The Lord is on Jonathan Ross tonight and news has been ‘leaked’ that there will be six new songs in the new version of The Wizard Of Oz.  As the productions of Joseph, SOM and Oliver were marketed on the back of the fondness for their original songs that every knows, I do not understand this decision at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since I saw the hit West End show Wicked, I have been in doubt at how much the fans adore this show. But, even with the original Elphaba - Idina Menzel, it still left me cold. I love the original story, the dreamlike elements, the beautiful standout song from which this blog gets its name, and the darkness which contrasts with the sheer joy. Read the rest of this entry »

Nobody much cares when a critic drops dead — although marks were awarded when a Jewish Chronicle reviewer, Charles Landstone, collapsed fatally in the street on leaving a play called Whose Life Is It, Anyway?

But there will be genuine dismay at the news of Patrick O’Connor’s passing at the relatively early age of 60.

O’Connor was an unusual critic in many ways. He knew what he was talking about, for a start. And he was unrivalled in my view as an all-round commentator on vocal music, opera and musical theatre.

He was very similar in appearance to the actor Peter Eyre. They were often mistaken for each other and were indeed good friends, sharing many enthusiasms in music and poetry.

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With the news that current West End star of Sister Act, Sheila Hancock is to judge contestants on the TV Show Over The Rainbow, you could almost hear the sighs of joy from theatre regulars. Why? Well, this gifted actress keeps getting better and she has certainly paid her dues. Anyone who has seen Sister Act will tell you that it is not only Patina Miller who is the star of the show.

So, one judge down - so far, so good - even if we ignore the fact that none of the regulars are back. Is it because Denise Van Outen is pregnant or is it simply because The Lord wanted a completely different line-up? I’d suggest the latter.

Next up is Charlotte Church - the opera singer/pop singer/chat show hostess. She is known for her honesty - so this may also be a good move on the part of the BBC because she may also bring a younger following to the show. After all, Sheila can play the Ben Kenobi role perfectly, and this leaves Church as the feisty one. Read the rest of this entry »

“You’ve done me in, ” said an emotional but magnificently regal Vanessa Redgrave as she accepted a Fellowship of BAFTA from Prince William, the new president, in the Royal Opera House.

I sometimes think we have many good actresses, a few great actresses — and Vanessa Redgrave. She’s different league when she feels like it. And she certainly felt like it last night.

She clasped hands in the stalls with younger daughter Joely Richardson during a beautiful citation from Uma Thurman.  And after a kaleidoscopic resume of her screen career, from Blow Up and A Suitable Case for Treatment (with David Warner and Robert Stephens in view) to Atonement and Venus, she took the stage like a visiting goddess, elegantly dressed and irresistibly radiant.

She skilfully managed to avoid acknowledging the craven, coarse-grained host of the show, Jonathan Ross, while kissing Uma, and  then the Prince, before holding him firmly by the upper arms and curtsying deeply, head bowed.

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One of the best performances in Michael Attenborough’s revival of Measure for Measure at the Almeida is Lloyd Hutchinson’s as a louche and back-stabbing Teddy Boy pimp Lucio, ever ready with a malicious quip or a sardonic put-down.

His particular brand of casual defamation and libellous character assassination seems more convincingly repellent than ever in these brutish, gossipy times. Even theatre critics might recognise themselves in the performance and take pause.

They are more likely, though, to take paws, and carry on scratching. Even being nice about someone is these days usually laced with misinformation and misunderstanding.

Take Tim Walker of the Sunday Telegraph, for instance, who is reported in the current Private Eye as saying what a nice chap Benedict Nightingale is for taking time to speak to him and never writing a  programme note.

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The announcement of the new season at the Chichester Festival Theatre is astounding: Howard Goodall writes music for Love Story; Brenton, Edgar and Friel reintrepret the classics; 42nd Street returns; Philip Prowse directs Rupert Everett in Pygmalion.

And Patrick Stewart plays Shakespeare in Edward Bond’s Bingo, a role first taken by John Gielgud, who was never happy playing a bitter old Bard, drunk and despairing, living off the fat of the land he consigned to the evil effects of the enclosures.

Not only that, Arthur Lowe stole the show from under his nose as a hilarious Ben Jonson. Will Stewart suffer a similar fate at the hands of Richard McCabe, I wonder?

The announcement coincides with the opening of David Greig’s marvellous Dunsinane for the RSC at Hampstead, the best theatrical companion piece to Shakespeare since Bond’s re-imagining of King Lear.

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Megan Mullally, better known as Karen from Will & Grace, has come to London to perform for the first time on the West End with her band Supreme Music Program. And last night, at her first performance of eight, 100 Whatsonstage.com theatregoers, some new faces but many we know well, arrived in force to see Megan Mullally ‘outside the box’ and we were definitely not disappointed.

With a beautifully dynamic voice Megan Mullally owned the stage singing a wonderful medley of songs drawn from Blues, Country and Western and Rock. Most definitely not an upbeat repetoire Mullally still managed to keep us spell-bound as she sang of heart ache, love, death and pain. Some of the my favourites of the evening were ‘Wind and Rain’, ‘Fancy’, ‘I Was Meant for the Stage’and ‘Ava Maria’. Her band supports her fantastically and their range and skill is impressive.

We were lucky enough to be joined by Megan Mullally after her performance for a Q&A which was both entertaining and informative. She told us all about how she chooses her roles, her music and some of her favourite moments on screen and stage. Highlights from this Q&A along with a podcast of the event will go up on the news site shortly and are definitely worth a look.

Please do feel free to email your comments and thoughts about the play, as well as any photos you have of the event and the evening through to feedback@whatsonstage.com, we love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us for this event, and do check the homepage to keep up to date on all of our upcoming Outings.
Laura Norman

Club Manager

Even by old West End standards, Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream revival, with Judi Dench as a glorious Gloriana of a Titania, brought in a remarkable first night crowd to the Rose in Kingston, Surrey, last night.

En route from the station, Dame LIz Forgan of the Arts Council — saving on those taxi cab fares by walking like the rest of us mere mortals — berated me for having missed her Bottom at Benenden School in the late 1950s.

Liz had travelled on the crowded Waterloo train with Anthony Smith, the writer and broadcaster, and former president of Magdalen College, Oxford, while I had been soothing top agent Harriet Cruickshank, who was severely crushed on boarding at Vauxhall.

Harriet has a voice that carries — no wonder given her theatrical pedigreee — and even without spotting her I could hear her telling people to move down the carriage, one of only four on this rush-hour train, which had caused the problem.

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Whatsonstage.com’s Theatre Awards audience has been treated to the surreal and brilliant double act of Sheridan Smith and James Corden these past two years.

But last night a new and even unlikelier double act was born when Christopher Biggins and Mel Giedroyc took the stage at the Prince of Wales and carried on as if they owned the place. They were simply terrific.

How could Biggins possibly out-do his own appearance in a bright blue suit with glittering lapels? Easy. He came on in a dowdy frock and grey fright wig as Susan Boyle, singing “I dreamed a dream” which was more of a nightmare.

Then co-host Mel announced best actor: “It goes to an old shag of mine - Jude Law. He can’t be here because he’s shagging someone else in Japan.” Nicely phrased, Mel, perfect for Valentine’s Day. Read the rest of this entry »