London Theatre Chronicles: A Personal Ranking of 17 Shows

Ranking of the 17 pieces of theatre that I watched while living in London for two months:

Living in London in the winter is bittersweet as someone like me who grew up in Miami. No matter how great of a city London is or how unique of a country the United Kingdom is, I must acknowledge that the cold and gloomy weather in the winter creates a culture of hibernation amongst locals. As much as I would like to claim that I was a local, I only moved there for two months and wanted to make sure that I was filling my time with things that I enjoy doing such as going to the theatre!

Before you read my ranking, I want to be clear of a few things: Firstly, I am not a critic of theatre or of anything for that matter, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt as theatre is an art that relies heavily on personal preference. Second, I enjoyed every show that I went to, but in line with creating my ranking, I know that one show must be ranked the lowest and one the highest. Lastly, if you are one who enjoys watching TV and movies, let this ranking inspire you to go enjoy some theatrical performance. I believe it is one of the classiest forms of art that manages to keep its purity and antiqueness regardless of the advancements that have been made across the creative artistic industry since the beginning of theatrical performances.  

#17: Back to the Future

This pains me to put such a great story so low on my personal rankings, but as I wrote earlier, one show must be ranked the lowest. It’s important to mention that the Back to the Future trilogy is amongst my favorite movies of all time. I think that could be a part of the reason that it didn’t live up to my expectations, since I have enjoyed the movies so much already, it was hard for the live show to match that enjoyment.

#16: Wicked

Another great show that most people would probably rank higher as it’s internationally well known. Wicked is known for having a catchy soundtrack and an intriguing story line. Prior to watching the show, I was unaware that the plot was a prequel to the classic movie, Wizard of Oz. I did become more engaged in the show once I realized that there was overlap to one of my grandfather’s favorite movies.

#15: Witness for the Prosecution

In this performance, a section of the audience is part of the jury box, while the rest of the audience is the public gallery mimicking a courtroom setting. To be honest, this could’ve been ranked higher, but since I got a ticket last minute I was seated in the balcony behind a pillar, which blocked my view to the main parts of the stage. Thankfully for the second act, I found a seat on the lower level and joined the public gallery where it was incredible to see the great acting up close, many times throughout I felt as if I was a part of an actual courtroom!

#14: Edward Scissorhands

This is a special choice because it’s the first ballet I have seen in memory. It would have been less monotonous if there was some dialogue, but that’s how modern ballet is performed. To be honest, I was considering not even including this choice amongst the rankings since it’s a whole different art. I decided to include it because I want those who care enough to read this to give it a chance as well. It’s astonishing how overly talented ballet dancers are. PS I chose to use the term ‘ballet dancers’ because there are too many ways to refer to different ranking of ballet dancers and different ways to refer to men versus women who dance ballet.

#13: Lion King

The classic story we all know and love about a place called Pride Rock that goes out of order when the evil Scar, Simba’s uncle takes over to disrupt the natural order of the food chain. As a Disney lover (sounds weird calling myself that as a 25-year-old, but let’s stick with it for dramatic purposes), my expectations were a lot higher. Prior to watching the show, I was eager to find out how each of the animals were going to be performed. Now I can relate that I was more impressed with some animals like hyenas, parrot (Zazu), meerkat (Timon), and Warthog (Pumbaa), and less impressed with the lions, lion cubs, and mandrill (Rafiki). I can write a whole essay on ways that they could’ve done the less impressive animals better, but no one would want to read that. My last note is that I really thought the fact that the actors made no attempt to hide their British accent to keep the authenticity of the original movie was disappointing.

#12: Dear England

An embodiment of British culture ranging from their laughable politicians to their international football team that hasn’t won a world cup in over 50 years forgetting the fact that British people consider football (soccer) an integral part of their culture. This was a great performance to specifically see in the beginning of my stay in the UK as it acted as a crash course for my knowledge of British culture, although some jokes may have flown over my head.

#11: Phantom of the Opera

The longest running musical, it is a crime that it didn’t make my top 10. Obviously, to be the longest running musical they are doing something right. Naturally, the plot does seem a little outdated, but the show does do a very clear job with the paradox, essentially it is a performance within a performance.

#10: Les Misérables

Or Le Miz for short, was an intriguing story with a captivating soundtrack. My only regret is not familiarizing myself more with the soundtrack prior to watching the show, because if I did, I anticipate this would move up the rankings.

#9: Choir of Man

This show is set in a pub with a bunch of men who are just looking to have a good ole time. Through their songs, their interaction with the crowd, and personable story telling style, they do a great job of making everyone in the audience feel like they’re one of the lads at a pub forgetting the stress that daily life brings.

#8: Matilda

Another classic and a personal favorite storyline of mine, it did not disappoint. The only thing that took away from the show a bit was the crowd it attracts, which consists of kids who react loudly at everything and in my case a middle-aged woman sat near me who smelled of too much booze. The set was the most unique one that I experienced as you can see from the picture below. Beginning the second act, there is a scene where the fourth wall is broken, and I thought it was done in a tactical way for the best. Throughout the performance, the aisles and balconies are also used effectively as a part of the stage. Oh, and I must give big kudos to all the actors, but more specifically the child actors, and even more specifically the one playing Matilda! So much talent.

#7 The Time Traveler’s Wife

Great plot of a man who uncontrollably time travels back in time and ends up constantly encountering his wife when she was younger. The story puts a perspective on time and how each person on this earth should cherish time with their loved ones. This romantic plot is suspenseful and exhilarating. The actors do a fantastic job of demonstrating emotion and helping the viewers empathize with the characters. This being a novel, a movie, and most recently a series shows how inspiring this story is.

#6: SIX

To watch this and enjoy it, it’s important to channel one’s inner female energy. The performance is a fictional interaction filled with satire and songs between King Henry IV’s SIX wives as they discuss who had it the hardest. It gives a modern ‘girl power’ perspective insinuating that Henry is known for his wives, but his wives aren’t known in history at all. The soundtrack to this is very catchy and there is an aura during the performance that acknowledges the ‘girl boss’ stance that the characters playing the wives have decided to take through music and performance.

#5: Tina

Tina Turner! If you don’t know who this is, do yourself a favor and look up her music. This story tells the true story of a musical legend that is stage named Tina Turner as she is raised by her grandmother in a time where African American and women weren’t seen as equal. The plot goes through the hardships she faced prior to her professional singing career. Both in her career and personal life, she became one of the top African American women whose music and perseverance has inspired a ton of people.

#4: Mamma Mia

Another classic. There aren’t many words that I need to put into this review because the show speaks for itself. I think that this show was cast extremely well, the actors seemed so natural as if they were the characters that they were playing. A good balance of romance, comedy, and drama, it was a great set with lots of catchy music as well that is extremely beloved by many.

#3: Frozen

If you’ve never seen the movie and aren’t familiar with the soundtrack then you will like this show. If you have seen the movie and are familiar with the soundtrack then you will love this show! There were many highlights from how Olaf was represented and Sven (the reindeer), but the most wholesome performance was in the beginning when Princess Anna and Princess Elsa are little girls during “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”.

#2: Hamilton

Pure genius. Choreography is incredible, the fact that Lin Manuel Miranda was able to successfully tell a story of one of America’s founding fathers through hip hop can’t be described with any word besides genius. Learning the words to the soundtrack has helped me and countless other people retain information about the story of when our country was founded and the years that followed. The whole performance, meaning close to 3 hours, is in song and makes complete sense, although for some people it may be hard to keep up, I think it’s the best most relevant way to teach the next generation about Alexander Hamilton. As I write these rankings, I am listening to the soundtrack of this musical masterpiece.

#1: Book of Mormon

My bias reaches its top form here since I’ve watched this show 5 times (and counting) in my life (two times within a month during my time in London). This play is filled with dark humor about how ridiculous the Mormon religion could sound to someone being introduced to it. It follows the lives of young Mormon missionaries placed in an underprivileged village in Uganda, Africa where they are tasked to convert Africans to Mormonism, but the Africans highest priority is staying alive and out of the way of General Buttf*ckingnaked (that is a small glimpse of how ridiculously exaggerated humorous this play is). I can write multiple books on the type of creative geniuses that it takes to make something like this, but instead I’ll just mention lastly that it’s by the creators of South Park, the vulgar animated show that’s been running for over 2 decades.