Louis Train - Page 5

Lea Salonga sang the soundtrack to my childhood. As the voices of Princess Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin and the title character of Mulan, Lea lent her talents to two of the most iconic animated characters of the Nineties. She also debuted the role of Kim in Miss Saigon on the West End, and has portrayed both Eponine and Fantine on Broadway. Lea returns to the UK this July for a six-stop concert tour. We caught up with her to ask for some teasers, get her take on the new Aladdin movie, and find out what she thinks of English weather and food.

The audience couldn't get enough at Main Men of Musicals, a concert at Cadogan Hall last night featuring West End stars Luke Bayer, Ben Forster, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Liam Tamne, and some very talented young choral performers.

It happens every now and then that a reputation becomes so prominent, it's hard to see the person inside of it. Sergei Polunin, the Ukrainian ballet dancer, is dwarfed by two gigantic reputations: he is the “next Baryshnikov” according to everyone, except to those who call him a homophobic, fatphobic jerk.

Oliver Bennett and Vladimir Shcherban made a splash in 2018 when their new company, HUNCHtheatre, debuted A Hero of Our Time, a smart, stylish adaptation of the classic Russian novel of the same name. Bennett and Shcherban just celebrated the first anniversary of their new company with a brief revival of A Hero, but they have so much more in the works: bilingual productions, international touring, and some potentially controversial new shows...

Sergey Kuryshev is a titan of the Russian stage, a highly regarded interpreter of Chekhov, an occasional film star, and a mainstay of St. Petersburg's Maly Drama Theatre. Sergey and the Maly are bringing their acclaimed production of Chekhov's Three Sisters to London's Vaudeville Theatre this June. In advance of his next trip to England, Sergey spoke about how British audiences appreciate Chekhov, the themes of Three Sisters, and what we all need to find inner strength.

Amour, which opens soon at the Charing Cross Theatre, isn't just a musical - it's a musical fantasy. Tinged with love, longing, and imagination, it's a show that not only provides, but demands, endless creativity. Book writer Jeremy Sams spoke to BroadwayWorld ahead of the UK premiere about doing magic on stage, and the power of the imagination.

I was sat outside the English National Opera reading a novel when Kelsey Grammer (!) walked by, humming cheerfully about a bleak and unbearable world. He was getting ready for a rehearsal of  Man of La Mancha, which opens 26 April at the London Coliseum.

Louis de Bernieres' novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin, about the German occupation of the Mediterranean during World War Two, was a smash hit when it came out in 1994, selling millions of copies and spawning a Hollywood film adaptation. Now, Captain Corelli's Mandolin is coming to stages across the UK, with a new script by playwright Rona Munro.  Alex Mugnaioni, who stars as Captain Corelli, tells us what he loved about the book, and why the play is so important today. 

You never imagined Margaret Thatcher could be so vulgar, but then, it seems weirdly plausible. Like all good drag, Margaret Thatcher: Queen of Soho is outrageous and unreal, and sometimes fun.

Playwrights, directors and producers gathered at the May Fair Hotel on Monday for the third annual Tonic Awards, celebrating the achievements of women in theatre. In attendance, in addition to the aforementioned artists, were some of the theatre world's top movers and shakers, eager to show their support to a worthy cause.

Whether you know him as a contestant on The X Factor, as a member of Union J, or from his work on stage, there's a good chance you've heard Jaymi Hensley sing. Now, he's taking Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on tour, starring in the titular role.

An upright piano, a bottle of something strong, a door leading somewhere else. Billy Bishop Goes to War, on now at the Southwark Playhouse, after transferring from the Jermyn Street Theatre, is evocative and wistful, like a tune you remember from your youth, but no one else does.

Diana Vishneva earned a thunderous ovation at Sadler's Wells last night, not only from the audience, but from the beaming assembly of dancers who stood behind her.

Jonathan Hyde is currently starring in Gently Down the Stream, a new play at the Park Theatre exploring an intergenerational gay relationship. Jonathan told BroadwayWorld what makes this show powerful, and why there is always room for optimism.

Follies begins with a gentle piece of music: warm, slow, romantic, that erupts into a jazz and brass extravaganza. Like the show that follows, it is full of highs and lows, big things and small things, pain and longing and fun.

Tartuffe, which has just opened at the National, is quick, clever, and frightening.  Going on a new adaptation by John Donnelly, which transplants the action to modern-day London, and a delicious set by Robert Jones - so decadent it chews the actors - this new, politically charged production is disiquientingly relevant.  It is also wickedly funny.

After a successful run at the Jermyn Street Theatre, Billy Bishop Goes to War transfers to the Southwark Playhouse on 13 March. I spoke to director Jimmy Walters about what made Billy Bishop special, and how he's managed to bring Bishop's story to life.

This new production of Arthur Miller's rarely-produced play, on now at the Old Vic, offers some emotional and aesthetic rewards, but misses more often than it hits.

A hail of cigarette boxes, bicycles, jazz, and divine intervention. Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre's The Good Person of Szechwan, at the Barbican Centre, is unpredictable, intense, and cathartic - like a drug intervention. (One where cigarette boxes fall from the ceiling.)

Shelley Maxwell doesn't stop. Born in Jamaica, trained in Cuba, practised in New York, and based in London, she has turned heads as a choreographer and performer, in contemporary dance and musical theatre. Now, Shelley has taken on Equus with English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East as its Movement Director. I talked to her about the brilliance of Equus, what a movement director does, and what's good in London.