No matter how good a person you may be, everyone reading this review will have told a lie at some point in their lives. The big question is why do people lie? Many people lie to protect their own feelings, self-esteem, self-confidence, or other personal emotion. Others though will lie to protect the feelings of others and spare someone else pain or hurt. And it's to this second group that the hero of Dear Evan Hansen at the Noel Coward Theatre belongs, or does he? Evan is a 17-year-old … [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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School of Rock – The Musical at New Wimbledon Theatre
The great thing about taking a show like School of Rock the Musical on tour is that it draws audiences who wouldn’t have necessarily travelled into the West End to see, well, anything – and here, the production’s quality is as good as I recall it was when the show had a residency at what was then called the New London Theatre. Dewey Finn (Jake Sharp) takes a call from Rosalie Mullins (Rebecca Lock), the latter being the principal of Horace Green Preparatory School. There are unexpected … [Read more...]
Chicago The Musical at Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Kander and Ebb’s 1975 musical has just opened an extended tour at Churchill Theatre, Bromley, ending July 2022 in Llandudno, and visiting most parts of the UK in between The 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins about judicial corruption in 1926 USA now seems irrelevant, most members of last night’s audience seeming to be far more interested in the music and dancing. The 'star' of the show is undoubtedly the superb ten-piece band set centre stage, under the direction of Andrew Hilton and … [Read more...]
Heathers the Musical at New Wimbledon Theatre
The 14th amendment of the American constitution validated the equality provisions contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which guaranteed that all citizens would have the guaranteed right to equal protection by law. So, the USA prides itself that all of its citizens are equal under the law. However, there is one area of American society where its citizens are about as equal as someone born in the most feudal and hierarchical of societies. That place is high school, where popularity is … [Read more...]
SIX the Musical at the Vaudeville Theatre
The history, or shall we say herstory, of the six wives of King Henry VIII come alive in this exciting and dynamic musical at The Vaudeville Theatre. The queens' remix five hundred years of historical grief, competing for the honour of leading the band, in this newly formed pop group. What follows are heart wrenching, powerful and very witty tales of how they came to be where they eventually ended up; divorced, beheaded, died or as the last one standing. The evening's performance saw … [Read more...]
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert started out as The Adventures of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, a 1994 Australian film that became a cult classic and starred Terence Stamp as a transgender woman and even won an Oscar for Best Costume Design. The musical version of the film with a book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott debuted at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney in 2006 before hitting the West End and Broadway where it won an Olivier and a Tony respectively, once again for Best Costume … [Read more...]
Top Hat at The Mill at Sonning | Review
Some sprightly choreography sprinkles this production of Top Hat, and I have yet to work out whether it is because of or despite the relatively limited stage space. There’s always a third option: both. Either way, the stage version of the 1935 film premiered in 2011 (although, yes, it comes across as something that’s been around for decades), and the contemporary twist to the show comes in the form of dance numbers that do well to advance the storyline, as opposed to the narrative coming to an … [Read more...]