Georgie Westall will star as Persephone in the new rock musical Mythic which will receive its world premiere at London’s Charing Cross Theatre next month. Westall who previously played a Siren in Myth: The Rise and Fall of Orpheus at The Other Palace will star alongside Daniella Bowen (Made in Dagenham, Queens Theatre, Hornchurch) as […]
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David Thaxton and Savannah Stevenson star in LMTO’s Camelot
Olivier Award winner David Thaxton and Follies star Savannah Stevenson will head the cast of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra’s concert version of Camelot at the London Palladium next month. Thaxton, who won an Olivier Award in 2011 for his performance in the Donmar Warehouse’s Passion and has played multiple roles in the Les Misérables […]
Lara Pulver and Stephen Mangan join cast of Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall
Lara Pulver, Stephen Mangan, Sharon D. Clarke and Paul Nicholas are the latest star names to be added to the cast of double Olivier Award winner Stephen Mear’s semi-staged version of the classic musical Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall next month. An Olivier Award winner for her performance in the hit revival […]
Part immersive musical Club Mex to premiere at the Hope Mill Theatre
West End star Julie Atherton will direct the world premiere of Mexican flavoured musical Club Mex at Manchester’s award-winning Hope Mill Theatre early next year. The second new musical from Global Musicals, the producers of current West End hit Six, will play the Ancoats’ venue from 17 January until 10 February 2019. Featuring a script […]
More Magic Mike on offer at the Hippodrome plus casting news
Thousands of extra tickets are being released for the eagerly-anticipated London season of Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live which will debut at the Hippodrome Casino in November. With most of the shows for the first six months of the run sold out, Tatum and his co-producers have announced nearly 10,000 previously held tickets will be […]
Fame anniversary tour heads for the West End in 2019
The hit 30th-anniversary tour of Fame The Musical will culminate in a West End transfer run next autumn. Directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, the production will dance into London’s Peacock Theatre from 11 September until 19 October 2019. Star casting for the West End run will be announced at a later date. Presented by […]
Funny Girl cinema screening – trailer released
A trailer has been released to promote the filmed version of the award-winning Menier Chocolate Factory production of Funny Girl ahead of its screening in cinemas nationwide on 24 October 2018. Featuring Sheridan Smith’s critically-acclaimed performance as Fanny Brice and filmed by Digital Theatre during the final week of the show’s run at the Manchester […]
Comedy cabaret Hot Gay Time Machine to play London festive season
Critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit Hot Gay Time Machine is heading back to London to play a Christmas season at Trafalgar Studio 2 in Whitehall. Written by Zak Ghazi-Torbati and the writers of current West End hit Six Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the lively satirical cabaret will run from Tuesday 27 November 2018 until […]
Flowers for Mrs Harris – Chichester Festival Theatre
Flowers for Mrs Harris continues at Chichester Festival Theatre until 29 September 2018. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Daniel Evans’ farewell production at The Crucible, Sheffield before taking over as Chichester’s artistic director was the staging of this new British musical, based on the 1958 novella by Paul Gallico. Rachel Wagstaff […]
Danny Dyer & Jo Brand to star in Nativity! The Musical in London
Danny Dyer will star as Hollywood Producer and Jo Brand as The Critic in the London run of Nativity! The Musical at the Eventim Apollo, from 19 to 31 December. Jo Brand will also star as The Critic when the show heads to the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from 28 November to 2 December. Dyer is currently best known for his […]
There will always be a place to enjoy his comic genius’: Remembering Neil Simon
NEIL SIMON, the most prolific comedy writer in the world who died on 26 August 2018 at the age of 91, had a very long career as a writer for television, the theatre and the cinema. There was just nobody else to match him, not even Shakespeare! Michael Darvell looks back at the life of a total comic […]
Live At Zedel announces over 100 shows for new season
London entertainment hub Live At Zédel at Crazy Coqs has unveiled a winter season packed with a record 110 shows covering a wide range of genres. Produced, once again, in partnership with Fane Productions Ltd, Live At Zédel’s programme of live music, musical theatre, comedy and cabaret includes solo shows from musical theatre leading ladies […]
Murder For Two returns for a festive run at The Other Palace
Musical whodunit Murder For Two will return to The Other Palace for a five-week run in December following a short UK tour. With a book and music by Joe Kinosian and book and lyrics by Kellen Blair, the Off-Broadway hit received its European premiere at The Watermill Theatre before playing The Other Palace last year. […]
Peter Andre to join Curve’s Grease tour
Pop star and television personality Peter Andre will play Teen Angel for a number of dates when Curve’s hit version of Grease hits the road in 2019. The first new production of the much-loved musical in 25 years will follow its sold- out run in Leicester with tour dates from mid-June 2019. Directed by Curve’s […]
Mary Poppins flies home to the West End in 2019 starring Zizi Strallen & Charlie Stemp
Zizi Strallen will take flight once again in the title role of Mary Poppins in 2017 when Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s multi award-winning musical returns to its original West End home next autumn. Fifteen years after the production’s stage premiere, Mary Poppins will return to the Prince Edward Theatre following the departure of Disney’s Aladdin […]
‘Hey, these are my songs’: Denise Marsa on her new show The Pass at the Playground Theatre
Nick Awde writes: New York-based singer-songwriter Denise Marsa hit fame as the other half of the duet on Dean Friedman’s 70s hit ‘Lucky Stars’. As her new solo show The Pass premieres at London’s Playground Theatre, she reveals that there’s a lot more behind the silky voice who so famously asked the immortal words “Did […]
Be More Chill – The Pershing Square Signature Center, New York
Be More Chill continues at The Irene Diamond Stage, The Pershing Square Signature Center, New York until 30 September 2018 and is planned for a March opening on Broadway. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Jeremy Heere feels he’s unwanted, unloved, a total loser. In short, he’s your typical teenager, and he’s the anti-hero of […]
Strictly’s Kevin Clifton and Blue’s Anthony Costa to join Rock of Ages tour
Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer Kevin Clifton and former pop star Anthony Costa will join the UK and Ireland tour of the glam rock jukebox musical Rock of Ages next year. Award-winning international ballroom and Latin dancer Clifton will take on the role of Stacee Jax from 22 January until 6 April 2019, while Costa, the […]
Wasted – Southwark Playhouse
Wasted continues at the Southwark Playhouse, London until 6 October 2018. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Wasted, written by Christopher Ash and Carl Miller, celebrates the work of the Brontës as well as the development of the new British musical. It frames the Bronte siblings as rock stars, weathering tragedy, heartbreak, isolation, substance abuse […]
Musical Theatre Academy – Oh My, Nellie Bly
Oh My, Nellie Bly was performed by students from the Musical Theatre Academy at the Bridewell Theatre, London. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Nellie Bly was a ground-breaking 19th-century American journalist, hardly known in the UK but better known in the States. She posed as an inmate in order to research a searing exposé, […]
Cast announced For sci-fi flavoured musical Fanatical
Comedian Stephen Frost will join Red Dwarf’s Suanne Braun to lead the cast of the world premiere of Fanatical at London’s Playground Theatre this November. Due to run from 7 November until 8 December 2018, the new musical which takes a fond look at the sometimes bizarre and always off-beat world of sci-fi fandom is […]
Heathers The Musical – Theatre Royal Haymarket
Heathers the Musical continues at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 24 November 2018. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ On the face of it, cult film Heathers would not seem to be a great candidate to form an evening of uplifting musical theatre. The 1988 film is a dark, dark comedy that takes […]
Thriller Live – Lyric Theatre
Thriller Live (4,000th performance) at the Lyric Theatre, London. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ If you’re looking for a quiet night out, Thriller Live probably isn’t the place for you. However, if you’re after a show where you’re encouraged to treat it as if you were going to see the late king of pop […]
Salad Days – Richmond Theatre and Touring
Salad Days continues at Richmond Theatre until 15 September 2018, then tours until 17 November. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Salad Days wears its 64 years lightly. It still has the silliest storylines and awful puns that composer Julian Slade and lyricist Dorothy Reynolds wrote, but also all the charm and feelgood factor that […]
Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5 The Musical to play the Savoy Theatre in early 2019
Brian Conley, Natalie McQueen, Louise Redknapp and reality TV star Amber Davies will take the central roles in Dolly Parton’s musical 9 To 5 The Musical when it plays London’s Savoy Theatre for a strictly limited season from January 2019. Presented by the Queen of Country herself, the production will star pop singer turned theatre […]
Midnight – Union Theatre
Midnight continues at the Union Theatre, London until 29 September 2018. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ A play set during Stalin’s regime of terror may seem an unlikely subject for a musical, but this piece of music theatre is an enthralling evening. Imaginatively directed by Kate Golledge on a striking set by Elliott Squire, […]
‘It can make a real impact on new musical theatre in this country’: Natasha J Barnes on why Wasted at the Southwark Playhouse is so special
Lani Calvert writes: The new British musical is a daring and exciting genre, taking influence from surprising areas and combining elements that have never worked together before. Wasted is no exception. The show, with a score by Olivier Award-winning Christopher Ash (Showstoppers) and a book and lyrics by Carl Miller (Emil and the Detectives), tells […]
Acclaimed Songs For Nobodies to follow UK premiere with West End run
Australian singer and actor Bernadette Robinson’s critically-acclaimed one-woman show Songs For Nobodies will transfer into the West End in early 2019. Written by Joanna Murray-Smith specifically to showcase Robinson’s extraordinary vocal ability, the new play with songs had its well-received European premiere at London’s Wilton Music Hall earlier this year. The limited seven-week West End […]
Nathan Amzi steps into Heathers The Musical for transfer run
Nathan Amzi has joined the cast of the record-breaking Heathers – The Musical until the end of its West End transfer run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Celebrating his move to Westerberg High, the actor whose credits include hit shows including Aladdin and Rock of Ages, said: “I have loved jumping in becoming a part […]
Star line-up for Crazy Coqs Presents: The New Musical Theatre Showcase
Stage stars Oliver Savile, Christina Bennington, Koko Basigara, Charlotte Wakefield and Nadim Naaman will take to the stage this Sunday (16 September) in The New Musical Theatre Showcase. The fourth concert in the popular Crazy Coqs Presents series of shows puts the spotlight on new music from composers including Anderson and Petty, Kansley and Lidert, […]
Unexpected Joy – Southwark Playhouse
Unexpected Joy continues at Southwark Playhouse, London until 29 September 2018. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The European Premiere of Bill Russell and Janet Hood’s new musical Unexpected Joy is an… Unexpected Joy! Following the Off-Broadway premiere earlier this year producers Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Jim Kierstead for Kierstead Productions have brought […]
Six The Musical – Arts Theatre
Six The Musical continues at the Arts Theatre, London until 14 October 2018. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ The first time I knew of the existence of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ Tudor-inspired pop musical Six was when it was nominated for Musical Theatre Review’s inaugural Best Musical Award at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. […]
Fack Ju Göhte – Se Mjusicäl – Werk 7, Munich
Fack Ju Göhte – Se Mjusicäl at Werk 7, Munich, Germany. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Rarely has a premiere suffered as much criticism as the musical version of the successful film Fack ju Göhte. But after premiere week, the trade press and online platforms have fallen in love with Stage Entertainment’s latest production. After all, who can’t […]
Eugenius! – The Other Palace
Eugenius! continues at The Other Palace, London until 21 October 2018. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ A baby milk dependent villain. His nefarious robot sidekick voiced by Mark Hamill. Brian Blessed narrating… and rapping. All this and more awaits you in Eugenius! With such pop-culture titans lending their talent and a […]
Hamilton (Lewis): A Musical Parody – King’s Head Theatre, London
Hamilton (Lewis) continues at the King’s Head Theatre, London until 22 September 2018. Star rating: one star ★ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ Purportedly a pastiche of Broadway and West End smash hit Hamilton, the writers of Hamilton (Lewis) claim that the inspiration for their musical came from people tweeting that they thought Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show […]
Date for 19th WhatsOnStage Awards announced
Nominations will open on 1 November 2018 for the 19th WhatsOnStage Awards which will be held at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Sunday 3 March 2019. The only major theatre awards to be voted for entirely by the theatregoing public, the public will be able to nominate their favourites for the 23 awards until […]
New musical Mythic to debut at Charing Cross Theatre in October
The ancient Greek story of daughter of the Gods Persephone is the inspiration for the new rock musical Mythic which will receive its world premiere at London’s Charing Cross Theatre next month. Written by Marcus Stevens (book and lyrics) and Oran Eldor (music), Mythic takes the mythical story of the daughter of Zeus and Demeter […]
A passionate woman: New musicals champion & producer Katy Lipson brings Unexpected Joy & the From Page to Stage festival to the Southwark Playhouse
The European premiere of Unexpected Joy, opening this week at the Southwark Playhouse, tells the story of three generations of female singers and their week together to try and clear some long-held family feuds. Joy is a baby boomer pop star, who lived the hippie life and is now preparing for a concert to honour […]
Full casting announced for From Page To Stage 2018 festival
Aria Entertainment has revealed the 37-strong company who will star in the seven new musicals chosen for this year’s From Page To Stage festival which will launch at the Southwark Playhouse next week. Returning for its sixth year and running from 11 until 25 September, the prestigious musical theatre event created by leading independent theatre […]
Musical theatre writing category to be added to Writers’ Guild Awards
The creativity of musical theatre writers will be recognised with the launch of a new award from the prestigious Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. Coinciding with the union’s 60th anniversary, the prestigious annual awards on 14 January 2019 will include the Musical Theatre Bookwriting Award alongside the 14 existing categories which recognise the cream of […]
Full cast for world premiere of Midnight at the Union Theatre
New musical thriller Midnight is receiving its world premiere at London’s Union Theatre this week, nearly three years after the show made its well-received debut in workshop form. Based on the play Citizens of Hell by leading Azerbaijani writer Elchin, Midnight – A New Musical features a book and lyrics by Timothy Knapman and music […]
Stars line-up for Thriller Live gala show in aid of the Prince’s Trust
Singer Peter Andre, comedian Russell Kane and impressionist Jon Culshaw will join the cast of the record-breaking Thriller Live for one night only to celebrate the production’s 4,000th West End performance and launch a new partnership with The Prince’s Trust next week. The glittering Gala Charity Performance at the Lyric Theatre on Wednesday 12 September […]
Gettin’ the Band Back Together sets Broadway closing
The new 2018/19 Broadway season is already claiming its first casualty. Gettin’ the Band Back Together, which officially opened on 13 August after 30 previews, has posted a 16 September closing notice. The show, whose book was developed in improvisational sessions with actors and writers, deals in comic fashion with a group of middle-aged men […]
CD Review – Lost West End Vintage 2 – Various Artists
LOST WEST END – VINTAGE 2 – Various Artists (STAGE DOOR RECORDS – STAGE 9056) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Following on from the excellent Vintage 1 CD – Stage Door Records has kept the standard high with Lost West End Vintage 2. Fifty tracks of remastered delights from London cast recordings […]
CD Review – Scene One / We Speak the Same Language – James Shigeta
SCENE ONE / WE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE – James Shigeta (Stage Door Records – STAGE 2460) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Not many people nowadays would instantly know who James Shigeta was. Cited as one of the most pioneering and groundbreaking actors of his generation, he was one of the first […]
CD Review – Weimar & Back – Melinda Hughes
WEIMAR & BACK – Melinda Hughes (NIMBUS ALLIANCE – NI 6367) Star rating: 3.5 stars Celebrating the music and culture of the Weimar interwar period, Weimar & Back is a collection of satirical songs by Hollaender, Spoliansky, Heymann, Weill and Hughes & Limb. According to Barry Humphries, an exponent of the genre, the music is full of […]
CD Review – Treasure Seeker – Gary Williams
TREASURE SEEKER – Gary Williams (BOS Entertainment Ltd – BOS6824, released 19 September 2018) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ In my last review of a Gary Williams’ CD, I honestly thought I couldn’t have been nicer but, after hearing this one, I am going to have to get that bloody thesaurus out!! […]
New production of Stiles and Drewe’s Just So to play The Barn in Cirencester
Stiles and Drewe’s musical re-working of Rudyard Kipling’s classic Just So Stories will be the final production in The Barn Theatre’s autumn/winter season. Following on from the Cirencester venue’s hit launch production of the Tony Award-winning musical The Secret Garden, the family-orientated new production of Just So will feature a cast of actor/musicians directed by […]
Mamma Mia! The Party to take over part of the O2
ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and producer Ingrid Sutej’s successful project Mamma Mia! The Party will take up residence in a specially-adapted venue within London’s O2 in spring 2019. Work has already begun by a team led by Steve Tompkins of architects Haworth Tompkins, on transforming one of the venues within the O2 complex into a traditional […]
West End stars cast in Scott Alan’s The Distance You Have Come
Casting has been announced for The Distance You Have Come, the new musical based on the work of award-winning composer Scott Alan which is due to play The Cockpit in London from 16-28 October 2018. With musical direction by Scott Morgan, the show which features a song cycle of Alan’s most popular works follows the […]
