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.