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Review: West End Musical Drive In, Episode 2

Featuring the many queens of SIX, Episode 2 of the West End Musical Drive In is a powerful collection of musical theatre performances

“I remember that night I just might”

The first instalment of the West End Musical Drive In impressed me with its raw urgency, a timely reminder of the power of 100% live vocals and the breadth of musical theatre talent that we have in this country. So it is great that the folks behind West End Musical Brunch are continuing to release more of the drive-in concerts that they hosted last summer.

This week’s episode brings together 11 of the performers from various casts of the musical Six and with such a greater number of singers, the programming is certainly eclectic and ultimately does feel a little bit scattershot in its choices, lacking a little of the thematic unity that marked out last week’s showcase. Continue reading “Review: West End Musical Drive In, Episode 2”

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News: West End Musical Drive In comes to Stream.Theatre

From the Drive-In to your home, relive the biggest musical concert series of 2020. With 10 hours of incredible live performances from over 25 of the greatest West End stars, including Layton Williams (Everyone’s Talking About Jamie), Lucie Jones (Waitress), and Alice Fearn (Come From Away), this exciting digital series will bring five fantastic West End Musical Drive In concerts directly to you. A different concert will be available to stream each week from Friday 19th February to Sunday 21st March via Stream.Theatre.

Additional casting includes, Trevor Dion Nicholas (Hamilton), Shanay Holmes (The Bodyguard), Emma Hatton (Wicked), Shan Ako (Les Misérables), Sophie Evans (Wicked), Maiya Quansah Breed (Rent), Laura Pick (Wicked), Matthew Croke (Aladdin), Jon Robyns (Les Misérables), Kelly Agbowu (Waitress), Hiba Elchikhe (Aladdin), Jodie Steele (Heathers) and 12 previous cast members of Six The Musical. Continue reading “News: West End Musical Drive In comes to Stream.Theatre”

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Review: All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre

If you’re feeling festive and missing musical theatre, then All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre is the place to be

“But it’s not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here”

Thespie’s Reunited series has been a fun way of getting your musicals fix over the past few weeks and in a rather clever move, they’ve managed to put together a Christmas special featuring the companies already featured, plus some brand new special guests. So All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre so we get to see Team Schwartz and Team Girl Power again and my personal faves, Team Juliet as they tackle a range of festive classics.

For me though, it was the promise of concerts to come that proved most exciting. The tight harmonies of Heathers alumni Sophie Isaacs, Jodie Steele and T’Shan Williams were a particular delight on both ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ and the women of Pretty Woman are in wonderfully high spirits on both ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Santa Baby’ so consider my appetite whetted for their forthcoming gigs. Continue reading “Review: All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre”

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News: Dear Audience coffee table book announced

If you’re still writing your lists for Santa, then Dear Audience could be just what you’re looking for. A theatrical coffee table book filled with over 140 pages showcasing the Arts industry, with exclusive imagery, personalised letters to audiences and much more besides.

There’s a veritable who’s who of stage folk involved, from Sally Ann Triplett, Michael Xavier and Frances Rufelle to Oliver Tompsett, Linzi Hateley and Andy Coxon, and the book has been put together by Sophie Ross and Danny Kaan’s Digi Creative. Pre-orders can be made now and are guaranteed for Christmas delivery.

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News: You Will Be Found by #CheerUpCharlie & West End Friends to be released on 15th November

Auburn Jam Music are delighted to be releasing ‘You Will Be Found’ by #CheerUpCharlie & West End Friends, a fundraising charity single in aid of youth charity The Diana Award, on Sunday 15 November to tie in with the start of National Anti-Bullying Week (16-20 November).  

The star-studded single is led by ten-year-old Charlie Kristensen from Wokingham, whose experience of being bullied started the viral #CheerUpCharlie campaign. Charlie is joined on the song by numerous stage and screen stars including Wendi Peters, Layton Williams and Michael Xavier, with Iain Armitage, Michael Ball, Rufus Hound, and Faye Tozer amongst many famous faces reading their supportive messages on the song’s video. The single is available to pre-save now on iTunes, Deezer, Spotify and Tidal at https://ditto.fm/you-will-be-found. Continue reading “News: You Will Be Found by #CheerUpCharlie & West End Friends to be released on 15th November”

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News: the Hippodrome to host music, magic and comedy this winter

Fourth Wall Live and The Hippodrome Casino London are thrilled to announce a series of over 40 shows at the Hippodrome Casino this winter. The season runs from 18 November every week for 5 weeks and will include two shows nightly at 7.00pm and 9.00pm.

The series will feature stars from the world of musical theatre, comedy and magic with all tickets priced £20. Audiences will be safely socially distanced following the most up-to-date safety guidelines. There will be 130 tickets on sale per show and tickets go on sale soon. Sign up at www.fw-live.com for advance presale and further announcements. Continue reading “News: the Hippodrome to host music, magic and comedy this winter”

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News: The Barn Theatre Presents – The Music of Dominic Powell

The Barn Theatre has announced the cast for their sixth virtual concert, The Barn Theatre Presents: The Music of Dominic Powell, which will celebrate the work of musical theatre composer Dominic Powell (Cases).

The concert, which will be hosted by Barn Theatre producer Jamie Chapman Dixon, is the sixth edition of the Barn Theatre in Cirencester’s virtual concert series, The Barn Presents:, which celebrates the work of British musical theatre writers.

The concert will feature performances from Andrew Patrick-Walker (Brooklyn, Bat Out of Hell) and Maiya Quansah-Breed (Six) who were cast in the 2020 production of Dominic Powell’s musical Cases at The Other Palace’s Studio space, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. Continue reading “News: The Barn Theatre Presents – The Music of Dominic Powell”

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Review: Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre

There’s much to like about Dear Evan Hansen at the Noël Coward Theatre, not least a brilliant lead performance from Sam Tutty

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

After seeing Dear Evan Hansen, you realise that its title can be taken two ways. It’s the salutation on a letter that precipitates a world of trouble for the awkward teenager and those around him as per Steven Levenson’s effectively contemporary book. But it also ultimately emerges as an affectionate form of address, troublingly so as the show latterly pulls its punches around some of the harder-hitting topics that it raises.

High-school senior Evan’s life is crippled by social anxiety. His hard-working single mum barely has time for him, he’s got no mates to speak of, and his therapist keeps setting him homework. Then when one of his classmates Connor Murphy dies by suicide, a chink of light unexpectedly cracks through his depression, as an unlikely chain of events leads him to claiming that they were best friends in order to emotionally support the grieving family. Continue reading “Review: Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre”