Is the West End changing tact, trying to emulate its cousin in New York?

At Discount Theatre, we’ve noticed that a number of shows are introducing a Sunday show (usually a matinee) and having a weeknight off in return. This makes perfect sense when you consider that theatre is a leisure pastime and most people do not work Saturday and Sunday.

Generally speaking, the West End had run a generic schedule of Monday to Saturday evening, a Saturday matinee and a weekday matinee, equalling eight performances a week with Sunday as a rest day.
On Broadway, you can guarantee that most shows will run on Sundays and traditionally Monday was the day of rest for the actors (although nowadays anything goes and quite often you will see Tuesday or Wednesday as the night off)

Personally, I don’t understand why West End producers haven’ t thought about this sooner. Tourists who take weekend trips to London usually stay for most of Sunday; leaving only Saturday to see the show. Saturdays are notoriously busy, with productions booked months in advance, so any hope of buying a ticket on the day goes out the window. To open up on Sundays as well, gives the paying public much more choice and if it is a matinee, the actors will still have the night off.

For years the staple of Sunday matinees in the West End were either Stomp or The Lion King. Desperate people milling around Leicester Square on a Sunday were left out as they didn’t realise that most theatres were dark. Now we are seeing Thriller, Jersey Boys, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Prick Up your Ears already performing or introducing a Sunday show in the next few months, which is great news for the consumers.

Finally The West End seems to be thinking about the routines of punters. Now, if we could just get the government to revoke Sunday trading hours so we can go grocery shopping after 4pm, life would be bliss!

Check out the great shows with Sunday performances here.

Deep down inside, we all knew it would happen, yet again.

At the beginning of July I mentioned the heat wave gripping Britain. People rejoiced; finally we would have a decent summer! We could go outside and enjoy ourselves and be warm and dry!

Ha ha ha. I should have realised a long time ago. Just because we have 3 days of 30 degree weather doesn’t mean that the annual summer monsoons wouldn’t come back. And they have with a vengeance. For instance, we at Discount Theatre towers had a prime viewpoint for the Harry Potter film premiere the other week; however, with the thunder, lightning and torrential rain beating on the windows there really wasn’t much we could see. Not even Emma Watson’s underwear.

Anyways, before we drown, let’s move on to the important stuff.

More blondes will be joining Sheridan Smith on stage at the Savoy Theatre this December. It was announced that Reality TV stars Susan McFadden and Aoife Mulholland will perform in the Broadway hit Legally Blonde.

McFadden participated in the ITV show Grease Is the Word and won the part of Sandy. She starred in the production of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre with Danny Bayne in 2007/2008. McFadden’s brother is Brian McFadden of West Life fame, so the music talent runs in the family.

Mulholland was also a contestant on a reality television show, the BBC program, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? She placed a very impressive 4th with Connie Fisher eventually winning the role of the Maria in The Sound Of Music. Mulholland then went on to star as Roxie Hart the West End production of Chicago and also became the alternate Maria in the Sound Of Music, performing two shows a week.

Throw in Duncan James from boyband Blue and Legally Blonde The Musical is shaping up to have quite a nice little cast. Best to get in early if you are a fan of one or all of these talented actors. Buy your Legally Blonde tickets here.

 

This month we bring you the news and gossip including Kevin Spacey’s latest venture at the Old Vic, the return of West End favorite to the Adelphi Theatre and the next production coming to the Open Air theatre, just in time for what hopefully should be some summer weather.

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Show Notes

The News

• Thriller Live - A musical tribute to Michael Jackson.
• Too Close to the Sun - A musical dramatisation of  Ernest Hemingway’s last years.
• The Rat Pack - One of the most loved shows of recent memory will be back at the Adelphi Theatre for a limited run.
• Inherit The Wind - Kevin Spacey is back!
• Hairspray - West End Legend Michael Ball is currently dressing up as a woman on stage in Hairspray, but he is preparing to hand the role over to Brian Conley.
• Prick Up Your Ears - Matt Lucas of Little Britain fame will play Kenneth Halliwell in this new play
• Hello Dolly! - A Broadway classic is set to run in one of London’s most sought after venues; The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park.

Spotlight Show

• The Woman In Black - The thriller Woman in Black has celebrated 20 years running at the Fortune Theatre, which makes it the 2nd longest West End play, behind Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap which has lasted 57 years in the West End.

Gossip

• The Bodyguard The Musical - If all goes ahead, it’s due to appear in the West End in the Spring of 2011 and will no doubt feature one of the biggest selling singles of all time “ I Will Always Love You”.
• Minsky’s - Bob Martin of Drowsy Chaperone fame has written a new musical set in 1930’s New York about a burlesque house that the local authority is trying to shut down.
• Les Miserables Tour - The tour will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Les Mis and will include new sets and costumes, but will not include Susan Boyle singing “I Dreamed a Dream”

Offer of the Month

• This month we are featuring a very special promotion in which customers receive a free hotel 3 star hotel room when a top price ticket is bought for selected shows. Valid from the 6th July to the 12th September,  the free hotel offer  includes many top selling shows, including Hairspray, Sister Act and Wicked.  With prices as low as £45 per person, per night this is a fantastic offer you won’t want to miss.  Space is limited, so check out discount theatre today!

We’ll be back next month with more news, reviews and interviews about all of the events happening in London’s West End. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out www.discounttheatre.com, for great offers to suit everyone. Until next time…

Back when I first came to London and I was living in an antipodean house share, where someone was inhabiting the broom closet (and paying £300 a month for the privilege), I was also working in a box office selling tickets for West End shows. One day a delightful middle age couple came in and asked for my opinion of what they should go and see. We went through the list, and being completely indecisive, they decided to hold up the queue while they pondered how to spend their hard earned holiday money. They eventually asked about The Rat Pack, which I had recently seen and was quite impressed with; it was great entertainment and I had a good time listening to all of the old songs performed on stage.

I told them that it was very good and they should definitely go and see it, especially if they liked music from that era. They then asked a puzzling question: was it a film?

I was quite confused at this point, especially since the face value for top price tickets was about £40 at the time, which is a little steep for the cinema. My reply seemed to confuse them as well. I said that it was a live show, and all of the songs were performed live on stage. This was a booth for West End tickets after all, not the Odeon Cinema Leicester Square.

Their response: “Well it can’t be a live show. Sammy, Frank and Dean are all dead”

I swear to you, there was no sarcastic tone in their statement whatsoever.

I think I underestimate people sometimes. We started again, and I explained that it was a tribute show and the performers were actors, but very good actors, and it was a great night out and they should really go and see it.

They booked tickets to see Phantom Of the Opera.

Anyways, now that I have shared this little anecdote, and now that The Rat Pack is on its way back into the West End, I must say that it is a great show, performed by actors that look and sound remarkably like Frank, Dean and Sammy, and contains well known songs such as “Fly Me to The Moon”, “Mr. Bojangles”, and “My Way”. It is an extremely fun and entertaining night out. And the best part is, they do a special Christmas version in December which is fantastic, especially for work parties or to incorporate into a shopping trip to London.

Some words of advice to anyone who needs to provide a description of The Rat Pack….use the words Live Tribute Show. It will save you a lot of trouble.

The Rat Pack-Live From Las Vegas is booking from 24th September until the 21st November and the Christmas version will be running from the 24th November to 3rd January. Book your Rat Pack tickets here.

It’s been quite a week in London. The weatherman was actually correct and we are in the middle of a heat wave, last seen in the UK circa 2003. It’s quite a shock to the system; usually we are all drowning in torrential rain by July. Perhaps by uttering these words I’m tempting fate….it is only the beginning of month. Thankfully, I write this in relative comfort due to the air con at Discount Theatre Towers.

Usually such weather is the most talked about thing in the pubs, however, Michael Jackson’s untimely and tragic death at the age of 50 wins the prize. Due to start his residency at the O2 in a few weeks time, his comeback concerts were rightly one of the most hyped events for this summer. Whatever the controversy surrounding his life, I’m sure that most people agree that in his heyday he was the ultimate performer.

In the West End, we’ve seen shrines at the Lyric Theatre, where Thriller –Live the musical is playing, and at HMV in Piccadilly Circus. People also have gathered at the O2, lighting candles and laying flowers at commemorative plasma screen.

I wonder how things have changed for the performers in Thriller-Live, the audiences are probably exuding a more emotional response to the show as they try to connect with the music. Visible emotion is evident in the memorials placed at the entrance to the theatre. Demand for the show has been high, just as Jackson’s albums, (some are 30 years old) are also dominating the music charts.

Thriller- Live may be the alternative for fans that bought tickets for the O2 concerts that will never happen. It will be substitution…. but still a chance to enjoy the music.