Les Miserables

 Our second show in London was Les Miserables because Aaron hadn't seen it since he was a child and I hadn't seen it since 2006. Okay, 6 years isn't that long, but I love this show. The London cast was great. Aaron was confused as to why Jean Val Jean's songs are so high. I have no answer for it except that it was written that way. I hated the Cosette. She sounded like a balloon that was deflating with a flattened neck. Other than her, it was great. This was probably the best Gavroche I've ever seen.

One thing I really didn't like was when Javert killed himself. Rather than jumping into fog, he was on the ground and the bridge piece flew UP to look like he jumped.

Matilda

 What a sweet ingenious choice for a musical. Matilda is one of my favorite books from my adolescence. So when I heard it was being made into a musical, I had to get tickets. Oh, and go to London to see it because I am NOT waiting a whole year to see it in NYC. The music was great, though listening to it without the visual is harder. In London, they don't give you playbills (you have to pay 5 pounds to get one) so I don't actually know who was performing. I quite regret not buying one now. The Matilda that night was great, and we found out later that Matilda's boyfriend was sitting next to us. The Trunchbull character was great because it's cast list Edna in Hairspray, by a man.

We actually saw part of the set fall off and nearly hit Matilda and Miss Honey. Everyone in the cast really worked hard. Aaron and myself found that the large children's cast songs were the best.