SIX extends to 31 January 2021. The new musical will celebrate its first birthday in the West End at the Arts Theatre, with 90,000 seats for the event on sale today. And on 21 January, the show welcomes Sophie Isaacs as Katherine Howard.
Desi Oakley makes her West End debut in Waitress. Last Saturday, Waitress star Lucie Jones and her two understudies Olivia Moore and Sarah O’Connor were struck down ill. A concert was held on Saturday by the remaining cast members, and other productions over the weekend were cancelled. The producers then flew in Desi Oakley, who played Jenna in the U.S. tour of Waitress, to cover for Lucie Jones. She will continue in the role until Jones, Moore, and O’Connor recover.
Stephanie J. Block reschedules her London concert. Originally scheduled to play Cadogan Hall on 12 April, the Tony Award winning Broadway star will not perform on 30 August at 2:30 and 6:30 PM. Stephanie J. Block recently starred in The Cher Show on Broadway, for which she won a Tony.
School of Rock will give its final performance on 1 March 2020. Now in its fourth year on the West End, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical won an Olivier Award for its score. A U.K. tour is planned for 2021. School of Rock is currently playing at the New London Theatre.
Louise Redknapp and Brian Conley will return to 9 to 5 The Musical. From 10 February, Redknapp will replace Caroline Sheen as Violet. From 2 March, Brian Conley will play Franklin Hart Jnr. David Hasselhoff gives his last performance in the role on 8 February. In the interim, Sean Needham will take on the role. 9 to 5 is currently running at the Savoy Theatre until 23 March 2020.
Thriller Live! will celebrate its 11th birthday with a singalong on 22 January. For one night only, audience members can sing along to their favorite Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 songs.
Shakespeare’s Globe announces full casting for The Taming of the Shrew and Women Beware Women. Directed by Maria Gaitanidi and Amy Hodge, respectively, both plays will be performed in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in February. The Taming of the Shrew will star Raymond Anum, Ryan Ellsworth, Mattia Mariotti, Evelyn Miller, Laura Moody, James Northcote, Jude Owusu, Paul Ready, Melissa Riggall, Vasilis Sarikis and Michelle Terry. Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women will star Paul Adeyefa, Daon Broni, Helen Cripps, Tara Fitzgerald, Stephanie Jacob, Wil Johnson, Simon Kunz, Gloria Onitiri, Rachael Spence, Thalissa Teixeira and Olivia Vinall.
Indecent will make its London premiere at Menier Chocolate Factory. Rebecca Taichman, who won a Tony Award for directing the play on Broadway, will also direct the London production of Paula Vogel’s play. Indecent runs from 13 March to 9 May. The Menier Chocolate Factory’s spring season will also include Habeus Corpus by Alan Bennett, The Watsons in the West End, and The Boy Friend in Toronto.
Dylan Wynford’s new musical The Throwaways announces casting for the workshop production. The performance will star Lizzie Bea, Francesca Forristal, Michael Hamway, Sahera Khan, Andrew Langtree, Siobhan O’Driscoll, Lawrence Smith and Courtney Stapleton. The workshop performance will play at The Other Palace on 31 January.
Jason Manford will return to host the 2020 Olivier Awards. This will be the comedian/actor/singer’s third time hosting. The Awards will take place on 5 April at the Royal Albert Hall.
The new production of Les Miserables opened Thursday at the newly refurbished Sondheim Theatre. Break a leg to the cast and crew!
A film version of Matilda the Musical is in the works! Matthew Warchus, the show’s original director, will helm the production, with filming expected to take place from August to December of this year. Casting will begin in April. The film will be produced by Working Title, the company behind movie-musicals like Billy Elliot, Yesterday and Les Misérables. No release date has been announced yet.
