Month: August 2016

Million Dollar Quartet the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and West End smash hit is to embark on its first ever UK Tour starring Jason Donovan as ‘Father of Rock and Roll’ Sam Phillips.

 

Inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.  Million Dollar Quartet includes more than 20 legendary rock ‘n’ roll hits, including Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, I Walk The Line and Great Balls of Fire.

 

On December 4, 1956, history was made when these four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest impromptu jam sessions ever. It brings to light the extraordinary story of broken promises, secrets, and the once-in-a-lifetime celebration of four friends that is both poignant and heart-warming.

 

Million Dollar Quartet brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits which bring you inside the recording studio with four major talents who came together as a red-hot rock ‘n’ roll band for one unforgettable night.

 

Million Dollar Quartet is written by Tony Award nominees Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux and produced by Simon Friend and Mark Goucher. Olivier nominated Ian Talbot OBE, renowned for his tenure as both Artistic and Managing director at The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park directs. Casting is to be announced.

 

Don’t miss your chance to be a fly on the wall of fame and history, and join in the celebration… atMillion Dollar Quartet!

 

Million Dollar Quartet is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Mon 6 until Sat 11 March 2017, playing evenings at 7.30pm, matinees on Thu 2pm and Sat 2.30pm. Tickets from £16`.50 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21.  Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

GHOST – THE MUSICAL

 

UNCHAINED AND REIMAGINED

A NEW MUSICAL PRODUCTION BASED ON THE MUCH-LOVED MOVIE MASTERPIECE

 

As previously announced singer and actress Sarah Harding will make her stage debut this autumn in Bill Kenwright’s new production of the timeless story of love, despair and hope: GHOST – THE MUSICAL. She will star as Molly opposite musician and actor Andy Moss, best known for the role of Rhys Ashworth in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, as Sam.

West End musical theatre star Jacqui Dubois (original London cast of Rent and Children of Eden,other credits include The Lion King, Fela and most recently People, Places and Things ) will join Sarah and Andy as ‘Oda Mae Brown’, the part made famous in the film by Whoopi Goldberg. Sam Ferriday (Jersey Boys, Blue Man Group, The Prodigals) will play ‘Carl’. Leo Sene will play ‘Willie’ andJames Earl Adair will haunt proceedings as the ‘Hospital Ghost’, alongside Gary Lee Netly as the ‘Subway Ghost’. Tarisha Rommick will play ‘Louise’ and Simbi Akande ‘Clara’. Completing the cast will be Lori Baker, Ethan Bradshaw, Lauren Drew, Matthew Vinetot, Mike Ward and Kelly Hampson.

Taking its inspiration from the classic movie, this innovative reimagining will feature an expanded book, new music and original staging, and will tour the UK this autumn, opening at the New Wimbledon Theatreon Thursday 1 September.

The Double Academy Award winning movie is a huge success story, both critically and at the box office, where it was the highest grossing film in the year of its release. It starred the late Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg and was directed by Jerry Zucker. Bruce Joel Rubin’s script won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay and Whoopi Goldberg won the Oscar® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film’s most iconic and moving scene was famously performed to The Righteous Brother’s Unchained Melody, which also features in the musical version.

Walking back to their apartment late one night a tragic encounter sees Sam murdered and his beloved girlfriend Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. But with the help of a phony storefront psychic Sam, trapped between this world and the next, tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger…

 

Bill Kenwright said; “Ghost is a story full of hope, and is one of those films which never leaves you. The book by Bruce Joel Rubin and score by Dave Stewart and Glenn Ballad come together wonderfully in one of my favourite new musicals in years.”

 

Bruce Joel Rubin said; “This is a show with such a strong emotional and musical life that it can mould to many visions and interpretations.  It can be performed on any scale, and its vibrant heart will still captivate an audience and allows the imagination to flourish. It is purely theatrical in the greatest sense.  We are very excited by the potential that the new version holds and elated it will tour the UK with Bill Kenwright”.

C.S. LEWIS

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

THE US HIT PRODUCTION

MAKES ITS EUROPEAN PREMIERE AT PARK THEATRE THIS CHRISTMAS

MAX MCLEAN, ORGINATOR OF THE ROLE, TO PLAY SCREWTAPE IN LONDON

 

 

The Screwtape Letters, the provocative and wickedly funny theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view, will play the Christmas season at Park Theatre from 8 December 2016 – 7 January 2017, with a press night on 9 December.

In the European premiere of the smash New York hit, The Screwtape Letters creates a morally inverted universe that reveals unseen spiritual powers and principalities in humorous, vivid and surprising ways.

“Clever and Satirical”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Set in an eerily stylish office in hell, where God is called the “Enemy” and the devil is referred to as “Our Father Below”, the play follows His Abysmal Sublimity Screwtape – Satan’s top psychiatrist due to his profound understanding of human nature – and his slavish creature-demon Toadpipe, as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to ruin the life and damn the soul of an unsuspecting human on earth.

Max McLean returns to the role of Screwtape, which he originated and performed to sold-out audiences in New York City and across the U.S.

“One Hell of a Good Show”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Along with The Chronicles of Narnia (including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), The Great Divorce andMere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters remains one of Lewis’ most popular and influential works. When first published in 1942 it brought worldwide fame to this little-known Oxford don including the cover of Time Magazine.

The idea for Screwtape came to Lewis after listening to Hitler’s Reichstag Speech on July 19, 1940, while it was simultaneously translated on BBC Radio. Lewis wrote, “I don’t know if I’m weaker than other people, but it is a positive revelation to me how while the speech lasts it is impossible not to waver just a little. . . . Statements which I know to be untrue all but convince me . . . if only the man says them unflinchingly.”

The Screwtape Letters was conceived and adapted for the stage by Max McLean and Jeffrey Fiske. McLean is Founder and Artistic Director of New York City-based Fellowship for Performing Arts. Scenic Design is by Cameron Anderson, Costumes by Michael Bevins, Lighting Design by Jesse Klug and Original Music and Sound Design by John Gromada.

“FERRIS & MILNES – CHRISTMAS CRACKER!”
TO PLAY THE AMBASSADORS THEATRE 
ON 13 DECEMBER 2016
DEBUT WEST END SHOW FOR THE DOUBLE ACT

Musical comedy double act Dominic Ferris and Martin Milnes will perform their debut West End show “Ferris & Milnes – Christmas Cracker!” at the Ambassadors Theatre on Tuesday 13 December 2016.

The fun-packed Christmas variety extravaganza is sure to delight the whole family. Audiences can expect the unexpected, as well as the Christmas favourites they know and love, in a heart-warming, foot-tapping seasonal shindig. Further details are to be announced.

Tickets are now on sale priced £17.50 – £32.50 (booking fees may apply). Book online:https://www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk, via telephone: 020 7395 5405, or in person at the Box Office.

“Ferris & Milnes – Christmas Cracker!” is produced by The Cahoots Theatre Company Ltd.

Recently playing to sold-out houses at the St. James Studio, Ferris & Milnes mark their debut West End show after thrilling crowds at West End LIVE in Trafalgar Square, The Tower of London, Lytham Festival’s West End Proms, and in Stephen Sondheim’s 85th Birthday Gala at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Described as “Hilarious” (The Telegraph) and “The most exciting musical theatre double act to be discovered in years” (West End Frame), Ferris & Milnes are perhaps best known for their musical mash-ups such as “33 Sondheim Numbers In 5 Minutes” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B08hMm9v9Xg) and their medley of “31 West End Musicals in Under 10 Minutes” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kiIyxYGAsU).

Dominic Ferris and Martin Milnes are a unique combination. Dominic is a pianist extraordinaire, regularly showcasing his skills touring the world as one half of The Piano Brothers – his Steinway & Sons accredited piano duo. Martin has ‘two voices’ – excelling as both a tenor and in his acclaimed falsetto register, having diversely crossed the musical worlds between West End and opera. Together, Dominic and Martin combine comedy, music and vocals in a dynamic cocktail of explosive Broadway glamour and fun.

For more information about Ferris & Milnes visit: www.ferrisandmilnes.com. Follow Ferris & Milnes on Twitter @ferrisandmilnes and on Facebook www.facebook.com/ferrisandmilnes.

LISTINGS
“Ferris & Milnes – Christmas Cracker!”
The Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, London, WC2H 9ND
Nearest tube station: Leicester Square
Tuesday 13 December 2016: 7.30pm
Running time: 2 hours 30 mins approx. (including interval)
Tickets: £17.50 – £32.50; transaction fees apply to online and telephone bookings
Online bookings: https://www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk
Telephone bookings: 020 7395 5405

Majestic Theatre, Darlington – 23rd to 25th August

Musical and Horror, two genres that already have quite a bit in common. Both tend to invest in stagy, big-time emotions and feature grandiose payoffs, but while musicals deliver vocal triumphs, horror dishes it out in blood and guts, arterial sprays and all that good stuff

Horror Film the Musical combines the two perfectly – a musical about a group of teens, a cabin in the woods, masked evils, guns and rednecks (think Jason, Freddy Kruger, The Hills have Eyes and Blair Witch) – what can go wrong?  It would seem everything!!!  Soon they are being possessed, one at a time, by evil forces.

With special splash zone seats – cascades of fake blood from punctured body parts spout into the first few rows of seats, this is a very “bloody” production – filled with comedy performances, amazing singing, fabulous frenzied choreography it makes for a totally fun filled show.

With a nod to lots of classic cult horror films from the 80’s the show takes the mickey out of everyone and everything.

Collectively directed by the whole cast they have managed to squeeze humour and current affairs into every scene.   A clever mixture of horror, pathos and humour that manifests its perversely dark side rather endearingly,  mocking its source

Megan and Matt Campbell, Dan Harrison, Faye Hall, Abbie Fairless, Stee Leahy, Mackenzie Swash and Dylan Murray all shine in their respective parts, even if they are disguised by make-up for the majority of the show.

Lights and sound by Luke Thomson and Tom Cullen help with the atmosphere of horror and evil

This is a wonderful show with the ability to grow into a cult classic.  Go and see it before it closes

Tickets available from http://www.majestic-tickets.co.uk/

 

NEW CAST ANNOUNCED FOR RICHARD O’BRIEN’S

ROCKY HORROR SHOW

AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

 

STARRING

CHARLIE CONDOU & PAUL CATTERMOLE

The Rocky Horror Show has announced a glittering cast when they visit Leeds Grand Theatre this Halloween for one week only from Monday 31^st October to Saturday 5^th November 2016.

Returning to the show to play the iconic role of ‘The Narrator’ will be Coronation Street favourite Charlie Condou.

Charlie said: “I’m so excited to be returning to the cast of the Rocky Horror Show to play The Narrator – I had such a fantastic time playing the role earlier this year so I was thrilled to be invited back. It’s such an iconic show, I’m looking forward to re-joining the  wonderful  cast and to seeing the brilliant audiences – who I am sure will again be keeping me on my toes”

S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole will continue to excite audiences in the roles of ‘Eddie/Dr Scott’.  The title role of ‘Rocky’ is played by Dominic Andersen and ‘Frank n Furter’ by The Voice’s (Series 3) Liam Tamne.  ‘Janet’ will be played by theatre star Haley Flaherty.  Completing the cast are Rocky favourites Sophie Linder-Leeas ‘Columbia’, Kristian Lavercombe as ‘Riff Raff’ and Richard Meek, who plays ‘Brad’.

 

Rocky Horror Show tells the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet, two squeaky clean college kids who meet Dr Frank N Furter by chance when their car breaks down outside his house whilst on their way to visit their former college professor.  It is an adventure they’ll never forget, with fun, frolics, frocks, and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits.

Directed by Christopher Luscombe, the Rocky Horror Show is a guaranteed party, which famously combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music.  Audience participation is encouraged, meaning of course, getting dressed in your most outrageous fancy dress.  This musical extravaganza features all of the famous musical classics including “Science Fiction/Double Feature”, “Dammit Janet” and of course, the timeless floor-filler, “The Time-Warp”.  Ready to thrill you with fun and naughty moments, O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show is the boldest bash of them all.  Be warned, this show has rude parts!

Rocky Horror Show is at Leeds Grand Theatre from

Monday 31^st October to Saturday 5^th November 2016

Tickets are on sale now priced from £22RV to £43

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

RV=Restricted View. Prices include £3 booking fee. Calls cost 7p per minute + your company’s access charge.

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

 

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

ADAPTED BY MIKE POULTON

WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY OSCAR-WINNING COMPOSER RACHEL PORTMAN

DIRECTED BY JAMES DACRE

TOURING THE UK THIS AUTUMN

 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darknesss… It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair – we had everything before us! We had nothing before us!”

 

The Touring Consortium Theatre Company and Royal & Derngate Northampton are pleased to announce full casting for Charles Dickens’ literary masterpiece A TALE OF TWO CITIES, opening at Royal & Derngate on Saturday 10 September 2016, with a national press night on Wednesday 14 September, and touring the UK until November.

 

Jacob Ifan will be making his professional theatre debut as ‘Charles Darnay’. Jacob is best known for playing the lead role of PC Jake Vickers on the BBC’s recent TV series Cuffs.  Joseph Timms, whose credits include Twelfth Nightand Richard III (Donmar on Broadway), Privates on Parade (Noel Coward Theatre) and The Hudsucker Proxy(Nuffield/Liverpool Everyman), will play ‘Sydney Carton’.

 

Shanaya Rafaat who has appeared in Great Expectations (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Around the World in 80 Days(St James Theatre) and King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe), will play ‘Lucie Manette’ and Sue Wallace, whose National Theatre credits include Husbands and Sons,  Emil and the Detectives and Alan Bennett’s Untold Stories, takes the role of ‘Miss Pross’. Patrick Romer, who has numerous RSC credits to his name, plays ‘Dr Manette’.

 

Harry Attwell, whose credits include The Skriker (Royal Exchange Theatre), The Crucible (Old Vic) and Henry V(Michael Grandage Company) will play ‘Defarge’ and Noa Bodner, whose credits include Testing the Echo/Moving Stories (National Theatre) and Playing for Time (Sheffield Crucible), will play ‘Madame Defarge’. Michael Garner, fresh from Nell Gwynn in the West End, appears as ‘Lorry’.

 

Sean Murray (The Hook and Cat on at Hot Tin Roof, Royal & Derngate) plays ‘Barsad’ and Christopher Hunter (The Surprise of Love and Iphigenia, Theatre Royal Bath; Romeo and Juliet, RSC) will be the ‘Marquis’. The cast is completed by Rebecca Birch, Jonathan Dryden Taylor and Jon Tarcy.

Dickens considered his novel, A Tale Of Two Cities the best story he had ever written.   Interweaving one family’s intensely personal drama with the terror and chaos of the French Revolution, it is an epic story of love, sacrifice and redemption amidst horrific violence and world changing events.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES was first produced in Northampton in 2014, to great critical and public acclaim, and was director James Dacre’s inaugural production at the theatre. Adapted by Mike Poulton (Fortune’s Fool, Old Vic and Broadway, Wolf Hall RSC, West End & Broadway), and with an original score by Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules, Beloved), and UK Theatre Award nominated design by Mike Britton, with lighting design by Paul Keogan, sound design by Adrienne Quartly, movement direction by Struan Leslie, and fight direction by Terry King.

SEARCH IS ON FOR YOUNG ACTORS FOR SHEFFIELD THEATRES’

CHRISTMAS PRODUCTION OF ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

Sheffield Theatres are searching for three exceptional young local performers to appear in their whip crackin’ Christmas musical, Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, which runs from Thursday 8 December – Saturday 14 January at the Crucible.

 

Producers are looking for strong singers and dancers who can confidently handle dialogue in an American accent, to take on the roles of Annie Oakley’s sisters Jessie, aged 14, Nellie aged 12 and 10 year old brother Jake. Those auditioning do not need to be the exact age of their character but will have to have reached their 9^th birthday by Monday 5 September 2016.  Two performers will be cast for each role which will be performed on a rota basis.

To secure an audition place, all performers must pre-register their interest by visiting the Sheffield Theatres website www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and completing a registration form before 2.00pm on Thursday 15 September.

First auditions will take place at the Lyceum Theatre on Friday 16 September where participants will be taught a simple song and work on an extract from the script.

Recall sessions will take place on Saturday 17 September from 10.00am – 4.00pm at the Lyceum Theatre.

 

Sheffield Theatres’ production of Irving Berlin’s musical Annie Get Your Gun will be directed by Paul Foster and choreographed by Alistair David, with musical direction by Paul Herbert.

Auditions for the juvenile roles take place on Friday 16 September at the Lyceum Theatre at 4.30pm and 6.30pm.  Details and registration forms can be found atwww.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk. Tickets for Annie Get Your Gun are on sale now, priced from £20.00 and can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in person, by calling 0114 249 6000, and online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk. A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash.

Bread and Roses 17 – 20 August
V22 Gallery 21 August
Bow Arts 25 – 26 August
Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Award-winning company LUXE’s production of Pablo Picasso’s Desire Caught by the Tail is a curate’s egg of a piece. A curiosity rather than a thing of beauty.
Picasso’s play is absurd, surreal and has no discernible plot. With characters called Bigfoot, Tart and the Onion and PA introductions of each part’s title (“The dismemberment of Bigfoot and the cannibalisation of lust” was particularly memorable), the main themes of the play seem to be hunger, lust and loss. I think.

I did begin to think I wasn’t intelligent enough to be in the audience after the very abrupt ending, but, walking out, one lady admitted that she hadn’t understood a single sentence, and the floodgates of befuddlement opened. The general consensus summed up by “That Picasso, he was having a laugh, wasn’t he?”

Director Cradeaux Alexander’s decision to rotate the roles around the (very game) cast of  four adds to the confusion. Simple props held by the actors show which role they are playing, but rather than make an artistic point, it instead highlighted some weak links in the cast. (Although I am sure that the stumbles will smooth out during the run.)

There are some wonderful poetic lines – “I lit the candle of sin with the match of her charms” and some weirdly hypnotic moments  – monkeys chomping nonchalantly on carrots, and it could well be genius, or a genius taking the mickey.

Part 3 – the edible aspects of lustful musings sees Bigfoot waxing lyrical about the Tart as the cast cut cake and distribute it to the audience. Apparently I was not alone in suffering cake anxiety during this scene. The poor actor could have been reading the telephone directory as we went through jealousy – they have cake!, self-pity – why does everyone have cake but me?,and finally joy – I HAVE my cake. One lady even stopped a passing actor to ask her for a fork! So I suppose that if hunger is a theme, then we actually understood that bit. Phew.

The charmingly shambolic props and design make the production feel like an art school presentation, and it is all very reminiscent of video installations that have puzzled me in galleries.

Perhaps that’s where this belongs.
But then there wouldn’t be cake.
I understood the cake.

SING HALLELUJAH!  

SISTER ACT AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE NEXT WEEK

DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD

STARRING ALEXANDRA BURKE

 

An all new production of the hit musical comedy SISTER ACT, starring Alexandra Burke, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood will be at Leeds Grand Theatre for one week only from Monday 22^nd to Saturday 27^th August 2016.

 

Director and Choreographer Craig Revel Horwood said: “I am truly thrilled to be directing and choreographing this all new production of Sister Act, a show I fell in love with when I saw it a few years ago.”

 

Alexandra Burke said: “I’m over the moon to be given the opportunity to play the wonderful Deloris in Sister Act. It’s such an iconic role and a part I’ve always wanted to play. I love touring the UK and I’m thrilled to be working with Craig and his amazing creative team.”

 

Based on the smash hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, SISTER ACT tells the hilarious story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a Convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.

For more information on Leeds Grand Theatre’s coming season, and to buy tickets, visit leedsgrandtheatre.com.

Sister Act is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 22^nd to Saturday 27^th August 2016

Tickets are on sale now priced from £22.50RV to £48

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

RV=Restricted View. Prices include £3 booking fee. Calls cost 7p per minute + your company’s access charge.