Shall We Fly? .... Into the wrong seat......

It has been a while since I've been to the Opera House, the last time being with Kinky Boots, all the way back in November; and this one is as far from the REEEDD leather heels as you can get! Along with 2 old work friends, I went along to one of the first nights of The King and I's new UK tour - and first nights is right, as Manchester is the first stop.

We had a bit of a moment when we arrived. As Nicola was STARVING when we went to Manchester, we went to Wagamama for food. Full of noodles, dumplings and beans (!), we rushed off to the Opera House with only 5 mins to spare, got snacks and a programme, went up the stairs and tried to find our seats - only to find it was 1 on one side of the aisle and the other 2 on the other....
Luckily there was an empty aisle in front and we rushed off there while I checked the tickets. Turns out we were meant to be in the Gallery, and we ended up going the wrong way and sitting in the Circle with a much better view..... Whoops...! 😅

Moving right along!

You may remember that I saw the show in the summer last year, during its run at the London Palladium, direct from Broadway; so I'm not going to go too much into the production itself - I've done that already!
Since its run at the Palladium ended, it has gone on to win an Oliver for Best Costume Design, along with 5 other nominations; and its star, Kelli O'Hara, has just been nominated for ANOTHER Tony today, for her performance in Kiss Me Kate.

The biggest difference, of course is the new cast (well, I say new, but A LOT of people have been in the London cast, particularly in the ensemble).
Leading the cast is Annalene Beechey, who alternated Mrs Anna in London taking the role full time, and Jose Llana as the King - he took over from Ken Watanabe on Broadway, and has also lead the US tour, so has been playing the part for a long time.

Beechey's was a fantastic Anna, and had just as much a backbone as O'Hara's whilst Llana's King was very different to Watanabe's but in a good way. He had less of a royal presence perhaps, but he seemed more conflicted, which meant his A Puzzlement hit more in my personal opinion than Watanabe's (I never thought I would say that!). Plus, I was able to find more nuances in the text this time, especially during their many many arguments....

Like I said, as it is the same production, there isn't much to say that I haven't said already. I'll put another link to it here.

If you didn't get the chance to see it London, or on its cinema screening, then I highly recommend you go. I'm trying to persuade my parents to go this week. I think it finishes in Manchester next weekend, so you still have a little bit of time. Plus, once it leaves, it will be going all over the country.