Tag Archives: Freddie Tapner

Conductor: Freddie Tapner Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Earlier this year, Overtures Piano Bar opened regularly following a 2018 pop-up version, named after the famed New York bar Marie’s Crisis, was so successful. The format is simple: a pianist with a large musical theatre repertoire plays show tunes and the audience sings along. Since opening, the Marble Arch venue has gained popularity ...

By: SCOTT MATTHEWMAN andMARYAM PHILPOTT With increasing pressure on West End theatre space and a greater reliance on digitised music, it’s rare to hear a full 40-piece orchestra play London’s musicals as they were intended. In their place, a fashion for the concert performance has emerged, celebrating the longevity of a specific show or the work of one composer. For ...

Composer, Writer and Director: Phil Willmott Co-Composer: Mark Collins Reviewer: Stephen Bates   In 1820, the world was shrinking. The opening song of Phil Willmott’s charming new musical, based on a true story, tells us that the future Victorian Empire builders of the period were imagining elephants and giraffes and expecting England to be “host to the exotic, Quixotic wonders ...

Music and Lyrics: Howard Goodall Writers: Howard Goodall in collaboration with Richard Curtis and John Retallack Director: Bronagh Lagan Reviewer: Stephen Bates Howard Goodall’s musical first hit the West End in October 1987 with an opening night that coincided with the great hurricane, but it has not kicked up much of a storm since. However, this is the second London ...