In 1969 Sesame Street hit public television, it took the world by storm and for many years was the absolute king when anyone talked of puppetry. Jim Henson - one of the main contributors to Sesame Street - branched off and produced The Muppets, who (along with Sesame Street), reigned supreme as puppetry masters of the entertainment world. That was until 2003, when … [Read more...]
London Musical Reviews for West End and Off West End
If you are planning to visit London to see a musical on stage at one of the West End theatres, or a musical in one of the many Off West End or Fringe venues, then maybe our London musical reviews section can be of help? Read one of the latest reviews or use the search button to find and view one of our previous reviews. We use a star rating system on our site.
Six: ‘something about the feistiness, the sassiness, the riotousness of it all’
There’s a good mix of musical styles amongst the ten musical numbers, though most of the melodies are firmly in the style of what I call ‘minicab music’ – the sort of chart music tunes I would only listen to if I were being driven home and the driver just so happened to have the radio on. But there’s something about the feistiness, the sassiness, the riotousness of it all. I liked the music so much I bought the cast recording on the way out. It only leaves me to wish Six a long and glorious reign.
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Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! | Festival Theatre, Chichester
Put it this way: the last summer musical that transferred from the Chichester Festival Theatre to the West End (Festival 2016’s Half A Sixpence, for those who need a memory jog) also ended with a newly married couple getting into a motorcar and driving off while very nearly all the other characters wave them goodbye. Oklahoma!, unlike that other show, is as American … [Read more...]
The Bodyguard at Edinburgh Playhouse | Review
This is the first time that I have watched a movie-based musical without previously seeing the movie. I was aware of the main plot of the show and this stage production did not disappoint, by providing quality to the sets and staging. The musical starts with a powerful, concert-style performance which quickly gets the audience to engage with the production - … [Read more...]
Review of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Barbican Theatre
Back in 1970, two young men released a rock opera concept album about a historical figure using a story freely adapted from the Bible. Little did they know that in the next 49 years, their album would have taken the world by storm, spawning award-winning Broadway and West End shows and a couple of movies. The young men were Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice, and the … [Read more...]
Stiles & Drewe’s Soho Cinders at the Bridewell Theatre
“They are sisters. They are ugly,” so The Narrator (Michael Jibson) tells the audience, in direct reference to Clodagh (Maria Waters) and Dana (Michelle Bock), who would have stolen the show if only they had been just a tad more brazen. It’s a difficult line to straddle on stage between being bold and being hammy, but with a story loosely based on Cinderella (hence … [Read more...]
Review of the new British musical Fiver at Southwark Playhouse
In May 2017, a story broke about drug users ‘getting Winstoned’ by the new £5 note, which had already come under criticism from certain religious groups and animal activists who were unhappy that the new polymer fiver had traces of animal fat. The stronger plastic (well, plastic-ish) notes had also left drug users with cut noses after trying to snort cocaine. The term … [Read more...]
Guildhall School presents Merrily We Roll Along at Silk Street Theatre
When Merrily We Roll Along opened on Broadway in 1981 it was a resounding flop, closing after just sixteen performances. One of the reasons put forward for its demise was that producer Hal Prince had chosen to cast young performers for a show that started with the characters in their forties and went backwards in time ending with the characters in their early … [Read more...]
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ – The Musical Review
It would take a self-confessed individual like Adrian Mole (Michael Hawkins at the performance I attended, the role shared with Aaron Gelkoff, Nicholas Antoniou-Tibbitts and Rufus Kampa) to point out that The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ can’t really be that secret if it was published, and (in no particular order) made into a radio series, a television … [Read more...]
The Color Purple at Leicester’s Curve Theatre | Review
A theatrical adaptation of a book that has received as much critical acclaim as Alice Walker’s The Color Purple has the perhaps unenviable challenge of living up to incredibly high expectations. But it works as a musical, as it did on Broadway, and closer to home (for London readers, anyway) at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Despite a hard-hitting story - in more ways … [Read more...]