REVIEW: Girlfriends, Bishopsgate Institute ✭✭✭✭
Julian Eaves reviews Howard Goodall’s musical Girlfriends performed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra at the Bishopsgate Institute.
Bronagh Lagan
Putting It Together at Hope Mill Theatre – Casting Announced
Casting has been announced for the musical revue Putting It Together featuring the songs of Stephen Sondheim at the Hope Mill Theatre.
UPCOMING: The Break – a new musical
The Break Arts Theatre, Friday 6th October 2017 Seen in a rehearsed reading on the set of the current main house production, ‘The Toxic Avenger’, Katy Lipson’s Aria Entertainments presented a bigger outing than usual for this script sent to her during the last submissions round for the ‘From Page To Stage’. And, indeed, unlike most of the works making it through to that festival, this work is more complete, more finished, and ready to be tested on a full stage, seen as a stand-alone piece and not as part of a wider, more varied programme. It is a full-length musical play, set in Northern Ireland and focused on the tribulations of an ordinary family, one exhibiting characteristics often understood to be typical of Irish domestic situations: a bullish but sentimental father; a meek, rather passive mother; a rebellious, iconoclastic son; a passionate, determined daughter. There is one outsider here, … Read more
Little Women the musical makes European debut at Hope Mill Manchester
Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre is to host the European premiere of Little Women the musical. Little Women follows the adventures of the four March sisters – Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy. Jo, the eldest daughter, and an aspiring writer, receives yet another rejection from a publisher. When her friend Professor Bhaer tells Jo she can do better by making her stories more personal, she weaves the story of how she and her sisters grew up in Civil War America – a tale of self-discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. Little Women is based on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic novel and features a score by Grammy Award winner Jason Howland. The production which opens on 9 November is directed by Bronagh Lagan and choreographed by Iona Holland with design by Nik Corrall. Little Women will be a collaboration between Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and the Hope Mill Theatre co-produced with … Read more
REVIEW: Tick Tick BOOM!, Park Theatre ✭✭✭✭
I’m delighted to say that I’m already booked to go back and have another session with Tick Tick BOOM!, and its fascinating aesthetic conundrums, later in the run. It is the kind of production that rewards such attention.
REVIEW: Promises Promises, Southwark Playhouse ✭✭✭✭
this is the ‘must-see’ show of the moment, with a glamorous audience hurrying to get in on the fun. And, yes, ultimately it keeps its promises. All of them.
REVIEW: The Station Master, Tristan Bates Theatre ✭✭✭
Connor’s score owes a considerable debt to Sondheim, but, that said, it treads in very interesting paths. Complex and intricate, the melodies and harmonies reward careful listening, but there is no danger of a “hummable tune” for the most part, even though individual numbers and vocal lines are quite beguiling, instantly enjoyable.
REVIEW: The Adventures Of Pinocchio, Greenwich Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭
Christian James is a wonderful Pinocchio. He completely captures the sense of the character’s otherness and separation (being living wood) as well as a newcomer’s desire to explore and a child’s desire to rebel. The sequence where he learns about lying and his nose growing is genuinely delightful, as is the way he quickly shaves off his extra growth before Gepetto’s return. Bronagh Lagan has presided over an excellent production of an interesting and involving musical which provides a fresh, but refreshingly old-fashioned approach to the entertainment and stimulation of (especially) young minds. You leave wanting -desperately – to be able to bring youngsters to more theatre just like this.
