Jenny Ell - Page 6

Originally staged in 1984, The Importance remains the only musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest to run in London. After a limited run here, the production found a new lease of life in Peterborough two years later under a different title, Born in a Handbag. This recording has been a labour of love with over twenty years in production and is being released by Stage Door Records at the end of this month.

Prior to a UK tour beginning next month, the Old Joint Stock Musical Theatre Company are currently presenting American Idiot at their resident home in Birmingham. Winner of two Tony Awards, the show opened to great acclaim on Broadway in 2010 after a short out-of-town run and has enjoyed productions all over the world including a successful West End run last year. Featuring the Green Day back catalogue, the show also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, as well as being responsible for the music and lyrics, also co-wrote the book alongside Michael Mayer whom directed the original production.

Based on Moliere's Les Femmes Savantes, The Sisterhood is currently playing at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. The production is directed by their Artistic Director Hamish Glen and has been relocated in time from the late 1600's to the 1980's; visually a complete contradiction but relevant based on theme.

A hit in the West End and on Broadway, End of the Rainbow will embark on a UK tour this month, starring Lisa Maxwell as Judy Garland. 

Following a remarkably successful live cinema broadcast across Europe in September last year, The Rocky Horror Show is still riding the wave of its 40th anniversary celebrations. The year-long UK tour kicked off in December and last night brought the house down at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.

BWW:UK caught up with the stars of Private Lives, Tom Chambers and Charlotte Richie at the start of their UK tour.

The Snowman has been a widely recognised and fondly regarded book and film since its conception by Raymond Briggs in the late 1970's. It has had an annual Christmas TV slot since 1982 and the 26-minute film was even nominated for an Academy Award - not bad considering it derived from a children's picture book with no words! In 1986, the story was made into a stage show with Birmingham Rep producing the most notable version in 1993. It is here that I revisited the show thirty years after its stage debut.

Pantomime is old hat in this country with hundreds of productions taking place across the UK each Christmas period. But how can the format be given a fresh spin and shaken up a little? Why not put it in the largest auditorium that a pantomime has ever played! Performing to just under 5000 people each performance, this is exactly what Arenapanto Ltd (in association with NEC Group Arenas) have created with this production of Cinderella. The Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham currently houses a 45m wide by 14m high castle and has a cast of over one hundred, plus a crew of ninety. It may only running for five days in the lead up to Christmas but it is certainly a different panto experience, even for someone who is a seasoned attendee.

Between shows on a Wednesday evening and remarkably unflustered by emergency rehearsals right up until the half hour call, BWW:UK caught up with the delightful and bubbly Cat Simmons to discuss her role as Nancy in Oliver! at the Curve Theatre in Leicester. 

After seeing a similar panto production of Peter Pan at Birmingham Hippodrome a few years, Qdos Entertainment have rolled it out to the Wolverhampton Grand this Christmas, starring the Chuckle Brothers and John Altman. With stunning sets, flying and plenty of gags, what more can you ask for!

The dust has only recently settled on the last production of Hairspray at the Curve in Leicester but now this production is on the road across the UK. Based on the packed house at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham last night, it's proven itself to be a show that people will return to. It's just upsetting that this time around the show did not live up to my expectations.

Mr Solihull panto himself Malcolm Stent is back for his 25th consecutive pantomime at Solihull Arts Complex this year in which he writes, directs and stars. Aladdin sees a talented cast of both familiar and fresh faces returning to the newly refurbished auditorium and front of house areas at the theatre. Traditional at every corner, there are a vast number of components there necessary to form the foundations of a good solid family pantomime; including plenty of audience participation, original takes on popular musical numbers, slapstick comedy routines and the occasional risque double entendre. 

The stakes were well and truly raised at the Belgrade Theatre last night as intrepid audience members from across Coventry and Warwickshire descended on the venue under cover of darkness to mark the official opening of the theatre's alternative Christmas comedy, Vampomime, running in B2 from Sat 5 Dec - Sat 2 Jan.

Old favourite Jack and the Beanstalk is Lichfield Garrick's pantomime this year; jam-packed full of content, comedy and catchy musical numbers delivered by a talented, enthusiastic ensemble cast. Ian Adams returns once again to write, direct and star as Dame Trixie Trott this festive season.

Last night featured my first pantomime of this year's festive season, the unconventional Beauty and the Beast at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. There is the usual rotation of pantomimes that many theatres alternate; most commonly Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Dick Whittington with a few other options for good measure. Beauty and the Beast is one that I personally haven't seen in a pantomime format before and did it work? I think so!

C.S.Lewis' timeless story The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a perfect fit for the festive season. It has had several stage reincarnations over the years and the fact that it has been revisited again at the Birmingham Rep is a testament to its appeal. The theatre last staged the show in 2009 as a co-production with West Yorkshire Playhouse whom presented the original production in both 2004 and 2007 to critical acclaim. This year it is solely produced by Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company and directed by Tessa Walker, who returns after directing A Christmas Carol at the theatre in 2013.

Regularly seen on our TV screens as the presenter of BBC's Pointless, Alexander Armstrong has surprised many people recently by revealing his aptitude for singing. Having been a choir boy at Durham Cathedral and a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge when he was younger, Armstrong wanted to pursue this as a career until he met Ben Miller and hence went down the comedy route to great success. East West Records have produced this album full of songs sentimental to the artist, including classic and musical favourites.

With a career spanning two decades, Richard 'Woody' Woodford releases his long awaited debut album Because Of You later this month. Over the years, Woodford has been a part of a multitude of West End and International musical productions with only a selection of them being celebrated on this recording. It is an absolute must for any modern musical theatre fan, featuring songs from Shrek to The Phantom Of The Opera, Saturday Night Fever to Songs For A New World. This is an excellent showcase from a supremely talented and versatile performer, singing a wonderful assortment of much-loved musical numbers.

Guys and Dolls has a long musical history. Originating and premiering on Broadway in 1950 and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical the following year, the show was soon turned into a film starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, which it is most fondly recognised for. There have been a multitude of successful revivals over the years and this one is currently enjoying a couple of pre-West End engagements before it opens at the Savoy Theatre for a limited run, starting next month.

Birmingham's Old Rep Theatre are staging a brand new take on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, Treasure Island, as their Christmas show this year - the first sizeable run the theatre has had since Birmingham Ormiston Academy became their creative partner. Because of this, a handful of BOA students are starring in both feature roles and ensemble, alongside several professional performers. Jam packed full of adventure, peril and musical numbers, the show has been tailored for the whole family.