Flashdance The Musical opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre tonight! We saw a preview earlier this week and had a great time. Here’s some production photos to peruse ahead of tonight’s press night.
It’s been quite a big year for Les Miserables; a 25 year continuous West End run is an outstanding achievement, but then again, Les Mis is an outstanding show.
She hasn't aged in 25 years!
This year, in addition to the original production at the Queen’s Theatre, we’ve seen the anniversary production at the Barbican and the 25th Anniversary Concert at the 02, which featured many big names past and present. And last year, Les Mis was given a big boost when Subo sang ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ on Britain’s Got Talent.
The latest news, from the Les Mis camp is that Gareth Gates, is going to star as Marius in the production at the Queen’s. Gates is famous for being in the first series of Pop Idol, losing out to Will Young in the final.
Gates will join other reality contestants Lucie Jones (The X-Factor) and Samantha Barks (BBC’s I’d Do Anything) in Les Miserables. Currently, you can buy discounted tickets for the show, with stalls and dress circle tickets reduced from £59 to £40.99.
Gareth Gates will star as Marius from the 18th October to the 20th November 2010 and from the 31st January to the 18th June 2011.
Buy Les Miserables tickets here.
It’s not just the performance schedule that is changing at Legally Blonde (Sunday performances have been ditched) but cast changes will be coming into effect when the new booking period starts on the 25th October.
Rumours were circulating that Sheridan Smith who plays lead character Elle would depart the show, but it has been confirmed that she will stay until at least early next year.
The biggest name to sign up to the show is new mum Denise Van Outen who will play the role of Paulette. It’s been awhile since we last saw Denise in the West End, but I guess she has been a little busy with being a judge on BBC talent shows, getting married and having a baby. Her husband Lee Mead is also starring in the West End as Fiyero in Wicked, so it’s set to be a busy time in the Van Outen/Mead household. I wonder who will be looking after baby Betsey?
Denise Van Outen (with husband Lee Mead) will join the cast of Legally Blonde from the 25th October
In addition to Van Outen, a number of the supporting current and upcoming cast members are played by reality tv alumni. Susan McFadden won the role of Sandy in Grease on the ITV production of Grease Is The Word, and she now plays Serena in Legally Blonde. Aoifie Mullholland of How Do you Solve a Problem like Maria? followed up stints in The Sound Of Music and Chicago by snagging the part of Brooke in Legally Blonde; now she is reunited with fellow …Maria contestant Siobhan Dillon who will play Vivienne from the 25th October
And rounding out the list of notable names is Carly Stenson, not a reality contestant, but a very popular Hollyoaks actress. She played Steph on the soap for 10 years, but makes her West End debut as Margot in Legally Blonde. She also appears from the 25th October.
Legally Blonde has some great discounts at the moment, Stalls and Dress Circle seats are reduced to £45.99 and Upper Circle to £23.99, in some cases saving you over 30% off the normal price. Don’t wait to book one of the most light hearted and fun shows in the West End!
Buy Legally Blonde Tickets here.
Jeff Goldblum will soon no longer be a ‘prisoner’ at the Vaudeville Theatre; his run in The Prisoner of Second Avenue will come to an end on the 25th September. After the black comedy departs, another type moves in. Pam Ann – Flying High is the hilarious creation of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid. Last seen at the London Palladium, the so called ‘air hostess from hell’ is a crazy character that tells of boisterous shenanigans of the mile high club. Pam Ann is only a short run, so best to plan your itinerary now if you want to see her.
Don't miss Pam Ann - Flying High!
After Pam Ann flies off, the Vaudeville gets serious for the winter with the return of a classic, Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband. The play is full of 19th century schemes and blackmail; not unlike today’s politicians, the lead character Sir Robert Chiltern is a high ranking government official who finds his reputation and relationship with his wife threatened as a result of being in the public eye. Can he rise above the accusations, or will he admit to cheating on his wife with a Cheeky Girl and using public funds to pay for a duck pond. You will have to buy a ticket for one of the great British plays to find out.
The cast should be highlight as well, which includes Alexander Hanson ( The Sound Of Music, A Little Night Music) who will play Chiltern, and his real life wife Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films) who will play the devious Mrs Cheveley.
The next few months for the Vaudeville look great, still time to see Goldblum in The Prisoner Of Second Avenue where there are great tickets available for only £13.50. Then Pam Ann lands for a brief stop over before British classic An Ideal Husband moves in for the winter months.
Alexander Hanson will star In Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband
Legally Blonde is ditching its Sunday performances as of the 14th September and going back to the standard Monday to Saturday schedule. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert’s experiment with Sunday performances will also be coming to a close in September. The producers of that show wanted to test the market without committing to the Sunday schedule, so they decided to do a 4 month Sunday run and revert back to Monday to Saturday in the Autumn.
Legally Blonde will have Sunday performances until the 12th September
I’ve said before in this blog that Sunday performances are a really good thing for the theatre industry. Many shows have incorporated it into their schedules: Jersey Boys, Stomp and The Lion King are the shows that immediately come to mind. Yet the Sunday performance is still not widely practised in London’s West End. And with so many tourists coming for weekend breaks it doesn’t make sense to stick with the traditional Monday to Saturday schedule. Almost all Broadway shows have a Sunday performance, choosing to have a Monday or Tuesday as a day off.
So what do you think? Would you come into town on Sunday for a matinee or do London’s Sunday train engineering works scare you away? Is the Sunday performance a seasonal thing or should it be used all year round? We would love to know.
Legally Blonde will play Sunday matinees until the 12th September. Buy Legally Blonde tickets here.
It was announced this week that Sophie Evans, runner up in BBC’s Over the Rainbow, will be the alternate Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium. She will play the role on Tuesday evenings and during Danielle Hope’s scheduled holidays.
I suppose this doesn’t come as a big surprise; when Jodie Prenger won the role of Nancy in Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the understudy part was offered runner up Jessie Buckley (who turned it down and went on to get a part in A Little Night Music.)
It’s a smart move for Sophie to take this part as she will gain invaluable stage experience. And looking at How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? finalist Aoife Mullholland (who was understudy in The Sound Of Music) she has gone on to roles in Chicago and Legally Blonde. It could prove to be a great stepping stone for Sophie.
I suppose the question is: do the public feel cheated that the other finalists are still being cast (in some respect) in the show? The public obviously wanted Danielle. As we’ve seen before with The Sound Of Music star Connie Fisher, it’s irresponsible to demand 8 performances a week. Some performances will have to use an alternate or risk exhausting the lead performer. But those who did not vote for Sophie and paid to vote for Danielle will still be getting Sophie at least once a week.
Personally I would like to see both and compare. What do you think?
Buy Wizard of Oz tickets here.
Could it really be true this time?
I have written in this blog before about the closure of Avenue Q, only for the show to be granted a stay of execution by Cameron Mackintosh. Avenue Q has played at three different venues, the latest location being the Wyndhams Theatre. However, its West End time could finally be up; the official word is that the show will close on the 30th October.
Puppet Road Trip!
Love it or hate it, Avenue Q is one of the most refreshing musicals of recent times. It may be full of obscenities and puppet nudity, but it certainly defied the recent trend for juke box musicals, providing a completely original score and story, a rarity in today’s musical theatre arenas.
Original music and plot, combined with the unconventional idea of using puppets to portray the characters of the down and out neighbourhood, sealed Avenue Q’s place as a modern musical. And it managed to last, Avenue Q is booking into its 5th year and is still going strong in New York.
So if you still don’t know why Trekkie likes his computer so much, or why Preston thinks it sucks to be him, hurry up and get a ticket for Avenue Q! It sounds like this closing announcement is serious this time.
Whoopi Goldberg will star as Mother Superior for 3 weeks only!
Sister Act is about to get a boost….Whoopi Goldberg is coming!
Whoopi Goldberg starred in the iconic Sister Act films back in the 90’s, and I’m still dropping everything to watch those films every time they are on ITV2. Therefore, it is most exciting that she is going to perform on stage for three weeks in August.
This time, however, Whoopi (I love typing that name) is not going to be playing Deloris, but instead she is ‘back in the habit’ to play Mother Superior, currently played by Sheila Hancock.
Sister Act the Musical has some really funny moments, especially in the convent scenes, so I’m sure Goldberg’s acting attributes are going to be a perfect fit with the cast.
Whoopi Goldberg will star in Sister Act at the London Palladium from the 10th to the 31st August, but she will not perform on the 16th or 23rd August, so book carefully if you want to see a comic great.
It didn’t take long for West End producers to pounce on the runners up in the BBC’s search to find Dorothy.
Lauren Samuels, who place third in the competition is going to star as Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from the 26th July and is contracted to perform until the 22nd January 2010.
Lauren Samuels will star as Sandy in Grease
Lauren was one of the most experienced of the finalists, having studied at the Guildford school of acting, which probably contributed to her very polished performances on Over The Rainbow. She has a superb voice as well, so it’s not a surprise that she has found such a high profile job so quickly. And if the directors of Grease can hone her acting skills a bit (although Grease is the type of show that commands over the top facial expressions) Lauren should be a huge asset to such a long running and well known show.
Grease is playing at the Piccadilly Theatre and Lauren Samuels will join the cast on the 26th July. Discount Theatre has tickets reduced to 32.50 and some great meal deals available.
One of the most anticipated productions to hit the West end this summer has started previewing. American playwright David Hirson’s La Bete is running at the Comedy Theatre and contains an all star cast.
La Bete centres around an acting troupe in need of a little motivation, which inevitably sees arts and egos clash. In this production there are three very well known actors taking the lead roles: Joanna Lumley, Mark Rylance and David Hyde Pierce.
Lumley has returned to the West End after becoming a hero for championing the rights of Ghurkhas to settle in the UK. Mark Rylance has also been busy starring in the sell out production of Jerusalem as well as Endgame in the past year. And David Hyde Pierce, most famous for playing Niles Crane on Frasier, is no stranger to stage work - one of his more famous roles was Lancelot in the Broadway production of Spamalot.
The cast has created a lot of hype surrounding this production, hopefully the story and the staging match the acting pedigree. La Bete is only running for a limited season, so be quick to see some very distinguished actors live on stage.
