White Christmas continues at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 13 January 2024. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Irving Berlin’s flawless songbook is combined with 1950s Americana, delightful musical numbers and a sprinkling of sentimentality to produce the perfect festive treat.
Tag Archives | Irving Berlin
Top Hat – The Mill At Sonning
Top Hat continues at the Mill at Sonning until 30 December 2022. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Most impressive is the use of space. Director Jonathan O’Boyle works wonders with positioning actors up and around the auditorium and choreographer Ashley Nottingham has put together some beautiful vignettes with synchronised routines that are perfectly choreographed to fill the stage and create the feeling of a much larger production.
White Christmas The Musical – New Victoria Theatre, Woking and Touring
White Christmas was reviewed at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking. The UK tour continues until 2 January 2022. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The stage musical adaptation of White Christmas, the iconic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, may suggest a specific seasonal setting in its title, but it would […]
Top Hat – The Mill At Sonning
Top Hat continues at The Mill At Sonning until 8 January 2022. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ What a beautiful experience a night out in picturesque Sonning turned out to be and not just because The Mill’s Christmas show Top Hat is a cracker. It’s the whole package – a super […]
Cast for UK tour of Made at Curve’s White Christmas
Olivier-nominated Dan Burton will reprise his scene-stealing performance as Phil Davis when the Made at Curve’s critically-acclaimed production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas embarks on its UK tour later this month. The actor who was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance as Tulsa in Gypsy at the Savoy Theatre will return to the […]
Call Me Madam – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Call Me Madam continues at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London until 10 October 2021. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Whereas the open air in Regent’s Park is reaching the final week of its resolutely modern reimagining of the classic musical Carousel, Upstairs at the Gatehouse is treating us to a most […]
Curve production of White Christmas to tour in late 2021
A year after Leicester Curve’s critically acclaimed 2018 production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas played a sold-out festive season at London’s Dominion Theatre the producers have announced plans for a UK tour in 2021. Launching in Woking at the New Victoria Theatre on 28 October 2021, the tour will visit the Bristol Hippodrome, Canterbury’s Marlowe […]
Irving Berlin website launched
A website dedicated to the life and work of Irving Berlin has been launched in celebration of what would have been the legendary composer’s 130th birthday. The first dedicated digital resource for the man responsible for a large portion of the Great American Songbook has been launched by the composer’s family in conjunction with his […]
Curve reveals White Christmas will be 2018 festive musical to mark 10th birthday year
A brand new adaptation of festive favourite Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will be the 2018 festive musical at Curve. Chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Nikolai Foster have exclusively revealed Curve will be producing the classic musical and have hinted at other plans they have in store to celebrate 10 years of Curve. Curve […]
C’mon and Hear – Steve Ross – The Pheasantry
C’mon and Hear – Steve Ross continues at The Pheasantry, London until 23 September. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The last time the Prince of New York cabaret hit town at the end of January, he had to cancel two of his three Pheasantry shows, that distinctive voice rendered powerless by […]
Strictly’s Joanne Clifton to star in London Fringe production of Top Hat
Strictly Come Dancing reigning champion Joanne Clifton will star in the London Fringe premiere of the stage version of the classic 1935 film Top Hat at North London’s Upstairs at the Gatehouse in December. Clifton, who starred in the touring production of Thoroughly Modern Millie this year, will follow in the footsteps of Hollywood Golden […]
Top Hat – Kilworth House Theatre
Top Hat continues at continues at Kilworth House Theatre, Leicestershire until 17 September. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ This is a revival of the multi Olivier Award-winning 2013 Aldwych Theatre production, based in turn on the iconic 1935 film. The beautiful open-air theatre at Kilworth House is now in its tenth year […]
Hershey Felder to bring Berlin and Bernstein shows to The Other Palace
Award-winning actor and musician Hershey Felder will bring the magic of two of the most iconic names in musical theatre, Irving Berlin and Leonard Bernstein, to The Other Palace this autumn. Recently named by the prestigious Time magazine as one of its top ten theatre artists of 2016, Felder has created two musical plays that take […]
Annie Get Your Gun – Union Theatre
Annie Get Your Gun continues at the Union Theatre, London, until 17 June. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ It’s only when you work out how many unforgettable Irving Berlin tunes have been packed into one show that the enduring appeal of Annie Get Your Gun can be explained away. At least eight Great […]
Annie Get Your Gun to be re-imagined at the Union Theatre
Irving Berlin’s classic Annie Get Your Gun will be re-imagined for a strictly limited run at London’s Union Theatre next month. Directed by Kirk Jameson whose previous productions at the theatre include On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and The World Goes Round, the story of the sharp-shooting Annie Oakley and her romance with […]
Annie Get Your Gun – Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Annie Get Your Gun continues at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 21 January 2017. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Most prestige venues now opt for Christmas shows that, while they may be ‘family entertainment’, avoid Santas, sleighs or slapstick. This year’s Crucible Theatre offering transports us instead to the Wild West […]
Annie Get Your Gun at Sheffield Crucible extends run
Sheffield Theatres has announced that its major new revival of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun has extended its run for one week due to public demand, now closing on 21 January. The show opens on 14 December, with previews from 8 December. Paul Foster directs Anna-Jane Casey as Annie Oakley and Ben Lewis as Frank Butler, with Nicolas Colicos (Buffalo […]
Holiday Inn the New Irving Berlin Musical – Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54, New York
Holiday Inn, the New Irving Berlin Musical continues at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54, New York until 15 January. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Holiday Inn is the kind of show that makes you feel like a time-traveller. You’ve been whisked back to the late 1940s (that’s even before the ubiquitous […]
Broadway openings preview – felines, teens and Russians
The all-singing, all-dancing kitties are back, and thus begins the new season – 2016/17 – on Broadway, writes Ron Cohen. They’ll be joined through the end of the year by a slate of musical openings that highlight a diverse range of humans, from contemporary teens in turmoil to 19th century Russians in turmoil. Cats Andrew […]
The Smallest Show on Earth – Theatre Royal, Glasgow and Touring
The Smallest Show on Earth continues at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow until 31 October, then tours until 28 November. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Provincial England merges into silver-screen fantasy in this disarmingly romantic show born out of the union of a 1957 Ealing-styled British film comedy (starring Margaret Rutherford and Peter Sellers) […]
The Smallest Show on Earth – the Irving Berlin family pays special visit
Irving Berlin’s family, including the great composer’s daughter Linda Emmet, paid a special visit to watch new touring musical The Smallest Show on Earth at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, meeting up with the cast and producers Brian Eastman and Christabel Albery. The new musical comedy is based on the StudioCanal Peter Sellers/Margaret Rutherford film The Smallest Show on Earth. The stage show, which has […]
Face the Music – Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre
Face the Music continues at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, London until 3 July. Star rating: 5 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ In an era when, for economic reasons, frequently revived musicals are narrowing down to about five titles sure to be known by the general public, it is so good that independent companies like All Star […]
Face the Music – interviews with Samuel Haughton and Joanne Clifton
All Star Productions is presenting the first UK stage production of Irving Berlin and Moss Hart’s musical comedy Face the Music at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, Walthamstow until 3 July. In the cast are JOANNE CLIFTON (World and European Professional Ballroom Dancing Champion, Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer 2014) as the Street Walker and actor/singer SAMUEL HAUGHTON (Wind in the Willows, […]
New touring musical The Smallest Show On Earth showcases the music of Irving Berlin
A new musical comedy based on the Peter Sellers/Margaret Rutherford film The Smallest Show On Earth, with a book by Thom Southerland and Paul Alexander, will contain some of Irving Berlin’s greatest songs, including ‘Blue Skies’, ‘Shakin’ the Blues Away’, ‘Let Yourself Go’, ‘Steppin’ Out With My Baby’ and ‘How Deep is the Ocean’, as well as […]
New York round-up – tributes to Cy Coleman, Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin
During a recent visit to New York, Patrick Honoré was entertained by top-notch tributes to three of Broadway’s greatest composers – Cy Coleman, Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin. On top of all the new musicals opening this spring, Broadway was alive with the sound of the music from three of its greatest composers. The first of […]
Irving Berlin’s Face the Music at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre – Strictly star cast
All Star Productions is presenting the first UK stage production of Irving Berlin and Moss Hart’s musical comedy Face the Music at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, Walthamstow from 9 June to 3 July (press night is 12 June). In the cast will be Joanne Clifton (World and European Professional Ballroom Dancing Champion, Strictly Come Dancing pro […]
Pixie Lott joins Strictly professionals in Puttin’ On the Ritz
Pop singer Pixie Lott will appear at the New Wimbledon Theatre this May in a brand new production of Puttin’ On the Ritz. Lott will be joined by her Strictly Come Dancing dance partner Trent Whiddon, along with fellow dance champion professionals Kristina Rihanoff and Robin Windsor. The production will run at the theatre from 27–30 May, it is also visiting other venues […]
Shades of Blue – Carole J Bufford – Crazy Coqs
Shades of Blue: Carole J Bufford continues at the Crazy Coqs, London until 31 January. Star rating: 5 stars ***** Twelve months ago when drooling over the exorbitant talent of a cute young southern belle from a small town in Georgia where “cabaret still means stripping”, it was hard not to get excited about the British debut at the Crazy Coqs […]
A 24-Decade History of Popular Music – New York Live Arts
A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: 1900-1950s continues at New York Live Arts until 25 January. “Maybe you’ve noticed that I like to make things go on longer than they should,” said Taylor Mac, as the first half of the first instalment of his epic theatre piece with the umbrella title A 24-Decade History of […]
White Christmas – West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
White Christmas continues at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds until 17 January 2015. White Christmas seems to be everywhere right now. Even before 1 December it had been on TV at least twice and on this very website there is a recent review of a production at the Dominion Theatre. So what does the West Yorkshire Playhouse variant bring that is […]
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical – Dominion Theatre
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical continues at the Dominion Theatre London, until 3 January 2015. Only the most humbug of Scrooges could fail to warm to the Dominion Theatre’s 2014 Christmas offering – Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical. Based on the classic 1954 movie, but with a book adapted by Venus in Fur’s David […]
Darren Day and Oliver Tompsett lead White Christmas cast at West Yorkshire Playhouse
Casting has been revealed for the first major new UK production of White Christmas, produced by West Yorkshire Playhouse and directed by Nikolai Foster. Taking centrestage in the Quarry Theatre from 24 November 2014 to 17 January 2015, this original staging of Irving Berlin’s iconic musical brings together an ensemble of 17 led by Darren Day and Oliver Tompsett as entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil […]
Top Hat – New Wimbledon Theatre and Touring
Top Hat plays at the New Wimbledon Theatre, London until 23 August, before continuing its tour until July 2015. Triple Olivier Award-winner Top Hat is old hat in the nicest possible way – thrilling dancing, glitz and glamour, designer frocks, corny jokes, all ‘Cheek to Cheek’ with Irving Berlin’s ageless words and music in a nostalgic, easy-watching piece of nonsense that’s the […]
Top Hat UK tour – Alan Burkitt and Charlotte Gooch cast
Casting has been revealed for the UK tour of the Olivier Award-winning production of Top Hat, beginning its 47-week stint on the road (visiting 24 theatres nationwide) at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 August 2014. The production tours until 25 July 2015. Stepping into the shoes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, in the […]
Annie Get Your Gun – Opera House, Manchester
Annie Get Your Gun opened at the Opera House, Manchester before touring until 4 October 2014. When the London production of Annie Get Your Gun premiered at the Coliseum on 7 June 1947, the Times’ unnamed critic was in no doubt that the Broadway import’s success belonged to Irving Berlin’s “many amusing and attractive songs” and also the […]
Annie Get Your Gun – Jason Donovan and Emma Williams are cast
A major new production of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, with Emma Williams as Annie Oakley, Jason Donovan as Frank Butler and Norman Pace as Buffalo Bill, will tour the UK from May this year. As part of the Ambassador Theatre Group’s ‘Manchester Gets It First’ initiative, the production, directed by Ian Talbot, will […]
Natalie Douglas – Crazy Coqs
Natalie Douglas sings Four Women: Nina, Lena, Abbey & Billie at the Crazy Coqs, London, until 15 February. New York jazz and cabaret star Natalie Douglas is one of those performers who fills a room with warmth and sheer loveability just by coming on the stage. Her second residency at the Crazy Coqs, one of […]
White Christmas the Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas the Musical at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh continues until 4 January, 2014. The wonderful thing about the best musical theatre is how it can so completely transport audiences into another world, despite its obvious artifice. Closely following the plot of the film, albeit with a few additional Berlin songs added in to […]
