By James V. Ruocco
The lady.The look.
The voice.
The sound.
The allure.
Nobody does it better than the incomparable Elaine Paige who headlines yet another UK tour this fall chock full of musical highlights from her long stage career and some very hot jazz standards that brilliantly showcase the actress/singer in her element...and then, some.
It's all here:
"Evita."
"Cats."
"Chess."
"Les Miserables."
"Follies."
"Jesus Christ Superstar."
"Sunset Boulevard," to name, a few.
And the songs:
"Don't Cry For Me, Argentina."
"Memory."
"Nobody's Side."
"I Know Him So Well."
"I Dreamed A Dream."
"I'm Still Here."
"I Don't Know How to Love Him."
"With One Look."
"As If We Never Said Goodbye."
"I'm so excited about taking this concert to more venues across the UK," says Paige. "We had such a good time last year. It allows me to do something completely different, a brand new show celebrating songwriters I love so much...Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Jim Webb, Burt Bacharach, Lennon & McCartney, Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber...
"The list goes on and on, as well as many of my hits. This music has been the soundtrack to all our lives, not just mine. And it's the ideal opportunity to perform it in an intimate way."
CONCERT DATES:
October 2017
- Oct 3rd – Shrewsbury Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, UK
- Oct. 4th – Cardiff St. Davids Hall, Cardiff, UK
- Oct. 8th – Dartford Orchard Theatre, Dartford, UK
- Oct. 12th – Torquay Princess Theatre, Torquay, UK
- Oct.13th – Truro Hall for Cornwall, Truro, UK
- Oct 15th – Bath Theatre Royal, Bath, UK
- Oct. 23rd – Inverness Eden Court/Empire Theatre, Inverness, UK
- Oct. 24th – Perth Concert Hall, Perth, UK
- Oct. 27th – Aberdeen Her Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, UK
- Oct. 28th – Edinburgh Queens Hall, Edinburgh, UK
November 2017
- Nov. 2nd – Llandudno Venue Cymru, Llandudno, UK
- Nov. 3rd – Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, UK
- Nov. 7th – Swindon Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, UK
- Nov. 11th – Coventry Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, UK
- Nov. 13th – Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes, UK
- Nov. 15th – Gateshead Sage, Gateshead, UK
- Nov. 19th – London Richmond Theatre, London, UK
- Nov. 24th – Margate Winter Gardens, Margate, UK
- Nov. 26th – St. Albans Alban Arena, St. Albans, UK
For links to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.elainepaige.com/events/
(It Simply Wouldn't Be Christmas Without Dick Whittington)
It's a familiar line we all know and love.
"C'mon Ratty, do your worst.. for you'll soon be ratatouille!"
And you know what that means.
It's time for...
You guessed it...."Dick Whittington."
Advance word from the West End theater elite is that this edition of "DW" is going to be "BIG," from its all-star cast and stunning visuals to its spectacular sets and colorful, extravagant costumes.
Let's start with the cast:
Elaine Page, fresh from her fall concert tour, plays Queen Rat opposite "Half a Sixpence's" Charlie Stemp (Dick Whittington respectively) in the London Palladium's (8 Argyll Street, London, UK) mammoth mounting of this popular holiday pantomime, which runs Dec. 9, 2017 through January 14, 2018.
Directed by Michael Harrison and co-produced by Harrison and Nick Thomas for Qdos Entertainment, the production also stars Julian Clary (Spirit of the Bells), Paul Zerdin (Idle Jack), Nigel Havers (Captain Nigel), Gary Wilmont (Sarah the Cook), Emma Williams (Alice Fitzwarren), Lukus Alexander (Eileen the Cat) and Ashley Banjo & Diversity (Sultan and the Entourage).
Written by Alan McHugh and based on popular British rags-to-riches folktale, "Dick Whittington" tells the real-life story of a young boy from Lancashire who escaped his poverty-stricken childhood to become a wealthy merchant and later, the mayor of London thanks to the ratting abilities of his beloved and trusty cat.
To keep audiences transfixed and merrily entertained, there's plenty of cheeky double entendres, giddy music hall warmth, over-the-top performances and sugar-spun holiday cheer to keep everyone of all ages happy. And maybe, just maybe, even come back for a second or third viewing.
Tickets are £26.50 to £94.60.
For reservations or more information, call the London Palladium box-office at 0844 412 2957.
Please note: "Dick Whittington" is recommended for ages 5+. Children under 3 years of age will not be admitted.
(It's a Birthday Party of Sorts for Harold Pinter)
Harold Pinter's second full-length play "The Birthday Party," takes up residence at the Harold Pinter Theatre (6 Panton St., London, UK), shortly after the start of the New Year with a first-class cast, headed by Zoe Wanamaker, Toby Jones and Stephen Mangan and "Doctor Who's" Pearl Mackie.
First performed in 1958, the two-act play celebrated its world premiere at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge on April 28, 1958, where it was greeted with mostly favorable reviews before moving on to Oxford and Wolverhampton. On May 19, 1958 the production relocated to London's West End, where is received poor reviews and subsequently, closed after only eight performances.
Regardless, "The Birthday Party" survived, in part, due largely to Pinter's growing reputation, and has been revived hundreds and hundreds of times since that fateful night. Today, it is regarded as one of the dramatic classics of the modern stage.
The play tells the story of a confused, misunderstood man named Stanley Webber, a piano player who lives in a run-down, English seaside house, run by Meg and Petey Bowles, a couple in their sixties. Things become heated when two strangers come calling on the day of Stanley's birthday asking questions and shaking things up.
In typical Pinter fashion, "The Birthday Party" includes themes of malice, mind control, oppression, betrayal and deception. Its sudden shift in moods (homespun domestic to obvious fear), is what defines the play and gives it a palpable immediacy that truly fascinates.
Its return to the London stage will be produced by Sonia Friedman and directed by Ian Rickson, who directed Pinter's last performance as an actor in "Krapp's Last Tape."
"The Birthday Party" runs January 9, 2018 through April 14, 2018.
Tickets are £26.00 to £109.00
For reservations or more information, call 0844 871 7622.
(An Iron Named Jeremy in a Play by the Master O'Neill)
Jeremy Irons will play James Tyrone opposite Lesley Manville's Mary Tyrone in the West End revival of Eugene O'Neill's classic three-act drama "Long Day's Journey Into Night," running Jan. 27, 2018 through April 8, 2018 at Wyndham's Theatre (Charing Cross Rd., London, UK). The production was previously staged with Irons and Manville at Bristol's Old Vic, where it received stellar reviews from the UK press and played to sold out audiences during its limited engagement. Richard Eyre returns as director.
"It is the speed of Richard Eyre's production at the Bristol Old Vic that seizes and convinces. Eyre directs Eugene O’Neill’s enormous 1942 play at breakneck pace. The dialogue torrents out and speeches sometimes overlap. The tragic outcome has rarely seemed so inevitable. There is no stopping the motor of this madness: here is a family hurtling to destruction. Yet the full-throttle energy means that the disaster is lit up as if by flares." (Susannah Clapp, The Observer)
" 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' starring Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville packs a profound physical and emotional punch ." (Georgina Brown, Daily Mail)
"I was happily contemplating climbing up on the roof of the Bristol Old Vic, risking arrest and injury, to shout “Rejoice, for Jeremy is back!” (Domenic Cavendish, The Telegraph)
Set against the backdrop of a run-down Connecticut summer home, "Long Day's Journey Into Night" pinpoints the disappointment, anguish, restlessness and the eventual collapse of the Tyrone family, which includes the morphine-addicted Mary, her drunken husband James and their two sons, Edmond who is dying of consumption and James, Jr., an irresponsible, womanizing alcoholic
“Over forty years ago, I saw Laurence Olivier play James Tyrone. I never dreamed I would one day be given the opportunity to play him myself," says Irons. "I am so glad I have the chance to work again with Richard Eyre and Lesley Manville on this, one of America’s greatest plays.”
Tickets are £27.25 to £98.50.
For reservations or more information, call 0844 482 5120.
(Time to Say to Goodbye to Several Primetime Soap Actors and Actresses)
Several major performers are leaving "Eastenders," "Hollyoaks" and Coronation Street" in the coming months.
Some of these exits are story dictated. Some have enraged longtime fans. Some have been prompted by the actors themselves.
At "Eastenders," the Branning sisters have been axed by new executive producer John Yorke. Both Jacqueline Jossa and Lorna Fitzgerald were stunned by the news (there's still lots of story for both their respective characters of Lauren and Abi), but they are still being written out of the long-running series during episodes that are expected to air at Christmas.
Can't say I'm surprised at Jossa's exit? During the last few months, the actress looked completely bored by her storylines and delivered most of her dialogue completely in a trance without any sort of truth or feeling. Worst yet, Jossa had absolutely zero chemistry with her male co-stars Aaron Sidwell (killed off recently as Steven Beale) and Eddie Eyre who plays sexy Clark Kent lookalike Josh Hemmings. Is Eyre next, now that Jossa has been given the boot? More than likely, yes, given the fact that Eyre's storyline is linked directly to Jossa's. Go figure.
Acting wise, Fitzgerald has always given 100 percent. Then and now, she has delivered her "Eastenders" drama with real feeling, emotion and honesty. Not sure why she's being kicked out of Albert Square. It makes so sense. If anyone needs to go, it's the entire Taylor family. They are rubbish, low-class characters. And they get more screen time than the show's veteran actors. Why? Nobody seems to know. Or maybe, the actors who play them are besties with the "EE" producers.
Over on "Coronation Street," Bethanys's dark grooming/sexual abuse storyline has just about ended, which means Christopher Harper will see his character Nathan Curtis put in jail much to the delight of "Corrie" fans everywhere. Again, great acting by Harper, but the evil and twisted Curtis had to go.
After nine years on the cobbles as Anna Wyndass, Debbie Rush (great, great actress) has decided to quit the series and explore other acting opportunities outside the long-running ITV drama.
Rachel Adedeji is temporarily saying "bye, bye" to her role of the vixenish Lisa Loveday on "Hollyoaks." The actress is expecting her first child with husband Jason Finegan. And the baby is due sometime during the Christmas holidays. Also on maternity leave is Jennifer Metcalfe, best known for her 11-year stinct as Mercedes McQueen on "Hollyoaks." She will be gone from the show for a whole year. And yes, she will be missed by everyone who watches this wild, wicked and very sexy drama.
