It was a rip-roaring first night for Jersey Boys tainted with sadness over Anthony Minghella. The death of the film director will cast a long shadow, not just because he still had so much to offer but because his very presence seemed to make other people feel better about themselves and their work. In other words, he had a unique talent as a producer.

Before his breakthrough in film, Minghella had worked extensively in theatre, radio and television. I hope that the Arts Council chairman Christopher Frayling, now mouthing glib platitudes about Minghella, notes that two of his early plays were first seen at the Northcott in Exeter and the Derby Playhouse, two theatres Frayling and his apparatchiks have tried their best to destroy.

Minghella would have loved Jersey Boys, though he might have got a lot more story our of it had he been hovering at the librettists’ shoulders. Certainly the climactic, joyous explosions of hit numbers carry the same sensual musical theatre clout as his own staging of the “humming” chorus in Madame Butterfly for ENO.

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You gotta feel for ‘The Lord’ - as he has just sat on Paul O’Grady’s couch to plug I’d Do Anything and witnessed something quite frightful. O’Grady sang That’s your Funeral from Oliver! as the Lord himself sat there, visibily cringing! Years gone by, he’d have guested on Saturday Superstore, pulled a postcard from a spinning tombola tub and then, home James!

To make matters even worse, he then had to listen to Sean Maguire - the star of the awful film Meet The Spartans playing catch up with old showbiz pal, Paul. I loved the shots of Lloyd Webber looking bored and disinterested and look forward to seeing them in the live shows, when a Nancy sings for her supper in the sing offs.

But today, he had to sit through this ‘audition’ of sorts as Paul O Grady killed a song from Oliver!; it was his funeral alright! The Lord also gave the obligatory interview and made the usual - “We are looking for a raw Nancy who……” comments. He also said: “We’re not going for bland casting, this time.” Connie Fisher, it isn’t then!

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On Monday night Whatsonstage.com hosted a long awaited and sold out event to see Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre. Over 200 Theatregoers joined us to watch this fantastic show and were treated to a post show reception with members of the cast. Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and features some of their  best loved songs, including “Earth Angel”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk Like  a Man”, “Sherry” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.

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What an exhausting but at the same time thrilling experience it has been. The quality of the productions has been consistently high, with some better than others, but not a bad one among them. It seems that the RSC has emerged reenergized from the Complete Works festival, and that the ensemble idea is not only a winning concept, but one that is back to stay. Before the start of the last play on Sunday, Michael Boyd held a talk where he revealed that a new ensemble, on a similarly long term commitment, will be coming in in January and that there are already plans for the ensemble to come after that one, which will be onboard for the festival that they’ve got planned for 2012.

It’s been draining, but at the same time it feels a bit sad that it’s come to an end, and personally I wouldn’t mind seeing it all over again, but that’s not to be. There are so many things that I’ll take with me from the complete cycle, from the big themes to the little gems that sparkled unexpectedly and etched themselves into my memory for a long time to come. (spoilers coming up)

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The last day of the cycle, and time for R3. The RSC doesn’t normally do Sunday performances, but this day marks one of the few exceptions to that rule. Everyone will still get a bit of a breather, as the performance doesn’t start until 3 pm, and for the first time during the cycle I’ve had the time to look at what’s sitting in my inbox. I even had time to briefly look in on my online Shakespeare discussion group, where the discussion of Hamlet has just started, and thank goodness this part of it is secure in Arlene’s very capable hands, and that the reins won’t be passed to me until May, as I think my brain would probably have melted if I had had to do that concurrently with this Histories extravaganza.

I’m pleased to say that the cycle goes out on a strong note, even if it’s not as good as the opening R2, but then few productions are of that calibre. The obligatory reminder before the play, about mobiles and the like, is delivered by Roger Watkins, and he’s immediately greeted by a huge cheer as he comes onto the stage. He then proceeds to first count the seven down and one to go on his fingers, before miming the entire caution about using mobiles, cameras or recording equipment, all of which is received with applause and laughter. So far we’ve largely been spared mobile phones going off, with one notable exception last night when someone’s phone went off right towards the end of Richard’s big soliloquy. (spoilers coming up)

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I didn’t go to the theatre last week, but I saw the best movie of the year so far: Lars and the Real Girl. Yup, I’ve seen No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. The first is superb for acting, cinematography and suspense, the second for the Biblical nuttiness and brain-busting concentration of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Did I hear “What about Atonement?” at the back of the hall? Get outta here. Apart from that little girl and Vanessa Redgrave in the last reel it stinks. But Lars is a sheer delight and against all the odds, too.

It’s a love story between a young, emotionally cauterised Canadian backwoodsman and his ordered-off-the-Internet inflatable doll. Sounds tacky, huh? It could have been. Believe me, it isn’t.

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I’d Do Anything began yesterday and the tried and tested format remains. Maybe it’s me, but the cliches of the format seem more evident than ever before.

Andrew Lloyd Webber keepers feferring to the ‘Nancy’ that he wants for the show. He mentions that Amy Winehouse would be perfect for the part. You smile to yourself as when looking for Joseph he said he wanted a “Justin Timberlake!” Hardly Lee Mead, is it? This makes the search seem much more frantic and unique, which of course it isn’t, in either case.

Instead, the usual stereotypes are lined up like tin cans in a shooting gallery. Jennifer, the scouse girl with a heart of gold has plenty of ill relatives and serves fries at Burger King. Like Keith Jack though, she is a student but this is not ‘rags to riches’ enough. She even comes up with her own corny catchphrase: “From waitress to West End star!” (see prediction in 1st post!).

Cut to lots of precious looking boys, straight from stage school; all desperate to utter the line: “Please sir. Can I have some more?” Each is one trying desperately to out-do the other, even at a young age: one says “I was a munchkin in The Wizard Of Oz.” The other says: “I write plays and musicals.” Graham Norton has a field day, poking fun at these (”I want this so bad”) contestants. (more…)

Saturday evening and the last play of the day, the third and final part of the H6 trilogy. Strange to think that this is the last time that any of these productions will be seen here in Stratford, where they were initially performed back in 2000, or was it 2001? All theatre performances are basically no more than fleeting moments, seen and enjoyed as they happen, and then only living on in the memories of those that saw them, but this has been one long moment for this trilogy. From here they, and indeed the whole Histories cycle, will move on to their final destination, a brief season at the Roundhouse down in London, and then they’ll be gone, this time most probably for good. But back to this production of 3H6. (spoilers coming up)

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The second play this Saturday, 2H6, is on paper one of the weakest of the Histories, so I was very curious to see how this would turn out, after being pleasantly surprised by the production of 1H6. It turns out to be rather uneven, probably no surprise given the unevenness of the play itself, but some tricks are now growing old in this the sixth of the Histories. It’s initially slow, but things pick up considerably during the last hour. (spoilers coming up)

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Saturday morning and we’re all starting to look a bit bleary-eyed, even if the buzz is still very much there. The “good morning” from the actor who came on before the play to caution us about mobiles was greeted by a cheerfully unison response, as we’re all raring to go.  We’re doing all three H6s today, which should mean that we finish on a strong note with 3H6, which I think is the best of the three. So a whole day of warring roses, and in honour of today’s theme I’m wearing little silver rose earrings. (spoilers coming up)

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