The aim of these interviews is
to share with one another our love for the theatre and the arts. So here
we go!
Alison Willman (Photo Credit: Alison Willman) |
Let us interview, Alison Willman, a fellow theatre fan who is always at home in a theatre!
Please tell me how you got into musical
theatre/theatre in general?
I’ve loved musicals for as long as I can
remember. I grew up watching musicals like Oliver! Tom Thumb and The Wizard of Oz with my Nanna -
I knew Consider Yourself from Oliver! off by heart before I could spell my own name! When I
was 10 my Mum and my Auntie took me to see The Lion King in the West End, and I was hooked. The
next year we saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Gary Wilmot and Wayne Sleep – still one of my
favourite shows to date. What I love the most about musical theatre though is the variety – I’ve had
days where I’ve seen the matinee of a musical set in the1920s, and the evening performance of an
80s rock musical, complete with a smoke machine and bad hair. I go to the theatre whenever I
can, be it up here in Manchester or in the West End, and I’ll watch pretty much anything.
What have been the highlights of your
musical theatre journey?
For me the absolute highlight has been the
show Rock of Ages, which sadly shut at the beginning of the month (November 2013). I have seen a lot of shows
but this was the first one that kept me going back again and again – I hit 30 shows by the end! Not
only was the show hilarious and jam-packed full of rock classics, but the cast were the best I have
ever seen. You could see on their faces how much they loved the show and they always had time for
you at the stage door – a couple even missed their trains because they were too busy chatting!
Seeing Rock of Ages and Alison Willman with Nathan Amzi (Photos Credit: Alison Willman)
What shows do you recommend that are
currently playing in the West End or Regionally?
I have just seen Singin’ in the Rain which
is currently on tour and if it’s coming to a theatre near you then you have to go and see it. It is
absolutely incredible. The costumes are beautiful, the staging is the best I have ever seen and the special
effects are just phenomenal!
As for the West End, that’s a tough one. There are so many shows that are
all so different! I would definitely recommend We Will Rock You – who doesn’t like Queen?! There’s
also Jersey Boys which is a fascinating look at the story of Frankie Valli and the Four
Seasons, and then there’s Wicked, which is a kind-of prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Whatever you choose to go and
see – don’t listen to the reviews. Even if the show has one star and is doomed to close within a
month of opening, go and see it and make your own mind up. That’s the beauty of the theatre – one
person’s worst nightmare is another person’s dream come true!
Are there any shows that you haven’t seen
that you would like to see?
I really want to see Chicago at some point
– it’s like a rite of passage for musical theatre fans! I’d also really like to see From Here to
Eternity, The Bodyguard, The Book of Mormon, The Commitments and quite a few more!
We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, London (Photo Credit: Alison Willman) |
What have been your theatrical highlights
in 2013?
I would have to say the We Will Rock You
cast change. I was on the front row of the stalls and Brian May rose up from a trapdoor in the centre
of the stage, surrounded by smoke and playing Bohemian Rhapsody on the guitar. It doesn’t get any
cooler than that!
What show are you planning to see next?
My next show will be my sixth visit to
Wicked, to see Jeremy Taylor take over the role of Fiyero. After that I’ve got RENT in Concert and
then Richard ll – quite a mix really!
May
I take an opportunity to say a big thank you to Alison for taking part in this interview. She can be contacted on Twitter: @alisonlouise94 and please do check out her incredible blog
Alison is amazing and this is a great interview! she's a fantastic writer and each time I read her personal reviews on a show, she always makes me want to go see it and discover more about it! She's also an amazing friend, who's always here for the people she loves! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the positive feedback. I'll pass this onto Alison :)
ReplyDelete