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JACK MAPLE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

HORSE-PLAY

A NEW COMEDY BY IAN HALLARD

TO PREMIERE AT THE RIVERSIDE STUDIOS

30 AUGUST – 24 SEPTEMBER

They’re about to have the ride of their lives…

HORSE-PLAY – a new comedy by Ian Hallard exploring the kinkier side of life – will premiere this autumn. Directed by Andrew Beckett, with Set and Costume Design by David Shields, and Pearson Casting as Casting Director,HORSE-PLAY will be at The Riverside Studios from 30 August to 24 September, with a press night on 1 September. Full cast and creative team to be announced shortly, and tickets are on sale here.

After ten years of married life, Tom and Tim decide to spice up their sex life by booking an evening in a dungeon with a gorgeous male escort.

Meanwhile, crime-busting superhero, the Stallion, and his intrepid side-kick, Butterfly, have been lured to the secret lair of their arch-nemesis: the dastardly Villainor.

But what connects these two seemingly random events?

One thing’s for sure: a bump on the head and a faulty door lock result in a night none of them will ever forget – for all the wrong reasons!

Ian Hallard says: “I wrote the first draft of ‘Horse-Play’ in less than a week during that strange, hot Spring/Summer of 2020. Why it occurred to me, in the middle of the very first lockdown, to write a play about a middle-aged gay couple trapped in a room together with no possible means of escape is a mystery, but there you go! Who knows where our creative ideas truly spring from?

The two central characters in the play may be a gay couple, but their relationship, and the ups and downs they encounter when they are faced with adversity, are universal.

I wanted to avoid the stereotype that sees anyone over the age of thirty-five who has a less than conventional side to their sexuality depicted as sleazy, unpleasant or often downright villainous. The characters in ‘Horse-Play’ certainly have their kinks, but they’re also loving, lovable and – on the whole – pretty well-adjusted.

More than anything, ‘Horse-Play’ is fun and it’s silly. If you’ve ever been tempted to spend the evening in a sex dungeon surrounded by handcuffs, bananas, spandex bodysuits, and a big tub of gunge, it may well be just the thing for you…

“As it says on the poster: They’re about to have the ride of their lives. I really hope our audiences will too.”

Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale present
SHREK THE MUSICAL

A BRAND-NEW PRODUCTION OF ‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’ HEADS OUT TO PAINT THE TOWN GREEN IN 2023 WITH A MAJOR UK AND IRELAND TOUR OPENING IN PLYMOUTH ON 21 JULY.

THE PRODUCERS OF ‘HAIRSPRAY’ AND ‘PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ HAVE JOINED FORCES WITH DIRECTORS SAM HOLMES AND NICK WINSTON, AND DESIGNER PHILIP WITCOMB, TO RE-IMAGINE THIS CLASSIC STORY FOR A NEW AUDIENCE.

FEATURING A HOST OF LOVABLE FAIRYTALE CHARACTERS AND MEMORABLE SONGS, INCLUDING ‘I’M A BELIEVER’, ‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’ IS A FUN FILLED NIGHT AT THE THEATRE THAT EVERYONE WILL ENJOY.

Producers Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale are delighted to announce a brand-new production of the award-winning Broadway and West End hit show Shrek the Musical will tour the UK and Ireland from July 2023. The bright and beautiful fairy-tale world of Shrek will be reimagined by a new creative team for this major tour. All the classic characters from the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film will be back to paint the town green, accompanied by the iconic songs and story from David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s original musical.

Having played Lord Farquaad in the previous UK tour, Sam Holmes (Club Tropicana the Musical) returns to the swamp to co-direct. He is joined by acclaimed director and choreographer Nick Winston, whose recent credits include Bonnie and Clyde (Arts Theatre) and Beauty and the Beast (as associate director and choreographer for the UK tour) and upcoming projects include a new world tour of We Will Rock You and a remounted UK tour of Rock of Ages.

Set and costume design will be by Philip Witcomb whose previous productions include Bonnie & Clyde In Concert (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Jack & The Beanstalk (Everyman Theatre Cheltenham), Atlantis (Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen), Mame (Hope Mill Theatre and UK Tour), The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Stones In His Pockets (The Minack Theatre).

Further creative team to be announced in due course.

Shrek the Musical opens at Plymouth Theatre Royal on 21 July 2023 and then tours to Manchester, Dublin, Bristol, Southend, Carlisle, Aberdeen, Oxford, Wimbledon, Dartford, Northampton, Bradford, Woking, Eastbourne, Cardiff, York and Blackpool with more dates to be announced soon. The national press night will be Thursday 3 August 2023 at Opera House Manchester.

Mark Goucher said ‘I am delighted to be bringing this re-imagined production of the beloved ‘Shrek the Musical’ to audiences across the UK and Ireland. The story of Shrek is known and loved across the world and this show is an incredibly joyous, fun and uplifting evening at the theatre that will be enjoyed by all ages’

The Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film Shrek celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Shrek the Musical was first performed on Broadway in 2008, receiving 8 Tony nominations, and the award for Best Costume Design. The original West End production was nominated for 4 Olivier awards, including Best New Musical, at the 2012 Olivier awards. Nigel Harman received the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lord Farquaad.

Join our unlikely hero Shrek and his noble steed Donkey as they embark on a big, bright, musical adventure. Based on the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film, the Broadway and West End hit Shrek the Musical is a fun-filled, hilarious musical comedy with a cast of vibrant characters and a ‘shrektacular’ score.

Featuring the beloved Princess Fiona, the evil Lord Farquaad, a host of magical fairy-tale characters and fabulous songs including the smash hit ‘I’m a Believer’, Shrek the Musical is a ‘musical extravaganza for big kids and little kids alike’ (Bristol Post).

Come join the adventure as Shrek and Donkey endeavour to complete their quest, finding unexpected friendships and surprising romance along the way. A perfect night out for the young, and the young at heart, the award-winning Shrek the Musical is guaranteed fun for all ages and will have you dancing in the aisles and laughing all the way home.

King’s Head Theatre, London – until 26 June 2022

Reviewed by Alun Hood

3***

Ghost stories are a much loved theatrical genre – The Woman In Black has been in the West End for over thirty years and shows no signs of moving on – but can be fiendishly difficult to get right: go too horrific and you run the risk of alienating your audience, overdo the melodrama and you end up with inappropriate laughter in the auditorium. Mark Ravenhill’s tense new piece avoids these pitfalls, providing some authentic chills even if it fails to completely satisfy as a piece of supernatural storytelling.

Actually, the storytelling here is skilfully done, seamlessly bleeding real life into fiction as Ravenhill himself gets up before the performance officially begins (or at least before it APPEARS to have begun) to regale us with facts about the Kings Head Theatre. Regular visitors to this venue won’t find this unusual, since every performance here is prefaced by a heartfelt appeal for funds. Ravenhill is interrupted mid sentence by an audience member who has performed as an actor at this theatre in a previous production and is still haunted by a supernatural experience she had during that run. 

In all honesty, this conceit would work better if Suzanne Ahmet, in that role, weren’t so obviously acting at the outset. Ravenhill is much more successful at apparently making his lines up on the spot, possibly as a result of having written them himself. That said, Ahmet gets into her stride as the piece draws on, compellingly recalling her brush with a vengeful ghostly presence that feels unsettlingly plausible in the dimly lit, muggy back room of this historical Islington pub. She also interacts winningly with a couple of game audience members, drawing all of us further into the eerie theatrical mire.

Without giving away spoilers, Ravenhill’s text is so bound up with the venue itself that it’s basically a piece of immersive theatre. It even works as a useful, if slightly heavy-handed, advertisement for the venue’s future plans as the King’s Head prepares to move to their new home in an adjacent new Upper Street development (Ravenhill is the co-artistic director). 

Ahmet’s haunted Susan accused Ravenhill at one point of being “another white man” trying to control the narrative, which she then wrestles from him. That’s all well and good, but the irony still stands that this piece is still the creation of a white man, albeit an extremely talented one, and one who creates convincing female characters. If the play’s conclusion is a bit of a letdown given the shuddering suspense and carefully brewed atmosphere of what has gone before, that is a frequent weakness of this genre, and one that the aforementioned The Woman In Black only avoids by deviating quite drastically from its original source material.

Jo Underwood’s lighting and Roly Botha’s lighting are flawless however. Botha’s contribution is particularly invaluable, a foreboding soundscape that ratchets up the tension to pleasurably unbearable levels. 

This may not be a classic of the ghost story genre, being too tied to the venue and the surrounding area to have serious legs, although future productions could possibly see portions of the script rewritten to reflect alternative locations. It is however a creditable and often gripping attempt to marry contemporary issues with Islington’s somewhat grim past, and an interesting, evocative way to commemorate fifty years of the King’s Head Theatre.

Royal & Derngate, Northampton – until Saturday 11th June 2022

Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh

4****

It’s honestly hard to believe that the film School of Rock is almost 20 years old, and as I take my seat, I am flooded with waves of nostalgia, but not for long, as my ears are assaulted with a delicious riff of a guitar, and sights of a glistening midriff. The band ‘No Vacancy’ have arrived!

Dewey Finn, played superbly, by the delightful Jake Sharpe, is an amateur rock enthusiast but in reality, comes across as a wastrel musician who has no job prospects and spends his time mooching off his best mate Ned Schneebly. When Dewey is fired from his rock band, ‘No Vacancy’, he is left with no money and in danger of being homeless, so he slyly takes up employment as a schoolteacher in the prestigious Horace Green Private School by impersonating his best friend, Ned.

When faced with a class of children Dewey doesn’t have a clue what to do, but upon discovering that the children are able to play instruments, he decides to teach them everything he knows about rock. The ultimate exam, to win a place in ‘The Battle of The Bands’. With many obstacles to overcome along the way, parents who misunderstand their children, huffy teachers, Dewey’s best friend’s girlfriend, Dewey’s personal hygiene and an uptight principle. It’s not all plain sailing but here in lies the laughs and the pathos as he inadvertently teaches the children empowerment and how to find their inner voices and make themselves be heard.

School of Rock was fabulous. Brilliant sets, wonderful staging, and great energy. The only thing that stopped me from giving School of Rock 5 stars was the music, which is supposed to be an integral part of a rock musical. Some of the songs were forgettable and dreary. Other than that, it was a fantastic show.

School of Rock is a heart-warming comedy. Lots of fun for all ages. Although it’s clear that the main driver behind the success of the film is Jack Black, Jake Sharp did a tremendous job. Supported by Rebecca Lock as Principal Mullins who had the most breath-taking voice, they made a formidable pairing and were supported by and excellent ensemble.

However, the true stars of the show and where the real magic happened was when the children appeared. Superb singers, actors and musicians. Yes, they really did play their own instruments. Issac Forward as Freddy, Daisy Hanna as Katie, Angus McDougall as Lawrence, Harry Churchill as Zack, Dereke Oladele as James, Ruthie Heathcote as Sophie, Wilf Cooper as Billy, Evie Marner as Summer, Tia Isaac as Tomika, Caelan Wallington as Mason, Elodie Salmon as Marcy and Kyla Robinson as Shonelle, shone and brought the production to life.

School of Rock is funny, charming and without spoilers there is an amazing way you’re encouraged to Stick it to The Man! before you leave the show. You can’t get more Rock than that!

Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 11 June 2022

Reviewed by Louise Ford

5*****

The Cher Show is based on the book by Rick Elice and charts the roller coaster musical career of the legend that is Cher. The story is told through three versions of Cher . The early years as Babe, the middle years as Lady and the later years as Star. It’s a story of rags to riches, reinvention, love and lost love which charts the music industry from the laid back relaxed days of the 1960s, through the ballads and disco years of the 1970s and 1980s to the multimedia dance songs of the 1990s.

It cleverly weaves its way from her humble beginnings in El Centro California as a gauche unhappy teenager bullied  at school for her looks . To one of the biggest music stars in the world.

Unlike her mother and the rest of the kids in California she has black hair and olive skin. Thanks to her father, who she adored, who is Armenian. He left the family home and she is brought up by her mother Georgia (Tori Scott) a constant in Cher’s life. She has a fine voice and delivers some great songs.

The young Cher is played by understudy Jasmine Jules Andrews who meets the confident entertainer and singer Sonny Bono (Lucas Rush ) in 1964 when she is only 18. She is shy and awkward, hiding behind her iconic fringe and needing the security of Sonny by her side. They get together and the partnership of Sonny and Cher is born. It becomes clear that music industry is stacked against her as she signs agreements and deals which deprive her of not only her choices, but also any profits.

Exhausted and worn down with constantly working Babe finally says no more! She gets the inner confidence as Lady (Danielle Steers) to embark on a solo career. The middle years move through the figure hugging costumes, another marriage, another child and a career reboot as a movie star. Cher won an Oscar for her role in Moonstruck.

The final stage of Cher’s professional life is played out as Star (Debbie Kurup), the icon is well and truly born. The costumes are more revealing and outrageous, the hair is more styled and tweaked. Whilst this Cher is outwardly more confident she still seems to be searching for love and professional reassurance. This final part is tinged with real sadness.

All three actors playing Cher are amazing, they are on the stage nearly the whole time supporting and doubting, the inner voice questioning decisions and choices. It’s a really clever way of highlighting the uncertainty and doubt that surrounds artists and musicians.

The fabulous finale when all three Chers perform Believe and the audience gets to join in is a fitting end to a great night out.

The ensemble are all dressed in identical camp pill box hats, cut away studded tops and bell bottoms, they are a perfect backdrop to Cher’s increasingly outrageous costumes. The show is directed by Arlene Phillips and choreographed by Oti Mabuse. The ensemble help chart the progressing years with the dates on various boards, mirrors and signs.

The set picks up the very essence of Cher, it is a giant walk-in wardrobe with rails of hidden clothes and shelves of polystyrene heads show casing her wigs.

All in all a fabulous night, great and powerful performances, outrageous costumes, so much velvet, glitter, sequins and flesh revealing mesh, high heeled over the knee boots and iconic hair!

Sunderland Empire, Sunderland – until 11th June 2022

Reviewed by Stee Leahy

4****

Footloose at the Sunderland Empire was an energetic and fun re-telling of the 80’s classic. After a delayed start, and a quick voiceover explaining that all the instruments in the show would all be played by the cast, the show opened with a bang!

During the first musical number ‘Footloose’ we were introduced to Joshua Hawkins’ Ren McCormack, a fun and charismatic young man telling his friends he’s leaving his home town to move to Bomont. “Where the hell is Bomont!” 

Joshua’s take on Ren was excellent. He played him with an endearing confidence, displaying light and shade perfectly, in particular in scenes with his mother Ethel McCormack, played by the diverse Wendy Paver respectively. 

Darren Day’s take on the shows antagonist, Rev. Moore was nothing less that brilliant. Day’s character dynamics were fantastic. He was softly spoken yet his stage presence and physicality were powerful and dominating. Rounding off the character of the Reverend were Day’s brilliantly crisp vocals. 

The shows lovable and funny Willard Hewitt was portrayed by the talented Jake Quickenden. Quickenden captured all the dorky humour you’d expect from the character, and then some! During act two Quickenden performed ‘Mama Says’ with sensationally smooth vocals. Willard was absolutely adored by the audience. (I think the gold hot pants during ‘Holding Out For A Hero’ only added to it.)

I must say, the shows show stopping moment came from none other than the insanely talented Lucy Munden as Ariel Moore performing ‘Holding Out For A Hero’. These vocals were some of the best I’ve ever heard. Munden’s Ariel was nothing less that perfection. She brought a spice to the character, yet at the same time she played with such heart and vulnerability. Munden and Hawkins are brilliant duo. 

Ariel’s three best girlfriends, Rusty played by Oonagh Cox, Urleen by Samantha Richards and Wendy-Jo by Jess Barker, we’re fabulous. Richards and Barker were perfect comedy relief, bouncing off one another with great results. The way Cox brought Rusty to life was magical, those vocals – wow. Both she and Quickenden worked so incredibly well together and ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’ was greatly uplifting. The audience were all bopping along.

Holly Ashton’s take on Vi Moore was tender and sweet. She really fulfilled that calm essence of the character and whenever she played opposite Darren Day, you could hear a pin drop. Her quality acting was equally matched by her vocals. The shows villain, Chuck was played by Tom Mussell. 

Mussell brought a fresh humour to the role. Whilst been a real bad guy, his Chuck made the audience laugh a few times, that dynamic was fun! 

This cast, including Ben Mabberley as Jeter/Cowboy Bob, Alex Fobbester as Bickle and Ben Barrow as Wes are incredible. The show has a great sense of teamwork, made all that more strong due to the fact each of them played an instrument at some point or another. 

The set was simple but effective. And framed the action well.

This version of the beloved classic is a hit and not one to be missed. 

THE LOWRY, SALFORD – UNTIL SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2022

REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN

5*****

Last night I saw the new production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, at the Lowry Theatre as part of a national UK tour. It first premiered on stage in London in 1992 and Broadway in 1993, and it has been revived several times since. Winner of the 1993 Olivier Awards for best comedy drama, it is perhaps best known for its 1998 movie adaptation, starring Jane Horrocks, which is based on the screenplay by English dramatist Jim Cartwright.

The eponymous LV, short for Little Voice, lives at home with her overbearing and self-centred mother, Mari in a northern town. LV flees reality and hides away in her bedroom, listening to her beloved records, left to her by her late father. Over time she develops a gift impersonating the voices of American and British artists such as Marilyn Monroe, Gracie Fields, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf, Lulu and Shirley Bassey. When her mother’s boyfriend Ray Say overhears her singing, he sees the chance to make some money from her talent and forces her to sing in public.

The role of Little Voice is played by two-timed Drama Desk Award nominee and You Tube sensation Christina Bianco. She is utterly impressive impersonating the voices and styles of the many female singers. After a number of little teasers, we are treated to the full spectacle of her vocal talents at the climax of the show.

Little Voice’s mother Mari Hoff is played by the magnificent Shobna Gulati, she became a household name for her roles in Dinnerladies and Coronation Street. Gulati is on stage most of the time and triumphantly drives the play by sheer physical and vocal energy, perfectly executing her predominantly comedic and eccentric role.

King of soaps Ian Kelsey, plays Mari’s rogue love interest and evokes gasps aplenty. Fiona Mulvaney plays her friend and neighbour who loves ‘a little tea with her mug of sugar’ and provides a good deal of comic relief through the jokes. Supporting them are some inspired supporting characters; William Ilkley as Mr Boo, Akshay Gulati as Billy and James Robert Moore as Phone Man.

Nic Farman’s light show and Sara Perks’ set is a huge success, making it all look authentic and really enhancing the feeling of self induced poverty.

This production has a little voice but it has a big heart and is sure to delight audiences.

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME – UNTIL SATURDAY 11TH JUNE 2022

REVIEWED BY NADIA DODD

4****

This iconic film which was released back in 1952 tells the tale of how the 1920’s made way for ‘talkies’ films in Hollywood. Some people didn’t believe that the change from silent pictures could even be successful.

The show follows the world famous Lockwood and Lamont (played by Sam Lips and Jenny Gayner) who are stars of the silent film. As other producers are moving towards ‘talkies’ their producer and director Roscoe Dexter (played by Michael Matus) and RF Simpson (played by Dale Rapley) can’t afford to be left behind. The only problem being their female superstar Lina Lamont doesn’t have the voice to match her beauty which has been her only talent within the silent movie !

It was great to see such an iconic film bought to life again on stage with some amazing talent within the swing and ensemble. You can see the amount of rehearsing that has been put into the dance routines as they were all on top form, not a toe out of place and there were some astonishing tap dancing expertise out there tonight, just mesmerising to watch.

Three main cast were Lockwood, a love interest and later star of the films in her own right Kathy Selden (played by Charlotte Gooch) and finally Cosmo Brown (played by Ross McLaren), he is a lifelong friend of Lockwood, their scenes together show a fantastic working relationship between the actors, a real double act. Cosmo is a real cheeky, happy go lucky chap, a firm favourite with the audience.

The setting of the stage isn’t anything astounding but the 14,000 litres of water that are used each evening to perform the famous song ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is something that I have never seen before live – I’m just pleased that I wasn’t sat within the first five rows of the audience! A big shout out to the stage hands clearing it up at the end of the first act.

Vibrant costumes, great lighting and wonderful songs such as ‘Good Morning’ and the title song of course had the audience dancing in their seats. A real feast for the eyes, a wonderfully executed show that is currently making a ‘splash’ in Birmingham .

BIG. HUGE. WEST END SMASH HIT

AT THE SAVOY THEATRE

EXTENDS BOOKING UNTIL 28 JANUARY 2023

AIMIE ATKINSON AND DANNY MAC

EXTEND THEIR RUNS

AS ‘VIVIAN WARD’ AND ‘EDWARD LEWIS’

UNTIL 13 NOVEMBER 2022

NEW CAST MEMBERS JOIN FROM 14 JUNE 2022

Due to phenomenal demand PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL is thrilled to announce booking has been extended at the Savoy Theatre until 28 January 2023.

Aimie Atkinson and Danny Mac will extend their runs as Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis respectively, with Bob Harms as Happy Man/Mr Thompson and Rachael Wooding as Kit De Luca, all until 13 November 2022, alongside Mark Holden as James Morse.

From Tuesday 14 June 2022 existing cast member John Addison will take on the role of ‘Philip Stuckey’ and will be joined by new company members Becky Anderson, Matt Bateman, Robertina Bonano, Georgia Kleopa, Elishia Edwards, Helen Hill, Kurt Kansley, Curtis Patrick and Hassun Sharif.

The cast for PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL is completed by Jemma Alexander, Andy Barke, Patrick Barrett, Oliver Brenin, Alex Charles, Ben Darcy, Hannah Ducharme, Tom Andrew Hargreaves, Antony Hewitt, Elly Jay, Matt Jones, Annabelle Laing, Will Luckett, Cilla Silvia and Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke.

Aimie Atkinson (Vivian Ward) recently received a What’s On Stage Award nomination for her role in Pretty Woman: The Musical. She was in the original West End cast of the hit musical Six at the Arts Theatre and was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance. Her other credits include Daniela in In the Heights at King’s Cross Theatre, Serena in Legally Blonde at Kilworth House, Chloe in Never Forget – The Take That Musical and Luisa in Zorro The Musical, both on national tour. Aimie is the winner of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre Award.

Danny Mac (Edward Lewis) appeared as Giles Ralston in the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap at the St Martin’s Theatre. His many other theatre credits include Bob Wallace in White Christmas at the Dominion Theatre, Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Nino in Amelie, both on national tour, Gabey in On The Town at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and the West End productions of Wicked and Legally Blonde. Danny captured the nation’s hearts and received overwhelming support during his incredible time on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, making it all the way to the final.

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL features original music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, a book by Garry Marshall and the film’s screenwriter J.F. Lawton, it is directed and choreographed by the two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell.

Featured in the musical is Roy Orbison and Bill Dee’s international smash hit song ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ which inspired one of the most beloved romantic comedy films of all time. PRETTY WOMAN the film (produced by Arnon Milchan – New Regency Productions) was an international smash hit when it was released in 1990.

Atlantic Records’ PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING) is produced by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and is now available on all DSP’s.

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL has scenic design by David Rockwell, costumes by Tom Rogers from the original Broadway designs by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Philip S. Rosenberg, sound design by John Shivers, hair design by Josh Marquette, and music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Will Van Dyke. 101 Productions, Ltd are the Global General Management Consultant.

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL had its world premiere at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre in March 2018 before transferring to Broadway where it ran at the Nederlander Theatre. The German production opened in Hamburg at the Stage Theater an der Elbe in September 2019 to rave reviews, and a US Tour of the show opened in October 2021. 

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Paula Wagner, Nice Productions, LPO, New Regency Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kilimanjaro Theatricals/Joshua Andrews, Hunter Arnold, Caiola Productions & Co., Roy Furman, Edward Walson, deRoy Kierstead and Stage Entertainment.

West-End actor Paul Wilkins seen in Britain’s Got
Talent semi-final with The Frontline Singers

Last week saw The Frontline Singers make it to the Britain’s Got Talent live semi-finals; this inspiring group wasn’t just comprised of doctors, nurses and other care givers. You may have spotted Les Misérables star and stage favourite Paul Wilkins take to the stage with them

Known for playing Marius in Les Misérables in London’s West End and Claude Bukowski in the UK Tour of Hair, Paul and his girlfriend worked night shifts at their local supermarket throughout the pandemic having lost all his work in the entertainment industry. It was during this time, Paul’s friends James Beeny and Gina Georgio wrote Strange Old World and asked Paul to join other key workers to create a remote recording in aid of NHS charities. He was staggered when the video was published on YouTube; seeing himself alongside some of the most courageous human beings, fighting through the pandemic, he felt inspired

Although performing for a living, being part of The Frontline Singers and singing on Britain’s Got Talent, is a very different sensation. Paul comments, It was a privilege to offer support and guidance to the group during what was an astonishing experience – with every audience member cheering at the top of their lungs. For the amateur demographic of the group in particular, I will be forever proud

Paul Wilkins is well known from his time with the 30th Anniversary company of Les Misérables on London’s West-End. His journey with Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s original production accelerated when he was offered the lead role of Marius on the International Tour. Before Christmas 2016, Paul returned to London’s West End where he continued playing Marius for a further 18 months. Following his three-year run with Les Misérables, Paul workshopped and originated the role of Reggie in an original British musical called The Dreamers, written the founders of The Frontline Singers. Originally intended to play as a concert, The Dreamers took shape as a full scale and first-time production within the walls of the world famous Abbey Road Studios. Shortly after this experience, Paul toured the UK and Germany in the 50th Anniversary Tour of Hair in the role of Claude Bukowski.