News

Brian Conley to Play Ebenezer Scrooge in the West End's A Christmas Carol This Season

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: October 16 2020 @ 10:30 am

London audiences are going to be feeling tidings of comfort and joy this holiday season because Alan Menken, Lynn Ahrens and Mike Ockrent's A Christmas Carol is coming back to the stage. Olivier nominee Brian Conley will star as Ebenezer Scrooge in this staged concert at the West End's Dominion Theatre. The limited engagement will run from December 7, 2020 to January 2, 2021. Shaun Kerrison is set to direct.

Based on the Charles Dickens classic, this A Christmas Carol first premiered in 1994 at New York’s Paramount Theatre and ran for a decade at Madison Square Garden.

Conley has appeared on the West End stage in Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray, Oliver!, The Music Man, Barnum and Jolson, which earned him an Olivier Award nomination. In 1995, he received the prestigious National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer.

Covid safety measures and social distancing will be in place front of house, on stage, backstage and throughout the Dominion Theatre. The production is also offering 900 free tickets to key workers and their families.

This production of A Christmas Carol is not to be confused with Jack Thorne's adaptation, which recently …

Elaine Paige Joins the Cast of Pantoland at The Palladium in December

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: October 16 2020 @ 10:00 am

Stage legend Elaine Paige will be stepping into the spotlight this holiday season. She will join the cast of Pantoland at The Palladium as Queen Rat for the three-week holiday run beginning on December 12. The pantomime will return to the London Palladium for a fifth consecutive year provide holiday cheer for a socially-distanced audience; seating in the venue has been reconfigured and the wearing of face coverings will be mandatory.

Paige returns to the London Palladium, having played Queen Rat in Dick Whittington in 2017. She joins a cast that includes two-time Olivier Award nominee Charlie Stemp, Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Gary Wilmot, Ashley Banjo & Diversity as well as panto newcomers Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat-bound star Jac Yarrow and Cinderella movie-bound star Beverley Knight, who previously performed at the London Palladium to test reopening in the wake of COVID-19.

Elaine Paige as Queen Rat Dick Whittington (Photo by Paul Coltas)

"Bringing theater back to the West End is vital for our industry, which has been largely closed since March," Paige said in a statement. "I’m thrilled to play a part in helping theatre take its first steps towards full reopening in 2021." …

This Year’s Most Unusual Tony Nominations

Source: ArtsJournal.com | Posted: October 15 2020 @ 4:45 pm

This year’s awards may go down in history as the taken-with-a-grain-of-salt Tonys. The pandemic that shut down Broadway on March 12 meant that some of the most interesting shows of the season could not be considered. – Washington Post

Odds & Ends: Les Misérables - The Staged Concert Extends West End Run & More

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: October 15 2020 @ 1:56 pm

Here's a quick roundup of stories you might have missed recently.

Les Misérables - The Staged Concert Extended by Two Weeks
Due to public demand, a two-week extension has been announced for Les Misérables - The Staged Concert. The show will run at the Sondheim Theatre from December 5 through January 31, 2021. The staging had originally been scheduled to play through January 17. The cast will once again include Michael Ball as Javert, Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Carrie Hope Fletcher as Fantine and Matt Lucas as Thénardier. John Owen-Jones will play the role of Jean Valjean at certain performances.

Theatre District Restaurant Joe Allen Reopens on October 15
Joe Allen Restaurant, the fabled haunt of the Broadway community, will reopen its doors on October 15 after seven months of closure due to the coronavirus crisis. The restaurant has undergone a redesign by Tony-winning scenic designer David Rockwell as part of his initiative DineIn NYC, which assures compliance with current safety protocols. The redesign involves a new table layout that meets current New York City guidelines for distance and capacity, guided patron choreography that provides safe pathways for diners, an entirely new outdoor seating area and custom plexiglass …

Check Out the Complete List of 2020 Tony Award Nominations

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: October 15 2020 @ 12:41 pm

Nominations have arrived for the 2020 Tony Awards! Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart announced the nominees live on October 15. As previously announced, the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing have revealed the ceremony will take place digitally this fall. 
Leading the nominations is the musical Jagged Little Pill with 15, Moulin Rouge! with 14 and Slave Play with 12.

The full list of nominations can be found below.

Best Play
Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl
Sea Wall/A Life by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne
Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris
The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez
The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp

Best Musical
Moulin Rouge!
Jagged Little Pill
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Best Revival of a Play
A Soldier’s Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge!

Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge!
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Best Leading Actor in a Play
Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier’s Play

Best Leading Actress in a …