West End Theatre

Oliver – new Fagin

725 days

by in West End Theatre

Russ Abbot as Fagin from June 14th

Russ Abbot will be take over the role of Fagin in the hit musical Oliver! from 14 June. Russ has played the role of Fagin before at the Palladium, at the Theatre Royal and also on tour.

His other credits include Grandpa Potts in hit musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
Most recently, Russ played the role of Hobbo in the latest series of BBC 1′s Last of the Summer Wine.

Russ takes over from that other favourite entertainer Griff Rhys Jones. Griff has played the role for the last 5 months but he bids farewell to Oliver! on Saturday 12 June.

5 Months Bbc Bbc 1 Chitty Chitty Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Doolittle Fagin Farewell Grandpa Hobbo Last Of The Summer Wine Musical Oliver My Fair Lady Palladium Rhys Jones Russ Abbot

Sweet Charity

727 days

by in West End Theatre

I went to see Sweet Charity in the West End a couple of weeks ago. It was a superb production and Tamzin Outhwaite was quite stunning in the title role. The show transfered from the Mernier Chocolate Factory after a very successful run.
You can’t help but be impressed by Tamzin’s performance. She is on stage for most of the show and she is never still. Her energy is amazing and the set piece numbers like If They Could See Me Now are brilliant. It is her comic timing that really surprised me, I’d no idea she was such a good comedy actress. After all she’s played so many dramatic roles in soaps and other TV productions who’d have guessed she’d be such a great singer, dancer and all round entertainer?
The rest of the cast are great too of course. Tamzin’s co star Mark Umbers plays all Charity’s male interests, a grand total of 4 roles! I particularly like him as the weedy, insecure Oscar. I won’t spoil the lift scene for you but it’s hysterical!
The chorus of dancers sing what is probably the most menacing version of Hey Big Spender you are ever likely to hear and generally give excellent performances with some lovely comic touches. They also give a spirited and spaced out performance of The Rhythm of Life which is guaranteed to get your toes tapping!

I can’t recommend this production enough and I think it’s perfect for theatre breaks.

Actress Co Star Comedy Comic Timing Dancer Dancers Dramatic Roles Grand Total Hey Big Spender Male Interests Mark Umbers Mernier Chocolate Factory Piece Numbers Rhythm Of Life Soaps Star Mark Sweet Charity Tamzin Outhwaite Toes Tv Productions West End

Kylie – the musical?

729 days

by in West End Theatre

Kylie Minogue, the pocket-sized pop diva yesterday confirmed that there will be a musical of her greatest hits. What’s more it is likely to be coming to the West End. In an interview in the Daily Mail she says:

“It’s definitely happening. We’ve brought a scriptwriter in and are working on a few synopses now.

“And the critics … music critics are one thing but theatre critics are something else. I suppose if it doesn’t work then that’s it — it’s a closed book. I need to get through this album launch first, and then I’m probably touring, but we’ll get to it after that. It’s early days but it’s very exciting.”

Kylie is writing the production with her stylist William Baker. It will be based on her back catalogue of hits and she hopes it will be rather like Abba’s Mamma Mia! She’ll need quite a strong story line for that to work out! So rather than tell the story of Kylie’s own rise to fame it will tell another tale. I think it’s a shame that more performers haven’t learned the lesson of Jersey Boys. I’d be quite interested to see the story of her rise to mega stardom told against the backdrop of her greatest hits.

Abba Back Catalogue Backdrop Daily Mail Greatest Hits Jersey Boys Kylie Kylie Minogue Mamma Music Critics Pop Diva Scriptwriter Shame Stardom Stylist Synopses Theatre Critics West End William Baker

West End Live Running Order for 2009

1065 days

by in West End Theatre

Here’s the running order list for the West End Live shows free in leicester Square on Saturday 20th June and Sunday 21st June 2009. Looks like a great line up again, and don’t forget that Jodie Prenger will be there from Oliver and Jerry Springer from Chicago.