choice of plays

nickking

can someone that was on this tour in 2017 give me the choice of plays that were available in london? my wife and i particularly wanted to see book of mormons so if it is not one of the choices we will make reservations on our own.

British

Go to http://www.westendtheatre.com/ I have used this for ideas. You can get tickets for as little as $20 or even on the day of for some shows if you go to the theatre in the morning. Or the hotel concierge can help. For Morman, I would book well in advance. Much cheaper in London than Broadway, I have Hamilton best tickets next April in London for around $200

AlanS

I would definitely call Tauck. They may not have a complete or updated list of offerings because it will obviously change over the course of the Tauck tour season, but they should be able to tell you how it all works. My reading of the itinerary on the website leads me to believe you are given a choice of both entertainment and dinner, paid for by Tauck-

"". . . .this evening you'll enjoy the dual pleasures of dining at a West End restaurant followed by an evening at the theatre – your choice from selections of restaurants and shows."

However, I don't know if that means from a limited list or if they let you choose from anything playing in town, help you get tickets, and give you money, a voucher, or you submit receipts for a refund afterwards. Again, call Tauck and please post the answer.

nickking

i did call tauck and they said that was a select group of plays you could choose from. however, the list would not be available until the tour starts. the tour director will give out the list to choose from along with the list of restaurants to have a pre theatre meal. tauck says the reason they don't give the list out before the tour starts is it is subject to change. so i went ahead and booked our seats for book of mormon on another night and we will choose another play from the tauck list. thanks everyone for your comments.

AlanS

Thanks for the follow-up. It sounds like you came up with a good solution.

We did E,S,W in 2013 and they didn't have this program at that time. However, our TD helped folks make reservations a few days before London. Also, at that time there was a kiosk in Trafalgar Square that sold same-day tickets at considerable savings for most of the current plays and shows. We didn't attend a play but our traveling companions saw Monty Python's Spamalot.

gregoryjones1022

My wife and I took E/S/W in 2015. We got to chose from a list of about 5 plays. We had a choice of about the same number of restaurants. We were pretty disappointed with the plays on the list. They were all pretty second tier. This was one time when we fell that Tauck somewhat let us down. Hopefully you will find a more satisfactory selection but I wouldn't be looking to be going to the Book of Mormon. Safe travels. Greg Jones.

Claudia Sails

We just returned from this tour and Book of Mormon was not on our list. There were 14 plays to chose from and 7 restaurants. We thought the range of choices was pretty good - but then we live a long way from the NYC theater market. Most popular choices for our group were - Motown, Mathilda, Wicked, Les Mis, 42nd street, etc. We saw Kinky Boots which was excellent.

An enjoyable event although most were unimpressed with the very tight seating in London theaters and iffy AC - they've been having some very hot weather. Some shows were near the hotel (Covent Garden) and others needed a taxi ride. The TD gave everyone 30 pounds for taxi fare to use as you desired (our play and dinner were in walking distance). Easy enough to go to dinner and the theater, however getting a taxi after the show was difficult.

British

When I was in London last August, Kinky Boots was one of the plays I saw for 20 pounds, it is a short walk from the Savoy hotel, I just walked into the theatre as we passed it in the morning and got the tickets. I can now add that to one of the plays I have seen both on Broadway and in London. Years ago I went to see one of my favorite musicals in London during the summer and the theatre was so hot all I could do was wish the show would end soon so I could cool down. So recommend taking thought about what you wear to the theatre--- oh and no need to dress up!

AlanS

On my first trip to London, courtesy of Uncle Sam, I saw the original London production of "Hair." Anyone wanna guess how long ago that was? : )

judy05

Looking both at the website for Book of Mormon and at the website British suggested -- it looks like tickets are pretty readily available. We saw it soon after it opened on Broadway when tickets were impossible. My cousin saw it a few weeks ago and bought the tickets only a few days in advance. It's been around for a long time now. British -- we saw Hamilton on Broadway. You are in for a real treat. Totally lived up to the hype! And Alan -- you brought back a memory I haven't thought about in a long time. I saw Hair in London in 1971 when I was on a teen tour. Looking back -- I am surprised that was the show they chose to take us to!

British

I saw Hamilton on Broadway, but I have never seen Hair, I almost got to see it recently but I think it was on when I was away on a Tauck tour! ???? We are huge theatre goers, our money goes on theater or Tauck!

judy05

British -- So are we!! We have recently seen Hello Dolly -- Dear Evan Hanson -- Sunset Blvd (which we saw with both Glenn Close and Betty Buckley in 1994) -- Anastasia -- and War Paint (the only one of the group I would not recommend.) We are seeing Come from Away next week and then will have seen everything currently on Broadway that we want to see. I grew up on Long Island and started going to Broadway shows when I was six. Love London theater as well. We actually flew to London to see Evita and saw it twice in a week. My seventh and eighth times seeing it.

AlanS

judy05 wrote:

And Alan -- you brought back a memory I haven't thought about in a long time. I saw Hair in London in 1971 when I was on a teen tour. Looking back -- I am surprised that was the show they chose to take us to!

That's the year! Showing our age! I was stationed on a ship, my first assignment after graduating from the Naval Academy. It was docked not far from London in the historic HM Dockyard Chatham.

British

http://mailchi.mp/westendtheatre/london-theatre-month-offers-more-shows-added-tickets-from-619241?e=14839168b0

Above is the link to the latest offers for London theatre that I just received, hope this is useful for people traveling in the near future.
judy05, We travel from Philly fairly regularly to NY for theatre, our drive takes two hours door to door at a weekend. Sometimes we stay over. New grandson and being in a show ourselves in May and June curbed our travel to NY in the first few months of this year. Our next scheduled play is to see our favorite actor in Farinelli and the King. My hubby just retired a few months earlier than planned, so now we have 5 Tauck tours booked to takei us through this and next year. We generally see about 25 or more plays a year, sometimes we have seen as many as about 40.
Happy theatre going

tomh

Thank you, Claudia Sails, for your reply about current plays availability, theatre a/c & seating, and weather. I am going on the tour next month in August (7 to 22) and I agree with you re difficulty finding a taxi after the play ends at night, also about the tight seating in London theaters (it was the case at the Savoy when I saw a play there a couple of years ago) (unfortunately it is the same for most theaters in NYC on Broadway these days too. Sigh.). I love musicals so I checked out what might be playing in London during my time there in August 2017; many look interesting (some of which I have seen before (e.g. Wicked, Les Mis, 42nd Street, etc.), but I am not so sure that I would go so far as to hassle trying to see anything if it means heat/humidity/tight theater seating/lack of A/C/and difficulty finding transportation after the show. Sigh. LOL. :-)). I will just play it by ear once we are in London at the end of the tour. BTW, our hotel, The Savoy, is gorgeous and an excellent choice by Tauck. Again thank for your "headsup" posting. :-)

British

tomh wrote:

Thank you, Claudia Sails, for your reply about current plays availability, theatre a/c & seating, and weather. I am going on the tour next month in August (7 to 22) and I agree with you re difficulty finding a taxi after the play ends at night, also about the tight seating in London theaters (it was the case at the Savoy when I saw a play there a couple of years ago) (unfortunately it is the same for most theaters in NYC on Broadway these days too. Sigh.). I love musicals so I checked out what might be playing in London during my time there in August 2017; many look interesting (some of which I have seen before (e.g. Wicked, Les Mis, 42nd Street, etc.), but I am not so sure that I would go so far as to hassle trying to see anything if it means heat/humidity/tight theater seating/lack of A/C/and difficulty finding transportation after the show. Sigh. LOL. :-)). I will just play it by ear once we are in London at the end of the tour. BTW, our hotel, The Savoy, is gorgeous and an excellent choice by Tauck. Again thank for your "headsup" posting. :-)

The Savoy hotel is a very short walking distance from several of the theatres, for Example, Kinky Boots is maybe a two minute walk, so you could take that into consideration when you pick out your play. Or go to a matinee. Last August I went to see In the Heights, a good taxi drive from the Savoy, no difficulty getting a taxi from there.

tomh

British, I have lower back and knee problems, so even short distance walking might be more than I want to do then. As far as trying to find a taxi after the show lets out at night, it has even been a problem for me at least in NYC on Broadway. However, that said, I have found that if I reserve a sedan/limo in advance through a private car service in NYC, no problem getting to and most importantly from the theatre back to my hotel in NYC/Broadway when I was there two years ago. It may cost a bit more, but guaranteed transportation after the show. I am sure that a similar service would be available in London, if I chose to do so then.

Claudia Sails

Tomh, are you sure you're up to this tour? The walk to and from the theater was nothing compared to other walking required on the trip - Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Caernarfon, Stonehenge, etc. Lots of walking including inclines on cobbled surfaces, narrow spiral stone staircases, etc. I don't believe there was a day that my husbands fitbit didn't meet or exceed the minimum 10,000 steps.

You're probably right about arranging transport in advance. I can't imagine the concierge at the hotel couldn't handle this. They helped me with with several items - London Eye tickets, correcting Tauck's too early departure to the train station between our Seine cruise and the start of this tour. Fantastic hotel.

My only complaint (if you want to call it that) is the lack of a breakfast buffet and the overly large portions of food. I tried on the last morning to order just enough pastries for my husband and I and stilled ended up with twice what we wanted. Broke down and asked for a doggy bag which they were happy to accommodate. Took them to the airport for a snack before our flight home.

Hope you enjoy your tour as much as we did.

British

Tomh, when I read your reply, I thought the very same as Claudia. If you cannot walk the estimated 100 yards I am talking about, there is absolutely no way you could do this tour. I doubt you could get a taxi or private service to take you to the nearest theaters, they are too near. Other theatres, yes maybe. Have you discussed with Tauck your level of mobility to see what they think? I do hope you can take the tour.

tomh

British and Claudia Sails. I did the full UK tour from Edinburgh to London and from London to Edinburgh (not with Tauck) back in 1975, so I have already seen most of the places/sights that this Tauck tour will cover. The one thing that I was not able to see/do back in 1975 was the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo as I was in the country in July when that was not being done. I have a knee brace which helps, but there may be things on this tour I will pass on when I am over there. No problem. :-). This will be my 34th Tauck tour (about half overseas and half in the U.S./Canada; I will get along fine. :-)

British

tomh wrote:

British and Claudia Sails. I did the full UK tour from Edinburgh to London and from London to Edinburgh (not with Tauck) back in 1975, so I have already seen most of the places/sights that this Tauck tour will cover. The one thing that I was not able to see/do back in 1975 was the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo as I was in the country in July when that was not being done. I have a knee brace which helps, but there may be things on this tour I will pass on when I am over there. No problem. :-). This will be my 34th Tauck tour (about half overseas and half in the U.S./Canada; I will get along fine. :-)

Ah, sounds as if you' know what you are doing then. Claudia and I were obviously concerned that you would in trouble on this tour or not getting the bang for your buck. I am sure you will find it interesting how much London has changed since 1975, and though I have lived in Scotland, we had zero interest in going to see the Military tattoo but we know it is one of the Tauck favorites.

Claudia Sails

Wow, 34 tours! Makes the rest of us look like pikers.

FYI, the Adelphi theater where Kinky Boots was showing had AC which did a pretty good job of keeping us comfortable. Can't imagine the performers could have danced in those over the knee boots without it. The restaurant - Tuttons didn't but we weren't there that long. Smith and Wollensky is really close to the Savoy and was our 2nd choice.

Best of luck on your trip. We enjoyed ourselves.

tomh

British and Claudia. Thank you for your advice and concern. I had only been focusing on seeing the Military Tattoo and not really paying attention to what the rest of the tour really involved, i.e. the physical effort/stamina involved (Castle steps climbing, more emphasis on long walks rather than bus travel sightseeing, etc.). After I went back and reread Tauck's Health & Activity section, I started wondering whether I would be physically up to it and knowing my body, the answer is probably no. So I may have to cancel this trip, but I still have 3 more Tauck trips (2 overseas, 1 U.S. domestic) scheduled to do this year, which I will be able to do. :-)

British

Hey tomh. Have a lovely time and post some reviews on your trips right here, your insights may help many who want to do those tours.

tomh

British. I was in London two or three years ago and stayed at the Savoy while on Tauck's London to Paris tour. On my own I saw the musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Savoy Theatre which was excellent and the Savoy Theatre was right next door to the hotel which was quite convenient. :-). I have also been to London itself on other Tauck tours to France in the past, just not the entire UK since 1975.