The conductor steals the show!

Given it is a Saturday night and I am living in London, I decided to take myself along to the theatre... even if it was only going to be a ticket for one. The choice of the evening was 'Chicago' at the Cambridge Theatre in West End, 9 rows from the front thank you very much!

So when you go to these performances, you expect to be blown away by the costumes, dance, scenery and of course the talented actors. However one man and group of people that constantly get overlooked is the conductor and the band. Now tonight, this orchestra were not only talented but oh so very animated. The conductor was frequently part of the stage action, responding, commenting and even having his own lines. He also had a choreographed 'dance' for his band members to perform to one of the songs. The enthusiasm he displayed, extreme love of his job made me so very envious. It must have been such an honour to work with such a strong cast and clearly, they were still enjoying themselves, despite the fact that it has been running for months and no doubt their social lives were quite compromised due to the night time performances. Without him, the show really would not have been the same - my eyes were drawn to his dedication to his cast and love of the work he does. What a lucky man.

The show radiated sex, passion and one of the highest quality of dancing I have seen in a long time. The directors vision was simplistic and yet so very clever - perfecting the limited stage and having the orchestra as a central focus, not to mention complimenting the action. The dedication the performers had to develop their characters was admirable, no one went unnoticed. Truly, such a great performance - I am in awe and reminded of why I love live theatre so much. There is no practice - it is real and you get one shot to make the audience impressed.

Left feeling oh so blessed to be living here, regardless of the hurdles I am facing, I have the ability to go and see any number of different shows on any given night... bliss!

Oh - did I mention how gorgeous the male dancers were? No photos of the conductor so this one will have to suffice for now ;)