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Empire Cinemas’ across the UK showing all eight Harry Potter films for eight consecutive weeks

Ahead of the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (18^th November); the first part of an amazing new Harry Potter spin-off series, Empire Cinemas has programmed an eight week Harry Potter-thon, showing in all 13 of their cinemas across the UK.

The Potter marathon kicks off with showings of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on Sunday 11^thSeptember and continues every week, wrapping up on Sunday 30^th October with the last instalment; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

The film screenings will be shown Sundays at 12pm, as well as Tuesdays at 6pm. Potter fanatics will be pleased to hear that they can see all the movies at the fantastic, credit crunch busting Sav£rday price, on both days.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them sees Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne seeking magical creatures in the many decades before Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts. ‘Magizoologist’ Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) embarks on his mission to catalogue the world’s magical creatures, encountering extraordinary characters along the way, including a wizard named Graves (Colin Farrell).

Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas says, “We’re really excited to be hosting this Harry Potter-thon at our cinemas. There is a huge love for Harry Potter in the UK and with the exciting release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them in November, this is the perfect time to get involved in some Pottermania.”

For further ticketing information visit www.empirecinemas.co.uk or call 08714 714 714.

WHAT’S ON AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

FOR THE REST OF 2016

leedsgrandtheatre.com / 0844 848 2700

Twitter: @grandtheatrels1

BRIAN MAY & KERRY ELLIS***CHICAGO***THE FULL MONTY***ELAINE PAIGE***

ROCKY HORROR SHOW***MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET***GHOST***THE COMMITMENTS***

***SIXTIES GOLD***

REVIEW: SISTER ACT (Empire Theatre, Sunderland) ★★★

September 6, 2016 

For: West End Wilma 

https://www.westendwilma.com/review-sister-act-sunderland/

Ambitious club singer Deloris Van Cartier (Alexandra Burke) sees her controlling gangster boyfriend Curtis (Aaron Lee Lambert) commit murder and former schoolmate ‘Sweaty’ Eddie Souther (Jon Robyn) arranges police protection. The book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner follows the rough outline of Joseph Howard’s film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Somewhat incongruously, the safe house chosen by the cops is a convent, which gets shaken to its religious foundations by the heroine, in her new guise as Sister Mary Clarence. Appointed to supervise the tone-deaf choir, she turns them into a group of swinging sisters whose sudden fame imperils both her and their safety.

None of the songs from the film feature in the show, which is a shame. Alan Menkin supplies dutiful versions of the musical-theater standards: comic numbers for the club owner, Curtis and his henchmen; a romantic groove for Eddie and climactic soul-baring ballads for Deloris, the mother superior and Sister Mary Robert, in which each questions the tenets of their personal faith. But with the exception of a couple of roof raisers, the songs in “Sister Act” are more serviceable than memorable.

The show is billed as a star vehicle for Alexandra Burke but there are much brighter stars on the stage. Karen Mann as Mother Superior is amazing, especially in her “drunk” scene. Rosemary Ashe gives a masterclass in performance as Sister Mary Lazarus and Sarah Goggin is phenomenal as Sister Mary Robert.

Star of the show for me was Jon Robyns as Detective Eddie. He shows depth and warmth and real human heart in the role. His song “Sweaty Eddie” where he rips his clothes off from cop to Travolta back to cop was hilarious.

There are moments in the show which are very good, but this is a very average show being lifted up by some very outstanding performers.

Alex Dmitriev presents:

• SARA SHEEN AND ABBIE VENA JOIN ZARIS-ANGEL HATOR AND CLARA READ IN THE TITLE ROLE OF MATILDA 

• BOOKING EXTENDS TO OCTOBER 2017 AS MATILDA THE MUSICAL CELEBRATES FIFTH YEAR IN THE WEST END AND THE CENTENARY OF ROALD DAHL 

• BRAND NEW VIDEO RELEASED FEATURING THE FOUR ACTRESSES LEARNING MAGIC TRICKS WITH ILLUSIONIST PAUL KIEVE – AVAILABLE HERE

• NEW CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR ADULT ENSEMBLE AND CHILDREN   

Ahead of celebrations for its fifth birthday in the West End this autumn and Roald Dahl’s centenary on 13 September, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi award-winning production of Matilda The Musical has announced that Sara Sheen and Abbie Vena will join Zaris-Angel Hator and Clara Read in the title role from 13 September 2016. Tickets for the new booking period, which includes performances at the Cambridge theatre between 30 May and 15 October 2017, will go on sale on the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth, 13 September.

To mark the arrival of the show’s new young actresses, a video has been released today of the four girls taking part in a special magic workshop with Paul Kieve, the theatre illusionist behindMatilda The Musical’s on-stage magic and special effects.

Craige Els continues in the role of Miss Trunchbull, having first stepped into the girdle in September 2014. Also remaining in the company are Michael Begley as Mr Wormwood, Miria Parvin as Miss Honey and Rebecca Thornhill who plays Mrs Wormwood.

The rest of the adult cast comprises Richard Astbury, Oliver Brooks, Collette Coleman, Maria Graciano, Elliot Harper, Daniel Hope, Daniel Ioannou, Kate Kenrick, Katie Lee, Fergal McGoff, Tom Muggeridge, Matthew Rowland, Matthew Serafini, Biancha Szynal, Laura Tyrerand Sharlene Whyte.

The young performers who will be joining the London company in the three teams playing the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Amanda and the rest of the pupils at Crunchem Hall are as follows:Nicholas Antoniou-Tibbitts, Molly Beech, Hannah Bouhamdi, Max Brophy, Olivia Calladine-Smith, Elena Cervesi, Lydia Coghlan, Anya Evans, Miles Harcombe, Michael Hawkins, Sam Jennings, Harrison Langham, Ben Lewis, Craig Noakes, Tia Palamathanan, Owen Pennington, Charlotte Ross-Gower, Alexander Stuckey, Felix Warren and Scarlett Wennink.

Child cast members Oliver Llewelyn-Williams, Maxim Samartsev, Ynez Williams, Maisy-May Woods-Smeeth and Dora Yolland will continue in their current roles.

Winner of over 70 international awards, including 15 for Best Musical, Matilda The Musical has been seen by more than five million people worldwide. Having swept the board at the 2012 Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking seven awards, Matilda The Musical went on to open on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in March 2013. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Dodgers, the show won four Tony Awards® and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for each of the four girls sharing the title role.

In 2015 the London and Broadway productions were joined by the North American and Australian tours. After opening to rave reviews in Sydney last year, the Australian production recently won a record-breaking 13 Helpmann Awards. Matilda The Musical will play at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre until November 2016 before touring to Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers. The production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

Matilda The Musical is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus. The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and the special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

MATT SMITH, DAISY LEWIS, HUGH BONNEVILLE & MORE ANNOUNCED FOR NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

• MATT SMITH, DAISY LEWIS, HUGH BONNEVILLE, JESSICA HYNES, TIMOTHY DALTON AND GINA MCKEE ARE ALL TO APPEAR IN NYT’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY GALA  

• JAMES BOND, DOCTOR WHO, LORD GRANTHAM AND THE BIGGEST CAST EVER IN THE WEST END? THE ONE-OFF DIAMOND GALA AT LONDON’S SHAFTESBURY THEATRE ON 18 SEPTEMBER 2016 IS TO STAR 30 ALUMNI AND 90 MEMBERS

• THE CELEBRATORY EVENT WILL LOOK AT THE LAST SIX DECADES OF YOUTH CULTURE VIA NYT TALENT AND ARCHIVE  PRODUCTIONS

• TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR AT WWW.NYT.ORG.UK 

Paul Roseby, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) has today announced the initial line up of alumni who will join current members on stage in London’s West End on 18th September for the company’s Diamond Anniversary Gala.  Taking to the stage at the Shaftesbury Theatre in celebration of the company’s 60th birthday will be former members including: Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Daisy Lewis (Downton Abbey),Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Twenty Twelve, W1A), Timothy Dalton (James Bond),Jessica Hynes (Twenty Twelve, W1A) and Gina McKee (Our Friends in the North). More names are still to be announced.

Directed by Paul Roseby, the gala – ‘The Story of our Youth’ – is set to be one of the biggest casts in the West End with renowned alumni appearing alongside a cast of 97 of Britain’s best young talent and other former members. The one-off show will take a playful look back at the last 60 years of British youth culture, with NYT at its heart. The performance will race through the decades with scenes from the NYT archive, choreographed numbers, new alumni sketches and some extra surprise appearances from famous faces around the world throughout the night.

The Story of our Youth, which will showcase the best of current British talent, will also be a unique opportunity to see some of Britain’s best loved actors share a stage. From Daisy Lewis and Hugh Bonneville treading the boards together for the first time since ITV’s Downton Abbey, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see James Bond and Doctor Who in the same building, to brand new material from Ian Fletcher and Siobhan Sharpe, stars of BBC comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A.

Founded in 1956 the NYT is the pioneering force for youth theatre around the world and is recognised as the leading provider of free alternatives to formal theatre training, with alumni including Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE and Sir Daniel Day Lewis. Since being founded the world’s leading youth arts charity has nurtured the talent of over 100,000 young people.

The NYT 60th anniversary programme continues throughout the year. After a sell-out season of new writing at the Finborough Theatre over the summer from the end of September they will present a fourth West End REP season at the Ambassadors Theatre. The company will give two West End premieres including an adaptation of Man Booker shortlisted novel Pigeon English byStephen Kelman, looking at immigration, knife crime and the harsh reality of adulthood in modern Britain and William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet set in post war London with Teddy girls and Teddy boys running amok.

More information at www.nyt.org.uk
@NYTofGB / @NYTREPcompany

Empire Theatre, Sunderland – 5th to 10th September 2016

Ambitious club singer Deloris Van Cartier (Alexandra Burke) sees her controlling gangster boyfriend Curtis (Aaron Lee Lambert) commit murder and former schoolmate ‘Sweaty’ Eddie Souther (Jon Robyn) arranges police protection.  The book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner follows the rough outline of Joseph Howard’s film starring Whoopi Goldberg.  Somewhat incongruously, the safe house chosen by the cops is a convent, which gets shaken to its religious foundations by the heroine, in her new guise as Sister Mary Clarence. Appointed to supervise the tone-deaf choir, she turns them into a group of swinging sisters whose sudden fame imperils both her and their safety.

None of the songs from the film feature in the show, which is a shame.  Alan Menkin supplies dutiful versions of the musical-theater standards: comic numbers for the club owner, Curtis and his henchmen; a romantic groove for Eddie and climactic soul-baring ballads for Deloris and the mother superior, and Sister Mary Robert too, in which each questions the tenets of her personal faith.  But with the exception of a couple of those roof raisers, the songs in “Sister Act” are more serviceable than memorable

The show is billed as a star vehicle for Alexandra Burke but there are much brighter stars on the stage.  Karen Mann as Mother Superior is amazing, especially in her “drunk” scene.  Rosemary Ashe gives a masterclass in performance as Sister Mary Lazarus and Sarah Goggin is phenomenal as Sister Mary Robert.

Star of the show for me was Jon Robyns as Detective Eddie.  He shows depth and warmth and real human heart in the role.  His song “Sweaty Eddie” where he rips his clothes off from cop to Travolta back to cop was hilarious.

There are moments in the show which are very good, but this is a very average show being lifted up by some very outstanding performers

On tour around the UK

THE ADDAMS FAMILY, A MUSICAL COMEDY

TO PREMIERE IN UK & IRELAND

NEW TOURING PRODUCTION TO OPEN ON 20 APRIL 2017

United Theatrical, Aria Entertainment and Music & Lyrics Limited are delighted to present, in association with the Festival Theatre Edinburgh, the UK & Irish premiere of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a musical comedy, with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the creators of multi award-winning Jersey Boys, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. The UK & Ireland Tour, which will open at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh on 20 April 2017, will be directed by Matthew White.

Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows; she’s fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family! Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before — keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. All the usual clan are present – Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley et al.

The original Broadway production, starring Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, ran for just under two years at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The production also toured the US and international productions have been seen in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Marshall Brickman wrote or co-wrote the film screenplays for Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery, For the Boys and Intersection, and was head writer for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Rick Elice’s play, Peter and the Starcatcher, received nine nominations and won five 2012 Tony Awards. Andrew Lippa wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical, Big Fish, the music for the Broadway production of Aaron Sorkin’s play The Farnsworth Invention and the book, music and lyrics for the Drama Desk award-winning musical The Wild Party. He wrote the song called ‘Evil Like Me’, which was sung by Dove Cameron and Kristin Chenoweth in the 2015 Disney filmDescendants.

British director Matthew White has directed the recent UK Tour of The Producers, the UK Tour and West End run ofTop Hat, and, for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Candide, Sweet Charity (and West End) and Little Shop of Horrors(and West End).

THE ADDAMS FAMILY is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

For further information, please visit www.addamsfamilymusical.co.uk. Twitter: @AddamsFamilyUK

LISTINGS INFORMATION

20-29 April 2017     Festival Theatre, Edinburgh             on sale 5 Sep

                             www.edtheatres.com                         0131 529 6000

9-13 May 2017       Royal & Derngate, Northampton       on sale 19 September      

                             www.royalandderngate.co.uk            01604 624811   

23-27 May 2017     Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury           on sale 5 September         

                             www.marlowetheatre.com                 01227 787787

30 May – 3 June 2017  Cliffs Pavilion, Southend                  on sale 21 September

                                www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk               01702 351 135

6-10 June 2017          Birmingham Hippodrome                  on sale 12 September

                                www.birminghamhippodrome.com    0844 338 5000

20-24 June 2017          Hall for Cornwall, Truro                    on sale soon

                                  www.hallforcornwall.co.uk                01872 262466

27 June – 1 July 2017        Nottingham Theatre Royal                on sale 12 September

                                              www.trch.co.uk                                  0115 989 5555

4-8 July 2017               The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford      on sale 12 September

                                   www.bradford-theatres.co.uk            01274 432000

18 – 29 July 2017     Mayflower Theatre, Southampton     on sale 9 September                  

                                      www.mayflower.org.uk                       02380 711811

1-12 August 2017         Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre     on sale 30 September

                          http://www.wmc.org.uk/                     029 2063 6464

15-26 August 2017 Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin    on sale 28 October  

                        www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie           0844 847 2455

29 August – 9 September 2017  The Lowry, Salford                           on sale 9 September                      www.thelowry.com/                           0843 208 6000      

Further tour dates to be announced.

Upstairs at The Gatehouse 31 August – 25 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

The MGM Story is subtitled “The magic of the musical”, and this show truly delivers an evening of magical entertainment.

Chris Burgess is an old hand at expertly crafting a coherent and fully rounded show from huge back catalogues, and for this production has focussed on a few key musical behemoths from MGM’s history, and the struggles of Arthur Freed to keep on delivering box office hits. Sticking to the tried and tested format of four performers (two females, two male) and a small but perfectly formed onstage band, director and choreographer Matthew Cole manages to squeeze some nostalgic and authentic choreography making use of handy stepladders, clothes rails and wooden blocks in the small performance area.

After a quick whizz through the first musicals produced, the story hits its stride portraying the first audition of Judy Garland – a beautiful and haunting rendition of Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart by Emma Kayte Saunders – and carries on to tell of the troubled production of The Wizard of Oz, with a jaunty rendition of We’re Off to See the Wizard, If I only Had a Brain and a charmingly phrased version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Saunders doesn’t try to impersonate Garland’s voice, but captures the essence of Garland’s performances while adding her own twist. Moving swiftly through the Garland and Rooney years, the next musical examined is Meet Me in St. Louis – one of my favourite films, so I was in heaven during this section – with an energetic version of The Trolley Song and Miranda Wilford’s moving performance of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Easter Parade is up next with a heartfelt duet of It Only Happens When I Dance With You by Wilford and James Leece contrasting with a gloriously goofy version of A Couple of Swells by Saunders and Steven Dalziel. Burgess doesn’t sugar-coat the fact that some of the musicals churned out were purely commercial, lampooning an Esther Williams number with some dryland synchronised swimming, and highlighted Freed’s fall-back plan of plundering songwriters’ back catalogues to create their life stories. The men make the most of the spotlight before the interval with two songs from On the Town, leaving the audience buzzing.

Act Two, even though there are lots of exuberant numbers, has a more downbeat feel, as the narration charts the gradual decline in popularity of musicals and the end of the studio era. Doin’ What Comes Naturally is first awkwardly performed by Saunders as a miserable and miscast Judy Garland, and then by Wilford as her replacement Betty Hutton. The cast get to tap like maniacs in I Got Rhythm, and Leece makes a fantastic Gene Kelly in the Singin’ in the Rain numbers – with a much richer voice than Kelly. Dalziel steals the show with Make ‘Em Laugh – still able to sing strongly through his gymnastic clowning, and it is impossible to watch this version of Good Mornin’ without a cheesy grin on your face. After a sweet Gigi section, there is a melancholy performance of By Myself by Leece as the demise of the film musical is recalled. But the show ends on an upbeat note as the release of That’s Entertainment and its sequels in the 70s heralded the renewed interest in Hollywood musicals.

There are a few technical issues to be ironed out as lighting cues can be hit and miss. The band playing as the performers narrate is a good idea potentially, but the sound balance is at times a little off, and the words can be lost. Fitting their lines into a set interval also makes it tricky for the cast at some points, as they have a lot of lines and leads to a few stumbles. The sections where the backing music was absent were a lot more coherent. The use of a moveable floor lamp and an old style camera add to the atmosphere, but their positioning did obstruct the views of a few audience members.

These few issues aside, The MGM Story is a fantastic celebration of great musicals. Entertaining and exhilarating, leaving you basking in a warm glow of nostalgia, this is a must see show.