Hi everyone!!! This is really important!!!

I am French and i was planning to go at Michael Jackson's O2 arena concert on july 10th so TOMORROW actually.

As you all know, the concert has been cancelled because of his death ( :'( ) but i still have train and hotel booked for London.

As I'm also a Ray Quinn fan, i thought of going to GREASE show at the Picadilly theatre instead of it, but only this evening. I was so thrilled when i saw that tickets were still available!! But i need YOUR ADVICE!

- Will i see anything from the Grand Circle?

- How's the show? Cause my mother doesnt know anything about Ray Quinn and shes like : What the hell?Why do you wanna go and see THIS?

I mean, is it entertaining enough for someone who doesnt like Ray...?

- Where do i get my tickets? Hope they dont SEND them.. : /

- And most important: How can i meet Ray?

Oh yeah and last one,

- is the O2 arena ( my hotel is very near it ) far from the picadilly theatre? Should i go by bus, subway, taxi?!?

Please help, im overexcited but the organisation will be chaotic without your answers.. : )

Hope to hear from yall...

Louise.

Sorry about your concert tickets Louise :(.So pleased you can get tickets for Grease :D.You can't realy get a bad seat at the Piccadilly,so I hope you have a fab time.The show is amazing and Grease is a timeless classic,so your mum will love it,trust me

You can pick your tickets up from the box office,so no need to worry about that

Are you going to the matinee or the evening?Ray doesn't tend to come out after the matinee,but will do after the evening show,just wait by the stage door gates,turn left from the theatre and walk down,you can't miss them,big black gates

Theatre is not near the O2,but you should get the underground or a taxi fro there,not a problem,hope that helps

Let us know what you think of the show xx

Hi Lou

The O2 and the Piccadilly are not really near each other, but if you take the jubilee line from north greenwich, which is the O2 stop, back to waterloo, then the bakerloo to Piccadilly circus, it will take about 30 mins maximum, allowing for the change of trains. The jubilee line goes to Green Park, from which you could easily walk back to Piccadilly to save changing trains. Here's a tube map http://www.london-tube-map.co.uk/london-tube-map/tube-map.jpg Jubilee line is the grey one.

Tickets can be picked up at the box office on the day. They do sell front row on the day as well, at the theatre, but limited, so may be as well to book in advance to be certain, plus the day seats are front row stalls, although very close to the action, you do have to look up a lot, and may not suit your mother.

I would say it's entertaining enough for someone who is not a Ray fan, I'm taking my husband in two weeks, anyone who likes dance would love it for a start.

Don't know about grand circle, that's the top one, there's a dress circle as well, so you will be quite high, but it's a small theatre, nowhere is that far from the action. You may even be able to upgrade when you get there.

Hi ! I thank you so much for your answers! But i have two left before i leave:

I don't see Bekerloo on the map you gave me, can you explain where it is?

And, where is the stage door? outside or inside?

Hope you see that before 12:00 !! HOPE EVERYTHINGS GONNA WORK

Hi Lou, The bakerloo line is the brown line that goes from the Elephant and Castle to Waterloo then onto Picadilly. As you leave the theatre go to your left, down the street a bit , and its on your left its got big gates. Hope this is of some help.  Enjoy yourself but i am sure you will.

Lou at 05:05AM on Jul 10, 2009

Hi ! I thank you so much for your answers! But i have two left before i leave:

I don't see Bekerloo on the map you gave me, can you explain where it is?

And, where is the stage door? outside or inside?

Hope you see that before 12:00 !! HOPE EVERYTHINGS GONNA WORK

You need to look for the Bakerloo Line.  I would look on internet map if you type  for the underground  stations.  The theatre is not very big so where ever you sit you will have great view.  Grand circle being up the top, I myself wouldn't choose to sit there.  The stalls on the floor level are better, I have sat right in the front row, which is of course very close to the stage.  The stage door is very easy to get to when you step out from the Theatre doors, just turn left and walk down a little way and you will see the big gates on your left, and just wait there after the show for Ray to come out.  He is lovely, I  met him in May, and Emma aswell.

Hope you have a brilliant time and enjoy the show.

Amy at 05:34AM on Jul 10, 2009

Lou at 05:05AM on Jul 10, 2009

Hi ! I thank you so much for your answers! But i have two left before i leave:

I don't see Bekerloo on the map you gave me, can you explain where it is?

And, where is the stage door? outside or inside?

Hope you see that before 12:00 !! HOPE EVERYTHINGS GONNA WORK

You need to look for the Bakerloo Line.  I would look on internet map if you type  for the underground  stations.  The theatre is not very big so where ever you sit you will have great view.  Grand circle being up the top, I myself wouldn't choose to sit there.  The stalls on the floor level are better, I have sat right in the front row, which is of course very close to the stage.  The stage door is very easy to get to when you step out from the Theatre doors, just turn left and walk down a little way and you will see the big gates on your left, and just wait there after the show for Ray to come out.  He is lovely, I  met him in May, and Emma aswell.

Hope you have a brilliant time and enjoy the show.

Another alternative is to get to Waterloo, then get a black taxi to the Piccadilly Theatre, which doesn't take long.  When I went in May we came up by train to Waterloo then we got a black taxi to Theatre, which we found so much easier than getting tube to Piccadilly Cirucs.  It cost £7.00., then do the same on return journey, as a suggestion.

Please let us know Lou how you get on.

hope you have a nice time. Lou.

hope you have a good time- I will volunteer to be a stand in for your mum if you want lol

it would be a very tough job going to see it again, but I'm willing to offer

i hope you get to go and see it!

hope it went well!

Hi girls !

First I'd like to thank you for your answers that made going to the show possible! It was really kind...

Ima tell you what happened and what I thought of this night...

My mother did not want to go to the show. It was our first time in London, we were going by ourselves so she was a bit scared to hang out in the streets late cause we were two women in an unknown & big city, dangerous, blablabla.. So she said NO WAY first. And we were leaving... I was very disapointed but i still had hope that tickets could be picked up on site..

So everything went well we were visting London, my mother was more relaxed cos she was enjoying the trip and as i was the guide, I made the route end in Picadilly Circus on purpose.

We arrive there at 7PM so i ask my mother again if she would agree to go and see Grease and then she smiles and say: "Ok let's try... " I think she trusted me because i was in total control of the trip since the begining: plans, language, asking our way to people... So she wanted me to be happy as a reward of the day

We first went in a box office selling show tickets and the guy told us that grease for tonight was SOLD OUT.

I start crying and moaning to my mum cos she didnt want me to book them on the internet.. but then we decide to go and see the theatre... We arrive there, I was so gutted BUT when i randomly asked to the lady at the box office iF she had  tickets left for tonight show and she answered: YES! Last two ones Miss...

I BUYYYYYY THEM!!!! I answered

I was so so so happy..:)

Well i think i will shorten this cos you don't need to know all the story anyways...

Do you want to know what we've eaten then? ^^

So we went to the show and after we waited where you told me to, in front of the black gates, to meet Ray. Maaan! I was nervous!!!!! There were benevolent women next to me, talking and jokind with me and advising me the best spot to meet Ray. A dancer came out, he took a picture with me, he was soooo kind! But obviously i didnt care a lot about him... i was waiting for Ray to come out.....

When he did, suddenly the atmosphere went crazy! We were not many but i really felt pushed to the front... He gave autographs quickly and tried to go away... so i ran along the street to meet him but as i was saying : "RAY CAN I PLEASE TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU I COME FROM FRANCE " He had a glimpse and just ignored & passed me...

Here you are for the story.

Concerning my opinion, I can tell you that i was VERY VERY VERY disappointed of Ray... on many points!

I am sorry to say that here on a FAN FORUM... i know you are all die hard fans so you won't like me criticizing him but this is only my opinion...

I thought that the show was ok. It wasn't boring, I'd even say it was entertaining but my first impression was that Ray was far worth better than that...

Second, I have been disapointed by Ray's performance.. I kept telling my mother how talented Ray was and that i thought he was gonna be a giant star... and that night i had to tell my mother that i didnt understand, this wasnt the Ray i knew...

His dancing skills were intact, perfect dancer as always BUT HIS VOICE!  It was terrible...I think he tried to imitate too much Travolta and it ended up with a nasal voice...

No really ..disapointing performance... but at that point i was still a fan, willing to see him and to tell him how talented i thought he was...

My GREATEST deception was when he came out of the theatre so haughty, so careless for his fans... I was waiting for that  smiling cheeky face i used to admire for ages on youtube... Instead of it not a word, not a tiny attention..

When you hear someone telling you that she came from France to see you, you could only stop and take a picture!! I mean i wasnt asking for a kiss or a night with him

I thought it wasnt nice of him... He is not a superstar as I know so he could have done it we were ten at the gate...

And he DID hear me cos he looked at me for a sec and just went away...

I was mad at him... maybe it's annoying to do that everynight for him but ...come on! I saw many pictures of you with him on the site i was hoping that this was gonna be possible...

Does he want to be a star or what? I thought he wanted to be loved all around the world, he said! Well I'm sorry Mr Quinn but that's one fan less.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your trip,but Ray is a kind generous and polite young man,as we have all found him.Can I have others thought's on the matter please,as I personally do not appreciate Ray being spoken about in this way,as it is far from the Ray I know.

Ray doesn't really appreciated being followed up the street either as it is an invasion of his privacy

He is extremely talented young man,and in my opinion the show is anything but boring and Ray's performance has always been nothing less than brilliant and his dancing is always first rate.

So I'm sorry if you are no longer a fan Lou,and sorry that you didn't get your pic taken with Ray,but you did still get Ray's autograph,which many would be happy with,but I'm sure you'll appreciate that I as a Ray fan  do not share your view of either Ray or the show!!!

I have to say I am a little taken aback by this review.

I'm not sure Lou what you were expecting at the stage door but you have to respect his privacy and his private time.  He is doing this day in and day out and from what I have read is always ready and willing to give autographs and have pictures taken despite the fact that he doesn't like being in crowds, pushed and shoved.  You also have to realise that at times he is extremely pushed for time due to arrangements he may have and just needs to get away,  that doesn't mean he is haughty, you couldn't meet a less haughty person.  I also think that you are not used to hearing people sing live especially in a theatre.  Voices sound different, sometimes there may also be sound problems, but in the case of Grease, the cast speak in an American accent as it is set in the US had you not realised that?  I also think it is out of order to follow an artist up the street, you mention how nervous your mum was of being in a strange, big city, then take into acount that an artist has to consider his/her own safety and also has protocol to follow.   

Ah I'm going tonight and I'm really scared now!!! This does sound very unlike Ray, and suprised me. I guess he does have to do it every night and might be really tired sometimes plus Emma might get kinda bored having to hang around for ages every night. He might've of been feeling ill or something. Anyway I think that is very out of character for him!

You should be really pleased you got an autograph though! I would be! Been a huge fan since I was about 10 and I've never met him! I have tried though..many a time...lol!

Hi,

Thats a shame you didn't enjoy yourself,  as I really I enjoyed myself when I went.

His does sing in style of JT or Grease because thats whats expected & he has had to work hard to retrain his voice to fit this style. I'm glad you enjoyed his dancing & hope you liked his acting & also the rest of the casts performance too.

Its all very new to me standing at a stage door etc because I have always felt that I have paid for performance & anything beyond that is a bonus. 

I have alway heard from fans here that he is very nice, but quite shy which may be seen as offhand. I always feel you should have an open mind when meeting someone you follow,as in those few minutes of chaos to get an autograph or pic, your not going to see the cheeky chap that you saw on tv. That chap was in his comfort zone working with a partner he knows or practising a song with a group of people he knows or performing in front of people. I not sure if that makes any sense

Sorry I thought I would add that I have a friend that goes to the theatre a lot, & often waits at stage doors etc, there are a few theatres that discourage this but she keeps trying. She also come across a few actors/actresses that don't come out at all & find another exit- but she doesn't hold it against them, as they may be anxious or have other engagements but she keeps trying. lol

I also remember last years doi when I read people slating Chris Fountain for being haughty & walking past fans waiting but this year I read different things about him. I think there is only one of them & they are not going to sign every autograph or pose for every pic - so you can't please everyone

oh shame you're not a fan now Lou - give him a chance! Like the other girls have said, think of it from his perspective.... when I met him he came out to about 60 pushing, shouting people and he looked genuinely nervous. Imagine how you'd feel! You have to remember that we as fans see him on TV etc and it feels like we know him... to him, you're just another face in the crowd who he doesn't know and won't remember and he's just trying to get through it and go home!!

My friend is working with someone he worked with last year (I'm not allowed to say who) and this celebrity has been telling my friend that Ray was really aloof and didn't really speak to anyone.... my reaction to this is that I think he's probably shy, nervous and keeping focussed. He always says in interviews that he's his own worst critic and gets really cross with himself if he doesn't do his best.

I'm with the rest of the fans. Give him the benefit of the doubt. When I met him he was anxious to get away but he did stop for a pic and asked if I was alright - I was however, one of the lucky few and I probably would've felt disappointed to not get a pic but it wouldn't stop me supporting him and trying again another day.

Sorry you felt that way.

Reading your review it just sounds like you are not a musical fan. Allot of work goes into making these shows.

The stage door thing yes he does rush but even when rushing it takes at least 5mins I went on a weekday and he did have pictures taken then. But there was like 15 people max. And he was answering question as he was signing about panto.

People seem to forget really easy the rest of the cast can just walk out the gates and go home as thats the end of their shift at work with Ray he is good enough to stay after his shift ends and sign stuff and sometimes have pictures taken.

And the weekends just look Crazy so that rush is double which is why I'm guessing he only signs stuff. it's also his break in between them shows.

And one of my main reason I never hang around at stage door at arena etc is because the crowds are just crazy and it can get scary and uncomfortable at times the way people push each other to get to the front.

And being that person people are trying to get to must be quite worrying at times.