What Sophie Said

I’m going to start by laying my cards on the table: I was not a huge fan of The Bodyguard the musical.  What I did like and enjoy was a tribute to Whitney Houston featuring one of my very favourite voices, Beverley Knight. I know people absolutely love this musical and I desperately wanted to feel the same way but I just didn’t. I came away happy because I saw Beverley Knight and Rachel John perform stunning renditions of classic songs. That was the part I loved. Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron) is a firm favourite of mine, a position confirmed further when I saw her in Memphis  last year. In Memphis her character, her songs and the rest of the cast were all fantastic. In this, she is one of only a couple of standouts, and the beauty of her role is not so much in the acting as it is in the music. She is a star, and she performs the role of a star well. One Moment in Time had me in tears, and I Will Always Love You was breath-taking. Rachel John (who, in fact, w...

As soon as I heard tickets for Tim Minchin’s latest project, Groundhog Day, had been released, I bought my ticket. I’ve not actually seen the classic film, so my thoughts are based on the musical as a standalone, having known nothing about the story. I have really mixed feelings about the show, which overall are very positive but with a few question marks left over. I’m going to start with the less positive thoughts and move through to the highlights. Firstly, it really was ‘a show of two halves’. Act One was fantastic: slick, laugh-out-loud funny, great staging and we spent the interval talking about how brilliantly the show had been done. Act Two retained the feeling of the show but felt incomplete. I think for me this was partly because I just wasn’t the biggest fan of the story. I like the concept but the context is a little odd and I found it very hard to identify with many characters. Even the main character I really enjoyed watching and thought it was played brilliantly...

I think I enjoyed my second visit to Matilda the Musical even more than my first a few years ago. I was worried that because I loved it so much first time round I’d have built it up too much, but it was every bit as brilliant as I remembered. I also saw it from a completely different perspective this time, sitting on the third row, rather than up at the top back of the theatre. I often describe Tim Minchin as a Roald Dahl for grown-ups, and I think his input is part of what makes the show so fantastic. It feels so authentically ‘Roald Dahl’, yet adds even more layers. The musical is all about Matilda’s love of stories and storytelling and I think this is what makes it so magical. The wordplay is very clever, and the lyrics fantastic. Just listen to ‘The School Song’, preferably watching clips to see the staging, and you’ll see just how clever every moment of the show is. What I love most about the musical is the added depth, and the story of the escapologist’s d...

Titanic the musical has made a triumphant return to the West End, taking up residence at the Charing Cross Theatre. A beautiful venue seating up to 265, you feel close to the action wherever you’re seated, which is helped by the fact the actors use the aisle space around the theatre throughout the show. I’ve seen an amateur production of the show before which I absolutely loved, and while I expected a professional production to wow me even more it honestly went above and beyond anything I expected. Let me start by saying Titanic has one of the most stunning scores of any musical I have seen. A bold statement, considering how often I’m at the theatre, but this music really is phenomenal. Entirely sung with only a few moments of spoken dialogue, it’s a rich tapestry of work which builds to create the extremes of emotion necessary when telling such a tale. This cast do that music justice. I will talk about some individuals and songs in more depth, but overall the sound the ca...

How do you revive a classic musical with wit, flair and a feeling of originality? Just ask the creative team of Funny Girl, at the Savoy Theatre. I was blown away. Funny Girl was a show I knew little about, which makes a pleasant change for me as I know most musicals I see inside out before I take my seat. All I knew was the iconic 'Don't Rain on my Parade' - nothing else of the story, the songs or the themes. I went expecting a fantastic show, but was unprepared for just how much I would fall in love with Fanny Brice and her story. I've tried to play it cool and not launch in with my praise for Natasha J Barnes but my goodness, what a star. Effortlessly funny, likeable, charming and with one of the best voices I've heard in a long time, I couldn't imagine a more perfect role for her. I was with her every second, every sideways glance to the audience, every stunning note, every happiness and every heartbreak. In 'Don't Rain on my Parade...

A few weeks ago, the New Wimbledon Theatre played host to my second viewing of Avenue Q. Currently touring the UK, the quirky, lively and hilarious show is as memorable as when I first saw it four or five years ago. It has a very distinctive style, and is so different to anything else mainly down to the innovative use of puppets. The actors, in blacks, are clearly visible - indeed, some characters have no puppet - but the puppetry and story are so fantastic you completely lose sight of the people operating them. The story follows Princeton, a fresh graduate with big dreams, and the people who live around him in his new home on Avenue Q. Touching on love, sex, racism, alcohol, homophobia and discovering who you are, the show leaves no stone unturned. With songs such as 'Everyone's a Little Bit Racist' and 'You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You're Making Love)', Avenue Q is daring, outrageous, and has the audience in stitches. I felt the shock...

I’m a theatre-lover, especially when it comes to musicals. One outcome of that is that I regularly get asked by friends and family for recommendations, and what my favourites are. I think I’ve now done it. I’ve come up with my top five. Well, I was aiming for five and ended up with five plus two 'special mentions', but that’s close enough. Three are, in fact, shows which I only saw for the first time within the past six months, which quickly cemented their place in my favourites. These aren’t in any particular order as ranking them is too hard, but here is my list: Wicked Of course. I love, love, love this show. This potentially wins out in my favourite soundtrack award, and I just love the story. It’s an intricate storyline and so cleverly tells the prequel of The Wizard of Oz. I went with my mum when it first came to London. I went with my friend Rosie and her housemate back in April, and I went in Manchester when it was on tour with my dad only a month or so...

Gypsy has been a musical I’ve wanted to see for years, but has never quite been top of my long list of things I want to see. Until I saw Imelda Staunton was taking on the lead. And then the even better news came: BBC4 would be broadcasting the show live from the Savoy Theatre over Christmas. It offered the perfect opportunity to see the show without having to justify to myself the ticket prices, and is something I’m so pleased they decided to do. To be able to see the production on stage as it’s done at the theatre, with audience in situ, but with camerawork allowing close-ups of the actors, was a fantastic chance and one I really enjoyed. I knew very little about the show, except for a single song, ‘Some People’, which I had performed in a show aged about 13. Gypsy, the musical, tells the story of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, but is really the story of her mother, Rose. Focusing on ‘Gypsy’s’ (originally named Louise) childhood for the first part of the show, Ros...

Finally, my dreams of seeing Miss Saigon on stage have become a reality. Having adored the music for years, and sung my heart out to song after song whilst growing up, my expectations were high and my excitement was through the roof. Luckily, the current West End production of Miss Saigon does not disappoint. The Prince Edward Theatre is beautiful, and no expense had been spared on the set. The steps, buildings, fencing and even a helicopter were skillfully moved around the stage, and visually the performance was a treat. I have to start by talking about Eva Noblezada, who played the most stunning version of Kim my childhood dreams could have imagined. There has been a lot of buzz around her in the role, and I can see why. Her voice was truly spectacular, with the beautiful essence of someone who appears like every note is effortless. Her huge songs were phenomenal, but never pushed too far, never a note was strained for, and never did show-stopping notes become ‘shou...

The story of Carole King is quite a story. A fresh-faced 16 year-old who sold a song, married, established herself as one half of a song-writing duo, and years later found herself performing her own music. There’s more to it than that, but I don’t want to ruin the story for when you go and see Beautiful, the Carole King Musical. Because that’s something you really need to do. The soundtrack to this musical is pure brilliance. As the posters proclaim, it contains ‘hit after hit’, and is basically a catalogue of many of the most-loved songs of the 60s and 70s. My aunt and uncle described it as their ‘soundtrack to growing up’. And I, even though I wasn’t born until 1992 so definitely missed out on this era, recognised a good 80% of the songs. I guess that alone says something for the enduring appeal of King’s music. As well as being a fascinating and inspiring story, the musical is excellently put together. The set was relatively simple, with the small piano gliding on and off...

I went to Elf the Musical fully aware I wouldn’t be seeing the best musical ever written, but ready for some Christmas fun. And that’s exactly what was delivered. I wouldn’t give it any awards when pitched against other musicals (not even close), but Elf the Musical is probably the most unapologetically Christmassy entertainment you’ll find on any stage. The musical is incredibly true to the film, which is potentially both what makes it great and what lets it down. Was it ever really going to beat the film so many name as their favourite at this time of year? Especially a film so well-known and so ‘quote-able’. However, all of the classic lines and the heart-warming story are there. The musical had a huge cast, considering there are only a few named characters, and this really added to the ‘party’ feel of the bigger, Christmassy group numbers. ‘Christmastown’ was a great opening, and set the mood for the show ahead. The elves were hilarious, with each actor giving their ...

I can’t quite believe it took me so long to see Billy Elliot. Despite the fact I love musicals, and go to the theatre so often, I hadn’t seen a classic which ranks highly in many people’s favourites. I put that right a few weeks ago, when my lovely friend Anthea came for a day trip to London, and we headed along to a matinee. I think I was slightly apprehensive pre-show for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I love the film so much, and it’s so fantastically made, that I wondered how the stage version could compare. Secondly, having heard people rave about the show for years, I wondered whether my expectations had been set too high. It’s safe to say my apprehensions were unnecessary. Billy Elliot the musical has all of the heart of the original film, and manages to sustain that same juxtaposition of beautiful story of a young boy’s dreams against the political backdrop of Maggie Thatcher and the miners’ strike. The show opens with Billy watching news reel clips, placin...