Thank you Joan for the photos, and Deanna for a little insight into what sounds like a really wonderful weekend.
Lovely to hear about all the compliments being paid to Lee after the show too.

I'm back from Warner's and kind of exhausted myself on their lovely tennis couts and in the gym, so I was out like a light last night!

I have a few snippets to add about the weekend, putting aside that the place is gorgeous and well worth a stay, it was the buzz around the place...

There was only a handful of us regulars there, but the place probably held nearly 1000 but the late lounge had about a 300/400 capacity. I did notice that had squeezed in more temporary tables and seating in the VIP area so I think the entertainer on Saturday night may have been pretty popular!

By Saturday breakfast it was the norm to be asked 'so are you a Lee Mead fan?'. It makes you realise when you talk to people that there are a lot of them out there that go and see him at least once in everything he does, and it's nice to chat to them.

Warner's built the tension of the day by red roping off the doorways, rehearsal signs up and covering all the glass panels over so there was no peeking at the star rehearsing.

I think they made the mistake of letting the doors open at 730 pm, I say mistake as they ended up with too much food left over and couldn't give it away! As dining started at 630, by 720 it was reminiscent of the scrum days, the dining hall emptied and there was a queue out the door for the lounge.

By faithful buddy got herself into line, I was stuck in a wine dispute with the Maitre D and I could feel myself getting anxious about getting good seats. The place didn't have a bad seat, but when it's Lee not just any seat will do

Well we'd missed the trick on the VIP-age so settled ourselves on a nice raised banquette so had an uninterrupted view; just too far for iPhone to get a good shot.

The Q&A started around 830 pm, the compere Dan was brilliant, he and Lee had a rapport, so it went well. But pretty much every woman who had to ask their own question got the nerves so it was quite amusing seeing a little mead-mushness creep around the room.

I spoke to Dan afterwards and said he'd done a great job; he said he was terrified! You wouldn't have known it though, and Lee opened up a little, said he had to be honest, he went into Musical Theatre because of the girls!

After the Q&A, Lee did dissappear for a long while, we found out on Sunday from one of the entertainment team that Lee was drinking a lot of honey and lemon to try and get his voice in shape; so he was already suffering a bit.

When he sauntered on stage to sing Pure Imagination, you wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with him and he purred away.... and I was swooning

He ripped through Luck Be a Lady... I reckon doing the duet with Stephen the other week, upped his game even more on this song, he was powerful and animated and had the stage space to strut around.

He was on good form the whole night, no break just sang his way through his current set list. When he quietened down for Father and Son, followed by Bring Him Home there were the first signs of him going hoarse. It didn't affect his performance, his passion shone through, but we were willing that very last high note out of him on BHH; and he did it!

Will came on with a cloudy drink for him at that point which he gulped down, and I think the crowd knew he was battling on; you could almost hear the sigh go round.

Funnily enough earlier on he'd mentioned performing whilst crossing the Bay of Biscay, and the audience did a united gasp, they all know how rough that see can get, so I'm guessing they'd all been on cruises!

He also mentioned that when he did the booze cruise to Calais a cage came down on stage, I don't remember hearing that before?

I can't remember which track he thundered back with either Kiss or Crazy Little Thing Called Love, bizarrely its all a blur to me know, but he put his all into his performance and all too soon arrived at Being Alive, again a belter; and he didn't miss a note.

He popped out for signing a little while later and there was a queue ready for him, so he did the usual there. Then went to the bar with the entertainment team, selfie's were had all round and he managed to get a pint of Guinness in as well.

The following day the bar staff and entertainers were still on a high, talking about meeting him. One lovely girl in the loo just kept saying 'I can't believe he came here, he's so down to earth and lovely'.

The Warner's staff had been told they couldn't watch, and they were utterly disappointed, a shame when on their night off they'd put on their finest and come back to work the event. Anyway, they did! They were allowed to stand at the back and they were pleased as punch. The following night they had their own West End Show, and you just wonder whether they channeled just a little of what they saw the night before because we all agreed they were excellent!

It truly was a Star Break as the following night the atmosphere was so different, so calm, which really made the 'Air of Expectation' the night before stand out...

and I just love that every whisper or overheard snippet of conversation that contained '...Lee...' was a compliment to him and his performance!


Set list, by Ro

Thanks for the review Petrus!

Blimey, those booze cruises must have been rough if the performers had to perform in a cage! Or maybe the cage was for the audience?

Just to add a little something to the great reports, we were warned on the Friday that in order to get in to watch Lee we had to line up at the door and produce our room keys to be let in to the Late Lounge. They were concerned some people might sneak into the hotel just to see him. I have been to other Warner hotel star weekends and there has never been the buzz, or anything like the extent of excitement by the staff as there was last weekend.

Sounds like it was a fantastic evening. So pleased for all those who went, and thanks for the reviews, photos and extra snippets.

Thanks everyone for reviews and little snippets of news etc,it sounded like a great night and so glad everyone loved Lee

Thanks to all who've shared their experiences.

Thanks for that lovely long review Petrus, also thanks Deanna for the extra snippets & Joan for the lovely photos.
It's great to hear what a special evening it was - I could feel the buzz just from reading about it. It sounds as if he'll have won over a lot of new fans after that weekend.

It certainly was a fantastic night.
I emailed the manager to say thank you & to say that I really enjoyed Lee's performance.

this was his reply:

Thank you so much for the great feedback, you are correct in saying everyone had a great night including myself.
Lee was great with the team and definitely has inspired them and given great words of encouragement.

Isn't it wonderful to hear that Lee is inspiring the up & coming performers?

That's lovely to hear!

Thanks for that Joan.

After our little discussion on Lee turning down the role of Chris in Miss Saigon I thought I would just add a few thoughts.

I saw this last week (third preview)and really enjoyed the role of Chris and how he interacted with Kim. I sadly never got round to seeing the original and I would love to have had something to compare the new version with.
It was good but because I have the original sound track and have listened to the odd snippet of Lee singing the songs, I had an image in my mind of what it would be like and it wasn't the same as I had expected. I won't put why as it wouldn't be fair and many have yet to see it.

Anyway, having seen it, I find myself content with the fact Lee turned it down for Casualty. Comparing the two, TV is much higher profile to theatre and also its as guaranteed as it can be as a regular job whereas in theatre things seem so volatile at the moment. I'm amazed and sad at how many new productions are closing after just a few months. I think he made the right decision at the time.
I know a few from here are seeing Miss Saigon soon and I would love some feedback as to what you thought and how it compares.
Enjoy

Glad you enjoyed Jazzy. Don't know if anyone heard it, but Cameron Mackintosh was on BBCR2 with Graham Norton the opening Sat. promoting Miss Saigon. He said it had a cast of 40 and when it opened originally 25 years ago there were 18 different nationalities involved, now there are 80! (can't quite work that out, perhaps he belongs to Lee's school of maths - lol - but expect he was including the backstage staff). He mentioned it had been changed from the original (didn't say what or why) and hoped those who had seen it back then would still like it! so I got the impression there must have been a few big changes. He mentioned the tour which was done 10 years ago (presumably the one Lee did with Ramin and Crystal), which I think was based on the original show (but I stand to be corrected). Like you Jazzy be interested to hear from anyone who saw the original and can compare it with the new one.

As to Lee, he seems to be really happy working on Casualty and that to me is the most important thing.

I saw the original UK Miss Saigon with Lea Salonga, Jonathan Pryce and Simon Bowman way back in the 1990's and was blown away, so am dying to see this new version to make a comparison. Haven't booked yet though, been spending too many pennies on certain concerts

Glad you enjoyed it Jazzy and I agree with you about Casualty, but I would love to see Lee back in the West End sometime.