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Theater Review: Ben Hur Live - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Ben Hur Live - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

German producer Franz Abraham attempts nothing less than a redefinition of large-scale 21st-century live entertainment with "Ben Hur Live," a mega-spectacle featuring a cast and crew of 400, some 100 animals, and re-enactments of the 1959 film's famed chariot race and sea battle. Abraham claims the production constitutes a wholly new form called "monutainment," mixing ancient tragedy, musical theater and blockbuster. But a contemporary theatrical vision is almost wholly lacking from the enterprise, resulting in a magnificent failure. An $8 million budget also seems a relatively modest price tag to buy the kind of entertainment revolution for which Abraham is aiming. Abraham made his name in central Europe in the mid 1990s with large-scale open-air stagings of Orff's "Carmina Burana" and a pyrotechnical version of Verdi's "Aida." "Ben Hur Live" is his attempt to break into the Anglo-American market; show tours around Europe through mid-2010 and is hoping to add American and Australian dates. With the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Sebastian Thrun), a privileged Jew living at the time of Christ whose fortunes rise and fall in epic terms when he's betrayed by his childhood friend, the Roman Messala (Michael Knese), the production team has a sturdy, road-tested narrative framework. But the key problem lies in the "live" aspect: the show tries to realize too much ambitious stage business through literal means, but sensibilities honed on virtual media will be miles ahead of the effects attempted. In addition, adherence to contemporary health and safety regulations means nothing really risky can be at stake. The action primarily consists of huge set-piece scenes delivering key plot points -- Judah and Messala riding horses together as young men; a festive day in Jerusalem which sees Judah's fortunes turn when he is wrongly accused of trying to kill a Roman leader; Judah's near-death encounter with Jesus (Andreas Nagy) in Nazareth, and so forth. Dialogue is kept to a minimum and -- in an unusual set of moves presumably prompted by the fact that prod is touring internationally -- is spoken in the characters' original languages, Latin and Aramaic, with live narration provided in the local language. In London, the narration is performed by the show's composer, Stewart Copeland (founder of The Police), who -- in an ill-judged, anachronistic move -- is often visible onstage, wandering around the action in contemporary street clothes speaking into a hand-held mic (at other times the narration is delivered as a disembodied voiceover). Copeland's score accompanies virtually every moment of the action, and feels like a stylistic homage to sweeping movie music of yore, but with a Middle Eastern flavour. The featured performers avail themselves very well of the huge challenge of communicating strong emotion in obscure languages before a massive arena, in addition to doing extensive fight work, dancing and riding horses. But there's a literalism to the staging that creates a barrier to audience engagement. Abraham and director Philip William McKinley have made a clear choice to opt away from any contemporary forms of mediation (screens, for example) and from any attempt at theatrical metaphor.

Theater Review: The Shawshank Redemption - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Shawshank Redemption - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

While it's based on the Stephen King novella and not on Frank Darabont's screenplay, this solid staging of "The Shawshank Redemption" ably exploits popular affection for the 1994 film. Owen O'Neill and Dave Johns' script makes what devotees may find surprising deviations from the film -- but which, by and large, suit the stage medium. However, by casting Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman look- and sound-alikes Kevin Anderson and Reg E. Cathey, the production makes it clear that buying into existing sentiment is the priority.

Theater Review: Midsummer (A Play With Songs) - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Midsummer (A Play With Songs) - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

When Cora Bissett's Helena pays a parking toll in this joyous comedy by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre, the message on the machine reads: "Change is possible." The joke, delivered by Matthew Pidgeon's deadpan Bob, is that "it's funny to have a parking machine doling out philosophical advice." As advice goes, however, it is exactly what Helena and Bob need. These two 35-year-olds are suffering an identity crisis and, over one weekend of wild abandon -- as riotously funny as it is touchingly romantic -- they find the courage to liberate themselves and live happily ever after.

Theater Review: Hello, Dolly! - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Hello, Dolly! - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

An entire generation pitching up to this summer's musical in the park will gasp, "Hey, these songs are from 'Wall-E.' " If that sounds like musical-theater sacrilege, it should be pointed out that London hasn't seen "Hello, Dolly!" in 25 years. And watching the arrant preposterousness that passes for its book, you can see why. But the zesty choreography and cheery playing of Timothy Sheader's production bring out the sun in Jerry Herman's score, even when, as on press night, they're happily singing in the rain.

Hello, Dolly! | The Official London Theatre Guide

Hello, Dolly! | The Official London Theatre Guide.

It will take more than a little drizzle at the Open Air theatre to dampen the spirits of audience and cast alike in Timothy Sheader’s new production of Hello, Dolly!. Sheader, the Artistic Director of the Open Air theatre, has resisted the urge to mess with Jerry Herman’s classic musical, straying away from forcing a new stylistic twist on it like feathers and cherries on a hat which should only have ribbons. Instead the production revels in being entirely of its time; a big, bold musical comedy with big, bold musical numbers and quirky characters who you instinctively know will enjoy a brightly coloured happy ending. Together with choreographer Stephen Mear, he ensures the show is packed with wit and laughter, from the farcical slapstick of escaped shop clerks hiding from their boss, to the sharpness of Dolly’s dialogue and the inventive, mesmerising choreography. The ensemble dance numbers really do bring the best out of this production, Peter McKintosh’s colourful gowns and suits blending with Mear’s choreography to create spectacle after spectacle on the Open Air stage; a moldable vision in wood, simply transformed for each set change, with a bandstand watching over proceedings from above. As the ever-interfering widow, Samantha Spiro offers a fast-talking pocket dynamo of a Dolly Levi, whirling in and out of lives and situations like a tornado creating the best, most well-intentioned kind of havoc imaginable. For someone with a greater ability for sticking her nose in where it is not required than Pinocchio at a lie-athon, she is remarkably loved within New York society, yet in Spiro’s hands you can see why. It is hard to dislike a character so full of life, which is why it is so painful when it becomes obvious she wistfully views love from the sidelines without feeling able to get involved. Allan Corduner as the object of her desire, Horace Vandergelder, growls his way through the show, mistreating his staff and refusing to share any of his fortune. Yet through all the bluster and bravado, we love him too. If he is good enough for Dolly, he is good enough for us. There are strong performances also from Josefina Gabrielle as the subtly playful milliner Irene Molloy, and Daniel Crossley as the browbeaten clerk Cornelius Hackl, his attempts at dancing reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke’s all-legs-and-arms technique. The rain tried its best to drown out the joy of opening night, but the sheer warmth of Sheader’s production was enough to keep the summer chill from the hearts of the first night audience.

Theater Review: Helen - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Helen - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Euripides al fresco may not exactly sound like a summertime treat, but this infrequently performed late romance, in Frank McGuinness' playful new version, turns out to be quite the crowdpleaser -- sometimes to a fault. Helmer Deborah Bruce takes the original's irreverent spin on its source tale -- the story of the Trojan war -- as a cue to present the material at a heightened, ironic remove. Visual excesses aside, the evening overall is a eye-opening success due to Penny Downie's bravura performance in the title role and the startling contemporaneity of the material as retold here.

Theater Review: A Streetcar Named Desire - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: A Streetcar Named Desire - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

The surprise of the Donmar Warehouse revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" is that, in director Rob Ashford's assured and stealthy hands, a play famously about an unbalanced mind turns out to be all about balance. Ashford has a mesmerizing, flame-like Blanche DuBois in Rachel Weisz, but he reveals the drama to be about not one but all four principal characters. Together they restore what's been missing from countless recent stagings of "Streetcar": wrenching, edge-of-your-seat tension. The result is London's finest Tennessee Williams production in 15 years.

Theater Review: The Harder They Come - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Harder They Come - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

The bigger the venue, the smaller the impact. That seems to be the destiny of "The Harder They Come," Perry Henzell's musicalization of his own iconic 1972 film, which made reggae a household world and Jimmy Cliff a worldwide star. The show began with two successful runs in the 470-seat Theater Royal, Stratford East. It went on to the 1,400-seat Barbican in London to less enthusiastic response and now lands with a dull thud on the stage of Toronto's 2,300-seat Canon, making its North American premiere as part of the Mirvish subscription season.

Theater Review: The Mountaintop - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Mountaintop - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

In many cases it might be fair to suggest it's time for a moratorium on two-handers in which an actor impersonating (insert famous name here) is interrogated by another, allowing their achievements/ motives to be celebrated/ debunked. But not when someone as smart as Katori Hall is around to write a play as dramatically surprising as "The Mountaintop." In James Dacre's startlingly well-acted production, the playwright's examination of the night before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination is much more than dutiful biodrama.

Theater Review: Jerusalem - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Jerusalem - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

You don’t want to believe everything you hear, now, girls. There’s some men’ll tell you anything to get you to believe it.” That’s pretty rich coming from the manipulative mouth of champion wastrel Johnny “Rooster” Byron, who then regales his hangers-on with his most preposterous story. Revolving around this wild teller of tall tales, Jez Butterworth’s tragicomedy “Jerusalem” requires a central performance of intense charisma. With Mark Rylance in dazzling form, both the play and Ian Rickson’s production more than deliver.

Theater - ‘Oliver!’ and Other London Musicals, Outsize or Intimate - NYTimes.com

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Theater - ‘Oliver!’ and Other London Musicals, Outsize or Intimate - NYTimes.com.

LONDON — Dress ’em to the teeth, or strip ’em down to their skivvies. That’s how London is treating its musicals these days. Broadway producers shopping the West End for souvenir song-and-dance shows to take home will find they come in two sizes: extra-large and loud (like the ear-blasting, eye-scalding “Sister Act” and “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) or stylishly preshrunk (the scaled-down revivals of “La Cage aux Folles” and “A Little Night Music”). But it seems safe to say that none of them are going to be the next “Billy Elliot.”

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Forbidden Broadway | The Official London Theatre Guide

Forbidden Broadway | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Sunday In The Park With George, A Little Night Music, La Cage Aux Folles; what do they have in common? Apart from successfully transferring from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the West End, they are all figures of fun in the London Bridge venue’s latest production, Forbidden Broadway. No show, especially not the Menier’s own productions, is safe from Forbidden Broadway’s satirical eye. Its quartet of performers had better hope the West End’s most powerful don’t hold grudges, as Cameron Mackintosh, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Disney all take stick at the hands of Gerard Alessandrini's rewritten song lyrics in this cutting review show. Here the West End’s most recognisable show tunes are performed as you have never heard them before; the original, emotional, heartfelt lyrics replaced with mocking witticisms, hilarious parody, biting satire and downright silliness, all achieved with the metaphorical slight of hand that would have Derren Brown blushing. Billy Elliot becomes Silly Idiot, Mackintosh sings about souvenirs, Harry Potter enchants the audience in a rather unusual style and if you thought the puppets in Avenue Q were raunchy, you will be surprised at the further step they can take. Philip George’s direction keeps the show moving at a sprint, new songs coming round like they were on Les Misérables’s revolve, which also becomes a figure of fun. Forbidden Broadway was first staged in New York in 1982, but Alessandrini’s constant updating keeps it fresh, the current production taking pot shots at Spring Awakening’s early closure, internet gossip, projected scenery, Susan Boyle, as well as brilliantly sending up the recent large scale production of The King And I at the Royal Albert Hall. If the cast’s talent was not of the highest quality, it could all seem a bit bitter, but Anna Jane Casey, Alasdair Harvey, Steven Kynman and Sophie Louise Dann have the vocal dexterity and comic timing to stun and succeed at every turn, shape-shifting to cover almost every role in the West End, some of which they have actually played. While Sarah Brightman and Liza Minnelli might seem a touch dated, there is enough of a blend of classic and contemporary to please any musical theatre fan with a sense of humour.

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Theater Review: The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Kille - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Kille - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Something seems amiss from the moment John Malkovich strides onto the stage in Michael Sturminger's devastatingly absurd and unnerving "The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer." Clad in a white suit and black polka-dot shirt and cracking jokes about the Vienna State Opera and finding parking in Los Angeles, you realize it's the sound: It looks like Malkovich, but one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary film and theater is somehow askew.

Jackson tributes paid at Lyric theatre | The Official London Theatre Guide

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Jackson tributes paid at Lyric theatre | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Fans of Michael Jackson having been paying tribute to the entertainment superstar at London’s Lyric theatre, home of Thriller Live, the show inspired by the King of Pop’s music. Flowers and pictures have been placed at the theatre’s door, where fans have been congregating to honour their hero who passed away in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. After much deliberation, Thriller Live’s producers decided earlier today that this evening’s performance would continue as planned, with Jackson’s memory honoured by the dimming of lights and a one minute silence. When he takes to the stage tonight, 14-year-old Mitchell Zhangazha will face the testing task of performing Jackson’s iconic songs so soon after the news of his death. Though the shock of the past two day’s events has affected the show’s entire cast, Zhangazha stoically commented: “I just want to do a good performance and do it respectfully. I’ll just try and do my best, really, that’s all I can do. Hopefully it will be good enough.” Fellow cast member Roger Wright added: “It’s definitely going to be a difficult challenge. We’re all very sad, but his memory will live on and it does through his music; I think he would like us to perform today and I feel that he will be with us in spirit.” The cast were speaking at a sombre press conference held earlier today in reaction to the night’s events. Ricko Baird, who appears in the show, but also worked with Jackson as a dancer on the Michael Jackson And Friends tour and co-choreographer for the You Rock My World video, described Jackson as “a great, sensitive spirit” and “an extreme perfectionist”, concluding that the cast were “just going to keep rocking like he would have wanted”.

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Matt Lucas to 'Prick Up Your Ears' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Matt Lucas to 'Prick Up Your Ears' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Matt Lucas ("Little Britain") will co-star in the West End bow of "Prick Up Your Ears," Simon Bent's legit adaptation of John Lahr's biography of playwright Joe Orton. Lucas plays Orton's lover Kenneth Halliwell opposite Chris New as Orton in the show, which takes its inspiration from the Lahr bio and Orton's diaries rather than the 1987 pic of the same name. Daniel Kramer helms the play, produced by Sonia Friedman Prods., Kim Poster for Stanhope Prods. and Lee Menzies. "Prick" is set to play the West End's Comedy Theater Sept. 17-Dec. 6.

Olivier Winners 2009 | The Official London Theatre Guide

Olivier Winners 2009 | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Oliviers: Olivier Winners 2009

Dallimore leads Too Close cast | The Official London Theatre Guide

Dallimore leads Too Close cast | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Helen Dallimore, who last appeared in the West End playing Glinda in Wicked, returns to the London stage next month in new musical Too Close To The Sun. She is joined in the production, which tells the imagined story of the final days of author Ernest Hemmingway, by James Graeme, Jay Benedict and Tammy Joelle. Antipodean actress Dallimore returns to the UK following her recent run in Boeing Boeing in Australia. Graeme is a West End veteran whose credits include The Phantom Of The Opera, Whistle Down The Wind and Jesus Christ Superstar, while Benedict is best known for playing John Kieffer in wartime drama Foyle’s War and Joelle is a West End newcomer. The company of four is to be directed by Pat Garrett, whose London stage work includes productions at the King’s Head theatre, New End theatre and Courtyard theatre. Arguably better known as a choreographer and movement director, Garrett has previously worked with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, and on films including Santa Claus The Movie, King Ralph and Muppet Christmas Carol. Too Close To The Sun, which runs at the Comedy theatre from 16 July, follows Nobel Prize-winner Hemmingway as he battles old age, taking solace in the young secretary that his wife knows has her eyes on his money. But it is not just the secretary who can see the dollar signs, and an old school friend arrives with more than friendship on his mind. The new show features music by John Robinson, who has also had Behind The Iron Mask staged in London.

Theater Review: Phedre - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Phedre - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Nobody shouts. It's (almost) that simple. Racine's high drama of incestuous love, pain and the whole damn thing is usually an excuse for the worst kind of sound and fury, with actors snapping the tension by sailing over the top. But although passions run high in Nicholas Hytner's magnificently controlled production, self-indulgent emoting has been banished. With a crack cast led by a spellbinding Helen Mirren in the title role, this is a night to relish.

What is the fate of 'Sister Act'? - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

What is the fate of 'Sister Act'? - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Is the musical adaptation of 1992 Buena Vista hit “Sister Act” one step closer to Broadway heaven or still lingering in commercial purgatory? Retooled since its premiere engagements at the Pasadena Playhouse and Atlanta’s Alliance Theater in the 2006-07 season, the screen-to-stage tuner opened at the London Palladium on June 2, with the star of the film, Whoopi Goldberg, taking the reins as co-producer. Directed by former Disney Animation chief Peter Schneider, the new “Sister Act” scored mixed reviews from Blighty critics, but lead Patina Miller, stepping into Goldberg’s shoes as Deloris Van Cartier, garnered praise across the board. Here’s what the London critics said: * Variety’s David Benedict was underwhelmed by the show’s book and sets but said with its high spirits “and nonstop dynamo discovery Patina Miller in the Whoopi Goldberg role, the cumulative effect is shamelessly and irresistibly entertaining.” * Calling the tuner “habit-forming,” the London Evening Standard’s Fiona Mountford echoed praise for the star: “There can be no disputing the evening’s main draw: 24-year-old Miller, who fills this huge stage with so many bundles of star quality that another dressing room will surely have to be found for them all.” * Michael Coveney in the Independent called Miller “a genuine new star, oozing confidence and sex appeal like it was going out of fashion.” * The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer was a major cheerleader who felt the show worked better on stage than screen: “Frankly, what’s not to like, especially when you’ve got a chorus line of jiving nuns singing their hearts out ecstatically?” * Ditto the Observer’s Euan Ferguson, who predicted the musical will be “this summer’s feel-good night out in London.” Other key reviewers were less laudatory. * “What was originally a fairy tale fantasy makes little sense in its new, vulgarized incarnation,” wrote Michael Billington in the Guardian, calling the show “noisily aggressive.” * “A rather sweet, sentimental film has been hyped up and coarsened,” opined Benedict Nightingale in the Times. Benedict perhaps best summed up the generally mixed feelings toward the convent caper: “Is ‘Sister Act’ great theatrical art? No. Is it hit entertainment. Oh, yes.”

Theater Review: Kursk - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Kursk - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

This affecting production by London company Sound and Fury innovatively combines installation art, devised theater and playwriting to simulate the experience of being inside a fictional British submarine that becomes involved in the fate of the real-life Russian sub Kursk, which sank in 2000. There's no seating; auds can stand on platforms overlooking the action or -- even better -- wander at performance level around slightly raised platforms representing the main control room, galley and captain's quarters. The sophisticated combination of a wrap-around sonic environment, intense and believable acting and sensitive writing by Bryony Lavery ("Frozen") create a highly immersive experience. Pun intended.

Peter Pan | The Official London Theatre Guide

Peter Pan | The Official London Theatre Guide.

With alfresco theatres and leafy backdrops one of the highlights of the summer theatre season, this year there is a new rival for London’s most magical venue in the form of a large white tent in the middle of Kensington Gardens at the birth place of the boy who never wanted to grow up. If you have ever dreamed of leaving the city behind and flying off to Neverland – a feeling surely much exacerbated during a tube strike – then the new production of Peter Pan may bring you as close as it has ever been possible to get. J M Barrie’s classic story of lost boys in need of a mother is told here in its original version complete with a crowing Peter, proud Tiger Lily, mermaids too crafty to catch, the comically evil Hook and his arch enemy the clock-swallowing crocodile. Ciaran Kellgren is perfect as Peter, the mischievous, stubborn eternal youth, who, whilst happy just to bound around causing trouble, cannot help but attract the attention of Wendy, Tiger Lily and Tinkerbell. His fairy sidekick (Itxaso Moreno) throws off her Disney girly image to become a grubby, punk tomboy with fairy lights in her messy hair and ripped pink tutu – picture a dishevelled Lily Allen after four days at Glastonbury in the mud – her fierce attitude often targeted towards an undeserving Wendy. Not that she can’t hold her own however, Abby Ford’s Wendy is as motherly and kind as you would expect, but she wears boys’ pyjama bottoms under her frilly nightdress and she is as happy crossing swords with Hook and his motley crew of pirates as she is telling the lost boys a bedtime story. Hook (Jonathan Hyde) is arguably one of the most vivid characters in children’s literature and whilst several children were seen cowering under their seats on his arrival, this production portrays a vulnerable villain who just dreams of being wanted by someone without reptilian DNA and to be tucked up in bed by someone other than his right hand man Smee, who is definitely the Bert to his Ernie. Set in the round in the 1,100 seat pavilion, the unique element to this production is not only the characters’ ability to fly up to the stars and zoom down to the depths of the sea, but the 360 degree CGI screen which allows the audience to visit the watery world of Neverland, the inside of the lost boys’ tree stump home and, most impressively, soar across London, over Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, through the archways of Tower Bridge and up into the clouds as the 3D projected images rush towards you in all directions. Never venturing too far into the realms of panto, Peter Pan is the perfect family treat. Revisiting the tale as an adult for the first time, noticing the sadness underlying the story is unavoidable, but watching the children’s captivated faces as the rooftops of London rush over their heads is surely the best view in the whole of Kensington Gardens this summer.

On the London Stage - A Bracing ‘Arcadia’ and a Fierce ‘Hamlet’ - NYTimes.com

On the London Stage - A Bracing ‘Arcadia’ and a Fierce ‘Hamlet’ - NYTimes.com.

Shall we dance? That’s a reference not to the forthcoming Royal Albert Hall arena staging of “The King and I,” opening Saturday, but an immediate reaction to David Leveaux’s luscious West End revival of the Tom Stoppard play “Arcadia,” which plunges headlong into a dizzying realm of mathematical theorems, academic debate and Wildean paradox only to land in the distinctly nonverbal arena of a waltz. Playgoers should be kept spinning for some months to come.

The Tempest | The Official London Theatre Guide

The Tempest | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Following on from last year’s children’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Open Air theatre, Regent’s Park, gives Shakespeare’s The Tempest a similar treatment, drawing out every iota of magic to capture the imaginations of its young audience. Director Liam Steel begins his vivid, colourful interpretation of The Tempest with a devised prologue, performed by the cast, which sets up the background to the story in accessible non-verse before launching into the play proper. We hear of Prospero’s banishment from Milan by his brother, his devotion to the magical arts and his years as ruler of the island where he lives with his daughter Miranda. From the start, the children are encouraged to join in with some inventive audience participation which puts them at the very heart of this stormy tale. As if conjured by Prospero himself, it so happened that sun went in shadow at the Open Air as the storm that begins the story darkened the stage.

Theater Review: Arcadia - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Arcadia - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

"Mine eyes dazzle," wrote 17th century dramatist John Webster in his finest play "The Duchess of Malfi." In the case of Tom Stoppard's finest play, "Arcadia," it's initially the ears that are dazzled as zinging dialogue dashes between centuries to create a marvel of a mystery. But emotional undercurrents gradually emerge. Or, rather, they should. Unsurprisingly, in the play's first London revival, the dialogue zips along. But sadly, David Leveaux's textureless production barely even hints at the crucial undertow.

Theater Review: Ruben Guthrie - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Ruben Guthrie - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

If great theater is hatched out of solid collaborations, then Brendan Cowell's acerbic mainstage playwriting bow is doubly blessed. Revamped for this engagement after premiering on Company B's experimental B Sharp stage in 2008, "Ruben Guthrie" retains the key collaborators from that successful debut, helmer Wayne Blair and lead Toby Schmitz. The new production sparkles with energy derived from Schmitz's obvious delight in the title character's smartass repartee and a cast that responds with gusto to the assured direction of a well-honed script.

Theater Review: Sister Act - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Sister Act - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

A two-bit music act witnesses a murder, hides out in an-all girl outfit and sexes up the band until the mob catches on. Yes, "Sister Act" is "Some Like It Hot" with wimples. But does it work as a stage tuner? A slow start, clunky storytelling and cumbersome sets mean there's a whole lot of transcending to do, but with its nuns 'n' disco heart on its long, black sleeve and nonstop dynamo discovery Patina Miller in the Whoopi Goldberg role, the cumulative effect is shamelessly and irresistibly entertaining. Although the show cleaves to the arc of the 1992 movie, anchoring detail has been ditched, and the action -- not exactly complex to begin with -- simplified. But the removal of, for example, illustrative scenes with the nuns doing community work outside the convent creates more space for the show's real business: extended musical numbers for the increasingly exuberant sisters. The major change is the 1970s backdating. There's a Supremes-esque tone to the opening nightclub number for Diana Ross-haired Deloris Van Cartier (Miller) and her backup singers, but most of the rest of Alan Menken's new score (aside from the ballads) says goodbye Motown, hello disco. Out, too, goes any real threat with the downgrading of Deloris' ex-lover from Mafioso to bling-wearing, Shaft-meets-Curtis Mayfield gangster Shank (Chris Jarman). But what's lost in danger is made up in music-led laughs as his hitmen are turned into a comedy trio of goons and grunts with spot-on vocals. Together with Jarman, dim-bulb Bones (Nicolas Colicos), Denero (Ivan De Freitas) and TJ (Thomas Goodridge) sound like the Four Tops; separately, they do delicious spoofs of everyone from Barry White to the Stylistics. But the problem with pastiche is that it irons out a composer's individual voice. Nun numbers crossing gospel with the Weather Girls raise the roof -- Michael Kosarin's glee-filled vocal arrangements and Doug Besterman's orchestrations have the zing of authenticity -- but the rest of the faintly anodyne score is effective rather than affecting. That's particularly true of the ballads, slightly weighed down by Glenn Slater's unremarkable lyrics. The title number, in which Deloris recognizes the convent's needs above her own, lands on the couplet "And no one on the earth can change the fact/I'm part of one terrific sister act." Accurate, but hardly idiosyncratic. But even if the material lacks flavor, the cast feasts upon it to infectious effect. Where Goldberg (the show's lead producer) was grouchy, showering everyone in her way with gutsy disapproval, the glowing Miller (Dionne in the pre-Broadway Central Park run of the current "Hair" revival) smartly dashes in the opposite direction. Sassier, snappier and younger (she's 24), she has the almost finger-snapping soul of a more contemporary woman amusingly trapped in Lez Brotherston's eye-wateringly '70s trash creations. Miller's powerhouse vocals, pitched somewhere between Gloria Gaynor and Whitney Houston, and her thrillingly fast vibrato act as the show's engine. But this is by no means a one-woman effort. As the put-upon Mother Superior, Sheila Hancock, one of the U.K.'s best-loved actors, does droll like no one else. More knowing than the film's Maggie Smith, she has a seen-it-all, done-most-of-it air that suggests she's looking askance at the entire event. She makes mountains out of the molehills of dialogue, the best of which is lifted from the movie. Hancock is given a run for her money by some of her sisters, especially Julia Sutton as the oldest and most grizzled of them (Mary Wickes onscreen), playing all her lines as if in a boiling rage and winning laughs on every one of them. The shame of it is that Peter Schneider's extremely well-cast production is enshrined in sets that create little atmosphere. The Palladium's stage is famously wide but shallow, creating difficulties for multiple-location shows, but did Klara Zieglerova's monumental sets have to be so ugly and, on occasion, wobbly? Major credit goes to Natasha Katz, whose lighting not only smartly diverts the eye from the, well, flatness of the flats but also maintains energy and flow across the lengthy transitions. And she has a field day in the glorious taste wasteland that is the nun's finale, sending color chases rushing around the stained-glass windows of the newly endowed cathedral.

Theater Review: The Observer - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Observer - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

English novelist Rose Tremain once suggested research should be done far enough in advance so that by the time of writing, most of it has been forgotten. Judging by the amount of research patiently spelled out throughout "The Observer," that's not a view held by playwright Matt Charman. Helmer Richard Eyre marries the play's urgent authenticity to elegant staging, but Charman's study of the conflict between political involvement and necessary detachment only fitfully lifts off into drama.

Theater Review: A Doll's House - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: A Doll's House - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Relocating Ibsen's infamous feminist 30 years on, transforming her from Norwegian small-town wife to the spouse of a senior British politician, certainly ups the ante on contemporary parallels. But although Zinnie Harris' new version of "A Doll's House" gains in relevance, it does so at a price. Gillian Anderson brings beautifully calibrated regret to Nora, but the undue emphasis of both translation and Kfir Yefet's production for the Donmar ultimately undo her.

Friel to have 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Friel to have 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Anna Friel will star as Holly Golightly in a new stage adaptation of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," previewing from Sept. 9 for a Sept. 29 opening at the Theater Royal Haymarket on London's West End.

Thea Sharrock to Direct London Revival of Mrs. Klein: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 05/15/2009

Thea Sharrock to Direct London Revival of Mrs. Klein: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 05/15/2009.

Thea Sharrock, who helmed the acclaimed London and Broadway revival of Equus, will direct a new production of Nicholas Wright's biodrama Mrs. Klein at the Almeida Theatre, October 22-December 5. No casting has been announced. The play, which debuted at London's National Theatre in 1988, focused on the relationship between the controversial psychoanalyst Melanie Klein and her daughter Melitta. Wright's many other works include Cressida and Vincent in Brixton, as well as his adaptations of Lulu, Naked, and His Dark Materials. The production will be designed by Tony Award winner Tim Hatley, with lighting by Neil Austin and sound by Ian Dickson. Sharrock's many other credits include Cloud Nine, A Voyage Round My Father, Heroes, and As You Like It. For more information, visit www.almeida.co.uk.

Theater Review: Ovo - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Ovo - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Cirque du Soleil celebrates its 25th anniversary June 16, and if anyone thinks the Montreal-based behemoth is planning to simply rest on its laurels, they ought to check out the company's latest touring show, "Ovo," to prove that's not the case. While keeping the same basic ingredients that have driven Cirque shows for the past quarter-century (circus acts, colorful staging, minimal concept), "Ovo" branches out in several fairly bold directions, which -- while not always successful -- are a clear sign of an organization willing to challenge the status quo.

Theater Review: Waiting for Godot - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Waiting for Godot - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

It's not just the box office bonanza casting of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart as 20th century art's most celebrated tramps that makes this latest revival of "Waiting for Godot" unusually theatrical. But adding overt theatricality is not the same as realizing the still-powerful ideas coursing through this allegedly undramatic drama.

Broadway World.com - Broadway's Premier Web Resource

Broadway World.com - Broadway's Premier Web Resource.

Ticket sales for the upcoming staging of 'SISTER ACT' have already brought in more than $1.48 million... and its only the first week!

Theater Review: Wuthering Heights - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Wuthering Heights - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

A Bollywood musical version of Emily Bronte's beloved tale is an engaging idea in principle. The melodramatic story of "Wuthering Heights" ostensibly fits into the Bollywood style, and the comparison made between 18th century Rajasthan and 19th century England inevitably prompts reflection on the ways in which ethnicity and class now mingle together in contempo Britain's complicated multiculture. The production also stands to capitalize on the popularity of Indian-themed pop culture post-"Slumdog Millionaire." But this new touring version falls at many key hurdles; weak music, lyrics and performances and muddy direction make for a lumbering 160 minutes

Romeo And Juliet | The Official London Theatre Guide

Romeo And Juliet | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Shakespeare’s Globe opens its aptly named Young Hearts season with the Bard’s tragedy about first love, Romeo And Juliet.

As You Like It announces additional actors | The Official London Theatre Guide

As You Like It announces additional actors | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Actress Naomi Frederick is to be joined by a cast with a wealth of London stage experience in the Thea Sharrock-directed production of As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe this summer. National Theatre regulars Tim McMullan (Jacques) and Dominic Rowan (Touchstone) join Frederick in Shakespeare’s comedy, alongside Jack Laskey, who returns to the Bankside venue following recent outings in In Extremis and Antony And Cleopatra, and original History Boy Jamie Parker. McMullan can currently be seen at the National’s Lyttelton theatre, appearing in Burnt By The Sun. It is just one in a long list of credits at the venue, which also includes Present Laughter, Coram Boy, The Alchemist, Theatre Of Blood, His Dark Materials and Three Sisters. On film he has been seen in The Queen, Shakespeare In Love, Plunkett And Maclean and Shadowlands. Rowan has a similarly long list of National Theatre appearances including Happy Now?, Dream Play, Iphigenia At Aulis, Mourning Becomes Electra and Three Sisters. He has also worked across London in productions including Lobby Hero, A Voyage Round My Father, Under The Blue Sky and, most recently, After Dido.

Hyde cast in Peter Pan | The Official London Theatre Guide

Hyde cast in Peter Pan | The Official London Theatre Guide.

The full cast has been confirmed for the site-specific production of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens this summer. Ciaran Kellgren and Abby Ford lead the cast as Peter and Wendy, while Royal Shakespeare Company regular Jonathan Hyde plays Captain Hook/Mr Darling. Recent LAMDA graduate Kellgren makes his London stage debut in Peter Pan after appearing in several productions at the Liverpool Playhouse and Everyman. Ford was seen in the original cast of Coram Boy at the National Theatre and has television credits including Life Begins and Lewis. They are joined by experienced actor Hyde, whose numerous credits for the Royal Shakespeare Company include The Seagull and King Lear, which played in repertoire at the New London theatre last year. His London stage work also includes Jumpers, Sleep With Me, The Real Inspector Hound and The Duchess Of Malfi at the National Theatre, several productions for the Almeida theatre and Antigone at the Old Vic. During his long career he has been seen on the big screen in Titanic, The Mummy, Jumanji, The Tailor Of Panama and The Contract. The cast of Peter Pan also includes Karen Ascoe (Mrs Darling/Never Bird), Itxaso Moreno (Tinkerbell), Arthur Wilson (John) and David Poynor (Michael). JM Barrie’s famous tale centres on Peter Pan, a young boy destined never to grow up, who takes his new friends Wendy, John and Michael on an adventure in Neverland.

Theater Review: Death and the King's Horseman - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Death and the King's Horseman - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

How's this for audacity? Dressed in stolen Yoruba tribal costumes signifying the honoring of death, a British ruling-class couple dances the Charleston. And, in this production, they're played by black actors in whiteface. That this complex, layered image is so comically legible is a tribute to the flair of helmer Rufus Norris. His staging of "Death and the King's Horseman" doesn't heal all the structural rifts in Wole Soyinka's 1975 play, but its blazing vigor and cumulative intensity prevail.

'Legally Blonde' heads to London - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

'Legally Blonde' heads to London - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Beverly Hills Barbie turned Harvard Law student Elle Woods and her chihuahua Bruiser will breeze into London later this year, when the musical adaptation of "Legally Blonde" hits the Savoy Theater. While no official announcement has been made, previews are believed to kick off Dec. 5 on the West End transfer of Jerry Mitchell's production, which initially is booking through May 23. Sonia Friedman is among lead producers on the show. Written by Heather Hach with music and lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe, the tuner is based on the hit 2001 Reese Witherspoon pic. No casting has been confirmed, but Olivier winner Sheridan Smith ("Little Shop of Horrors") is understood to be touching up her roots to play Elle. While it closed on Broadway last fall without recouping, "Legally Blonde" has been a strong new entry on the road in its North American tour this season, with brand recognition boosted by an MTV reality-show casting series.

Abbot plays Fagin as Atkinson has surgery | The Official London Theatre Guide

Abbot plays Fagin as Atkinson has surgery | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Russ Abbot is to replace Rowan Atkinson as Fagin in London’s hit production of Oliver! for two weeks while the former Blackadder star has immediate surgery on a hernia. Atkinson had been performing with the injury for some weeks, but aggravated it while on holiday with his family. The star flew home early to undergo surgery as soon as possible and speed his return to the stage. Abbot, who previously played Fagin in the 1997 London Palladium production, will take to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane stage from 13 April, providing cover for Atkinson who is expected back on 27 April. Tim Laurenti, who played Fagin during Atkinson’s holiday, will continue in the role until 11 April. Commenting on the change of casting, Oliver!’s producer Cameron Mackintosh said: “Our sympathy goes out to Rowan and all our best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to the production. I regret the disappointment this will cause to many but I am delighted that Russ has so ably stepped into the breach. He is a consummate all-round performer and had a personal triumph in this role when I last produced the show in London and on tour.” At the height of his television fame in the 1980s and 1990s, Abbot was best known as a comedian, appearing on shows such as the self-titled The Russ Abbot Show and Mad House. In recent years he has been a prolific musical performer, appearing in Dr Dolittle, My Fair Lady, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Producers. Oliver!, opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 January with Atkinson as Fagin, Torchwood’s Burn Gorman as Bill Sykes and Jodie Prenger, chosen through BBC TV show I’d Do Anything, as Nancy. The hit musical, based on Dickens’s Oliver Twist, features a score by Lionel Bart full of songs now ingrained in musical theatre’s history such as Food Glorious Food, You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two, I’d Do Anything, Consider Yourself and As Long As He Needs Me. Atkinson is due to play Fagin until 18 July. From 20 July comic Omid Djalili takes over in the iconic role.

A Daring Take on a Wilde Play - NYTimes.com

A Daring Take on a Wilde Play - NYTimes.com.

Presenting Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” with an all-male cast dressed as men has raised a few eyebrows in conservative Singapore, leading the media regulator to request the company to prominently display an age advisory of “16 years and above” on all its publicity material, with the notice, “Re-interpretation, all-male cast.” The director, Glen Goei, said he decided to recast the well-known play, which has several female characters, because he wanted to “celebrate” Oscar Wilde, a man who “dared to be true to himself and his nature” and “remind people what he stood for.” The play was written while Wilde was having the great love affair of his life with Lord Alfred Douglas (nicknamed Bosie), which would lead to his downfall. He was imprisoned for two years after being convicted of “gross indecency” with other men.

Spring Awakening | The Official London Theatre Guide

Spring Awakening | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Already a hit stateside, Spring Awakening is both a new musical and a new kind of musical, a rallying call for teen angst where microphones symbolically give power back to the confused, hormonal, experimental adolescents of a 19th century village rife with parental and religious oppression. This is not a musical where conversations burst into song, but where songs which have been pent up and burning inside burst from characters who can no longer hold them in. The musical juxtaposes times and styles. The 19th century story is mixed with a distinctly 21st century score which owes a debt to the American teen rock that grew out of the melange of pop, punk, grunge and indie. The plot, taken from Frank Wedekind’s play, is an ensemble piece with a trio of characters at its centre: the talented, idealistic Melchior (a Lee Mead-like Aneurin Barnard); the troubled, struggling Moritz (Iwan Rheon) who is haunted by his strange new feelings; and the pure, inquisitive Wendla (Charlotte Wakefield), who simply wants to understand and experience life. If it didn’t have such popularity among a similar audience demographic, Spring Awakening could almost be seen as the antidote to High School Musical. Where the Disney musical is all cheesy grins, schoolyard troubles and pop, Spring Awakening touches on abuse, sex, abortion, suicide and the darker side of adolescence through rock that is sometimes guitar-thrashing and sometimes contemplative.

Theater Review: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Subtle it ain't. Running the gamut from salmon to puce, the governing aesthetic of this DayGlo camp revamp is back to the fuchsia. But flaunting a situation rather than a plot, those behind "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" never bothered with seriously developed drama in the first place. Simon Phillips' enjoyably shameless tuner restyling of this tale of self-affirmation on heels and wheels doesn't so much teeter toward as topple into self-indulgence. But audiences happily whipped up into having, in every sense, a gay old time are likely to overlook its curious flaws.

Theater Review: Madame de Sade - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Madame de Sade - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Why are you so obstinate?" demands Judi Dench's enraged mother of her daughter, whose wifely devotion to her imprisoned marquis remains inviolate. Obstinacy is the defining characteristic of Yukio Mishima's defiantly static "Madame de Sade," which is less a play than a narrative poem. A crowd-pleaser it most certainly is not, but if you are going to stage this bold, ornate debate, Michael Grandage's faultlessly acted, austerely beautiful production is the first and last word in how to do so.

Theater Review: Deep Cut - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Deep Cut - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

While most drama relies on the forward motion of events, the verbatim play "Deep Cut" is largely about inaction; it examines the failure of U.K. institutions to address concerns raised by the suspicious deaths by gunshot of four soldiers at the Deepcut barracks in England between 1995 and 2002. First staged in Wales last July, the play was a big hit at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been optioned by Brit filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. While the presentation of this somber tale sometimes wavers uncertainly between entertainment and heavy-handed politicizing, the production succeeds in raising lingering, difficult questions.

Theater Review: The Berlin Hanover Express - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Berlin Hanover Express - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Veteran U.K. television scribe Ian Kennedy Martin's first stage play is a paradoxical mix of old and new. Though formally conservative, it represents a ground-breaking confrontation with a historical problem Ireland has spent much of the past 60 years dancing around uncomfortably: its supposed neutrality in WWII. While the young nation formally remained outside the conflict, it provided support to (or at least tolerated) the efforts of both sides. Its engagement with Germany went so far as -- the historical fact Martin grabs onto here -- the exchange of diplomats throughout what Ireland quaintly called "The Emergency."

Theater Review: Over There - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Over There - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Casting, theater insiders say, is everything. Never has that been truer than in "Over There." Hiring real-life identical twins to play brothers separated since childhood by the Berlin Wall makes Mark Ravenhill's play peculiarly watchable. No matter that the work examines the characters' differences; audiences are voyeuristically glued to the actors' similarities. But although casting initially ignites the text, it's not enough to sustain its fitful drama.

Royal Court premiering 'Gaza' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Royal Court premiering 'Gaza' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

The Royal Court Theater is living up to its reputation as a leading site for torn-from-the-headlines topicality -- and potential political controversy -- with its world premiere staging of leading Brit playwright Caryl Churchill's "Seven Jewish Children -- A Play for Gaza." The play, which opened Feb. 10 in the Royal Court's 385-seat main theater, is unusual both in its brevity -- it's only 10 minutes long -- and in the ways in which Churchill embeds politics both in the production structure and in the text. Admission to the production, helmed by Royal Court a.d. Dominic Cooke, is free, though collections are taken at each of the scheduled 15 performances for Medical Aid for Palestinians, a relief program currently running an emergency appeal for Gaza. The text of the play was made available for download on the Internet the day it premiered (Royalcourttheatre.com), and there is no conventional royalty payment required for future productions, only the caveat that any producing org give a donation to MAP. While it clearly was written as a protest against the Israeli government's recent 23-day bombardment of Gaza the play is far from a straightforward political harangue. There are no stage directions and no prescribed characters; it consists of a series of seven short, poetic passages, most starting with the phrase "Tell her": "Tell her it's a story/tell her they'll go away/tell her she can make them go away if she keeps still." The images evoked are of life during wartime, displacement, the death of older relatives, heroic tales of victory and the conquest of a "new land." There are scattered references throughout that identify the speakers as Jewish, but -- and this seems part of Churchill's point -- many of the ideas and sentiments expressed could just as easily have been spoken by Palestinians, or indeed any population in conflict. Clear anger only erupts in the final section, which includes reference to Hamas fighters and triumphalist language ("Tell her I don't care if the world hates us/tell her we're better haters/tell her we're chosen people"). In Cooke's production, nine actors play the lines as tense, staccato dialogue, giving the strong impression of families -- and a larger community -- in ongoing crisis. It would be equally interesting to see the text played as a series of monologues. While Churchill makes her political views clear, the lingering question left with audiences is the impact of entrenched hatreds on future generations.

Theater Review - 'East 10th Street - Self Portrait With Empty House' - So Inviting, That Dark at the Top of Edgar Oliver’s Stairs - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'East 10th Street - Self Portrait With Empty House' - So Inviting, That Dark at the Top of Edgar Oliver’s Stairs - NYTimes.com.

In “East 10th Street: Self Portrait With Empty House,” the sweet and sinister memoir written and performed by Mr. Oliver at the Axis Theater Company, other words receive similarly lingering pronunciations that stretch syllables into chasms. In particular, “horror,” “terror” and their derivatives are uttered with the same mix of affection, amusement and awe. When Mr. Oliver says, “I was hahhhhrrified,” a sentence that might be expected to denote mere dismay or disgust becomes a deeply sentimental declaration. Mr. Oliver is a poet, playwright, performance artist and actor. But above all, he is a Personality, with a capital P, a type celebrated in England as an Eccentric and in middle America as a Character. It’s not easy being a Personality in the East Village, where the willfully weird abound (or did once, anyway) and where Mr. Oliver has lived since the late 1970s. It requires an exaggerated consistency of character and style, which should seep from every pore. Like the better-known Quentin Crisp — the British-born stand-up aesthete and stately monarch of East Village Personalities, who died in 1999 — Mr. Oliver wears his affectations like a birthright. And implicit in these affectations is an entire philosophy or, if you prefer, an artist’s frame for life itself.

'Equus' closure prompts rumors - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

'Equus' closure prompts rumors - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

"Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing that anyone can learn" -- so wrote lyricist Hal David in the Burt Bacharach tuner "Promises, Promises." It's a lesson producers certainly have to learn. What's the point in recouping if you then throw your profit away by running a show into the ground? That's definitely not what David Pugh did with "Equus" in London. Before Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths finished their contracts, the decision was made not to recast with less-newsworthy actors. The same has happened with the Gotham transfer, which finished its scheduled run last week.More than one option (Person) David Pugh Actor (Person) David Pugh Rigging Electrician, Rigging Gaffer More than one option (Person) Richard Griffiths Actor (Person) Richard Griffiths Actor, Wardrobe Assistant (Person) Richard Griffiths Grip That didn't stop the Internet rumors that new screen heartthrob Robert Pattinson ("Twilight") would follow Radcliffe in the role. It wasn't the most preposterous of ideas -- Pattinson appeared alongside Radcliffe in two of the "Harry Potter" movies. But Pugh told Variety that won't happen. He has, however, confirmed that he and Pattinson will be working together on a theater project in 2010. More than that he won't say. Meanwhile, back in London, amid a slew of openings, one West End show has just called it quits. After eight months, the Gipsy Kings' tuner "Zorro" -- probably the world's only flamenco swashbuckler -- will shutter March 14, six days after the Olivier Awards, for which it has received five nominations. With no official London figures published, it's impossible to say how the numbers will finally stack up, but a show with a cast of 24, plus band, crew, etc., cannot have been making money hand over fist in a house that seats just 701. The likeliest scenario is that the producers considered taking a financial hit worthwhile in order to run the show as a shop window. Selling a production worldwide is an easier proposition if it's seen to be enjoying a "successful" West End run. The idea is supported by the news that "Zorro" will open in Paris at the Folies Bergeres in October, with future productions already set for Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea and Russia. British song is, of course, a saleable commodity -- check out Andrew Lloyd Webber's back catalog. Yet even the most cursory glance at London's cabaret circuit reveals not so much a bias toward Sondheim, Arlen, Porter and other masters of the American song as almost total domination. So it was immensely refreshing to discover Maria Friedman ditching almost everything she'd sung hitherto to launch the Great British Songbook series at the Shaw Theater. Her excitingly diverse new program ran from Lionel Bart and Leslie Bricusse to innocent 1950s musical-comedy items from Julian Slade's "Salad Days" and Gilbert O'Sullivan's '70s pop hit "Alone Again, Naturally." Friedman even pulled off a nostalgic medley of songs from two world wars and a deft yoking of a Gilbert & Sullivan number from "Ruddigore" to Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," complete with audience whistling.  The high point was a pairing of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Norwegian Wood" with "Eleanor Rigby" in a spellbinding arrangement by pianist Jason Carr. This endlessly surprising evening richly deserves trans-Atlantic life. An even bigger surprise is currently on display at London's longest-running cabaret venue, Pizza on the Park. Combining the flair of two legends -- Annie Ross for insouciant jazz swing and Millicent Martin for gleeful wit -- the considerably younger Clare Burt delivered a dazzling set in her cabaret debut.  There are plenty of singers around who can belt showtunes. But in addition to knowing how to control her instrument, Burt is an experienced, thoughtful actress who understands underplaying. She and musical director Nigel Lilley recognize that it's far better to stay relaxed and let audiences in rather than show off climactic vibrato. They're back for two additional dates Feb. 15 and 22. More than one option (Person) Burt Bacharach Song, Song Performer, Theme Song (Person) Burt Bacharach More than one option (Film) Twilight 1998 - Paul Newman, Robert Benton (Film) Twilight Time (Film) Szurkulet (Film) Entre Chiens et Loups (Film) Twilight 2003 - Ezzatollah Entezami, Hassan Hedayat (Tv) Moonlight (Film) Twilight More than one option (Film) The Mask of Zorro (Film) Zorro (Tv) New Zorro (Tv) Zorro More than one option (Film) Salad Days Candela Pena, Gustavo Salmeron (Film) Salad Days