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.
This week Brenda Edwards joins the cast of We Will Rock You in the role of Killer Queen. Brenda Edwards??? I can hear you all racking your brains, trying to think of who she is.
Brenda Edwards was in the X-Factor a couple of years back. Now that you have consulted Wikipedia it’s all coming back to you. Do you also remember Nikki Evans? She is currently starring as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers. And X-Factor runner up, Ray Quinn, is starring in Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre after a successful turn at playing Danny in Grease at The Piccadilly Theatre.
X-Factor contestant Brenda Edwards will star as Killer Queen in We Will Rock You
X-Factor graduates seemed to do particularly well in West End Theatre. Many more have followed such as Diana Vickers, who was in Little Voice earlier this year and Lucie Jones who I mentioned in my last blog, is about to star as Cosette in Les Miserables at the Queens’s theatre.
So which reality TV stars would you like to see in the West End? Is it someone from Britain’s Got Talent or would you like to see a fame hungry Big Brother contestant? My pick would have to be Rhydian Roberts from the X-Factor.
Brenda Edwards will star in We Will Rock You for a 10 week run. Discount Theatre has We Will Rock You tickets reduced to £32.50 midweek.
It’s all gone crazy for Les Miserables again. Last year it was Subo’s rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ that set ticket sales on fire. This year is a big anniversary for Les Mis, 25 years in the West End, making it the longest running musical in the world.
Revolution is in the air
More interestingly are the reality tv and pop stars that are starring in these Les Mis productions. Nick Jonas (one of the Jonas brothers of course! Actually I have no idea who he is.) will play Marius in the original production from the 21st June to the 10th July and then will perform in the concert on the 3rd October. It has been confirmed that X factor finalist Lucie Jones will play Cosette in the original production starting in July and Samantha Barks, who placed 3rd in the BBC show I’d Do Anything will also join the production in the role of Eponine.
Gareth Gates will perform as Marius in the Anniversary production at the Barbican and most surprisingly, Little Britain’s Matt Lucas is going to be Thenardier in the Les Miserables concert at the O2!
Les Mis is definitely one of the West End greats and a must see for anyone who loves musicals. There’s still good summer discounts for the original production at the Queen’s Theatre, but tickets are selling out for the concert so if you want to be an audience member for a fantastic anniversary show, be quick!
Buy Les Miserables tickets and 25th Anniversary Concert tickets here.
Now that Discount Theatre has launched its World Cup Sale with loads of great offers throughout the duration of the football tournament, it’s hard to decide what to see. If you are a hard core theatre lover, now is the time to snap up bargains on many shows that don’t normally offer discounts.
For example, hit show Legally Blonde has top price tickets for £45.99 (normally £60) or you can also see the Tony award winning cast of Hair with tickets starting at only £22.99.
But if you look at the list and still can’t decide, why not attend West End Live in Leicester Square this weekend for a sampler of West End shows? 
West End Live is now in its 6th successful year and offers a great chance to see some excerpts from top West End Shows performed live in Leicester Square.
This year, loads of shows are taking part, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s follow up the Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, David Essex’s All The Fun Of The Fair, and classic musicals Sweet Charity and Billy Elliot.
Unfortunately, now that Discount Theatre towers has moved out of Leicester Square, we won’t be blessed with listening to the rehearsals and having a bird’s eye view of all the action on Saturday and Sunday. Too bad.
West End Live will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday the 19th June and from 12pm to 6pm on Sunday the 20th June. In addition to many musical performances, there will be exhibitions and demonstrations making it a great day out. And it’s FREE!
If you see something that you like, check out Discount Theatre’s World Cup Sale, where you will find many great tickets on West End shows.
You can’t beat a classic story written by one of the greatest playwrights of all time.
All My Sons opened to rave reviews at the Apollo Theatre with David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker in the lead roles.
Written by the great American writer Arthur Miller, All My Sons is set over a single day in 1947, telling the tale of a business man who made his fortune in manufacturing during the Second World War. However, it is suggested that his prosperity came at the expense of other people’s lives, possibly even his own son.
Here’s a roundup of what the critics thought: 
“You won’t find better performances in the West End right now than those of David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker” Evening Standard
“Howard Davies gets the best from a superb cast in his faultless revival” Independent on Sunday
“It is time to bring out the superlatives. Not only is the acting tremendous and every visual detail precise, Davies also makes you realise Miller’s play is a portrait of a society as well as of a flawed individual.” The Guardian
“This is a stunning production of a modern classic and one that those who see it will never forget.” The Daily Telegraph
All My Sons is booking at the Apollo theatre until the 11th September 2010 and stars David Suchet and Zoe Wannamaker. Discount Theatre has tickets available from £32.50.
One Hollywood star leaves and another moves in.
Kim Catrall, was recently occupying the Vaudeville Theatre while she was starring in Private Lives. Now Jeff Goldblum is moving into the theatre, when Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue previews on the 30th June.
Goldblum was last seen in the West End when he starred with Kevin Spacey in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow at the Old Vic. It was an excellent production; afterwards I waited by the stage door for autographs, which wasn’t my idea; I really don’t care for autographs. However, one member of our party was particularly intent on having Spacey and Goldblum sign his programme. 
We waited intently, with the security guards staring at the growing queue. Oddly, we saw a really grumpy Rowan Atkinson walk by. Maybe it was because some Americans started exclaiming “Oh My Gaawd, it’s Mr Bean”….. that would certainly make me grumpy.
Spacey and Goldblum emerged, and while Spacey was handling the queue with efficiency (he probably wanted to get to the pub…. maybe he was meeting Rowan Atkinson), Goldblum was jumping up and down with a huge grin on his face and waving to everyone in sight. He was loving it.
He must have had such a good London experience at the Old Vic that he decided to tread the boards again.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a black comedy set in 1970’s New York, which focuses on a married couple struggling to cope with city life. Things eventually get to be too much, as one of the characters heads towards a nervous breakdown and other family members try to offer support in the battle against economic recession and chaotic city life.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue stars Jeff Goldblum and is written by Neil Simon. It will play at the Vaudeville Theatre until the 11th September. And no, I will not be lurking about at the stage door waiting to pounce on a giddy Jeff Goldblum.
