No Business Like Show Business

I decided not to set an alarm this morning, thinking I'd wake at around 8am, 9 at the latest, but as it turns out, I needed the sleep and didn't wake up until 10! Having a room with no windows didn't help, it was pitch black!
Once I realised the time, I got up, showered and organised, and made my way to Leicester Square. The plan for the day was to see a show or 2, and there's a TKTS stall in Leicester square, where you can buy same day show tickets, often discounted.
I ended up settling on a matinee of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and also bought a ticket to Guys and Dolls for that night.
I had plenty of time to spare before the show, so I decided to explore the area, and find something for lunch.
I found the Royal Opera House and Drury Lane, then stopped for a burger at Byron Hamburgers. I had a delicious burger and a 'hard shake' - a chocolate thickshake with Baileys, yummmmmm!
By then it was time to find the Aldwych Theatre for my first show of the day, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. I chose this one because I'd seen it win a few Tony Awards a few years back, so I knew it would be good!
Beautiful follows the life of Carole King, from being a young girl with a dream, to an extremely successful songwriter, to a star in her own right. She suffered a bit of heartache, but the music is truly spectacular - I actually didn't realise how many CK songs I knew! I sang and danced and laughed and cried all the way through it, and I really hope it comes to Melbourne so I can take Mum to see it. I have seen it's coming to Sydney, so hopefully it's only a matter of time!
I came out of the show at around 5pm, so I had a couple of hours to race back to the hotel, grab a coat and head back out again.
On my way to the Phoenix Theatre, I stopped and grabbed dinner at NY Fold, a New York style pizza shop - my favourite! I sat down to eat my pizza slice, then headed across the road to see Guys and Dolls.
I picked this musical for 2 reasons, the obvious being it's star - Rebel Wilson! The Aussie girl gone Hollywood starlet now has her name in lights on London's West End. The other reason was that Guys and Dolls is a Broadway classic which I've never before had the opportunity to see.
It was everything I'd hoped for and more - Rebel was wonderful, and it was perfectly over the top and colourful. Plus I nearly cried when the cast sang 'Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat'. We performed that song when I did dancing as a kid, and I didn't realise it was from this musical. An extremely exciting surprise!
After the curtain call was over, I thought I'd see if there was much of a crowd surrounding the stage door to meet Rebel, and there was! I hung around for about 20 minutes, and there were around 30 or so people around when she finally came out. She was so kind and gracious, saying hi to fans, taking selfies and signing autographs. I tried to say something about being a fellow Aussie when I handed over my program for her to sign, but I don't think she heard me!
On a high after my huge day of shows and 'meeting' Rebel, I jumped on the tube and headed back to my hotel.Read more