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Somewhere that's green: Potty the Plant at Wiltons Music Hall

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"I'm Potty the Plant," sings a potted plant in this odd little fringe concept of a show. It's hard not to get the tune out of your head, even if the show is brief. It's an earworm for a show that features a worm-like plant as a puppet. And given the show's brevity, running at only an hour, it's hard to get too annoyed by a lack of a coherent story, even if it still seems like the show could use a bit more development (which is underway). It has made its London debut at Wilton's Music Hall. The premise is that Potty, the plant, lives in the hospital office of Dr Acula (geddit?) and dreams of a life with the cleaning lady Miss Lacey (Lucy Appleton). But Dr Acula might be responsible for why all these children are disappearing while trying to romance Miss Lacey for her family's money that she doesn't have. Three nurses are on the case, trying to solve the mystery.  If the show settled on a convincing plot, location and set of characters, it could ...

A whole lot of soul: Cynthia Erivo in concert


Last Monday night was an opportunity for Cythia Erivo to strut her stuff in her first solo concert. Whether it is a quiet softly sung ballad or belting out a showstopper there does not seem to be anything she cannot do.

She has been a rising star in the West End with stand out performances in The Color Purple, Dessa Rose and Sister Act, but here she was able to showcase a range of musical styles, and her phenomenal vocal range.
The choice of music was an inspired choice of soul classics, musical theatre and intricate original songs written by Erivo.

The original songs were particularly stunning and personal, filled with emotions and reflection. Her song Fly Before You Fall is part of the film Beyond the Lights (which has yet to have a UK release date).

But she also let things rip with an electrifying rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way” that had the audience screaming with delight and on its feet for the first standing ovation.

By the time she concluded the evening with “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” the audience were ecstatic, as evident in the clip made available through the West End Video Youtube channel. The release of the video has caused endless chatter given that there may be a West End production of Dreamgirls in the not too distant future...

Kings Place is a particularly classy venue with its comfortable seating and wood panelling (it must be terrific for chamber orchestra concerts). But adding to the sophistication was the five piece band under the musical direction of Tom Deering and their exceptional musical arrangements.

A fine evening of music making and I can’t wait for the album to come out… First impressions with @johnnyfoxlondon follow...

listen to ‘Soul Boom: first impressions of @cynthiaerivo concert with @johnnyfoxlondon’ on audioBoom

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

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