We’ve enjoyed selecting pieces tied together by a theme or a place over the past two weeks. Since the West End is temporarily shut, George and I thought we could bring a taste of the West End to the Courtyard with a selection of pieces from Musical Theatre Shows.
Growing up I was a huge fan of Doris Day and the classic Musical movies, like Calamity Jane, and live stage shows such as Cats, Wizard of Oz, and Phantom of the Opera. I particularly enjoyed Calamity Jane, as the story featured a fierce lady with a big heart who learned how to find strength and love in vulnerability. I personally think that as a performer allowing yourself to be vulnerable on stage, in the sense of releasing your emotions honestly, creates a special bond between you and your audience. Over the last 10 weeks, I have felt this connection with our audience and this bond has made me feel supported and encouraged me to take more risks during live performance. Such as holding my notes as long as I can and singing quietly.
I want to take a moment to thank you for listening and sharing this unknown journey with us. We will continue to experiment with how we can make and share music, whilst prioritising people’s safety. You can listen to our tenth balcony concert below:
Songs:
If I Loved You (Carousel)
The Deadwood Stage (Calamity Jane)
Secret Love (Calamity Jane)
Memory (Cats)
Popular (Wicked)
Think Of Me (Phantom of the Opera)
Encore: Don’t Rain On My Parade (Funny Girl)
Extremely well done. I only wish I could have heard these live. Xx
I’ve read that theatres will be among the last places to reopen after the lockdown is over Les. Live performance is such a communal experience for the artists and audiences alike I just hope the smaller venues and companies do manage to reopen. I’m happy that the residents in our courtyard are happy and want us to continue a little while longer. Being able to sing out loud with an audience is so valuable especially whilst we’re experimenting with new songs and techniques.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Loved it 👏👏👏 despite the you tube hiccups it was fantastic as always, well done to you both.🥰😘
It’s so frustrating the YouTube steam keeps falling over, people say it’s the wifi but that always seems to be running fine when George gets up to check. We have just decided to keep using the back up and put the video out on Sunday evening if the Friday live stream doesn’t work.
All our best wishes
Charlotte and George
Wonderful courtyard concert. Love the music selections.
Thank you Jovina, I’ve been wanting to learn a couple of these songs for a while like Secret Love and If I Loved You I’m really happy you enjoyed them.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’m so enjoying these mini concerts. A Soprano singing whip crack away and totally getting into it. Fantastic work and honoured you share your expanding talents with us all. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Love it. Thank you.
I’m so pleased to read you’re enjoying the videos, it has been eight years since I last sang The Deadwood Stage in a concert with Tideswell Male Voice Choir and they all wore their Stetsons and joined in, I remembered the song completely on the run through the day before I just got carried away hehe!
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Brilliant. Looking forward to more.
😃👍😃
Fabulous!
Thank you Benn!
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Thank you Don, hope they bought back some happy memories for you 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Makes me feel like I am sitting in a Broadway audience! How cool is this.
I wish, I’ve been in the audience on Broadway once with family to watch Evita with the fabulous Ricky Martin and to watch several performances during a college trip with my drama group we saw lots of shows but AvenueQ stood out which I loved.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte and George. This was very enjoyable.
Thank you John, glad you enjoyed the songs from the shows.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Bravo ! Chercher, expérimenter !!! ET te laisser aller à lâcher ta voix, te faire plaisir et donner du plaisir à ceux qui t’écoute et sente que tu as du plaisir à partager !! Idem pour George, on le sens plus “libre” plus “communiquant” son ressenti de t’accompagner, de mélanger sa musique avec ta voix et d’offrir ce cadeaux au public !!!
Félicitation à tous les deux, vous avez donner du sens à ce confinement. Vous avez compris que c’était l’occasion de faire de nouvelles expérience pour vous préparer à l’après !!!! Fière de vous deux mes amis !!!!!! Meilleurs pensées !!
Merci beaucoup Pascal tu es tres gentil.
Best wishes
Charlotte and George
Amazing once again you two.
Loving these concerts as are all your neighbours.
Cannot believe it has been 10 weeks, and the weather has been great for you
Well done ..😘😘
Now that lockdown is easing I did write to the neighbours in our group and ask if they wanted us to continue for a while longer and was very happy with the positive response and the messages saying how much people look forward to them as the start of their weekend. We’ve been lucky with the weather fingers crossed this rain that is on the way passes over by Friday. Thank you,
All our best wishes
Charlotte and George
I have been enjoying your balcony concerts from afar. Keep them going. You and George are inspiring and work well together. See the love in your eyes for each other. Stay safe, stay well.
Thank you that is very sweet of you Caroline, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing our music this past couple of months, trying out brand new songs and new techniques I’m working on and working on our duo material to expand our recital programs it’s not always easy to practice when we’re both busy doing our own projects.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Thanks for continuing to bring music to the world. We need it now more than ever.
Thank you Joe that is very kind of you 😊. Connecting with people has always been a real pleasure for George and me and sharing our love of music to lift spirits has been wonderful.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Broadway is closed as well. Even the touring productions has been affected. Noticed this by Blumenthal Performing Arts- their productions is how I am able to see musicals. Anastasia and Frozen both got postponed this year, and those I really wanted to see.
It can be frustrating. I hope both Broadway and Blumenthal will open up their theaters soon
I love Anastasia ‘Once Upon a December’ has always been a favourite song and Frozen although Elsa’s range is a bit on the low side for me so I have to transcribe them up a key 😊. I’m hoping things get back to normal in October but I have a horrible feeling this could go on to next year.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Hopefully not. One musical I really want to see is coming October 2021: Hadestown
Your singing and George’s playing are terrific!!!!!!
I enjoyed your music very much!!
Love , Darlene
Thank you Darlene, I love that you are enjoying the little videos.
All our best wishes
Charlotte and George
Loved every minute of this, which we were only able to listen to this evening. ‘Memory’ is a really challenging song, I’d never listened to it in such detail before. Thank you both.
That’s the great thing with not just streaming live, no-one is held to a timetable. The last time I sang ‘Memory’ I was a child at Zoe Buckley’s Love to Dance my voice was a much lower range then so it was a challenge to get it back up and running the day before but having a deadline to get these old songs ready has been a good challenge. I think George nearly killed me with Don’t Rain on My Parade lots of tricky music for him to learn from scratch this week, I’ve promised to do more songs he already knows, maybe, hehe.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Aw! So very sweet of you to share your music even now. I love the idea of “balcony concerts” as a way to stay connected during this time. Be safe and well!
Thank you, I really enjoyed your last post you are so right ‘to live in the waiting’ is a very strange place to be, especially when you hear other people are hoping to get back to some sort of new working practices in a couple of weeks. I still have lunch dates with friends we eat together/apart over facetime 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
What a sweet way to connect while social distancing Charlotte! I love your idea. Always a pleasure chatting with you.
A
This concert was wonderful! I enjoyed having the chance to listen. I also shared your video on my Facebook page.
Thank you for sharing Alisa we appreciate that and you taking the time to listen 😊.
Best wishes
Charlotte
A thoroughly enjoyable concert and lovely assortment of songs, Charlotte and George! Thank you for sharing your music with everyone once again! <3
I’m very happy you are enjoying our choices Lavinia I’ve been wanting to learn some of these songs for a while and putting them into our programs forces me to look back over some songs I’ve not sung for over a decade and learn to sing them a-new.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Good morning my dear friend Hoather wonderful concept
Good morning my dear friend Amritpal thank you for watching and leaving your lovely message.
Best wishes
Charlotte
My favorite, of course! To think of you as a child watching Doris Day movies and loving Calamity Jane across an ocean from where I loved her – and when – is joyful for me. Whip crack a way!! Too fun!! Thank you, thank you.
I’m happy you are a Doris Day fan too. I got carried away there in whip-crack away and lost my place for a moment haha, I’m doing a classical program tonight, it may be indoors though because rain is threatening.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I really enjoyed this, Charlotte, and you probably guess that Don’t Rain on My Parade is my favorite! 🙂 But the whole concert was spectacular, so I applaud you both. If I Loved You and Memory are also favorites. Such talent, thank you!
I tried to refresh the Don’t Rain on My Parade quickly after our chat on your blog I forgot how much I enjoy it. Thank you Lauren,
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, my weekly dose of high culture – thank you both
Love the roarin’ 20’s flair in some of your songs.
And in living color too – bravo!
Thank you for watching and keeping in touch with me. I’m really enjoying putting the little shows together.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’ve enjoyed your concerts. Hope you are doing ok? x
Thank you, Christine, I’m wishing I was in Venice on my way to Romania as planned but oh well. I hope the rain stays away this afternoon otherwise we’ll be testing streaming indoors lol.
Best wishes
Charlotte
That was fantastic! You sound amazing!
I adore that you are trying things, stretching your abilities.
I’ve been doing that with my drawings. Lol, and yes, my Gowntoons.
The audience sure loves you!
“Whip crack away” … love that!
Thank you, Resa for your lovely compliment. With all the traditional channels now closed to use we’re having to try to find ways to keep performing, practising and we’re now trying to search out revenue streams but it’s difficult for artists without promoters and organisations behind you. Are you all opened back up now in Canada? They’re easing some restrictions here in the UK from next week but not in the arts/entertainment sector the risk is too high.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Hello dear Charlotte!
No, in Toronto we are still only in phase 1.5
They are trying to get to phase 2, but the numbers aren’t going down. It’s flat, and staying there.
Not enough people are social distancing and wearing masks. They are making it mandatory to wear masks on public transport. Once that settles in, I will use it again for short trips.
What a mess this Covid thing has made.
The USA is spiking again.
We have our border with them closed.
I don’t know what happens next?
Be safe!!!!!
Resa xo
Catching up at last. You chose one of my favourite songs to open your concert and I was amazed by how well this song translated to your voice; I loved it!
I mentioned liking musicals on stage but one of my favourites I forgot – My Fair Lady, which I saw with the 3 original principals at the Drury Lane Theatre.
I’ve never liked Cats nor Phantom of the Opera but if anyone could convince me it would be you. I’ve a widely eclectic taste in music but also a bit crazy,
Finally, I really enjoyed your Calamity Jane – again an oldie!!!
I’m hoping to catch up completely today 😊
I love My Fair Lady I played Eliza Doolittle once, the role is perfect for me I’m always dragging in Northern vowels and slang and using the odd wrong metaphor but with confidence so people can’t quite remember what the actual phrase should be lol. I saw Pygmalion once with Kiera Tointon in London it was fantastic, I missed the singing but when she came out with ‘ Them as pinched it, done her in.‘ when talking of the straw hat that should have come to her when her Aunt died and the whole cast looked on in shock until Freddie said ‘you don’t think they killed her’…, ‘Them she lived with would have killed her for a hatpin, let alone a hat,’ we all roared with laughter.
I was Rumpelteazer in Cats at Zoe Buckley’s Love to Dance with my eldest brother Matt as Mungojerry one of the best plays we did, my little brother Tom was Rum Tum Tucker happy memories. I’d love to do modern musicals for film.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’d have loved to have seen you in My Fair Lady, northern vowels and all 😂
I’d love to see you in a film based on a modern musical, but only because it’s you. I’d still prefer Carousel, Oklahoma, South Pacific et al.
The other day my GP rang to make an appointment to visit me and at some point went strangely quiet. She then apologised say she had been diverted by a piano piece which I had playing on Scala Radio. It was a Chopin Étude, which even I played (badly) at one time; one of the easy ones! When she came she sat in our ‘music corner’, backed by the Yamaha, Romanian panpipes, a ukulele, and wallpaper covered with treble clefs. Wasn’t much of a medical consultation but she did manage to extract some blood from me!
I’d have loved to see you in My Fair Lady, northern vowels and all!😂 I’d also love to see you in a film version of a modern musical, but only because it’s you. I’d still prefer Carousel, Oklahoma, South Pacific et al.
I had a strange experience the other day: my GP telephoned for an appointment to visit me but suddenly went strangely silent. I thought I’d lost her but eventually she apologised that she had been listening to a Chopin Étude, which I had playing on Scala Radio. She told she was trying to learn it and I told her at one time I had played it (badly); one of the ‘easy’ ones.
When she came she sat in our music corner, backed by the Yahama, several Romanian panpipes, the complete works of Beethoven on LP, and wallpaper covered with treble clefs.
Wasn’t too much of medical consultation but she did manage to extract some blood from me!
Thank you for sharing your fabulous talent. And keep faith: as all things pass, this crisis will pass too. And you will one day sing to a full room… 🙏🏻
Seeing as how you’re a huge Doris Day fan, I wonder if you’ve seen her in her star-making film debut in ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS, directed by Michael Curtiz (of CASABLANCA and YANKEE DOODLE DANDY fame. In my opinion, it’s a very entertaining (though underrated) musical, co-starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, and Oscar Levant. I like it as much, if not more, than CALAMITY JANE!
No I’ve not seen it I wonder if I can watch the whole film somewhere? I’ve just watched It’s Magic on YouTube – lovely. I read it was her first film so that’s special, thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Best wishes
Charlotte
You’re very welcome.
It’s on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) occasionally. I watched it on June 2, but I checked TCM’s schedule for the next month and it doesn’t appear, so who knows when it will be on again. I noticed, however, that you can buy or rent it from TCM if you wish.