REVIEW: Footloose, New Wimbledon Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Footloose had all 1600 people at the New Wimbledon Theatre last night on their feet dancing at the end with pure joy!
Dean Pitchford
Maureen Nolan and Gareth Gates Headline Footloose UK Tour
It was announced this morning that Maureen Nolan will join the 2016 UK tour cast of Footloose playing Vi Moore. She will be joining Gareth Gates as Willard and Luke Baker who will play Ren McCormack. Gareth Gates will play Willard from 29 January until 16 April, returning to the show from 20 June 201 Based on the 1984 screen sensation starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose: The Musical tells the story of city boy Ren, who has to move to a rural backwater in America where dancing is banned. All hell breaks out as Ren breaks loose and soon has the whole town up on its feet. Featuring classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear it for the Boy and the unforgettable title track, Footloose: The Musical is set to take the world by storm once again in this brand new production, bursting with youthful … Read more
Gareth Gates Plays Willard In Footloose Tour 2016
17 years to the day since it first opened on Broadway, it is announced that worldwide smash hit musical Footloose: The Musical will burst back onto the stage in 2016, touring the UK from January. Gareth Gates will play Willard from 29 January until 16 April, returning to the show from 20 June 2016. Gareth rose to fame through the inaugural series of Pop Idol in 2001, going on to sell over 5 million records worldwide and have hits across the globe. His version of Unchained Melody sold over a million copies in the UK and is the 3rd best-selling single of the Noughties. Gareth is also the youngest ever-male solo artist to debut at number 1. More recently Gareth has enjoyed a successful career on stage, with credits including Les Misérables, Legally Blonde and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. In 2014 Gareth appeared in the final series of … Read more
BIG INTERVIEW: Dean Pitchford, Lyricist of Carrie The Musical
Carrie the musical is a Broadway flop of legend. We spoke to lyricist Dean Pitchford to get the real story.
REVIEW: Carrie, Southwark Playhouse ✭✭✭✭✭
What is most admirable about Gary Lloyd’s directorial vision here is that no attempt is made to recreate the film, the book or even the way this musical has been produced before. He does not seek to make a musical horror story – rather, he makes a dramatic musical which has horrific elements. Kim Criswell is magnificent as Carrie’s mother. Her voice is in remarkable form and she sings the difficult score with bravura ease.
Of course, the show has no hope without a tremendous Carrie and in Evelyn Hoskins, Lloyd has a true star. Hoskins is perfect.
Carrie Casting Announced
Casting has been announced for the London premiere of the musical Carrie which will play at the Southwark Playhouse from May 1 to 30, 2015. Evelyn Hoskins (Spring Awakening, Cool Rider, The Secret Garden) will play Carrie White with Kim Criswell ( Nine, Cats, Follies, Annie Get Your Gun) will take on the role of Margaret White. The cast of Carrie also features Sarah McNicholas as Sue, Greg Miller Burns as Tommy, Gabriella Williams as Chris, Dex Lee as Billy, Jodie Jacobs as Miss Gardner, David Habbin as Mr Stephens, Molly McGuire as Norma, Bobbie Little as Frieda, Emily McGougan as Helen, Patrick Sullivan as George, Olly Dobson as Freddy and Eddie Myles as Stokes. Adapted from Stephen King’s classic horror novel Carrie has music by Michael Gore, lyrics by Dean Pitchford and book by Laurence D. Cohen. The show ill be directed by Gary Lloyd with musical direction by … Read more
Carrie To Make London Debut – Finally!
It was announced today that Carrie the musical is coming to London! Twenty seven years after first wreaking havoc, the world’s most talked about Broadway musical is coming to London. Academy Award winning Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore (Fame), and original screenplay writer Lawrence D. Cohen, have transformed Stephen King’s unlikely Cinderella story into an infectiously modern musical that has gripped audiences from Australia to America with its timeless story and thrilling score. Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, the musical of Carrie hasn’t been seen since the legendary original production. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, it first premiered in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1988 before transferring straight to Broadway, but never made it to London. In 2012, its score and book were revised by original composer Michael Gore, lyricist Dean Pitchford and librettist Lawrence D. Cohen and this newly reworked and fully re-imagined vision for Carrie will now be presented … Read more
