Christmas in New York: Theatre Review

Christmas in New York has been brought back by Speckulation Entertainment after a four year absence. This year Broadway Leading Lady, best known for her portrayal of Elphaba, Eden Espinosa headlines the event. Besides playing Elphaba in Wicked to extensive acclaim on Broadway, in LA and San Francisco, Espinosa's other credits include playing Maureen in the closing cast of RENT on Broadway and the title role in Brooklyn the musical. Joined by a West End line up including Tori Allen-Martin (RENT, Hair), Lucy May Barker (Sweeney Todd, Spring Awakening), Andy Coxon (Les Miserables, Rocky Horror Show), Scott Garnham (I Can’t Sing!, Les Miserables), Luke Kempner (Avenue Q, South Pacific) and Zoe Rainey (Wicked, Hairspray) with special guest Julie Atherton (Sister Act, Avenue Q). The show played the Palace Theatre in Manchester on the 7th December before returning to the West End, playing the Palace Theatre where The Commitments currently resides. 

Sweeney Todd the Musical: Theatre Review

The classic musical Sweeney Todd which was recently turned into a Hollywood movie starring Johnny Deep and Helena Bonham Carter in 2007 was first staged on Broadway in 1979 and closed the following year earning itself Nine Tony Award nominations, winning eight of them including Best Musical. The show transferred to London in 1980 closing later that year; despite the mixed reviews the show won Best Musical at the Olivier Awards. The show has since then had multiple revivals on Broadway in 1989 and 2005 and in London in 1993, 2004 and the most recent Chichester Production which transferred to the West End in March 2012.

The show recieved positive reviews from critics and was labelled a must see by everyone who saw it, so it was only right that the production made its way over to London so West End audiences could experience it. The score by Stephen Sondheim is intelligent and interesting, his lyrics are very powerful and every song was a moving moment for all characters. However I can't help but feel a few of the songs were a bit much to take in a at times, I zoned out in a few of them and was thinking about what I was going to have for dinner the next day. But they were delivered brilliantly by the cast and were modernised greatly in this production while still keeping the original essence that Sondheim intended to have.