LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE 2023

I’m not exaggerating about this even one little bit—one of my happiest days in 2023 was when I got the confirmation that The Wallis would be presenting Love Actually Live again this year! After the extraordinary show not appearing there last year, I waited with bated breath for this one. As many of you know by now, it’s the only event that Mr. X will go to voluntarily all year. And trust me—the 2023 rendition is just as fabulous as the others that came before it. Mr. X even declared that the voices are actually better than ever!

And as in all its past years, Love Actually Live is perfection.

Since it’s been a minute, you may need a refresher course in exactly what this show is, so here ’tis: Scenes from the iconic 2003 *Richard Curtis-helmed British Christmas movie, Love Actually, are shown, in order, on several giant screens on and around The Wallis’ easy-to-see-from-all-seats stage, and live actors play the film’s characters, but in song only. All the dialogue is directly in the film, but the on-stage actors sing the famous songs from the soundtrack, as characters from the movie, when their scenes come up. The performances, music from the exceptional on-stage orchestra, creative set, stunning projections, (especially of the French countryside, which I surprisingly never really took note of before,) and beautiful costumes, all combine to make this unique experience unforgettable. *[Please see the note near the bottom of this review to learn how lovely and kind Mr. Curtis is!]

I was shocked to discover that this is the now-classic film’s twentieth anniversary! So Love Actually Live is a wonderful celebration of that milestone. Presented again by The Wallis in conjunction with For The Record, this collaboration is a perfect show business marriage, one that looks like it will last way longer than many of the human ones in this town!

In case you’ve never seen this quintessential Christmas film in its two decades of existence, it’s actually several interwoven stories of love. (See what I did there with using the title?) And it’s one of the most charming movies of all time. (My favorite line in it is when the little boy’s stepfather tells him that his horrible problem, which is that the kid is in love, could be worse. And the kid retorts, “Worse than the total agony of being in love?!” Never a truer question was asked.)

Love Actually Live does change some cast members from year-to-year, so we were thrilled that Rex Smith* is back as aging rock idol, Billy Mack. He’s so spot-on in it that there’s no one else I would like to see in that role at this point, (except perhaps the original from the movie, the incomparable Bill Nighy.) *[Fun personal note: Rex and I once took a Master Class in acting together. He was already famous back then, which is perhaps why the possibly-insecure teacher kept torturing him about his work that day. But Rex spoke up and put the man in his place, which really impressed me. That one experience with Rex made me a fan for life.]

Also returning from 2021is Brian McKnight, Jr., as the groom, Peter, whose second-half solo, White Christmas, I looked forward to all night. Mr. X and I both noticed that he’s giving that number some extra oomph this time around.

Another of my faves this year is newbie Chris Mann, (whom you may remember as the lone opera singer from the early days of The Voice,) playing the Liam Neeson role of Daniel. I had recently seen him perform at a very classy private concert, so I was correctly looking forward to seeing (and hearing) him again in Love Actually Live. Even though Chris came to our national attention singing opera, his vocals in these pop numbers are so powerful.

Speaking of TV talent competitions, Daniel’s stepson’s little love interest, Joanna, is played by Madison Taylor Baez, who was on a recent season of America’s Got Talent. Mr. X says, “She can really sing!”

There are also other TV competition peeps among this year’s cast, so for those of you who are fans of those shows, (we watch only dance ones and AGT,) those performers should be of extra interest.

And even though the Hugh Grant dance scene, (set to Jump,) is brief, Austin Lesch really has Hugh’s goony dance moves down. That small bit is always an audience favorite.

Also special is that a few of the dozen or so superior musicians play a character from time to time. I love that the three who do that are listed in the program under “cast,” just as it should be. After all, none of the actors speak; they all just use their instruments, whether that be actual musical ones or their singing voices.

Besides all the other goodness of Love Actually Live, to see gorgeous young Hugh Grant on the gigantic screens is quite the treat.

And, of course, you all know that The Wallis is my favorite theater in Los Angeles. There’s not a bad seat in the house. And the building still fascinates me after all these years; I still get a kick out of seeing images of its old life as the Beverly Hills Post Office.

There are a lot of fun holiday shows in Los Angeles this year, which is really exactly what many of us need right now. But if you can see only one, I promise you that you must make it Love Actually Live. Mr. X would see it every night if he could! (But sadly for him, since his bae, me, is a theatre critic, who has commitments elsewhere, and would feel awful if he went to The Wallis without me, he cannot.)

Please make note that nighttime performances begin at 7:30; the show is said to be almost three hours long, but we both feel that it absolutely flies by. As soon as it was over on opening night, we wanted to see it again!

And do not be late–the beginning number is so good and exciting that you absolutely do not want to miss it! I will always remember the wonderment-filled face on the guy in front of me when he turned around to see the actors who were stationed and working in the space right between us. (They appear in several places around the audience at different times of the show.) He looked like a kid at, well, Christmas!

I have no doubt that every performance of Love Actually Live at The Wallis will be special, but since I attended the opening night, I’d be remiss if I did not report on some of those happy goings-on. The energy was palpable from the second we entered the building! This was one of the most enthusiastic audiences, (perhaps aided a bit by the cocktails at the Wallis bar—Mr. X said the margaritas were delicious!,) I’ve ever been in. They whooped, hollered, and just about testified during most of the performances!

Among them I spied a few celebs—Mean Girls‘ Jonathan Bennett, singer David Archuleta, and former LAL cast member Rumer Willis, showing off her tiny baby to her cooing pals at intermission.

The after-party did something different for this one. Instead of the usual Italian food, (which we’ve always adored, and actually missed this time,) they went with a buffet of…afternoon tea treats! Do you get why? Because Love Actually is a British film! So clever. And beautiful to look at. The star of it was sticky toffee pudding, but our faves were tiny, flat versions of scones, topped with either strawberry jam or lemon curd and the tiniest dollop of clotted cream. They were brilliant. Tiny shortbread and brownies rounded out the group. (The only bad thing is that we were all already on a high from the show, so, combined with all the sugar from those desserts, Mr. X and I were up almost all night!)

*Now to the note I referred to in the third paragraph above: Lovely Love Actually writer-director Richard Curtis is donating his royalties from this production of Love Actually Live to a charity he co-founded with Sir Lenny Henry in the UK, Comic Relief, whose mission is to have “a just world, free from poverty,” and whose goal is “to drive positive change through the power of entertainment.” The famous annual Red Nose Day also originated from these two men. Actually, Mr. Curtis has been involved with a slew of charitable organizations, including Live Aid, since way back in the day!  You should research the man. Right after you get tickets to this show, of course!

Love Actually Live running through December 30, 2023
Wallis Annenberg Theater For The Performing Arts
9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard Beverly Hills 310-746-4000 www.thewallis.org