AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP PRODUCTIONS

PAULA WAGNER

NICE PRODUCTIONS AND LPO

PRESENT THE SMASH HIT

AT THE PICCADILLY THEATRE

FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED ENGAGEMENT OF 46 WEEKS

PREVIEWS BEGIN ON VALENTINE’S DAY 2020

MUSIC AND LYRICS

BY

BRYAN ADAMS AND JIM VALLANCE

BOOK BY GARRY MARSHALL AND J.F. LAWTON

DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY JERRY MITCHELL

ALL TICKETS FOR THE ENTIRE RUN

ON SALE 13 SEPTEMBER 2019

PrettyWomanTheMusical.com

Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Paula Wagner, Nice Productions and LPO announced today that the smash hit PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL will preview from Valentine’s Day 2020 at the Piccadilly Theatre where it will play for a strictly limited engagement of 46 weeks. Tickets on sale 13 September 2019. PrettyWomanTheMusical.com Casting to be announced soon.

Featuring 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.

Adam Speers, Ambassador Theatre Group Productions said today “The West End loves a big night out and none come bigger than this new production re-telling the iconic and much loved movie. The UK has rocked to the legendary work of Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance for decades and we cannot wait to welcome audiences to the show”.

Paula Wagner said “It is really wonderful that UK audiences will get to experience Pretty Woman: The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre next year. Bryan and Jim’s original score for the show brings an electric new dimension to Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton’s beloved film. We were so fortunate to have Garry working with J.F. on the book of the show. They really captured the essence of Pretty Woman, and along with Jerry’s skillful direction and choreography, this classic love story really has become a great night out at the theatre. 2020 also marks 30 years since the release of the film, and I can’t think of a better place than the Piccadilly Theatre to celebrate!”.

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 becoming the third highest-grossing film worldwide that year. The film still holds the highest number of tickets in the US for a romantic comedy.

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, costume design 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. is theUS General Manager.

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 until August this year. The German production will open in Hamburg at the Stage Theater an der Elbe on 29 September and the US tour will begin in September 2020. During its Broadway run, the show broke the box office record a total of four times and won three Audience Choice Awards. Critics and audiences alike have hailed the show ‘A Must See Show’ (Entertainment Tonight), ‘If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical’ (BuzzFeed News) and ‘A musical hit. A joyous production’ (Daily Telegraph).

LISTINGS

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL

Piccadilly Theatre, Denman Street, London W1

PrettyWomanTheMusical.com

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0844 871 7615

Priority access for the next 4 days via Encoretickets.co.uk now open

Performances from 14 February 2020

Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm

Matinees – Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm

The Turbine Theatre – until 13 October 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

The Turbine Theatre opens with an assured revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song. This is the revised 2017 version, packing the original trilogy of plays into just over 2 ½ hours.

Matthew Needham shines as Arnold Beckoff, a drag queen first seen preparing to perform as Virginia Ham. The play begins with International Stud, a series of monologues to the audience with little or no physical interaction between the cast, introducing Arnold in all his glorious bitchiness as he categorises and criticises men but still hopes to find a lasting love, and Ed (Dino Fetscher) a bisexual teacher who picks up Arnold. The men’s relationship is hampered by Ed’s secrecy, and Arnold eventually discovers that Ed is dating a woman. Fugue in a Nursery sees Ed married to Laurel (Daisy Boulton) and Arnold in a new relationship with younger man Alan (Rish Shah) as the two couples spend time together at Ed’s house. This is staged imaginatively and sparingly on a large bed, condensing a weekend into a series of short, snappy scenes. After the interval, Widows and Children First! has a more linear sitcom feel to it, with Arnold’s mother’s (Bernice Stegers) visit a source of stress for Arnold and amusement for Ed and teenager David (Jay Lycurgo).

Director Drew McOnie keeps things tight without losing the freewheeling fell of the first two plays, and James Whiteside’s efficient design means that scene changes don’t detract from the performance or slow down the plot. Needham is stunning as Arnold, rising to the challenge of Fierstein’s meaty role and nailing both the caustic wit and vulnerability. His monologues were the highlight of the show for me. Fetscher is impressive as Ed, making most of the audience want to slap him for being so selfish and indecisive. Jay Lycurgo’s performance as 15-year-old David is full of mischievous warmth, making his scenes where he proves himself the most mature person in the room more poignant. The darker moments are played beautifully, never overshadowing the life-affirming joy that leaps from the stage as Arnold and Ed both search for a family and acceptance.

An emotional and uplifting production that opens this new theatre in spectacular style.

The Other Palace – until 23 November 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

27 years after its Broadway debut, Falsettos finally arrives in London. William Finn and James Lapine’s energetic musical tells the story of an unconventional Jewish family in 1980s New York. The controversy around a production about Jews having no Jewish creatives involved hasn’t died down, but Marvin (Daniel Boys) has left his wife Trina (Laura Pitt-Pullford) for his best friend Whizzer (Oliver Savile) and suggests that Trina visit his psychiatrist Mendel (Joel Montague). Mendel falls in love with Trina while Marvin and Trina’s 12-year-old son Jason watches and tries to make sense of the situation. The first act is crammed with songs that bounce along with joyfully bitchy lyrics that are a lot of fun, but a few could be cut without damaging the plot. Laura Pitt- Pullford gleefully steals the show with her big number I’m Breaking Down, hamming it up with a wine bottle and various kitchen implements. It’s a blast – the cast showcasing their talent and creating many laughs.

The second act is a little more coherent and darker, with the parents getting worked up planning Jason’s bar mitzvah. Marvin’s lesbian neighbours are introduced – chef Cordelia (Natasha J Barnes) and doctor Charlotte (Gemma Knight-Jones). They don’t really have much to do apart from add to the glorious harmonies, but Charlotte’s anxiety about the mysterious disease striking down homosexual men signals the descent into tragedy for the gay couple. The inevitable ending is staged beautifully, with the acceptance that the group are a real family and surrounded by love leaving a lump in your throat.

The cast are all on top form, nailing the tricky lyrics and melodies, George Kennedy played Jason on the night I saw the show, and he was cute and confident, holding his own amongst the talented adults. Director/choreographer Tara Overfield-Wilkinson’s routines and pacing are slick and sassy. PJ McEvoy’s set design – a chess board floor and picture frames that initially show projected images of ideal family portraits and change to various primary colours as the décor of each location is projected on them – is bold but slightly cartoony.

This show will not be to everybody’s taste, but I loved it – a fast and furious score and an animated cast in outstanding voice, Grab a ticket while you can.

Jack Studio Theatre – until 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Arrows & Traps’ track record adapting classics is second to none, and with this new production Ross McGregor has created something startlingly modern and original that still embraces its Victorian origins. The entitled cruelty and hypocrisy of Victorian society echoes down the years by transplanting Henry Jekyll into the world of modern US politics, where optics and soundbites are everything and political heroes harbour dark secrets. Most of the characters in the original novel apart from the titular duo aren’t that interesting, serving as narrators or reacting to the horror, but McGregor has written multi-layered and fascinating roles that tell this familiar story with both immediacy and fatalism.

Reporter Gabrielle Utterson’s investigations into an attack on a child sets her on the trail of the mysterious Edward Hyde. Helped by sexworker Imogen Poole, who witnessed the aftermath of Hyde’s brutality, she follows the trail to Indiana mayor Henry Jekyll. Following Trump’s impeachment, Jekyll is running for president and his liberal ideas convince Utterson to work on his campaign. But Hyde still lurks in the background. There are jumps between the present and four years earlier to the time when Jekyll first met Hyde and the relationship they developed. Hyde is a Republican school teacher, openly gay, but Jekyll’s political ambitions keep him closeted. This Hyde is a completely different animal to the Hyde in the present, and it’s a slow burn following a trail of clues that lead to the final revelation of the mechanics of Jekyll’s scientific experiment. Jekyll’s reasons are much less detached and scientific than the original, but come from a place of grief, rage and helplessness that are completely understandable and more human.

In this political play, school shootings, gun control, Black Lives Matter and many more issues that cause division and anger are tackled by Jekyll in his public and private speeches, and he is already adept at hiding his true self from public view before the darkness of Hyde looms large. Utterson’s devastating backstory involving her senator father’s depraved private life makes her fascination with and urge to help Jekyll poignant and pathetic.

Will Pinchin is charismatic and charming as Jekyll, making his gradual loss of control all the more shocking as Pinchin deforms before your eyes, physically and vocally in a masterful performance. Christopher Tester is effortlessly evil as Hyde, with a silky voice and a malevolent stillness that is hypnotic and horrifying. Lucy Ioannou gives an astonishing performance – as Utterson she is nearly vibrating with tormented energy, world weary and damaged, but wearing her pain like armour. Gabrielle Nellis-Pain impresses as Imogen Poole, providing a warm, empathetic anchor for Utterson, and the whole play, and Charlie Ryall nails the tragi-comic social awkwardness of razor-sharp scientist Hayley Lanyon. Most of the cast have worked with director Ross McGregor many times, so the meticulous attention to detail, where every move and glance is meaningful and almost poetic appears effortless. The sound and lighting (by Alistair Lax and Anna Reddyhoff) are as beautiful and instinctive as you’d expect from Arrows & Traps, and the use of projections and sheer panels in Charlotte Cooke’s set design is inspired, creating atmospheric transformations that nod to the spiritualist tricks of the Victorian era. The total theatrical package – another stunner from Arrows & Traps.

Hull New Theatre, Hull – until 14 September 2019

Reviewed by Dawn Bennett

5*****

Having seen many of John Godber’s plays over the years, and the film of the same name, I had a rough idea what to expect, but this far exceeded my expectations.

Arthur Hoyle (Jamie Smelt), ex pro player, bets the Cobblers Arms manager Reg (Adrian Hood) that he can take the worse team that Reg picks and turn them into winners in 5 weeks. The Wheatsheaf Arms are that team, they struggle to get more than 4 players and their idea of a “heavy” training session usually consist of sinking a few pints after passing the ball a bit!

From a run of unbroken defeats to winners in five weeks seems a bit of a tall order.

The team Tony (Frazer Hammill), Steve (Lamin Touray), Frank (James Lewis) and Phil (Luke Adamson) are a motley crew to say the least. From someone who had “trials” when he was at college to a would-be male stripper, they need someone to whip them into shape. This comes in the shape of Hazel (Martha Godber) who has the unenviable task of improving the team’s fitness, and as the daughter of local rugby legend she is well aware of what is needed and what an uphill struggle it will be!

The play is a mixture of emotions and we ended up cheering the underdogs on. John Godber’s characters are always so well written and the brilliant acting by the cast made the characters very believable. The match at the end was so well done there was cheering when the tries were made, we really felt like we were watching a match!

A special mention must go to the British Sign Language Interpreter, Andrew Higgins, who signed everything (including the songs) fabulously!

If you love rugby, love John Godber plays or just want a brilliant night out…go!!

Grand Opera House York – 5 September 2019

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

Beyond the Barricade have been touring all over the world for the last 20 years. On Thursday evening they visited York as part of their anniversary tour.

Andy Reiss and David Fawcett were first approached in 1996 by a charity to arrange and perform a musical theatre concert, they had originally met whilst performing in Les Miserables. This resulted in a series of concerts, featuring past performers from Les Mis, which then evolved into Beyond the Barricade.

This brand-new show features the singing talents of Katie Leeming and Poppy Tierney, accompanying Reiss and Fawcett, as well as three musicians, Russ Kennedy, Dave Williams and Daniel Goodger.

The show starts with the Queen song, The Show Must Go On, a homage to their 20 years of touring, and we were treated to photos of the company throughout the years. I’m a bit of a Queen fan so that was a major thumbs up from me. What followed was a journey through musical theatre, from old favourites like Miss Saigon, West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Starlight Express, Chess and of course for their finale Les Mis. They also threw in a couple of numbers from the show of the moment, Hamilton, currently playing in the West End, as well as Anastasia, which is on Broadway but should be coming to our shores next year. I must admit I enjoyed the little medley from children’s musicals that they performed, titled Silly Medley, not very original. It consisted of snippets from Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, amongst others, transporting me back to childhood.

Fawcett had another string to his bow, he tells a great joke or two. He showed great interaction with the audience and if this singing malarkey doesn’t work out, he could always try his hand at becoming a stand-up comic. It is always great to see performers engaging with their audience, so much more relatable. Reiss was the vocal standout for me, even though all were excellent, I loved the tone in his voice and the expressions on his face. As well as singing, he also played keyboards and lead the musicians. As each singer performed, either as a solo, a pair, or as a group, you could see why all have had such successful careers and have appeared in so many productions. The harmonisation between all four is superb and they are all so extremely talented. The finale of Les Mis and One Day More was quite breath-taking, especially considering that it is usually performed with a full orchestra and cast.

It is amazing that the whole show was all live, singing and instruments, no tapes or backing tracks, a true testament to the talents of everyone who was up on that stage performing.

This is the show to go and see to experience musical theatre. A great opportunity to enjoy a snippet of the West End bought to York and other towns all across the UK.

Salisbury Playhouse – until 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Nicky Wyatt

5*****

A fun, frolicking, farce has arrived in Salisbury.

Alan Ayckbourns hilarious play first graced the stage in 1965, fast track almost 50 years and the clever wit and suggestion still has audiences laughing out loud. With a cast of four there is never a dull moment as the audience waits to see when the penny will drop and all will be revealed.

Opening with a bedroom scene and a phone ringing, we meet our young lovers. Under a messy duvet is Greg (Hubert Burton) a young smitten insurance man that is in love with the way more experienced Ginny (Louise Calf). While Ginny is getting ready for a day out , Greg is woken from his slumber by the phone ringing, he answers the phone goes dead. Confused Greg gets himself out of bed and chats to Ginny. The London flat is full of flowers that are arriving daily, he questions her as to where they come from and she creates stories about the local flower seller selling them off cheap, Greg isn’t convinced. Ginny a promiscuous young lady who seems to enjoy all the sixties has to offer is thinking on her feet as the stories trip off her tongue. Young Greg feels threatened by Ginny’s experience and previous relationships especially the one with the older man. She is getting ready for a day visiting to her parents, he wants to go with her and she strongly resists and heads off to the train, unbeknown to her Greg follows.

A swift and seamless scene change take us from a cosy London flat to a country garden where we meet Ginnys ‘parents’ Sheila (Caroline Harker) and husband Philip (Tim McMullan). The chemistry and banter between these two is superb. The timing of their lines mixed with light innuendo and confusion is hilarious. Enjoying a quiet breakfast while trying to second guess what the other is up to, Philip sets off to attack the veg patch. Shortly after Greg arrives looking for Ginny a totally bemused Sheila has no clue who he is looking for but in true British style invites him in, offers a drink and the confusion unfolds leaving the audience holding their sides with laughter. He thinks he is chatting to future in laws, the intricacies of this play are so good. The arrival of Ginny to the garden just adds to it, totally shocked to see Greg at her ‘parents’, when actually it’s the home of her ’older’ man. After dinner conversation will never be the same for these 4 again as the lovely English garden is the setting for the big reveal, a light bulb moment descends in the most funny and clever way.

The sets of this play are perfect along with the fashions just perfect for the era.

Highly recommend this play for a real laugh out loud night out!

Duke of York’s Theatre – until 2 November 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

After The Father and The Mother, Florian Zeller’s trilogy, translated by Christopher Hampton, ends with a disturbing glimpse at the devastation that mental illness can inflict on a family.

After the breakup of his parents’ marriage, Nicolas spirals into depression and self-harm, unnoticed by his self-absorbed parents until his school informs them that he has not attended for months. Nicolas asks to leave his mother’s home and to move in with his father, his new partner and baby son. Enrolled in a new school, and in a new environment, Nicolas’s family think that he will recover and get back to “normal” without any outside help.

The entire play is basically a checklist of what NOT to say and do to help recovery. The generational inability to understand each other is well written, with John Light full of bluster and frustration as dad Pierre, unable to understand why his son is ill and reverting to telling Nicolas to pull himself together and get on with it in as many ways as possible, and repeatedly comparing his difficult childhood to Nicolas’s and crowing about how he just struggled through. Mum Anne (Amanda Abbington) flits in and out of the play, seemingly lost without her husband and so caught up in her own pain that she didn’t see Nicolas’s. Abbington is luminous in an underwritten role. Amaka Okafor impresses as Pierre’s new partner, Sofia, obviously worried for her husband and his son, but prioritising the safety of her own son when Nicolas’s behaviour becomes more unpredictable. Laurie Kynaston is remarkable as Nicolas, flipping from bouncing joy to near catatonic despair in an instant. He handles his lines brilliantly, utterly convincing as a disturbed young man who struggles to understand his own feelings, let alone describe them to his parents on demand.

The inability of the parents to help Nicolas, and their reluctance to seek professional advice is sketched sympathetically by Zeller. Even though they are doing the wrong thing, they have the best intentions, and the misplaced shame and stigma of mental illness, and baggage from Pierre’s own childhood are explicit in the writing. The tragedy the audience expects does not disappoint, and the final scene leaves you with a sense that there’s more heartbreak to come for the family – but this deeply emotional subject somehow seems clinical in this play. Excellent writing, a wonderful cast, crisp direction from Michael Longhurst, and inspired set design from Lizzie Clachan, but as a whole, the play left me cold.

The Bunker, London SE1 – until 21 September 2019

Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert

4****

Belfast, 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement. Two blokes banter, taking us into the city and into their lives. We get of picture of blighted childhoods that haven’t led anywhere. Sas and Monty are stuck in a world of boozing and joblessness, growing older but unable to grow up. Their only escape is ‘The Game’, where they pretend to be anything they want. Then Sas doesn’t want to play any more, and they have to face the truth about a horrible event in their shared past.

It’s very intense – at just one hour long, it really puts you through the wringer – but also has very funny moments. Barry Calvert and Brendan Quinn play the two friends, and they are completely convincing as Belfast boys with boxed-in lives. The rich language and Belfast dialect make the play feel vivid even though the set is sparse (with soundscape by Michael Mormecha). The play is all from their point of view, so you don’t get the political-economic explanation of what’s gone wrong for Belfast’s working classes. But you do see lives being damaged through the generations, so that children and teenagers only see adults with damaged lives.

Playwright Alice Malseed wants to draw attention to the way some groups in Belfast have been let down and left behind by failed government and harsh economics. The statistics (not given in the play) are horrendous: one third of people in Northern Ireland live on or below the bread line, and there have been more suicides since the Good Friday Agreement than deaths during the Troubles. In a way the pivotal event in the play detracts from this: it pins Sas and Monty’s failure to grow up to something very specific. But it is a powerful piece, and (beep-beep-beep Brexit alert) a timely reminder that there are real people in Northern Ireland, who are being overlooked despite all the backstop blather.

INITIAL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR GYPSY 

The Royal Exchange Theatre is thrilled to make the first casting announcement for their new production of GYPSY directed by Jo Davies and running in the theatre this Christmas. Musical theatre leading lady Ria Jones will make her Royal Exchange debut as the formidable Momma Rose and is joined on stage by Melissa James as Louise and Melissa Lowe in the role of June.

Building on the success of redefining Broadway musicals for the Exchange’s unique in-the-round theatre GYPSY will be the latest iconic musical production to take centre stage. Director Jo Davies returns to the Exchange following her lavish production of TWELFTH NIGHT to explore the wonderful world of show-business through the tour-de-force that is Momma Rose. Choosing the bright lights of the stage over putting her girls through school, Momma Rose is resolute in her desire to see her daughters realise her dreams of stardom and adoration. But how are these young women shaped by her actions, what is passed down from generation to generation, and what new opportunities are afforded to one but denied to another?

Ria Jones’ career spans over three decades as a leading lady in Musical Theatre, both in the West End and internationally. Roles as diverse as Eva Peron in EVITA, Norma Desmond in SUNSET BOULEVARD, to the iconic Mrs Overall in ACORN ANTIQUES, to name but a few. As well as T.V, Radio, and numerous recordings, Ria performs regularly as a concert soloist, frequently with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and major orchestras worldwide.

Melissa James also makes her Royal Exchange debut. Her theatre credits include: WISE CHILDREN (The Old Vic/UK Tour), EUGENIUS! (West End), THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN (Shakespeare’s Globe), ONE LOVE: THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL (Birmingham Rep), ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (Sheffield Crucible), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Theatre Royal Bath), THE BODYGUARD, CATS (UK tour), GUYS AND DOLLS (Chichester Festival Theatre) and WEST SIDE STORY (RSC).

Melissa Lowe trained at ArtsEd. Her theatre credits include THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Bolton Octagon), THE CAT IN THE HAT (Leicester Curve, UK Tour & Rose Theatre, Kingston), ME & MY GIRL (Chichester Festival Theatre) and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Teatru Astra). This is also Melissa’s debut at the Royal Exchange.

An extraordinary musical, GYPSY can be seen in the theatre from 30 November 2019 – 25 January 2020. Further casting will be announced later this autumn.