burntcopper | I'd Rather Charleston

Yay!

Spent yesterday evening either giggling or just sitting there with a silly grin. Lady Be Good is sheer enjoyable froth with good singing, good jokes, great performances, silly twists and *fabulous* dancing. Many dance bits. Many. Manymanymanymany. Gratuitous dance sequences, even. The brother-sister pair who're the reason for the plot even make a comment of 'why is it whenever we're fighting this music starts playing?' (said music being Fascinating Rhythm)

Oh, and the main pair could dance and sing fabulously. The people they paired off with clearly were not dancers, but we agreed that they'd be quite happy to sit back and watch their pretty partners dance and sparkle all over the stage. You got the feeling that the siblings had a habit of inviting people into their relationship to play with. And Shirley (brother's love interest, sister's best friend) was entirely cognisant of this and was fine with it. The brother, I blinked and went '...familiar.' And as the first act went on, became increasingly convinced due to his dancing and his legs. (very tall. very, very long legs.) And the fact that he was blonde, which isn't all that common in leading men. Jane was treated to me giggling 'mmm, legs' throughout it. After nicking someone's program in the interval, turns out I was right. Chris Ellis-Stanton, last seen as Billy Crocker in the touring production of Anything Goes. Still pouting slightly that they didn't let him tap. But they did let him twirl all over the stage and kick - this style of dancing, the entire cast dances the same, so there were lots of high kicks from the menfolk. Who spent their entire time in tuxes or evening dress. *Shucks*.

new phrases we need to start using in everyday conversation : 'In frappé up to the ankles.' Watty Watkins for the *win*. Not to mention you can never go wrong with bumbling drunk upper-class twits and their airhead girlfriends who want them to make something of themselves in the comedy category, both of whom use pet names to sickening effect, *especially* when handcuffed to lawyers by accident.

Also, stage scenery made of huge musical instruments. Band sheltering under giant piano; piano keys and drums were the staircase, the handrail was a flute and the moveable seating/canopy thingies were drums and a piano stool. The new york skyline was a bunch of inner piano keys sticking out of the piano. *Your* theatre production didn't have a giant sparkly double bass stuck in the corner for the hell of it.

I'm sure I don't need to get tickets to the Boyfriend. Sure of it.

Hedgehog signalling patterns : one of those phrases in molecular growth and genetics and DNA that sadly refer to shape rather than actual hedgepigs. Because I can never, ever get the image of hedgehogs doing semaphore out of my head due to this. And then? Then they start going on about *Sonic* hedgehog signalling and expressing domains. Whoever named this branch of molecular stuff was an utter bastard. And a Sega addict.