Royal Albert Hall

Sometimes it is the performer that is the motivating factor and sometimes a venue is the real draw.

We wanted to see the Royal Albert Hall.

Got in early to take pictures since it is not allowed during the performance.

On the weekends we had available, the choices were:

Best of Broadway by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

4 Poofs and a Piano: Smoke and MirrorBalls

Guess what we chose?

Saturday night was spent listening to four singers belt out everything from:

“Come on, Babe, Why don't we paint the town? And All That Jazz”

“Life is a Cabaret, old chum, Come to the Cabaret.”

“Memory…All alone in the moonlight, I can smile at the old days.”

There were also tunes from The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables, Billy Elliot, Hairspray and Dirty Dancing (which seemed really out of place, although it is a musical).

And then there was the finale.

We were in the nosebleed section which gave us a clear view of the crowd directly in front of the stage…as they rose….almost as a single unit (in their fancy dress and sport coats and ties) and lifted their hands to the sky and swayed and sang along to:

“You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen”

This crowd loved its ABBA!

Apparently so did the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

It is celebrating the music of ABBA by selling a new CD called appropriately ABBAphonic.

Wow, who knew.

Kinda took me by surprise.