Here to catch up on all the latest in London theatre? We’ve got casting news, extensions, a new season at Theatre Royal Stratford East, a musical that combines Shakespeare and Bon Jovi, and even a novel adapted from a popular Broadway show! It’s all here for you.
Get ready to razzle dazzle! The highly anticipated new London production of Chicago hasn’t even started previews yet, and it’s already announced an extension! You can now book your tickets until 6 October. The show opens 11 April at the Phoenix Theatre.
Choreographer Scott Ambler passed away Tuesday at age 57. As a dancer, Ambler played Prince Siegfried in Matthew Bourne’s all-male Swan Lake, among other roles. As a choreographer, he worked on innovative shows like Enron, Chariots of Fire, This House, a Vegas-themed Merchant of Venice, Candide and Oppenheimer (RSC), and Billy Elliot (the film). He was an associate artist with the New Adventures company. Director Rupert Goold, who worked with Ambler on Enron and The Merchant of Venice, called the dancer/choreographer “the most positive, passionate, life-giving collaborator ever.”
The Play That Goes Wrong must be doing something right. It just announced a new extension until 7 April 2019. And starting 28 March, a new cast takes the helm: Katie Bernstein, Jason Callender, Edward Judge, Alastair Kirton, Edward Howells, Meg Mortell, Graeme Rooney, and Patrick Warner. We’re anxious to see how much mischief they get up to as they try to stage “The Murder at Haversham Manor.”
Caroline, or Change starring Sharon D. Clarke, is finally here, and the critics are raving. The musical by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori received five-star reviews from the Evening Standard, The Times, and What’s On Stage.
The upcoming dual language production of Tartuffe is now fully cast! Joining Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot will be George Blagden (Les Misérables, Versailles, Vikings) Sebastian Roché (The Man in the High Castle, The Young Pope, Supernatural), and Olivia Ross (War & Peace).
Jennifer Marsden’s new musical Knights of the Rose will feature source material from Shakespeare, Chaucer, and… Bon Jovi? Yep, you heard that right. Opening at the Arts Theatre this summer, the rock musical tells the story of a group of knights who return home victorious only to find a far graver threat waiting at home. While we don’t yet have any casting details, we do have a song list – and it looks interesting, to say the least. Among other things, it lists songs by Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, No Doubt, Mozart, and Henry Purcell. That’s quite a variety.
Nadia Fall, the new artistic director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, announces her inaugural season. The line-up includes The Village by Lope de Vega, Ballet Black, Sarah DeLappe’s award-winning play The Wolves, a Sleeping Beauty pantomime, the London premiere of The Unreturning, Peter Shaffer’s Equus, and August Wilson’s King Hedley II.
“Words Fail”… but not in this case. Dear Evan Hansen is getting the novel treatment! Actor, singer, and author Val Emmich is adapting the popular Broadway show into a young adult novel, scheduled to hit the shelves 9 October.
