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Christmas Mysteries: A Sherlock Carol @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A mash-up of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes would seem an unlikely pairing. Yet it provides a surprisingly fun Christmas-themed adventure. These two Victorian tales (albeit separated by about 40 years) provide the basis for an inspired adventure at Christmastime that just also happens to turn out to be a murder mystery as well. With lavish costumes, a few spooky set pieces and some good old-fashioned stage trickery with lights and a lot of smoke machines, it is hard to resist. It returns to the Marylebone Theatre for Christmas after a run there last year.  The premise is that after Holmes sees off the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, he is left adrift in London. People thought he was dead, and he might as well be. Disinterested in the misdeeds of other Londoners, Holmes has even given up on his friend Dr Watson. It's almost as if he has become a Scrooge. Or half a Scrooge, moping about shouting, "bah" in respon

Music: Michael Feinstein

Spending Sunday evening with Michael Feinstein and his 17 piece band was a great way to pass the time. When I last saw him five years ago, I wasn't so enthused by his performance. Since then he has released a number of new albums including most recently his Sinatra album with new interpretations to the music of Sinatra. This seems to have thankfully given him new music to explore, beyond being known just as the Gershwin man (or one of the foremost interpreters of Gershwin's music).

The concert featured a range of songs recorded by Sinatra, but also included some tributes to Cole Porter (including with John Barrowman) and at 53, he is looking and sounding pretty good. There were various nods to famous people in the audience such as Leslie Bricusse and Judge Judy (who married Feinstein and his partner), but in the end it was an evening of music. And the music sounded great... If only leaving us wanting to hear a little more from that band...

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Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
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