Reviewing The Web

September 9th, 2010 by The Web Reviewer

Imagine rock music, crazy dancing, spectacular costumes and … roller-skates, and you have Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express. The show is a spectacle, featuring live stunts by professional skaters and a large racetrack built around the audience.

The story follows a child’s dream in which his toy train set comes to life, hence the roller-skates meaning the actors are representing the trains. It is one of the longest running musicals in West End history with 7,461 performances and is the most popular musical show ever in Germany.

Starlight Express is similar to Lloyd Webber’s other sensation Cats. They both feature dancers in costumes representing non-human characters, however this is where the similarities end. The music in Starlight Express is mostly reminiscent of disco and pop with a few country and western songs including U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D, Only You and Starlight Express.

The show has had countless stars in its cast including, Jane Krakowski, Jeffrey Daniel, Ray Shell, John Partridge, Oliver Thornton, Jo Gibb and James Gillan. Being a part of this musical is a completely different experience, due to the skating. You do not only have to sing and dance but also skate convincingly. After all you are supposed to be a train! It you fall of your skates you could break the audiences imagination.

The original production opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 1984. The show stayed there until 2002. This theatre has in fact only ever housed eight shows. After it was turned from a cinema to a theatre it was the home of the Sound of Music, then Camolet and Fiddler on the Roof followed. Starlight Express then took over for many years, which eventually handed over to Bombay Dream, Saturday Night Fever and Movin’ Out. Currently it is where Wicked can be found, and I am sure where it will remain for many years.

Starlight Express is perhaps in a league of its own. No other musical requires 3-5 months of skating training for the performers before hand, and how often do you get asked to play a talking train? But all jokes aside, this is a fantastic and unique musical.

Andrew Lloyd Webber fans are also likely to enjoy other classic musicals such as Phantom of the Opera which is currently showing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End.

August 26th, 2010 by The Web Reviewer

The character of Christine Daae, star soprano, returns to the West End stage in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. American actress Sierra Boggess’ big break in theatre came whilst playing Christine in the Phantom – Las Vegas Spectacular in Las Vegas in June 2006, and she now reprises the role in Love Never Dies, currently showing at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

Boggess was the actress who originated the role of Ariel in the Broadway adaptation of The Little Mermaid, for which she was nominated for several awards and won the 2008 Favourite Female Breakthrough Performance in the Broadway.com Audience Awards. Her acting skills are apparent, as she has clearly smoothly adapted to the more mature and tragic role of Christine Daae. She certainly looks the part as she dons Christine’s beautiful Victorian-esque costumes.

Boggess is given the greatest chance to shine as she delivers the emotive solo Love Never Dies, the play’s namesake. For this scene she wears a spectacular pink crystal-studded gown, truly reflecting her transformation from the meek dancer we meet in Phantom to the soprano starlet she has become. The whole musical gives Boggess the chance to hit every note in her soprano range, really stretching her vocals, yet she performs almost flawlessly.

In particular, the chemistry between Boggess and her phantom, played by Ramin Karimloo, really reignites in this sequel. The duet they share, Beneath a Moonless Sky, fully captures the essence of their malformed “relationship” and the ten years of restless separation that followed, with neither able to forget the other, however dysfunctional it seems. Boggess is definitely on form as she presents a character torn between the real world and her husband, Raoul, and the daunting yet fascinating dream world that the phantom wishes to share with her still.

August 6th, 2009 by The Web Reviewer

If you are looking for the very best free contests to enter you need look no further than Prize-Draws.co.uk.

With lots of great prize draw links every day, you are sure to find an competition worth enterining. Prizes range from teddy bears right up to all-inclusive cruise holidays. The attractive layout of the site is one of the key appeals to the site, making it easy for you to pick and choose which prize draws are right for you.

June 24th, 2009 by The Web Reviewer

In the last 2 or 3 years online bingo has exploded in popularity. With over a million players in the UK alone, it has quickly become a big favourite with housewives. For bingo players finding the latest news and offers can sometimes be difficult, but thanks to UKBingoNews.com life has been made a little easier.

Updated every week with the latest bonus deals and news of big bingo jackpot winners, the site is now becoming a regular haunt for bingo players in the UK. It’s crisp and clear purple layout is also a big favourite of the crew here at Reviewing The Web. While it may not be everyones cup of tea, the colours certainly appeal to the mostly female audience who play online bingo.

October 9th, 2008 by The Web Reviewer

Do you read Lucky? Have you already finished reading this month’s magazine and you are still need your Lucky fix? Then you should look at www.luckymag.com.

It is chock full of everything you are looking for and your three year old niece wouldn’t have a problem navigating around the pages. You can order discount subscriptions (obviously as a gift because you already have one), look up what is hot in your area, learn how to perfect that smoky eye look and so much more. For instance just today I was able to go to the Lucky Style Spotter where you can upload a photo and other people can rate your look. And as exciting as I know that sounds my favorite find of the day was a link to The Curiousity Shoppe’s website.

The description on their website states “Crafts, Kits & Curios for the Creatively Inclined”; and since I like to consider myself creative I decided to proceed and I am so glad I did! I could easily spend my rent check looking for quirky items that I never knew existed but now I don’t know how I ever lived without them. I invite you to check out all of these sites but proceed with caution because you may never want to leave.

October 7th, 2008 by The Web Reviewer

Emaze Grafix is a provider of high quality web templates and graphics based in the UK. Upon first visiting the site the message is very clear… Unlike many sites where you are unsure what exactly they are trying to sell, Emaze Grafix is instantly recognisable a resource for webmasters. The yearly cost of membership at Emaze Grafix is just £1.99. Quite how they can be making profit at this price is beyond me!

The site layout is clear and concise. Members have an easy to locate login box, while new members are prompted to sign up with a very clear call to action header. I like how each section is seperated as it makes the site easy on the eyes. Although one thing I would be critical of is the amount of information on the homepage. The site could possibly increase conversion rate by having smaller blocks of texts so that visitors are not scared away from having to read so much.

October 3rd, 2008 by The Web Reviewer

Curiosityshoppeonline.com is a very unique and fun website. They have the oddest but yet neat things there! Very unique items for yourself or as a gift are found here.

Want a hand knit jacket for an apple? How about a real porcelain to-go coffee cup that looks like a to-go cup from your favorite coffee cup? Now that would be eco friendly! I personally think my office needs the wooden stapler and the sling shot pencil. This site is very easy to navigate. The pictures are good. The descriptions of the items sold are witty and humorous! The only thing in my opinion that could make browsing the site better would be the ability to zoom in and see a larger picture of the items sold.

A real neat feature of this site is the “live chat”. Have a question about an item they sell or need help with an order? If so just click on “live chat” and you can actually have a typed conversation with a live person.Now in my opinion that is excellent customer service! They even have a picture and a little information about the creative minds behind this unique website in the about us section. Go check this fun site out!

September 29th, 2008 by The Web Reviewer

The ShopModify.com website is a great site for a few reasons. The first reason being that this is the go-to spot for anyone looking to green-ify their lives. The company prides itself on being environmentally conscious and its products are for the environmentally conscious consumer. The website itself is very chic and the products are divvied up on the top of the page.

They also offer “green tips” for each page you visit in order to give you ideas and ways to be more environmentally friendly. They have a great sale section and another section that is full of new items. They have photos for all of their products which are always a plus and each product seems beautiful and in great condition. I love that they have a section for home décor, which many other green-shopping sites don’t offer.

They also offer a sign-up account page to become a regular shopper. The downside to this site is that you must be willing to spend a lot of green to become and live green according to Modify.

September 29th, 2008 by The Web Reviewer

The appearance of the website is very clean but a little plain. It is very easy to navigate and the photos of the products are very warm and playful. I love the selection of tights and children’s dancewear. They have an interesting combination of products of available like shoelaces, gloves, and fishnet bodywear.

The color selection for the products is amazing. The color guide that is located on the left side of the page is really helpful, and I don’t think you could find a better color selection for tights anywhere if you tried. Ordering is as simple as it could possibly be. For anything that is one size only all you have to do do is click on the colored box that you want and click add to cart. This is nice considering there are so many color choices. Scrolling through all those colors would be a hassle.

They also offer care instructions and some good tips to preserve the bold colors of their products. This is a great to keep the shopper informed before ordering, rather than having them order and having to find out on their own.