Lionel Bart’s “Quasimodo”, King’s Head Theatre (Review)
There has never been any doubt in my mind that Lionel Bart was the quirkiest, the most extraordinary, and potentially greatest musical theatre talent that this country has ever produced. Quite apart from the scarcity of those…
A Chorus Line, London Palladium (Review)
Even singular sensations grow older – yet A Chorus Line, which coined the phrase, seems ageless, so sure is it of its place in musical theatre history, so locked now into our theatrical consciousness. It is, no…
The Bodyguard, Adelphi Theatre (Review)
It starts with the gunshot. It had to. Legions of Bodyguard aficionados who know the movie frame by frame will have cried blue murder if it hadn’t. So there it is – the opening scene of the…
Sondheim/Furth “Merrily We Roll Along”, Menier Chocolate Factory (Review)
It seems inexplicable now that Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along should have bombed so ignominiously on its first Broadway outing in 1981. But then again what is clearer than ever from Maria Friedman’s…
Idina Menzel, Apollo Theatre *** (Review)
Even if you were the star of The Wizard of Oz prequel it takes chutzpah to sing that song before making your entrance. But then Idina Menzel was never one for subtlety or understatement. She emerged from…
“Finding Neverland”, Curve Theatre, Leicester (Review)
Finding Neverland – the new musical adaptation of the much-admired Miramax movie – is already an affecting show; it could yet be a really special one. Allan Knee’s book (after David Magee’s screenplay) is the key, the…
The Artistry of Maria Friedman and Jason Carr finally ignites the Hippodrome’s new Matcham Room – review
It’s taken a while for the Hippodrome’s spanking new cabaret room to feel lived-in and alive and it’s taken a real artist – actually two real artists – to capitalise on its intimacy and generate a buzz.…
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘ALLEGRO’ First Complete Recording
Stephen Sondheim has called it “The first really good experimental show” – and he should know. He was a gofer on the short-lived original production in 1947 and, for old times sake and because Sondheim has always…