DREAM CASTING: Friends the Musical

If you're like me or the majority of people on my timeline, you'll have watched the entire series of Friends on Netflix a number of times. I think I may be on my 6th rerun of it?! But it got me thinking, If there was a musical who could be in it? So I took to the internet and made my dream cast list. Tweet us and let us know who you would like to see in the musical version of Friends! @PocketSizeBlog

Rachel Green | Emily Tierney 

Ross Geller | Gerard McCarthy 

FIRST LOOK: City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse

Samantha Barks, Rosalie Craig and Hadley Fraser are Katherine Kelly, Tam Mutu, Peter Polycarpou and Rebecca Trehearn star in The Donmar Warehouse's production of City of Angels. 

They are joined by Nick Cavaliere, Cameron Cuffe, Marc Elliott, Adam Fogerty, Kadiff Kirwan, Sandra Marvin, Mark Penfold, Jennifer Saayeng, Jo Servi and Tim Walton.

Two decades after its London premiere, Artistic Director Josie Rourke revives one of the acknowledged greats of twentieth century musical theatre.

Hollywood comes calling for a New York novelist. The offer is too good to refuse: adapt the private detective protagonist of his books into a big-screen hero. The siren song of Los Angeles is a dangerous temptation and while his movie plays out in black and white, his new life is all-too colourful.

West End stars Hadley Fraser and Caroline Sheen to launch new musical BEFORE AFTER

West End stars Hadley Fraser and Caroline Sheen are to feature in the world premiere of Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman’s new romantic musical, Before After, at St. James Studio.

Everybody has one great lost love. They broke our hearts, they haunt our dreams and we will never, ever forget it. But what if fate gave you another chance? Do you think you’d get things right the second time around? In Before After, Ami (Caroline Sheen) meets Ben (Hadley Fraser) by a tree on a beautiful hillside. She reconises him instantly - he was once the love of her life. But Ben doesn’t recognise her. As we watch their love grow in both the past and the present, might they finally find their happy ever after after all? He’s the right man in the right place - but is this the right time?

CITY OF ANGELS to be revived at the Donmar Warehouse, Samantha Barks joins cast

The Donmar Warehouse today announces its next season of work.

Following the huge success of her current production of James Graham’s Privacy, Artistic Director Josie Rourke will direct the first major revival of Cy Coleman’s classic musical City of Angels as the Donmar’s 2014 Christmas production. City of Angels with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and book by Larry Gelbart (Tootsie andM*A*S*H), premiered on Broadway in 1990 in the West End in 1993. It won both the Tony Award and Olivier Award for Best New Musical, along with multiple other prizes. Featuring one of the great jazz scores, City of Angels is a celebration of film noir and Hollywood in black & white and colour.  Rourke’s production will star Hadley Fraser as Stine, returning to the Donmar after his role in Rourke’s 2013 production of Coriolanus, and Rosalie Craig, who will make her debut at the theatre and will play Gabby/Bobbi. Fraser and Craig will be joined in the company by Samantha Barks as Mallory/Avril. Olivier Award-winner Stephen Mear will choreograph the production.

The In-Between: CD Review

The In-between is an up-coming musical written by Laura Tisdall. The show follows the story of Flick who has a sister named Alice. Their parents died in a car crash when they were both young so Alice has had to become a mother figure to Flick. Flick goes off the rails and rebels against her sister and one day she finds herself in the 'in-between' which is the space between parallel worlds. Flick must decide if she wants t go back to the world she knows with her Sister or go to the world where she can start again.
Laura has released a Concept album which is something that used to be done a lot; Andrew Lloyd Webber has done this with shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.This new musical has a rock theme which means all seven tracks on the album are anthems in their own right. The thing which makes an incredible musical song is something that tells a story but then can easily stand on its own feet. The only show that I can think of which features more than about two songs with these qualities is Wicked; on this album they all have this quality.