Prisoner of Second Avenue – Save £9

Save £9 on tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue starring Jeff Goldblum at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

A new production of Neil Simon’s 1971 comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue is the first West End project for Kevin Spacey’s Old Vic Theatre. The bitter-sweet comedy stars Hollywood actors Jeff Goldblum (Tall Guy) and Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) for a limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre.

In the show Goldblum stars as Mel Edison, a man at breaking point. In the heat of a New York City summer his air-conditioning has broken, his neighbours won’t shut-up, his job is hanging by a thread and there are a gang of burglars on the prowl.

Terry Johnson, flush from his Tony success for La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway, directs the show.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

The Prisoner of Second Avenue – Reviews Round-up

The Old Vic’s first adventure north of the river under the stewardship of Kevin Spacey has not been a critical smash, but pleased the critics sufficiently to be a respectable launch pad for further projects.

The show’s performances, notably the two leads Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl, and direction fared better with the critics than Neil Simon’s play.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre is a revival of Neil Simon’s 1971 comedy starring  In the show Goldblum stars as Mel Edison, a man at breaking point. In the heat of a New York City summer his air-conditioning has broken, his neighbours won’t shut-up, his job is hanging by a thread and there are a gang of burglars on the prowl.

Terry Johnson, flush from his Tony success for La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway, has directed the show.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

New Old Vic season launched

Kevin Spacey pulls out the stops for his 7th year at the Old Vic with three heavy-weight directors

Hollywood actor and Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey has announced a new season of plays at the Old Vic Theatre in London.

Now in his seventh year at the theatre, Spacey revealed that he has attracted three of Britain’s leading directors to helm three revivals during 2010 and 2011.

Anthony Page, whose credits include last year’s Waiting for Godot on Broadway, will direct Noël Coward’s Design For Living, playing at the theatre from 3 September to 27 November 2010. The play will star Tom Burke (Telstar), Andrew Scott (Lennon Naked) and Lisa Dillon (Cranford). Written in 1932, the comedy concerns the complicated three-way relationship between two men and a woman.

Richard Eyre, who recently directed Kim Cattrall in Private Lives at the Vaudeville Theatre, will direct Georges Feydeau’s 1907 French farce A Flea In Her Ear, in a version by John Mortimer, from 4 December 2010 to 5 March 2011. The production will star Tom Hollander (In The Loop) and Lisa Dillon.

Finally, Thea Sharrock, who has enjoyed enormous success for her current National Theatre staging of Terence Rattigan’s After The Dance, will return to the playwright in his centenary year with a revival of his final play, Cause Célèbre, from 17 March to 11 June 2011.

Sharrock will also direct Alison Steadman in a new production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, coming to the Apollo Theatre from March 2011.

Spacey commented on the new season: “These are three great plays that all rather brilliantly explore the attitudes of their time and offer wonderful roles to actors.”

Current shows at the Old Vic and the Old Vic in the West End:

Book tickets to Design For Living at the Old Vic Theatre

Book tickets to A Flea In Her Ear at the Old Vic Theatre

Book tickets to Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic Theatre

Book tickets to The Tempest at the Old Vic Theatre

Book tickets to As You Like It at the Old Vic Theatre

Book tickets to see The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre

Old Vic’s first West End adventure

Old Vic make journey into the West End with The Prisoner of Second Avenue

THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE

Kevin Spacey’s Old Vic theatre company will open its first West End show tonight, at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand.

A new production of Neil Simon’s 1971 comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue is the first project for the theatre company in the West End, and stars Hollywood actors Jeff Goldblum (Tall Guy) and Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) for a limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre.

In the show Goldblum stars as Mel Edison, a man at breaking point. In the heat of a New York City summer his air-conditioning has broken, his neighbours won’t shut-up, his job is hanging by a thread and there are a gang of burglars on the prowl.

Terry Johnson, flush from his Tony success for La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway, directs the show.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

ALSO OPENING THIS WEEK:

GHOST STORIES

Wednesday sees the opening of Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, following a sell-out season run at the Lyric Hammersmith.

A truly terrifying theatrical experience written and directed by The League of Gentlemen’s master of the macabre, Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman, co-creator and director of Derren Brown’s television and stage shows and star of Dead Set and Severance.

As three men gather together, each has an uncanny, chilling tale to tell. Ghost Stories played a hugely successful run at the Lyric Hammersmith before transferring to the Duke of York’s theatre in the West End. The show stars Nicholas Burns, David Cardy, Ryan Gage and Andy Nyman.

The show is strictly for theatregoers aged 16 and older.

Book tickets to Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London

Summer Theatre in the West End

New shows opening in London this summer

Spring and autumn may be the busiest times for new shows in London, but this summer will still pack quite a punch with some big names, high-profile directors and a few surprises in store.

A range of musicals and plays will open in the capital over the next few months, including classic musicals from Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods) and Rogers & Hammerstein (State Fair); starry comedy, including David Hyde Pearce and Joanna Lumley in La Bete, Jeff Goldblum in The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Simon Russell Beal and Jonathan Groff in Deathtrap); dance spectaculars (Burn the Floor), new musicals (Wolfboy), ambitious children’s drama (The Railway Children) and a terrifying new play (Ghost Stories).

Read more

JEFF GOLDBLUM in The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Kevin Spacey lures Jeff Goldblum back to town

Hollywood star Jeff Goldblum is back in London, following his sell-out success in Speed-the-Plow at the Old Vic.

This time Kavin Spacey is making his first Old Vic venture in the West End, with an Old Vic-produced revival of Neil Simon’s comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre from 30 June to 11 September.

In the show Goldblum stars as Mel Edison, a man at breaking point. In the heat of a New York City summer his air-conditioning has broken, his neighbours won’t shut-up, his job is hanging by a thread and there are a gang of burglars on the prowl.

The play is directed by Terry Johnson, flush from his Tony Award success for La Cage Aux Folles, and also stars Academy Award-winner Mercedes Ruehl.

Jeff Goldblum’s numerous film credits include The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day and The Tall Guy. His Broadway credits include The Pillowman for which he won an Outer Critics’ Circle Award.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

Best Actor

2010 Mark Rylance for Jerusalem
2009 Derek Jacobi for Twelfth Night
2008 Chiwetel Ejiofor in Othello
2007 Rufus Sewell for Rock ‘N’ Roll
2006 Brian Dennehy for Death Of A Salesman
2005 Richard Griffiths for The History Boys
2004 Matthew Kelly for Of Mice And Men
2003 Simon Russell Beale for Uncle Vanya
2002 Roger Allam for Privates On Parade
2001 Conleth Hill for Stones In His Pockets
2000 Henry Goodman for The Merchant Of Venice
1999 Kevin Spacey for The Iceman Cometh
1998 Ian Holm for King Lear
1997 Antony Sher for Stanley
1996 Alex Jennings for Peer Gynt
1995 David Bamber for My Night With Reg
1994 Mark Rylance for Much Ado About Nothing
1993 Robert Stephens for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)
1992 Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness Of George III
1991 Ian McKellen for Richard III
1989/90 Oliver Ford Davies for Racing Demon
1987 Michael Gambon for A View From The Bridge
1986 Albert Finney for Orphans
1985 Antony Sher for Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy

Actor of the Year in a New Play

1988 David Haig for Our Country’s Good
1984 Brian Cox for Rat In The Skull
1983 Jack Shepherd for Glengarry Glen Ross
1982 Ian McDiarmid for lnsignificance
1981 Trevor Eve for Children Of A Lesser God
1980 Roger Rees for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Ian McKellen for Bent
1978 Tom Conti for Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1977 Michael Bryant for State Of Revolution
1976 Paul Copley for King And Country

Actor of the Year in a Revival

1988 Brian Cox for Titus Andronicus
1984 Ian McKellen for Wild Honey
1983 Derek Jacobi for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 Stephen Moore for A Doll’s House
1981 Daniel Massey for Man And Superman
1980 Jonathan Pryce for Hamlet
1979 Warren Mitchell for Death Of A Salesman
1978 Alan Howard for Coriolanus
1977 Ian McKellen for Pillars Of The Community
1976 Alan Howard for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V

Best Actor in a Musical

2010 Aneurin Barnard for Spring Awakening
2009 Douglas Hodge for La Cage aux Folles
2008 Michael Ball for Hairspray
2007 Daniel Evans for Sunday In The Park With George
2006 James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower for Billy Elliot – The Musical
2005 Nathan Lane for The Producers
2004 David Bedella for Jerry Springer – The Opera
2003 Alex Jennings for My Fair Lady
2002 Philip Quast for South Pacific
2001 Daniel Evans for Merrily We Roll Along
2000 Simon Russell Beale for Candide
1999 The cast of Kat and The Kings
1998 Philip Quast for The Fix
1997 Robert Lindsay for Oliver!
1996 Adrian Lester for Company
1995 John Gordon Sinclair for She Loves Me
1994 Alun Armstrong for Sweeney Todd
1993 Henry Goodman for Assassins
1992 Alan Bennett for Talking Heads
1991 Philip Quast for Sunday In The Park With George
1989/90 Jonathan Pryce for Miss Saigon
1988 Con O’Neill for Blood Brothers
1987 John Bardon and Emil Wolk for Kiss Me Kate
1986 Michael Crawford for The Phantom Of The Opera
1985 Robert Lindsay for Me And My Girl
1984 Paul Clarkson for The Hired Man
1983 Denis Lawson for Mr. Cinders
1982 Roy Hudd for Underneath The Arches
1981 Michael Crawford for Barnum
1980 Denis Quilley for Sweeney Todd
1979 Anton Rodgers for Songbook

MERCEDES RUEHL in The Prisoner of Second Avenue

American film and stage star to play Neil Simon comedy

Film and stage star Mercedes Ruehl will appear in the Old Vic in the West End’s new production of Neil Simon’s comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue, at the Vaudeville Theatre from 30 June to 11 September.

In the show Ruehl stars as loyal wife Edna, who has to pick up the pieces when her husband, Mel, has a New York meltdown.

The play is directed by Terry Johnson, flush from his Tony Award success for La Cage Aux Folles, and also stars Hollywood’s Jeff Goldblum as Mel.

Mercedes Ruehl won an Oscar for her performance in The Fisher King and multiple awards including a Tony for her Broadway performance in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers, alongside Old Vic Artistic Director Kevin Spacey.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.

Old Vic to produce West End play

Jeff Goldblum is star in the Old Vic’s first foray into the West End

Kevin Spacey’s Old Vic theatre company will produce it’s first West End show this summer, as a new production of Neil Simon’s 1971 comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue comes to town.

The play will star Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum for a limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre from 13 July.

Terry Johnson will direct the show, whose credits include current Broadway hit La Cage Aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer, The Graduate with Kathleen Turner and Rain Man with Josh Hartnett.

Goldblum and Spacey are old friends, and appeared together at the Old Vic in 2008 in a revival of Speed-the-Plow.

“This is such an exciting development for the Old Vic and brings so many strong relationships together”, said Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey.

Book tickets to see Jeff Goldblum in the Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre

Power couple top Stage poll

The Stage 100, the entertainment newspaper’s annual list of the 100 most powerful people in UK theatre, has placed Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, joint chief executives of Ambassador Theatre Group, in first place.

The couple, who are both professional and personal partners, have topped both Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber in the list of the UK’s most senior arts professionals.

Their climb to first place follows their company’s acquisition in 2009 of Live Nation’s UK theatres, which they purchased for £90 million. The deal has made their ATG Group the largest theatre operator in both the West End and across the UK – with almost five times as many seats in their control as rivals.

The poll is usually dominated by Cameron Mackintosh (Les Miserables, Oliver!) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies) who have continually vied for top place, and come in this year at numbers two and three respectively. Other theatre producers in the list include Bill Kenwright (Blood Brothers, Dreamboats and Petticoats) in eighth place, Sonia Friedman (A Little Night Music, La Cage Aux Folles) in 12^th and David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers (Calendar Girls) in 13^th place.

Also in the top 20 of the poll are theatre performers Mark Rylance (Jerusalem) and John Barrowman (la Cage Aux Folles), artistic directors Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court, who rises six places to number seven, Kevin Spacey of the Old Vic at number 10,   Michael Grandage of the Donmar Warehouse,  recent New Year’s Honours List beneficiary Nicholas Hytner of the National Theatre and  Michael Boyd of the RSC.

The full top twenty is as follows [last year’s position]:

1. Howard Panter/Rosemary Squire (ATG) [5]

2. Cameron Mackintosh (producer/ theatre owner)[1]

3. Andrew Lloyd Webber (producer/ theatre owner / composer) [2]

4. Michael Grandage (Donmar Warehouse) [3=]

5. Nicholas Hytner (National Theatre) [3=]

6. Nica Burns / Max Weitzenhoffer (Nimax)[7]

7. Dominic Cooke (Royal Court Theatre)[13]

8. Bill Kenwright (Bill Kenwright Ltd) [6]

9. Michael Boyd (RSC) [8]

10. Kevin Spacey/ Sally Greene (Old Vic Theatre) [11]

11. Nick Thomas / Jon Conway (Qdos Entertainment) [9]

12. Sonia Friedman (Sonia Friedman Productions) [12]

13. David Pugh / Dafydd Rogers (producers) [18]

14. David Babani (Menier Chocolate Factory) [New Entry]

15. Jonathan Church (Chichester Festival Theatre) [16]

16. Bill Taylor (Stage Entertainment) [15]

17. Rupert Goold (director)[14]

18. Alex Poots (Manchester International Festival)[19]

19. John Barrowman (entertainer)[New Entry]

20. Mark Rylance (actor) [New Entry]

New Entry denotes new entry into top 20, not Stage 100

And the rest, by category

N denotes New Entry. i.e. they were not in last year’s Stage 100. There were 38 new entrants in total.

Directors

Howard Davies, Marianne Elliott , Jeremy Herrin (N) Simon McBurney (N) Sam Mendes /Caro Newling (N), Katie Mitchell, Trevor Nunn, Ian Rickson (N) Max Stafford Clarke (N), Matthew Warchus

London venues

Michael Attenborough, Marcus Davey, Dominic Dromgoole, Mehmet Ergen & Leyla Nazli (N), Sean Holmes (N) David Jubb / David Micklem, Jude Kelly, Nicolas Kent (N), David Lan, Kerry Michael, Josie Rourke, Timothy Sheader (N), Graham Sheffield

Producers

Judy Craymer, Michael Harrison, David Ian, Richard Jordan, Michael McCabe (N), Kim Poster, Nick Salmon / Matthew Byam Shaw (N), James Seabright (N), Thomas Schumacher (N), Edward Snape, Paul Walden and Derek Nicol (N), Kenny Wax, Carole Winter / Michael Edwards (N)

Regional

Hedda Beeby, Gemma Bodinetz, Ian Brown, Vicky Featherstone / John Tiffany, Andy Field / Debbie Pearson (N), Peter Hall, Tania Harrison, Paul Kerryson, Danny Moar (N), Braham Murray / Greg Hersov / Sarah Frankcom, Laurie Sansom (N) John Stalker, Rachel Tackley (N)

Performers

Michael Ball, Rebecca Hall (N), Clare Higgins, Rory Kinnear (N), Jude Law (N), Adrian Lester (N), Ian McKellen (N), Clive Rowe (N), Simon Russell Beale, Rachel Weisz (N), Samuel West

Playwrights

Alan Ayckbourn, Alan Bennett (N), Richard Bean, Jez Butterworth (N), Lee Hall, David Hare, Lucy Prebble (N), Polly Stenham, Simon Stephens (N), Roy Williams

Designers

Felix Barrett, Jon Bausor (N), Miriam Buether (N), Ultz (N)

Opera / Dance

Carlos Acosta (N), Matthew Bourne, Daniel Kramer (N), Antonio Pappano/ Monica Mason, Arlene Phillips (N), Alistair Spalding

http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/newsblog/2009/12/the-stage-100—in-full/index.html

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