Reviewed at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris (April 15-25). The production is being broadcast on European arts TV channel Mezzo on May 5, 24 and 28. Sunday in the Park With George is a rare jewel, a special treat, one of the rare musicals and works of art which can lift you up from the real […]
Merrily We Roll Along has a good thing going
Playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London until July 27. As a performer Maria Friedman has memorably interpreted the work of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim – she even played the lead role of Mary Flynn in the 1992 Leicester Haymarket production of Merrily We Roll Along – but there was no guarantee she would make the same impact in her directorial […]
Pajama Game bustles with energy
Playing at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester until June 8. For the first of its two summer musicals Chichester Festival Theatre has unearthed another neglected little gem. Richard Adler and Jerry Ross’ 1954 musical The Pajama Game is given a rare outing. There was a London production in 1999, this time it is director Richard Eyre’s […]
Klea Blackhurst is welcome back any time
An Evening With Klea Blackhurst, reviewed at The Crazy Coqs, London. Nobody ever accused the lady of being soothing or subtle, but you get what it says on the tin with Klea Blackhurst, a disciple of the Ethel Merman school of belters for whom, in a room holding just 66 at a warmly glowing and […]
Spice Girls musical Viva Not Forever
Producer Judy Craymer has announced that Viva Forever!, the musical inspired by the songs of the Spice Girls, has posted closing notices at the Piccadilly Theatre for June 29, 2013. In a press statement Craymer said “It is with a heavy heart that we’ve had to make this very difficult decision to post closing notices […]
The Universal Machine is a code hard to break
Playing at the New Diorama Theatre, London until May 11. The life of Alan Turing as explored in The Universal Machine is more full of incident than many other academics’. A philosopher and mathematician who predicted the rise of mechanical ‘thinking machines’, his work at Bletchley Park during the Second World War directly led to […]
Rooms – A Rock Romance makes emotional impact
Playing at the Finborough Theatre, London until May 18. A boy-meets-girl-with-ambition love story set during the dying days of punk, Rooms – A Rock Romance may be billed as a rock romance but it also has some mighty power ballads at its heart. It’s fun to see Cassidy Janson’s Monica and Alexis Gerred’s Ian rocking […]
Tony Awards – Matilda vs Kinky Boots
That very smart, little girl from Britain, Matilda the Musical, will be fighting it out with Kinky Boots, that crazy footwear from Britain (but redesigned by Americans), for the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical. The nominations for the Tony Awards – covering Broadway productions over the past 12 months – were announced on April […]
The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes wins us over
Playing at the Hoxton Hall, London until May 10. Since first appearing in 1887 we’ve seen a wealth of Sherlock Holmes’, including a teenage incarnation and two bang up to date 21st century sleuths. With their boisterous production of Leslie Bricusse’s The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes, Morphic Graffiti give us the music hall version. Bricusse’s musical […]
Hot Stuff dazzles, sizzles and giggles
Playing at the Curve, Leicester until May 26. There is an insatiable appetite in Leicester for the rock musical Hot Stuff, an audacious, impudent, high-energy re-working of the Faust legend in which Joe Soap abandons his sweetheart, Julie, on the dance floor and sells his soul to Lucy Fur for fame and fortune as a rock singer. […]
Olivier Awards, a taste of the glamour
[table id=3 /] Click on any image for a larger version. It was a glamorous night at the Royal Opera House for the 37th Olivier Awards. While all those associated with musical theatre winners Top Hat, Sweeney Todd and Billy Elliot had much to celebrate, plenty of other performers played their part too. Actress Heather Headley […]
Olivier Awards – winners revealed…
Top Hat, Sweeney Todd and Billy Elliot were the big musical theatre winners in the 37th Olivier Awards (hosted by the Society of London Theatre and sponsored by Mastercard), held at London’s Royal Opera House and compered by Sheridan Smith and Hugh Bonneville. Top Hat, currently running at the Aldwych Theatre, was victorious in three categories – […]
