Shows closing in September

It’s all change in the West End next month as September sees a number of shows bid farewell.

September marks a busy time for Theatreland as a slate of new shows open in town, which means a number of summer hits are closing to make way.

This month, Sam Mendes’ Bridge Project shows at the Old Vic, As You Like It and The Tempest, starring Stephen Dillane and Juliet Rylance, closes on 21 August. They are swiftly followed by La Bete at the Comedy Theatre, which closes on 28 August before heading off to Broadway. The Matthew Warchus-helmed show features a starry cast including David Hyde Pearce, Mark Rylance and Joanna Lumley.

In September, things start to get really shaken up and we lose some of the big summer shows. In a reversal of La Bete, HAIR made its debut on Broadway and then came to London – and you only have until 4 September to see what all the fuss was about and catch the New York cast, including Gavin Creel, before they head home.

Also on the 4th we lose David Essex penned musical All The Fun of the Fair, and dance spectacular Burn The Floor , which is clearing its tango shoes and sequins out of the Shaftesbury Theatre to make room for another big dance show, Flashdance The Musical. This will star Matt Willis and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and is choreographed by Arlene Phillips.

And it’s never just one big dance show that goes: butch and blue-collar Tap Dogs starring Adam Garcia is also leaving the West End the day after Burn The Floor, on 5 September.

The short run of The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, riding high after the BBC’s Sherlock series, will end on 11 September at the Duchess Theatre to make way for Michael Gambon in Krapp’s Last Tape.

And we wave goodbye to Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl on 25 September as Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue leaves the Vaudeville Theatre.

BOOKING AND OFFERS

Save £19 on tickets to see HAIR at the Gielgud Theatre

Save £30 on tickets to see All The Fun of the Fair at the Garrick Theatre

Save £21 on tickets to see Burn The Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Save £11 on tickets to see Tap Dogs at the Novello Theatre

Half Price tickets to see The Secret of Sherlock Holmes at the Duchess Theatre

Save £14 on tickets to see The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre

Casting: Flashdance at the Shaftesbury

Busted’s Matt Willis and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt to star in Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Flashdance The Musical will shimmy its way into the Shaftesbury Theatre this Autumn featuring the star of the UK tour of the show, Victoria Hamilton Barritt, and former Busted boyband member Matt Willis.

Based on the 80s movie about an 18 year old girl from Pittsburgh who is a welder by day and a ‘flashdancer” by night, the show starts previews on 24 September, with its press night on 14 October 2010.

Produced by David Ian (Grease), choreography will be by multi award-winning Arlene Phillips (Grease, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever, Strictly Come Dancing). She choreographed the recent UK tour but will re-choreograph the West End show from the ground-up.

The musical features a well-known score that includes Maniac, Manhunt, Gloria and the Academy Award winning title song Flashdance – What a Feeling. Ten original songs have also been created for the musical.

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is currently starring as Rizzo in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre and created the role of Alex in the UK tour of Flashdance. Other credits include Mamma Mia!, Fame, Desperately Seeking Susan, Saturday Night Fever and West Side Story.

Matt Willis came to fame as a member of boyband Busted and went on to have a solo music career. He won the 2006 series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and has presnted a number of TV shows. He trained at the Sylvia Young acting school. Flashdance The Musical will be his West End theatre debut, fulfilling a long held ambition.

Flashdance is directed by Nikolai Foster and written by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.

The full cast is: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Alex), Matt Willis (Nick), Sarah Ingram (Hannah), Charlotte Harwood (Gloria), Hannah Levane (Keisha) and Twinnie-Lee Moore (Jazmin), plus Brendan Cull, Russell Dixon, Sam Mackay, Ricky Rojas, Andrew Spillett and Robbie White, as well as Ivan Blackstock, Tyman Boatwright, Myles Brown, Joseph Conner, Natalie Edmunds, Nicholas Gilligan, Zoe Green, James Hall, Ben Harrold, Emily Hawgood, Kirby Huges, Sia Kiwa, Lindsay Shaw, Maria Swainson, Amy Thornton and Daniel Uppal.

Book tickets to Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Burn the Floor opens at Shaftesbury

Acclaimed dance show Burn The Floor opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre last night featuring a starry audience and some spectacular dancing.

There was lots of support in the audience for Brian Fortuna and Ali Bastian, who wowed BBC audiences on Strictly Come Dancing last year and take guest spots in the show. Ricky Whittle, Mark Ramprakash, Kara Tointon, Craig Revel Horwood and Arlene Phillips were out in force to see the show and support their dancing pals.

The show’s dynamic mix of Latin and ballroom dancing brings some fiery, passionate power to the Shaftesbury Theatre. Burn The Floor was first conceived as a special performance at Sir Elton John’s 50th birthday celebrations in 1997, and made its UK premiere two years later before setting off on a world tour.

And now it’s back in London, featuring the talents of 20 award-winning dancers from around the globe including 18 year old Robbie Kmetoni from Sydney, who was the winner of the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance, and Cuban salsa dancer Janette Manrara.

Some of the passionate dances featured in the show include the elegance of the Viennese Waltz, the exuberance of the Jive, the intensity of the Paso Doble as well as the Tango, Samba, Mambo, Quickstep and Swing.

Burn The Floor plays at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 4 September, to be followed by another great dance show, Flashdance.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Burn The Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Over the Rainbow’s Sophie Evans off to Oz

Who says that it’s all about winning?

Over The Rainbow runner-up Sophie Evans is set to make her West End debut next year playing Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound new production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.

Sophie, 17 and from Tonypandy in Wales, will take over from Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope every Tuesday evening and the week of 2 May and the 5 to 17 September, when Ms Hope will be on holiday.

Lord Lloyd-Webber and producer Bill Kenwright made the announcement yesterday at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Lloyd Webber’s controversial decision comes in an attempt to learn lessons from his previous TV casting experiences. “People do get sick,” he said, referring to Connie Fisher, star of his 2006 production of The Sound of Music, who was also cast from a BBC One TV show. “[She] had very bad flu and sang through it which she shouldn’t have done, so she was off for a couple of weeks. We didn’t want a repetition of that. We have a responsibility to the girls as well as the audiences”.

Already a number of the other Over The Rainbow finalists have secured parts in shows, including Lauren Samuels, who makes her West End debut next week playing Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre, and Steph Fearon, who is currently appearing in Smokey Joe’s Café at the Landor Theatre.

Loyd Webber and Tim Rice to reunite

In an interview with the Daily Mail this week, Lord Lloyd Webber also revealed that he will be reuniting with Tim Rice after 34 years to pen a number of new songs for The Wizard of Oz. Rice and Lloyd Webber are arguably the world’s most successful living composer-lyricists with shows including Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph. Lloyd Webber told the paper: “The fact is that The Wizard Of Oz has never really worked in the theatre. The film has one or two holes where in the theatre you need a song. For example, there’s nothing for either of the two witches to sing.”

The Wizard of Oz will follow the success of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria in London, which has broken all box-office records and tells the story of the witches from The Wizard of Oz.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group will produce the show, with performances starting from 7 February 2011 at the London Palladium. The creative team behind the 2006 revival of The Sound of Music, including director Jeremy Sams, designer Robert Jones and choreographer Arlene Phillips, will work on the show.

The first stage version of L Frank Baum’s classic book was in 1902 starring Anna Laughlin. The 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland is the most famous version of the show, and was adapted into a stage musical in 1945 by Frank Gabrielson for the St. Louis Municipal Opera.

Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium

Final set for Over The Rainbow

Three contestants named in final of Over The Rainbow in bid to play Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

And then there were three. The winner of Over The Rainbow, to find a Dorothy to star in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz, will be announced this Saturday 22 May on BBC One. The climax of a long search to find the new star of the show will start at 7pm, with the results show on the same evening at 8.55pm.

In a tense semi-final on Sunday, Steph Fearon, 21 , from London was evicted from the show. That leaves Lauren Samuels, 22, from London, Sophie Evans, 17, from Wales and Danielle Hope, 17, from Greater Manchester battling it out in final.

The judges were unanimous when asked who “wasn’t Dorothy”, with all three saying Steph.

Each of the girls had to sing a pop song in the semi-final to prove their versatility. Steph sang Rule The World by Take That. On Steph’s performance John said: “I’ve always said I’m looking for a triple threat, and of all the girls left you are definitely that girl. You came to your first audition with a flower on your face for luck. It takes more than luck to make it in this industry, it takes talent and a break. You’ve got the talent and I hope that the public give you a break.”

Charlotte said: “Outstanding vocal performance… it was a man’s song and a classic – so hard to bring something new to it. I love the colour of your voice in the lower register, it could be great for Dorothy.”

Sheila added: “Great – as far as the lyrics go, I don’t know what it all means, but you made it sound like something.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “You did very well with a difficult song, a pop song. I would have played it a bit more innocently as that’s what we are looking for with Dorothy.”

THE FINAL THREE FINALISTS

Before announcing who was in the bottom two, Graham asked each panel member who “wasn’t Dorothy”. The panel were united in their decision, all three saying “Steph.”

Steph and Lauren gained the least amount of public votes, and had to sing a rendition of Another Suitcase In Another Hall from Evita. Then it was up to Andrew Lloyd Webber alone to choose which Dorothy should be saved for another performance.

Andrew said: “I’m glad it’s the last time I have to make this decision. I know you all so well now, it’s like family. I feel dreadful that I have to take a decision on who is best for Dorothy. I’m going to save Lauren.”

On hearing the announcement, Steph said: “I had the best time of my life. I’ve made friends for life. I’ve learnt so much. Thanks to everyone backstage – you’re all amazing. I’ve had the time of my life.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound new production of the classic musical will start performances on 29 March 2011 at the London Palladium in the West End. The show will feature a number of new songs specially written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who said recently that, “the film worked fantastically but we need some new songs for the stage show”. The creative team will consist of direction by Jeremy Sams, design by Robert Jones and choreography by Arlene Phillips.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group will produce the musical.

Sister Act is currently playing at the theatre, and will now finish at the Palladium on 30 October 2010. It is currently looking for a new West End home.

Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium

Read more about Over The Rainbow

The Wizard of Oz goes on sale

Tickets to the The Wizard of Oz have officially gone on sale.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound new production of the classic musical will start performances on 29 March 2011 at the London Palladium in the West End.

The major new show will star the winner of BBC One’s Over the Rainbow, which is currently searching for a Dorothy to appear in the musical

The show will feature a number of new songs specially written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who said recently that, “the film worked fantastically but we need some new songs for the stage show”. The creative team will consist of direction by Jeremy Sams, design by Robert Jones and choreography by Arlene Phillips.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group will produce the musical.

Sister Act is currently playing at the theatre, and will now finish at the Palladium on 30 October 2010. It is currently looking for a new West End home.

Lord Webber is currently searching for a lucky newcomer to star in the show, in BBC One’s Over The Rainbow. Five contestants remain – Lauren Samuels, Jessica Robinson, Danielle Hope, Sophie Evans and Steph Fearon.

His company owns the London Palladium alongside a number of theatres in London including the Adelphi, where he recently launched his follow-up to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies.

Lloyd Webber said: “We are incredibly excited to be adapting The Wizard of Oz for the stage and re-telling this all-time classic family story. I have long been a huge fan of the original movie, the songs and characters and am really looking forward to bringing it to life again.”

Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium

Read more about Over The Rainbow

Flashdance to hit West End

David Ian’s successful touring production of Flashdance The Musical, based on the cult 80s movie, is making its way into the West End.

After spending 2009 touring the UK, the show will premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre from September 2010, replacing Hairspray which is finishing up at the venue on 28 March.

Riding on the high of movie-to-musical stage shows, and a hard act to follow after the successes of Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing et al, Flashdance The Musical tells the story of 18 year old Alex, a welder by day and ‘flashdancer’ by night, whose dream is to win a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy.

The show features choreography by Arlene Phillips and is based on the Paramount Pictures film – which won an Oscar for its music. Some of the songs from the film feature in the stage show – including  ‘Maniac’, ‘Manhunt’, ‘Gloria’ and the title track ‘Flashdance – What a Feeling’ – as well as 10 original songs created for the musical.

Written by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, Flashdance The Musical will be directed at the Shaftesbury Theatre by Nikolai Foster with orchestrations and musical supervision by Phil Edwards. Casting will be announced shortly.

Book tickets to see Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London