I have never been a fan of Gareth Gates so it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I made a trip to the Adelphi yesterday afternoon having heard about poor ticket sales etc. I have to report that the theatre was packed and there was the usual buzz from the audience. I had a centre DC Row A seat.

I had an absolutely great time and Gareth Gates was, in my opinion, stunning. OK, I know he hasn't Lee's good looks but he sings well and was more than a worth successor to the role. CED was very moving as he started singing it unaccompanied and that in itself added to the atmosphere. His interpretion of the part of Joseph was not the same as Lee's of course but his acting was really first class and I was surprised and delighted. All the usual cast were on the stage and acted and danced their socks off.

I forced myself to walk down Maiden Lane before the show feeling very nostalgic for the good old Lee Mead days but was cheered to see several members of the cast hanging around the stage door including Tom who was already in make up, wearing his wig and enjoying a last cigarette before the show. Naughty!

So the question is, am I being a disloyal Loppy for enjoying Gareth G so much or am I being a fair and impartial judge? All that I can say is that I had an amazing day from start to finish with trains on time, beautiful weather and a massive shock to the system with regard to the show. An American lady sitting next to me said that each time she came to London she visited a theatre with friends and this was the best show ever. I told her to watch ADWD on BBC American upon her return - that is if it is still on. I am still on a high.

I do apologise if I have offended some die hard Lee fans, but thought I ought to be honest. Please don't throw me off LMAS!

If appreciating someone else meant you could no longer be a Lee fan then I think quite a few members would have to leave. It would have been a shame if the show had been a shambles. Well done GG and thank you, Jan, for telling us about it.

Why on earth would you have offended anyone? It saddens me that you'd think that! There's no law against continuing to enjoy Joseph without Lee, just as there's no law against not seeing the show again without Lee. It's each to their own.

Absolutely no problem with that Jan! Its no surprise I am sure Lloyd Webber was very careful who would be getting into Lees shoes straight after his success so the standard had to be very high. Sounds like a fab day - I have never seen the show without Lee so it would be a tough call to reminiss with someone else. Althoug Id love to see the show for the memories - especially the rest of the cast. I am still pondering if I should go for it.


Glad the day went well. I had a fab trip recently to see Sunset Boulevard.It was excellent. Such a meaty leading role - guess who I was dreaming of playing the part!!

Glad to hear that Gareth Gates was good in the role.

There was 4 spare seats in row A of the dress circle 20 -24 was that your seat?

Of course you're not! More than one actor can/has/will play Joseph brilliantly

Thanks for that Jan, I am just so pleased that the show is going well in it's final days, brilliant for the rest of the cast.
I was very undecided if I should go to the last night or not, tempted by the lovely Craig, and of course Russ and Adam, but as it turns out I'm on holiday so the decision is made for me.
My memories of Jan 10th will remain the last night for me, and what memories eh?

There is a story Saggy. When I arrived (my seat was A25) those seats were taken but the chap in seat 24 was - how can I say this without being rude - extremely large. My heart sank when I saw him and I was very squashed which did my recently fractured arm no good at all. He leant towards his large wife and children and I spread myself a bit so this time he was squashed and not me. He muttered something about moving to somewhere more comfortable and I then saw he was standing at the side. After the interval none of his party came back and I noticed they had been put in one of the boxes stage right. Apparently he had been less than polite to the lovely lady sitting on my left. So that is why for the second half there were 4 empty seats in Row A. Hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did but I expect you are used to it by now. Wish I had known you were going to be there.

Of course not. I'd be tempted to see Joseph one more time, just to say good by, if I had the money for the trip.

Thanks for telling us all about it. I'm glad the ticket sales are up and Gareth is doing well :)

At the moment I still can't imagine Lee in any other role than Joseph. I wish he would announce what he will be doing next.

Just shows there are 2 sides to every story and yes I am Large and No those people next to me were not my family. My family was on stage.
I moved into "your seat" because the disabled lady was having breathing problems and as I moved I was told by your "new Friend" that was not my seat and that she was now uncomforable. I explained I was trying to help the disabled lady and she said she didnt care. When you arrived I immediately moved to my correct seat and I said that I would find another seat so that everyone was more comfortable.
I was moved to the box by an usher after I explained my considerate gesture to the disabled lady.
Shame Im the rude "Extremely Large" man ... I prefer cuddly and without being rude I dont give a monkeys what you think of me!

Happy days!

OOops, sorry Saggy - I fell into that trap did I not?. I didn't say you were rude to me, only repeating what the lady to my left told me. Anyway, I enjoyed the show and hope you did too.

Thanks for the review Jan - glad you enjoyed the show. Sounds like Gareth and that superb cast are still enjoying themselves too.
Thanks for sharing.

Jan, I'm really glad you had a nice time at Joseph. I can't see how anyone would be offended by you seeing Gareth.

I loved Lee and I would not do the same show ever without him( even though I miss it terribly). I consider it to be a different show now. We're going to see Ray Quinn in Grease on Monday, I'm looking forward to it as I haven't been for ages. Seeing Joseph with Gareth would be like doing that.

Glad to see you still look in on us Saggy!

Jan, I really enjoyed reading your review. No one can ever replace Lee, but it's nice to hear that GG and the rest of the cast sparkled. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

I don't understand what you mean Red Devil.

Just to let you know that RedDevil is registered to post on the forum.

I have posted some negative comments about Lee's album that had people questioning my rights to be a fan, and so I understand why some people might be wary of that kind of accusation. But I have never had anything unkind said about the fact that I post about Man Utd and Andy Murray without mentioning Lee. There are lost of O/T comments that people contribute to.

Doubt not, Jo. It was questioned how a fan could possibly be a fan if she didn't like everything that Lee did. It led to a discussion about whether Lee only wanted fans who loved everything just because he was involved. It definitely happened.

To be honest, this is really coming across as very childish! People posting on behalf of other people ("My friend is upset because...") and silly arguments ("How can a fan be a fan if...")! How old is everyone? Six?

Just to clarify - no-one is expected to like everything that Lee does! Everyone has differing opinions!

Now, can we please grow up and start behaving like mature adults?

Jo, I totally agree with your point about fans. I said similar when the point was raised before.

I'm not really sure why you sound so cross. As far as I can tell, everyone else is having a friendly discussion.

I am really glad for you and glad that the theatre was well attended, and I agree with the others no reason for you to feel ashamed so glad that you saw the cast outside. I know that GG is a worthy choice for the take over is just that I loved Lee so much in that role I do not want to see someone else in it for now, but I do miss the atmosphereand the buzz.