WINNIE THE POOH THE MUSICAL Will Open At London's Riverside Studios Ahead Of UK and Ireland Tour
Previews are at London's Riverside Studios (Hammersmith) from 17 March with an official opening on 26 March.
By: Stephi Wild Nov. 03, 2022
Disney's Winnie the Pooh will be coming to the UK and Ireland stage for the first time in Spring 2023, with preview performances at London's Riverside Studios (Hammersmith) from 17 March and an official opening on 26 March. It will then tour the UK and Ireland until September 2023. Tickets for Riverside Studios on sale at 10am on Monday 7 November, with Tour tickets on sale now.
The UK premiere will be presented by Rockefeller Productions, in partnership with ROYO, and in association with Disney Theatrical Productions. The role of Winnie the Pooh will be played by Jake Bazel, who originated the role on Broadway. Further casting to be announced.
Jake Bazel is a puppeteer, voice actor, writer and coach with over a decade of experience working in children's media. Credits include Sesame Street (HBO/PBS), Disney's Winnie the Pooh: The New Stage Adaptation (Disney Theatrical), Sesame Workshop's Helpsters (Apple TV+), The 90th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Disney's Muppets (Disney/NBC), The 93rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop/NBC), Duncan the Skunk and the Big Costume Trunk (Hellosaurus), The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets in a Jam, Paddington Saves Christmas, Sandra Boynton's Frog Trouble, Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train Live! and Sesame Street in Communities. As a writer, he helped to craft Disney's Winnie the Pooh: The New Stage Adaptation.
Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, a new adventure is about to happen. A.A. Milne's beloved characters, Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl (and Tigger too!), will all arrive on stage in a beautifully-crafted musical stage adaptation.
In a new story from the Hundred Acre Wood, this fresh stage adaptation is told with impressive life-size puppetry, exciting new stories and featuring characters that have played iconic roles in the lives of children for generations. Accompanying the modern narrative is an original score by Nate Edmondson, featuring some of the Grammy award-winning songs written by The Sherman Brothers for the original animated features, including Winnie the Pooh, The Blustery Day, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce, plus A.A. Milne's The More It Snows (featuring music by Carly Simon) and Sing Ho in a new arrangement.
Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation is developed and presented by renowned family entertainment creator Jonathan Rockefeller (whose spectacular puppetry is omnipresent in the acclaimed productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show and Paddington Gets in a Jam).
Inspired by the beloved books by A. A. Milne and the classic Disney featurettes, the production was welcomed in New York in 2021, where it broke theatre box office records for the largest advance, with rave reviews where it was called "Enchanting!" (Time Out); "Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is magical, sweet as honey, and full of humor. It's a wholesome, delightful, enchanting piece of theatre," (BroadwayWorld); "A perfect reintroduction to live theater. It's a captivating adventure with spectacular puppetry," (Mommy Poppins); "Charming and whimsical stage show that Pooh surpasses every expectation I had for it," (The Laughing Place); "Winnie the Pooh is delightfully first-rate," (Theatre Pizzazz); "Irresistible. 'Winnie the Pooh' is sweeter than honey," (DC Metro Arts); "An hour of bountiful joy," (New York Theatre Guide); "Mesmerizing and lifestyle puppets and original Sherman Brothers tunes, the beautiful new Winnie the Pooh musical is must-see," (Theatrely); "The wonderful thing about musicals is that musicals are wonderful things. The New 'Winnie the Pooh' Musical Is Sweeter than Honey," (Toy Insider).
Tour Dates
31 May - 4 June
Southampton Mayflower Theatre
02380 711811
mayflower.org.uk
9 - 11 June
Milton Keynes Theatre
0844 871 7615*
www.atgtickets.com/venues/miltonkeynes
16 - 18 June
Birmingham Hippodrome
0844 338 5000
www.birminghamhippodrome.com/
On Sale 28 Nov
20 - 22 June Sheffield
Lyceum Theatre
0114 249 6000
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
23 - 25 June
Brighton Theatre Royal
0844 871 7615*
www.atgtickets.com/brighton
28 June - 1 July
Nottingham Theatre Royal
0115 989 5555
www.trch.co.uk
7 - 9 July
Richmond Theatre
0844 871 7615*
www.atgtickets.com/Richmond
14 - 16 July
Aberdeen His Majesty's Theatre
18 - 19 July
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
0131 529 6000
20 - 22 July
Glasgow Kings Theatre
0844 871 7615*
www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre
25 - 26 July
Manchester Opera House
0844 871 7615*
28 - 30 July
Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre
0818719 377 (ROI)
bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
08442485101 (UK)
1 - 2 August York
Grand Opera House
0844 871 7615*
3 - 5 August
Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre
7 - 9 August
Newcastle Theatre Royal
0844 811 2121
11 - 13 August
Guildford Yvonne Arnaud
01483 44 00 00
14 - 16 August
Blackpool Grand Theatre
01253 290190
18 - 20 August
Canterbury Marlowe Theatre
01227 787787
25 - 27 August
Southend Cliffs Pavilion
0343 310 0030
29 - 30 August High
Wycombe Wycombe Swan
03433100060
31 August - 2 Sept
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre
01242 572573
Further tour dates to be announced.
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