The 39 Steps- a Hilariously Historical Mystery

Author: Julie Cudney

Horror movie legend Alfred Hitchcock has never been as funny as audiences are seeing with The 39 Steps tickets. The play is based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name which was based on a novel by John Buchan. Confusing? Mysteries are supposed to be.

Richard Hannay is the main character of the story. He is watching a stage performance when he hears gun shots. A woman who clings to him during the chaos convinces him to take her home. During the night, she is murdered but Hannay escapes. The murder is blamed on him and the story follows him as he tries to evade both the police and the assassins that shot his houseguest while trying to clear his name. See the comedic confusion with The 39 Steps tickets.

The entire show is played by a cast of four who are constantly switching roles, costumes and scenery. Charles Edwards plays the role he originated, Richard Hannay. The 39 Steps marks his Broadway debut, but he has been in many other theater productions like Much Ado About Nothing, All My Sons and Private Lives. He has been on TV and in films like Batman Begins and Mansfield Park. Jennifer Ferrin plays Annabella Schmidt, Pamela and Margaret. She has won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her role in As the World Turns.

Cliff Saunders plays Man #1. He was the original Bilbo Baggins in the stage production of The Lord of the Rings as well as been in many other shows like Habeas Corpus, A Flea in Her Ear and Beauty and the Beast. Arnie Burton plays Man #2 and had his Broadway debut with Amadeus. He has been on stage in many shows like Mere Mortals and Other and The Last Sunday in June. He has also been in films and on TV in shows like Hope & Faith, Law & Order and Frasier.

The adaptation was made possible Patrick Barlow. He is the creator behind the National Theatre of Brent, which is famous for their two-man shows. He has been in films like Shakespeare in Love, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Nanny McPhee. He has also acted in theater in shows like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Knack. Don’t miss this deliciously funny mystery that brings to stage a Hitchcock favorite. Get a group of friends together and get your The 39 Steps tickets today.

About the Author:

This article was written by Julie Cudney and is sponsored by Stubhub.com. Stubhub sells tickets to sports events, concerts and theater productions. To get tickets to this great mystery, pick up The 39 Steps tickets.

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How to Solve a Problem Like a 25th Wedding Anniversary

Author: Margaret Cooper

In January of this year I arranged a weekend break to London for my husband and myself in celebration of our twenty-five year wedding anniversary. (Wow I'm getting old!) Having not been to the capital since our honeymoon all those years ago it seemed like the perfect time to visit again. But with only a modest budget of £300 and wanting to spend the nights in a hotel rather than a hostel, I decided it was finally time to get to grips with our newly brought family laptop, and dig up the best deals I could find on the interweb for travel and Theatre Tickets ;-)

The following article is a detailed account of my progress and what I found out so that you other technophobes might discover a few shortcuts when planning your next trip to the capital.

During the search my first stop was usually Google, plus a few sites suggested by some of my more computer geekish friends. These are the four main areas of research:


* Transport

* Accommodation

* Site seeing and Attractions

* Theatre Tickets


=>Tip 1 - Get Advice from Real TravelersFirst things first - I got onto trip advisor and made a big list of all the many things there are to do in London. (Soooooooo Many!)Trip advisor is a great site because you're able to enter the details of your upcoming trip, and then read the opinions and marks out of five from real people who have been there and brought the t-shirt. The review to the right is typical of the site.Hopefully this list will give you some inspiration as I have also included links to some reviews, descriptions and rating for each.

Long list of London Attractions

They say if you're going to make any great decision first you need choice, so being a little anal I used trip advisor to find every possible attractions that sounded vaguely interesting. Without further ado this is what I came up with:

Tower of London / National Gallery /London Eye / Tower Bridge Exhibition / Madame Tussauds / London Dungeons / Kensington Palace /London Zoo / Hampton Court / Shakespeare's Globe / Dali Universe / Buckingham Palace / Cabinet War Rooms / Chinatown / Trafalgar Square / Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain / Speakers' Corner / London Aquarium / Sherlock Holmes Museum / Nelson's Column / Oxford Street / Natural History Museum / Science Museum / V&A / Portobello Road Market / National Gallery / St. Paul's Cathedral / Tower of London / Westminster Abbey / Borough Markek / Apsley House / British Museum / St. Pancras Station / Covent Garden / Abbey Road / Camden Market / Houses of Parliament / Imperial War Museum.

Now obviously had we tried to get around all these attractions in one day we would have keeled over from exhaustion and spent our life savings. So the next step was to get on the internet and find the best deals and offers we could. We also needed to do some serious prioritising to get the most from the day.

=>Tip 2 - Train Travel to London

There were two aspects of traveling to plan and the first was to find a cheap return train ticket down to London. After that was traveling around whilst in London which will come later.

We decided to book the train tickets through the discount provider Train Line as we found we could save £30.00 compared with the main National Rail site. The National Express coach is cheaper again but we could not face the seven hour road journey crushed into a little seat.


* National Rail Enquiries £104 - This site is the most expensive way to travel to London.

* Trainline £70.00 - The Trainline site is very user friendly and they have a great Journey planner feature.

* National express coach £50.00 - (7hrs hour journey.....NO WAY!)


Tip 3 - Separate Booking or Package BookingSeparate Booking1) HotelWe found our hotel using the LateRooms web site. The hotel of choice was "Jury's Inn Islington" as it gave us good access to the west end without having to travel too far at the end of the day. You can view great looking room pictures and the price proved really affordable. (See below.)


* Hotel Web site £129.00 per night

* LateRooms £99.00 per night.


2) Theatre - My husband Jeff is a massive fan of Queen so I really wanted to take him to see the musical "We Will Rock You" as part of our anniversary treat. After a bit of research I found there are two main ways of booking West End Theatre tickets:


* Booking through the main show web site £89.00 -If you click "Tickets" on the main We Will Rock You web site you're then redirected to Tickemaster where you pay full price and a small booking fee:



* Discount Theatre web site £50.00 - After typing "London Theatre Tickets" into Google and hitting lots of web undesirable looking web sites I finally came across DiscountTheatre.com. They have a really professional feel and offer secure on-line booking for London Musicals at discounted prices. As you can see they offer big discounts on loads of London shows and I was able to book in Real-time through the West End reservation system.



* Taken at the time of writing:

We Will Rock You - WAS £39.50 NOW £25.00

Billy Elliot - WAS £60.00 NOW £45.00

Sound Of Music - WAS £55.00 NOW £37.50

The Lord of the Rings - WAS £44.00 NOW £27.50

Avenue Q - WAS £35.00 NOW £28.50

Spamalot - WAS £55.00 NOW £37.50

Les Miserables - WAS £50.00 NOW £37.50

Buddy - WAS £55.00 NOW £25.00

Chicago - WAS £52.50 NOW £35.00

Grease - WAS £55.00 NOW £37.50





* West End Ticket Booth £50.00 - Another options is booking when you arrive from a ticket booth in Leicester square. But this can be risky as often the shows are sold out.


3) RestaurantDinner in London can be an expensive business with a three course meal easily costing £50.00 a head. You need to do your homework here and sniff out all the options if you want to save some pennies. I would suggest you start with a site called Top Table where once again you can easily input details of your trip and find user ratings and reviews from an extraordinary number of eateries. Using Top Table we decided to book a restaurant near the Dominion Theatre called Bertorelli. Example review below:


* Options 1: Turn up and Order £50.00 - This is the most expensive way to eat out in the capital as you will usually have to choose from the "a le cart" menu and you would be lucky to pay less than £25.00 per head.

* Options 2: Book in advance on the restaurants web site £39.00 - Many restaurants in London have their own web site where you can pre book and choose from a discounted set menu. Bertorelli offer a two course meal for £19.50 per head.


Separate Booking - Total Price


* London Hotel - Two nights £198.00

* London Theatre Tickets - Best price £50.00

* Dinner - Best price £39.00


Total £287.00£13.00 left for travel and attractions - Our budget is in tatters!

Package Booking Before making my final purchases I also wanted to look into another option I noticed on the Discount Theatre site about a special offer. As you will read below I'm glad I did because this proved to be better than any other offer I found:


* Package deal, hotel FREE! - This was an offer running throughout January and February this year and as the headline suggests when you book theatre tickets you get the first night at the hotel FREE! Luckily we were able to choose Jury's Inn from the list and add an additional night for just £55.00.

* The available shows at the time were:

* We Will Rock You, Blood Brothers, Buddy, Cabaret, Chicago, The Lord of the Rings, Stomp,39 Steps, Stomp, The Importance of Being Earnest, Sound Of Music, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Les Miserables, Spamalot , The History Boys, Dealers Choice, Rent, Absurd Person Singular, Showdowlands, Fiddler on the Roof.



* Additional night only £55.00 - I know what you're thinking "Here's the catch, they offer the first night free then charge triple for the rest of the time!" Well think again my slightly cynical friend; I was able to book an additional night for only £55.00 for both of us, saving a massive £44.00 from the usual hotel rate.

* Add a restaurant for £14.50 - The icing on the cake! - In addition there was also an opt-in to add a dinner before or after the theatre and add it to the booking. This was the biggest Bertorelli saving I could find at £14.50 per head.


=>Package Offer - Total Price


* London Hotel - First night free, and second night £55.00

* London Theatre Tickets - Best price £100.00

* Dinner - Best price £29.00


Total £184.00A massive saving of £118.00 leaving us plenty of money to cover transport costs and a bonus flight on the London Eye!

=>Tip 4 - Book Attractions Online before you Travel

Houses of Parliament I was amazed by this: It's a little known fact in London that you can actually sit in public gallery and watch Prime Minister's questions for free! All you have to do is turn up on a Wednesday before 11.00am and register.

London Aquarium save 25% on-line

This will come straight after the Houses of Parliament as the Aquarium it's just over Westminster Bridge and is half price entry with Oyster cards. Plus I love turtles.

*Bonus* The London Eye save 10% on-line

Having saved £118.00 on the hotel booking we decided to go a little wild and treat ourselves to a spin on the London Eye. The best saving I could come up with was a mere 10% saving from the main London Eye web site.

Museums Free

The Natural History Museum, Science Museum and the V&A are all within five minutes walking distance from one another, and once again it's free entry so this will help out with our tight budget.

Borough Market Free

We are both massive fans of Jamie Oliver and cook from his recipe books every night, so obviously when we were planning the trip Borough Market was a must. (This is where Jamie gets all his fruit, veg and fish.) Plus you can go round and sample the all the food which meant we could skip lunch and save a bit more cash. (Cheapskates!)

*Tip for internet payment security*

Jeff is always worried about giving his credit card details out on-line, so one thing I did to make him feel a bit more comfortable was to open another bank account separate from our main one just for internet transactions. We keep a small amount of money in there for the kids' eBay stuff and trips to London.

=>Tip 5 - Travel around London

Oyster Card - Friends who have been to capital recently have come back with horror stories of astronomical tube travel prices if you fail to tap an Oyster Card. I decided to take the initiative on this one and sign up before hand even though we don't live in London. There is no rule against doing this, and once signed up you can also visit a lot of London attractions at discounted prices.

Google Maps - Create your own city guide

The other thing I did was to go onto Google Maps where you can create a custom map with all the places you plan to visit so you don't get lost. (I always get lost!)

=> The Final Spend

So what can we learn from this rather astonishing and expertly well conducted price comparison? ;-p

Well in the words of a Chav; you would have to be "A bit of a Muppet" not to realize that I was able to totally eclipse any saving a separate booking could offer, after stumbling luckily across this package deal. I would guess that there are lots more saving on the web just like this one, and also that this kind of thing would be much more frequent around the festive seasons when fat cat money men are trying to take advantage of your generous heart! (I think I'm getting paranoid!) Easter, Valentines Day, Christmas and school holidays should be a hotbed of MONEY SAVING MADENESS...... so keep your eyes peeled and your cash card handy for the next big offer, and make your plans flexible so you can jump in when savings are at their best.

Finally we can see if it's possible to spend a weekend in London for £300 even with all the discounts I found? (Drum roll please.)


* Travel to London - £70.00

* Aquarium - £13.50

* London Eye - £30.00

* Theatre + Hotel + Dinner - £184.00


= Total £297.50 - Within budget by the skin of our teeth and an absolutely fabulous weekend in prospect!

About the Author:

It is so nice to have a page where you can tell the world how wonderful you think you are! No, I am not going to read the comments of those who disagree... I am a granny, 54 years old, pretending to be the accountant in a family business. I am a friendly, getting along with everybody, witty old girl. Love to dance, to stroll on the beach, drink coffee in coffee shops, listen to bands in pubs. You can pretty much take me anywhere.

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One Woman's French Foly

Author: Johnny Summerton

Right upfront it has to be said that this is far from being a hard-hitting news piece. And what's more it'll probably only have a limited appeal bearing in mind that among the roll call of names are those that will only be familiar to the French, or French ex-patriots, Francophiles, Francophones and France-watchers.

There again there are some that will strike a chord around the globe, so forgive the indulgence. And if you’re in the slightest bit curious keep reading to discover an account of a rollicking good evening spent watching a performance that had the audience proverbially “rolling in the aisles”, whooping with laughter and grinning from ear-to-ear for more than two solid hours.

All right it was probably a public easily won over and which had come to see the launch of a very special sort of one-man show. Or perhaps better said, a one-woman show, performed by Liane Foly.

She's no stranger to the French and it's as a singer that the 45-year-old has made her name over the years, releasing her first album in 1988 and following it up with a string of hits and the occasional appearance in films made for television.

But in her one-woman show "La Folle Parenthèse" Foly makes her first real venture into another area of entertainment entirely as an impersonator and she pulls it off with professional aplomb.

In it she single-handedly assembles some of the greats - past and present - of the French music scene, with some international artists thrown in for good measure along with politicians, television stars, and actresses.

The 19th century Théâtre Marigny just off the Champs Elysées in Paris, with seating for over 1,000 was packed to the rafters every night of Foly’s recent opening run as she sang, strutted, croaked and danced her way through 30 plus characters, interspersing her performance with rapier wit and wicked social and political comment.

Whether it was as a swooning parody of France’s first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, or as a majestically strutting Socialist politician, Ségolène Royal, Foly slipped effortlessly from one imitation to the next with a minimum of costume changes, no gimmicks, and a simple mimic of gesture and mannerism to convince the audience that she really had brought along a whole cast of characters.

Accompanied by just two musicians – the pianist Jean Yves d'Angelo and his brother, Pierre, on the saxophone and percussion – Foly presented a simple plot to hold everything together.

She bantered as the gravel-voiced actresses Muriel Robin and Line Renaud, and later as Celine Dion in her rapid-fire French, with the imaginary Pedro somewhere at the back of the theatre.

Pedro wanted her to provide a possible line-up of improbable stars for a cabaret to be performed the following evening in St Etienne, a less than fashionable city in central eastern France better known perhaps as the former capital of this country’s bicycle industry and for its soccer team which in the 1960s and 70s dominated the French league.

A most unlikely venue for some of the past and present greats of the French music and film world and certainly not a place international stars would put high on their list of performance dates.

The scene set, Foly used the “audition” as a vehicle for some spot-on satire, political and social comment and some belting good songs - never letting the audience forget that not only can Foly hold a tune as herself, she can do it as a host of other people too.

As France Gall she warbled some French evergreens and as Sylvie Vartan she flounced about the stage, dangling a wandering microphone and flicking her non-existent lavish blonde locks

Actress Jeanne Moreau growled, the late Serge Gainsbourg's English-born wife, Jane Birkin, sang a tribute to her husband in her much-beloved and heavily accented French, Canada’s very own Mylène Farmer intentionally left everyone wondering exactly what she was singing about as she pirouetted mindlessly around the stage and had her ethereal music mocked for its incomprehensibility. Madonna went in for a touch of S&M just for a change.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy flirted with the pianist as though he were the incarnation of her "Nicolas" and to the strains of la Marseillaise and huge applause on strode last year's defeated Socialist presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal, promising not to talk politics and then proceeding to do just that.

Into the mix Foly threw Christophe Willem - a former winner of France's answer to American Idol and the voice of music producer Orlando.

After performing non-stop for just over two hours, Foly was dragged back for the inevitable but hugely welcome encore to perform as two icons of French music no longer around – Barbara and Dalida.

And then, just when you thought there could be no more, France television’s own very dippy and often inappropriately-dressed 50-something meteorologist, Catherine Laborde, came on to give us an update on what weather would lie ahead for tomorrow, the night of the “real” performance.

Foly's run at the sumptuous Théâtre Marigny in Paris ended at the weekend and she’ll now be taking her show on the road around the country for the rest of the year – ending up back in the French capital in December for an encore at Olympia.

If any of the names here have meant anything to you, and you’re planning a trip to France at some time this year, this is one act – or a multitude of them – that you would be well advised not to miss.

About the Author:

Johnny Summerton is a Paris-based broadcaster, writer and journalist specialising in politics and sport. Visit his site for a look at some the stories making the headlines here in France http://www.persiflagefrance.com

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The Phantom of the Opera’s Laurie Gayle Stephenson on Corporate Entertainment

Author: Jeffrey Finn

We spoke with Laurie Gayle Stephenson, Star of The Phantom Of The Opera, to discuss performing on Broadway and for Corporate Audiences.

HOB: You starred on Broadway in Phantom. How do audiences relate to songs from the show?
LGS: Seeing the Broadway cast of any show is very appealing to an audience – going to any Broadway show is an event since the cast is “The Real Deal!” In a show like Phantom, even if they are not familiar with the show, they have heard the music.

HOB: How is performing for corporate audiences different from Broadway?
LGS: A Broadway audience knows exactly what they are getting. A corporate audience may know nothing about what they are about to see. For that reason, it is critical that the audience is immediately brought in and completely WOWED!

In my experience, I always find that these corporate audiences love the luxury experience of Broadway and enjoy meeting and taking photos with the cast after the show. As a performer it is a very fulfilling and gratifying experience.

HOB: What is one of your favorite experiences from a corporate event?
LGS: At a Hot On Broadway performance last month, our cast performed for 400 of the top leaders and scientists from a major pharmaceutical company. As Broadway performers, we were honored to be entertaining and meeting some of the most renowned scientists and doctors in the world. They expressed equal enthusiasm for our work and performance. The evening of Broadway songs incorporated a specific thematic message: we celebrated their global efforts in drug research and the ongoing efforts in finding cures for diseases including cancer and diabetes. It was a powerful and rewarding experience.

Laurie Gayle Stephenson has enjoyed an acclaimed career on Broadway in many shows including The Secret Garden, The Phantom of the Opera, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and continues to perform as a soloist across the country. www.lauriegayle.net

About the Author:

Jeffrey Finn is the President and Event Producer for Hot On Broadway - the premiere supplier of Broadway entertainment for corporate and special events. Nominated for a 2005 Tony Award for his work on Broadway, Jeffrey Finn has produced customized shows for Toyota, Prudential, Bayer, Citibank, and General Electric. www.HotOnBroadway.com

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Vocal Tips for Storytellers

By: Diane Brandon

VOCAL TIPS FOR STORYTELLING
By Diane Brandon

Your voice, along with your face and your body, is a major tool that you rely upon in storytelling. If your voice is not in optimum condition, then your storytelling performance may suffer accordingly.

Here, then, are some tips for maintaining that intrinsic element of your work.

Your voice is part of your body. Keeping your body healthy will help to keep your voice healthy. Sleep can be critical to the condition of your voice: if you get too little sleep, you may find that your voice is husky or hoarse or has more phlegm than normal, or that your throat is scratchy.

Drinking milk before a performance may "coat" your throat and produce phlegm. Some people are sensitive to any milk products, including cheese and yogurt, and you may need to avoid them prior to a performance.

Drinking alcohol can impair your vocal performance, as it relaxes the vocal folds and makes it harder for them to approximate.

When performing in cold weather, the throat should be kept warm. If the throat is unusually cold and the voice is used, hoarseness or vocal strain could result.

Before a performance, vocal warm-ups are a good thing to do. Just as a dancer or athlete needs to warm up his or her muscles, so too does a performer need to warm up the voice, as the vocal folds are
muscles. In warming up, you should start out lightly and gradually work up to more intensity or volume. The specific exercises you do don't matter as much as easing into and gradually working up to intensity, volume, or higher or lower ends of your range.

Deep breathing can not only help to relax you before a performance, but can also help to support the voice.

Any tension in the face, jaw, or neck should be eased. Tightness in these areas can produce a "tight" voice and lead to strain. Doing the beginning of a yawn in conjunction with deep breathing can help reduce tension and open up these areas.

You don't want to "push" your voice too much, by overdoing the volume or yelling. This type of misuse can lead to strain and hoarseness and, if done over time, can produce nodes on the vocal folds. Any ongoing, chronic hoarseness may be indicative of this condition.

Your throat and voice give you wonderful, built-in feedback whenever you're doing something wrong: if your throat gets tight or sore after using your voice or your voice gets hoarse from use, you're getting feedback that you've done something injurious.

As a storyteller, you may be concerned about strengthening your
voice. Your voice, however, will naturally strengthen over time and with practice. The key is to use it healthily and not to "push" it too much or strain it. As your voice strengthens (through the vocal folds developing), you'll gradually be able to do more with it and use it in ways you couldn't before.

(This article was originally published in "Journal of Tar Heel Tellers" in the March 1995 issue.)

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