Only two sequels have ever won the Best Picture Oscar and Wicked: For Good won’t be the third after being snubbed when the nominations for Tinseltown’s Red Carpet night on 15 March were revealed this week.
Tag Archives | Cynthia Erivo
Music Review: Wicked: For Good
Wicked: For Good – Movie Cast Recording (Universal Studios and Republic Records). Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Fans of the first part of the Wicked movie duology had to wait patiently for 12 months but the second instalment – Wicked: For Good – finally landed in cinemas and concluded the well-loved story […]
Streaming date revealed for Wicked: For Good – MTR editor Lisa Martland reviews the new movie on Andrew Tomlins’ West End Frame Show
Part Two of Jon M Chu’s thrillifying film adaptation of the much-loved hit musical Wicked – Wicked: For Good, will be released on digital platforms in the UK on 2 January 2026.
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo is recognised in the New Year honours list
Recently seen in Wicked: For Good and soon to be seen in Kip Williams’ reimagining of Dracula in the West End, Cynthia Erivo receives the MBE for services to music and drama.
Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year 2025 – Sondheim Theatre
Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year 2025 at the Sondheim Theatre, London. RAM’s Georgia Blessit wins as female performers continue to dominate competition.
Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending each receive 10 Tony Award nominations
The nominations for the 78th Annual Tony Awards were announced by Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce this week, with the musicals Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending topping the leader board with 10 nominations each. Sunset Boulevard, the biggest winner at the Olivier Awards 2024 (seven wins) has received seven […]
Music Review: Wicked: The Soundtrack – Movie Cast Recording
Wicked: The Soundtrack – Movie Cast Recording (Universal Studios and Republic Records). Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This will only reinforce the five-star status of the story and score for years to come.
Cynthia Erivo to host Tony Awards 2025
Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winner and triple Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will host the 78th Tony Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 8 June.
Wicked, Emilia Pérez and more – Which musical movies will come out top at the Academy Awards 2025?
Two musicals, Wicked and Emilia Pérez, made the final ten for Oscars night on 2 March after nominations for Hollywood’s big night were eventually announced last week.
Wicked movie wins Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
The movie version of West End and Broadway mega-hit Wicked took home the second Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement at the weekend’s star-studded ceremony.
Musical Theatre Review editor Lisa Martland reviews the Wicked movie on Andrew Tomlins’ West End Frame Show
To mark the release of part one of the Wicked movie, Musical Theatre Review editor joined podcast supremo Andrew Tomlins on the West End Frame Show to discuss the momentous occasion.
Palladium concert date for Jason Robert Brown
Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown will return to London next spring with a one night only concert performance at the London Palladium.
BBC Proms – Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices – Royal Albert Hall
Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices was performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of the BBC Proms. Star rating: five stars ★★★★★ There was a sense, I think, among London theatregoers that when Cynthia Erivo moved to New York to star in the Broadway transfer of The Color Purple that we might have lost to America for […]
Cinderella’s Ivano Turco & Caleb Roberts are among the winners at the Black British Theatre Awards 2021
There was a double win for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Cinderella at the 2021 Black British Theatre Awards with two members of the cast – Ivano Turco and Caleb Roberts – winning acting prizes. Decided entirely by public vote, the awards took place at the illustrious Old Finsbury Town Hall, London, hosted by Grammy, […]
Cynthia Erivo replaces Craig Revel Horwood for Strictly’s Musicals Week
Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award winner Cynthia Erivo has been drafted in to replace Covid-hit Craig Revel Horwood on the judging panel for Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing Musicals Week show. With Revel Horwood missing the popular Saturday night show for the first time after testing positive for Covid-19, the actress who is also due to […]
Cynthia Erivo and Danny Sapani to co-host Black British Theatre Awards
Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winner Cynthia Erivo and Black Panther, Star Wars and Killing Eve actor Danny Sapani will co-host the 2021 Black British Theatre Awards (BBTAs) on 21 November 2021. Commenting on the awards, stage and screen star Erivo said: “I am so proud as a Black British actress to return from Los Angeles to the […]
What ever happened to Taron Egerton? It’s the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year roll of honour
From little acorns do mighty oaks grow and from 2007 when an entry of just ten students meant they ALL qualified for the final, the Stephen Sondheim Society’s Student Performer of the Year competition has become a very special date on the musical theatre calendar, writes Jeremy Chapman. This year’s 13th edition, for the first […]
The Color Purple sets Broadway closing
The Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple will join the New Year exodus of Broadway musicals, setting a closing date of 8 January. With its final finale, the Broadway mounting, which opened last December, will have played 33 previews and 449 regular performances. The show was a transplant of director John Doyle’s searing reworking, […]
Aladdin opening night – pictures from the red carpet
Last night (Wednesday 15 June) saw the opening night of Disney’s new West End musical Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. Guests included: Tom and Giovanna Fletcher, Andrew Scott, Luke Evans, Cynthia Erivo, Preeya Kalidas and Katherine Kelly. Pictures: Vivienne Vincent With the booking period now extended into February 2017, the lavish show features Dean John-Wilson in the title role alongside former Sugababe Jade Ewen as […]
Hamilton dominates the Tony Awards (plus win for Color Purple’s Cynthia Erivo)
It was, as expected, a landslide, though not a record-breaker, for Hamilton, as the Tony Awards were doled out Sunday night in New York, celebrating the 2015/16 Broadway season. The hip-hop history-lesson blockbuster, centring on Alexander Hamilton and his relationships with the other founding fathers of America, captured 11 of the coveted statuettes, climaxed with […]
Cynthia Erivo wins Drama Desk Award for The Color Purple on Broadway
British singer actress Cynthia Erivo has collected a prestigious Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Broadway transfer of The Color Purple. The Londoner first played the role of Celie Harris in the Menier Chocolate Factory production in 2013. Following her Broadway debut in the transfer of the show last year, she has won the […]
Hamilton receives a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations
Why don’t they just call them the Hamiltons? The Tony Award nominations for the 2015-16 Broadway season were announced today (Tuesday) and a record-breaking 16 of them went to the blockbuster Hamilton, which delivers a hip-hop look at Alexander Hamilton and the other founding fathers of the United States. The count beats the previous record […]
Curtain Up album awards – Bend It Like Beckham, Cynthia Erivo, Oliver Tompsett and Scott Alan are winners
The original London cast of Bend It Like Beckham and Cynthia Erivo, Oliver Tompsett and Scott Alan were crowned the winners of The Curtain Up radio show’s first musical theatre album awards today. Bend It Like Beckham was chosen as the Best Cast Recording while Cynthia Erivo and Oliver Tompsett Sing Scott Alan took home the […]
The Color Purple – Bernard B Jacobs Theatre, New York
The Color Purple continues at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Director John Doyle’s wondrous redo of The Color Purple may be minimalist, but it’s drenched in emotion. At the same time, he has gloriously amped up this Broadway musical’s power as a feminist […]
Songs For a New World – St James Theatre
Songs For a New World continues at the St James Theatre, London until 8 August. Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ Taking your seat in St James’ auditorium, spying the spare apartment, stacks of furniture in the corner, you get a glimpse of what the show is at its heart: a juxtaposition of […]
Jason Robert Brown in Concert – Royal Festival Hall
Jason Robert Brown in Concert – Royal Festival Hall, London. Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ While Jason Robert Brown is somewhat exalted in musical theatre circles, in London productions of his musicals have tended to be small, chamber affairs, with Fringe productions arranging his scores to be played with the smallest number of musicians possible. […]
Bertie Carvel latest guest to join Jason Robert Brown concert line-up
Hailed as ‘one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim’, three-time Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director and performer Jason Robert Brown will present a very special show today (26 May 2015) at London’s Royal Festival Hall, showcasing some of his best loved work. Tony Award-nominated Bertie Carvel, currently the star […]
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Royal Festival Hall
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ Frank Loesser’s musical satire of self-help books and office politics enjoyed a one-night concert performance on London’s South Bank, courtesy of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and a truly stellar cast. The 1961 show – […]
Songs For a New World – Cynthia Erivo and Jenna Russell lead cast at St James
Celebrating 20 years since its first performance Off-Broadway, an all-new London production of triple-Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown’s first musical Songs For a New World runs at the St James Theatre for a strictly limited run of three weeks (Wednesday 22 July to 8 August, press night is Friday 24 July), directed by Adam Lenson. This special anniversary […]
Scott Alan and Cynthia Erivo – Home Again – St James Studio
Scott Alan and Cynthia Erivo: Home Again at the St James Studio Theatre, London, as part of the London Festival of Cabaret. Star rating: Five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ In the world of musical theatre and its cabaret sibling, we are used to describing songs and performances as ‘moving’ or ‘emotional’. All too often, though, there […]
Interview – composer Scott Alan reunites with Cynthia Erivo at the London Festival of Cabaret
New York-based composer Scott Alan (Home; Dreaming Wide Awake) and Broadway-bound actress and singer Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple; I Can’t Sing!) will join forces for Home Again, three special concerts (4–6 May) at the St James Studio, London as part of the London Festival of Cabaret 2015 (28 April to 11 May). Audiences can expect to hear Erivo […]
Cynthia Erivo and Clarke Peters join How to Succeed concert line-up
Further cast details have been announced today for the Gala Concert Presentation of Frank Loesser’s classic 1961 musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Produced by independent promoter Senbla in association with Elliot Davis, British/American actor Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme) and Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple, Dessa Rose, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) join […]
Cynthia Erivo – Hear My Soul – Kings Place, London
Cynthia Erivo performed her show Hear My Soul at Kings Place, London. Star rating: 5 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ If proof were needed that Cynthia Erivo is a major force to be reckoned with (and it’s not needed, as far as I’m concerned), it was delivered in spades at the beautiful – if acoustically a bit dry – […]
London Festival of Cabaret – Kerry Ellis, Janie Dee, Cynthia Erivo and Scott Alan join line-up
The third London Festival of Cabaret (LFoC) runs from 28 April–11 May and in addition to a spectacular list of artists, three prestigious new venues have joined the roster. The Delfont Room, the Sam Wanamaker Theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe and Wilton’s Music Hall join the Crazy Coqs, The Pheasantry, St James Studio and Jermyn Street Theatre in offering […]
Kerry Ellis and Lee Mead join The Night of Electric Voices line-up
Kerry Ellis, who takes over from Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella in the current West End production of Cats, will feature in The Night of Electric Voices on Sunday 1 March at the London Coliseum. She will be joined by Casualty actor and winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Any Dream Will Do, Lee Mead, as well as many stars of the West End and Broadway. The […]
West End Wilma Awards – Miss Saigon and Urinetown among the winners
The first ever Wilma Awards, in association with Freedom Bar Soho, took place at an exclusive invitation-only ceremony, hosted by actor/director Tim McArthur. Guests were treated to Afternoon Tea with Wilma (courtesy of www.thefullenglishfoodcompany.ltd.uk) while they watched the winners be revealed and listened to a special live performance of an original song from actor, singer and current Phantom of the […]
Eva Noblezada and Cynthia Erivo star in Georgia Stitt show
US composer and lyricist Georgia Stitt is to make her West End debut at London’s Garrick Theatre on Sunday 26 October, in a return to London following her sell-out concerts at St Paul’s Church in 2007 and The Hippodrome in 2012. She will be joined by the cream of singers in the West End: Simon Bailey, Norman Bowman, […]
Dessa Rose – Trafalgar Studios
Dessa Rose continues at the Trafalgar Studios, London until 30 August. The award-winning musical theatre team of Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) have a prolific catalogue of successful shows that range from the simple charm of Seussical to the epic Ragtime. Their latest offering, based on a novel by Sherley Anne Williams and […]
Aherns and Flaherty’s Dessa Rose – Erivo and Janson cast
Cynthia Erivo (I Can’t Sing!, The Color Purple) returns to the West End in the title role of the European premiere of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Dessa Rose when it opens at London’s Trafalgar Studios from 29 July-30 August (press night is 31 July). Cassidy Janson (Avenue Q, Wicked, Candide) will play the role of Ruth. […]
Scott Alan & Special Guests – London Hippodrome
Scott Alan & Special Guests performed at the Hippodrome, London. Scott Alan is a huge deal in musical theatre circles. This singer/songwriter from the USA has become a big influence, thanks primarily to his ability to craft richly structured ballads carrying immense emotional power. Alan is also a composer who wears his heart very much on […]
Musical Theatre Review campaign backs cast album for I Can’t Sing!
“Steve Brown’s original score for I Can’t Sing! features a selection of excellent and thankfully diverse musical numbers that both inform the narrative and entertain – a simple task that has been woefully lacking in the West End for a while now. “Original musicals are few and far between and Brown’s score has so much […]
I Can’t Sing! – the X Factor musical – to close, but why?
The demise of X Factor parody I Can’t Sing! – the third original West End musical to announce its closure in less than two months – is being blamed by critics on a combination of marketing, preparation and changing audience tastes. Co-producers Stage Entertainment UK and Simon Cowell’s Syco Productions (Cowell is believed to have […]
I Can’t Sing! – London Palladium
I Can’t Sing! continues at the London Palladium. Unless you have been living in a bubble for the last ten years then you can’t fail to have noticed the strangle-hold that Simon Cowell has over the entertainment industry. Depending on how you rate him, he has either killed or cured Saturday night television with the reinvention […]
I Can’t Sing – the X Factor musical – a sneak peek
Any opening of a West End musical is a much-anticipated event, but the buzz around Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s new X Factor musical I Can’t Sing! at the London Palladium has reached a new level, not least because of reported technical problems during previews. However, while the audience attending an evening performance on 17 […]
Songwriters Anderson & Petty are home at St James Theatre
Barry Anderson and Mark Petty, the transatlantic songwriting duo known as Anderson & Petty, are hosting a celebration concert of their debut songbook album You Are Home at St James Studio, London on Sunday 16 March. They will be joined by a host of West End performers including Matthew Barrow, Edward Baruwa, Kieran Brown, Nadine Cox, […]
I Can’t Sing! – casting confirmed
Ahead of the broadcast of the Royal Variety Performance – in which cast members of I Can’t Sing! performed – full casting has been confirmed. The X Factor musical previews at the London Palladium from 27 February 2014 (press night is 26 March). As previously announced, Olivier Award-winner Nigel Harman will play X Factor judge Simon, and Cynthia Erivo […]
