Old News ...  ... Old News ...  ... Old News

01/12/2002 - 1/1/2003

 Ben Elton to pen a sequel to We Will Rock you!
3rd December 2002

Ben Elton has been asked to write a sequel to the West End hit show We Will Rock You.

Elton, currently working on the new Rod Stewart Musical which is scheduled to open at the New London theatre in April 2003, has taken much flack for his original story of We Will Rock You. He has been asked by Brian May to come up with a sequel story line for We Will Rock you II, involving many of the hits that wasn't included in their first attempt at musical theatre.

Chicago stars brave première cold
8th December 2002

Hollywood stars Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere turned out for the world première of their film version of globally successful musical Chicago. Zellweger went on a 10-minute walkabout in London's Leicester Square to meet fans who had queued for hours in the cold to catch a glimpse of the star. The actress, who has been filming in east Europe, said: "I'm not freezing at all, this is a beautiful spring day compared with the Transylvanian mountain tops." The film's other lead, Catherine Zeta Jones, did not attend as she is six months pregnant with her second baby. Chicago was first written as a play in 1926 and the musical version made its debut in 1975, going on to become a global hit.

'Thrill'

Speaking about her audition for Chicago, Zellweger said: "I was so nervous because it is the first time I've opened my mouth to sing in front of anyone but my dog.

"But being in the movie was a thrill for me. Compared to Broadway dancers I wouldn't get past the first cut in the real world, but I just got this lucky chance."

Gere who attended with his new wife, former Bond girl Carey Lowell, said: "It took me five months to learn how to do it and it was very hard work. I was so shy about it I wouldn't even rehearse in front of my wife." Gere said the film's big stars were all extremely impressed by each other's performances: "We didn't know each other well before we started and we were all thinking 'I wonder if she can do it, I wonder if he can do it'."

Article from BBC News Online

Chops, Changes & £200 Million for West End Houses
6th December 2002

What's a few million between friends? Or to be more exact, £110 million? Really Useful Theatres chief executive Andre Ptaszynski has upped the ante on the cost of refurbishing the West End. Contrary to current Society of London Theatre (SOLT) president Stephen Waley-Cohen, who last month estimated £90 million in outside investment was needed for urgent repair and improvements to West End theatres, Ptaszynski believes more than double that figure is needed. In this week's edition of The Stage, he puts the price tag of survival at more than £200 million. He also reveals numerous proposals for chopping and changing several venues. RUT itself has looked into knocking together adjoining Shaftesbury Avenue houses the Lyric and the Apollo to create one 1,100-seat playhouse with studio atop. Together with Sam Mendes, the company is exploring turning the 1,200-seat Cambridge Theatre on Seven Dials (currently home to Madness musical Our House) into a larger arts complex, with cinema. And apparently, Cameron Mackintosh will soon be ploughing money into renovating front-of-house facilities at his own Prince of Wales and, in 2004 when they revert to him, at the Queen's and Gielgud theatres, currently owned by RUT.

Article from What's on Stage

The National's In the Money!
4th December 2002

The last Annual Report of the National Theatre under the leadership of Sir Trevor Nunn shows it to be in a healthy artistic and commercial state.

Much of the latter is attributed to Nunn's large-scale musicals, particularly My Fair Lady (which successfully transferred to Drury Lane, where it is still playing) and South Pacific - both with choreography by Matthew Bourne.

Nunn has come in for criticism over his policy of staging major musical revivals, but he has sailed through the occasional storms and seems to be vindicated by the Annual Report. He has also chosen to include a musical revival as one of his last shows at the National - Cole Porter's Anything Goes, which opens at the National on 18th December.

This scale of musical can very rarely be afforded by commercial managements, and Nunn has believed that the resources of a major subsidised company are well spent on staging revivals of shows that would otherwise be 'lost'.

While it is arguable that, given the popularity of musicals in the West End, such resources would be better spent on reviving some of the vast number of excellent but un-commercial straight plays that deserve to be seen, Nunn has at least shown that his choice of show is both popular and profitable - and thus helps pay for award-winning productions of the sort of plays that his critics prefer - like Vanbrugh's The Relapse.

One of his major concerns, which comes through in the Director's report section of the Annual Report, has been to widen the range of people attending the National's performances, and this too has been a success - largely thanks to this summer's Transformation series of events and the creation of the Loft studio and Loft Lounge.

Nicholas Hytner was a very popular choice as successor to Sir Trevor, and the theatre community is looking forward to seeing what he will do with its flagship, but as this Annual Report has shown, Trevor Nunn has been an imaginative, daring yet reliable Captain and hands it over to Hytner in an excellent condition.

Kander and Ebb Pen New Ditty for "Chicago" Film; Soundtrack Now Due Jan. 14
3rd December 2002

A new tune by John Kander and Fred Ebb — rather than, as previously reported, a song by pop musician Janet Jackson — will be featured in the long-awaited "Chicago" film.

Entitled "I Move On," the new Kander and Ebb work will be performed by the movie's Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta Jones. A spokesperson for the music division of Miramax confirmed the news, adding that the song will be heard at "the first end title of the film." The soundtrack of the film will be available on the Epic/Sony label on Jan. 14, 2003. A final track listing is not yet available.

Will Chicago Be The New Cabaret?
3rd December 2002

Will Catherine Zeta Jones do the same for Chicago that Liza Minnelli did for Cabaret thirty years ago?

Both shows are by American showbiz team Kander and Ebb, both shows started life as stage musicals. Cabaret - despite the international success of Sam Mendes' Donmar production (still running in New York) - is still thought of primarily as a film, thanks to the 1972 Hollywood musical starring Liza Minnelli (at the height of her powers) together with Michael York and Joel Gray.

With the opening of a Hollywood version of Chicago, the show that has been running successfully at the Adelphi since 1997, it's possible that the film will be what stays in the public consciousness rather than the stage show.

The film stars Catherine Zeta Jones as Velma Kelly and Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, with Richard Gere as smoothie lawyer Billy Flynn, and opens in London on Boxing Day, 26th December.

There is a genuine buzz about the movie in industry circles, and it looks set to confirm Zeta Jones as Hollywood royalty in her own right - not just as the wife of Michael Douglas. She's certainly come a long way from The Darling Buds of May on British television!

Given the amazing catalogue of songs in Chicago, and the superb, Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, the film of Chicago is likely to prove a huge hit, and may associate Zeta Jones with the role of Velma Kelly as closely as Liza Minnelli was (and is) with that of Sally Bowles.

Cliff Bio-musical Opens at Prince of Wales, 12 Mar
2nd December 2002

Cliff Richard will be back in the West End in the new year - if not in the flesh, at least in the spirit. In the tradition of long-running bio-musical Buddy, Cliff The Musical will chart the life and times of the UK's most famous "bachelor boy". The show is due to start performances at the West End's Prince of Wales theatre on 12 March 2003, ahead of a limited season to 10 May.

Casting has not yet been announced, though Richard himself is not planning to appear in the show, a musical journey through his career, which launched in 1958 and has spanned more than four decades and 250 million record sales to date. Cliff The Musical has been created by Mike Read, Colin Rozee and Trevor Payne, who also directs.

Richard's last stage project was 1996's Heathcliff, a musical adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic novel Wuthering Heights, which the singer conceived and starred in. Derided by the press before it even reached the West End, Richard took the unusual step of banning complimentary tickets for critics who wished to review the show. At the time, Richard said it was not meant to be a snub to the critics but rather a questions giving his fans priority. Arts editors and critics had to stump up for tickets, which didn't stop them from panning the production.

Over the years, Richard's hit singles - many of which will feature in Cliff The Musical - have included "Move It", "Living Doll", "The Young Ones", "Summer Holiday", "Devil Woman", "Wired for Sound", "Mistletoe and Wine" and Eurovision hit "Congratulations".

The return of Jonathan Larson's much-lauded Broadway musical Rent - starring Damien Flood, Dougal Irvine, Debbie Kurup and model Caprice - starts its limited run this week (6 December) at the Prince of Wales, continuing to 8 March 2003. Prior to the West End, Cliff The Musical will have a brief regional tour.

Article from What's on Stage

Broadway-Bound Sweet Charity Will Begin in Toronto, May 20, 2003
6th December 2002

Toronto will be the first city to see the new Broadway bound production of the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields-Neil Simon musical Sweet Charity starring Marisa Tomei.

Performances will begin at the Canon Theatre on May 20, 2003, and continue through June 29. The New York Times has reported Aug. 17 as the opening night on Broadway.

Producing are Barry and Fran Weissler and Clear Channel Entertainment. Presenting the show in Toronto are David and Ed Mirvish.

Marisa Tomei will play the title dreamer, Charity Hope Valentine, a romantic dance hall hostess who just can't seem to find true love despite her wide-eyed hopes and open heart.

By opening in August, the producers are taking a page from the success of Hairspray, which opened in the doldrums of summer 2002 to become the biggest musical hit of the season.

Fran Weissler first confirmed the casting to Playbill On Line in October, adding that Tomei—who is a credited dramatic and comedic stage actress, but is not known for her singing and dancing—auditioned for composer Cy Coleman and the revival's choreographer.

Since accepting the role in Charity, Tomei has bowed out of an Off Broadway run of David Lindsay Abaire's Kimberly Akimbo, set to begin previews at Manhattan Theatre Club Jan. 4, 2003. She is now playing the title role in a series of readings of Oscar Wilde's Salome starring Al Pacino, at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.

Tomei's last Broadway credit was the short lived revival of the thriller Wait Until Dark. Off-Broadway work includes Waiting for Lefty, Slavs!, and Demonology. Tomei won the Academy Award for "My Cousin Vinnie." Her film career after that honor was erratic, but she has recently returned to form with praised performances in "The Slums of Beverly Hills," "What Women Want" and "In the Bedroom."

Sweet Charity was composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. The musical is based on the screenplay "Nights of Cabiria," the classic film by Federico Fellini. The most recent Broadway revival of Charity played the Minskoff Theatre in 1986-87 (directed and choreographed by the man who created the show, Bob Fosse; it would be one of his final directing jobs before his death). It starred Debbie Allen as Charity, Bebe Neuwirth as Nicky and Michael Rupert as Oscar. The 1966 original was conceived by Bob Fosse for wife Gwen Verdon, who played Charity. John McMartin played Oscar.

The score includes "If My Friends Could See Me Now," "Big Spender," "Baby, Dream Your Dream," "Where Am I Going?," "I'm a Brass Band," "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" and "Rhythm of Life." A film version starred Shirley MacLaine.

The Quest Is Complete: Man of La Mancha Opens on Broadway, Dec. 5
5th December 2002

The new revival of Man of La Mancha, which tilted at a month's worth of windmills at Washington's National Theatre Oct. 8-Nov. 10, will open at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre on Dec. 5 after previews from Nov. 23.

Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ernie Sabella are Don Quixote, Aldonza and Sancho, respectively, in this Jonathan Kent-directed production. Luis Perez is choreographer, having taken over for Richard Amaro, who left for personal family reasons. Official opening is Dec. 5.

An original cast album was recorded on Nov. 14 at Right Track Recording in Manhattan. RCA Victor will release the cast recording on Jan. 7, 2003. Bob Billig is the music director.

The musical, which won a Tony for Best Musical in 1965, was drawn from Miguel Cervantes' 17th-century novel, "Don Quixote," as distilled through a script by Dale Wasserman. The music is by Mitch Leigh, with lyrics by Joe Darion, who died at the age of 90 in 2001. Leigh wrote several songs for the show with the poet W.H. Auden, but they disagreed about aspects of the project, so Darion was enlisted. The show began life at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, and had a smash success for 2,328 performances on Broadway. It has been revived on Broadway four times since, including the current effort.

The musical is memorably set during the Spanish Inquisition, with Cervantes brought up on charges and dumped in a jail, where inmates threaten him as they all await their fate. To distract them, Cervantes creates a drama out of a new tale he's writing — "Don Quixote." Assuming the lead role and enlisting the inmates as an acting company, they spin the story of the addled knight, his servant, the slattern they elevate to lady and the people in their lives.

The prison is rendered in towering proportions by set (and costume) designer Paul Brown. The rusty metal cell walls climb to the ceiling of the Martin Beck stage, a long curving staircase snaking up the back. The walls frequently separate along an angle to reveal various vistas evoked in Cervantes tale. The set, weighing over one ton in all, is in keeping with Kent's previous productions, which have frequently been heavily anchored by imposing scenic designs. (His Medea famously ended with the thunderous unlatching of several hetal metal panels.) Paul Gallo provided the dusky lighting. Tony Meola is the sound designer.

Mitchell has starred on Broadway in each of the past six seasons—a rare achievement even for the theatre's most sought after actors. His winning streak began with Ragtime, which arrived in New York in early 1998. Mitchell stayed with the show well into the 1998-99 season. Late 1999 saw him return in Kiss Me, Kate. He then starred in the title role in August Wilson's King Hedley II, which opened at the tail end of the 2000-01 season. He was nominated for a Tony for Ragtime and won for Kate.

Mastrantonio—who here displays a trained singing voice unknown to fans of her film work—was last seen on the New York stage at Lincoln Center Theater in Tom Donaghy's Northeast Local. More than a decade ago, she was in a in a Central Park mounting of Twelfth Night. She played Viola. Her Broadway credits include West Side Story, Copperfield, Oh, Brother, The Human Comedy and The Marriage of Figaro. Among her many films are "The Abyss," "The Color of Money," and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

Sabella made his name playing the hoarse-voiced Harry the Horse opposite Nathan Lane's Nathan Detroit in Broadway's Guys and Dolls and has since starred with Lane in several other vehicles, including A Funny Thing Happened... on Broadway, "Encore! Encore!" on television and "The Lion King" on the big screen.

Jonathan Kent, the London director behind such Britain-to-Broadway hits as Medea with Diana Rigg and Hamlet with Ralph Fiennes, is at the helm.

Mark Jacoby (as The Padre), Stephen Bogardus (Dr. Carrasco), Don Mayo (The Innkeeper) and Natascia Diaz (Antonia) take key supporting roles. Also in the cast are Bradley Dean, Olga Merediz, Frederick B. Owens, Jamie Torcellini, Timothy J. Alex, Andy Blankenbuehler, John Herrera, Jamie Karen, Lorin Latarro, Carlos Lopez, Wilson Mendieta, Gregory Mitchell, Richard Montoya, Michelle Rios, Thom Sesma, Jimmy Smagula, Dennis Stowe and Allyson Tucker.

David Stone, Jon B. Platt, Susan Quint Gallin, Sandy Gallin, Seth M. Siegel and USA Ostar Theatricals will produce. The design team includes sets and costumes by Paul Brown; lighting design by Paul Gallo; and sound design by Tony Meola.

O'Donnell-Produced Taboo to Hit Broadway May 2003
8th November 2002

In the Nov. 9-15 edition of TV Guide, former talk-show host and theatre maven Rosie O'Donnell confirmed, once again, that she plans to produce the Boy George musical Taboo on Broadway.
O'Donnell, who had previously announced that she will co-produce the musical with London producers Adam Kenwright and Michael Fuchs, told TV Guide that she will mount the production in May, making it part of the 2003-04 season. Says O'Donnell, "I'm going to produce this Broadway show [Taboo] — it's going to be huge. It's gonna make a lot of money for everybody, and I'm all of a sudden gonna be a smash producer on Broadway. Watch!"
O'Donnell also spoke about her recent clash with Gruner + Jahr USA, which resulted in the end of her namesake magazine "Rosie," and her decision to leave her celebrated talk show. "I think any mother who has three little children and one on the way," O'Donnell said, "who is given the choice to work 40 hours a week or paint in the garage, would choose to stay home. [People think] I'm weird because I think it's obvious. It's revolutionary, and it shouldn't be . . . Don't worry about me, everything's going to be fine."
The musical Taboo mixes fact with fiction as it tells a love story against a backdrop of the gallery of characters who helped make the 1980's London club scene the most exciting in the world. Among these were Steve Strange, Leigh Bowery, Marilyn and Philip Sallon and Boy George himself. The show at London's The Venue — a converted church hall off Leicester Square — is directed by award-winning West End and Broadway director Christopher Renshaw.

Mamma Mia! To Move?
8th November 2002

Mamma Mia! will take its set, cast - and, no doubt, ticket touts - with it to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2004, after the Prince of Wales has been refurbished, according to press reports today.Mamma Mia!'s move from the Prince Edward to the Prince of Wales (both theatres owned by Sir Cameron Mackintosh) is to accommodate the arrival of The Producers from New York.Moving theatres can be a bit of a problem for a show, but given the continued popularity of Mamma Mia!, more than three years after it opened, this is unlikely to be an issue for the Abba musical's producer, Judy Cramer.The Producers has been an enormous hit in New York as has Mamma Mia!, and it's good that Londoners, like New Yorkers, will be able to see both shows without crossing the Atlantic.

Dance of the Vampires Delays Broadway 
Opening Due to Rando's Absence
8th November 2002

Dance of the Vampires, the musical based on the Roman Polanski film, "The Fearless Vampire Killers," which began performances Oct. 16 following a two-day postponement, has announced another delay.
The revamped Broadway production, originally scheduled to open Nov. 21, will push back its opening to Dec. 9 due to the absence of its director John Rando. The Tony Award winning helmer has been in Texas since Nov. 1 with his ailing mother, who is currently recovering from emergency open-heart surgery. The official release stated "She remains in critical condition. Rando is expected to return to rehearsals on Monday, November 11 at the earliest."

Schofield & Pellow in Line for 
Chitty Replacements
7th November 2002

Baby Spice Emma Bunton isn't the only celebrity name being bandied about for the replacement cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the West End's London Palladium. According to today's edition of The Stage, amongst those actors now being mooted as possible replacements for Michael Ball in the part of Caractacus Potts are Philip Schofield, Nick Berry and former "Wet Wet Wet" singer Marti Pellow, currently appearing in Chicago. In the part of the Childcatcher, Paul O'Grady (aka Lily Savage), who took over from role creator Richard O'Brien in September, may be succeeded by either Tony Slattery, Bradley Walsh or 'Allo 'Allo's Richard Gibson. Meanwhile, specialist magazine Musical Stages is also touting Cliff Richard (as Caractacus), Su Pollard (the Baroness), Peter Polycarpou and Frank Skinner (the Childcatcher). Most of the original cast - which, in addition to Ball, includes Brian Blessed, Nichola McAuliffe, Anton Rodgers, Edward Petherbridge and Emma Williams - are on year-long contracts which expire in March 2003.

Article from What's on Stage

'Chicago' Film Soundtrack 
Due in Stores Dec. 17
6th November 2002

The soundtrack for the upcoming "Chicago" film is due in stores Dec. 17 on the Epic/Sony Music label.
A Miramax spokesperson confirmed the news of the release of the disc, which will feature Kander and Ebb's songs from long-in-the-making movie. As of press time, a track listing for the recording was not yet finalized. That information is expected within the next week or two. 
Miramax also said that Danny Elfman has composed some of the film's music, and it is still being determined whether a new Janet Jackson song will run during the end credits of the film.
Anxious "Chicago" fans can get a preview of the film's soundtrack by logging on to www.chicagosoundtrack.com
The website offers excerpts from the Sony Music recording, including such tracks as "All That Jazz" (featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger), "Cell Block Tango" (featuring Zeta-Jones and Mya), "I Can't Do It Alone" (featuring Zeta-Jones), "Razzle Dazzle" (featuring Richard Gere) and "Nowadays" (featuring Zellweger). There has been no announcement of an official release date for the recording; the movie hits screens Dec. 27.

Bernadette Peters Gypsy Still 
Casting for March Debut
6th November 2002

A November 4 casting notice reveals that casting is still underway for the much-anticipated production of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters.
Scheduled to begin previews March 24 at the Shubert Theatre with an official opening on April 24, the production is seeking an 18-to-23-year-old male to play Tulsa, the young dancer who develops an act for him and Rose's daughter June (Kate Reinders). The open call is also searching for two Hollywood Blondes who will also serve as understudies for June and Louise.
Auditions will be held at 10 AM on Nov. 15 at Chelsea Studios, which is located in New York City at 151 West 26th Street on the sixth floor. Auditioners should prepare either an up-tempo piece or a ballad that is from the musical theatre songbook; bring picture and resume.
Rehearsals for Gypsy begin January 20, 2003. The pivotal role of Herbie — Rose's love interest — has yet to be announced.

Spoonful of Sugar May Sour for 'Poppins'
5th November 2002

NEW YORK (Variety) - Broadway and the West End have been looking at a big spoonful of box office sugar ever since Disney and producer Cameron Mackintosh began negotiations for a stage version of "Mary Poppins," a potential first joint venture for the two producing entities.
Then came word over the weekend that Disney animation chief Thomas Schumacher may leave his job in June, but stay with the company's theatrical stage unit under a new contract. Will "Poppins" fly if Schumacher does not reup and instead exits the House of Mouse?
Neither Schumacher nor Mackintosh would comment. But sources close to the project deem it "highly unlikely" and "almost inconceivable" that the British producer of "Cats" and "Les Miserables" would proceed on "Mary Poppins" as a stage musical without Schumacher at the Disney helm. The two men have been in talks for several months regarding a stage version of the P.L. Travers classic, which Disney set to song in 1964 with Julie Andrews in the title role.
In the world of showbiz, however, one never knows: Mackintosh could use a hit, not having produced a blockbuster since "Miss Saigon" hit the Gotham boards in spring 1992.
A natural for the stage, "Mary Poppins" has come lately to the movies-into-musicals trend due to an unusual rights problem: Mackintosh controls the rights to any stage adaptation of Travers' book, while Disney holds rights to the film's songs by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
Once the "Poppins" deal is signed, and that apparently depends on Schumacher staying with Disney, the transformation to stage musical could be fairly rapid. Unlike Disney's animated "The Lion King" or "The Little Mermaid," which contain just a half dozen songs each, the "Mary Poppins" film boasts 14 original songs, enough for a full-size stage production. Tunesmiths on "Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast," as well as the upcoming stage version of "Little Mermaid," have had to supplement their initial film scores to make them theater-worthy.
Schumacher may exit Disney altogether; reup as president of the animation and theatrical divisions; or hold on to the reins of only the latter group. If he leaves the company entirely, several other stage projects in development would not be immediately affected for one simple reason: At Disney, Schumacher has always rejected any inclusion of the so-called key-man clause in contracts with stage talent. The clause, common in publishing but rare in the noncorporate world of Broadway, allows a creative to take his project elsewhere if a key executive leaves the company after the contract is signed.
A few creatives were successful at including the clause in their contracts with Livent when Garth Drabinsky headed the now-defunct company.
Schumacher has been extremely successful at signing cutting-edge talent to work on Disney projects, including several scheduled to workshop in the near future. These creatives and their projects include director Julie Taymor on "Tarzan"; director Matthew Bourne on "Little Mermaid"; and composer Jeanine Tesori and book writer Suzan-Lori Parks on "Hoopz," an original musical about the Harlem Globetrotters.

Rent's Final West End Outing Follows Full Monty
4th November 2002

Jonathan Larson's much-lauded Broadway musical Rent returns to the West End for the third - and, so producers say, the absolutely final - time next month. Following the early closure this month of fellow American import The Full Monty, Rent will move back into the Prince of Wales Theatre for a limited run from 6 December 2002.
First seen in New York in 1996, Rent received its West End premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 12 May 1998 and closed on 30 October 1999 after a run of 18 months. In 2002, it embarked on an extensive UK-wide tour, coming back into the West End for a limited two-month season at the Prince of Wales theatre last Christmas before the arrival of The Full Monty.
In its last London incarnation, directed by Paul Kerryson, Rent starred former Coronation Street Adam Rickitt (in his theatrical debut) along with Debbie Kurup and Damien Flood. Kurup (pictured) will reprise her role as Mimi for the final West End run, though further casting has yet to be confirmed.
Inspired by Puccini's La Bohême, Larson's musical updates the plot to 1990s New York where a community of East End squatters battle to fulfil their aspirations against the reality of rent demands and Aids.
The death of 35-year-old creator and composer Larson, who died of an aortic aneurysm shortly after the final dress rehearsal of Rent's debut, transformed the musical into a cause celebre amongst New York theatregoers. The show received rave reviews and immediately became a sell-out hit, with audiences waiting months for tickets and many fanatical 'Rentheads' queueing nightly to see the show again and again on Broadway, where it won, amongst other accolades, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tonys including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.
The Full Monty, the American musical based on the hit British film of the same name, opened at the Prince of Wales theatre on 12 March 2002 (previews from 27 February) and will now close on 23 November 2002. Rent will initially be booking at the theatre up to March 2003.

Article from What's on Stage

Musical Take on Romeo & Juliet
Premieres Tonight
4th November 2002

Romeo and Juliet - The Musical receives its UK premiere tonight, 4 November 2002, at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre (following previews from 18 October).
The musical version of Shakespeare's tragic romance stars Andrew Bevis and 15-year-old newcomer Lorna Want as the young lovers, with recording artist and The Cruise's reality TV star Jane McDonald as the Nurse. They're joined in the cast by Sevan Stephan, David Bardsley, Michele Hooper, Michael Cormick, James Graeme, Louise Davidson, Rachid Sabitri, Matthew Dempsey, Alexis James and Tim Walton.
First seen in Paris in January 2001, Romeo et Juliette has since become one of the most successful French-language musicals of all time, with 20 original songs by Gerard Presgurvic. Over one million people have seen the French show, which launched a new tour this year, while the cast recording has spawned three No 1 singles and sold a total of six million copies combined.
The English language version features the same music but with new lyrics by Don Black (best known to UK theatregoers for his various collaborations with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, including Song and Dance, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard and Bombay Dreams, for which he provided the English lyrics to AR Rahman's Indian music) and a revised book by Black and Opera Factory's David Freeman, who also directs.
Romeo and Juliet is designed by David Roger, with musical arrangements by John Cameron. It's produced in the West End by Adam Kenwright.
Unlike Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's classic West Side Story, which transplanted Shakespeare's love story to 20th-century gangland New York, Romeo and Juliet - The Musical stays largely faithful to the original. While the dialogue is updated and modern pop music added, the story and characters as well as the Renaissance Verona setting remain.

Article from What's on Stage

Lloyd Webber Looks for Woman In White
4th November 2002

Nothing if not versatile, Andrew Lloyd Webber, having produced a hit musical set in the Bollywood film industry, is now working on a musical version of Wilkie Collins' classic 1860 novel, The Woman In White.

A mysterious tale of damsels in distress, a wicked aristocrat, lunatic asylums, family fortunes, desolate mansions and a sinister Secret Society, The Woman in White was a huge hit for Wilkie Collins, who went on, seven years later, to write the first modern detective story, The Moonstone.

Collins' book would make a wonderful stage musical, and if, as reported, Andrew Lloyd Webber is serious about creating one, he is likely to have yet another hit on his hands.

Over the last few decades he has shown that he has a feel for what the public will want, and Bombay Dreams survived some critical carping to prove itself very popular with audiences.

The romanticism and drama of The Woman In White would give plenty of scope for classic Lloyd Webber melodies and stage setting, and could prove to his Phantom for the 2000s.

Our house cancels midweek matinee ... ...

Despite generally good reviews Our house has cancelled its midweek matinee. The show's publicity manager insists it not because of poor ticket sales and goes on to make a fool of himself, by stating that they are canceling the show (worth a box office revenue of £27,000plus) so the understudies can be rehearsed. Does he really think that we are all stupid enough to buy that? What happened to the other days Mr. publicity manager? Or are your understudies that bad? ... If so who cast them as surely its their fault? The fact is its not a big deal that the matinee has been cancelled. Notre Dame, We will Rock you and many other west end shows have cancelled their matinees in the past and survived. Our house is a show that has fantastic music with a very clever script and two very talented young up and coming leads. All it needs is a chance. After all if you take a look at how well 'We Will Rock You!' is doing with an unacceptably bad script then surely Our house has a chance. This show needs your help! Go and see it cos at the very least it will make you smile.

Rent to return to the Prince of Wales ... ...

Jonathan Larson's multi award winning show will be making it's 3rd appearance in the West End this Christmas squashing reports that the Full Monty was forced to close due to Asbestos been found in the Prince of Wales stalls bar. The show will play a limited run, from the start of December through to March 2003. The production is expected to be similar to that seen out on national tour throughout 2001 and at the Prince of Wales for 2 months last winter.  Full cast is as yet unconfirmed, however Debbie Kurup is rumoured to be once again performing the role of Mimi, Debbie has spent much of the past year playing Carmen in the national tour of Fame and has most recently been seen in the Leicester Haymarket production of Hot Stuff.   The original production of Rent had previously enjoyed a successful run at the Shaftesbury Theatre, initially starring four members of the original Broadway cast, which closed in October 1999. Rent continues to play at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, recently enjoying renewed success after the producers decided to make the questionable decision of casting Joey Fatone, of international boy band N-Sync, in the role of Mark Cohen (the show's camera-toting narrator). Rent is an unusual rock version of the hit Opera La Boheme. 

Technical hitch allows Romeo & Juliet
to live happily ever after ... ...

The rock opera version of Romeo & Juliet was previewing prior to its openning when a technical hitch put an optimistic twist to the end of one of the greatest tragedies ever written. The two star crossed lovers had just tied the knot when there was an al mighty crash as the sound system died. After trying unsuccessfully to sort out the problem, the show was abandoned and instead of meeting their untimely death the lovers lived happily ever after. 

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