Month: February 2017

RECORD SIX-TIME TONY AWARD-WINNER

AUDRA McDONALD

MAKES HER WEST END DEBUT IN

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE, LONDON

From 17 June to 9 September 2017

TICKETS ON SALE HERE FROM MIDDAY ON FRIDAY 3 FEBRUARY

After the joyous news of Audra McDonald’s unexpected pregnancy last year, producers of the postponed London run of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill are delighted to announce that this summer, McDonald, the Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning singer and actress, will be making her long awaited West End debut portraying jazz legend Billie Holiday in a performance that won her a record-setting sixth Tony Award.

This critically acclaimed production, which broke box office records at the Circle in the Square in New York, will run for a limited engagement at Wyndham’s Theatre from Saturday 17 June to Saturday 9 September, with opening night for press on Tuesday 27 June 2017.

“Audra McDonald is a vocal genius!
One of the greatest performances I ever hope to see.”
New York Magazine

Written by Lanie Robertson and directed by Lonny Price, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grillrecounts Holiday’s life story through the songs that made her famous, including “God Bless the Child,” “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Strange Fruit” and “Taint Nobody’s Biz-ness.”

“Mesmerizing! Pouring her heart into her voice, Audra McDonald breathes life into Billie Holiday’s greatest songs.”
The New York Times

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill won two Tony Awards in 2014 including ‘Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play’ for Audra McDonald, making her Broadway’s most decorated performer, winner of six Tony Awards and the first and only person to receive awards in all four acting categories.

1959, in a small, intimate bar in Philadelphia, Holiday puts on a show that unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witnesses to one of the last performances of her lifetime.  Through her poignant voice and moving songs, one of the greatest jazz singers of all-time shares her loves and her losses.   

Billie ‘Lady Day’ Holiday had what is widely considered one of the greatest jazz voices of all-time. Born Eleanora Fagan in April 1915, she rose to popularity in the 1930’s and 1940’s with her pioneering vocal style strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists. After a turbulent personal life and struggle with addiction, she died at the untimely age of 44. In 2000, Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

“One of the most exquisite & haunting performances of the year!”
Entertainment Weekly 

Prior to making her West End debut in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill this summer, Audra McDonald will travel to London to perform four concerts at the Leicester Square Theatre hosted by Seth Rudetsky and featuring special guest Will Swenson from 12 to 15 April. Tickets are available here.

LISTINGS:

Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London

Performances

First performance: 17 June 2017

Final performance: 9 September 2017

Press Performance: 27 June 2017

For full performance schedule see website: LadyDayWestEnd.com

Box Office
Website:       LadyDayWestEnd.com
Telephone:    0844 482 5120
£19.50, £39.50, £62.50 (including fees)
Premium and exclusive club seating available

Social Media
Twitter:        @LadyDayWestEnd
Instagram:     @LadyDayWestEnd
Facebook:     Facebook.com/LadyDayWestEnd

Audra McDonald
www.AudraMcDonald.com
www.twitter.com/AudraEqualityMc
www.facebook.com/audramcdonald
www.instagram.com/audramcdonald

Empire Theatre, Sunderland – 30 January – 4 February 2017

It’s not everyday you get to see a brand new musical but Wonderland has arrived in Sunderland in only the second week of its tour and it’s really rather good.

On her 40th birthday Alice (Kerry Ellis) has received a letter from her ex husband to say he’s got remarried, her car has been stolen – making her late for work – resulting in her getting fired from her job in a Travel Agency.  She loses her keys and forgets to buy food.  Her ex husband’s reach still lingers making her think she is a terrible person and she wants to escape reality.   Teenage daughter Ellie (Naomi Morris) feels she is the responsible one looking after her mum rather than the other way round and painfully shy next door neighbour Jack (Stephen Webb) has taken 3 years to pluck up the courage to talk to Alice.

Instead of a rabbit hole the White Rabbit (Dave Willetts) takes the lift that has apparently never worked.  Ellie chases the White Rabbit down to Wonderland so Alice chases Ellie and Jack chases Alice

Once in Wonderland the characters move the plot along explaining that they all wanted to leave the real world behind and once the Queen of Hearts ( a woefully underused Wendi Peters) chops off your head you can stay in Wonderland for ever.

What follows is a romp around Wonderland with advice from the rather smooth Caterpillar (Kayi Ushe), the trickster Cheshire Cat (Dominic Owen) and a wonderfully bonkers Mad Hatter (Natalie Mcqueen).  With a bit of female empowerment they learn to stand up to bullies and find their destinies and all learn they can live happily ever after.

Neil Eckersley’s production of Wonderland is big, bold and bright.  Adapted by Robert Hudson for the show’s UK debut following a short Broadway run in 2011.  Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories the show is co-written by Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd, with original lyrics by composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Jack Murphy.  Lottie Wakehams direction and Lucie Pankhursts choreography all help in this spectacle move along.  But for me it’s Grace Smarts rather wonderful costumes that are the star of the show.  A steampunk Mad Hatter, boy band Knights and a tartan bedecked Queen of Hearts who wears the most magnificent shoes.

I liked the show, I think it still has an hesitancy because its new but once it finds its feet it has the ability to be phenomenal.

In Sunderland until Saturday 4 February and then on tour around the UK

SWIFTIES
a new play about Taylor Swift, Instagram and having no money
February 28th – March 11th 2017, Theatre N16

Swifties is a bold new adaptation of Jean Genet’s play The Maids, exploring the alienating and destructive effect that poverty, celebrity fetishism and social media can have on the lives of normal people. Swifties is written by Tom Stenton and directed by Luke Davies (The Chemsex Monologues, The HIV Monologues).

***** “Luke Davies ensures the emotional intensity hits with pinpoint accuracy” Ian Foster on The HIV Monologues

Yasmin and Nina work in an Amazon “fulfilment centre”. They live in Luton, the birthplace of Britain First. And they are Taylor Swift’s biggest fans. Ever. Their ultimate dream is to be a part of Tay Tay’s famous ‘girl squad’. But the closer they get to realising that dream, the blurrier the line between fantasy and reality becomes.

“Luke Davies’ direction is unobtrusive and fluid” Live Theatre UK on The HIV Monologues

Swifties stars Isabella Niloufar and Tanya Cubric. Isabella has just been announced as the lead in Salome, directed by Yaël Farber, playing at the National Theatre through May-July 2017. Tanya recently starred in the Sky Atlantic adaptation of The Tunnel (2016).

***** “Energetic direction from Luke Davies ensures that we always feel at the heart of the action” Gay Times on Superficial

Theatre N16 is a trailblazing theatre company, dedicated to creating a creative hub where new and existing works can be explored and pushed into new realms. Theatre N16 is proud of their commitment to the welfare of creatives, operating under an Equity Fringe Agreement. This promoting and nurturing of talent means that Theatre N16 is a bastion for development within the context of a society in which the arts are increasingly struggling to stay afloat.

‘VERA LYNN’ AT CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL

As forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn announces her new LP, due out just before her 100^th Birthday in March, so City Varieties announces an award winning tribute show Sincerely Yours: The Vera Lynn Story is to play the same month.

The show is at City Varieties Music Hall for one performance only on Friday 24^th March at 2.30pm; just four days after the Dame turns 100 and a week after the new LP is released.

Yorkshire’s own Lorrie Brown has been performing her Vera Lynn tribute for over 20 years and in 2013 was honoured for her achievement by the Agents Association and named UK No.1 Vera Lynn Tribute.   When Dame Vera heard of Lorrie’s award, she invited Lorrie to meet her at her home.

“It was both a dream and terrifying,” says Lorrie. “I have been performing the songs of this great lady for over 20 years;  I have performed in football stadiums to 33,000 people and sung in some of the country’s finest theatres but this was the most nervous I have ever been. In the end she was a perfect host.”

“As soon as I entered the room she gave me a hug and congratulated me on my award. She was just so happy that I was keeping her music alive. We sat and talked for 3hrs about her time entertaining the troops and especially about her time in Burma – she had a very strong connection with the troops there and she was so proud to have been allowed to go out and entertain them.”

The show starts with a tribute to the dance bands that launched Vera’s career and follows her life through WW2 and beyond.  Along with songs and a live band in the show Lorrie talks about the work Dame Vera Lynn did and how she became the forces sweetheart and there is a personal filmed message from the Dame herself.

Sincerely Yours: The Vera Lynn Story is supported by another wartime favourite and leading tribute act ‘George Formby’

It is at City Varieties Music Hall on Friday 24^th March at 2.30pm

Ticket are priced at £16.75 with concessions available

Book online at cityvarieties.co.uk or call Box Office on 0113 243 08 08

WICKED ON SALE TOMORROW

Leeds Grand Theatre goes on sale with the musical phenomenon WICKED tomorrow, Friday 3^rd February.  WICKED returns to Leeds next year, for four weeks, only from Wednesday 13 June to Saturday 7 July 2018.

“The people of Leeds and Yorkshire loved Wicked when it was here at The Grand in 2014,” says the theatre’s General Manager Ian Sime.

“We were taken aback by the queues to purchase tickets on the first day of sale, and from there it went from strength to strength. It’s a testimony to a wonderful show and an enthusiastic and committed audience; we look forward to welcoming the wonderful witches back.”

The West End and Broadway multi record-breaking production tells the story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students and their extraordinary adventures in Oz, which will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Based on the acclaimed, best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagines the stories and characters originally created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED has become a global phenomenon featuring  technical wizardry, stunning costumes and show-stopping songs by three-time Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz.

Executive Producer Michael McCabe said: “We were overwhelmed by the incredible response from audiences and critics alike when we first brought Wicked to Leeds Grand Theatre in 2014, and it is extraordinary to think that over 42,000 people saw us in just four weeks. Ian Sime and his great team showed such tremendous enthusiasm and support, and we’re all really delighted to return to this stunning theatre.”

Tickets for the production of Wicked at Leeds Grand Theatre are only available from the venue’s own Box Office

Tickets are priced from £22.50 to £70

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 8482700

Wicked is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Wednesday 13 June to Saturday 7 July 2018

Grand Opera House York supports the Institute of Cancer Research

There will be a bucket collection at the Grand Opera House York during the run of EVITA, Tuesday 28 March – Saturday 1 April, the proceeds will go to an important new project at top ranked academic research centre in the UK, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR).

Led by Dr Vivanco, the project will seek new treatments for people diagnosed with low-grade brain tumours, where currently options are few and largely ineffective. Brain tumours are still seen as a rare disease which means they are a low priority for research funding. In focusing on developing molecularly targeted cancer drugs, Dr Vivanco’s approach is set to benefit a broader group of cancer patients than ever before and beyond brain tumours alone. He is investigating the commonalities between different forms of cancer to contribute to the new generation of treatment options for cancer patients.

Dr Vivanco commented: “We worry about neglected areas for research and should spend money on understanding ALL cancers. The perception that cancer is one disease is false. But, if we can understand what cancer subsets have in common, we may be able to treat them with a common therapeutic strategy.”

“We don’t stay away from projects because they are difficult. They are interesting because they are difficult. We need to ask the hardest questions. These receive less funding. We need to take risks and be more creative.”

·        The project has the ability to make a massive difference – brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 and are the form of cancer to which the most life years are lost. Despite this, brain tumours receive disproportionally less funding compared to other tumours delaying the development of treatments..

·        Consequently, brain tumours have not yet benefitted from the attention given to other cancers which have shown welcome improvements in survival and quality of life. For brain tumour sufferers, the prognosis still remains extremely poor.

·        Low grade tumours are often described as a ‘time bomb’ because patients must live with the knowledge that they will become highly malignant. Dr Vivanco’s research is urgently needed, and has the potential to restore many years of life to these patients and their families.

Keith Waller, who has been bringing groups to shows here at the Grand Opera House York for many years, has a daughter, Elizabeth, who has a low-grade brain tumour; an Oligodendroglioma. This was diagnosed in 2010 when she was given a limited number of years to live in her mid-30s. Her parents commit a great deal of their retirement time to fund-raising for research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours.

Dr Igor Vivanco, PhD in Molecular Biology, Molecular Addictions Team, ICR

Case study of Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s diagnosis was made following a tonic–clonic seizure, a type of generalized seizure that affects the entire brain. She collapsed at home and was found by her husband who called an ambulance. Three days later she was transferred to King’s College Hospital where a tumour was diagnosed and a brain biopsy performed to identify its type.

Though Elizabeth’s tumour is currently stable following chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital, low grade brain tumours inevitably return and become increasingly aggressive. As a ‘diffuse’ tumour the cancerous cells invade a wide area of the brain where healthy cells are also present. For this reason and due to its size, the tumour is inoperable. Elizabeth now attends periodic MRI scans to monitor the tumour for growth. She gives attention to her lifestyle and is extremely positive about life. She wants to live a full life before her tumour starts to grow again.

Elizabeth Waller also supports the annual Bandanas for Brain Tumours event

EVITA

Grand Opera House York

Tue 28 Mar-Sat 1 Apr

Performances 7.30pm, Wed, Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm

Tickets from £15

Box Office 0844 871 3024

Online Booking www.atgtickets.com/york

Moscow’s acclaimed Sovremennik Theatre returns to London for a limited season

Three Comrades 3 – 6 May

Two for the Seesaw 8 – 10 May

The Three Sisters 11 – 13 May
Piccadilly Theatre

A celebration of the work of Galina Volchek

Sovremennik Theatre (Russia’s oldest theatre company) makes a welcome return to London this May, (following a successful season at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2011) with a triple bill of plays at the Piccadilly Theatre. Three Comrades, Two for the Seesaw and The Three Sisters will be performed in Russian with English surtitles and directed by The Sovremennik’s Artistic Director Galina Volchek, one of the founding members of The Sovremennik and regarded as one of Russia’s greatest theatre practitioners. The Sovremmennik is one of Russia’s most respected theatre companies, recognised around the world for its tradition of staging intense psychological dramas and bold productions of contemporary plays, Russian classics and international work. The London season will feature a cast and crew of over 100 including acclaimed Russian film, theatre and television actress and humanitarian Chulpan Kahmatova.

The season begins on 3 May with Three Comrades, based on the 1936 novel by acclaimed German author Erich Maria Remarque (who also wrote All Quiet on the Western Front). Set in Germany at the height of the depression, it tells the story of Robert Lohkamp, a disillusioned figure whose outlook on life is marred by his horrifying experiences in the trenches during the First World War. He shares his experiences with his friends with whom he struggles to make a living as a mechanic. When Robert meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman, his nihilistic outlook starts to change.

This is followed on 8 May by a Russian twist on the poignant and compelling American drama Two for the Seesaw by William Gibson. Set in New York, the play follows the course of an intense and tempestuous affair between a brooding Nebraska lawyer who has relocated to New York to escape his marriage and an eccentric dancer he meets at a party. Their relationship comes into jeopardy as their lingering ties to previous partners and their different backgrounds and temperaments come to the fore. Two of Russia’s greatest actors Chulpan Khamatova and Kirill Safanov will perform the lead roles. Written in 1958, the original Broadway production of Two for the Seesaw ran for 750 performances and featured Henry Fond and Anne Bancroft. It was also adapted for film in 1962, directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine.

The season conclude with the return of The Sovremennik’s ‘revelatory’ (Daily Telegraph, 4 stars) production of Anton Chekov’s The Three Sisters. Critically acclaimed across the world, this production is regarded as one of the seminal versions of Chekov’s classic tale. The first play that Chekov wrote specifically for the Moscow Art Theatre, The Three Sisters, like many of his works, explores the decay of the privileged class in Russia and their search for meaning in the modern world. Three sisters, Olga, Masha and Irina Prozorov yearn for a life in Moscow away from their provincial home. As a succession of guests, family and lovers visit their house, events unfold that will shape their destinies. This production offers another opportunity to experience Chekov’s classic drama in its original language.

LISTINGS

Sovremennik Theatre

Three Comrades

Piccadilly Theatre

3-6 May

Press night: 3 May at 7.15pm

Performances: 3-6 May at 7.15pm, 6 May at 2pm

Two for Seesaw

Piccadilly Theatre

8-9 May

Press night: 8 May at 7.15pm

Performances: 8-9 May at 7.15pm

Three Sisters

Piccadilly Theatre

11-13 May

Press night: 11 May at 7.15pm

Performances: 11-13 May at 7.15pm, 13 May at 2pm

Prices: £100, £75, £65, £45, £35, £25

Piccadilly Theatre Box Office: 0844 871 7630

www.Sovremennik.co.uk

Cast change in York Theatre Royal premiere production of Murder, Margaret and Me

17 Feb – 4 March, Press night Wed 22 Feb, 7.30pm

York-based actress Andrina Carroll joins Nichola McAuliffe and Susie Blake in the premiere production of comedy thriller Murder, Margaret and Me by Philip Meeks at York Theatre Royal from 17 February to 4 March.

She will play The Spinster, replacing Indira Joshi, who has left the production for personal reasons. The character narrates and leads the story, while bearing a certain resemblance to the legendary sleuth Miss Marple.

Andrina’s previous appearances at York Theatre Royal include Mother in The Railway Children, Forty Years On, Peter Pan, The Crucible, Brassed Off, Educating Rita and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Director Damian Cruden said: “It’s sad to lose Indira, she is very talented and had already brought much to the process. Consequently it is a joy to welcome Andrina to the company. I have worked with her on many projects and know she will be great in this role.”

Andrina said: “I’m thrilled to be back at the Theatre Royal working with Damian and a great company in a fantastic part at a theatre where I’ve done a lot of exciting work in the past.”

Murder, Margaret and Me explores the relationship between Queen of Crime Agatha Christie and the acting legend known as ‘the funniest woman alive’ Margaret Rutherford. In the early 1960s these two strong national treasures were the creative force behind one of British cinema’s most successful franchises but the Miss Marple films were almost never made. Christie didn’t want Rutherford to bring her fabled spinster to life and Rutherford was mortified at the prospect of sullying her reputation with something as sordid as murder.

The pair form an unlikely friendship filled with afternoon tea and gossip. Meanwhile Agatha turns detective herself as she becomes determined to unearth Rutherford’s tragic and shocking secret.

Murder, Margaret and Me is written by Philip Meeks and will be directed by York Theatre Royal Artistic Director Damian Cruden and designed by Dawn Allsopp.

Nichola McAuliffe (Agatha Christie) has won a number of awards, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Musical for Kiss Me Kate. No stranger to York, she has also appeared in Blithe Spirit at York Theatre Royal working with director Damian Cruden. Nichola recently appeared on television in ITV’s lavish series Victoria as the Duchess of Cumberland, but many will remember her as Sheila from seven series of Granada’s comedy Surgical Spirit.

Susie Blake (Margaret Rutherford) has taken stage roles ranging from Madam Morrible in Wicked in London’s West End to various Alan Ayckbourn productions at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre. She is well-known for one of her early television roles as the sarcastic continuity announcer on Victoria Wood As Seen On TV in the 1980s, and also appeared recently in Coronation Street from 2004 – 2006 as Bev, a role she reprised in 2015 following the death of Anne Kirkbride who played Deirdre Barlow.

Andrina Carroll (The Spinster) has worked extensively in theatre, film and television. As well as numerous roles at York Theatre Royal, theatre credits include One Last Waltz (Black Coffee Theatre), Beautiful Thing (Pilot Theatre), A Game of Golf, One Man Protest, Affairs in a Tent, Enjoy, The Nutcracker and When We Are Married (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Romeo and Juliet, Hobson’s Choice, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Accrington Pals, The Bright and Bold Design and Twelfth Night (New Victoria Theatre), Oliver Twist, Twelfth Night and September in the Rain (Hull Truck). Television and film credits include The Knife That Killed Me, Between Two Women and reprising her role as Mother for a feature film taping of the Theatre Royal’s The Railway Children – Stage to Screen.

This production forms part of a year-long programme of work put together by an all-female panel which aims to redress the imbalance in women’s roles in both theatrical work and the industry as a whole. These productions, events and activities will run alongside York Theatre Royal’s spring and autumn 2017 seasons.

Tickets for Murder, Margaret and Me are on sale now priced £30 – £12 (£1.50 transaction fee per booking) from York Theatre Royal box office in person, by phone on 01904 623568 and securely online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

TRH Productions, Scott Landis and Tulchin Bartner Productions present the Royal Shakespeare Company Production of

QUEEN ANNE

Due to an illness within the producer’s family and overwhelming unexpected circumstances, SLEEPLESS The Musical has been postponed. The producer hopes to have further news of the future of the production next year.

The world premiere of SLEEPLESS the Musical based on the Tristar Pictures Inc. film Sleepless in Seattle, starring Danny Mac, Carley Stenson, Jennie Dale and Cory English, was due to open at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 1 to 15 April, followed by a week at The Lowry, Salford from 25 to 29 April, and finishing at Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin from 2 to 13 May, prior to a West End run.

SLEEPLESS has a book by Michael Burdett, music by Robert Scott and lyrics by Brendan Cull. The production was due to be directed by Morgan Young (Elf, White Christmas, Big), with set design by Morgan Large, costume design by Sue Simmerling, lighting by Tim Lutkin, video design by Ian William Galloway, sound design by Avgoustos Psillas and Terry Jardine for Autograph, orchestrations and musical supervision by Larry Blank, wig and hair design by Richard Mawbey and casting by Sarah Bird CDG.

The world premiere of SLEEPLESS was to be presented by Michael Rose and David Shor, in association with Marc Toberoff and the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin; a Theatre Royal Plymouth production.