Welcome to Musicals Mash Up in which we catch up with lots of the week’s stories that haven’t yet appeared on the Musical Theatre Review pages. News editor Angela Thomas reports
Festive encore for West End Musical Christmas at the Lyric Theatre
Picture: Bonnie Britain
The popular West End Musical Christmas will return to London for another star packed celebration of musical theatre this festive season.
Following on from two previous sold-out concerts, this year’s all-singing and all-dancing West End Musical Christmas will be unwrapped at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on 19 December 2022.
Presented by the award-winning team behind crowd-pleasing events including West End Musical Brunch, West End Musical Drive-In, West End Musical Celebration, and this year’s first ever musical theatre fan convention, Musical Con, the festive performance will feature West End stars including Layton Williams, Shanay Holmes, Rachel John, Oliver Ormson, Sophie Isaacs and Laura Pick (Wicked). The line-up will also include special guest Joshua Williams, winner of the Star Of Musical Con competition at Musical Con.
Announcing this year’s show Shanay Holmes said: “There is no better way of getting in the Christmas spirit than having a cast of West End stars sing your favourite Christmas songs. If you’re a musical theatre fan this is your official Christmas Party invite, so put on your festive finest or your dodgy Christmas jumpers and we’ll see you at the Lyric Theatre on 19 December!”
Winnie The Pooh is a record breaker at Riverside Studios
The UK premiere of Disney’s Winnie The Pooh The Musical has broken box office records at London’s Riverside Studios within days of the tickets going on sale.
Commenting on the public response to the family-friendly show which is due to debut at the Hammersmith venue in March 2023 before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour, Riverside Studios’ creative director Rachael Tackley said: “Everyone at Riverside is thrilled with the response that we’ve had so far. The first week’s sales were staggering. Record-breaking in fact. Winnie The Pooh is clearly the show everyone’s been waiting for!”
Presented by Rockefeller Productions in partnership with ROYO and in association with Disney Theatrical Productions, the musical will begin preview performances at Riverside Studios on 17 March 2023 ahead of the official opening on 26 March 2023.
Developed and presented by renowned family entertainment creator Jonathan Rockefeller, the show which brings to life classic characters including Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger to life alongside Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, features a mix of musical performance and Rockefeller’s spectacular puppets.
After originating the role of Winnie the Pooh on Broadway, puppeteer, voice actor, writer and coach Jake Bazel will bring the much-loved character to life again on stage on this side of the Atlantic.
Inspired by A.A. Milne’s beloved creations and the Disney animations which brought Milne’s timeless tales to life on screen, the musical features an original score by Nate Edmondson and some of the Grammy Award-winning songs written by the Sherman Brothers for the original animated features.
Following the London run which will end on 21 May 2023, the UK and Ireland tour will visit Southampton, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Sheffield, Brighton, Nottingham, Richmond, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin, York, Cardiff, Newcastle, Guildford, Blackpool, Canterbury, Southend, High Wycombe and Cheltenham. Further tour dates are to be announced.
Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical enters its final weeks in the West End
David Albury and Shanay Holmes in Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Story. Picture: Craig Sugden
Olivier Award-winning musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical has entered its final weeks of performances at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
David Albury recently stepped into the role of Bob Marley and he will continue to lead the cast as the musical heads towards its last performance on 8 January 2023.
Albury stars opposite Cleopatra Rey as Rita Marley, Shanay Holmes as Cindy Breakspeare, Sophia Mackay as Judy Mowatt, Athena Collins as Marcia Griffiths, Jacade Simpson Bunny Wailer, Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton as Peter Tosh and Ivano Turco as Alternate Bob Marley.
Developed with the backing of Marley’s family and with unlimited access to the musician’s platinum-selling catalogue of music, Billy Elliot The Musical writer Lee Hall’s latest musical is directed by award-winning director Clint Dyer and presented by Playful Productions, Stage Play and Cedella Marley.
Nominated for four Olivier Awards and winning the Olivier Award for Best Orchestrations, the production has been seen by over 300,000 theatre-goers.
Following the end of the world premiere West End run the production will embark on a UK tour and discussions are also underway for the musical to play overseas runs in Europe, South Africa and South America. Full details of the UK tour will be announced soon.
Assisted performances available this festive season for new musical Hex at the National Theatre
A vividly original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Hex (running from 26 November 2022 to 14 January 2023, recommended for ages 8-plus) is a mythic, big-hearted musical that goes beyond the waking kiss. When the fairy is summoned to the palace to help the princess sleep, her spell becomes a curse, and she is plunged into a hundred-year quest to make everything right.
Assisted performances are available throughout the festive season, including:
- Captioned performance: Monday 19 December at 7.15pm
- Sensory Adapted performance: Thursday 22 December at 7.15pm
- BSL performance: Thursday 29 December at 7.15pm
- Audio-described performance: Saturday 7 January at 2pm, with a Touch Tour at 12.30pm
Smart caption glasses will be available for performances of Hex from Thursday 8 December.
Tickets are on sale now and available to book via the NT website. Five hundred £20 tickets are available for every performance, for adults and children alike. To book specific Access allocations online including wheelchair spaces, the best seats for captioned performances and tickets at the Access adjusted rate, audiences can subscribe to the National Theatre Access List.
Broadway musical director Benjamin Rauhala to lead all-star West End cast for London concert
Leading Broadway music director Benjamin Rauhala will take to the stage alongside a host of West End favourites for a special concert at London’s Cadogan Hall early next year.
Presented by Fourth Wall Live, Benjamin Rauhala & His West End Besties on 5 February 2023 will feature a star-studded line-up of guests including: Luke Bayer, Paisley Billings, Lauren Drew, Hiba Elchikhe, Jordan Luke Gage, Ben Joyce, Claudia Kariuki, Frances Mayli McCann, Zara MacIntosh, Natalie Paris, Courtney Stapleton, Jodie Steele and Benjamin Yates. The guest list is subject to change.
The musical director who played his first sold-out concerts in London with long-time collaborator Jeremy Jordan in 2016, will return to the capital with a night of his signature mash-ups and medleys, some of the best of contemporary musical theatre, radically re-arranged Disney tunes and songs from pop superstars including Celine Dion, the Spice Girls, Selina Gomez and Sam Smith.
A mainstay of the Broadway community, Rauhala has produced hundreds of sold-out concerts and is the music supervisor and co-creator of Disney Princess – The Concert. Currently touring to over 100 cities in North America, the hit show will tour internationally in 2023.
His Broadway credits include Fiddler On the Roof, American Psycho and Pippin. His Off-Broadway credits include Hit List, the meta-musical from the NBC television show Smash, Duncan Sheik’s The Secret Life of Bees and David Byrne’s Joan of Arc: Into The Fire.
He is also the music director for 2022 Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, Halston star Krysta Rodriguez, Tony Award nominees Derek Klena, Jennifer Damiano, Kathryn Gallagher and Disney legend Jodi Benson, along with Nashville star Kyle Dean Massey, Anastasia star Christy Altomare, Smash star Andy Mientus, Moulin Rouge star Ashley Loren and Frozen stars Caroline Bowman and Austin Colby.
Rauhala’s Cadogan Hall show will offer a glimpse of the musical director on stage ahead of his previously announced appearance alongside Debose for her highly anticipated London Palladium concert in April 2023, also presented by Fourth Wall Live.
The official Take That musical Greatest Days – Further dates announced
New tour dates for have been announced for the official Take That Musical Greatest Days, with a book by award-winning playwright Tim Firth. The musical will embark on a major UK and Ireland tour from 5 May 2023 and will coincide with the summer 2023 release of the official movie version of this smash-hit musical, starring Aisling Bea and Jayde Adams. Greatest Days celebrates the 30th anniversary of Take That’s first ever UK No. 1 single ‘Pray’.
Further dates have been added in cities such as Canterbury, Norwich, Blackpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Southampton, Brighton, Truro, Leicester, Aylesbury and Sunderland. Casting and further dates to be announced.
The Best Of The West End concert series will tour in 2023
The star-studded The Best Of The West End concert series will follow its sold-out dates at the Royal Albert Hall by heading out on tour next spring.
Picture: James Everett
Presented by Alpha, and featuring a host of the West End’s brightest stars including Ben Forster, Matt Henry [pictured] and Louise Dearman accompanied by an orchestra conducted by John Quirk, The Best Of The West End tour will launch at the Milton Keynes Theatre on 12 April 2023. Further dates, venues and casting are to be announced.
Commenting on the concerts, the creative director of the tour, Jesus Christ Superstar and Elf: The Musical star, Ben Forster said: “I am so honoured to be appointed creative director for Alpha’s Best of the West End tour. Having helped produce and performed in Alpha’s annual concert at the iconic Royal Albert Hall for several years, it’s great to be now taking it on tour for the rest of the country to enjoy. This is no ordinary concert; it truly is a spectacular celebration of everyone’s favourite musicals rolled into one night!”
Featuring songs from much-loved musicals including Chicago, Wicked, West Side Story, 42nd Street and Les Misérables, the star performers who took to the stage in previous shows included Anna-Jane Casey, Matthew Croke, Kerry Ellis, Sophie Evans, Ruthie Henshall, Gina Murray, Mazz Murray, John Owen-Jones, Mica Paris and Layton Williams.
Spotlight on the Future concerts to play London’s Wonderville
West End favourites and potential stars of tomorrow will take to the stage at new London cabaret hotspot Wonderville next month.
Presented by Future Spotlight Productions in collaboration with Wonderville, the five dates in December will follow the successful Spotlight on the Future formula of mixing established musical theatre favourites with new genre graduates.
Announcing the December concerts, the artistic director of Future Spotlight Productions, Louis Rayneau, said: “Thrilled that this wonderful project created from a 3am idea in lockdown is making its return in an innovative way and in the heart of West End.
“I am so thankful and grateful to all at Wonderville for letting us create magic in their incredible space; inside Wonderville is truly a next level experience and so unique. The line-ups and surprises we have in store are EPIC! Don’t miss out as there’s only limited spaces and limited dates this winter season.”
The first concert in the series on 4 December will feature Freddie King and Laura Pick with Erin Caldwell and May Tether taking centre stage on 5 December. With the star guests for the third show on 12 December yet to be revealed the 18 December show will feature Maria Coyne and Sabrina Aloueche. The final show in the series on 20 December will feature Ross Harmon and Amy Di Bartolomeo.
Choreographer and director Drew McOnie co-hosts new theatre podcast series
Olivier Award-winning choreographer and director Drew McOnie and Goldsmiths University’s academic lead for Enterprise Siân Prime have joined forces to host a new podcast series exploring the art of successful theatre-making.
Presented by The McOnie Company and Goldsmiths University, The Theatre Blueprint Podcast will feature interviews with some of the biggest names in the theatre industry. The first three episodes are now available, with subsequent episodes due for release weekly every Monday.
Guests on the series include: Timothy Sheader (artistic director, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Nia Janis (producer, Playful Productions), Uzma Hammed (writer and dramaturg), Julia Cheng (choreographer), Tyrone Huntley (actor), Grant Olding (composer), Ebony Molina (associate director and choreographer), E.M. Parry (set and costume designer), Xana (sound designer) and Jessica Hung Han Yun (lighting designer). Interviews trace an arc from how an initial idea becomes a show which employs not only actors and directors but designers, casting directors, marketing teams, dramaturgs, education and outreach professionals, wig and make up teams and everyone in between.
Commenting on the podcast, McOnie said: “As theatre makers, our world is one of limitless magic hanging in the dark and all too often the linchpins of our productions are not bought into the light to be applauded. It’s time for credit to be placed firmly where credit is due. This podcast lifts the curtain on the small army that, like a swan’s legs beneath the surface of the water, work tirelessly to provide a smooth voyage into the imagination.”
The Theatre Blueprint is a collaboration between the McOnie Company and SYNAPSE, the programme of business development support at Goldsmiths, University of London. It is produced by Scratchpost Productions.
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