Rocky Horror Show Review

Bristol Hippodrome – until 4th June 2022

Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock

5*****

Richard O’Briens Rocky Horror comes to Bristol and does not disappoint!

This exceptional cast starring Ore Oduba as Brad, Hayley Flaherty as Janet, Stephen Webb as Frank’n’Furter and Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff is a treat for the eyes and ears! With their fabulous rapport on stage mixed with comedic timing to die for and brilliant voices,this is the best touring production you will find!

Narrated by Phillip Frank, you are taken on a journey that you will never forget! Phillip Frank is a comedy genius, expertly navigating the audience participation and creating an uproar of laughter! He is, quite simply, the driving force of this production. Kristian Lavercombe is an exceptional actor and embodies RiffRaff perfectly. He has performed this role over 2000 times and it is evident how much pride he feels when performing. Stephen Webb is a great Frank N Furter, with sex appeal that tantalises the audience from the moment he steps on stage. Ore Oduba and Hayley Flaherty as Brad and Janet, are the perfect casting and both delight with their renditions of ‘Toucha Touch me’ and ‘Once in a while’.

Sue Blane’s costume design is exquisite-with an incredible amount of sequins and stockings, it adds so much to the show. The incredible heels that the characters all wear are beautiful and it is a true testament to the men in the production that they are able to dance expertly in each pair!

This is an incredibly show, one that I have (and will!) watch multiple times and never get bored! If you want sex, sequins and are in the mood to ‘Time Warp’ this is not to be missed! If I could rate it higher than 5 stars, there would be no question that I would!!

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR IT’S IN THE AIR! THE UK PREMIERE OF A CLASSIC GERMAN MUSICAL

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR IT’S IN THE AIR! THE UK PREMIERE OF A CLASSIC GERMAN MUSICAL.

The cast has been announced for this celebrated German musical is heading to Manchester this Summer!

It’s In The Air! showcase will be the UK premiere of the hit German musical ‘Es Liegt in der Luft’ will open at the Hope Mill Theatre.

Directed by Anna Cabré-Verdiell (The Growth of the Silk, Camden Fringe 2021, Brighton Fringe 2021, co-director of the dance theatre duo ACCA), the cast will feature four talented performers Meriel Cunningham (a regular performer with Charles Court Opera), Owen Clayton (Little Sausage, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens)Jessica Hope (West Side Story, La Bohème) and Enrico Volpi (Zorro: The Musical in Concert, Flight).

Originally written by composer Mischa Spoliansky and lyricist Marcellus Schiffer, this never seen before English translation will open on Wednesday 22nd June 2022 at the Hope Mill Theatre

It’s In The Air! first premiered in 1928, with Marlene Dietrich in the lead role. This popular musical encapsulates the alienation within society and mindless extravagance of the Weimar Republic’s interwar years.

A big sale is on and brings with it the exuberant and diverse personalities of the Weimar Republic. Follow these characters as they scrabble mindlessly for any deal they can get their hands on. We see parents forgetting about their children, mad kleptomaniacs (because why not?) and even a store wedding! All in the name of godless consumerism… there must be something in the air!

Tickets for It’s In The Air at the Hope Mill Theatre are on sale now. 

BACK TO THE FUTURE Booking Extends to February 2023

THE OLIVIER, WHATSONSTAGE & BROADWAY WORLD BEST NEW MUSICAL

BACK TO THE FUTURE THE MUSICAL

EXTENDS PERFORMANCES AT THE

ADELPHI THEATRE

IN LONDON’S WEST END

NOW BOOKING UNTIL 12 FEBRUARY 2023

Due to overwhelming demand, lead producer Colin Ingram, together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back To The Future film trilogy, are delighted to announce that BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical’s performances at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End will extend to 12 February 2023. Tickets on sale now. The critically acclaimed Olivier, WhatsOnStage and Broadway World Award-winning Best New Musical had its opening night in London on Monday 13 September 2021.  

The much anticipated Original Cast Recording released on Sony Music’s Masterworks Broadway label is now available, featuring the new music by multi-Grammy Award-winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard alongside classic songs from the movie including The Power of Love and Johnny B. Goode

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, four WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical, and the Broadway World Award for Best New Musical.

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical stars Tony Award-winning Roger Bart and Olly Dobson as ‘Dr Emmett Brown’ and ‘Marty McFly’ respectively, with Hugh Coles as ‘George McFly’, Rosanna Hyland as ‘Lorraine Baines’, Cedric Neal as ‘Goldie Wilson’, Aidan Cutler as ‘Biff Tannen’, Courtney-Mae Briggs as ‘Jennifer Parker’, Will Haswell as ‘Dave McFly’, Emma Lloyd as ‘Linda McFly’ and Mark Oxtoby as ‘Strickland’.  Also in the cast are Rhianne Alleyne, Amy Barker, Matthew Barrow, Joshua Clemetson, Jamal Kane Crawford, Morgan Gregory, Ryan Heenan, Cameron McAllister, Alessia McDermott, Laura Mullowney, Nic Myers, Shane O’Riordan, Katharine Pearson, Justin Thomas, Oliver Roll, Melissa Rose, Charlotte Scott and Tavio Wright.

Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical has a book by Bob Gale and new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including The Power of Love and Johnny B. Goode.

Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr Emmett Brown.  But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence.

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical is directed by Tony Award-winning director John Rando (UrinetownOn The Town), alongside the multi Tony and Olivier Award-winning design team of Tim Hatley (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin (lighting), Hugh Vanstone (lighting consultant), Gareth Owen (sound) and Finn Ross (video), with choreography by Chris Bailey, musical supervision and arrangements by Nick Finlow and Illusions by Chris Fisher. Orchestrations are by Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, with dance arrangements by David Chase. Casting is by David Grindrod Associates.

Back to the Future the movie was released in 1985, starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr Emmett Brown. The film grossed $360.6 million (£279 million) at the box office worldwide and the total box office for all three films in the Back to the Future franchise was $936.6 million (over $1.8 billion in today’s money).

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical is produced by Colin Ingram, Donovan Mannato, Frankel/Viertel/Baruch/Routh Group, Hunter Arnold, Gavin Kalin Productions, Playing Field, Crush Music, CJ ENM, Teresa Tsai, Ivy Herman/Hallee Adelman, Robert L. Hutt, Universal Theatrical Group, Ricardo Marques, Augury, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, in association with Kimberly Magarro, Stage Entertainment, Glass Half Full Productions/ Neil Gooding Productions.

Website: BackToTheFutureMusical.com   

Twitter: @BTTFmusical

Instagram: @BTTFmusical      

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BACK TO THE FUTURE The MusicalAdelphi Theatre
Strand
Covent Garden
London WC2R 0NS

Current booking period to 12 February 2023

Performances:

Mondays, Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7.30pm, Thursday & Saturday matinees at 2.30pm, Sundays at 3pm (Please note, there will be additional matinees at 2.30pm on Wednesday 19 July and Friday 21 October and no weekday matinee w/c 10 October)

N.B  Sunday 11 September will be a signed performance, Sunday 2 October 2022 will be an audio described performance and Wednesday 9 November eill be a captioned performance.

Tickets: from £19.55

Please book via the website: BackToTheFutureMusical.com – no booking fees  

Booking line: 0203 925 2998

Christmas 2022/23 Performance Schedule

Sunday 18 December                1pm & 6pm

Monday 19 December               No performance

Tuesday 20 December               2.30pm & 7.30pm

Wednesday 21 December          2.30pm & 7.30pm         

Thursday 22 December              2.30pm & 7.30pm

Friday 23 December                  7.30pm

Saturday 24 December              2.30pm

Sunday 25 December                No performance

Monday 26 December               No performance

Tuesday 27 December               No performance

Wednesday 28 December          2.30pm & 7.30pm         

Thursday 29 December              2.30pm & 7.30pm

Friday 30 December                  7.30pm

Saturday 31 December              2.30pm

Sunday 1 January                      No performance

Monday 2 January                     2.30pm & 7.30pm

THE HUNT FOR JAN: Free Tickets To Yeast Nation at Southwark Playhouse

Free Tickets To Yeast Nation Offered to Anyone Called Jan (and their friend)

Calling all Jans! A pair of front row tickets are being held for every performance of new musical Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life  at Southwark Playhouse this summer, which can be claimed for free by anyone who goes by the name of Jan. 

The Office of National Statistics records show no names beginning with JAN have featured in the top 100 names of new babies for many years now, and as a show featuring a cast of characters exclusively called Jan Yeast Nation is concerned they aren’t getting the love and respect they need to thrive – and thus the National Campaign for the Protection of Jans was born.

Director Benji Sperring says “We have now categorically determined – through extensive research into biology, organic chemistry, and pseudo-historical Musical Theatre – that the first Yeast to start on the journey towards life as we know it was called Jan. Knowing this, the company of Yeast Nation are keen to preserve as many Jans as possible to show due respect and reverence to the initial yeast to grace the earth and its legacy. Therefore, we welcome any and all Jans (or Jan derivatives; we’re looking at you, Janets, Janices and Janines) to take up the (complimentary) seat of honour in every performance of the show and become “Jan-the-Real”, highlighting just how far we have come since the dawn of time and existence itself. Long Live The Jans (and Long Live Jan-the-Friend-of-Jan-the-Real, who also gets a free seat too)!”

Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life is a black comedy musical from the writers of Urinetown set in the brine of the primordial soup over 3 and a half billion years ago amongst the original colony of salt-eating Yeast – all of whom are called Jan. As a form of homage to our very first ancestors, and as a way to highlight the national shortage of Jans the UK is currently facing, the company is offering complimentary tickets to anyone who can prove their name is Jan, so that they may take their rightful place as “Jan the Real” beside the other yeast on stage during each performance. 

If you are called Jan, or have a name that is a Jan derivative, come and join Jan the Elder, Jan the Second Eldest, Jan the Wise, Jan the Sly, Jan the Wretched, Jan the Famished, Jan the Sweet, Jan the Youngest, and Jan the Unnamed in one of the most peculiar shows of the year. 

To claim these tickets please visit the Southwark Playhouse website (https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/the-large/yeast-nation/)with a proof of name (Passport, Driving Licence, Tesco Clubcard etc). Only one member of the pair need be called Jan, although two Jans together are very welcome. This offer is strictly limited to two front row tickets per performance and are allocated on a first come first served basis. Once the Jan seats are gone, they’re gone. 

Listings information 

22 July – 27 August 2022 

Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD

Mon – Sat, 7.30pm (3pm matinees)

£28.50/£23/£16 | www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk | 020 7407 0234 

AUSTENTATIOUS ANNOUNCES AUTUMN TOUR FOR 2022

Mick Perrin Worldwide presents…

AUSTENTATIOUS ANNOUNCES AUTUMN TOUR FOR 2022

Austentatious are saddling the horses for a Grand Tour of the United Kingdom!

Multi-award-winning improvised comedy troupe Austentatious are delighted to announce a tour for Autumn this year. The show will entertain and astonish audiences in equal measure across the country, beginning in Liverpool on 2nd October and concluding in Oxford on the 29th October. Tickets are on sale and available from https://www.austentatiousimpro.com/

Austentatious is saddling the horses for a Grand Tour of the United Kingdom! Before Bridgerton there was… Austentatious! The smash-hit Regency comedy romp returns, stuffed with rakish dukes, swooning ladies, and romantic entanglements aplenty. Austentatious is an improvised comedy play starring a cast of the country’s quickest comic performers. Every single show the cast conjures up a brand new ‘lost’ Jane Austen novel based on nothing more than a title suggested by the audience. The show comes fresh from multiple sell out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, residencies in London’s West End and at Leicester Square Theatre and a BBC Radio 4 Christmas special. Now Austentatious will be appearing at theatres across the country to entertain and astonish audiences in equal measure. No two shows are ever the same, with previous ‘lost’ masterpieces including ‘Crazy Rich Georgians’, ‘Double 0 Darcy’ & ‘Game of Scones’. Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, this is a Regency treat guaranteed to delight the whole Ton, Austen novices and die-hard fans alike.

Austentatious said: ‘We are beyond excited (and fanning ourselves profusely) to be setting off on our very own grand tour, and after such a long period of limited society (we can simply not partake in another of Mr Collins’ quiz nights), we cannot wait to finally see our dear friends around the country and laugh, swoon and revel in their most delightful and dashing company!’

The rotating cast is made up of a host of acclaimed comedy talent including: Cariad Lloyd, Rachel ParrisGraham DicksonCharlotte Gittins, Daniel Nils Roberts, Lauren

Shearing, Amy Cooke-Hodgson and Joseph Morpurgo. Show stars a varying line-up of the cast.

Austentatious London dates include their residency at the Leicester Square Theatre with shows on 13th June and 27th June and a date as part of The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre summer season on 31st July. All tickets available from https://www.austentatiousimpro.com/

Press for Austentatious:

★★★★ “Brilliant…these are comedians at the top of their game”- The Telegraph

★★★★★ “Ridiculously silly…wickedly funny” – The Times

★★★★ “A joy to behold” – The Guardian

★★★★ “Supersmart and terrifically funny” – The Scotsman

“A bravura slab of improvisation” – Independent

New Dates Announced for the UK and Ireland Tour of JERSEY BOYS

NEW DATES ANNOUNCED

FOR UK & IRELAND TOUR OF

TONY & OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING SMASH HIT MUSICAL

JERSEY BOYS

The producers and creative team are delighted to announce new dates for the highly successful UK and Ireland tour of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning musical JERSEY BOYS, which is currently on the road and running simultaneously with the smash-hit West End production, playing to packed houses at the newly refurbished Trafalgar Theatre.

The new dates include returning venues such as Edinburgh Playhouse, Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton and Wales Millennium Centre plus a venue the show has never played: Swansea Arena.

Casting for the second leg of the tour will be announced.

The current cast includes previous tour alumni Michael Pickering and Lewis Griffiths returning as Frankie Valli and Nick Massi respectively, with Blair Gibson as Bob Gaudio and Dalton Wood as Tommy DeVito. Luke Suri will play Frankie Valli at certain performances.

Also in the cast are Dougie Carter (Hank Majewski), Ryan Carter-Wilson (Swing), Emma Crossley (Mary Delgado), Jordan James (Gyp DeCarlo), Norton James (Norm Waxman), Michael Levi (Bob Crewe), Tom O’Brien (Swing), Nathan Routledge (Swing), George Salmon (Joe Pesci), Ellie Seaton (Lorraine), Daisy Steere (Francine), Amy West (Swing), and Damien Winchester (Barry Belson). 

The tour opened at New Wimbledon Theatre on 24 November 2021 and is booking through to 19 May 2023.

JERSEY BOYS is written byMarshall Brickman & Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.

Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in the Tony and Olivier Award-winning, true-life phenomenon, JERSEY BOYS. They were just four guys from New Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect onstage, off stage it was a very different story—a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is the musical that’s too good to be true.  The show is packed with their hits, including Beggin’SherryWalk Like A ManDecember, 1963 (Oh What a Night)Big Girls Don’t CryMy Eyes Adored YouLet’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got)Bye Bye BabyCan’t Take My Eyes Off YouWorking My Way Back to YouFallen AngelRag Doll and Who Loves You.   

Recipient of Broadway’s Tony, London’s Olivier and Australia’s Helpmann Awards for Best New Musical, JERSEY BOYS is the winner of 65 major awards and has been seen by over 27 million people worldwide. 

JERSEY BOYS originally opened in New York on 6 November 2005 and, by the time it closed on 15 January 2017, it was the 12th longest running show in Broadway history.  It returned to New York with a new production in November 2017. The JERSEY BOYS US National Tour is still breaking house records in cities across North America.

JERSEY BOYS first ran in London’s West End from 18 March 2008 to 26 March 2017 – nine amazing years – and, at the time, was the sixth longest musical running in the West End.  Last year, the musical returned to the West End, opening the new multi-million pound reinstated Trafalgar Theatre on 10 August 2021. JERSEY BOYS previously played two record-breaking UK and Ireland Tours from 2014 to 2016 and from 2017 to 2019.

The JERSEY BOYS UK and Ireland Tour will be staged by the entire original Broadway creative team, led by the Tony Award-winning team of director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, with scenic design by Klara Zieglerova, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy and projections design by Michael Clark.  The orchestrations are by Steve Orich and the music supervision and vocal arrangements by Ron Melrose. Casting is by Jill Green.

Facebook: @JerseyBoysLondon

Twitter & Instagram: @JerseyBoysUK

2022 – 2023 TOUR LISTINGS INFORMATION     

31 May – 4 June                                     Venue Cymru, Llandudno                                      01492 872000

                                                              www.venuecymru.co.uk                                        

7 – 11 June                                             Churchill Theatre, Bromley                                     0343 310 0020

                                                              churchilltheatre.co.uk                                             

15 – 25 June                                           Grand Opera House, Belfast                                  028 9024 1919

                                                              www.goh.co.uk  

5 – 16 July                                              Mayflower Theatre Southampton                            02380 711811

                                                              www.mayflower.org.uk                                         

26 July – 6 August                                  Leeds Grand Theatre                                             0113 243 0808

                                                              leedsheritagetheatres.com                                    

16 – 27 August                                       Blackpool Opera House                                       

                                                              www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk                      

30 August – 10 September                      Newcastle Theatre Royal                                       0191 232 7010

                                                              www.theatreroyal.co.uk                                        

14 – 24 September                                  Nottingham Royal Concert Hall                              0115 989 5555              

                                                              trch.co.uk                                                            

27 September – 8 October                      New Victoria Theatre, Woking                                0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre    

18 – 29 October                                      Manchester Opera House                                      0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/manchester                                      

1 – 12 November                                    Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin                          0818719 377 (ROI)                                                            

                                                                bordgaisenergytheatre.ie                                       08442485101 (UK)

15 – 19 November                                   Eastbourne Congress Theatre                                01323 412 000

                                                              www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                             

24 January – 4 February 2023                  Edinburgh Playhouse                                            08448717615*                                                     

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh-playhouse             

7 – 11 February                                       His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen                            01224 641122

                                                              www.aberdeenperformingarts.com                        

7 – 18 March                                           Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton                              01902 42 92 12

                                                              grandtheatre.co.uk                                               

21 March – 1 April                                   Royal & Derngate, Northampton                            01604 624811  

                                                              www.royalandderngate.co.uk                                

15 – 19 November                                   Eastbourne Congress Theatre                                01323 412 000

                                                              www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                             

22 – 26 November                                   Aylesbury Waterside Theatre                                 0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury-waterside-theatre    

29 November – 3 December                    Swansea Arena                                                     0333 009 2540

                                                              www.swansea-arena.co.uk                                    

10 – 21 January 2023                              Bristol Hippodrome                                               0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/bristol-hippodrome                

24 January – 4 February                          Edinburgh Playhouse                                            08448717615*                                                             

                                                             www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh-playhouse             

7 – 11 February                                       His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen                            01224 641122

                                                              www.aberdeenperformingarts.com                        

21 February – 4 March                             Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield                                      0114 249 6000

                                                              www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk                                 

7 – 18 March                                           Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton                              01902 42 92 12

                                                              grandtheatre.co.uk                                               

21 March – 1 April                                   Royal & Derngate, Northampton                            01604 624811  

                                                              www.royalandderngate.co.uk                                 On sale soon

4 – 8 April                                               Southend Cliffs Pavilion                                   

                                                              thecliffspavilion.co.uk

11 – 22 April                                           Wales Millennium Centre                                       

                                                              www.wmc.org.uk                                                   On sale 10 June

*Calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge

Full company announced for CRAZY FOR YOU at Chichester Festival Theatre

FULL COMPANY ANNOUNCED FOR SUSAN STROMAN’S PRODUCTION OF

CRAZY FOR YOU™ AT CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE

Charlie Stemp is joined by Carly Anderson

in

CRAZY FOR YOU

Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

Book by Ken Ludwig

Co-conception by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent

Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowan

Direction and Choreography by Susan Stroman

11 July – 4 September, Festival Theatre

Charlie Stemp and Carly Anderson will lead the cast of Susan Stroman’s new production of the musical comedy CRAZY FOR YOU™, with music & lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and book by Ken Ludwig, running at Chichester Festival Theatre from 11 July – 4 September.

The full company is: Charlie Stemp (Bobby Child), Carly Anderson (Polly Baker), Marc Akinfolarin (Moose), Lila Anderson (Vera), Merryl Ansah (Irene Roth), Simon Anthony (Sam), Craig Bartley (Mingo), Jason Battersby (Junior), Evonnee Bentley-Holder (Sheila), Imogen Bowtell (Elaine), Kyle Cox (Wyatt), Mathew Craig (Lank Hawkins), Bethan Downing (swing), Jacqui Dubois (Patricia Fodor), Nicholas Duncan (Jimmy), Tom Edden (Bela Zangler), Nathan Elwick (Custus), Don Gallagher (Everett Baker), Adrian Grove (Eugene Fodor), Laura Hills (Mitzi), Ryan Jupp (swing), Matthew Malthouse (Pete), Nell Martin (swing/dance captain), Joshua Nkemdilim (Billy), Kate Parr (Patsy), Sadie-Jean Shirley (Tess), Gay Soper (Lottie Child), Bradley Trevethan (swing), Ella Valentine (Margie) and Tara Yasmin (Louise).

This hilarious, riotously entertaining musical is packed with glorious Gershwin melodies (including Someone to Watch Over Me, Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm and They Can’t Take That Away from Me), and its stunning tap-dance routines are guaranteed to set the spirits soaring. The witty book and dialogue are written by Ken Ludwig, who also wrote this season’s Murder on the Orient Express and is the author of the Tony Award-winning Lend Me a Tenor.

Theatre-mad Bobby Child is torn between his show-business dreams and his rich, demanding New York fiancée and rich, demanding New York mother who want him to run the family bank. On his mother’s insistence, he reluctantly heads west for the bygone mining town of Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on a mortgage.

There he finds the mortgage in question is on a dilapidated Victorian theatre and the owner’s daughter Polly is the girl of his dreams. Desperate to prove his good faith and win her love, Bobby lights on the idea of putting on a show – complete with glamorous dancers from New York’s Follies – to save the theatre and renew the town…

This brand new production, which celebrates the work’s 30th anniversary, is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, making her Chichester Festival Theatre debut. True Broadway royalty, she is the winner of five Tony and two Olivier Awards. She directed and choreographed The Producers, winner of a record-making 12 Tony Awards in New York including Best Direction and Best Choreography. She co-created, directed and choreographed the Tony Award-winning musical Contact at Lincoln Center Theater; and directed and choreographed The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway and the West End, where it won the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical. Her many other Broadway and West End credits include Oklahoma!, Show Boat, Bullets Over Broadway and Young Frankenstein; The Merry Widow for the Metropolitan Opera; and Double Feature and For The Love of Duke for New York City Ballet.

Charlie Stemp plays Bobby, returning to Chichester where he played Arthur Kipps in Half A Sixpence in 2016, for which he won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Musical and received Olivier and UK Theatre Award nominations. The production transferred to the West End, and was recently broadcast on Sky Arts as Kipps – The New Half A Sixpence Musical. He has starred on Broadway in Hello, Dolly! opposite Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters, and at the London Palladium in Dick Whittington, Snow White and Pantoland at the Palladium. He is currently playing Bert in Mary Poppins in the West End, for which he received his second Olivier Award nomination.

Carly Anderson makes her Chichester debut as Polly. Her many musical theatre credits include Glinda in Wicked (international tour), Gwen in Sunny Afternoon (West End & Hampstead), Sunset Boulevard (ENO), Candide (Menier Chocolate Factory), My Fair Lady (Sheffield Crucible) and Xanadu (Southwark Playhouse).

Ken Ludwig has had six productions on Broadway and seven in London’s West End. His 30 plays and musicals are staged around the world and throughout the United States every night of the year. Crazy for You was on Broadway for five years, the West End for three, and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical. Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards. He has won the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Charles MacArthur Award, and the Edgar Award for Best Mystery. His book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year. His most recent plays include Pride and Prejudice, Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley; Lady Molly of Scotland Yard; and Moriarty. For more information, visit www.kenludwig.com.

The set designer is Beowulf Boritt; the costume designer is William Ivey Long; the lighting designer is Ken Billington, the musical director is Alan Williams and the sound designer is Kai Harada; with new orchestrations by Doug Besterman and Mark Cumberland, original orchestrations by William David Brohn, new arrangements by David Krane and original arrangements by Peter Howard. Wigs, hair & make-up design is by Campbell Young Associates, fight direction by Rc-Annie and casting by Jill Green CDG.

There will be a Dementia Friendly performance on 1 September at 2.30pm.

Crazy for You™ is sponsored by Architectural Plants Ltd and R.L. Austen.

Crazy for You™ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Tams-Wittmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk

GERSHWIN™ is a registered trademark of Gershwin Enterprises.

CRAZY FOR YOU™ is a registered trademark of Crazy For You Enterprises.

RICHARD KATZ joins CABARET at the Kit Kat Club as booking extends

MULTI AWARD-WINNING AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF

CABARET

AT THE KIT KAT CLUB

TO WELCOME RICHARD KATZ AS

‘HERR SCHULTZ’ FROM 27 JUNE 2022

GENERAL BOOKING NOW EXTENDED

UNTIL 19 NOVEMBER 2022

WITH GROUP BOOKINGS EXTENDED UNTIL 15 APRIL 2023

The multi award-winning and critically acclaimed production of CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB in London’s West End will welcome Richard Katz to the cast as ‘Herr Schultz’ from 27 June 2022.

Also joining the company will be Gabriela Benedetti (who was in the original Prologue Company for the show) and Adam TaylorFra Fee as ‘The Emcee’ and Amy Lennox as ‘Sally Bowles’ have extended their runs in the show until 1 October 2022.

Continuing in the show are Omar Baroud as ‘Cliff Bradshaw’, Vivien Parry as ‘Fraulein Schneider’, Stewart Clarke as ‘Ernst Ludwig’ and Anna-Jane Casey as ‘Fraulein Kost’. The cast is completed by Josh Andrews, Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman and Sophie Maria Wojna.

The Prologue Company is Rachel Benson, Laura Braid, Asmara Cammock, Julian Capolei, Celine Fortenbacher, Reuben Greeph, Samantha Ho, Andrew Linnie, Carys McQueen, Hicaro Nicolai, Kate Robson-Stuart and Sally Swanson

General booking for the show has now extended until 19 November 2022 with group bookings extended until 15 April 2023. kitkat.club

Richard Katz is an Associate Artist with Shakespeare’s Globe Ensemble and an Associate at Complicitè. His many theatre credits include Love and Other Acts of Violence at the Donmar Warehouse, The Fir Tree, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Bartholomew Fair, As You Like It, Hamlet and Nell Gwynn, all at Shakespeare’s Globe, The Encounter, The Master and Margarita, Measure for Measure, Mnemonic, The Noise of Time and Strange Poetry, all for Complicité and Blindness and Seeing, Peer Gynt, As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, The Drunks, Silence, The Winter’s Tale and Pericles, all for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has appeared in The Lorax and The Divide at the Old Vic, A Soldier’s Tale with the Hallé Orchestra, 1984 for Headlong Theatre and Way To Heaven at the Royal Court.

This unique production of CABARET opened in December last year to critical and audience acclaim, widely praised as the ultimate theatrical experience. Last month, the production won a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards, the most for any musical revival in Olivier history, as well as three prestigious Critics Circle Awards.

In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club, home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself. 

The Kit Kat Club has laid siege to the Playhouse Theatre. The performers have infiltrated the premises. The artists have staked their claim. Who knows for how long they’ll stay, but for now they are enjoying the party. The party at the end of the world.

Transforming one of London’s most famous theatres with an in-the-round auditorium and reimagined spaces, before the show guests are invited to enjoy and explore the Kit Kat Club with pre-show entertainment, drinks and dining all on offer. When booking, guests receive a ‘club entry time’ to allow enough time to take in the world of the Kit Kat Club before the show starts. But of course, the show really starts when you first join us in the club…

One of the most successful musicals of all time CABARET features the songs Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number. It has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

CABARET is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, set and costume design is by Tom Scutt with choreography by Julia Cheng. Musical supervision and direction is by Jennifer Whyte with lighting design by Isabella Byrd and sound design by Nick Lidster. The casting director is Stuart Burt and the associate director is Jordan Fein.

CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Underbelly.

Dolly Review

Come What May Festival at Park Theatre – until 28 May 2022

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Chantelle Dusette’s autobiographical play examining how childhood trauma affects adult relationships is hypnotic and moving.

Dusette’s character survived a house fire when she was a child, and her relationship with her parents – her estranged mother and the father she admires – is unpicked in a series of therapy sessions with a counsellor (Dan Connolly).

Dusette relates the repetitive nature of the sessions, always ending with a revelation she could explore more, using the mundane routine of the journey home and going to the shop as a sort of chorus. Using spoken word and movement, Dusette weaves her world with stellar support from Connolly, representing characters she meets at the station and on the streets, and creating a sense of the spaces the characters inhabit by simply moving two chairs about the stage. Connolly also provides some wonderful comic relief as a variety of podcast lecturers.

As Dusette explores the impact of her trauma, and the reasons behind her parents’ reactions to her burns, she comes to understand how this has impacted on her ability to form healthy relationships and exacerbated her doubts about whether she could be a good mother. Dusette’s language is soothing and melodic, punctuated by sharp jolts as she makes realisations. There are recorded sections where Dusette’s voiceover is accompanied by longer, more balletic movement sequences, providing a great contrast and demarcating memories.

Inspiring, powerful and beautifully written, Dolly is a humanely honest and heart-warming treat.

Legally Blonde Review

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – until 2 July 2022

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Legally Blonde is the freshest, frothiest and funniest pick-me-up in theatre.

With a wonderfully diverse company, Regent Park Theatre’s production is joyous from the opening chords. Laura Hopkins’ weirdly wonderful set design of curtains of blonde hair and giant love hearts needs to be seen to be believed and is lit fantastically by Philip Gladwell. With Jean Chan’s costumes colour coded to signify tribes (pink for the sorority sisters, orange for the salon team and bland earth tones for the law students), Lucy Moss directs a show which is unashamedly energetic and in your face.

It’s been 20 years since the film came out, and tweaks have been made to some of the more dated scenes, creating a celebration of difference without judgement. Elle still follows her ex, Warner, to Harvard Law to win him back and struggles to fit in. When she decides that the only way to be thought of as “serious” is to dye her hair brunette, salon owner Paulette refuses and becomes her friend and support system, alongside a Greek chorus of Delta Nu sorority girls. Elle’s evolution into a moral and empathetic attorney comes as she realises that she doesn’t need or want Warner.

Courtney Bowman is phenomenal as Elle – genius comic timing, amazing stage presence and THAT voice. Michael Ahomka-Lindsay ‘s Emmet is the perfect foil – passionate and warm as they learn from each other. Grace Mouat, Isaac Hesketh and Hannah Yun Chamberlain are hilarious as the Greek Chorus and Nadine Higgin almost steals the show as Paulette in a barnstorming performance. The entire company is a dream – performing Ellen Kane’s intricate choreography in style. Lauren Drew showing jaw-dropping stamina as fitness guru Brooke and Liam McEvoy is a delight as Bruiser.

Nearly all of Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s songs are strong, with Bend and Snap, Whipped into Shape and Gay or European being the standout numbers for me. I don’t think I stopped smiling from curtain up to bows, and the atmosphere in the open-air auditorium was electric. A show full of laughs, sisterhood, sharp moves and incredible vocals, Legally Blonde is THE show of the summer.