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Andrew Lloyd Webber Reaches Broadway Landmark With Sunset Opening

Broadway, Features, News
Andrew Lloyd Webber becomes first composer for 53 years to have 4 shows running concurrently on Broadway

BritishTheatre.com would like to congratulate Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, who tonight reaches a landmark on Broadway. Tonight Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close joins Lloyd Webber’s productions of Cats, The Phantom Of The Opera and Andrew’s latest hit School Of Rock which are currently playing on Broadway. This feat of having four musicals playing concurrently has only been achieved once before by Rodgers and Hammerstein 63 years ago. Congratulations Lord Lloyd Webber! BOOK TICKETS FOR SUNSET BOULEVARD ON BROADWAY BOOK TICKETS FOR SCHOOL OF ROCK ON BROADWAY BOOK TICKETS FOR CATS ON BROADWAY BOOK TICKETS FOR THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA ON BROADWAY

UPCOMING: Bare Essentials, Seven Dials Club

Features, Reviews
Bare Essentials New Writing Night

Bare Essentials Seven Dials Club Saturday 28th January New Writing shows always tell you a lot more about the producers than the writers, and this one is no exception. The star here is producer Liam Fleming, whose jolly, bouncy, avuncular ‘bear-ish’ persona dominated events: he is the classic salesman, urging you to close the deal and tweet your approval of his wares at every step of the way – he even runs a ‘competition’ during the show to find the best promoter of his goods. His outfit, ‘Encompass Productions’, which he shares with the less visible Jonathan Woodhouse and Rachel Owens, must be doing magnificently well because they hired the bar and performance space of Covent Garden’s coolly hip Seven Dials Club for this showcase of the work of six authors. Scott Mullen was on first at he runs a nice line in Capra-esque comedy, with sharp dialogue and bold … Read more

UPCOMING: January The Musical Revue

Features
January The Musical Revue

JANUARY : The Musical Revue The Crazy Coqs 24th January 2017 It was lovely to get to see another outing for this charming seasonal work-in-progress feast last week. First launched last year at the Canal Cafe Theatre, with a different line-up, this show made a terrific initial impact. Perfectly suited to the spontaneous, almost improvisational atmosphere of the home of the News Revue, this show made a big splash. Then, the authors said it was their intention to go away and improve upon it, and this – glamorously repositioned into the West End – is the result of a year’s further labour. The three-hander offers about a dozen songs – and a couple of brief sketches – loosely linked by the common factor that they all belong in the first month of the year. It’s a clever idea, and given witty and sometimes touching expression in the songs of Patrick … Read more

FIRST LOOK: The Girls In Rehearsals

Features, Gallery, News, West End
Book now for The Girls at the Phoenix Theatre

We are pleased to bring you this first look at rehearsals for The Girls, a new musical based on Calendar Girls by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth by Matt Crockett. The Girls stars Debbie Chazen (Topsy-Turvy, Smoking Room, Psychoville), Sophie-Louise Dann (Bend It Like Beckham, Made in Dagenham, Lend me a Tenor in the West End), Michele Dotrice (Nell Gwynn, The Importance of Being Earnest and When We Are Married in the West End and BBC1’s Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em), Claire Machin (My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Betty Blue Eyes and Memphis), Claire Moore (Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and London Road) and Olivier Award-winner Joanna Riding (Carousel, My Fair Lady). Directed by Tim Firth, The Girls has musical staging by Lizzi Gee, comedy staging by Jos Houben, design by Robert Jones, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster … Read more

Top 100 Greatest Musicals Results: 40 – 31

Features, News, Video, West End
Top 100 Musicals of All Time Poll Results

We’re almost done with this massive project to identify the Top 100 Greatest Musicals as judged by our readers and musical theatre fans around the world. In this latest instalment Alan Menken, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb all make repeat appearances. Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts on the results. 40. Little Shop Of Horrors Long before Alan Menken became Mr Disney, he and writer Howard Ashman wrote an Off-Broadway musical that over the years has become one of the world’s favourites. Little Shop Of Horrors was based on the 1960 low budget black comedy that starred a young Jack Nicholson. Premiering Off Off Broadway, then moving to Off Broadway, the show ran for five years before moving to London and Sydney amongst other locations. Frank Oz of The Muppets fame made a great movie adaptation of the film bowing to studio pressure … Read more

The Theatre Podcasts We Listen To – January 2017

Broadway, Events, Features, News, West End
Great theatre podcasts

Over the past six months, we’ve become an ardent fan of some great theatre podcasts. Once you get the hang of the technology there are some great podcasts out there for theatre fans, and we thought we’d list the podcasts that we now make time to listen to. Whilst some have an insider slant, appealing to actors of people within the industry these podcasts we felt would appeal to people who are members of the audience as well as backstage as well. So here goes, our favourite theatre podcasts are as follows:- THE PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE Broadway producer Ken Davenport recently presented his 100th episode of this podcast where he interviews some of the biggest names in both Broadway and international theatre. The great and the good of theatreland have sat down with Ken to talk about their careers and the business of show. We particularly liked podcasts with Tim Rice, … Read more

FIRST LOOK: Rehearsals Begin For Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

Features, News, West End
Book tickets for Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

We are pleased to bring you some great first look rehearsal photos by Johan Persson for the new West End production of Edward Albee’s classic American drama Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolfe which opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre for a limited 13 week season from 22 February 2017. This will be the first production of the play since Albee’s death last September. The play will be directed by James Macdonald and stars Imelda Staunton as Martha, Conleth Hill as George, Imogen Poots as Honey and Luke Treadaway as Nick. Made into a classic film by Mike Nichols starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf is a rollercoaster ride through a dysfunctional relationship. In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professor Nick and his wife Honey to their … Read more