Romeo and Juliet and Spamalot

After a late night last night of watching a movie (The Mist- it's kinda bad), we got up at 10 o'clock this morning to go see the Romeo and Juliet Ballet at the Royal Opera House by the Royal Ballet Company. It was pretty cool. We sat WAY up- like, four stories. Yeah. It wasn't too bad, except for the ridiculous incline so it felt like you were going to fall into the stalls (orchestra section). Some parts of the show were tough to get through (aka stay awake) because nothing was happening. Like, after Juliet swallows the potion, there were six girls (not characters, just random girls) that came in and danced for 5 minutes before they realized she was dead. Random, and nothing to do with the story. But the parts that had things happening were really good. And the dancing was phenominal, of course. Being a ballet (and not dialogue) it was more of a condensed version of the story, though it was still three hours (with 2 twenty minute intervals- intermissions).

After the show we came back and had dinner. It was actually pretty good tonight. Then Jared and I decided to go see Spamalot. So Rachel, Jess, and Carrie joined us. We got £20 seats, but they were in the balcony. And balcony here means 4th floor again. So we were pretty much looking down at the stage, but we weren't far away (like at the Royal Opera House). It was good, and we didn't lose any of the show because of it.

Spamalot was an excellent show, and had some talented people. That being said, it was not a great performance, and I think that is because of the performance of Alan Dale, who played King Arthur. In looking at his previous performances, he's only done film, and this shows in his Spamalot performance. He was very flat, low energy, and just delivered his lines and songs. And he wasn't a good singer, especially when surrounded by his talented cast. He always had a blank look on his face and never really engaged. I think what this did was killed the overall arch of the show and the already scattered plot was further disconnected.

On the other hand, Nina Soderquist - playing the Lady of the Lake - was phenominal. Her voice was gorgeous and her stare captivating. Every time she came onstage she took over.

On the whole it was a good performance, though I can't say I would go back again.

Jared and Me outside Spamalot: