Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: It Was a Roller Coaster on the West End

Saturday, July 27, 2013

It Was a Roller Coaster on the West End - We Got To See The Bodyguard

This is a great video - right up to where I dropped the camera when "Whitney" grabbed my hand and sang to me - I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

This video is just to show our view from the front row - exact center - The Bodyguard. The cloud barreled down over the stage onto us. The camera was on my lap.

Saturday afternoon in the West End Theatre District it was like a roller coaster for us. We wanted to see the show - The Book of Mormon - but it is completely sold out through the month of August. For publicity - they do offer a lottery for the front row - 21 seats - 2 hours before the curtain. So we walked the mile from our flat to Piccadilly Circus - and the theatre.

On the way down we walked through 7 points - a place where 7 streets come together in a star. There is a monument in the middle - a great place to take pictures. So I sat Manny and Mia on the monument and took a few shots. Lulu had gone ahead to have lunch with one of her cousin's friends.

We all arrived at the theater and filled in cards to be placed in the raffle cage. We each filled one card - that gave us 4 chances. Too bad about 200 others had the same idea. Bear in mind you still had to pay the discount price of the tickets.

Alas - we did not win - and we were all bummed out about not getting to see the show - and would not see it in London this year.

Manny and Mia headed in one direction - Lulu and I decided to try a few more shows. The matinee on Saturday is 3 PM. We walked east on The Strand and quickly hit the show - The Bodyguard - based on the Whitney Houston movie. The box office was quiet - which is good. They save the front row for "day of show" buyers. We were able to buy two tickets in the exact center of front row. Since I am near-sighted and hard of hearing that is my favorite spot.

We had about an hour to kill before show time - and were very happy with our find. To kill time we had lunch at a small French place - the roller coaster was moving up the hill.

When we got into the theatre - the seats were fantastic. The stage was about three feet high - we could see into the orchestra pit. This was going to be super - little did we know how super.

When the show started - I realized I was the only guy in the front row - this was obviously a chick show. When the Whitney Houston look alike did the first number - she came right up stage - and gave me a wink - in front of everybody. Pretty neat - Lulu loved it.

The show was up and down - happy and sad. Getting to be an experienced West Ender - I realized there would have to big a big production number at the end - the show was too gloomy.

Lulu hates it when I sneak out my camera to snap a picture or video at the theatre. She teaches about copyright and tells me it is just wrong. But I love putting a few seconds of live action on my web page. She was pleased when I said I would wait until the end. We did see a guard one time making a person erase their camera chip. One time I was at an Alda Store - England's Walmart. A manager caught me taking pictures of products and asked me to erase. Little did he know I had a camera and an iPhone. I erased the empty iPhone.

When "Whitney" sang - I Will Always Love You - I knew the end was coming. She certainly was not the fat lady - but she sure could sing. I put the camera on my lap set for video - the stage began to rise up - and a bunch of fake smoke billowed down on us - my video was obscured. I included it here to show you how great our 25 pound seats were.

After that the audience stood for the finale. My belly button was pressed against the stage. The song was - I Wanna Dance With Somebody. I had my camera - to the side - but the lights were so bright - I thought I would get sprung. I did - sort of.

I was videoing and fake clapping along and the star came directly at me - I panicked - thought she was going to take my camera. I dropped the camera on the padded floor. But "Whitney" grabbed the only male hand in the front row and attempted to get him on the stage - as she was singing she wanted to dance with me. I was blushing from the attention but was also happy she did not see my camera. We held hands - it seemed like infinity. I froze. Our eyes locked - she was very sweet. Then I squeezed her hand - it was like the wind passing overhead - it was gone. My little video is great - but of some reason I can't get it up on my page - I will keep trying.

What Lulu and I like about London theatre is the venues are small - and just seem so much more personal. With a little effort you can land great seats for 20 pounds - like today.

Its not over. Lulu and I started home out the back exit. We were walking pretty fast towards our flat. About getting 4 blocks up the street - Lulu said she needed a toilet - so we walked into a pub - straight to the toilets upstairs. For some reason there was not a crowd of women in their WC - but there were 6 guys in mine - all using the stainless steel trough. As I entered the room one guy said - Here comes the bodyguard.