Will Smith: An Evening of Stories with Friends at the Savoy on 18th November

Grammy Award-winning rapper and Academy Award-nominated actor and producer Will Smith is to embark on a five-city tour to support his memoir,  WILL: An Evening of Stories with Friends. Will (on sale 9 November 2021) The tour will launch in Smith’s hometown of Philadelphia,  on November 8th and includes stops in Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles and London at the Savoy Theatre on Thursday 18 November 2021. 

Known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bad Boys, Men in Black, Aladdin'', a deluge of iconic music and more, for the first time, Smith opens up fully about his life, tracing his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Joined by special guests, this will be an unforgettable evening sharing the profound journey that self-knowledge brings. 

Each ticket includes a copy of Will Smith’s memoir,  which was written with the help of Mark Manson, author of the multimillion-copy bestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

Tickets go on general sale at 3:00 pm on 1st October.

Anything Goes at Barbican extends run with new cast announcements

The West End production of Anything Goes at the Barbican will have a  new Reno Sweeney for its final weeks with American actress Rachel York taking over on 12th October from  two-time Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster who leaves the production on 10th October.

She has appeared on Broadway as Fantine in LES MISERABLES; Norma in Victor/Victoria (Drama Desk Award) with Julie Andrews; Marguerite in The Scarlet Pimpernel; Miss Fancy in Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfuss; and Christine Colgate in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Jonathan Pryce. She appeared off-Broadway opposite Julie Andrews in Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together and in the Lincoln Center Theater production of Dessa Rose. Most recently, Rachel appeared on Broadway in Disaster! and Head Over Heels. 

Haydn Gwynne (Billy Elliot) will replace Felicity Kendal in the role of Evangeline Harcourt from  October 19th.

The production has also added two additional matinee performances on October 27th and November 3rd and will now  play its final performance at the Barbican  on November 6th.

Mazz Murray , Ramin Karimloo, Zizi Strallen and Jeremy Secomb to lead Sunset Boulevard Concert at Royal Albert Hall in December

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton's much-loved musical, Sunset Boulevard  is headed for the Royal Albert Hall for one night only on 3 December 2021.

The 19-strong cast  reunites stars Mazz Murray (Mamma Mia; We Will Rock You) as Norma Desmond, Ramin Karimloo (Les Misérables; Phantom of the Opera) as Joe Gillis, Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins) as Betty Schaefer and Jeremy Secomb (Les Misérables) as Max von Mayerling with  Geoffrey Aymer, Ashley Campbell, Perola Congo, Momar Diagne, Shailan Gohil, Chloe Hart, Aimee Hodnett, Freddie King, Sejal Keshwala, Evie Rose Lane, Kate O'Donnell, David Shaw Parker, Ashley Samuels, Cameron Sharp and Bleu Woodward accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra, conducted by Alex Parker.

Based on Billy Wilder's seminal 1950 filmThe production is directed by Jordan Murphy with orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, choreography by Joanna Goodwin, sound design by Paul Smith, wig design by Sam Cox and keyboard programming by Stuart Andrews.

Tickets go on general sale from tomorrow morning.

Casting call for Hamilton West End

 

 

 

The West End production of Hamilton, which is running at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, has put out an audition call for new performers to take its run through to June 2022 A full set of guidelines is in the photo above  – anyone intreseted  should get in touch at hamiltoncasting@camack.co.uk.

 

Dear Evan Hansen West End re-òpening cast announced

Complete casting has been revealed for Dear Evan Hansen's West End return on 26th October 2021.

Sam Tutty returns to the role that won him the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He will be joined by returning cast members Lucy Anderson (Zoe Murphy), Doug Colling (Connor Murphy) and Marcus Harman (who will play Evan Hansen at certain performances), Jack Loxton (Jared Kleinman), Rebecca McKinnis (Heidi Hansen), Lauren Ward (Cynthia Murphy) and Rupert Young (Larry Murphy).

Iona Fraser (Rent) takes on the role of Alana Beck. Completing the company are Tricia Adele-Turner, Haydn Cox, Hannah Lindsey, Mark Peachey and James Winter with new cast members Ellis Kirk, Jo Kirkland, Samantha Mbolekwa, Hannah Qureshi and Mitchell Zhangazha.

 

The original Miss Saigon Lea Salonga announces UK Dream Again tour

Lea Salonga has just announced her 2022 Dream Again Concert Tour which is heading to the UK next June. She last appeared in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre for the sold-out Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary.
 

Lea Salonga was aged just 18 when she created the role of Kim in the epic musical Miss Saigon in the West End and subsequently on Broadway. She then went on to be the first actress of Asian descent to play both Eponine and Fantine in Les Misérables on Broadway. She provided  singing voices for Disney's Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II. She has sold a staggering 19 million albums worldwide making her one of the best-selling Filipino artists of all time and is also a judge on the Philippines hit version of "The Voice,"  Her 2017 album Blurred Lines was followed by a sell-out run at New York’s renowned Feinstein’s / 54Below.

Tickets go on sale for the tour on 25th September.

 

Boy George's musical Taboo to return for 20th anniversary charity staged concert

Boy George's iconic musical Taboo will return for a special 20th anniversary charity  staged concert at The London Palladium for one night only on 30th January 2022. Produced by Adam Kenwright and co-created with Mark Davies Markham and Kevan Frost, it will be in aid of two charities:  The Terrence Higgins Trust and Shelter.

Director Christopher Renshaw will return for the concert. The concert will reunite a variety of stars from the original West End and Broadway productions, members of the original company with exact casting to be revealed. 

Set in an abandoned London warehouse, the partly imagined story of a group of club 'names' set in the location of what was the city's most fashionable nightclub, the now-legendary Taboo (1985-87) of the title, which was the creation of Leigh Bowery. Boy George is featured as one of the club's regulars, but in reality, George rarely attended. The show also focuses on George's life prior to and after achieving fame.

Plotting the lives of those who frequented the legendary Taboo club, the show originally featured artistes including Julian Clary, Luke Evans, Boy George, Dianne Pilkington, John Partridge, Matt Lucas, Paul Baker, Declan Bennett, Euan Morton, Lyn Paul and  Stephen Ashfield.

Buy tickets for Taboo

A new production of Billy Elliot to run at Leicester Curve

A brand-new production of Billy Elliot is to play at Leicester Curve  or six weeks from 7th July to 14th August 2022. Based on Stephen Daldry's film, the stage show has music by Elton John and book and lyrics by Lee Hall. It was first seen in the West End in 2005, going on to receive critical acclaim across the globe. It will be directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Lucy Hind (Girl from the North Country)

Auditions for the title role and young performers will begin soon, with anyone interested in appearing as Billy or his peers able to email joanne.hawes2013@gmail.com for more information.

Full casting news for Moulin Rouge! London

Long awaited Broadway musical, Moulin Rouge! makes  its West End debut at London´s Piccadilly Theatre on November 12th, with an official opening night of December 8th.

The Mail's Baz Bamigboye has just  revealed some  initial casting news that Dreamgirls star Liisi LaFontaine (she played Deena Jones, the Diana Ross determine) and newcomer RADA graduate Jamie Bogyo are to lead the production in the roles of Satine and Christian (made famous  by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Baz Luhrmann's iconic film).

With rehearsals starting this Monday for the principal actors Elia Lotauro/Santiago, Sophie Carmen Jones/Nini Simon Bailey/The Duke, Jason Pennycooke/Toulouse-Lautrec, Jonathan  Bishop/Baby Doll, Zoe Birkett/Arabia, Timmika Ramsay/La Chocolat and Clive Carter/Harold Zidler,  with Tanisha Spring/Alternate Satine who will be joined by ensemble members Femi Akinfolarin, Robson Broad, Ian Carlyle, Jonathan Cordin, Anthony Cragg, Katie Ella Dunsden, Adam Gillian, Luke Jackson, Alicia Mencía, Ciro Lourencio Meulens, Georgia Morgan, Melissa Nettleford, Ian Oswald, Craig Ryder, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Katie Singh, Ope Sowande, Tanisha Spring, Toyan Thomas-Browne, Amy Thornton, Misty May Tindall, Jon Tsouras, Tommy Wade-Smith and Lily Wang.

Full casting announced for Tour of Dreamgirls

Sonia Friedman Productions has just revealed the full cast of the  multi award-winning musical Dreamgirls, as it embarks on its first ever tour of the UK, opening at the Liverpool Empire Theatre this December before visiting cities right across the country throughout 2022 and into 2023

Nicole Racquel Dennis (Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Dreamgirls, and The Book of Mormon) will play Effie White with Sharlene Hector performing the iconic role at certain performances, Natalie Kassanga as Deena Jones, Paige Peddie as Lorrell Robinson, Dom Hartley-Harris as Curtis Taylor Jr., Brandon Lee Sears as Jimmy Early, Shem Omari James as C.C. White, Jo Servi as Marty and Brianna Ogunbawo as Michelle Morris.

The full company will include Shonah Buwu, Harvey Ebbage, Olivia Foster-Browne, Kellianna Jay, Ryan Kayode, Holly Liburd, Ross Meagrow, Samuel Nicholas, Nicole Nyarambi, Ilana Richardson and Josh Singleton.

Joanne Clifton to join tour of The Addams Family as Morticia

Joanne Clifton (The Rocky Horror Show, Pippin) will join the upcoming tour of The Addams Family, taking on the role of Morticia Addams, previously set to be played by Samantha Womack.

Clifton joins the existing cast of Cameron Blakely (Gomez Addams), Scott Paige (Uncle Fester), Kingsley Morton (Wednesday Addams), Grant McIntyre (Pugsley Addams), Valda Aviks (Grandma), Sean Kingsley (Mal Beineke), Kara Lane (Alice Beineke), Ahmed Hamad (Lucas Beineke),Dickon Gough (Lurch until 27 November 2021), Ryan Bennett (Lurch from 18 January 2022), , Abigail Brodie, Sophie Hutchinson, Matthew Ives and Sean Lopeman. Also new to production will be Castell Parker, with further casting to be announced.

Full casting announced for Vanara – The Legend

 

Full casting for Vanara – The Legend  has been revealed ahead of the musical's world premiere at Hackney Empire where it runs from from 22nd to 31st October before touring in 2022.

Appearing in the show will be Matthew Croke, Glenn Carter, Johnnie Fiori, Carole Stennett, Cavin Cornwall and Emily Bautista, who will be making her London debut after appearing in Les Misérables on Broadway.

Also in the cast are Samantha Mercer, Kayleigh McKnight, Joaquin Pedro Valdes and Shem Omari James. The production will also feature an ensemble composed of Jemima Brown, Chris George, Yuki Abe, Olivia Jones, Ella Martine, HIcaro Nicolai, Prem Rai, and Ebby Sama.

With a score by Gianluca Cucchiara, lyrics by Andrew James Whelan, and book by Michael Conley, the piece is set On another earth, in another time, where nature is revered and life is full of dangers, two tribes are locked in an age-old battle. One has the secret of fire, the other wants it. One young woman must decide: protect the life she knows or burn it down.

The production will be co-directed by Adam Lenson and Eleesha Drennan, who will also take on the roles of dramaturg and choreographer, respectively. Joining them on the creative team are set and costume designer Libby Todd, musical director Tamara Saringer, orchestrator Jen Green, casting director Harry Blumenau and producers Giovanna Romagnoli and Gianluca Cucchiara

 Buy tickets for Vanara