Mick Perrin Worldwide presents…

AUSTENTATIOUS ANNOUNCES AUTUMN TOUR FOR 2022

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

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

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

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

The rotating cast is made up of a host of acclaimed comedy talent including: Cariad Lloyd, Rachel Parris, Graham Dickson, Charlotte Gittins, Daniel Nils Roberts, Lauren

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

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

Press for Austentatious:

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

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

★★★★ “A joy to behold” – The Guardian

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

“A bravura slab of improvisation” – Independent

NEW DATES ANNOUNCED

FOR UK & IRELAND TOUR OF

TONY & OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING SMASH HIT MUSICAL

JERSEY BOYS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook: @JerseyBoysLondon

Twitter & Instagram: @JerseyBoysUK

2022 – 2023 TOUR LISTINGS INFORMATION     

31 May – 4 June                                     Venue Cymru, Llandudno                                      01492 872000

                                                              www.venuecymru.co.uk                                        

7 – 11 June                                             Churchill Theatre, Bromley                                     0343 310 0020

                                                              churchilltheatre.co.uk                                             

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

                                                              www.goh.co.uk  

5 – 16 July                                              Mayflower Theatre Southampton                            02380 711811

                                                              www.mayflower.org.uk                                         

26 July – 6 August                                  Leeds Grand Theatre                                             0113 243 0808

                                                              leedsheritagetheatres.com                                    

16 – 27 August                                       Blackpool Opera House                                       

                                                              www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk                      

30 August – 10 September                      Newcastle Theatre Royal                                       0191 232 7010

                                                              www.theatreroyal.co.uk                                        

14 – 24 September                                  Nottingham Royal Concert Hall                              0115 989 5555              

                                                              trch.co.uk                                                            

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

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

18 – 29 October                                      Manchester Opera House                                      0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/manchester                                      

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

                                                                bordgaisenergytheatre.ie                                       08442485101 (UK)

15 – 19 November                                   Eastbourne Congress Theatre                                01323 412 000

                                                              www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                             

24 January – 4 February 2023                  Edinburgh Playhouse                                            08448717615*                                                     

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh-playhouse             

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

                                                              www.aberdeenperformingarts.com                        

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

                                                              grandtheatre.co.uk                                               

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

                                                              www.royalandderngate.co.uk                                

15 – 19 November                                   Eastbourne Congress Theatre                                01323 412 000

                                                              www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                             

22 – 26 November                                   Aylesbury Waterside Theatre                                 0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury-waterside-theatre    

29 November – 3 December                    Swansea Arena                                                     0333 009 2540

                                                              www.swansea-arena.co.uk                                    

10 – 21 January 2023                              Bristol Hippodrome                                               0844 871 7615*

                                                              www.atgtickets.com/bristol-hippodrome                

24 January – 4 February                          Edinburgh Playhouse                                            08448717615*                                                             

                                                             www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh-playhouse             

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

                                                              www.aberdeenperformingarts.com                        

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

                                                              www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk                                 

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

                                                              grandtheatre.co.uk                                               

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

                                                              www.royalandderngate.co.uk                                 On sale soon

4 – 8 April                                               Southend Cliffs Pavilion                                   

                                                              thecliffspavilion.co.uk

11 – 22 April                                           Wales Millennium Centre                                       

                                                              www.wmc.org.uk                                                   On sale 10 June

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

FULL COMPANY ANNOUNCED FOR SUSAN STROMAN’S PRODUCTION OF

CRAZY FOR YOU™ AT CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE

Charlie Stemp is joined by Carly Anderson

in

CRAZY FOR YOU™

Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

Book by Ken Ludwig

Co-conception by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent

Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowan

Direction and Choreography by Susan Stroman

11 July – 4 September, Festival Theatre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GERSHWIN™ is a registered trademark of Gershwin Enterprises.

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

MULTI AWARD-WINNING AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF

CABARET

AT THE KIT KAT CLUB

TO WELCOME RICHARD KATZ AS

‘HERR SCHULTZ’ FROM 27 JUNE 2022

GENERAL BOOKING NOW EXTENDED

UNTIL 19 NOVEMBER 2022

WITH GROUP BOOKINGS EXTENDED UNTIL 15 APRIL 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

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

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

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

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

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

Come What May Festival at Park Theatre – until 27 May 2022

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Hugo Timbrell’s comic cowboy romp is a fun exploration of friendship and finding your thing.

Conor (Tom Taplin) has finally found something that makes him feel special – dancing to Country and Western music. When he finally tells his best friend Zainab (Sara Faraj) she is incredulous, and when he reveals his dream to win the talent show at Croydon People’s Day and become a dancer in the USA, Zainab thinks he’s lost the plot. She eventually agrees to dance with him, but a spanner is thrown in the works when Conor discovers that fellow lifeguard Michael (David Angland) is a C&M fan as well, writing his own songs.

The three characters’ social awkwardness is sweet and their issues, although exaggerated for comedic effect, are all recognisable. It’s obvious that friendships are few and far between for the trio, so the envy and animosity between Zainab and Michael as they compete for Conor’s attention is heart wrenching behind the bitter words. Being teenagers, the decisions made and lack of awareness of consequences causes big problems for the group as the quest for an escape from Croydon becomes pivotal for the boys.

Tom Taplin is warm and funny as Conor – the childlike delight on his face as he dances contrasting with his eyerolling exasperation as he mediates between his bickering friends. David Angland is hilarious as Michael, nailing the fake swagger of the lad who is afraid to show his true self and masking with swings between anger and humour. Zainab is Conor’s rock, and Sara Faraj brings a sweet vulnerability alongside fierce energy and fire to the stage as Zainab tries to make Conor understand her feelings.

Conor and Zainab’s moves to Shania Twain, Dolly Parton and Michael’s Johnny Cash-inspired Song of the Lifeguard are joyful, and director Nikhil Vyas ensures the quieter moments hit as hard as the more absurd sequences. As the three friends try to entangle their mess, questioning loyalties and ripping up the dance floor, the laughs come thick and fast. My Life as a Cowboy is a show with exciting potential

EMMY WINNER, GRAMMY NOMINEE

& BROADWAY STAR

FELICIA BOSWELL

JOINS THE CAST OF

With ADAM J BERNARD, TARINN CALLENDER, MATT HENRY

and TOSH WANOGHO-MAUD as the iconic group

Hit songs include Stand By Me, Saturday Night at the Movies,

Under The Boardwalk, Save The Last Dance For Me

and Kissin in the Back Row of the Movies

Booking through to February 2023 at Garrick Theatre, London

www.thedriftersgirl.com

Michael Harrison and David Ian are thrilled to announce today that the acclaimed Broadway star FELICIA BOSWELL will join London’s new smash hit musical, The Drifters Girl.

Felicia will play Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, who, alongside her husband, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records’ hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.

Felicia is a multi award-winning star, including an Emmy Award winner and Grammy Award nominee for Jesus Christ Superstar Live. Her Broadway credits include Motown The Musical, Shuffle Along and Memphis, the latter of which saw her win her second Helen Hayes Award. Full biography at www.feliciaboswell.com

The Drifters Girl has been thrilling audiences since beginning in Newcastle in October 2021. The show transferred to London in November 2021, and has continued to play to packed houses and nightly standing ovations. It is booking through until 12 February 2023.

From the highs of hit records and sell out tours to the lows of legal battles and personal tragedy, The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African American, female music manager and how she refused to ever give up on the group she loved. Thirty years, and hundreds of hit songs later, there is no doubt that Faye Treadwell was and always will be, The Drifters Girl.

Felicia Boswell plays Faye Treadwell, with Adam J Bernard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud as the iconic group. Beverley Knight continues in the role of Faye through to Saturday 2 July, with Felicia beginning performances on Tuesday 5 July.

Adam J Bernard exploded into the West End limelight when he originated the role of Jimmy ‘Thunder’ Early in Dreamgirls, for which he was awarded an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Tarinn Callender originated the roles of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the West End production of the international musical phenomenon Hamilton. His other credits include the Olivier Award winning production of Come From Away.

Award-winning actor, singer, songwriter and artist Matt Henry won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Lola in Kinky Boots, for which he also received a Grammy Award nomination for the London cast recording.

As a finalist on the BBC’s The Voice, Matt’s performance of Ray LaMontagne’s ‘Trouble’ racked up over four million hits on YouTube and the original ‘Trouble’ re-entered the UK charts that week, testament to Matt’s performance.

Tosh Wanogho-Maud played Jimmy in the West End musical Dreamgirls. His other West End credits include ShowBoat, TheBookof Mormon and playing the role of Simba in The Lion King.

The cast is completed by Marcus Ayton, Ashford Campbell, Ethan Davis, Vanessa Ela Young, Michael James Stewart, Alanna Leslie, Curtis Scott, and the young actors are Aurora Baptiste, Amari Brown, Savanna Musoni, Savannah Skinner-Henry and Shanyia Tsoto.

The Drifters Girl boasts an incredible soundtrack of some of the most famous songs in history, including Save The Last Dance For Me, Under The Boardwalk, Kissin In The Back Row Of The Movies, Stand By Me, Come On Over To My Place, Saturday Night At The Movies and many more.

The Drifters Girl, with abook by Ed Curtis, based on an idea by Tina Treadwell, and which is co-created by Beverley Knight, Adam J Bernard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud is directed by Jonathan Church, with set design by Anthony Ward, choreography by Karen Bruce, costume design by Fay Fullerton, orchestrations and musical supervision by Chris Egan lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and video design by Andrzej Goulding. Associate Director is Tyrone Huntley and Associate Choreographer is Myles Brown with casting by Stuart Burt and children’s casting by Jo Hawes.

The Drifters Girl is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian.

OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING BEST NEW MUSICAL

D E A R   E V A N   H A N S E N

TO PLAY FINAL LONDON PERFORMANCE

22 OCTOBER 2022

WWW.DEAREVANHANSEN.COM

Producer Stacey Mindich today (27 May 2022) announces that the critically acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical Dear Evan Hansen will celebrate its final London performance at the Noël Coward Theatre on 22 October 2022, three years after its West End premiere on 29 October 2019 and a year after its return to the West End after the covid shutdown (26 October 2021). 

The cast, who will continue to the end of the run, comprises Sam Tutty in the lead role of Evan Hansen, which won him the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Lucy Anderson (Zoe Murphy, in her Olivier-nominated performance), Doug Colling (Connor Murphy), Iona Fraser (Alana Beck), Marcus Harman (who plays Evan Hansen at certain performances), Jack Loxton (Jared Kleinman, in his Olivier-nominated performance), Rebecca McKinnis (Heidi Hansen), Lauren Ward (Cynthia Murphy, in her Olivier-nominated performance) and Rupert Young (Larry Murphy, in his Olivier-nominated performance). Completing the Company are Tricia Adele-Turner, Haydn Cox, Kristen Gaetz, Ellis Kirk, Hannah Lindsey, Samantha Mbolekwa, Mark Peachey, Hannah Qureshi, James Winter and Mitchell Zhangazha.

Through its hundreds of performances in the West End, the show leaves a lasting legacy:

The West End production of Dear Evan Hansen was honoured with three Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Original Score or New Orchestrations (Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Orchestration by Alex Lacamoire), and Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Sam Tutty).  In addition to the Olivier, Sam Tutty was the recipient the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer, the Whastonstage Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and the Stage Debut awards for Best Performer in a Musical and Best West End Debut. Dear Evan Hansen also received four Mousetrap Awards for Best New Musical, Watch This Face (Sam Tutty), Soundtrack of My Soul, and Top Tech Design. Jack Loxton won the Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical and Nicole Raquel Dennis, who originated the role of Alana in London, won the British Black Theatre Award for Best Supporting Female Actor in a Musical.

Since arriving in London, Dear Evan Hansen has partnered with UK-based mental health not-for-profit organisations The Mix, YoungMinds and Shout to help raise funds and amplify their lifesaving resources.Throughout the entirety of the West End engagement, Dear Evan Hansen has sold merchandise benefitting these organisations, including exclusive items featuring artwork from UK audience members.  The production has also collaborated with United for Global Mental Health’s Speak Your Mind campaign on numerous initiatives including the launch of “The Museum of Lost and Found Potential,” a 2019 pop-up installation in Covent Garden commemorating World Mental Health Day.  Following the covid shutdown, Dear Evan Hansen celebrated its return to the stage with a gifted performance honouring staff, volunteers, campaigners, and mental health professionals from across the UK.  In February 2020, the show welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to a special performance benefitting The Royal Foundation. 

The Duke and Duchess joined a long list of distinguished guests who have experienced the award-winning musical at the Noël Coward Theatre and have visited the bespoke backstage “Blue Room” created by the production’s acclaimed scenic designer, David Korins.  

The show’s Original Broadway Cast Recording debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 – and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and receive Gold Certification. In 2021 the tracks Waving Through a Window and You Will Be Found were included in the top 50 of the BBC Radio 2 Greatest Songs from a Musical, voted for by the public.  Dear Evan Hansen appeared on BBC News at Ten, The One Show, BBC Musicals: The Greatest Show and Big Night of Musicals, ITV’s All Star Musicals and This Morning as well as Magic at the Musicals.

The West End production of Dear Evan Hansenwas the fourth production to open worldwide, following the critically acclaimed and Award-winning productions on Broadway and Toronto, Canada and the record-breaking North American tour.

Dear Evan Hansenfeatures a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif.

Dear Evan Hansen features choreography by Danny Mefford, scenic design by David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and hair design by David Brian Brown.  Music supervision, orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire.  Ben Cohn is the Associate Music Supervisor.  UK Casting is by Jill Green Casting,Vocal arrangements and additional arrangements are by Justin Paul. Judith Schoenfeld is the Production Supervisor. UK General Management is by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Global General Management is by 101 Productions, Ltd. with Adam Speers as UK Executive Producer.

Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway to rave reviews on 4 December 2016, where it went on to win six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical among many other accolades and has broken all box office records at its Broadway home, the Music Box Theatre. The show launched its First North American Tour in Denver, Colorado in October 2018 and prior to the shutdown had performed in more than 40 cities across North America playing for more than 1.5 million audience members. The show’s now-iconic blue polo and arm cast are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 – and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.  The Broadway production and the North American Tour resumed performances in December 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: @dearevanhansen

Twitter: @dearevanhansen

Facebook: /DearEvanHansen

#YouWillBeFound

Facebook: @DEHWestEnd

Twitter: @DEHWestEnd

Instagram: @DEHWestEnd

WEBSITE

www.dearevanhansen.com

www.dearevanhansen.com/london/

LISTINGS

Theatre                              Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU

Box Office                          0844 482 5151

Dates:                                until 22 October 2022

Leeds Playhouse- until 4^th June 2022

Reviewed by Katie Goldsbrough

4****

The White Card takes place over an hour and a half in only two scenes. It begins with a privileged white couple trying to convince a black artist to let them buy her artwork over dinner. They are joined by their art dealer Eric played by Nick Blakeley and their activist son Alex played by CJ Coleman. Charles (Matthew Pidgeon) and Virginia (Kate Copeland) are art collectors who want to display art which portrays the struggles of the black community.

Charlotte (Estella Daniels) is a black artist who photographs reconstructions of violence against black people. The dinner soon turns in to a heated debate about race, white privilege and discrimination, with Charles believing he is helping to counteract racism by displaying the work of black artists. Virginia soon becomes defensive and wishes everyone would just get along, being unable to understand the struggles black people face on a daily basis. The only person who seemingly understands is their son Alex who is an activist supporting the BLM movement but even he struggles to understand some of what Charlotte is feeling. 

The second scene takes place a year later as Charles visits Charlotte at her studio, we see him trying to defend himself and struggling to understand her point of view. This is an important play, written by Claudia Rankine shortly before the murder of George Floyd. Directed by Natalie Ibu, we’re shown how people are privileged simply by being born white, this is a conversation which needs to be had to build understanding and make people think. The play outlines how people can’t understand what it’s like to have someone avoid you simply due to the colour of your skin. The play is extremely thought provoking and gives you the opportunity to look at yourself and make sure you are not part of the problem.