I won’t bore you with many pictures from London - just a few of my favorites. This is the first set (of three) - BoM night. The Prince of Wales theater before the show, when we collected our tickets. A picture of me with Gavin Creel and a picture of my brother Alessandro with Jared Gertner. The stage, the stage door sign while we were waiting for the cast, and one of the hilarious posters you can find in every single tube station in London.
Also, my program and a London Theatre guide both signed by Gavin Creel. I got a few more autographs inside the program as well (Jared, Alexia Khadime, Stephen Ashfield and Giles Terera).
Just a few words about the show: amazing. Our seats were probably the best in the house. We had central seats in the first row of the dress circle and you could almost reach out and touch the stage. The cast pretty much sang to our faces. The London cast is a triumph. Gavin is amazing in this role. I love him, but I had many doubts when he was cast. I didn’t think he had it in him to do all the wacky stuff the show requires. I couldn’t be more wrong. Watching him do Elder Price is like watching a combination of Jim Carrey and Dick Van Dyke, with his hilarious cartoony faces and gangly limbs. My brother, who was not familiar with the show nor with Gavin, also commented on how much like Jim Carrey he was. I Believe got the biggest applause from the audience. Jared is adorable as Arnold and makes him sweeter and less creepy than Josh Gad. His chemistry with Alexia is great and they sang one of the best Baptize Me I’ve ever heard. Alexia herself is a real life Disney princess much like Nikki M. James. She sang the heck out of her big number and was hysterical throughout, not to mention gorgeous. My jaw dropped when I saw her at the stage door, she managed to look incredible despite the several layers of coats she had on (it was freezing). Stephen is a great McKinley, almost as good as Rory O’Malley. His gay box line, which is one of my favorites in the show, was delivered perfectly and got a big round of applause.
The stage door, my very first, was a lot of fun. None of the actors stayed too long because, honestly, we were all freezing our asses, but they were all so nice. Gavin, who was very worried about his dog Wally being a little grumpy that night, asked me how to say good night in Italian right after we took our picture together, which was very nice, and Jared was hilarious and was very excited when I told him how much I love Submissions Only. While it was nothing new to me if only because I’ve read how these things work most times, my brother was very impressed by how humble everyone was and how down to earth Gavin and Jared were. He couldn’t believe that someone who was so good on stage in such a gorgeous production could be just a regular guy who hangs out with fans. It was very funny to witness and I think he was a little starstruck.
It was an amazing experience. I would have never dreamed that one day I would be able to see one of my favorite Broadway shows performed by one of my favorite Broadway stars, that’s just not something that happens when you live an ocean apart from New York. I loved every second of it.
