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News: The Royal Variety Show 2020 is confirmed

Comedian, actor and singer Jason Manford is to host The Royal Variety Performance at the historic Blackpool Opera House in the Winter Gardens Complex. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will deliver a special message to the charity and the artistes performing in the show, as he looks forward to this exceptional evening of entertainment.

Returning to the North after nine years, the show promises to be an unforgettable evening of exceptional performers, world class British theatre and superb comedy, plus some exciting surprises. Continue reading “News: The Royal Variety Show 2020 is confirmed”

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Album Review: Frozen 2 / Hello Again / Chicago

The release of Frozen 2 (2019 Film Soundtrack), sends me off to a couple of other film soundtracks I’ve been meaning to review in Hello Again (2017 Film Soundtrack) and Chicago (2002 Film Soundtrack)

“Are you the one I’ve been looking for
All of my life?”

Possibly the album that is most wanted by kids and most feared by parents is the soundtrack to the forthcoming Frozen 2. Musical supremos Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez return in fine form with a suite of songs that suggest quite the emotional journey for the film and one which could be too sad for even me to cope with. In that respect, Kristen Bell’s griefstricken ‘The Next Right Thing’ scares me but it is gorgeously done. ‘Into the Unknown’ with its daring intervals and Aurora’s ethereal supplemental vocals seems like the song most identified to replicate ‘Let It Go’ enormous success but it is the dramatic swoops of ‘Show Yourself’ that I think Idina Menzel shines best on, along with Evan Rachel Wood. Wood’s delicate ‘All is Found’ speaks to the film’s core mysteries and Jonathan Groff finally gets a song with the amusing 80s-inflected ‘Lost In The Woods’. Continue reading “Album Review: Frozen 2 / Hello Again / Chicago”

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Album Reviews: Ramin Karimloo – From Now On / Josh Piterman – Josh Piterman

A pair of album reviews from Phantoms past and present – Ramin Karimloo’s latest From Now On and new leading man Josh Piterman’s Josh Piterman

“Will I ever be more than I’ve always been?”

Ramin Karimloo’s recording career has always been an interesting one to track, as he oscillates between the musical theatre in which he has made quite the name and the musical influences that clearly lie closest to his heart. His latest full-length album From Now On encapsulates this perfectly right from the off, using his patented Broadgrass style to illuminate The Greatest Showman’s ‘From Now On’ to glorious effect.

The tracklisting sees him dabble in musicals old and new – he makes a good case for King George in an uplifting ‘You’ll Be Back’ from Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen’s ‘Waving Through a Window’ builds the already fever-pitch anticipation for its London opening. And they’re matched by a straightforward canter through Rent’s ‘What You Own’ and Hedwig’s achingly good ‘Wicked Little Town’ which balance his interpretative skill with his unmatched vocal strength. Continue reading “Album Reviews: Ramin Karimloo – From Now On / Josh Piterman – Josh Piterman”

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Album Reviews: Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project / Mamma Mia / Il Divo – A Musical Affair

This trio of album reviews covers Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project, Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack and Il Divo – A Musical Affair

“You know I’ve got
So much that I wanna do”

Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project has an amazing list of performers, composers, and musicians behind it, all coming together to create a 2-CD set and 48-page children’s book to benefit breast cancer research, support and education. And rather wonderfully, it is an utterly gorgeous record. Brilliant jazz musicians accompany writers like Michael John LaChiusa, Adam Gwon and Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez in indulging their gentler side to create the prettiest tunes. And then a cast of dreams sing them – just listen to Raúl Esparza’s aching tenderness on ‘This Little World’, or Donna Murphy’s crystal clear ‘Lucky’ (by Stephen  Schwartz) – we should all be so lucky to be lulled to sleep this way. Continue reading “Album Reviews: Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project / Mamma Mia / Il Divo – A Musical Affair”

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Album reviews: Frozen / Prince of Broadway / Mean Girls

I turn my attention to the latest set of Broadway cast recordings with Frozen, Prince of Broadway and Mean Girls

@deeninbeeld1

My cynicism about the quick turnaround of megahit film Frozen into a would-be megahit musical lasted for about 10 seconds as I popped on their cast recording. I mean, I loved the film and its songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and so who was I kidding?!

And it fulfils all of my Disney princess dreams. Caissie Levy (Elsa) and Patti Murin (Anna) lead the cast in fine full-voiced form, new songs from the Lopezes fit in well to the score though it does take a hot minute to get used to them. And the orchestral arrangement lends a note of excitement to the songs you know so well already.

Levy’s ‘Let It Go’ naturally takes the spotlight as the Act 1 closer (reprised to close the show as well) but Murin’s rendition of ‘Love Is An Open Door’ with John Riddle’s Hans gets my vote for its sheer warmth and joie de vivre. Of the new songs, Elsa’s ‘Dangerous to Dream’ probably ranks as my favourite. Definitely keen to see this once it hits the West End. Continue reading “Album reviews: Frozen / Prince of Broadway / Mean Girls”

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Album Review: Carrie Hope Fletcher – When The Curtain Falls

Featuring a pleasing amount of new musical theatre writing, Carrie Hope Fletcher releases her debut album When The Curtain Falls

“Who you are is how you’re feeling”

Fresh from winning her second What’s On Stage Award, racking up her third novel, vlogging regularly and quite possibly plotting world domination, Carrie Hope Fletcher has now released her debut album When The Curtain Falls. A pleasingly varied tracklisting sees her cover as much new musical theatre writing (shoutout for the brilliant Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) as age-old classics, combined with a few family favourites to make an engaging collection.  

There’s a innate prettiness to Fletcher’s voice that makes it extremely easy to listen to. And it is an over-riding characteristic across the album, which is fine when it comes to the likes of the sweetly lovely ‘Times Are Hard For Dreamers’ from the short-lived Amélie or the Disney tracks here, or smoothing the edges off of Jason Robert Brown’s ‘What It Means To Be A Friend’.  Continue reading “Album Review: Carrie Hope Fletcher – When The Curtain Falls”

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Nominations for 2017-2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards

John Gassner Playwriting Award
Kate Benson, [PORTO]
Jocelyn Bioh, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play
Lindsey Ferrentino, Army and the Orphans
Meghan Kennedy, Napoli, Brooklyn
Dominique Morisseau, Pipeline

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Carousel
David M. Lutken, Woody Sez
Conor Ryan, Desperate Measures
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants
Continue reading “Nominations for 2017-2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards”

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Album Review: Frozen (soundtrack)

 

“It’s time to see what I can do”

Disney’s Frozen is as close to a stone-cold classic as they’ve produced in many a year, a loose retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen with a delightfully forward-thinking approach to gender roles and adorned with a cracking score by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. This last fact means it is as well-conceived a musical as one could hope for, something confirmed by the Oscar nomination for Best Song received by its lead song ‘Let It Go’, and the Broadway production that has now been confirmed to be under discussion.

Its theatrical credentials are further confirmed by the voice cast that was assembled for the film, erring to Broadway performers rather than established film stars and creating a wonderful mix that nails the quirky characterisations of the film. So Idina Menzel takes on the fierce Elsa, emotionally intense due to her enforced solitude but breaking free in the most glorious of ways as she finally embraces her powers in the epic number that is ‘Let It Go’, an instant classic that has me delivering all kinds of armography whenever it plays on the stereo. Continue reading “Album Review: Frozen (soundtrack)”

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Nominations for 2011 Lucille Lortel Awards

Outstanding Play
In the Wake – Produced by The Public Theater; Written by Lisa Kron.
Other Desert Cities – Produced by Lincoln Center Theater; Written by Jon Robin Baitz.
Peter and the Starcatcher – Produced by New York Theatre Workshop; Written by Rick Elice, Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
The Coward – Produced by Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3; Written by Nick Jones.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity – Produced by Second Stage Theatre; Written by Kristoffer Diaz

Outstanding Musical
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson – Produced by The Public Theater and Center Theatre Group in association with Les Freres Corbusier; Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman, Book by Alex Timbers.
In Transit – Produced by Primary Stages, the Baruch/Viertel/Routh/Frankel Group, Jane Bergere, Jodi Glucksman, Ken Greiner, Chip Meyrelles, Christina Papagjika, and Janet Rosen; Music, Lyrics and Book by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, Sara Wordsworth.
The Burnt Part Boys – Produced by Playwrights Horizons and Vineyard Theatre; Music by Chris Miller, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen, Book by Mariana Elder.
The Kid – Produced by The New Group; Music by Andy Monroe, Lyrics by Jack Lechner and Book by Michael Zam.
We the People: America Rocks! – Produced by Theatreworks USA; Book by Joe Iconis, Songs by Brad Alexander (Music) and Kevin Del Aguila (Lyrics), Eli Bolin (Music) and Sam Forman (Lyrics), Joe Iconis (Music and Lyrics), Tommy Newman (Music and Lyrics), Ryan Scott Oliver (Music and Lyrics), Adam Overett (Music and Lyrics), Mark Weiner (Music) and Erik Weiner and Jordan Allen-Dutton (Lyrics). Continue reading “Nominations for 2011 Lucille Lortel Awards”