Musical: Through the Mill

Back with the Man with the Hat again yesterday - in Southwark Playhouse. A winning combination, and I booked, soon as I saw it. Worked from home, and was in plenty of time to take the ever-dependable 344, which dropped me just down the road from the theatre.

Had a peek around for the others in the bar.. would you believe it, I was the first to arrive! I do believe that's the first time that ever happened with this group! Well, got myself a good value glass of the house white, and settled myself at the biggest table I could find, suitable for the group, when they arrived. (Haven't I been trained well?) Arrive they did, not too long after. Of course, by the time everyone had arrived, they overflowed to occupy most of the area at the back of the bar - but they just don't have a table big enough to accommodate us all!

Convivial hellos, and as the crowd grew, the Man with the Hat disappeared, probably to somewhere closer to the door to find the remaining people who needed tickets. So we were left to our own devices to decide when to go in. After a bit of humming and hawing, we eventually did.. Considering that we comprised most of last night's audience, I bet that was a relief to management!

It didn't occur to me as I entered, but they have actually laid something that looks like a yellow brick road from the door to the stage! Nice touch - because, you see, what we'd come to see was a musical called Through the Mill, about the life of Judy Garland. Our allocated seats were nice and central, directly facing the stage - which contained a compact set, sundry musical instruments tucked away in corners. In due course, we got some actors too, who positioned themselves about the stage, most taking up one or another of the musical instruments - there is no member of this cast that isn't musical. It's quite surreal, in fact, to see the actor playing Louis B. Mayer also playing the maracas later on. Mind you, they had a while to wait before demonstrating that.. we did wonder whether the pause at the start was deliberate, but as the silence wore on and the actors twiddled their thumbs and looked uncomfortable, it became apparent that this wasn't scripted. And someone did, finally, tell us there'd been a technical hitch..

When the show started, well, it was worth the wait. The main story centres on the production of the Judy Garland Show for television in 1963, with flashbacks to the 1950s and, of course, her epic stint with MGM, in the run-up to The Wizard of Oz. Three different periods in her life - three different Judys, too, running in and out as the scenes require. There are a few montages with all three on stage, and I wish I had a picture of the scene with the teenage Judy sat at the top of the stairs, reading the copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that she's just been given: the Judy in her twenties, two marriages already behind her and about to embark on her third, sat at the bottom: and the older Judy singing, centre stage. And o my.. the teenage (Wizard of Oz) Judy, in particular, is the absolute image of her.. so much that I did a double-take. The look, the mannerisms, the voice.. I'm not so familiar with the later Judy Garland, but they all looked (and sounded) believable to me.

This is really all about Judy Garland - the other characters are pretty incidental, although her overbearing mother is really well played. And just like being at a Judy Garland concert, listening to a playlist of different songs, her story is presented to us in a series of short scenes. But this is all about the music, and fans of showtunes will find themselves in heaven. The singing is world class, and we get something of a hit parade. A couple of us were particularly moved by The Man That Got Away.. But of course, the big hitter is saved for last, referenced constantly in the scenes when she's arguing with her tv producer, and finally agrees to sing it at the end of the programme. A tearjerking performance sees all three Judys join together for Over the Rainbow. O wow yes, this is a must-see if you love showtunes.. runs until the 30th, very highly recommended.

The interval was cut short - doubtless because of the late start - but that was ok, since you can take your glass in to the theatre with you. I nipped to the toilet at the end of the show, and was party to a mini-karaoke of Over the Rainbow. And afterwards, we repaired to the bar again.. and stayed, not quite till chucking-out time, but long enough to chat about this, and about other things.. And on our way out, we ran into teenage Judy (Lucy Penrose) and took the opportunity to congratulate her on her stunning performance. And if we didn't have our own karaoke on the street outside like last time, well, I had my own personal recital, waiting at the bus stop, thereafter..

Home too late to blog, being in Guildford again today. Tonight, I'm off to another free comedy night in Hammersmith - and again, it appears four times on Meetup: one event each with London Live Comedy and Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Farringdon, and again, no fewer than two listed with London for a Tenner or Less, one of Funzing's Meetup groups (I see they now have three). Here's the interesting thing - the last time I went to one of these, I was a member of all the groups that advertised it, and signed up with all of them. However, I've noticed that every Funzing event I've attended, and RSVPed Yes to on Meetup, has been deleted from the Meetup site after the event. So I'm performing a small experiment - for tonight's event, I've only signed up with London Live Comedy. Let's see whether it stays on the London for a Tenner or Less page, into tomorrow..!