Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sam Mendes. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sam Mendes. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, 17 March 2022
The Witches of Eastwick to have Concert Performance Starring Giles Terera
Producer Jack Maple, by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, is delighted to announce a special one-off concert of The Witches of Eastwick at the Sondheim Theatre on Monday 20 June 2022.
The Witches of Eastwick has a book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana P. Rowe, based on the novel by John Updike and the Warner Brothers motion picture. Maria Friedman will direct with musical staging by Stephen Mear. Olivier Award-winning actor Giles Terera will star as Darryl Van Horne. This will be the first time the musical has been seen in London since it originally played at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2000, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2001. Tickets are on sale from 10am on Thursday 17 March.
Further all-star casting is to be announced.
The Witches of Eastwick tells the tale of the people of the little town of Eastwick. It is a town where everyone knows everything about everyone else, and it is presided over by the indomitable Felicia Gabriel. Bored with their small town lives, three women - Alexandra (Alex), Sukie, and Jane--share a desire for “all manner of man in one man” to provide excitement and variety. That man arrives, literally in a flash, in the devil-like form of Darryl Van Horne. Darryl seduces the women and teaches them powers, which they never knew they had.
Further all-star casting is to be announced.
The Witches of Eastwick tells the tale of the people of the little town of Eastwick. It is a town where everyone knows everything about everyone else, and it is presided over by the indomitable Felicia Gabriel. Bored with their small town lives, three women - Alexandra (Alex), Sukie, and Jane--share a desire for “all manner of man in one man” to provide excitement and variety. That man arrives, literally in a flash, in the devil-like form of Darryl Van Horne. Darryl seduces the women and teaches them powers, which they never knew they had.
Cameron Mackintosh said “I’m really thrilled that Jack Maple is conjuring up the wickedly funny Witches of Eastwick again, for one night only in concert with a glorious cast at the Sondheim Theatre. It has always been one of my favourite scores, which I’m very much looking forward to hearing in its full splendour.”
Maria Friedman said “I’m so incredibly excited to be revisiting Eastwick after all these years. To be reunited with the fantastic Stephen Mear and to have the opportunity to bring this beloved musical back to London, and at the simply stunning Sondheim Theatre, for one night only is an absolute thrill and I can’t wait to get started.”
Giles Terera MBE is an award-winning actor, musician and writer. He is best known for originating the role of Aaron Burr in the London production of the award-winning musical Hamilton, for which he won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Giles’s other work on stage includes Rosmersholm, The Tempest, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, 125th Street, Rent (West End); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamlet, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Troilus and Cressida, Candide, Honk! (National Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe/international tour); The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Donmar Warehouse); Pure Imagination – The Songs of Lesley Bricusse (St. James’s); King John (Shakespeare’s Globe/UK tour); The Ratpack (West End/international tour); Jailhouse Rock (Theatre Royal Plymouth/West End); The Tempest (RSC) and Generations of the Dead (Young Vic). As a writer, his theatre work includes The Meaning of Zong (Bristol Old Vic), The Ballad of Soho Jones (St. James’) and Black Matter (Crazy Coqs). Giles was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to theatre.
The winner of three Olivier Awards and an Evening Standard Award, Maria Friedman is one of Britain’s most successful and acclaimed Musical Theatre actresses. Maria starred in the original West End production of The Witches of Eastwick as Sukie alongside Lucie Arnaz as Alex and Joanna Riding as Jane. Her many other West End acting credits include Passion, Ragtime, Merrily We Roll Along, Blues in the Night, Chicago, The Woman in White and, most recently, she played Golde in the Olivier Award-winning Trevor Nunn production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre. Maria won over a whole new audience when she joined the cast of long-running soap EastEnders, playing Elaine Peacock. In 2013, Maria made her directorial debut at the Menier Chocolate Factory with a production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along. After a series of 5-star reviews, the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical and a sell-out extended run, it transferred to the West End and played Boston. In 2014, it won the Olivier for Best Musical Revival. It was recently announced that Maria will stage Old Friends, a celebration of the work of Stephen Sondheim at the Sondheim Theatre, with Matthew Bourne in May, as well as an Off-Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along starring Daniel Radcliffe as part of New York Theatre Workshop’s 2022/23 season.
The multi award-winning Stephen Mear, is one of the world’s most celebrated choreographers, with two Olivier Awards, an LA Drama Critics Circle Award, and a Helpmann Award. His theatre work includes Mary Poppins with co-choreographer Matthew Bourne (Prince Edward Theatre 2004 & 2019); Funny Girl and Guys and Dolls, as director/choreographer (Marigny Theatre); Guys and Dolls Concert, as director/choreographer (Royal Albert Hall); Chess (ENO); Sunset Boulevard (ENO and Broadway); On the Town (ENO and Théâtre du Châtelet); 42nd Street as director/choreographer (Théâtre du Châtelet); Singin’ In The Rain (Grand Palais); City of Angels, The Vote and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Donmar); White Christmas (Dominion Theatre and Curve, Leicester); Mack and Mabel, The Pajama Game, She Loves Me as director/choreographer, Amadeus, The Music Man, Funny Girl, How to Succeed In Business, Putting it Together and The Grapes of Wrath (Chichester Festival Theatre); Die Fledermaus (The Metropolitan Opera, New York) and The Little Mermaid (Broadway). Stephen will be choreographing Old Friends at the Sondheim Theatre this May.
John Dempsey wrote both the book and lyrics for Zombie Prom (Off Broadway & Germany), The Fix directed by Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse (Olivier Award & Helen Hayes Award nominations) and lyrics for The Reluctant Dragon, A Country Christmas Carol, and the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. Plays include; One Miracle in a Lifetime (Ohio Arts Council Award), The World Today and The Greater Goode.
Dana P. Rowe wrote the music for Zombie Prom (Off Broadway & Germany) and The Fix, directed by Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse (Olivier Award & Helen Hayes Award nominations). He also prepared the score for The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde which premiered at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival as a featured production.
Thursday, 8 February 2018
The Ferryman, Gielgud Theatre | Review
The Ferryman
Gielgud Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 5th February 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
Two of the hottest names in theatre and film have come together to create a masterful, intricate piece of theatre. Founder of the Donmar Warehouse, Sam Mendes and award winning playwright Jez Butterworth have constructed 3 hours, 15 minutes of dramatic storytelling, filled with equal parts tenderness and tension.
Set in rural Northern Ireland in 1981, The Ferryman follows the Carney family as they prepare for the annual harvest feast. The family is vast with the huge cast featuring a whole range of ages and some real farmyard animals! They all work wonderfully together to create a realistic family vibe as they bounce off one another and face the highs and lows of family life. The comedy and flow of family life is flawless with fantastic performances across the board, especially from the children.
Whilst the surface story is the family portrait, it's politics that seeps through this play. With IRA connections and bloodshed over the generations causing tension and pain for all involved. It's striking and moving to watch.
Pacing wise, The Ferryman is good, with the third act especially providing punch after punch. However, I found some moments to be over indulgent and it definitely could have been cut down; but there's no denying that Jez Butterworth is certainly a master storyteller and has woven a masterful script which excites and engages throughout.
Owen McDonnell is understated and layered as patriarch Quinn Carney. Rosalie Craig as the struggling Caitlin is extremely interesting to watch as she puts of a brave face whilst the wounds of her husband's disappearance are ripped open. The entire younger cast are dynamic as they bounce off one another, first in a playful way and gradually transitioning to anger and suspicion. The character development of each individual is extremely well written and performed with Francis Mezza as Shane Corcoran providing a wonderfully arched portrayal.
The Ferryman is a glorious piece of theatre which flows and cadences with ease and vigour. It's lengthy but so worth the watch. This is a play that not only makes you think but makes you want to talk and pick apart every aspect of it. Get yourself along to the Gielgud theatre to experience a theatrical spectacle.
For tickets and information about the show, visit https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk
photo credit: Johann Persson
Wednesday, 15 July 2020
David Hunter and Caroline Kay release online musical short created during lockdown having never met in person
West End star David Hunter and actor/singer-songwriter, Caroline Kay, have come together virtually - having never before met in person - to write, perform, and record a new Musical Short, The Space Between.
Made using screen-recordings of live video calls over Zoom, FaceTime, and Whatsapp, The Space Between is a 13-minute musical story offering a glimpse into a couple’s difficult relationship through Lockdown.
David said “I’ve always wanted to write a musical, and I reached out to Caroline with the beginnings of an idea for a Lockdown creation.”
The two then agreed to collaborate and composed the piece by communicating solely via Whatsapp.
Caroline said: “Lockdown has affected all relationships in different ways and we wanted to explore what these effects might look like for one fictional couple.”
Hunter and Kay teamed up with composer and musical director, Nick Barstow (another creative whom neither of the pair have met in person!), as arranger and musical supervisor, Imogen Halsey (on cello) and connected with Joe Davison of Auburn Jam Music LTD who mixed and mastered.
The Space Between, will be released on Wednesday July 15 to raise funds for the Theatre Artists Fund, the emergency fund for theatre workers in need of urgent support due to the coronavirus pandemic set up last month by theatre and film director Sam Mendes.
Watch the isolation musical for free via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jMCO4shFMI&feature=youtu.be
Audience members who can afford to make a donation to the Theatre Artists Fund are encouraged to do so.
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