Jonathan Wilkes To Star As Billy Flynn In The Smash-Hit Musical Chicago At The Cambridge Theatre From Monday 9 May For A Limited 7-Week Season

DEBBIE KURUP TO STAR AS VELMA KELLY FROM 23 MAY – 18 SEPTEMBER TICKETS ARE £20 FOR UNDER 20s MONDAYS TO THURSDAYS AND FRIDAY AND SATURDAY MATINEES

Jonathan Wilkes will star as Billy Flynn in the smash-hit West End musical CHICAGO at the Cambridge Theatre from Monday 9 May for seven weeks only, until 26 June. His last West End engagement was as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. On tour, Jonathan has starred in We Will Rock You, The Wedding Singer, Guys and Dolls, Tommy, Grease, The Rocky Horror Show and Godspell. Debbie Kurup will be reprising the role of Velma Kelly, which she originally played in 2006, also from 9 May for seven weeks only. Her most recent West End role was as KT in the original cast of Sister Act at the London Palladium.

Sarah Soetaert will continue to star as Roxie Hart, James Doherty as Amos Hart, Jasna Ivir as Mama Morton and R. Whitehead as Mary Sunshine.

CHICAGO opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 18 November 1997 to rave reviews and immediately became a sell-out hit. CHICAGO won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Outstanding Musical Production’ as well as the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for ‘Best Musical’. CHICAGO transferred from the Adelphi Theatre to the Cambridge Theatre in April 2006. CHICAGO is produced in London by the Broadway producers Barry and Fran Weissler.

CHICAGO, which is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. CHICAGO is choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse and directed by Walter Bobbie. The West End production of CHICAGO is staged by the entire original Broadway creative team.

Release issued by: Amanda Malpass Media

LINKS

SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to CHICAGO at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Andrew Lloyd Webber keeps theatres

Andrew Lloyd Webber has pulled out of a deal to sell four of his West End theatres to a consortium led by Michael Grade.

The original deal for the theatres was rumoured to be around £50 million and the consortium buying the theatres was led by former BBC Chairman and ITV Chief Executive Michael Grade and theatre agent Michael Linnit.

A statement released by Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group regarding the sale to the GradeLinnit consortium said that “at the eleventh hour, GradeLinnit raised issues relating to a long-standing contractual agreement between one of the theatres and a production company about a possible future production. GradeLinnit decided that they would not want to take this contract forward as owners of the theatre. The Really Useful Group has chosen to continue with the agreement and therefore the sale will not be going ahead.”

The deal had included the New London Theatre, current home to War Horse, the Palace Theatre, where Priscilla Queen of the Desert is playing, Chicago venue the Cambridge Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre, which has run Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera since 1986.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Really Useful Group will continue to own the four theatres and West End flagship venues the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, currently housing Oliver! and then Shrek The Musical, the London Palladium, which sees Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz open in February, and a 50% stake in the Adelphi Theatre, home to Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies.

It is expected that Michael Grade will be particularly disappointed that the sale has not gone through. His family’s history is entwined with London theatre, with his uncle Lew Grade staging Sunday Night at the London Palladium in the 1950s and 60s for his ATV network. Michael has recently recorded a Radio 2 history of the venue timed for its centenary this December.

His uncle Bernard Delfont converted the London Hippodrome into the Talk of the Town restaurant in 1958, bringing in a host of entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt and Judy Garland, and staging the Folies Bergère. In the early 1990s Bernard Delfont struck a deal with Cameron Mackintosh to take on his Prince Edward and Prince of Wales theatres, creating the company Delfont Mackintosh, which today owns seven West End theatres.

Lloyd Webber has been slowly divesting of his theatre assets. In 2005 Really Useful sold four theatres to Nimax Theatres – the Lyric, Apollo, Garrick and Duchess for £11.5 million. And in a frank interview with the Daily Mail in July, Lloyd Webber talked of the stress involved in keeping the theatres going and the large debt owed on them: “We’ve got an overdraft of about £100 million against the theatres, which is too much… it’s simply beyond me.”

Producers associated with the venues that were to be sold include Cameron Mackintosh, producer of The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Broadway producers Barry and Fran Weissler and their production of Chicago at the Cambridge and Liz Koops and Garry McQuinn at Back Row Productions, producers of Priscilla at the Palace Theatre.

It has long been rumoured that Cameron Mackintosh would like to buy the London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for his Delfont Mackintosh company, but Lloyd Webber has so far been unwilling to divest of the venues.

LINKS

More information on the New London Theatre, Cambridge Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Palace Theatre

VIDEO: Chicago at the CambridgeTheatre

Kander and Ebb’s sexy, sassy musical about murderous showgirls. The hottest ticket in town.

Book tickets to Chicago
More information about the show
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Chicago at the CambridgeTheatre

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Lloyd Webber sells venues to Michael Grade

Lord Lloyd Webber has agreed to sell four of his West End theatres to a consortium headed by Michael Grade, according to The Stage newspaper.

The deal for the theatres, rumoured to be around £50 million, was brokered earlier this week. The consortium buying the theatres is led by former BBC Chairman and ITV Chief Executive Michael Grade and theatre agent Michael Linnit.

The deal includes the New London Theatre, current home to War Horse, the Palace Theatre, where Priscilla Queen of the Desert is playing, Chicago venue the Cambridge Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre, which has run Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera since 1986.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Really Useful Group will continue to own West End flagship venues the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, currently housing Oliver! and then Shrek The Musical, the London Palladium, which sees Sister Act close on Saturday and Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz open in February, and a 50% stake in the Adelphi Theatre, home to Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies.

Final contracts are still to be signed. Really Useful Group chief executive Andre Ptaszynski has told staff at the venues that “we are fully committed to a process of information provision and consultation, where appropriate, with staff (and trade unions) to make sure that we cover all employee issues and concerns.”

Michael Grade’s family history is entwined with London theatre, with his uncle Lew Grade staging Sunday Night at the London Palladium in the 1950s and 60s for his ATV network. Michael has recently recorded a Radio 2 history of the venue timed for its centenary this December.

His uncle Bernard Delfont converted the London Hippodrome into the Talk of the Town restaurant in 1958, bringing in a host of entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt and Judy Garland, and staging the Folies Bergère. In the early 1990s Bernard Delfont struck a deal with Cameron Mackintosh to take on his Prince Edward and Prince of Wales theatres, creating the company Delfont Mackintosh, which today owns seven West End theatres.

Michael Grade’s ability to run leisure and entertainment companies has often come under fierce criticism. He took over Bernard Delfont’s First Leisure Corporation, set up with Max Payne, in 1997, leaving in 1999 after a turbulent few years. He received harsh criticism from Delfont’s widow, Lady Delfont, who told the Daily Telegraph in 1999 that, “At no time did we understand that Michael Grade’s job was to asset-strip a thriving company.”

His recent tenure at ITV was during a troubled time for the broadcaster and, as Chairman of Pinewood Shepperton studios, he recently faced calls to step down by one of its leading investors, the funds group Crystal Amber, charged with an unconvincing performance since the company floated six years ago and a lack of adequate direction.

Lloyd Webber has been slowly divesting of his theatre assets. In 2005 Really Useful sold four theatres to Nimax Theatres – the Lyric, Apollo, Garrick and Duchess for £11.5 million. And in a frank interview with the Daily Mail in July, Lloyd Webber talked of the stress involved in keeping the theatres going and the large debt owed on them: “We’ve got an overdraft of about £100 million against the theatres, which is too much… it’s simply beyond me.”

Lloyd Webber has a close association with all four venues he is divesting: the Palace Theatre was famously the office of Prince Edward, who worked for Lord Webber on a number of his shows from the venue; the Cambridge Theatre housed his production of The Beautiful Game in 2000; the New London was where his acclaimed, internationally successful production of Cats started in 1981; and Her Majesty’s Theatre has been home to his most successful ever production, The Phantom of the Opera, which celebrated its 10,000th performance at the venue this week.

LINKS

More information on the New London Theatre, Cambridge Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Palace Theatre

Cambridge Theatre in London – Map

A London map highlighting the location of the Cambridge Theatre, Earlham Street, London, WC2 9HU

Read more about the theatre, including What’s On, Journey Planner, Seating Plan, Parking and Transport

Back to all London Maps of Theatres

Cambridge Theatre

Cambridge Theatre, Earlham Street, London, WC2 9HU

View Map

View Seating Plan

What’s playing and coming up at the Cambridge Theatre

Nearest Underground: Covent Garden (Piccadilly line)
Nearest Buses: 1, 14, 19, 22, 29, 34, 55, 176

HALF PRICE PARKING:
Nearest Car Park: Chinatown
Next nearest Car Park: Trafalgar
Learn more about Westminster’s Half Price Theatreland Parking Scheme here

QUICK FACTS

Opened: 4 September 1930
Designed by: Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie with Serge Chermayeff
First production: Charlot’s Masquerade by Ronald Jeans
Number of seats: 1,283

Michael Grade turns attention to West End

Michael Grade, of the legendary Grade and Delfont entertainment dynasty, is eyeing up the West End as his next conquest.

Should we be scared?

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who owns a number of London theatres and has recently talked about his keenness to divest of a few, is in talks to sell four venues: the New London, where War Horse is currently playing, the Palace (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), the Cambridge (Chicago) and Her Majesty’s (The Phantom of the Opera).

It is believed that the theatres would be bought for around £50 million by a consortium led by Grade, theatre agent Michael Linnit and financial backers.

The package of theatres doesn’t include the three flagship venues of the group: the Adelphi, currently home to Lloyd-Webber’s musical Love Never Dies, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the London Palladium.

Michael Grade’s family history is entwined with London theatre, with his uncle Lew Grade staging Sunday Night at the London Palladium in the 1950s and 60s for his ATV network. Michael has recently recorded a Radio 2 history of the venue timed for its centenary this December.

His uncle Bernard Delfont converted the London Hippodrome into the Talk of the Town restaurant in 1958, bringing in a host of entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt and Judy Garland, and staging the Folies Bergère. In the early 1990s Bernard Delfont struck a deal with Cameron Mackintosh to take on his Prince Edward and Prince of Wales theatres, creating the company Delfont Mackintosh, which today owns seven West End theatres.

But in the last few years Michael Grade’s ability to run leisure and entertainment companies has come under fierce criticism. He took over Bernard Delfont’s First Leisure Corporation, set up with Max Payne, in 1997, leaving in 1999 after a turbulent few years. He received harsh criticism from Delfont’s widow, Lady Delfont, who told the Daily Telegraph in 1999 that, “At no time did we understand that Michael Grade’s job was to asset-strip a thriving company.”

His recent tenure at ITV was largely believed to have been unsuccessful, and as Chairman of Pinewood Shepperton studios he is currently facing calls to step down by one of its leading investors, the funds group Crystal Amber, charged with an unconvincing performance since the company floated six years ago and a lack of adequate direction.

Lloyd Webber has been slowly divesting of his theatre assets. In 2005 Really Useful sold four theatres to Nimax Theatres – the Lyric, Apollo, Garrick and Duchess for £11.5 million. And in a frank interview with the Daily Mail in July, Lloyd Webber talked of the stress involved in keeping the theatres going and the large debt owed on them: “We’ve got an overdraft of about £100 million against the theatres, which is too much… it’s simply beyond me.”

Let’s hope these precious assets are not beyond Michael Grade.

Historic year for West End theatres

An historic number of West End theatres celebrate important anniversaries this year, including 80th birthdays for three theatres in September.

A boom in theatre building in the Art Deco 1930′s has resulted in six West End theatres celebrating their 80th anniversaries in 2010.

September proves a particularly important month, with three theatres celebrating their 80th: the Cambridge Theatre on Earlham Street on 4 September; Charing Cross Road’s Phoenix Theatre on 24 September; and the Trafalgar Studios on Whitehall, formerly known as the Whitehall Theatre, on 29 September.

Already this year the Prince Edward Theatre has celebrated its 80th birthday on 3 April, and later in the year the Apollo Victoria Theatre will mark its 80th on 15 October and the Adelphi Theatre on 3 December.

Celebrations will include a charity gala for the Apollo Victoria on 10 October featuring the cast of the venue’s current show, Wicked, and past productions including Starlight Express.

Advisory Body, The Theatres Trust, commented on the anniversaries: “The West End theatres that celebrate their 80th anniversaries this year are among the UK’s best examples of art deco and moderne style venues. Each is distinctive and unique, built to appeal to a public eager for entertainment, plays, films, variety and musicals. It is a mark of their quality that they continue to do so to this day.”

2010 also marks theatrical milestones for a number of other venues, notably the 100th anniversary of the famous London Palladium on 26 December. A special Facebook page has been set up for the London Palladium’s centenary allowing theatregoers and theatre professionals to remember the historic venue. Also, on Radio 2 this autumn a two-part documentary series, The London Palladium Story, will tell the story of the theatre, narrated by Michael Grade.

Also this year the Peacock Theatre, originally called the Royalty Theatre, will celebrate its 40th birthday in June, and the former Leicester Square Theatre, now the Odeon West End cinema, will turn 80.

QUICK THEATRE FACTS

Adelphi Theatre

Opened: 3 December 1930

Designed: Ernest Schaufelberg, incorporating parts of the former Sans Pareil theatre

Location: Strand, London, WC2E 7NA Adelphi Theatre Map

First production: Ever Green by Benn W. Levy and Lorenz Hart

Current production: Love Never Dies

Apollo Victoria Theatre

Opened: 15 October 1930

Designed: E. Wamsley Lewis and W E Trent

Location: 17 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LL Apollo Victoria Theatre Map

First production: originally opened as a cinema (film: George Arlis in Old English)

Current production: Wicked

Cambridge Theatre

Opened: 4 September 1930

Designed: Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie with Serge Chermayeff

Location: Earlham Street, London, WC2 9HU Cambridge Theatre Map

First production: Charlot’s Masquerade by Ronald Jeans

Current production: Chicago

London Palladium

Opened: 26 December 1910

Designed: Frank Matcham

Location: London Palladium, Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF London Palladium Map

First production: A Variety Show and one act play called The Conspiracy.

Current production: Sister Act

Peacock Theatre

Opened: June 1960

Designed: Lewis Solomon and Kaye and Partners

Location: Portugal Street, London, WC2A 2HT Peacock Theatre Map

First production: opened as a cinema

Current productions: include La Boheme, Euridice

Phoenix Theatre

Opened: 24 September 1930

Designed: Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Bertie Crew, and Cecil Masey, with Theodore Komisarjevsky

Location: Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0JP Phoenix Theatre Map

First production: Noel Coward’s Private Lives

Current production: Blood Brothers

Prince Edward

Opened: 3 April 1930

Designed: Edward A. Stone with Marc-Henri and Laverdet and Gaston Laverdet

Location: Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4HS Prince Edward Theatre Map

First production: Rio Rita by Harry Tierney

Current production: Jersey Boys

Trafalgar Studios

Opened: 29 September 1930

Designed: Edward A. Stone with Marc-Henri and Laverdet and Gaston Laverdet

Location: Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY Trafalgar Studios Map

First production: The Way To Treat A Woman by Walter Hackett

Current productions: include Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita, State Fair

LINKS:

The Theatres Trust

Arthur Lloyd website

Ruthie Henshall in Chicago – Save £20

Save £20.75 on tickets to see CHICAGO at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Offer valid all performances except Saturday Evenins (excludes School Holidays)

NOW STARRING RUTHIE HENSHALL UNTIL 18 APRIL.

Eleven years on Chicago still remains ‘the hottest show in town’. And for a limited time only the original star of the London show, RUTHIE HENSHALL, rejoins the cast to play Roxie Hart.

Created by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Chicago is the kiss-and-tell story of chorus girl Roxie who kills her lover; Velma Kelly, the glamorous double-murderer and Billy Flynn, the slick and manipulative lawyer keeping them from death row while promising to make them stars, has all the topicality of our celebrity-seeking times. It also provides some of the most sensational roles in all musical theatre.

Be razzled and dazzled by Chicago: a true Broadway and West End classic.

‘Still the hottest show in town’ The Independent.

‘A sleek package of sex, murder, great songs and arch wit’ Evening Standard.

‘The sharpest, slickest show on the block!’ The Times.

Save £20.75 on tickets to see CHICAGO at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Offer valid all performances except Saturday Evenins (excludes School Holidays)

Ruthie makes Chicago return

Ruthie Henshall will reprise her acclaimed performance as Roxie Hart this month when she returns to hit musical Chicago.

The award-winning actress, who originated the role of Roxie in 1997, will star in the show from 14 December for a limited 9 week run.  Between 28 December and 2 January, Bonnie Langford will take over the role, fresh from her success playing Roxie on Broadway.

Also featuring in the cast will be Terra C MacLeod, who will make her London stage debut as Velma Kelly after playing the role in Paris, Montreal, New York and the National USA production. Ian Kelsey and David Ganly star as Billy Flynn and Amos Hart.

The show, which plays at the Cambridge Theatre in London, recently celebrated 5000 performances in the West End and is currently playing in New York, Australia, Denmark and on tour both in the UK and US.

Ruthie Henshall has appeared in numerous West End and Broadway shows including Marguerite, Crazy for You, She Loves Me, The Woman in White, Cats, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Oliver!, Putting it Together and Peggy Sue Got Married.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £20 on tickets to see Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre in London

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