West End Muscial Reviews: “Zorro” and “Spamalot”

I asked Roxi to write the reviews again this time. We went to Zorro with our friends S and Y. Roxi went to Spamalot with Mama DJ, who popped in for a visit at just the right time! [Caution: contains spoilers]

Zorro the Musical

 Garrick Theatre, London. Photo by me on Roxi’s Nikon Coolpix L6 because, once again, I was too lazy to carry around my huge DSL.

From Roxi
Zorro was an incredible show. The acting, songs, blocking and especially the choreography were outstanding. The musical was full of action ranging from sword fights to people swinging around the stage and over the audience on ropes. I, as a teenager, especially liked all the fire they used. In the beginning, there was a huge ‘Z’ that an older gypsy set ablaze, and from row F, I could feel the heat on my face. The show was dotted here and there with small explosives, torch-jugglers, disappearing acts, and minimal but extremely effective scene changes. But the singing and dancing were what really amazed me. Around 25 awesome flamenco dancers would be on this tiny little stage in a proportionally small theater from 1889, swishing their skirts about and twirling around, and yet it was so perfect that there was not one accident. Not one. And then on top off all of that, everyone’s voices blended flawlessly together to create that certain feel of the score that the Gipsy Kings themselves helped to write! And with stalls seats, well… you can’t imagine how good it is unless you go to see it yourself, which is something that I highly recommend.

From me
Besides the shows themselves, one of the best things about theatre here in London is seeing these productions in such beautiful settings. What a little jewel of a building the Garrick Theatre is! It’s so intimate and feels like it’s from a different time (think Countess Olenska from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence). I loved sitting up close and being able to feel the heat from the fire, to see Adam Levy’s (Ramon) jaw clench during an especially tense scene, and to enjoy all the expressions on Lesli Margherita’s (Inez) very expressive face. She was really fun to watch. So much talent in this show, really. The singing–wow! The dancing–double wow!

There was a, um, surprise in one of the scenes that drew a collective gasp from some of the audience members. Let’s just say… the moon came out!

Roxi and I agree that this show has the best, most indulgent bows of all the shows we’ve seen so far. Awesome!
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Spamalot

Palace Theatre, London. Photo by Roxi.

The only thing I could get out of Roxi was, “I laughed so hard–I thought I was going to fall out of my seat! I could see it three more times.” She may get her wish for at least one more time. Her dad and I want to go see it too!