Recently the members of Glee Bah Gum went to London to see the Award Winning West End Musical ‘Wicked’. The shared experience was enjoyed by all! But… how did we get to this point? Early in 2013 our Musical Director; Lizzie sat at a committee meeting and proposed that the choir set a goal for the year ahead; to see a Musical at a Theatre in London. As with all the big decisions in the choir we took it to the members and asked them; the answer of course was YES!!! It was going to be a lot of hard work as we didn’t have enough money saved subsides the cost of people going; we knew we needed to raise enough over the year so we could make it happen. It is a good job the members love to perform as it was the commitment to the performances which meant we could offer everyone the chance to come along. |
Once we had the funds we came to choosing the show. It wasn’t easy; there is so much to see in the big city and we had to narrow down the choices to six and everyone voted in order of preference. When the day came for the show to be announced everyone wondered if it would be their first choice? Their second?? Their last??? Would it be The Lion King, We Will Rock You, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mama Mia…. But it was it was WICKED! Okay it wasn’t every ones first choice and some people had seen it before (a few times) but what really mattered is that we were going together on a coach trip to London. It was a symbol of how far Glee Bah Gum had come over the last few years.

As the weeks and days went by people got more and more excited about the trip (some a bit more than others - you know who you are!!!). On Saturday 15th February 2014 the coach set off from our rehearsal venue at 8.00am and so began the lively coach trip which had us in giggles and song. We were soon cruising in to the City of London. A quick bite to eat then we found the theatre again and took our seats (not before a trip to the merchandise stand though!) It was then that you could really sense the excitement amongst us, everyone with a smile in their eyes, the anticipation. The lights went down and the curtain went up and that was it; we were engrossed in the magic of Oz. There was ooh’s and ahh’s; giggles and gasps before the cast took their final bows to thunderous applause from the audience.

Quick march for us all to the coach as we had been promised a short trip along the embankment by the driver if we were quick. Well seems we were very quick as he drove us through the bright lights of the city at night, going back and forth over the River Thames and pointing out all the sights for an hour or so. He was a star who made it happen out of the goodness of his heart.

I think we were all ready to begin the journey home but there was little chance of sleep as the excitement of the day fuelled a sing-along from the back rows!
The trip was a success and with plans underway to reach our next milestone the Glee Bah Gum members remain enthused, inspired and excited about our forthcoming ventures!
The trip was a success and with plans underway to reach our next milestone the Glee Bah Gum members remain enthused, inspired and excited about our forthcoming ventures!