Musical Con – 19/10/24

I might have dropped some hints on this blog about what a musicals nerd I am. I don’t know – maybe it was the wandering all over Salzburg in search of a doorway that featured in the “Do Re Mi” sequence that you might have clocked. Or maybe the fact that I went to a musical theatre rave last year. Did I mention that we went to see Kathy and Stella twice over the summer holidays? Did any of these things give you a clue?

Anyway, I am pleased to confirm that I have spawned a mini-me, at least when it comes to musical theatre. I only heard about Musical Con a week before it happened but as soon as I told Eva about it she was insistent that we ad to go and she had to dress as Veronica Sawyer. Now, I don’t still see Heathers as a musical but her generation is never going to agree with me on that. Turns out that Veronica is a popular costume choice for Musical Con.

I had gone old-school, in exactly the way you might expect.

And if there’s any doubt that Eva is, in fact, my child I refer you to her comment as we went down the escalator to the Elizabeth Line. I said we needed the Abbey Wood branch to which she snickered, gestured at my costume and said “well that’s appropriate”. Which meant the song she was referencing got stuck in my head and I was on the Elizabeth Line quietly singing my own theme tune. I’ve even heard her singing on the Abbey Wood branch.

Talking of which, isn’t it so much easier to get to ExCel nowadays? We do love the Elizabeth Line. I mean, I obviously still love the wizard train but being able to change at Liverpool Street and be there in ten minutes is spectacularly convenient. And once you get to Custom House, ExCel is just a few minutes’ walk away.

What would have been even more convenient is if I’d looked for a cloakroom before we went into the ‘Con. I assumed there might be one inside but there wasn’t. It had been raining when we left the house so Eva and I both had giant winter coats plus my umbrella. It was roasting inside – as it often is at convention centres – so I was just carrying them all day. On retrospective research, it seems like I should have found the one for the whole centre before we went in. Ah well, we’ll know for next time.

We were aiming for the main stage as Eva wanted to see the “Hadestown” showcase but there was something that caught her eye on the way. Apparently, this is the original Persephone coat:

The opening ceremony was still in full swing when we got to the main stage and Eva was very excited to hear a rendition of “Candy Store”. I didn’t get a good picture as she was bouncing up and down too much.

I don’t remember exactly who sang what but our host Shanay Holmes certainly led us in a game of musical next lines – a bit of “Defying Gravity”, a bit of “When You’re Good to Mama” and a bit of “Oom Pah Pah”. I think I acquitted myself adequately. Shanay Holmes is the new Nancy, which we’ll get on to later, but also one of the creators of Musical Con.

She was everywhere throughout the day – singing on the main stage, running backstage to organise things, interviewing Broadway legends, being interviewed at the Backstage Theatre – and Instagram suggests she’s done the same again today. She is phenomenal! And I hope I get to see her Nancy.

After the opening ceremony came the “Hadestown” segment and it was everything Eva was hoping for. I should say that I don’t know the show very well as it’s one that she went to see with her BFF. I know a couple of the songs but not very well so it was all a bit new for me. The cast has changed over recently and the latest version of Orpheus and Eurydice were there to perform “All I’ve Ever Known” and then talk about their roles.

They were very excited still, with Dylan (Orpheus) seemingly especially starstruck by the whole experience. The current Hermes (Melanie La Barrie) was compering and was wonderfully warm towards the newest chickies in her pen. Sorry, I think I still had that song stuck in my head from mentioning it earlier. The new Eurydice (Madeline Charlemagne) was also very sweet and she and Dylan sang and danced beautifully together. Then they brought on the latest Hades and Persephone (Trevor Dion Nicholas and Rachel Tucker) who also seemed very happy to be part of the family but handling it all in a slightly more assured way, which is appropriate for their regal roles.

Then Melanie introduced a special treat for us all – the iconic Hermes, André De Shields. I knew he was being interviewed later in the day but I could listen to him speak forever….he has so much wisdom and also looks sensational in a gold suit. It was lovely to see the bond between the two Hermeses, with Melanie going down on one knee to pay tribute to him.

And I know I wasn’t alone in finding it emotional as I’m sure I saw Madeline wipe away a tear while he was speaking.

Then the whole cast performed “We Raise Our Cups” and Eva whooped and cheered before sinking to the floor, exhausted.

But not for long! She had shopping to be getting on with so she got back up and we went for a look around. We bumped into many other Veronicas, and she got her first Double-Veronica photo. Thank you random Veronica, whoever you are IRL. It really made Eva’s day to bond with so many strangers over a cosplay choice and this first one was especially keen to get a photo. How very.

I wanted to watch the “Les Mis” segment but Eva wanted to look around a bit more so she left me with the coats and went for a browse. I enjoyed the panel and the highlight was probably Milan van Waardenburg singing “Bring Him Home” in both Dutch and English.

Then it was almost time for lunch but first, a quick stop to do a Matilda pose:

And then a Korean burger for me and fries for us both from Destination Burger. There weren’t any Empty Chairs at Empty Tables so we sat on the floor and listened as the “Star of Musical Con” competition started.

I’ve no idea how the judges chose a winner because they were all incredible. I was in the loos for Eva’s favourite – the Phantom of the Opera guy – but from the ones I heard there wasn’t a bum note among them. And as a choir leader, I’m quite attuned to picking out bum notes.

Then Eva made me go shopping again and buy her a “Ride the Cyclone” pin. I’m not familiar with this musical – maybe because it hasn’t made it to the UK yet – but Eva assures me that it’s a “bop”. She later made me also buy Heather pins for her friends and then some mini-artworks which are now stuck to her bed. I might have left the Con a poorer woman but my heart was enriched.

I’m getting ahead of myself tho. There’s much more to tell you before we get to leaving.

Like the second appearance of André De Shields, where he talked about his three Cardinal Rules and sang “Road to Hell”. He is a self-described EGOT, who just doesn’t have the Oscar yet but will do. Someone needs to sort that out! He was being interviewed by Shanay, who did a little spontaneous harmonizing with him on “Age of Aquarius”. It was beautiful.

And then I got Eva some more fries. Natch.

I also spotted the outside world briefly when queuing for the loos and it was gloriously sunny, which was surreal given it was disco-dark inside.

Then it was time for the “Oliver!” panel, which I’d been looking forward to because I was obsessed with “Oliver!” when I was Eva’s age. I’d been a workhouse boy in the school production in Year 7 and that sparked an obsession that was only halted by the next school production – “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Shakespeare and musicals…I do wonder where Eva gets it from.

I will say that sadly the “Oliver!” cast didn’t sing for us, which was a pity as they talked a lot about the music and it would have been lovely to hear some. But they did complete a raucous quiz about cockney rhyming slang with Mr Bumble playing the fabulous quiz host and Nancy (Shanay again!), Fagin (Simon Lipkin) and Bill Sykes (Aaron Sidwell) competing. Les, the show’s designer, kept score. It was really interesting to hear what they were planning to do with the show and especially good to hear Simon Lipkin talking about the more problematic aspects of Fagin. I got a chance to thank him personally when we were back at the pin stall later….as a Jewish person, that character can be conflicting so I’d love to see the less antisemitic version of him that Simon plays. I also thought I saw Simon Lipkin at a bus stop in Hackney this morning but I assume my brain was just refusing to switch out of MusicalCon mode.

Anyway, the panel persuaded me that we should really go and see the show and I will try to beg, borrow or cadge press tickets when it opens. Or I could even pay to go. I’m a fan of Shanay Holmes after this weekend so that’s another reason to go. The way she talked about the role and the iconic red dress was adorable and I’m sure she will be a brilliant Nancy.

It was about 3:30 by the time the “Oliver!” panel had finished and we were both starting to tire. Eva had been off looking around the stalls again so I went off, vaguely looking for her.

I looked in at the Backstage Theatre but all the seats were taken and while the seated people were wearing headphones, it would have been tricky to hear over the “9-5” medley coming from the main stage. So I found Eva – after being misled by at least 14 other Veronicas – and we went back to the main stage to watch excerpts from “Figaro” and “Little Piece of You”. “Figaro” wasn’t quite my thing, as it was a bit poppy but I’ve just listened to the other songs on YouTube and they’re more what I’d expect from a musical that’s referencing an opera. I think the song that was performed was “The Tease” and it was fine as songs go but just not show tuney enough for me.

However, I really liked the rockier sound of “Little Piece of You”, which was mixed in with the incredible soul vocals of Mica Paris (in equally incredible high heels). It’s only on for two nights so I doubt we’ll get tickets but it does sound intriguing.

After that, it really was time to head on with just a quick stop at the neon sign before we left. You’ll notice that we did the most basic package version of Musical Con – no workshops or meet and greets at the “Stage Door” (although could anything live up to our IRL Stage Door experience the previous night?). There’s probably so much more we could have got out of the day but we happily filled it just watching the acts on the main stage, looking at all the stalls, doing the photo opportunities and cosplay-spotting. That somehow made six hours whizz by without the add-ons. Maybe next year, we’ll plan it all a bit more but for our first Musical Con experience, it was just what we wanted. No time pressure, no queueing and all the joy of spotting people on rollerskates and dressed up as the entire cast of “Hadestown”. We’ll be back next year!