JONATHAN WILKES in Chiacgo
May 13, 2011
Jonathan Wilkes stars in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre in London
Jonathan Wilkes has joined the cast of long running West End musical Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre (until 26 June), playing the role of Billy Flynn.
He has taken over the role from David Bedella, who will join the cast of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory this summer.
Wilkes has appeared on the West End stage as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, and on tour has featured in We Will Rock You, The Wedding Singer, Guys and Dolls, Tommy, Grease, The Rocky Horror Show and Godspell.
He started his career by winning the Cameron Mackintosh Young Entertainer of the Year award in 1996 and going on to present TV shows, write and record albums, and sing and tour with Robbie Williams.
Wilkes stars in Chicago alongside Debbie Kurup as Velma Kelly, Sarah Soetaert as Roxie Hart, James Doherty as Amos Hart, Jasna Ivir as Mama Morton and R. Whitehead as Mary Sunshine.
SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre in London
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
May 4, 2011
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
Free Hotel Rooms in London
January 10, 2011
Celebrate winter with our great new hotel and theatre promotion, with blockbuster shows including Love Never Dies, Legally Blonde, Priscilla, Jersey Boys and Billy Elliot.
Westendtheatre.com has partnered with 18 top London shows and a range of Central London hotels to offers visitors to the city a fabulous winter treat.
Running until the end of March 2011, you can book a free room in a central London hotel when buying a top-price theatre ticket to one of a selection of shows.
Prices start at just £45 ($70 USD / €55 Euros) per person for a three star hotel, continental breakfast and a best seat to a major West End show, based on two people sharing.
An amazing selection of big-budget West End musicals are featured in the promotion including: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to the Phantom of the Opera – Love Never Dies; Legally Blonde, based on the smash-hit movie; Tony award-winning Elton John musical Billy Elliot; a new musical adaptation of Love Story; fabulous, spectacular show Priscilla Queen of the Desert; Jersey Boys featuring the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons; Dirty Dancing; sexy, sassy Kander and Ebb show Chicago; joyous 1960s musical Dreamboats and Petticoats; Grease The Musical; Willy Russell’s powerful musical Blood Brothers; theatre, dance and percussion show Stomp; and Michael Jackson tribute show Thriller Live.
Comedy and drama included in the promotion ranges from a riotously funny adaptation of The 39 Steps, to Samantha Bond in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, terrifying thriller The Woman in Black, and classic comedy When We Are Married.
BOOK NOW
See all shows in the promotion and book now
Terms and conditions of the promotion:
Prices are per person and based on two people sharing a twin or double room in one of our chosen Central London 3* hotels. Valid for select performances and subject to availability. Once booked, the package is non transferable and cannot be exchanged or refunded. All prices include VAT and all other transaction and booking fees. Selected shows are subject to a £5 supplement. For full terms and conditions visit www.westendtheatre.com/theatre-breaks
VIDEO: Chicago at the CambridgeTheatre
November 2, 2010
Kander and Ebb’s sexy, sassy musical about murderous showgirls. The hottest ticket in town.
Book tickets to Chicago
More information about the show
More information about the Cambridge Theatre
VIDEO
Chicago at the CambridgeTheatre
LINKS
Watch more videos on West End Theatre TV
Caroline O’Connor – Ticket Offer Save £10
August 23, 2010
Uber-talented stage star Caroline O’Connor is back in London with a smash-hit show
SPECIAL OFFER: Save £10 on tickets to Caroline O’Connor The Showgirl Within at the Garrick Theatre
Caroline O'Connor The Showgirl Within
Offer valid all performances from 27th September until 3rd October
The international award-winning musicals star Caroline O’Connor is back in London with a new one-woman show following sell-out seasons in New York and Sydney.
Caroline O’Connor: The Showgirl Within is playing for a strictly limited season at the Garrick Theatre in London, from 27 September to 3 October 2010. This fabulous show celebrates Caroline’s amazing acting, singing and dancing career on stage and screen. She will be joined by an exhilarating ensemble of dancers and her own band, in her first ever musical solo show in the West End.
The show will feature standout musical theatre anthems that have shaped her incredible career including roles in hit movies Moulin Rouge and De-Lovely, and stage roles ranging from Piaf and Judy Garland, to both Roxie and Velma in Chicago, Anita in West Side Story and Mabel in Mack & Mabel.
Caroline O’Connor is one of very few actresses to have been nominated for both the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Mack & Mabel and the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play for Bombshells.
SPECIAL OFFER: Save £10 on tickets to Caroline O’Connor The Showgirl Within at the Garrick Theatre
Offer valid all performances from 27th September until 3rd October
Historic year for West End theatres
August 20, 2010
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.
London Palladium in 1912, courtesy of The Theatres Trust
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:
Chicago tickets at the Garrick Theatre
August 1, 2010
Kander and Ebb’s sexy, sassy musical about murderous showgirls moves to a new venue and remains the hottest ticket in town.
Big crowds for West End Live 2010
June 21, 2010
Over 250,000 people gather in Leicester Square for free West End theatre event.
View VIDEOS of West End Live 2010
West End Live, a free event held in the West End this weekend, showcased the best of London theatre and attracted over a quarter of a million people.
Now in its sixth year and the largest free theatre festival in the world, the event featured the casts of some of London’s biggest shows including Thriller Live, Disney’s The Lion King, Legally Blonde, All The Fun Of The Fair, Tap Dogs, We Will Rock You, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Hair, Chicago, Love Never Dies, Avenue Q, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Burn the Floor, Grease, Mamma Mia!, Stomp, Dirty Dancing and Jersey Boys.
An array of West End stars performed at the event including Ramin Karimloo (Love Never Dies), Sheridan Smith (Legally Blonde), Patina Miller (Sister Act), Daniel Boys (Wolfboy) and Ryan Molloy (Jersey Boys).
Councillor Robert Davis of Westminster City Council, who organised the event, said: “Without doubt, this has been our biggest and best West End LIVE. We’ve seen spectacular performances from some of the nation’s favourite shows.”
Nica Burns, President of the Society of London Theatre said: “London has the best theatre in the world and West End LIVE is a fantastic opportunity for people to sample some of the West End’s most popular shows for free.” The success of the past weekend suggests that a quarter of a million satisfied theatre fans agree.
View VIDEOS of West End Live 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actress Winners
June 19, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – BEST ACTRESS WINNERS
Best Actress
2012 Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie
2011 Nancy Carroll for After the Dance
2010 Rachel Weisz for A Streetcar Named Desire
2009 Margaret Tyzack for The Chalk Garden
2008 Kristin Scott Thomas for Chekhov’s The Seagull
2007 Tamsin Greig for Much Ado About Nothing
2006 Eve Best for Hedda Gabler
2005 Clare Higgins for Hecuba
2004 Eileen Atkins for Honour
2003 Clare Higgins for Vincent In Brixton
2002 Lindsay Duncan for Private Lives
2001 Julie Walters for All My Sons
2000 Janie Dee for Comic Potential
1999 Eileen Atkins for The Unexpected Man
1998 Zoë Wanamaker for Electra
1997 Janet McTeer for A Doll’s House
1996 Judi Dench for Absolute Hell
1995 Clare Higgins for Sweet Bird Of Youth
1994 Fiona Shaw for Machinal
1993 Alison Steadman for The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice
1992 Juliet Stevenson for Death And The Maiden
1991 Kathryn Hunter for The Visit
1989/90 Fiona Shaw for Electra, As You Like It and The Good Person Of Sichuan
1987 Judi Dench for Antony and Cleopatra
1986 Lindsay Duncan for Les Liaisons Dangereuses
1985 Yvonne Bryceland for The Road To Mecca
Actress of the Year in a New Play
1988 Pauline Collins for Shirley Valentine
1984 Thuli Dumakude for Poppie Nongena
1983 Judi Dench for Pack Of Lies
1982 Rosemary Leach for 84 Charing Cross Road
1981 Elizabeth Quinn for Children Of A Lesser God
1980 Frances de la Tour for Duet For One
1979 Jane Lapotaire for Piaf
1978 Joan Plowright for Filumena
1977 Alison Fiske for Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi
1976 Peggy Ashcroft for Old World
Actress of the Year in a Revival
1988 Harriet Walter for Twelfth Night and The Three Sisters
1984 Vanessa Redgrave for The Aspern Papers
1983 Frances de la Tour for A Moon For The Misbegotten
1982 Cheryl Campbell for A Doll’s House
1981 Margaret Tyzack for Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
1980 Judi Dench for Juno And The Paycock
1979 Zoë Wanamaker for Once In A Lifetime
1978 Dorothy Tutin for The Double Dealer
1977 Judi Dench for Macbeth
1976 Dorothy Tutin for A Month In The Country
Best Actress in a Musical
2012 The Matildas for Matilda The Musical (Sophia Kiely, Kerry Ingram, Cleo Demetriou and Eleanor Worthington Cox)
2011 Sheridan Smith for Legally Blonde – The Musical
2010 Samantha Spiro for Hello Dolly!
2009 Elena Roger for Piaf
2008 Leanne Jones for Hairspray
2007 Jenna Russell for Sunday In The Park With George
2006 Jane Krakowski for Guys And Dolls
2005 Laura Michelle Kelly for Mary Poppins
2004 Maria Friedman for Ragtime at the Piccadilly
2003 Joanna Riding for My Fair Lady
2002 Martine McCutcheon for My Fair Lady
2001 Samantha Spiro for Merrily We Roll Along
2000 Barbara Dickson for Spend Spend Spend
1999 Sophie Thompson for Into The Woods
1998 Ute Lemper for Chicago
1997 Maria Friedman for Passion
1996 Judi Dench for A Little Night Music
1995 Ruthie Henshall for She Loves Me
1994 Julia McKenzie for Sweeney Todd
1993 Joanna Riding for Carousel
1992 Wilhelmenia Fernandez for Carmen Jones
1991 Imelda Staunton for Into The Woods
1989/90 Lea Salonga for Miss Saigon
1988 Patricia Routledge for Candide
1987 Nichola McAuliffe for Kiss Me Kate
1986 Lesley Mackie for Judy
1985 Patti LuPone for Les Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock
1984 Natalia Makarova for On Your Toes
1983 Barbara Dickson for Blood Brothers
1982 Julia McKenzie for Guys And Dolls
1981 Carlin Glynn for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
1980 Gemma Craven for They’re Playing Our Song
1979 Virginia McKenna for The King And I
West End Live this weekend
June 17, 2010
A free event will be held in London this weekend, showcasing the best of West End theatre.
West End Live will feature the casts of some of London’s biggest shows, performing at a free event this weekend in Leicester Square. On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June 2010, hundreds of West End performers will gather to showcase the best of London theatre. Careful juggling by the organisers has enabled the casts of over 25 shows to appear live on a stage in Leicester Square in between performing their matinee and evening performances.
Download and print the West End Live timetable of events.
The line-up for the celebration has now been confirmed, with Brazil! Brazil! launching the weekend at 11am on Saturday.
Shows which have agreed to participate in the family event include Thriller Live, Disney’s The Lion King, Legally Blonde, All The Fun Of The Fair, Tap Dogs, We Will Rock You, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Hair, Chicago, Love Never Dies, Avenue Q, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Burn the Floor, Grease, Mamma Mia!, Stomp, Dirty Dancing and Jersey Boys.
West End stars will be out in force to entertain audiences at the event, including Daniel Boys (Wolfboy), who will be hosting proceedings from 12 noon to 6pm on Sunday 20 June, Sheridan Smith (Legally Blonde), Kerry Ellis (Oliver!), Patina Miller (Sister Act) and Hannah Waddingham (Into The Woods).
Saturday’s full line up* is as follows: 11.00am Brazil! Brazil!; 11.15am Dirty Dancing; 11.25am Burn the Floor; 11.35am Wicked; 11.45am We Will Rock You; 12.05pm Billy Elliot; 12.15pm Love Never Dies; 12.30pm Chicago; 12.45pm HAIR; 13.05pm Jersey Boys; 13.25pm Sweet Charity; 13.35pm Grease; 13.50pm Mamma Mia!; 14.00pm Sister Act; 14.10pm Thriller Live; 14.30pm Julie Atherton; 14.40pm Avenue Q; 15.00pm Into the Woods; 15.20pm Fireman Sam; 15.30pm Sylvia Young Theatre School; 15.50pm Burn the Floor; 16:00pm The Big Dance; 16:20pm London Gay Men’s Chorus; 16:35pm Burn The Floor; 16.45pm The Gleeks; 17.10pm Royal Albert Hall; 17.35pm All the Fun of the Fair; 17.45pm STOMP.
On Sunday* there’s more theatrical thrills and spills with: 12.00pm Tap Dogs; 12.15pm Stomp; 12.30pm Thriller Live; 12.55pm Jersey Boys; 13.10pm Priscilla Queen of the Deasert; 13.25pm Legally Blonde; 13.35pm Disney’s The Lion King; 13.50pm Mamma Mia!; 14.00pm West End Kids; 14.15pm Daniel Boys; 14.30pm National Youth Music Theatre; 14.45pm Into the Woods; 15.10pm Mark Jermin Stage School; 15.30pm Fireman Sam; 15.45pm Jack Day; 16.00pm T Mobile Big Dance; 16.20pm West End Gospel Choir; 16.40pm Burn the Floor; 16.50pm SOLT competition; 17.00pm 1916 the Musical; 17.15pm Burn the Floor; 17.25pm Dover Street.
* Timetable and acts subject to change – check West End Live site for details.
To get the party started early, the cast of Wicked will also be performing on Friday 18 June 2010 at Cardinal Place, Victoria between 12.30 and 1pm for a pre West End LIVE performance.
The weekend event will feature exhibits and activities including the London Film Museum, Science Museum, V&A Museum, Little Angel Puppet theatre and Forbidden Planet.
Over a quarter of a million people attended last year’s event in Leicester Square. Running in a variety of formats for a number of years, including the Society of London Theatre’s Fair in the Square events in the 1990s, this year’s two-day event is organised by Westminster City Council.
Saturday 19 June, 11am-6pm and Sunday 20 June, 12noon to 6pm in Leicester Square.
Download and print the West End Live timetable of events.
LINKS: West End Live website
