It’s Theatre Thursday! Today we are taking a second look at the West End revival of Sondheim’s Company, which has extended its much-celebrated run and is eyeing Broadway.

​Theatre followers will know that the current revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company is the most celebrated show in London right now, at least. It might be the most celebrated show in the world, given how reviewers are positively falling over themselves to exalt it more than everyone else, trying to get closer to it so some of its glory can rub off on them OR SOMETHING. I don’t know why they’re doing it, because I am literally the only reviewer not joining the overhype club. As we saw a few months ago, I thought this gender-switched revival of Company was…fine. Not life-changing, and certainly not revolutionary in the musical theatre realm as so many are claiming, as they’re distracted by the main character now being female and overlooking that, even with the switch, it remains an out-dated, old-fashioned, kind of sexist show. So why did I see it again?
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When I last lived in Philadelphia, I lived in the Rittenhouse Square area, right near the big (only?) Barnes and Noble on the corner of 18th and Walnut. Literally the day after I ended my lease, HipCityVeg, a super cool vegan 'healthy but fun food' joint, opened across the street from my old apartment. They had burgers, wraps, fries, shakes, all really fantastic too. (Of course their management is questionable at best but this isn't a post about them.) So of course, of COURSE, I have to tell you that I used to live on Commercial Street, right outside Spitalfields market, right across the street from As Nature Intended, the organic shoppe. And lo, what has opened up right on that block recently? A super cool vegan 'healthy but fun food' joint, what else? Let me know if you're looking to open up a similar place and I'll tell you when I move from my current house, since I guess that's the game the universe has chosen for me. Genesis, this newest addition to London's vegan, organic, swanky, instagram-friendly restaurant scene, is a great addition to the neighborhood, but it's a good thing I don't live as close to it anymore, because it's way too expensive. 
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It’s Theatre Thursday! And it’s Thanksgiving, so today we are talking about a show I’m thankful for, quite  possibly my favorite show in London right now, Hadestown.

Like with our recently reviewed Twelfth Night, I’ve been waiting a while to see what everyone in New York has been raving about regarding this modernish musical retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. People last season said that if Hadestown had opened on Broadway then, it would have beaten The Band’s Visit for the Tony, and I was like ‘Umm Kulthum is that possible?’ I’m a huge mythology buff, and I still remember the words to the title song from our fifth grade mythology play “It’s All Greek To Me” (forking excellent title, right?). My favorite line was “Zeus was their king and Hera was their queen/sometimes they were wonderful sometimes they were mean.” So true guys. And one of my many roles (I was a child star) in that play was Persephone’s best friend, so her myth has always been special for me (and probably is responsible in part for my longstanding hatred of men who want to control women). Combining mythology with an original score, Hadestown is kind of brilliant on paper, and luckily it’s extremely brilliant in real life. It’s the only musical in London producing such thrilling theatrical magic onstage that feels incredibly new and fresh, all while being not only an interesting take on a classic romance but also an allegory of capitalism vs. socialism. I KNOW. 
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Most Americans and other non-Brits, when they think of England, think of fancy tea parties, the royal family, and wypipo in big ass hats. Especially when they think of London, ho boy; in their imagination it's some exalted, clean (lol) city with proper and polite people in tailored clothes, fabulous accents, and yes more big ass hats. Since I am an American living in London, I can tell you that all of that is such utter horseshit that I'm laughing at my own words like Jimmy Fallon when he was on SNL. London, although I love it, is like most big cities that usually smell of piss or sewage (the plumbing is likely the original from the 19th century and is in rull need of a refurb) and instead of fancy people in fancy hats, the folks you'll run into most often are lads (white boys from 18-35 who act like they are 17 and under) who are a few sips away from being black-out drunk, and they're vomiting on the sidewalks even during daylight (which is a real feat considering we don't have much of that this time of year (daylight, I mean; we have plenty of drunk ass lads)). And I never see people out in fancy hats in the city. However, one part of the stereotype rang true for me recently: I went to a fancy ass afternoon tea at a fancy ass hotel. And we liked it, and we loved it. In that beautiful dining room, surrounded by dressed up people generally behaving themselves, it felt like the London of ill-informed Americans' dreams. 
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​It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is In the Height of the Storm, which plays Wyndham’s Theatre in London  until December 1. 

​Although a play about two old white married people and their mysterious behavior and all their emotions is like Play 101 material, Florian Zeller’s play In the Height of the Storm feels exciting and surprisingly original. This is because the characters are so specific and so fascinating while the truth about their lives (or deaths) is so perplexing. Ostensibly a family drama, this play feels more like a mystery, as things you accepted as fact quickly get turned on their heads, and, more critically, people you accepted as alive or dead seem the opposite.  
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During our stay in Funchal, Madeira, the beautiful Portuguese island, we had a fancy dinner one night at the island's most celebrated restaurant - Il Gallo d'Oro. It has been awarded two Michelin stars and they told me they could arrange for a vegan tasting menu, so we went for it.  Located in The Cliff Bay resort hotel (one of the three PortoBay properties), Il Gallo d'Oro is not only considered the best restaurant on Madeira but it's also awarded that title for all of Portugal sometimes. So while I knew the food would be great, my vegan expectations were still tempered because these fancy restaurants sometimes just don't have the experience or knowledge for creating vegan menus that are at the same level as the regular ones. As usual I was right. The food was super lovely and delicious, and I'll probably be describing each component as 'lovely' because that's really all there was to it. But it was missing that expertise that a veg chef could provide. And while dining here is a nice event for a special occasion, it's way too expensive for what you get.
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​It’s Theatre Thursday! Today we are talking about ‘Twelfth Night’, the new musical version at the Young Vic in London

​Two years ago, everyone in the know in New York was raving about this exciting new production at the Public Theatre. It was a fast-paced, rollicking rendition of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a play we all thought we knew every possible version of yet were seeing in a new light – as a hip musical. (If you use the word hip are you automatically not hip?) I was sorry to have missed that original run, but luckily the production has come to London’s Young Vic to stir things up. With original director Kwame Kwei Armah on board alongside the Public’s Oskar Eustis, this version of Twelfth Night is a short and sweet modern musical with rocking original songs by Shaina Taub. Although the overeager chopping actually cut too much of the story, the overall concept successfully makes a familiar play feel new again.
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​As discussed in the previous post, Madeira, the little Portuguese island off the coast of West Africa, is an amazing little paradise of mountains, gardens, and overall pleasantness. In this post, we are getting down to what matters: the vegan food, and the hotels. Although the remote location means the extreme vegan ballerness of mainland European cities hasn't reached Funchal yet, there are still lots of good options and cute restaurants to check out. And as far as lodging goes, we stayed in THREE different hotels over this trip! Okay, one was in London and one was not planned, but you'll see! We had an incredible time in Madeira and you can read about all the sights and stuff to do here. 
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​Not just a fortified wine! The small island of Madeira, off the southwest coast of Portugal, is a popular resort-holiday spot for European vacationers, and for dern good reason. One of two autonomous regions of Portugal, Madeira is gorgeous, relaxing, and manageable enough to see in a short visit. Quiet but not boring, the best thing to do there is enjoy the scenery and the vibe, not run to check off a list of  museums and sights that tourists must *absolutely* do like in many places, so you are free to enjoy your time in a stress-free and carefree manner. Because it's one of the most popular cruise ship ports, it's hella filled with white-haired people at all times. Also, the resorts tend to cater to families more than young adults, but happily that means nightlife is not the focus (i.e. you don't hear awful house music emanating from clubs when you are in bed at 10pm). My kind of place! 
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It’s Theatre Thursday! Today we are talking about the new play ‘The Sweet Science of Bruising’, which had its world premiere at London’s Southwark Playhouse in October.

​London has seen its fair share of plays depicting women of the Victorian era, but rarely have we seen them kick some ass. In Joy Wilkinson’s new play ‘The Sweet Science of Bruising’, four women from extremely different walks of life decide to swap evening gloves for boxing gloves and enter the ring. A refuge from the confines of every other aspect of their lives, the turn to boxing – and the attempt to win the title of Lady Boxing Champion – gives the women some semblance of control and power in their restricted lives. But the kickassy nature of this premise quickly gets weighed down by the play’s overly ambitious endeavor to shoehorn every possible bit of tragedy and drama into the story.
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