One of America's hottest musical talents, Jason Robert Brown, is to perform four concerts in London, showcasing work from his three previously-performed shows (Parade, Songs for a New World, The Last Five Years) as well as from his forthcoming album (due out in January) and one of his new projects, Thirteen, a musical heading – hopefully - for Broadway in late 2005. The venue for Jason Robert Brown and Friends is to be the newly refurbished New Players Theatre, currently home to Snoopy the Musical, meaning the concerts will play afterwards at 10:30pm, though Sunday's performance is at 8. They run from September 23rd.
Joining the Hollywood list of actors to tread the boards is Holly Hunter. The actress, star of films such as A Life Less Ordinary, O Brother Where Art Thou and the up-coming Disney film The Incredibles, makes her debut on the London stage in By the Bog of Cats, a play by Irish writer Marina Carr. Though new to the West End, she is not new to the play – she previously performed the role of Hester in 2001 at the San Jose Rep, California. Other casting has not been unveiled but it will be directed by Dominic Cooke and produced by Sonia Friedman at the Wyndham's Theatre (currently home to Broadway-bound Democracy). Hunter joins the likes of Christian Slater, Lee Evans, Richard Dreyfuss and Kim Cattrall, all of whom are movie actors coming to London this Autumn.
One of Britain's greatest stage actresses, Patricia Routledge, returns to the West End stage to lead a revival of The Solid Gold Cadillac. The actress, who won a Tony award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968, is best known to audiences for playing Hyacinth Bucket in the TV series Keeping Up Appearances, a role she has since tried to part stereotype with.. not helped by a recent outing as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. In Cadillac she plays Laura Partridge, a retired actress. Sharing the billing at the Garrick Theatre in September is Roy Hudd, a veteran British comedian. The play is directed by Ian Brown.
Two and a half weeks into rehearsals, director Guy Masterson has flown the nest from his production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Despite bagging actor Christian Slater to take the lead role, also with Mackenzie Crook and Frances Barber, the director left citing personal problems and was "physically and emotionally unable to continue". The production will now go ahead under the capable hands of Terry Johnson, writer and director of The Graduate stage adaptation. The production opens at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh – where it is sold out – on August 6th, before transferring to the Gielgud Theatre in London.
In other news, former Boyzone star Stephen Gately will join the cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. You'd assume the 28-year-old would play the lead of Caractacus Potts, to be taken by Jason Donavan, but instead the former-Joseph will scare off the kids as The Childcatcher. Also.. Rod Stewart Musical Tonight's the Night has pulled forward its closing night to 9th October and Billy Elliot has cancelled its out of town tryout in Newcastle. The theatre it was due to play at has sadly closed down.
Next week, news on West End musical Murderous Instincts.
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