Liza (on an E): Theatre Review

Liza Menelli is playing the Vaudeville Theatre! Well... Kinda! Australian star Trevor Ashley brings his hit cabaret show, Liza on an E, to the West End for the first time. Having previously been a hit in other countries it was just a matter of time before it came over to London. In this show Liza (Ashley) covers subjects from her mother to film appearances to her marriages. 

This controversial show is so well put together and is the perfect length, before hand I thought it was going to be a drag queen singing songs for two hours but it wasn’t like that at all! The two act show is about 2 hour and 10 minutes in total but doesn’t feel like that at all, at no point did I get bored.  This show will have you trying to catch your breath through laughter at some points but also completely drawn into the emotion Trevor Ashley portrays on stage in songs like ‘Losing My Mind’. His impersonation of Liza is astonishing, if you closed your eyes you would barley know any difference. But this isn’t just a tribute or impression show, its also some what of a piss take! The way he would use Liza’s signature giggle and hand gestures were just hilarious. 

Merrily We Roll Along the Musical: Theatre Review

Based on the 1934 play of the same name, Merrily We Roll Along originally opened on Broadway in 1981 to a very poor reception. It officially opened on the 16^th November 1981 to mostly negative reviews but the score by Sondheim was widely praised. It closed after only 16 performances and 52 previews. An off-West End production opened (with Maria Friedman) in 1992 at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester and ran for three weeks. A West End production opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 2000 where it won the Olivier Award for Best Musical and it now has returned to the West End, this time transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre from the Menier Chocolate Factory directed by Maria Friedman. 
Merrily We Roll Along follows three best friends, Franklin Shepard, Mary Flynn and Charles Kringas. It’s a story of friendship and how working with your friends can destroy and strengthen relationships. Throughout the show Franklins love life is one of the main stories, showing his relationships crumble and blossom with Beth and Gussie and of course Mary and Charles. The show actually goes backwards, so the last scene is first and the first scene is the last. This may sound confusing but the way Sondheim has written the show it flows really well and is clearly stated what and where they are in each scene. 

Tony Awards: Full Short List of Nominations 2013

BEST PLAY
The Assembled Parties
Lucky Guy
The Testament of Mary
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

BEST MUSICAL
Bring it On: The Musical
A Christmas Story, The Musical
Kinky Boots

Matilda The Musical

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Golden Boy
Orphans
The Trip to Bountiful
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Olivier Awards 2013: Full List of Winners and Nominees

BEST ACTOR

WINNER: Luke Treadaway for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the NT Cottesloe & the Apollo

Nominees:

James McAvoy for Macbeth at the Trafalgar Studios
Luke Treadaway for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the NT Cottesloe & the Apollo
Mark Rylance for Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe & the Apollo
Rafe Spall for Constellations at the Royal Court & the Duke of York's
Rupert Everett for The Judas Kiss at Hampstead & the Duke of York's

BEST ACTRESS

WINNER: Helen Mirren for The Audience at the Gielgud

Nominees:

Billie Piper for The Effect at the NT Cottesloe
Hattie Morahan for A Doll’s House at the Young Vic
Helen Mirren for The Audience at the Gielgud
Kristin Scott Thomas for Old Times at the Harold Pinter

Review of VIVA FOREVER post changes

*WARNING: If you haven't seen the show, be warned that there may be spoilers in this review. 

Viva Forever! opened in December at the Piccadilly Theatre and opened to negative reviews, everyone seemed to hate this production! I for one actually enjoyed the show when I saw it; I honestly thought it was fun. It’s not a National Production, so I have no idea what people are expecting when they go and see this show! Admittedly, it was far from perfect and it needed to be revised but it wasn’t as bad as people have said. People just seem to be going in with a bad attitude. 

For those of you that don't know (where have you been?!) the show has been adapted since opening, script re-writes have been made, songs have been cut/added in, scenes have been mixed up and the show as a whole as a hell of a lot better. It’s still a tacky, Friday night show that is purely a good time but it’s now a lot tighter than before. First things first, the fact that Viva is adopted isn’t such a huge thing anymore. It is brought up and tried to use as a story to get her in the newspapers when they go to Spain but it’s not a big deal and genuinely comes as a surprise to the audience. 

Once the Musical: Theatre Review

Based on the film of the same name, Once the musical has transferred over from Broadway to London’s West End. The original production opened off-Broadway in December 2011, closing the following month and transferring to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in February 2012 on Broadway.  Winning multiple Tony Awards, it still remains to be a huge success over seas. Before opening at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End, Once made a stop in Dublin (where the show is set) proving majorly popular with audiences already  its future is certainly looking pretty good at the moment!  

The musical follows the story of how the lead male (named simply, Guy) is helped and inspired to take his music career further by Girl (Maybe the writer couldn’t think of names...). They get a band together and record some songs, fall in love but don’t do anything about it. Can’t believe how they spread that over two and a half hours? Neither can I. 

Olivier Awards: Full Short List of nominations

BEST ACTOR

James McAvoy for Macbeth at the Trafalgar Studios
Luke Treadaway for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the NT Cottesloe & the Apollo
Mark Rylance for Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe & the Apollo
Rafe Spall for Constellations at the Royal Court & the Duke of York's
Rupert Everett for The Judas Kiss at Hampstead & the Duke of York's

BEST ACTRESS
Billie Piper for The Effect at the NT Cottesloe
Hattie Morahan for A Doll’s House at the Young Vic
Helen Mirren for The Audience at the Gielgud
Kristin Scott Thomas for Old Times at the Harold Pinter

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Theatre Review

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Bit of a mouth full isn’t it?! Based on the much loved novel by Mark Haddon, This recent National Theatre production had a majorly successful run at the Cottesloe. The production was also shown throughout cinemas worldwide in the National Theatre Live programme. The production has now transferred to the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End and has extended its initial run by 14 weeks, now finishing on the 31^st August.  
This touching story is about 15 year old Christopher who has Asperger Syndrome, one of his neighbours Dogs gets killed and he decides to become a detective and find out who did this, along the way he finds out things he wish he never knew and also finds his mother. Although Christopher has Asperger Syndrome it is never actually said in the play, I think it’s very important that as an audience you don’t watch the play knowing he has this otherwise it becomes an observing experience. The clever thing that Simon Stephens has clearly done in his adaptation of the production is to not make reference to it, as an audience you can clearly see this fact about Christopher but by this not being pointed out you can then freely go on the journey with the character and the experience of watching the play becomes an emotional experience and one that means you can really understand this fascinating boy.  

Burn The Floor: Theatre Review

Burn the Floor was originally conceived after a special performance for Elton John’s 50^th Birthday in 1997 and two years later the show made its world premiere in the UK in Bournemouth. Since then it has played in over 300 cities. The show played the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2010 between the closing of Hairspray and the opening of Flashdance and has now returned thirteen years after it originally opened in the UK to fill the theatre before ‘From Here to Eternity’ opens in October. 

The show is made up of a selection of all different dances, from Rumba to Jive and The Waltz to the Tango. This sassy production provides a range of beautifully executed dances that will make you want to join them up there. The energy that was oozing off that stage was tremendous. Although the show doesn’t have any sort of narrative as a whole it still is a fabulous showcase of the astounding dancing skills that were on that stage. 

Singin' in the Rain the Musical: Theatre Review

Based on the 1952 film of the same name, Singin’ in the Rain has been running at the beautiful Palace Theatre since February of last year. The musical has announced that it will close after a year and a half in the West End in August 2013 and will embark on a UK Tour and will return to its original home, The Chichester Festival Theatre, for a limited run. Everyone knows the classic Hollywood film starring Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly; it has to be one of the best musical films of all time. This production of the show does it justice! Following the story of silent Movie star, Don Lockwood, and how he, his best friend (Cosmo Brown) and his new girlfriend (Kathy Sheldon) must save this new ‘talkie’ movie so Lina Lamont doesn’t humiliate the studio. I’m not going to say anymore as I’m sure you’re familiar with the plot, but if you’re not then go checkout my review of the original cast by clicking here. Not going to lie, the story isn’t the most thrilling plot but it’s not meant to be; its light entertainment. Nacio Herrb Brown and Arthur Freed’s music and lyrics are beautiful; the full score oozes the classic Hollywood feel and is very pleasant to listen to.
Simon Higlett is the designer on the production, the set doesn’t really change throughout the whole show apart from minor changes but this really works, it’s a no fuss design that works in every location. Higlett has obviously taken into consideration every feature of the show and has catered it to work with them and it is faultless.

One Man, Two Guvnors: Theatre Review

One Man, Two Guvnors is a play by Richard Bean which made its debut at the National Theatre in 2011. Following this it toured the UK and transferred to the West End’s Adelphi Theatre and then later at the Royal Haymarket Theatre. Since then the production has opened on Broadway and has launched its second tour which will make international stops. 

The play is a classic slapstick comedy, following the story of Francis Henshall who has been employed by two men, Roscoe Crabbe and Stanley Stubbers. Roscoe Crabbe was meant to have been killed by his twin sisters fiancé but he suddenly comes back to claim Pauline Crocker as his wife. Roscoe is of course his Twin Sister, Rachel Crabbe, in disguise. She is doing this so she can get money off Pauline’s father so she and Stanley (who killed her brother) can go to Australia and hide away from the police. 

I don’t personally like slapstick comedy as I get bored of it after two minutes however this play really brought it into the twenty first century and made it right for a modern audience, integrating audience interaction with the comedy. Richard Bean really knows who to write a comedy, he carried the humour throughout the whole show and he did it really well. At no point did I think ‘this is dragging on’ or ‘ok, next scene please’. A very talented writer. 

Top Hat the Musical: Theatre Review

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers created the roles of Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont in the 1935 film of Top Hat, that one sentence would make anyone think ‘why hasn’t this been made into a musical sooner?!’. But in late 2011 the musical premiered at the Milton Keynes Theatre before embarking on a UK Tour and after that the show transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End in April 2012. The show opened with Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen in the lead roles (With Charlotte Gooch taking over Strallen in November 2012) and since opening it has an almost entire new cast.
I've never seen the movie before nor do I know anything about the plot so going along to see this musical was pretty exciting for me. Jerry Travers (Gavin Lee) is a Broadway star and comes over to London to open a new show. Whilst there he stays with Horace Hardwick (Clive Hayward) who is producing the show, whilst in their hotel he awakes Dale Tremont (Kristen Beth Williams) who is staying below them and Jerry instantly falls in love with her, however she mistakes him for Horace who is her friend Madge’s new husband so she gets very disturbed when she realises this because they’ve basically fallen in love. They all go (separately) to Italy where Dale confronts Madge about this and after lots of tap dancing and plenty of scene changes the whole thing gets resolved.

We Will Rock You the Musical: Theatre Review

After almost 11 years after it originally opened, We Will Rock You is one of London’s longest running musicals to date. Receiving mostly bad reviews when it first opened back in 2002 it’s proved to be an audience favourite and still rocks the Dominion Theatre night after night. Over the years since its original premier its had loads of productions open all over the world; places include Australia, Japan, Las Vegas, Spain, Germany, Canada, Italy, Norway and plenty of other places with a 10^th Anniversary Arena Tour opening at the end of February. 

We Will Rock You follows the story of Scaramouche and Galileo who are outcasts in a world where clones are produced, music is made by computers and all the GaGa kids watch the same thing and learn the same moves. Meat and Brit (two ‘bohemians’) find Galileo and Scaramouche and take them to the heartbreak hotel but they get found out by Khashoggi who is the right hand man to the leader of the iPlanet, the Killer Queen. In the end they find an electric guitar and find real rock music and save the world. 

A Chorus Line the Musical: Theatre Review

Set on Broadway in 1975, A Chorus Line is a musical about dancers who are auditioning for a Broadway show. The original production opened off-Broadway in 1975 and transferred onto Broadway in the same year due to the production having a sell out run and the show also won 10 out of 12 Tony Award nominations. The show ran for 6,137 performances and closed in 1990. A West End production of the show opened in 1976, in the same year U.S and International tours started. Many international productions opened and a film adaptation was released in 1985. A Broadway revival opened in 2006 and closed after running for just under two years, this production recently transferred to the West End marking the shows first ever West End revival. The production is being dedicated to composer Marvin Hamlisch who died last year. 

The is set in an empty Broadway Theatre where an audition is to take place, it follows 17 veteran dancers who are looking for one last job before it’s too late for them to dance anymore. Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban’s score has to be Broadway at its best; each and every song is catchy. When you walk out the theatre each person is humming a different tune! One thing they manage to do, along with the help of James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante’s book, is create 17 characters that all get an individual story making the audience create a wonderful connection with every single cast member. This is truly an ensemble piece and I’m pretty sure there isn’t anything else out there like this. 

Viva Forever the Musical: Theatre Review

After the world-wide success of the hit musical Mamma Mia! it was a given that producer Judy Graymer would take on another juke-box musical. She teamed up with Geri Halliwell and Simon Fuller to develop a new musical using the songs of the Spice Girls entitled Viva Forever. The show has been approached in a similar way to that of Mamma Mia. The production opened in the West End on the 11^th December 2012 at the Piccadilly Theatre to mainly negative reviews. Just over a month after it opened I went along to see it, I wasn’t expecting anything. In fact I was ready to hate the production. But I told myself I wouldn’t go in with any expectations or go in wanting to dislike the show and I actually had a great time! The show follows Viva on her journey to stardom through an X-Factor style reality TV show. She originally auditions with her 3 best friends as a girl group but she is singled out and decides to follow her dream on her own. Within the show you also see Viva’s mother coming to terms with what her daughter wants in life. If you break down the story it is basically Mamma Mia but more topical. What you see on stage in Viva Forever is going to be something that a modern audience is going to recognise, they use the reality TV show really well in this show.

Cabaret the Musical: Theatre Review

 

The premier production of Cabaret opened on Broadway in 1966 with a US Tour and a West End production opening in 1968. The iconic film starring Liza Minnelli was released in 1972 after the success of the musical. After three West End revivals and two Broadway revivals the show returns to London, playing at the Savoy Theatre after a short UK tour. The musical is based on the play ‘I am a Camera’ which was adapted from the novel ‘Goodbye to Berlin’.
The story focuses on nightlife at the Kit Kat Club in World War II Germany following the relationship between English Cabaret performer Sally Bowles and American writer Cliff Bradshaw. This recent revival reunites the creative team from the 2006 London revival at the Lyric Theatre, however they’ve re-imagined the show and given it a new life but stuck to the original idea that they put together for their last production. Rufus Norris really understand this production and what he wants to give to the audience, he’s presented an intelligent but entertaining piece which presents the story in a way in which the audience are completely engaged and the links he has created between the Kit Kat Club and 1931 Germany is astonishing.

9 to 5 the Musical UK Tour: Theatre Review

9 to 5 the Musical is based on the 1980 film of the same name, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. The film was adapted for stage, opening on Broadway in 2009. Parton, who wrote the title song of the original film, wrote the music and lyrics for the musical. The original production on Broadway closed after just 24 previews and 143 regular performances. However the musical didn’t just go away, it embarked on a US tour and last year came over to the UK and is currently touring the country. Set in the 1980s where the work place was a sexist place for women the show tells the story of three women Violet, Doralee and Judy who kidnap their horrible boss and give him a taste of his own medicine. They take over the office and show that just because you’re a women doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing anything a man can do.

I must say that the score of this show is brilliant, for Dolly’s first musical she’s really done a fantastic job and really seems to understand each one of the characters plus getting the musical theatre style spot on, adding her own style to it too. She’s written a song for Judy which comes near the end of the show called Get Out and Stay Out, any person who likes musical theatre would know this song already but this has to be my favourite musical theatre song of all time. Patricia Resnick has written a great script, the thing I love about the show is that it’s a modernised version of the story (obviously still set in the 80s) but it still stays so true to the original essence of the film.

Loserville the Musical: Theatre Review

Loserville is a new musical written by James Bourne and Elliot Davis, the show previously played at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds and ran from the 18^thJune to 14^thJuly 2012. The musical then announced that it would transfer to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End, opening on the 1^stOctober. The show tells the story of 17 Year Old Michael Dork who is obsessed with computers. He and his friends are the losers of the school which is run by the 'popular kids', Eddie and his girlfriend Leia. Then a new girl comes to the school, Holly, who is also a geek. She starts working with Michael on his computer project and she gives Michael the credit he deserves whilst also falling in love with him. It's the classic 'High School Musical' and 'Glee' storyline, very cheesy. I honestly thought I'd hate this show, I added up everything I had heard, all the things I'd seen and the way it had been marketed in my head and that made me have my doubts about the show. However it impressed me!

Spamalot the Musical: Theatre Review

Spamalot is a musical comedy which has been “lovingly ripped off” from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As much as it stays true to the Monty Python legacy it also is packed with jokes about musicals, TV and the music industry which means there is definitely something for everyone in this show. The original Broadway production opened in early 2005, closing four years later. The West End production opened in September 2006 in the Palace Theatre, this production closed only a week before the Broadway production closed (January 2009). A UK Tour was planned in 2009 but this was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances however the tour went ahead the following year. The UK Tour finished mid 2012 and transferred back to the West End, playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre and later transferring to the Playhouse Theatre.Other productions have opened in Las Vegas, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, France and loads of other places!
The show follows King Arthur and his knights on their journey to find the Holy Grail. The show has been scaled down a lot from the original production, just one set with a few small changes. Even though Hugh Durrant’s designs are very ‘panto’, it still fits in with the context of the musical. So even though it’s got a very cheap feeling to it, it still works. The only thing that is sacrificed is the dramaticness of the Lady of the Lake entrance which was, if I’m honest, dreadful. Eric Idle has done a brilliant job with the Book, Lyrics and Music (music with John Du Prez), they’re genius! It is truly a Musical Comedy, possibly one of the funniest musicals ever to be written.

Sister Act the Musical UK Tour: Theatre Review

Sister Act the Musical first premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in California in late 2006 and moved to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in early 2007. The production was labelled as Broadway success from this first production. It transferred to the West End in mid 2009 and closed in October 2010 and was replaced by The Wizard of Oz, the Broadway production opened in April 2011 and closed in late August 2012.Other productions are planned for Stuttgart, The Netherlands, Paris, Australia, Mexico, Spain and many more.
The first UK Tour of the show opened at the Manchester Opera House in September 2011 and tours until October 2012. The story follows Deloris Van Carter, she auditions for a nightclub when she witnesses a murder and has to be put away in hiding. She gets put in a Nunnery where she is appointed the leader of the choir, this is something she begins to feel passionate about and she grows closer to her fellow Sisters. Based on the 1992 film, which itself just screams “Make me into a musical!!!” The show undertook a lot of changes when it moved to Broadway and these are included in this touring production, the show felt and looked like a touring production however this didn’t take away from the enjoyment and quality of the piece.