Certainly not heavy metal although hopefully it'd be a powerful (i.e. Rocktastic!) show.

Rock/Heavy metal/Thrash ....... It's all the same to me.

[FastFreddy2 282]

The Sequel date approaches.

 

The weather has skipped Autumnal, and gone straight into Wintery. High winds and driving rain, and little change in sight. So while I was tempted to wear another pair of stiletto courts, I don't want to be arriving at the theatre with shoes full of water..... Looking more and more like a boots gig. Next question then, which ones, and why?

 

It'll doubtless be the highest, thinnest pair I own, provided I can get past the heel-down-pavement-crack concern. 

[hh4evr1 18]

Take a spare pair, just incase you get a heel caught in a pavement crack.

[FastFreddy2 282]

Take a spare pair, just incase you get a heel caught in a pavement crack.

 

I'll have more than one spare pair with me anyway, in case of heavy rain. [Dry will be leather, wet will be PU.] It's the scuffing a heel in a hole/crack/drain I want to completely avoid. That means block heels. While most attendees will be in fairly casual attire, I'd quite like to dress slightly more formally. To me, that means a high stiletto.

 

I keep saying I need to 'learn my lesson', trying to wear a slim heel along pavement, but where else would I wear such a heel and still feel comfortable doing it?

 

Jury is still out.

[FastFreddy2 282]

Seen at the Wicked on Tour opening night ......

 

 

 

 

 

More >> here <<

 

 

[FastFreddy2 282]

The deed is done.

 

And if I thought 'The Outing' was stressful, I had noooooooo idea! 

[FastFreddy2 282]

Part 1: ~ Preparation. [1]

 

 

The venue is located in a part of London I haven't passed for some time, Victoria. I used see the station en route South, many many years ago. Never a place I enjoyed going to, because the road system is a complete mess. It needs an organisation with some foresight (and a lot of money) to completely change how the area works. Hateful place.

 

The theatre is right next to the rail and underground station, which doubtless makes it easy to access for locals (Londoners), but less easy for us folk who live in the Home Counties outside of the London Transport System. Two return train fares add around £50 to the cost of the evening, where car travel might add £10. Not a hard choice? Well, not if you can get parked. As is the case around most UK transport systems these days (though not so 30+ years ago) car users are treated as 'cash cows' by local government. You are encouraged to use public transport, but parking near a rail station costs a LOT of money. With the show starting at 7.30pm, I would have an hour after the 6.30pm charging period ended, to find a free space and get to the theatre if I intended to keep the transport costs low.

 

Google is enormously helpful for this. I was able to view the area in detail using satellite imagery, and locate suitable parking areas by using the Streetview facility, just as I had done when visiting the Barbican. A road around 200 yards from the venue was selected, and one or two alternatives in the same area but further out. I elected to do a dry run before the actual night to check on transit times, and find out just how easy it would be to find parking on the night.

 

With an investment of £90 on tickets, it would be a shame to miss the start of the show, or worse, miss it all because I couldn't find a parking space!

 

 

 

With all other opportunities run out, I did the dry run the night before. The journey was a little more than 30 miles, but took the better part of two hours! With most traffic going out of London and me going in, you could be forgiven for thinking the route should be clear, but it wasn't. Junctions were full, roundabouts clogged. It was a frustratingly slow journey. In the great scheme of things, this didn't much matter, it just meant I had to start the important journey that much earlier.

 

The junctions around the station were worse than ever. At the moment there is a huge amount of roadworks going on, with high boarding hiding most of the few useful landmarks. As I approached Victoria, I quickly passed the junction I was looking for, and found myself driving past the station, past the theatre, on the road across the bridge South to Brighton. 

 

I turned off as soon as I could, and eventually weaved my way back through back streets to the junction I had passed. When I arrived, I found a space in the area I had hoped I could park the car. In fact, after a short while, there were a good number of spaces in my selected road. Result!

 

Walking back up to the main junction outside the station, I made visual notes of the boarding colour and position, where I would need to turn off at the following night...... It was easily missed, and I was not surprised I had passed the turning during the trial run. But then the whole purpose of the trial run was to iron out problems like this. 

 

The theatre wasn't as obvious as I had thought either. When driving past earlier, I had passed the rear of the theatre, though this was far from obvious as it was as well lit as the front. The real entrance to the theatre was actually 20 yards from the exit of Victoria rail station, which was handy as by this time, a visit to a toilet was necessary. At 30p if you don't mind. Unusually, I had some change with me.....

 

With road works producing temporary repairs to both roads and paths, with the occasional Victorian era cobbled space too, the walk from the car to the theatre was an obstacle course.   Wearing a thin heel could only produce a damaged thin heel. It was a conclusion hard to avoid. Some might think that a careful foot here, a careful foot there ..... But this is the lead area to a very busy station, and walking slowly would be a luxury. It also assumed travel times would allow the luxury of a slow walk with foot placement checked before use? No, a thin heel was almost certainly going to lead to tears.

 

 

 

.....

Edited September 25, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[FastFreddy2 282]

Part II: ~ Preparation [2]

 

 

The choice of shoe selection, had become something of an enigma.

 

I had bought and tried some heat-shrink tubing on a pair of ALDO heels a week or so earlier. I'd ordered several sizes, to see how the material would perform when shrunk with hair-drier grade temperatures, and to test how effective it would be at preventing scuffs. The material was tried on a shoe that had already been damaged and the result when treated with shoe-wax then polished, wasn't too bad. While the edge of the material was clearly visible when viewed at short distance (less than 2ft) in good daylight, it was imperceptible in poor light or at usual viewing distances. (6ft+)

 

 

If I were to wear slim heels, I would need smaller diameter heat shrink than I had already bought, so I ordered some up. Would it arrive in time? Certainly there was no way I would visit Victoria in stiletto's without some sort of protection on the heel, or damage to them would be a guaranteed event.

 

 

 

The smaller diameter heat shrink arrived 'on the day'. 

 

 

 

I spent some time trying to shrink the material off the shoes first. Shrinkage seemed to be a bit hit and miss on the first lengths of material, but grew more consistent further along the tube. I cut some to length, and used it on some suitable thin heeled shoes. It looked to work okay. Given how important the shoes were (and are), I used a second piece of tube on each shoe, effectively doubling the protection. Not only would this allow 2 scuffs per shoe before a third scrape would be needed to remove material, but a double skin would help prevent possible impact damage too. 

 

When polished and buffed, the effect was very good. At distance it looked like the semi-satin finish of polished leather. While the effectiveness of the protection was so far untried by me, I finally had some thin heeled shoes as a choice.

 

 

 

 

Further into the day, I selected the three pairs I would take with me.

 

The high and energy sapping, ASOS boots.

 Block heels, no heel protection.

 

These would be the last resort/backup choice. Completely suitable for the terrain around Victoria station, and quite well disguised. The downside would be the rise, and the tightness around the ankle. While pleasant to wear, they become hard work because of the tight/stiff leather around the ankle. A long walk in these, certainly provides something of a lower leg workout. If I got cold feet about wearing a heel out in daylight, or it rained, these would be my choice. 

 

The comfy and high ALDO shoe boots. 

More of a thick stiletto heel, with some protection.

 

I've walked some considerable distances in these before, at least once for 2 miles in a single outing, with no problems to my feet. They are a slightly loose fit on my foot, but have a reasonably high heel. While the frontal style appears quite unisex - verging on male, the heel makes it a very feminine style. If I had a disaster (broke a heel on the way to the theatre from the car), these would be my spares, or second choice.

 

The KG Saints, a completely untried shoe, and very hard to walk in.

 Slim/high, now with x2 layers of heat-shrink protection.

 

These are another; saved-for-something-special shoes. I had checked on the day, and all 3 pairs I would be taking had pretty much the same height heel. There literally was, no more than 2mm between them. The difference with this pair was, the toe-box pushed the toe upward, making them feel higher. (A delicious feeling!) As long as it didn't rain, these would be the shoes I wore.

 

 

All three pairs were readied, as was my selection of clothes to wear. I still needed to get clean, and maybe have a quick sandwich before leaving, but everything I could prepare - was prepared.

Edited September 26, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[FastFreddy2 282]

Part III ~ The Journey .

 

 

All the ducks are lined up. Mrs Freddy has arranged to get home early, to ensure we leave in plenty of time given my 2 hour journey time the night before. She arrives home at 3pm, and I hope we will leave at 4pm, giving us quite a margin for hold-ups.

 

I've checked with the local branch of Prezzo at Victoria, and last orders are 10.30pm which we are unlikely to make so a late dinner isn't going to be possible. If we arrive early, we can have a meal, if not, it's sandwiches from a Pret near the parking location.

 

Having missed my chance to be washed and ready earlier, Mrs Freddy is first in the bathroom as I can get ready in the time it takes her to 'do' her hair and makeup. Actually that isn't usually the cause of us being late somewhere, it's her 5 costume changes ..... Before putting the original choice back on. So I'm second in the bathroom .... 

 

Mrs Freddy has pulled out all the stops with her outfit. A black smock type dress, with fine black fishnets, and some stunning strappy (very) high heels. I have guaranteed her we have about 150 yard (200 yards tops) walk from the car to the theatre, so she has worn some very attractive heels.

 

 

Usually when I'm out in heels, I want to walk as far as I can in them. Herself has 'battle-weary' feet from a life in heels, and still suffers a little from a couple of foot injuries that won't completely disappear. Consequently, she will usually wear flat shoes on one of our jaunts out. This time it's a special event with minimal walking, a great opportunity for her to dress up a bit. Her dark clothes clashing well against her light blonde hair.

 

This time around, it's me that makes us a little late, faffing around with my clothes and footwear. We leave closer to 5pm than 4pm. Actually, it's nearly 5pm when we leave. I've put two breakfast bars (cereal bars) in with all the other bits we have with us. [shoes, extra/warmer clothes, hand wipes.] I doubt we'll need them but it pays to expect the unexpected.  As luck would have it, the weather has improved, so we leave enjoying warm dry weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drive Southward on the A1[M] into London, and approach the M25 intersection. There is a little work related traffic queueing to get on the Southbound exit ramp, but nothing to suggest we will hit any real volume of work traffic - people getting home for the weekend. This is a good sign.

 

A minute later, we pass a major road accident on the Northbound carriageway opposite on the approach to the M25 slip road. Four or five cars, with a large van - practically standing on its nose - right in the middle of the cars. It's obviously a bad accident.    A further indicator is that as we pass the queued traffic on the other carriageway, suddenly the road is empty. The obvious conclusion is the Police have closed all the Northbound' entry roads. In the UK, any death on the road is treated seriously, and a full investigative assessment is made on a (safer) closed road. [Our final conclusion then, is that someone may have lost their life in the accident.] We are a little confused by how this could have happened. Dry road and clear bright sunny sky. But it is "rush hour"?

 

 

Not having time (or inclination) to dwell on such unfortunate circumstances, we continue our journey South. Perhaps 3 or 4 miles further, we can see looming in the distance, a solid line of traffic queueing on our carriageway this time. We quickly realise, the roundabout [a further 3-ish miles away] where the Northbound carriageway has been closed off, must be gridlocked. Traffic used to leaving London at the rate of several hundred vehicles per minute, are not able to leave London on their usual route, and many won't be leaving on any route for some considerable time!

 

Luckily, we see this queue in time to leave the Southbound carriageway on the one exit left before having to join the queue, and take a Westward route planning to turn South again when we are a sufficient distance from the hold-up. We drive off the A1[M] and into Borehamwood. Traffic is slow going Westward, so we turn South early, onto a clear road. A mile up that road we come to a standstill. With hindsight I know the only traffic moving was that turning back toward the town we had just left. A chap in a 4x4 shouts to me as he returns back down the hill we are on, "Best turn back and go through ....... " I say that I don't know the route, can I follow him? He says yes, so I turn around and follow him back into Borehamwood. This trip up the hill has cost (wasted) perhaps 15 minutes.

 

We had a slow trip through the town, it clogged with traffic trying to move homeward. Eventually we find open road, and follow the driver of the 4x4 to a junction, where we turn South. After another couple of miles he pulls over, and approaches us now parked behind him. He says he is turning off, and we must continue South along the same route, I thank him for his help and soon both vehicles head off again. It's getting late, and we are worried we may not get to the theatre on time, or maybe not at all. There is an increasing awareness, the second main exit North for London traffic being closed, is slowly but surely creating grid-lock across the whole of North London on a day we could least afford it. I have serious doubts a car journey for the remainder of our trip is viable. We are about halfway, but it's taken an hour to get this far and the closer we get to the venue, the slower the pace of traffic. And that's without the added handicap of the grid-lock doubtless spreading throughout the area we are in.

 

While I continue driving, I get Mrs Freddy to phone-a-friend who just happens to be sat in front of his computer. She tells him where we are, and what's happened. He looks for a tube station close to us, and works out the route we must take to Victoria. It's a 15 stop journey, with possibly borderline success, given we have to find parking when we get to the station.

 

Eventually we lose our guide, and fortunately I recognise the road we have found ourselves on. We are driving in open countryside, entering a wealthy part of London's green suburbia that is Stanmore. We get to a roundabout where I know we turn right, and the traffic crossing us (from the right going left) is barely moving. This queue is likely backed up on its way to the A1 we left some 30-40 minutes ago. I get around the roundabout upsetting at least one other driver, but he''s not going anywhere quickly, so there was no danger to either of us.

 

We are travelling against the queue, getting very close to the underground station. The traffic going the opposite direction is bumper-to-bumper, even when we arrive at the station. I'm still on familiar territory, and the place I hope to park has spaces. We arrive just after 6.15pm. [The 6.18pm timed, 40p parking ticket tells me.] Decanting ourselves from the car, I put my KG shoes on. As we walk away from the car I realise two things. The first is that I've left my camera in the car, so I have to walk back about 25 paces to get it. The other thing is, these (untried) KG shoes have too sharp a rise for me to get safely around the underground system -and back- wearing them. While at the car, I change into the ALDO standby shoes. Mrs Freddy is getting fraught, feeling I am wasting time.

 

We both walked toward the station. The entrance isn't far, perhaps 80 yards. It's still very light, and a warm evening encouraging folk to walk home. We have to get around a corner, then back past the slow line of vehicles that are going the same way we are toward the station. Not only that, we have to walk past two bus stops, where people are sitting or standing, waiting for their bus ride home. If I wasn't stressed enough, we are having to walk past stationary groups of commuters, with nothing better to do than take in their surroundings .....

 

Having run-the-gauntlet, we are then confronted with what is probably a steep 40 step stairway to the ticket office and trains. Had we not been desperate to get on our way, the sound of two sets of heels clip-clopping down the stairway might have been music to my ears, tonight I would have preferred an escalator.

 

The tickets for the (circa 10 mile) return journey, £8-90 each. Together with the small 20 minute parking charge outside the station, our transport costs had tripled due to an accident that wasn't even on a road we had used.....   

 

A train was waiting, and leaving in 2 minutes as we walked onto the platform. One of the ticket inspectors told us we had a 30 minute journey to Victoria. It was just after 6.30pm, so we were going to have time for a sandwich before we got to the theatre after all. When we sat down, we were both, very very very relieved.

 

With us sitting down and someone else taking care of the driving, we had some time to reflect on the journey. While I wasn't happy about the unplanned £18-20 expense, I would have been a lot unhappier if we had missed the show.

Edited September 28, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[FastFreddy2 282]

Part IV ~ The Journey [iI]

 

 

We passed the second of the 15 stops we had to make on the first part of the underground journey. Which interestingly starts overground. With each stop, a couple more people entered our carriage, and I did what I could to help avoid interest in my footwear. If I'm honest, Mrs Freddy was doing a pretty good job of running interference, and I guess anyone interested in a heeled shoe would have used their time to stare at her feet - not mine. Suited me.

 

We had not long left the third station, and if I remember, we were approaching a station called Neasden. For some reason we stopped outside the station, which isn't that unusual, so initially we weren't concerned. Not concerned, right up until the driver pipes up on the intercom and says; "Hello, the driver speaking. We are stopped because the train sat in the station ahead, has gone out of service. It seems to have a fault, and they are trying to ascertain what the problem is."  

 

We here in the South of the UK, regularly get news reports of passengers stranded on underground trains for hours due to breakdowns. On hearing there was a train up ahead 'out of service', you can easily imagine how Mrs Freddy and I felt when we heard the driver speaking. She turned to me and said, "We are just not meant to get there." I am sitting in silence, wondering how many people I cam going to write to about this. The London Mayor for starters, his right hand man running London Transport, every other MP in London, the Highways Agency.....

 

The driver then announces; "They are going to try to get the train back to the depot, and free up the line ahead." We have been sat waiting, for 10 minutes, I'm sat wondering if the line is going to be free before 10pm, and are we getting off at the next station only to go back to our car at Stanmore.....

 

Another painful 5 minutes passes, another announcement; "Thanks for your patience. Just to let you know, it looks like they are moving the train now." I might have felt better about this news, if I had been told 'the depot' is right next to the station. Information I only found out 20 minutes before writing these words. At the time, I imagined the train could have a 5 mile journey to 'the depot', and our wait could be an hour, 2 hours, who knew?

 

At just after 7pm, we got another message from the driver. "The line is cleared, we'll be off again a minute. I'll try to get us back on schedule when we get going." It would be unrealistic to expect the 22 minutes lost, to be recovered instantly, and that's what we needed. When we got 15 stations down this line we would still have to change trains, and while it was only one further stop on the second train, we had no idea of distances between lines nor how far we'd have to go when we arrived at Victoria. When we did get going, the driver made it obvious he was trying to make up time. Everyone was bouncing around on their seat as we (sometimes literally) flew down the line!

 

 

Our spirits were lifted as we seemed to progress quite quickly. Out conversation shifted from missing the show completely, to how much of the start we would miss, and when would they let us sit. This assuming there wasn't a third hiccup in our travel plans of course. As the train filled with more and more people during our progress, my thoughts around my shoes and the heels returned. How well was I going to do getting between stations? Would I be noticed? It had been some considerable time since I travelled in heels this way.

 

Mrs Freddy was thankfully resigned to her being caught wearing a heel to 'tramp around' London after all, necessary despite my meticulous planning (including a dry run) that was supposed to circumvent this very situation. She was as glad as I was to be moving toward the theatre, and could start thinking more about the night, and less about whether it was going to happen (or not).

 

The walk between The Jubilee Line and the Victoria Line was a bit of a schlep, but wearing a heel made it more entertaining. Maybe not so much for Mrs Freddy.....

 

The very last leg of the journey was over quite quickly, with us arriving at Victoria sooner than anticipated. Leaving the underground involved a long escalator ride upward, with us almost pushed into the main line station. A few more steps to climb a short staircase, where finally, my previous evenings reconnoitre activity paid a dividend. I immediately recognised where we needed to go for the theatre and within a minute we were crossing the road to the Apollo Victoria.

 

While a fairly long queue of people were still shuffling forward to collect their tickets from the Box Office, we were able to walk past and slip inside almost instantly, with our arrival timed at 7.26pm.

 

We had just enough time to visit the toilet, so we did. The first act would last well over an hour long, and we'd been travelling for 2½ hours. After the visit, (the queues for them as bad as had been reported), we easily found our seats, and spent a couple of minutes watching the tardy late-comers find theirs.   Although it looked like the show might be starting a few minutes late, we had still made it on time, despite the efforts of the rest of the world to prevent us doing so.   

 

 

 

...........

Edited September 28, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[shyguy 15]

Wow, what an eventful journey. I know most of that journey you took in the car, and how Borehamwood and Stanmore can be on bad days. At least you made the start, and survived the journey on public transport in heels, kudos to you.

[FastFreddy2 282]

 kudos to you.

 

Thank you.   As before, Mrs Freddy running 'interference' (distraction) with her heels, was a great help.   

 

And with the better part of a 2½ hour stress-filled journey getting to an expensive night out (for me), encroaching on what should have been a wholly pleasant experience, the occasional odd-look or stifled giggle wasn't going to make a great deal of difference to my state of mind. [ie. "Spitting feathers."] Not that I had time to notice any unfavourable reactions.

 

 

Theatre and show report to follow soon. 

[FastFreddy2 282]

Part V - The Show.  

 

 

As I've mentioned before, I'm not into musicals. I quite like to see an artist I like perform, or a couple of opera's I'm quite fond of. And that's it.

 

 

We got seated easily, and were located at the end of an aisle anyway. That meant if we had arrived 2 or 3 minutes late, we would have been seated (as some were.  )

 

The theatre isn't overly large, and I doubt there's a poor seat anywhere unless you were at the very back of the theatre. Acoustics seem good, and the place looks like it was originally a Victorian Musical Palace. It had the look and feel of an old place? Heavy drapes covering the sides of the seated area, murals on walls, vaulted ceiling .... The whole gamut of Victoriana.     

 

 

The story is realistic, and quite long. Not overly long, but there is much to it. I could see how some might struggle to enjoy it, as there's quite a lot to take in, given how straightforward some other stories are. There's lots of (backward) references to the original film (or stage musical if that's how it started). It was all interwoven, and you could easily come away thinking you had seen the background story to the original.

 

The performances were all good. Sure the original cast might have been better/best, but all the singers were certainly able. The 'white' witch was a good actress, but I didn't much like the tone of her singing voice (timbre). She could sing very well, VERY well, but I felt the role might have suited someone with a broader (dare I say older) tone to her voice. That said, most of the time she was playing a younger girl, so it shouldn't surprise anyone her voice came across as a bit 'thin'.

 

The main lead man, seemed to be someone from a boy-band? Tall, hunky, good looking. Was slightly out of place, although in the story, his role is something of a playboy. Could sing the pants off most male singer though. Great performer.

 

The green witch, could also sing the socks off just about any female singer you've heard. Great performer.

 

The wizard though ...... Square peg, round hole. He could sing (just), but seemed a tad out of place. But his place in the musical wasn't well suited. Good actor, but accent and singing not so great.

 

 

Half time was interesting. Unlike the Barbican, many women had dressed up for the evening, and I would have welcomed the opportunity to photograph some of them, but very low light levels prevented that. One lady in particular had obviously dressed for her presence there, and for her good-looking escort too! Bright lime green body-con dress, with high platform courts that also had lime green accents. Dark hair and slim body, she was stunning.

 

We shared an £3-50 tub of ice cream that I doubt had more than a large mouthful of fluid in it. chilled 500ml bottles of water on offer at £3-00. In keeping with toilet avoidance, we kept fluid intake low.  

 

The second half was as full as the first, and the story has a good ending. Overall, I would be happy to see it again, provided I had access to seats at reasonable money. I can live with £45.

 

 

While leaving I got an unexpected opportunity..... the chance to get a picture of the lady in the lime green outfit.

 

 

I also managed to get a piccy of Mrs Freddy on the steps of theatre with the Wicked banner above her. Hard work as many people there had the same idea. I had thought we would visit on a Sunday when no-one else was around during one of our West End shopping trips, but house remodeling has taken priority.

 

 

 

Getting Home.

 

We decided we weren't hungry enough to go to a lot of trouble to eat. If we had passed a chip shop, we might have been tempted, but we weren't starving by any means. Consequently we walked back to Victoria station, and entered the underground. The journey was a lot more relaxed than our inward journey.

 

 

On the longer of the two ride train journeys, for quite a while we sat opposite a couple who I think noticed my shoes, but there was no finger pointing. The journey took around 30 minutes which included the walk between stations to swap lines.

 

Back at Stanmore, I expected to run-the-gauntlet of early evening revellers making their way home, and party-goers about the leave for London, but the station was fairly quiet. As was the bus stop out side. Not empty, but fewer people than before. Thankfully the road outside was empty, indicating the road trauma of 5 hours earlier, had passed. On balance, something of an anti-climax to the start of our night out. 

 

Back at the car, we ate the emergency cereal bars I'd taken with us before travelling home. We arrived back around midnight having had an interesting, if somewhat stressful 7 hours. 

 

 

My heels managed the venture unscathed. Mrs Freddy's stiletto sandals hadn't fared so well, but I subsequently repaired them well enough for the damage to be unnoticable at normal viewing heights. We were both impressed she was able to wear those fairly high heels without too much discomfort despite all the walking (that I had promised she would not have to do!) No cuts or blisters reported. 

 

 

......

Edited October 7, 2013 by FastFreddy2

[hh4evr1 18]

Wicked is meant to be a background story to The Wizard Of Oz, telling how Glinda the good witch and Elphaba the wicked witch became who they were and their friendship.

In the original cast I wasn't so keen on the spoken voice of Glinda (may have been part of the acting), but when she sang she was good. Elphaba (Idina Menzel) was a very good singer.

I also thought the wizard didn't quit fit in right

Glad you enjoyed the evening.