musicals
Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre review - must-see revival for Tony-winning musicalMonday, 20 December 2021
When Berliners sat down to watch Franz Wedekind’s debut play Fruhlings Erwachen – Spring Awakening – in 1906, they had little inkling of the kind of drama he had written, or how it would change theatre for the century to come, despite being banned... Read more... |
Stephen Sondheim in memoriam - he gave us more to seeTuesday, 30 November 2021
It seemed impossible and yet, the other evening, while idly flicking through emails, I learned the unimaginable: Stephen Sondheim, age 91, had passed away. And very quickly by all accounts, given that he was reported to have enjoyed a Thanksgiving... Read more... |
The Choir Of Man, Arts Theatre review - old school hits in an old school pubWednesday, 10 November 2021
Like a previous occupant of this venue, Six, The Choir Of Man started life as a quirky Edinburgh show and has gone on to be staged around the world to adoring audiences, tapping into a vibe that’s as much about participation as viewing, the show as... Read more... |
HMS Pinafore, English National Opera review - shipshape classic comedy craftSaturday, 30 October 2021
Yes, it was bound to be HMS Laugh-a-minute, given Cal “One Man, Two Guvnors” McCrystal’s ENO comedy riffs on an already funny early G&S classic, but what does this tight little craft have to say to Little England today?That a British sailor’s “... Read more... |
The Magician's Elephant, Royal Shakespeare Theatre review - family musical doesn't fully deliverSaturday, 30 October 2021
Trigger warnings have become commonplace in theatres these days, but few chill the blood like the description "a new musical" on a playbill. There are so many things to go wrong, so few ways to get things right and, never far away, the dissenters... Read more... |
Vanara, Hackney Empire review - fine singing, but a plodding book and one-pitch score in this new musicalTuesday, 26 October 2021
Two tribes, both alike in dignity in fair Vanara, trade goods and insults in a post-apocalyptic world in which fire is known to The Kogallisk but not to The Pana. When The Oroznah, a shaman respected by both feuding factions, foretells a long winter... Read more... |
Get Up, Stand Up!, Lyric Theatre review - knockout performance, undercooked bookFriday, 22 October 2021
Can we turn off the script and simply leave the music to do its soul-stirring bit? That's likely to be a not uncommon response to Get Up Stand Up!, which gives Bob Marley much the same biomusical treatment currently on view in Tina across... Read more... |
Back to the Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre review - a spectacular West End show to delight fans old and newTuesday, 28 September 2021
There’s a lot of going back to the future in theatres just now - shows (like this one) postponed by 18 months or so and delayed still further by co-star Roger Bart being indisposed on press night are bringing the bright lights back to the West End.... Read more... |
The Last Five Years, Garrick Theatre review - bittersweet musical treat gets West End upgradeSaturday, 25 September 2021
Much has happened in the five years since your reviewer braved the steep rake at The Other Palace and saw The Last Five Years (not least my now getting its “Nobody needs to know” nod in Hamilton – worth a fistful of Tonys in prestige, I guess) so it... Read more... |
Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane review - twinkling spectacle with a sincere drama at its heartThursday, 09 September 2021
Let it snow! The Broadway musical adaptation of the Disney film behemoth Frozen premiered back in 2018 and now, following Covid delays, a rejigged version finally makes its home in the West End – to the delight of the army of miniature Elsas in... Read more... |
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury review - dazzling Disney rewriteMonday, 30 August 2021
Bedknobs and Broomsticks has always suffered from not being Mary Poppins, the movie delayed in development and released in 1971 (it is a Sixties film in tone and technology) and always seeming to appear later on the BBC’s Christmas Disney Time... Read more... |
Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre review - a spectacular show that hits and missesThursday, 19 August 2021
Belleville has lost its Prince Charming and, when his statue is graffitied, it loses its long held title as the most beautiful town, too. Its people fear the impact on their livelihoods and soon identify the gobby, gothy girl as the culprit – they... Read more... |
