Missed what’s going on in the world of theatre this week? Don’t worry, we’ve put together a list of all the biggest theatre news stories to hit the headlines in the last seven days. From new musicals, concert announcements and West End transfers it has been a very busy week!
New UK musical 42 Balloons to be staged on West End this November
Award winning producers Andy and Wendy Barnes from Global Musicals (Six, The Choir of Man, Pieces of String, Lift) together with Kevin McCollum from Alchemation (In The Heights, Avenue Q, Rent, Mrs Doubtfire, The Notebook) have this week announced a series of staged concert performances of new musical 42 Balloons. Written by Jack Godfrey, the show is currently in development through Global Musical’s sister company Perfect Pitch, an entity dedicated exclusively to creating, developing and promoting new contemporary British musicals.
Staged on 14 November and 21 November at 7:30pm, and 28 November at 2:30pm, the concert will take over the Vaudeville Theatre with all tickets priced at £25. The cast includes Jordan Broatch, Madeline Charlemagne, Eloise Davies, Evelyn Hoskins, Melissa Jacques, Lemuel Knights, Garry Lee, Charlie McCullagh, Laura Dawn Pyatt, Travis Ross, Dillon Scott-Lewis, and Amelia Walker. Tickets are on sale now.
RSC announces co-artistic directors will be Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey
© RSC, photo by Seamus Ryan
Two new artistic directors have been announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company this week with the pair set to take over the role from June 2023. Boasting a wealth of talent and experience, Tamara Harvey has previously led Theatre Clwyd in Mold since 2015 while Daniel Evans has been artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre since 2016. The partnership is expected to enhance RSC’s captivating work in sharing the works of Shakespeare with the world.
This year’s RSC autumn season will feature a return of the venue’s much-loved A Christmas Carol, the return of the Mischief Festival and, in London, the world premiere of My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican.
Jonathan Bailey will play Fiyero in the Wicked movies
© Dan Wooller
Possibly one of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets, it has this week been confirmed that Jonathan Bailey will be taking on the role of Fiyero in the Wicked movies. No stranger to stage or screen, Bailey has a full CV including Bridgerton, COCK, Company and The Last Five Years. He will be joining previously announced Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the two-part flick.
Jamie Muscato and Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in Once concert at The London Palladium
© Lambert Jackson
Here at Overstudies we sure love a concert production, especially when we see two musical theatre legends reuniting to be a part of it. Award-winning musical Once is set to return to the West End next year starring Jamie Muscato (Les Miserables, Moulin Rouge) and Carrie Hope Fletcher (Les Miserables, The Addams Family), who previously worked together on Heathers. Taking place at The London Palladium on 12 March 2023, the show is on sale now. The production is directed by Dean Johnson with musical direction by Adam Hoskins.
Antonio Banderas and Stephen Schwartz working on new musical based on Picasso’s life
A musical based on the life of the painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer is being assembled, it has been revealed by Spanish publication ABC Cultura. Antonio Banderas (Evita) is set to star and has helped to conceive the show, while Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) is penning tunes and lyrics while Gordon Greenberg (Working, Holiday Inn musical) is co-writing the book and directing.
This isn’t the first time that Banderas has demonstrated his creative interest in the life of the famous painter, having previously portrayed him in the 2018 Genius episode. The new musical is being co-produced with Trafalgar Entertainment, and according to press reports, sights are set on both London and Broadway productions.
Curve theatre Announces Black History Month Programme of Events
Curve has announced a programme of performances, events and free activities to mark Black History Month this October. Led by Black artists, the programme will celebrate Black communities of Leicester and Leicestershire, with entertainment and cultural experiences for all. The full programme can be found on the Curve website here, but it is set to be an exciting month.
Speaking about Black History Month at Curve, Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:
“This October we are proud to be part of Leicester’s contribution to the global programme of Black History Month events. As always, our 2022 events put our local community at the forefront; the free Community Day launches this year’s programme with a vibrant array of plays, musicals and dance.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Serendipity on this year’s Black History Month programme and we are indebted to Arts Council England and Leicester City Council for their ongoing support.”
Take That musical Greatest Days to embark on new tour
If you’re a fan of Take That you are in for a treat next year – not only do we have a film adaptation of Greatest Days set to be released in cinemas, it has also this week been announced that there will be a summer tour of the production to coincide with the release. Featuring fifteen of Take That’s greatest hits, Greatest Days will will open on 5 May in Bromley, before heading to Manchester, Newcastle, Woking, Sheffield, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Wolverhampton and Cheltenham. Additional dates will also be announced for Blackpool, Glasgow, Bristol, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Southampton, Truro, Leeds, Leicester and Birmingham. Tickets are due to go on sale next month.
Jersey Boys to welcome new tour cast members
© Birgit and Ralf Brinkhoff
A number of fresh faces are set to join the Jersey Boys cast as part of the ongoing touring production. From next week (27 September) in Woking, Christopher Short will take on the role of Nick Massi. He joins current leads Michael Pickering as Frankie Valli, Blair Gibson as Bob Gaudio and Dalton Wood as Tommy DeVito. Ryan Heenan will play Frankie Valli at certain performances. Further faces joining the show, which has dates set through to May 2023, are Matthew Lawrence (Norm Waxman), Olly Manley (Swing), Victoria McCabe (Francine), Dan O’Brien (Hank Majewski) and Kirsty Whelan (Swing).
Continuing in the production are Emma Crossley (Mary Delgado), Jordan James (Gyp DeCarlo), Michael Levi (Bob Crewe), Tom O’Brien (Swing), Nathan Routledge (Swing), George Salmon (Joe Pesci), Ellie Seaton (Lorraine) and Damien Winchester (Barry Belson). Tickets are on sale for the remaining tour dates now.
Beetlejuice to close on Broadway
It’s been a week of sad announcements from the States following the announcement of the closure of The Phantom of the Opera last week. The latest show to announce closure on Broadway is Beetlejuice, which is currently running at the Marquis Theatre. A cult favourite, the show has announced that it will be closing 8 January 2023. When the show closes, it will have played 27 previews and 366 regular performances at the Winter Garden Theatre and 313 regular performances during its resurrection at the Marquis, for a total of 679 Broadway performances. A US tour begins this December, while the rumours of a West End transfer have been floating around for some time. We’d love to see this show make its way over to UK shores soon!
Miss Saigon to be revived in 2023 as part of Sheffield Theatres 2023 season
Featuring reimagined staging by Sheffield Theatres’ artistic director Robert Hastie, Miss Saigon is set to be the first regional non-replica production of Boublil and Schönberg’s hit musical. Set during the Vietnam war and telling the story of a tragic love story, Miss Saigon is one of a number of shows announced at the Crucible Theatre next year. Joanna Ampil (South Pacific) will play The Engineer, with additional casting to be announced.
Further productions coming to Sheffield next year include Wildfire Road, a new environmental thriller by Eve Leigh and directed by Laura Keefe. Tickets for both productions will be on sale soon.
Stars announced for West End Musical Halloween Concert
Musical theatre and Halloween may be the combination we didn’t realise we needed, but it’s the combination we deserve. From the people who brought you West End Musical Christmas and West End Musical Love Song comes a Halloween Spooktacular concert on the 31 October at the Lyric Theatre. Appearing will be Courtney Bowman (Legally Blonde), Luke Bayer (Everybody’s Talking about Jamie), Shanay Holmes (Get Up, Stand Up!), Sophie Isaacs (Six), Jordan Shaw (Les Misérables) and Tosh Wanogho-Maud (The Drifters Girl), with additional casting to be revealed. Tickets are on sale now.
Complete cast for Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella revealed
Complete casting has now been revealed for Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which is making its fully staged UK premiere at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. Joining the previously announced Grace Mouat (she/her, Legally Blonde) and Jacob Fowler (he/him, Heathers the Musical) are Annie Aitken (she/her, The Phantom of the Opera) who will play Madame, Julie Yammanee (she/her, Carousel) who will play Marie/Fairy Godmother, Lee Ormsby (he/him, Les Misérables) who will play Sebastian, Matthew McDonald (he/him, HMS Pinafore) who will play Lord Pinkleton and is the understudy Prince Topher, Katie Ramshaw (she/her, Jeremy Jordan in Concert) who will play Charlotte, Olivia-Faith Kamau (she/her, Million Dollar Quartet) who will play Gabrielle and Adam Filipe (he/him, The Prince of Egypt) who will play Jean-Michel.
Completing the cast will be featured ensemble members Morgan Broome (she/her, also understudy Madame/ Gabrielle), Lois Glain Postle (she/her, also understudy Marie/ Fairy Godmother), Ria Tanaka (she/her) (U/S Ella), Ella Valentine (she/her, also understudy Charlotte), Jamie Jonathan (he/him, also understudy Sebastian), Will Fisher (he/him, also understudy Pinkleton), Trevor Lin (he/him) and Milo McCarthy (they/them, also understudy Jean-Michel). Tickets are on sale now.
The Temptations musical Ain’t Too Proud to run in the West End
The hit musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations is set to head to London’s West End! Featuring the music of The Temptations, the show tells the story of the chart topping group’s rise to stardom. Casting for the show is to be announced, with the musical beginning performances at the Prince Edward Theatre (currently home to Mary Poppins) on 31 March 2023.
The show has a book by Kennedy Prize-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau and reunites two-time Tony Award winning director Des McAnuff, Tony Award winning choreographer Sergio Trujilio, Tony Award winning lighting designer Howell Binkley and Tony Award winning sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy. All four previously worked on the much-loved jukebox musical Jersey Boys, so we are anticipating great things for this show!
Lead casting revealed for Curve’s Christmas musical, The Wizard of Oz
Making its regional debut, The Wizard of Oz comes to Leicester’s Curve theatre this Christmas for a limited season. Rising star Georgina Onuorah (Millennials, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella) will lead the company in the role of Dorothy from 19 November 2022 to 8 January 2023. With music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the production brings the original, much-loved movie to life on stage, with direction from Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster. Additional casting is to be announced, but tickets are on sale now directly from Curve theatre.
BREAKING: MT Fest UK to return for 2023
Just as we were finalising this week’s round-up, the news dropped that MT Fest UK will be returning in 2023 after a year’s absence, from 30 January to 11 February 2023. Details are thin on the ground, but submissions for the festival, based at The Turbine Theatre, are now open. You can submit your work by email to [email protected], with the deadline for these being 14 October. MT Fest UK can be a crucial part in the development of new works; previous submissions include Millennials and But I’m a Cheerleader, both of which have gone on to enjoy longer runs in Off West End venues.
