Tags
Betty Legs Diamond, Boulevard, Cabaret, Drag shows, Halloween show, Miss Rory, Newcastle nights out, Review shows
Halloween a time for ghosts, ghouls and …..Cabaret!
I love Halloween and all things ghastly and ghoulish and I was looking about for something to get me in the Halloween mood when I came across Boulevard’s Halloween Show.
Boulevard is a cabaret show in Newcastle, and one of the best nights out in the Toon. A group of us decided to go to the Halloween show after having a stonking good time at a Broadway revue the troupe did a few months ago. OMG what a night! Almost everyone who goes to Boulevard spends the first few numbers getting over their initial sense of amazement that the cast are ALL men, yes, even Glinda the Good Witch (how pretty was she!)
Miss Rory
The evening is compered by the utterly divine Miss Rory, whose acid tongue lashes the audience one by one – no one is safe! Throughout the night Miss Rory keeps the audience in their place (which is clearly somewhere way beneath her glorious eminence!) and her acerbic repartee keeps everyone in stitches. The brave can even get a photo with Miss R if they dare!
The show opened with a barnstorming number from The Nightmare Before Christmas with lycra clad dancers prancing through the audience dressed to kill (literally!) The programme contained scenes from Chicago, the Rocky Horror Show (with the whole audience reciting every word along with the cast!), a stunning rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller topped off the Halloween element to the show.
The Grand Finale was a very very tongue in cheek (Tongue in butt-cheek at times I think!) but affectionate performance of The Wizard of Oz that had the whole audience buzzing.
Betty Legs Diamond as Dorothy
The utterly fabulous Betty Legs Diamond is the undoubted star of the show (I won’t be uncouth and mention the lady’s age – but high kicks and the caterpillar at her age – WOW!) Betty has a pretty impressive pedigree, she won the Carl Alan Best Theatre Coach/Choreographer 2011 Award Winner and has performed in the West End of London, in the Royal Variety Show (in front of the Queeg and Prince Phillis no less!) and was in Funny Girls show in Blackpool for many years.
This is a great night out: hilarious and entertaining and with great dancers and fabulous routines. Expect to be dancing in the aisle and singing until you are hoarse.
If there are any tickets left for the Halloween show (the night I went was a sell-out) you can buy them on the Boulevard website, otherwise you will just have to wait for the Christmas show!
http://www.boulevardnewcastle.co.uk/
Here are a few of my photos of the show, apologies if some are blurry but I took them on my phone! (Boulevard allow photographs of the shows, but not videos).
Chicago
Rocky Horror Show
Thriller
Thriller
Zombie Attack
Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz
The cowardly lion humps Dorothy’s leg – oo-er missus!
Dorothy gives Glinda a piece of her mind!
Miss Rory gets elevated
Ding dong the witch is dead!
The Haunted Palace 
Looks like a lot of fun, something one could probably go to a couple times, lol.
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It was – and I’m already planning the next night out (now that the hangover has passed!)
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Two days on and I am STILL feeling the effects of the hangover! I am functioning again, but only just!!!
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Great night out though! Must do the Xmas one as well!!
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Hey Lenora, this is super. I would especially have liked ‘Thriller’, was it a good ‘impersonation’ of Jacko’s moves? A very nice post Lenora, I do enjoy things like this as it’s good for us to express and enjoy a lighter view of the perceived dark side!
Best regards, James 🙂
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Hi James, the Thriller set was fantastic (and very tongue in cheek too!) I am not really a Michael Jackson fan (and I know his reputation is a bit controversial these days) but Thriller has to be one of Pop musics most iconic moments and to see a troupe of great dancers performing it live was great!
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