An evening with Julie Andrews

I met the legendary Julie Andrews at Liverpool Echo last Tuesday.
I loved her in The Sound of Music, which I know word-for-word. I also could sit and watch Mary Poppins happily on any day of the week. Thinking about that film is making my feel happy and upbeat already. I reckon I also know about 90% of the songs in that film too.

The Echo is an arena but I guess at least 2/3 of the arena was blocked off so we were not too far from the stage. The seats were £30 which I think was a fair price. Julie was introduced by Aled Jones, the not-so-cute former choirboy of "The Snowmen" fame.

Julie wore a bling silver sequinned jacket for the first half of the show.
How has she managed to pull off short hair for so long? I think its because she has such a warm, happy face. 

She talked about her rise to professional success. She's a grafter, working since she was 12, showcasing her amazing 4 octave soprano range! 
 
She got offered opportunities and took them. She moved to NYC at 18. She starred in the Broadway and London stage productions of My Fair Lady which is what brought her to the attention of Walt Disney. He cast her as Mary Poppins (she had a baby while the film was in pre-production).

Her second husband was Blake Edwards. He has passed away but it is clear that she does and did absolutely adore and love him with her whole heart. She had her tribute to him included in this show: a selection of photos on the big screen and some clips of his work including the Pink Panther. That was touching.
There was a Q&A session at the end which was a bit lame as they crowbarred in Julie's back-catalogue of clips despite the flow of the questions. I think they should have dispensed with the Q&A but I suppose that is the structure of "an audience with" show.

I left being very impressed and a teeny bit envious of Julie's creative talents and her wonderful life. She was asked if there were any roles that she never got that she wished she had and she answered no, that she was thrilled and lucky to receive what she had. I thought she was genuinely humble about it, especially as she has lost her voice.

The show was ended with Julie and Aled leading us in a sing song of Edelweiss. She never sang it in the film, but I've just the watched the vid back and it was great to have her voice recorded.

What a wonderful night being in the presence of such a talent, I was inspired to have a life less ordinary. 

I have another night coming up with a very talented woman soon...you've have to wait to hear about it soon

love lucky me Sunny x