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I‘ve mentioned once or twice (or three times or four times) before that I like musicals. I’m a huge fan and am already looking forward to New York in January when we will get to see Wicked and Avenue Q on Broadway. So, I was very excited to hear that my local theatre in Greystones (just 32 seconds walk from my apartment) was putting on a night of music from Broadway and the West End.

Music of the Night, featuring some of the best songs from the biggest shows, was performed by Paul McGowan, Ben Morris, Aisling Sullivan, Niall Morris and Róisín Sullivan. Each of them brought something different to the table, whether it be Niall’s quirky tenor or Róisín’s sweet and flawless vocals. In the packed theatre, all the patrons both young and old, had a great time.

The first half of Act One was nice. That’s as far as I can go – it was some nice singing of some nice perennials. It opened with a selection of old style Hollywood classics such as Oh What a Beautiful Morning, The Street Where You Live and Over the Rainbow. Then it changed pace a bit with the crowd-pleasing Grease numbers, Hopelessly Devoted and You’re the One That I Want, along with Any Dream Will Do from Joseph. But it was Ben Morris’s rendition of Gethsemane that really got the evening started for me. He was truly fantastic. Jesus Christ Superstar is one of my all time favourite musicals and Gethsemane is in the running for my favourite song from a musical. I have heard countless different versions of it over the years, some had me transfixed (particularly when it last played in the Point) and some had me reaching for the sick bucket, but Morris nailed it. It was the perfect combination of great singing and a fine acting performance. That marked the start of a spellbinding run of songs.

I Know Him So Well from Chess was beautiful, the Sullivan sisters’ voices complimenting each other perfectly, and the three songs from Les Mis, On My Own, Bring Him Home and One Day More, brought the first act to a triumphant close. One Day More sounded like there was an entire chorus on stage rather than just the five singers. Wonderful.

A light refreshment later (the Guinness in the Theatre is of good stock :)) and we were back for some excellent Phantom numbers, followed by a song a song that was new to me – Princess from A Man of No Importance about a girl from Roscommon destined for the lights of the big city. It was a great surprise and I look forward to hearing more from that musical.

It was a shame that they did only one song from Wicked, For Good, because the voices were great for the roles and I was shocked but thrilled to hear them do a fantastically hammed up The Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot and then an Avenue Q song (a musical known for its puppets), Purpose.

The only shadow on the evening, for me at least, was the finale. It’s understandable that they would do a couple of tracks from Mamma Mia! but it is a musical that I really don’t like. Still, a pleasantly silly encore of Any Dream Will Do left me leaving with a smile on my face.

Overall, it was a fun night. Though not groundbreaking, there were a few moments of perfection throughout. I look forward to their return around Christmas and I hope to drag a few more people along with me next time.

This morning I are be mostly listening to Jack L‘s new album, Burn On, a collection of covers of Randy Newman songs. First impressions – it’s a wonderful collection of tracks that truly shows how strong and beautiful Jack’s voice can be. I’ll try get a full review up over the next few days.

In other but no less exciting news, Duke Special‘s new album is out next week and IrishTimes.com have the album streaming on their website. I now love the Irish Times. I’m listening to the album as I type and it sounds fantastic. I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to hear some of the tracks live on Tuesday, when we go to Dukes concert with Neil Hannon in Vicar Street. Until then, I’ll be content with this lovely widget that Duke provides for free:

Last night I was at Music of the Night, a collection of songs from the musicals in Greystones Theatre. I’ll talk more about that later, but I may stick my head in the doors of the Theatre again tonight where The Flaws will be playing. It’s only €10!!! If you’ve nothing else on, go there – it’s sure to be a great gig.

Although, I think the majority of people who read this blog are busy tonight – they’re at Lottie‘s cocktail night in our apartment (with optional Flaws gig). If anyone didn’t get an invitation – you don’t need one. Just come on down (seriously, drop me a mail if you need directions). Lottie will be finished her exams for this term at 1 o’clock today and then her recent stresses should hopefully be alleviated. Go congratulate her!!

On Monday night, thanks to Andy, we’re going to see Deus in Tripod. They were the first band I saw at Oxegen this year and I’m really looking forward to catching a full set.

What else? Ah yes, is everyone ready for the Web Awards tomorrow night? I’ll offer a premature congratulations to Damien on what I’m sure will be a great event. Looking forward to seeing a lot of Bloggers there.