Visiting London does not only mean knowing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London. Going to the theater is also a compulsory walk that allows you to enjoythe most famous classical musicals of the industry.
Perhaps the hardest thing when going to thetheater in London is to decide on the best musical or the one that issuitable for children of school age because without a doubt the theater is awonderful option for the kids as well.
Amongthe most outstanding options to choose from are The Lion King, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables.
The Lion King, a memorable story
In the mid 90’s, Disney managed to catch the hearts of the little ones with the creation of the movie The Lion King, the story that tells the life cycle in the jungle, with the characters Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Rafiki in charge of giving shape to the experiences that are shown in the film.
The musical The Lion King appears for thefirst time in 1999 at the Lyceum Theater in London and has been consideredover time as the most impressive show, with more than 7000 presentations.
Today, The Lion King has earned the reputationof being one of the best productions in the history of musicals. There areplenty of reasons that confirm this and that this show is perfect for the wholefamily, making both adults and children enjoy 3 hours of an unforgettabledream. With a neat scenography and an insurmountable body of dance, thismusical work can transport us to the grandest of the beautiful Disney classic,which speaks of effort, fear, respect and the meaning of life at a completelyunsuspected level.
Considering that this musical has been seen by more than 80 million people, buying ticketswith a month in advance should be no surprise. People must be aware thatchildren under three are not allowed in the theatre.
If going to London with the children is among the trips that you want to makesoon, then there is no better plan for everyone than enjoying a show full offantasy and magic from start to finish.
Wicked, a benchmark of the Wizard of Oz
The musical Wicked premiered in London in 2006, is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, calledWicked: The life and times of the wickedwitch of the west, and this, in turn, has its precedents in the novel byFrank Baumen, The Wizard of Oz. Thestory of this musical deals with the adventures of two witchcraft studentgirls, Glinda who personifies the good witch of the North and Elphaba, thewicked witch of the west, who come together and establish a deep friendshipthat will ignite the spark to give a twist to fate of the inhabitants of Oz.
Wicked can be said to be asequel or parallel story of the work of The Wizard of Oz because in it is discovered who is the good witch of north and who the wickedwitch of the west, is also discovered where the tin man comes from, the Scarecrow,the cowardly lion, and Dorothy’s shoes. In the musical work, themes such asgood and evil, power and abuse, discrimination, deception, and manipulation arepresented.
It has been awarded the Olivier Prize in 2012, is one of the favorite works in London,it won the Evening Standard Theater Award in 2011. It also received the BestWest End Show and Whatsonstage.com in 2010 and 2011.
This musical work began on Broadway in October 2003 with the best actors, IdinaMenzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda) and Joel Gray (the magician),getting three of the 10 Tonys she was nominated to.
The Phantom of the Opera, a famed classic
The Phantom of the Opera,written by Gastón Leroux in 1909, is a literary work adapted to films andtheater works. The musical work of Andrew Lloyd Weber premiered for the firsttime in London in 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theater. It is still playing thismusical with huge attendance on each gig. Twelve films of this novel have beenmade and it has been awarded multiple times.
In the story, a hidden character guards themajestic palace of the Garnier Opera in Paris. He is a talented musician who hides his face with a mask because he feels ashamed of his appearance, andis able to do anything to see his love shine, the singer Christine Daae.
The story begins to take a turn when an old love of Christine appears and themadness of the musician is unleashed allowing him to do anything to not lose it. The Phantom of the Opera is a workthat combines romance, music, terror, mystery, and tragedy. Leroux livedbetween 1868 and 1927, at the time spiritism was booming and psychics enjoyedfame because they studied ghosts through mediums with supernatural powers.
Seeing this musical work can be even more exciting than watching one of the many films that have been made about this story.
Les Misérables, a classical musical
Les Miserables was presented for the first time at the Barbican in London on October 8th, 1985, and on December 4th of that same year he relocated to the Palace Theater until April 3rd, 2004 then moved to the theater that is now It’s home, the Queen, where success continues thanks to the fact that it continues to fill the room every day.
Les Miserablesis set in nineteenth-century Paris and basedon the book by the French playwright Victor Hugo. It tells the story of Jean Valjean, a low-value criminal whois prepared to end his criminal life, because he got fed up with policeJabert being after his search since he was 20 years old.
This musical work has been seen by more than 57 million people since it wasreleased, has also been seen in 42 countries and in 21 different languages. Itwas written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the music belongs tothe latter as well and the libretto in English is by Herbert Kretzmer, and theoriginal text in French is by Jean-Marc Natel, Alain Boublil and James Fenton.
A musical inspired by a novel and turned into a show that should not be missed ifyou are passing through London.
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