Hayley Tamaddon rocks as Roxie in Chicago The Musical

 

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog November 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I'm a firm believer in not knowing what our favourite Corrie stars are truly capable of until - and unless - we see them outside of Coronation Street.  

Within Coronation Street, actors are constrained by their soap characters, destined to sit in the Rovers and frown. I's all about how they're written and how they're meant to be within the confines of a back-street up north.  For many actors this works to their advantage while others struggle to fit. Hayley Tamaddon's character of Andrea was one of those I struggled to like in Corrie. Mind you, anyone who was brought in to cause friction in the budding bromance between Lloyd and Steve was never going to be popular in our house.

But Andrea had something about her, a cheeky sense of humour, that could have been exploited more. Remember when she got drunk and sang Tainted Love?  If only we'd seen that side of Andrea more, who knows what might have happened.  As it was, she left Corrie with Lloyd in the live episode to mark ITV's 60th birthday in September last year.

And what of Hayley Tamaddon since then? 

Well, she's currently starring in the touring production of Chicago the Musical and I went to the show at the Sunderland Empire last night.  Hayley plays the starring role of Roxie Hart and she sings and dances her way through the show in fantastic style.

Despite my seat being up at the back of the dress circle while watching Chicago, Hayley projected such emotion, sexiness, acting ability and chemistry all the way up to my row - and beyond.  She really was amazing to watch. Her singing voice is fantastic, comic timing is perfection and I can't rave on enough about how flamin' great she was. 

I've seen Chicago live on stage before, in that London many years ago. Admittedly, I only went to see it back then because Alison Moyet (of whom I'm a BIG fan) was playing the role of Mama Morton. This time around that role goes to Mica Paris who is well worth seeing too.

If you are in the UK in the near future and get a chance to see Chicago the Musical at a theatre, do go. The UK touring schedule is here and if you're in the north-east, it's running at Sunderland for the rest of this week.




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Goodbye Andrea Beckett - for now

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2015, reposted with permission.)

In October 2013, I interviewed Hayley Tamaddon, who playsAndrea Beckett. Now, just a month shy of a 2 year stint, she will leave, newly pregnant, with Lloyd, in the live episode, to be broadcast on Wednesday 23 September.

I had such high hopes for the character Andrea Beckett, especially because the initial storyline entailed Andrea going all out to claim Steve MacDonald. You’ll remember that Amy was involved in a history project at school and her father couldn’t properly answer her questions. It was this inability to help, which steered Steve towards college and taking a course in history. In his class was Andrea and the initial storyline was that Andrea would become totally infatuated with Steve and would stop at nothing to claim him. Not Michelle, not Liz and not his mates would dampen her ardour. Sadly and most disappointingly, that storyline disappeared. After a bit of laughter and banter, accompanied by Michelle’s questioning as to who exactly Andrea was, and whether or not she was attractive, that plot was clearly sidelined.

Instead, what did happen, and this was quite unpalatable at the time, was that Michelle, with sidekick Liz, mocked Steve for trying to better himself. Michelle, in particular, treated him as an exasperating child, rather than the man who was her life partner. Maybe it was jealousy on Michelle’s part and maybe Liz sided with Michelle as she was hoping that Steve and Michelle would stick together. Michelle was particularly put out when she learnt that the green blouse Steve had bought her was purchased on a shopping trip with Andrea. Whatever the reason though, Michelle and Liz did themselves no favours at that time and they lost a few fans through their ignorance and ridiculing of Steve.

Had that original storyline gone ahead it would have caused some real upset and some terrific drama. If drama is conflict, as the great dramatists claim, then there would have been enough for all. Originally, Andrea was to dress like a femme fatale and to make it crystal clear to Steve that she wanted him. She was to flaunt herself in The Rovers and have an - ‘All’s fair in Love and War,’ attitude towards her attempt to ensnare Steve.

It’s such a shame that it did not materialize and instead we were granted dreary, confused, Neil and a steady (ish) relationship with lovely Lloyd; at least until she stole Lloyd’s prize record to flog, to help out the mysterious, never seen, Jess.  It is worth noting that Steve appeared to be a little bit jealous of Lloyd when he started going out with Andrea.

Just a quick note here too about Todd - I interviewed BrunoLangley who plays Todd, the same day as Hayley Tamaddon. Bruno stated that viewers would find out what had turned Todd bad; it was to something in ‘that London’ that had traumatised him, explaining why he had undergone a metamorphosis.

As far as I know, we’re still waiting…

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Andrea wants Steve

What's On TV has a few quotes from Hayley Tamaddon on her character, Andrea's hopes and desires. She thinks Andrea does fancy Steve even though she's currently dating Lloyd, surmising that perhaps she's only doing that to make Steve jealous.

There have been little looks, nothing really obvious but I've caught one or two wistful glances in Steve's direction and I've had the feeling that Steve is who she would prefer. Hayley says Andrea is "out to bag her Mr. Right".

There's definitely a connection between she and Steve and quite a lot of our blog readers have felt that Michelle has been treating Steve badly and seems to be dragging Steve down. She's also been openly hostile to Andrea but Hayley says “I think Andrea will be able to hold her own and personally I'm hoping for some real stand-offs between Andrea and Michelle." Me, too!

I'm one of those that thinks Steve and Michelle are horribly unsuited. The last time they broke up, Steve found Becky a lot more fun (and hard work in the end). I think Steve will find Andrea a lot more fun, too and Michelle might want to watch her Ps and Qs this time around.

Things are going to heat up when Lloyd and Andrea start dating and Steve finds he's jealous. It looks as if Andrea is playing it smart, keeping Steve at the friendship arms' length, not being too clingy or stalkery so far. I would rather her not get like that, in fact, and rather than do her best to break up Steve and Michelle, just wait for Steve to come to it himself, realizing that Michelle isn't The One but Andrea just might be. That's how I'd like to see it play out if indeed, that's where it's going. How about you?





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