Noel Coward’s Relative Values West End bound with Patricia Hodge, Rory Bremner and Caroline Quentin?

West End transfer gossip

Trevor Nunn directs a new production of Noel Coward’s Relative Values at the Theatre Royal Bath this summer (from 12 June 2013).

In a starry cast that features Katherine Kingsley, Patricia Hodge, Rory Bremner and Caroline Quentin, the rumours are that the play may be West End bound.

One of Noël Coward’s most successful comedies, Relative Values in set in the early 1950s and deals with the culture clash between the glittering world of Hollywood and the stiff upper lip of the English aristocracy.

LINKS

Theatre Royal Bath website

Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde set for West End transfer

Rupert Everett’s critically acclaimed performance as Oscar Wilde is set for a West End transfer this January.

Following great notices and audience reaction at Hampstead Theatre, David Hare’s 1988 play The Judas Kiss, which describes two pivotal moments in the downfall of playwright Oscar Wilde, will move into the Duke of York’s Theatre from 9 January 2013.

Produced by Robert Fox, who also produced Everett in his breakout role in Another Country, the play stars Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde alongside Robert Fox’s nephew Freddie Fox as Lord Alfred and Cal Macaninch, Ben Hardy, Kirsty Oswald, Alister Cameron and Tom Colley.

The play is directed by one of Australia’s leading directors, Neil Armfield.

Booking details to be confirmed.

LINKS

Book tickets to The Judas Kiss at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London

Kim Cattrall to star in Sweet Bird of Youth at Old Vic

THIS SHOW IS NOW BOOKING – CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Kevin Spacey’s last season as Artistic Director of the Old Vic Theatre will see Hollywood actress Kim Cattrall star in Sweet Bird of Youth this June.

Cattrall, who is most famous for playing Samantha in Sex And The City and recently starred in Antony and Cleopatra at the Chichester Festival Theatre, will play fading movie star  Alexandra del Lago in Tennessee Williams’s 1959 play Sweet Bird Of Youth.

The play will be directed by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning co-director of War Horse, Marianne Elliott, with rehearsals from April and a June opening at the Old Vic.

There is no news on who will be cast as Chance Wayne, Alexandra’s gigolo boyfriend and a role immortalised on film by Paul Newman. Producers are believed to be looking for a high-profile American leading man.

THIS SHOW IS NOW BOOKING – CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Made In Dagenham The Musical set for London stage

A new stage musical based on the hit film Made In Dagenham is currently being worked on, set for a London debut in 2013.

Actress Gemma Arterton has been linked to the lead role of Rita, played by Sally Hawkins in the movie, and this month performed in a workshop version of Act One of the show.

The show is being developed by a strong creative team including director Rupert Goold (Enron), a book by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors), music by David Arnold (Bond films) who penned the film’s original score, and lyrics by Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer The Opera).

Stage Entertainment are producing the musical, which is set for a 2013 opening date in London.

 

   

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark in London

Mega Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is set to open in London, although date and venue are yet to be confirmed.

One of the most technically challenging and spectacular Broadway musicals of all time is set to come to London, as the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark look for a venue in London to host the show.

The show follows the storyline of the comic book series and the 2002 movie, featuring teenager Peter Parker and his super spider powers, pitted against enemies including the Green Goblin.

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has become as famous for its backstage antics as its on-stage spectacle, with a very public falling out between producers and the original director Julie Taymor, and a series of serious accidents that occurred in previews and early shows as the cast got to grips with the technically complex aerial flying.

The show features a score and lyrics by U2′s Bono and the Edge and is directed by Julie Taymor and Phillip William McKinley, with a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. It is currently unclear whether the lead of the Broadway show, Reeve Carney, would transfer to London or if the producers will find a home-grown Spider-Man. A UK star has become more likely since British actor Andrew Garfield was cast in the latest movie rebooting of the franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man.

The challenge for the producers in London will be to find a venue big enough to host this giant show. Watch this space.

BOOKING

Details to be confirmed. Sign up to our news alerts service to hear about booking for this show.

BROADWAY TICKETS: Book tickets to Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark on Broadway

Les Miserables Movie: the excitement mounts for new movie musical starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe

The big-screen version of hit musical Les Miserables will be coming to a cinema near you by the end of the year – and fans around the world are starting to get seriously excited. 

The big-screen version of hit musical Les Miserables will be coming to a cinema near you by the end of the year – and fans around the world are starting to get seriously excited.

The big-screen version of hit musical Les Miserables will be coming to a cinema near you by the end of the year – and fans around the world are starting to get seriously excited.

 

Produced by the stage show’s producer Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title Films, with distribution by Universal, the movie is directed by The King’s Speech Oscar-winner Tom Hooper and stars  Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Sacha Baron Cohen as Thernardier, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Samantha Barks as Eponine, and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier.

Kander & Ebb charity gala cancelled

Story Update:

Kander & Ebb tribute at the Victoria Palace Theatre cancelled

A major charity gala which was to have been held in London on 29 April 2012 to celebrate the work of legendary songwriters Kander & Ebb has been cancelled.

The all-star gala at the Victoria Palace Theatre wass being produced by veteran promoter and producer Barry Mishon in collaboration with John Kander, and was to have aided the Ovarian Cancer Action charity.

The charity today announced that it had decided to withdraw from the show, “ for no other reason than due to the current economic climate in which we are operating”, and that they were, “unable to afford to proceed with this venture. Had we been able to continue, we had complete confidence that it would have been a great success, but the environment necessitates that the focus and spend of the Charity must be solely on its core charitable activities at the current time. We reiterate our extreme disappointment at having to arrive at this conclusion, and thank everyone sincerely, particularly Barry, for the time, effort, enthusiasm and determination which has gone into this to date.”

Barry Mishon, the producer of the show, thanked everyone for their  ”great support” but said that he was “dismayed and very upset” on hearing the news.

Stars who had signed up to appear included Tony award winning Chicago choreographer Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera, Marvin Hamlisch, Janie Dee, Maria Friedman, Tyne Daly, Stefanie Powers, Billy Stritch, Clive Rowe, Claire Moore, Linzi Hately, Bonnie Langford, Sally Ann Triplett, Ria Jones, Sian Phillips and Frances Ruffelle.

John Kander and Fred Ebb are two of the most successful musical theatre songwriting partnerships of all time, with their work including Cabaret, Chicago, Zorba, The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman. Fred Ebb passed away in 2004.

LINKS

SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to Chicago at the Garrick Theatre in London

Ovarian Cancer Action website

Bridget Jones’s Diary The Musical

Helen Fielding’s best-selling book Bridget Jones’s Diary set for blockbuster musical remake.

Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot) and choreographed by Peter Darling (Billy Elliot), the show will feature numbers by Lily Allen and Greg Kurstin, and a script by the author of the original books, Helen Fielding.

Sheridan Smith, recent star of Trevor Nunn’s Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, is tipped to play Bridget.

The musical is being developed by Working Title, who are currently in development on a third Bridget Jones movie.

2012 will be a big year for Daldry, who is producing the London Olympics opening ceremony with Danny Boyle, and directing Disney’s Dumbo on Broadway.

BOOKING

Details to be confirmed. Sign up to our news alerts service to hear about booking for this show.

The Phantom of the Opera UK Tour – back to London?

Will Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brand new 25th anniversary tour of The Phantom of the Opera make it’s way back to London?

Cameron Mackintosh pulled off a hat trick for the Les Miserables 25th anniversary by featuring the original London production, the new UK touring production AND a special O2 Arena concert version in London all at the same time.

If the Phantom tour, directed by the Les Mis tour director Laurence Connor rather than the show’s original director Hal Prince, is successful, then maybe Mackintosh, who is the producer of Phantom, will be tempted to bring it in to town.

The Phantom tour kicks off at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2012.

LINKS

Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London

The Phantom of the Opera UK tour website

 

Ann Reinking signs up for Kander & Ebb charity gala