TV comedy star David Fynn will head the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking show School of Rock – The Musical when it arrives in the West End next month. The scene-stealing star of US cult comedy Undateable will take on the role of Dewey Finn, the wannabe rocker turned teacher originally played by movie […]
Tag Archives | Andrew Lloyd Webber
Joe McElderry to return to Joseph tour in 2017
Joe McElderry is to return to the title role in Bill Kenwright’s touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat early next year. The singer, whose first taste of fame came as an 18-year-old X Factor winner, made his first appearance in the UK’s longest-running touring musical earlier this year. He will don the […]
National Youth Music Theatre – gala marks 40th birthday
Stage and screen stars are lining up to appear in a West End gala celebrating the 40th birthday of the National Youth Music Theatre this autumn. ENCORE 40 Years of NYMT will feature past and present NYMT students for one special evening of entertainment at London’s Adelphi Theatre on 30 October. The line-up of established […]
Lloyd Webber celebrates Broadway triple
The first night of the Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats became part of a double celebration for the British composer who now has three hit shows running on Broadway. To mark the occasion Lloyd Webber was joined by School of Rock’s Alex Brightman, The Phantom of the Opera’s James Barbour and his newest […]
Cats – Neil Simon Theatre, New York
Cats continues at the Neil Simon Theatre, New York. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Who or what is responsible for the explosive power that threatens to blow the roof off Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre, where the new production of Cats, the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s cash-spouting bonanza, has just opened? Is it […]
Evita tour returns to UK in 2017
Bill Kenwright’s production of Evita is to return to next year for another major UK tour. The revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much-loved musical last toured the country three years ago ahead of a successful London run at the Dominion Theatre in the autumn of 2014. Although there is no news yet on the […]
Jesus Christ Superstar – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Jesus Christ Superstar continues at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London until 27 August. Rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The stage is full of smoke, a belching walkway and banks of blinding lights. Upon it we see pulsing, vibrant, relentlessly energetic ensemble work – one of the many fine things which puts this stupendous show […]
Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – exclusive images
This summer’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s groundbreaking musical Jesus Christ Superstar opened this week. Here, Musical Theatre Review’s official photographer Roy Tan presents a gallery of exclusive images. The show Jesus, portrayed by singer-songwriter Declan Bennett, is joined by Tyrone Huntley as Judas, Anoushka Lucas as Mary Magdelene, David Thaxton […]
Leona Lewis will be Grizabella in Broadway’s Cats
Leona Lewis will take on the role of Grizabella in the Broadway revival of Cats this July. The casting of the British singer, who is widely regarded as the most gifted X Factor champion, brings to an end weeks of speculation following Andrew Lloyd Webber’s angry revelation that American Nicole Scherzinger had ditched her chance of […]
Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – West End dates confirmed
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new show School of Rock – The Musical will arrive in the West End this October a few months earlier than expected. Public booking will open 25 May with previews at the New London Theatre beginning on 24 October ahead of the opening night on 14 November. The show is initially booking until […]
Lloyd Webber anger at Scherzinger Broadway Cats no-show
Andrew Lloyd Webber has revealed his anger at Nicole Scherzinger’s decision to ditch her chance of Broadway stardom in Cats in favour of returning to faltering TV talent show The X Factor. Lloyd Webber, who was credited with rejuvenating the former Pussycat Doll’s singing career when she was cast as Grizabella in the West End […]
Alternate Norma Desmond Ria Jones wins over Sunset Boulevard audience
Actress and singer Ria Jones stepped into the spotlight this week to take over the leading role in Sunset Boulevard and won over an audience angered by the news that award-winning actress Glenn Close was too ill to perform (Pictures: Kevin Wilson). Jones, who had ironically been involved in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s early workshops for […]
Sunset Boulevard – London Coliseum
Sunset Boulevard continues at the London Coliseum until 7 May. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ The golden age of Hollywood, when silent pictures gave way to ‘talkies’, has been a fertile ground for storytelling in the past. Singin’ in the Rain gave us a comedic take on the screen starlet who […]
Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close – first production images
Today (1 April 2016) previews begin for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard at ENO’s London Coliseum. Joining Glenn Close (Norma Desmond), Michael Xavier (Joe Gillis), Siobhan Dillon (Betty Shaefer) and Fred Johanson (Max Von Mayerling) are Anna Woodside as Hedda Hopper, Emily Bull as Hedy Lamarr, Julian Forsyth as Cecil B DeMille, Mark Goldthorp as Sheldrake, Fenton Gray as Manfred, […]
Producer Paul Taylor-Mills joins Andrew Lloyd Webber at St James Theatre
Leading independent producer Paul Taylor-Mills is joining Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group to work on programming for the newly acquired St James Theatre. Taylor-Mills will join RUG as advisory producer with special responsibility for working on the company’s plans for the latest addition to the group’s portfolio of venues. The producer whose recent credits […]
Interview – lyricist Don Black on Bar Mitzvah Boy and 2016 being a very good year
This year is looking to be a good one for lyricist DON BLACK. As well as a new West End musical, Mrs Henderson Presents, under his belt, the London Coliseum is to play host to a revival of Sunset Boulevard (for which he co-wrote the book and lyrics with Christopher Hampton and won two Tony […]
Declan Bennett cast as Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Singer/songwriter Declan Bennett has been cast in the title role in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The star, who was the original lead in the London cast of Once, will head the cast in the latest production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ground-breaking musical which will run […]
Sunset Boulevard – full cast revealed as show begins rehearsals
Today (22 February 2016) rehearsals for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard begin at the English National Opera Rehearsal Studios as the full cast was announced. Joining Glenn Close, Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon and Fred Johanson in Sunset Boulevard, are Anna Woodside as Hedda Hopper and Emily Bull as Hedy Lamarr who will work alongside the […]
Tell Me On a Sunday – Watermill Theatre, Newbury and Touring
Tell Me On a Sunday continues at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury until 20 February, before touring until 8 June. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Returning to the Watermill stage following a national tour in the title role of Calamity Jane, Jodie Prenger restrains her natural effervescence to encapsulate the character of Emma as she […]
Sunset Boulevard at ENO – Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon and Fred Johanson join Glenn Close in cast
Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon and Fred Johanson will join Glenn Close in Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s Sunset Boulevard, the second production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. Lonny Price will direct the strictly limited run of 43 performances at ENO’s London Coliseum which begins on 1 April 2016 with press night on 4 April, with the final performance on 7 May. The full ENO […]
Cats will return to Broadway this summer
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical Cats will return to Broadway this summer at the Neil Simon Theatre. Preview performances will begin on 14 July, with an official opening set for 2 August 2016. When Cats opens, Lloyd Webber will, once again, have the rare distinction of having three musicals running simultaneously on Broadway: The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock – The Musical, and Cats . Composed by Lloyd Webber and based […]
In memory of Robert Stigwood – impresario extraordinaire
Robert Stigwood (16 April 1934–4 January 2016): Impresario Extraordinaire who promoted The Bee Gees, John Travolta and Lloyd Webber musicals. Impresario Robert Stigwood, who has died aged 81, was a unique example of a businessman with his own vision that saw him achieving success in many forms of public entertainment. Not one to stick to […]
School of Rock – The Musical – Lloyd Webber searches for West End cast of kids
The search is on for at least 39 talented youngsters to play the child stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking new show School of Rock – The Musical when it finally arrives in the UK in 2017 (although previous reports suggested autumn 2016). The show, which is based on the hit Jack Black comedy film and […]
Tell Me On a Sunday with Jodie Prenger – tour dates revealed
A national tour of the Watermill Theatre production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic musical Tell Me On a Sunday, starring Jodie Prenger, opens on Wednesday 2 March 2016, following a season at the Watermill Theatre from Thursday 28 January to Saturday 20 February 2016. Tell Me On a Sunday charts the romantic misadventures of a young English girl in […]
School of Rock – The Musical to open at the London Palladium in autumn 2016
Following its Broadway opening last night at the Winter Garden Theatre, the West End production of School of Rock – The Musical will open at the London Palladium in autumn 2016. Dates for the West End run will be confirmed in the New Year with details of when the production will go on sale. Andrew Lloyd […]
School of Rock – Winter Garden Theatre, New York
School of Rock continues at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ In a pre-curtain recorded announcement, Andrew Lloyd Webber assures the audience that the kids in School of Rock are actually playing their own instruments. “Emphatically” so, he stresses. And that just about sums up the […]
Marti Webb – Crazy Coqs
Marti Webb performed at the Crazy Coqs, London. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Musical theatre star of a bygone era Marti Webb, a rare visitor to the cabaret circuit making her Crazy Coqs debut, turned back the clock the best part of half a century as she reprised the songs that informed her […]
Sunset Boulevard – Glenn Close on making her West End debut at ENO
In April 2016, the London Coliseum will play host to a semi-staged production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Sunset Boulevard, with Glenn Close reprising the role of former silent movie star Norma Desmond, which she played in Los Angeles and on Broadway. In front of an invited press audience, she spoke of her previous involvement […]
Cats – London Palladium
Cats continues at the London Palladium until 2 January 2016. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ There are some long-running West End shows whose continuing popularity tends to generate dismissive sniffs amongst Theatreland’s more prolific theatregoers. These tend to be the shows that do not have the narrative draw of a highly […]
School of Rock – Andrew Lloyd Webber reveals 360° music video
Andrew Lloyd Webber has released a fully immersive 360° music video for ‘You’re in the Band’, a musical number from his upcoming Broadway show, School of Rock – The Musical. Shot in a real New York City classroom, this innovative 360° video produced for the Broadway production is one of the first of its kind on YouTube or Facebook. The video was designed […]
Casting update for Cats at the London Palladium
As previously announced, Beverley Knight is to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats to play the role of Grizabella. Returning to the London Palladium from 23 October 2015 in a strictly limited 11-week season, Cats is booking to 2 January 2016. The cast joining Beverley Knight (Grizabella) at the Palladium comprises Jack Butterworth (Rumpus/Alonzo), Danielle Cato (Cassandra), Javier Cid (Macavity/Admetus), Luke Cinque-White (Carbucketty), Emma Lee Clark (Bombalurina), Jon-Scott Clark (Bill Bailey), Gabrielle Cocca (Tantomile), Harry Francis (Mungojerrie), Tarryn Gee (Jemima), Evan James (Skimbleshanks), Matt Krzan (Munkustrap), Georgie […]
Glenn Close to star in semi-staged ENO production of Sunset Boulevard
Glenn Close will star as Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s Sunset Boulevard, the second production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. In March 2015 ENO and the GradeLinnit Company presented the critically acclaimed sell-out run of Sweeney Todd with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel in the inaugural production of their partnership. Lonny Price will direct the strictly limited run of […]
See Beverley Knight sing Memory for Andrew Lloyd Webber
On 22 July 2015 Andrew Lloyd Webber met with his new leading lady, Beverley Knight, who will star in the composer’s musical Cats, playing the role of Grizabella. Returning to the London Palladium from 23 October 2015, Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed new production of Cats will run for a strictly limited 11-week season until 2 January 2016. Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Cats returned to the […]
Cats – Blackpool Opera House
Cats continues at Blackpool Opera House until 5 September (no shows 4–9 August). Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ It’s become known locally as ‘the Mamma Mia! effect’. When the feelgood hit musical set up shop last summer at Blackpool Opera House it was as if the wheel – or at least the showbusiness […]
Beverley Knight to star as Grizabella in Cats at the London Palladium
Beverley Knight is to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical Cats to play the role of Grizabella. Returning to the London Palladium from 23 October 2015, Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical will run for a ten-week season until 2 January 2016. Tickets are from £20 with top price seats at £59.50 and children’s tickets at half price for Monday to Thursday performances. Beverley Knight said: “To be […]
Jodie Prenger stars in Tell Me On a Sunday tour
A national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s musical Tell Me On a Sunday, starring Jodie Prenger, will begin on Wednesday 2 March 2016, following a season at the Watermill Theatre from Thursday 28 January to Saturday 20 February 2016. Tell Me On a Sunday charts the romantic misadventures of a young English girl in […]
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Bridlington Spa and Touring
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat continues at Bridlington Spa until 21 March and then tours until 6 June 2015. If the number of people claiming to have been at Woodstock had actually been there, the toilets would have emptied into the Hudson. So it is with the 1970s Leicester production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. […]
Cats set for summer in Blackpool
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking 2015 Olivier Award nominated musical Cats is to return to Blackpool direct from its successful season at the London Palladium. The show will run at the Blackpool Opera House for a strictly limited eight-week run from 9 July and the Blackpool performances will be the only place theatregoers can see Cats north of London […]
Jesus Christ Superstar – Blackpool Opera House and Touring
Jesus Christ Superstar continues at Blackpool Opera House until 14 March and then tours until 25 July 2015. Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ As groundbreaking rock operas go few have broken more ground, so to speak, than Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s second staged collaboration. After Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and before […]
Cats – London Palladium
Cats is booking at the London Palladium until 25 April 2015. Star rating: 4 stars **** While I appreciate the position that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats – famously inspired by T.S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – holds in musical theatre history (the originality of its concept and the special place it has in many a theatregoer’s heart), […]
Amelia Lily cast as the Narrator in Joseph tour following Marcus Collins exit
Amelia Lily is set to bring yet more X Factor to this year’s touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as she steps into the role of Narrator alongside fellow X Factor finalist Lloyd Daniels’ Joseph from 17 February at Edinburgh’s Playhouse Theatre. This follows the news that Marcus Collins, who was originally cast as […]
Interview – Kerry Ellis prepares to play Grizabella in Cats at the London Palladium
KERRY ELLIS will join the cast of Cats at the London Palladium to play the role of Grizabella from 9 February 2015, taking over from Nicole Scherzinger. Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the original creative team – director Trevor Nunn, associate director and choreographer Gillian Lynne, designer John Napier and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber – have reunited to bring Cats back to the West End. Due to […]
Kerry Ellis replaces Nicole Scherzinger in extended run of Cats
Kerry Ellis will join the cast of Cats at the London Palladium to play Grizabella from 9 February 2015, taking over from Nicole Scherzinger who continues in the role until 7 February as previously announced. Due to public demand, the run of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record breaking show has now been extended to 25 April 2015. More than 100,000 new tickets for sale have now gone on […]
Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical premieres on Broadway
School of Rock – The Musical will have its world premiere on Broadway, with previews beginning on 2 November 2015 at the Winter Garden Theatre, with an opening set for 6 December. Based on the hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock will feature music from the movie, as well as new music written by […]
Cats – London Palladium
Cats is booking at the London Palladium Booking until 28 February. It is 12 years since Cats departed the West End, and John Napier’s rubbish-tip turned its last revolve at the New London Theatre. Now it is back, minus the revolving stage, but with a set that spills out into the stalls and the circle, through which Spandex-clad dancers […]
Nicole Scherzinger makes theatrical stage debut in Cats
Last night (11 December 2014) at the London Palladium Nicole Scherzinger made her theatrical stage debut as Grizabella in the musical Cats as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking show returned to the West End for a limited run. Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the original creative team – director Trevor Nunn, associate director and choreographer Gillian Lynne, designer John Napier and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber – were reunited […]
X Factor’s Marcus Collins joins Lloyd Daniels on Joseph tour
There’s double the X Factor this February as Marcus Collins joins fellow contestant Lloyd Daniels for the 2015 tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Collins will step into the role of Narrator alongside Lloyd’s Joseph from 4 February. Collins, who was mentored by Take That star Gary Barlow, finished as runner-up on The X Factor 2011, pipped to the post by […]
Interview – Nathan Amzi on joining the cast of Urinetown and hanging out with Kylie
NATHAN AMZI – who is currently playing Officer Barrel in Urinetown the Musical at London’s Apollo Theatre – is perhaps best known to a wider audience for taking part in BBC1’s The Voice UK and being mentored by Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs fame. However, the Urdang Academy-trained performer has also proved himself a versatile actor […]
Cats at the London Palladium – full cast revealed
As previously announced, Nicole Scherzinger will make her West End stage debut as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking show Cats. The musical returns to the West End for a strictly limited run at the London Palladium from 6 December 2014 (press night is on 11 December). Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the original creative team – director Trevor Nunn, associate director and […]
Elaine Paige in Concert – Royal Albert Hall, London
Elaine Paige in Concert (50th Anniversary Farewell Tour) at the Royal Albert Hall, London. It seems strange to imagine but to anybody under the age of 20, Elaine Paige is probably more regarded as a Sunday afternoon radio presenter than as a musical theatre star. Certainly her presence on the Radio 2 show has given musical theatre a […]
