Tag Archives: Cassidy Janson

On a side street in London’s West Hampstead, lies an anonymous building, its drab functionality belying its purpose, which is to create great art. The Reviews Hub’s Stephen Bates accepted an invitation to come here and visit the rehearsal rooms of English National Opera for a sneak preview of a major musical revival. A long walk down winding, narrow corridors ...

Music: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus Lyrics: Tim Rice Director: Laurence Connor Reviewer: Stephen Bates This new “semi”-staged production of Chess, a musical that can be seen as a metaphor for the Cold War, is a great deal more welcome than the 2018 revival of the Cold War itself.  The show was developed as a concept album and it then ...

Music: Frank Wildhorn Musical Director: Jason Howland Reviewer: May Mellstrom An impressive array of global, national and local talent combines at the Palace Theatre to showcase the work of American composer Frank Wildhorn; the Grammy and Tony Award nominee responsible for a number of Broadway musicals, most notably 1990 hit Jekyll &Hyde. The man himself proves an eminently likeable host ...

Book and Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens Music: Stephen Flaherty Director: Andrew Keates Reviewer: Paul Couch   In this game you get to see quite a lot of dross, especially in the West End, which these days seems to be a recycling facility for mass appeal juke-box musicals and star name vehicles – no artistic integrity required. Occasionally, however, you come across ...

Award-winning TV personality, fashion guru, author and all round National Treasure Gok Wan will host the special one-night-only concert You’ll Never Walk Alone at the Queen’s Theatre on Sunday 2 March 2014 at 7.30pm in aid of the Philippines Typhoon Appeal, it was announced today. Tickets are now on sale from £32.50, with all proceeds going directly to the Disasters ...

Music: Leonard Bernstein Book: Hugh Wheeler, adapted from Voltaire Lyrics: Richard Wilbur Additional Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein Director: Matthew White Reviewer: Ian Foster [rating:4] Leonard Bernstein’s take on Voltaire’s philosophical attire has had many incarnations, thus labelling it as something of a problematic musical. But given their pedigree for musical theatre, the ...

Writer: Federico García Lorca, adapted by Tanya Ronder Director: Bronagh Lagan Reviewer: Ian Foster [rating:3] Lorca’s writing is suffused with the heat and passion of his Spanish homeland and his 1932 play Blood Wedding is one of his most famous and oft-performed works. Aria Entertainment’s production uses Tanya Ronder’s recent translation but director Bronagh Lagan often struggles to combine the ...

Reviewer: Mark Clegg [rating:3.5] Even a die-hard musical theatre buff is unlikely to have heard of this song-writing team even though they have apparently written ten musicals together in the last 15 years. Just like performers, it would seem that writers need to work for years to become over-night successes and although that title is yet to be bestowed upon ...