The cat that got the cream

Just thought I would pop a note down to let you know about my super exciting day yesterday.

S L Solutions is well and truly on the map with their first invitation to a press launch of a musical.  We arrived at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool on a bright but chilly day and mingled with likeminded socialites & business people.  We were then led through to the rear stalls entrance so that we could fill up the theatre from the front.

As I waited my turn in the queue to take our seats I was both surprised and delighted to see a number of cats in the audience.  They were posing and preening themselves and rubbing their ears and taking it all in.  One little mischievous cat (surely macavity?) was hiding under the seats and pawing at peoples’ feet making them jump.

As I was there on my own I could pick and choose where I sat and got a great seat about 10 rows back in an aisle seat.  I had a great view of the cats while they generally mingled with us and ‘performed’ – jumping and rolling about and play-fighting with each other.

The lights went down and the pianist came onto the stage closely followed by Heart FM presenters who introduced David Ian, the producer who will be bringing the CATS production from The London Palladium up to us here in Lancashire.

The Blackpool Opera House is THE only place that we will see CATS outside of London in 2015 and in 1989 it was the first venue outside London that the show was staged.

David Ian told us a bit about his work with Andrew Lloyd Webber and the history of the CATS musical.  He then went on to introduce the lead star of the show which is to be singer and presenter Jane McDonald.  Jane gave us a rendition of Memory sung beautifully and then had a quick Q&A session along with David.  During the session Jane told of her love of Blackpool and that it was the first venue after her show The Cruise where she brought her show and it seems ironic that the same venue has been chosen for her to star in the role of Grizabella.  She said it seemed like it was just meant to be and a “dream come true”.  David also confirmed that the show music will be in the form of a full orchestra and that “Andrew would not have it any other way” and he promised that the production would be as good as, “if not better”, than the current London show.

We finished with photo opportunities in the Winter Gardens with refreshments being served too and then off I popped to the box office to make our reservation.

So which cat got the cream? Me! Well it was such a great experience I feel like I did.

We should have a great afternoon in Blackpool seeing this wonderful show and having a drink or two before or after and an optional light lunch before hand too.  Contact me on event@slsoultions-nw.co.uk or find me on Facebook by popping slsolutionsnw in the search box.  Email or message me for tickets.

 I look forward to seeing you on this event or another one soon – check out my events pages to see which you fancy.

Life is a Cabaret Ol’ Chum

Well, another group of theatre fans took themselves off to Blackpool for a 3 course group lunch in Pizza Express (which surpassed our expectations and was exceptionally tasty and the staff were very helpful and friendly).

After lunch we walked the 2 minutes to The Opera House which is situated within the Winter Gardens and took our seats which were as usual in the mid stalls.  Going as a group booking had gotten us an unbelievably fantastic 70% off the ticket prices and so we had paid only £15 each per ticket.

To a packed audience we were treated to Will Young greeting us as the ever so slightly crazy Emcee.  The show was truly professional and the singing and dancing was top notch.  Will actually plays 2 characters and is equally as funny as both.

About 50% of the show is more like a play and during these times I wondered if my guests were enjoying the darker side of the show.  In many scenes there are only 2 actors at a time on stage and there is a lot of spoken word.

Guests said the hairs on their arms were standing up and they were entranced and at the end there were even tears (I always know the guests have truly got into the spirit of a show if there are tears).

I am a little biased and I think Will makes it but I have seen it twice, with him in the lead on both occasions, so I don’t have anything to compare it to.

Go and see it for yourself if you get the chance for comedy, laughter, singing and dancing; along with shocks, suprises, a little bit of sauciness and tears – Cabaret really is a must see for any theatre lover.

Come and join us on a future trip – tickets still on sale for Priscilla – Queen of the desert (Manchester, February) and soon to be on sale for Mamma Mia – Blackpool, July 14).

Food, drink, laughter and tears!

The sun was shining for our trip to Manchester.

Hundreds of people gathered in Hardman Square, sipping cocktails and watching the Wimbledon Men’s Semi Finals on the big screen (a lovely way to end the working week).

The whole group came together in Carluccios where we shared pastas, risottos, breads and ice creams (and of course a few Peronis were taken too).

On arrival at the Opera House theatre – only 2 minutes walk away – we took our centre mid-stall seats for a perfect view of the stage, in anticipation of the show which would shortly begin.

The production on this occasion was “Ghost – The Musical” and it went down a treat.  We were entertained by a mix of upbeat songs, heart tugging ballads, comedy moments and mystery and magic.  Whilst the set had changed slightly since my 2 previous group outings it had mostly improved for the better.  There was plenty of toe-tapping and giggles, but most people were bleary eyed as the lights came up after a fully expected tear-jerker ending.

A good night was had by all – old friends met and new friends were made – here’s to the next one – cheers!