#Bill Kenwright Productions

[edharrisdaily]

Jessica Lange & Ed Harris Wrap New Movie Version Of ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’

Filming has wrapped on an under-the-radar screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer prize-winning play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, starring Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ben Foster and Colin Morgan.

Well known British theater and opera director, Jonathan Kent, has made his feature directorial debut on the project, which has been filming in Ireland. Above is a first image from the production.

The project sees double Academy Award and five-time Golden Globe winner Lange reprise her 2016 Tony-winning Broadway role, also directed by Kent. She portrays the troubled, emotionally fragile and addiction-plagued Mary Tyrone. Four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris is her husband James, a celebrated actor but failed property magnate – and a man with fears and regrets deeply rooted in his impoverished beginnings.

Foster will play their wayward, charming and hard-drinking elder son, Jamie. And Colin Morgan (Belfast) is the bleakly optimistic and consumptive younger son, Edmund – a portrait of O’Neill himself. David Lindsay-Abaire (Poltergeist) adapted the play for screen.

Set on one single day in August 1912 at the family’s Connecticut seaside home, the story follows the Tyrone family as it faces the looming dual spectres of Edmund’s potentially fatal consumption diagnosis alongside his mother Mary’s increasingly fragile and anxious state of mind. The family knows that the situation threatens to return her to the severe morphine addiction that was only recently overcome.

Filmed on location in County Wicklow, Ireland, the film is financed by Magnoliamae Films, BKStudios, Brouhaha Entertainment and Fetisoff Illusion. It is produced by Gabrielle Tana (Philomena), Bill Kenwright (Cheri) and Gleb Fetisov (Loveless).

As first reported by the Irish Times, filming was briefly halted after just a few days when a financier unexpectedly exited the project but those issues were resolved soon after when BKStudios stepped in.

Executive producers are BKStudios’ CEO, David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter), and head of production is Naomi George (My Pure Land). The film is co-produced with Redmond Morris and his Irish production company Four Provinces Films.

Director of photography was Mark Wolf with production design by Anna Rackard and costume design by Joan Bergin and Jane Greenwood.

Eugene O’Neill’s classic play has been adapted multiple times for the big and small screen including versions by Sidney Lumet and Jonathan Miller.

Lange is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Ed Harris by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham LLP; Ben Foster by United Talent Agency; Colin Morgan by United Agents.

[sszeemedia]

PAAPA ESSIEDU, THOMAS COOMBES, ERIN DOHERTY AND SHARON DUNCAN-BREWSTER STAR IN THE THEATRICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR DIRECTED BY CLINT DYER’S 'DEATH OF ENGLAND'

Bill Kenwright Ltd, in association with Nica Burns, presents the National Theatre’s productions of the  Death of England plays. Following their acclaimed world premieres at the National Theatre,  between 2020 – 2023, Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’ three state of the nation plays,Death of England: Michael, Death of England: Delroy and Death of England: Closing Timewill be performed together in the…

[stageyrebecca]

My theatre wishes for 2023

No doubt the year ahead will be another year of financial recovery for the arts. The majority of shows we're promised in the West End, around London, and across the country, are sure fire crowd-pleasers, jukebox musicals and family friendly productions.

And it's necessary at this time.

So I'm going to share three stagey wishes for theatregoers, bloggers and the wider industry for 2023 so we, as a theatre community, can continue to support the arts.

For the theatregoers

Hear me out. Instead of seeing the same show for the 100th time, why not try something new that you'd never ordinarily see?

For example, you may love Heathers. You may pop down to Heathers two or three times a month to catch the various understudies and covers that are stuck in The Other Palace's revolving door. But, for just one of those times, switch it up. Try a new venue that isn't owned by Bill Kenwright and encourage popularity from your probable youth to another show. Perhaps, if you see one show 10 times a month, see it nine times and treat yourself to a new show for the 10th.

I think of it like this: some of the first shows I ever saw, I hold near and dear to my heart. Like We Will Rock You - it was a great show that served a purpose and brought so many people to the world of musicals. But, since seeing other shows, I've learnt to appreciate other types of storytelling, composition, characterisation and production level. It doesn't make me any less of a fan for trying other shows and developing a taste for something else, and I'm not in competition trying to see the most amount of people in the main role.

Ultimately, nothing will ever recreate the magic of one of your first shows, or one of your favourite shows, but I couldn't appreciate how much I liked musicals until I saw other shows.

Variety isn't just who's on for whichever character in one show that day, it's finding shows of different styles, age ranges, spaces and so much more that allows theatre to become diverse. We joke that Heathers will run forever, but ultimately it's owned by someone who has the cash over other venues.

So, if you like Heathers, why not try Oklahoma? It's a completely different musical, yet reimagined for the modern age. If you're a fan of Six, why not try Sylvia at The Old Vic? A modernised retelling of historical figures yet its composition is more than enough to be trying something new. If you like &Juliet, why not try The Bodyguard on tour? A jukebox musical of powerhouse anthems yet ignites a different set of emotions.

But even better – support your local theatres, community projects, amateur dramatics and not for profit theatres across the country by buying tickets for their shows.

Oh, and stop being over-familiar online and at stage door to your favourite actors.

For the theatre bloggers and critics

This year, I wish for theatre bloggers to just do more.

I'm not overly interested in reviews (I personally am not swayed by them at all - unless they're through the lens of theatre studies). Plus, there’s so much territory that bloggers don't cover in reviews because it's taboo, they think they'll upset the PR company, and a variety of other things. But reviews serve a purpose.

And that's fine.

But if you’re not contributing worthwhile reviews, the odd tweet about a free trip you went on is lazy.

Telling me, a paying theatregoer, that I should spend £50 or more on a ticket to a show you got for free, when all you can tell me is that you had a "fun time" in lieu of a review is borderline insulting. Of all the things bloggers and critics review, why should I go to this one instead of the ones they saw last week for free?

Add something.

You're a fan, aren't you? You're just like us, right? Make content surrounding the experience; tell me that you did your research before on how this production fares against the iteration from ten years ago, tell me, or show me, why I should spend £50 on this show over another show I'm angling for.

I've been lucky to score some press tickets in the last year, so I know how much these theatres shell out to get theatre bloggers to come and give social media coverage, so make it bloody worth their while. Make interesting content that people want to come back for.

Importantly though, theatres actively lose money to hopefully make some out of the content YOU make. They want your social media skills and competence, plus your dedicated following that you've grown, to help them, in exchange for you to have a nice jolly at the theatre, with your free programme, free sweets and free bubbly. So at least don’t insult them and your followers with lazy content.

Oh, and declare your freebies because it is a legal requirement to do so.

For the theatre industry

I mean, there's no real way to start, is there? There's so much that the last few years alone have exposed.

I was thrilled we’ve kicked off 2023 with Equity’s increased pay agreement and that new working conditions must be met. This includes the responsibility for touring producers, who now must provide accommodation for their staff (something that particularly worried me as it would turn star talent away from the decaying touring market).

But there’s a few other things I’d like to see in 2023 – they’re not necessarily the most significant or the ones that will drive huge change, just things that would be nice.

I'd like to see drama school audition fees abolished as it will astronomically help those who can't afford to drop that much on two minutes of their life.

I'd like to see dedicated effort in supporting new work, specifically new British musicals, that allows the general public beyond London to come (i.e. not a concert staging on a Monday night).

Theatres supporting their fans – perhaps through a loyalty scheme or asking vocal fans to produce social content in exchange for gifted tickets (basically bloggers but with a motivation to showcase the production).

And it’d be nice to see earlier start times for shows so people have more options for public transport. Literally starting at 7pm and finishing at 9:30pm makes a world of difference. If they can prove it, I’d argue it could make a decent “green” PR campaign.

So, with so much new theatre heading to our stages, let’s do what we can to support it!

[willstafford]

The Case of the Missing Mrs

The Case of the Missing Mrs

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Monday 25th April 2022 First Atlantis, then Dallas, and now Birmingham!  Patrick “Bobby Ewing” Duffy stars in this (to me) obscure comedy-thriller from 1965, which has been dug up by Bill Kenwright Productions.  Duffy plays Daniel Corban, a honeymooner whose wife has been missing for three days from the remote chalet they have borrowed from…

[belfasttimes]

Theatre preview: Cabaret heads to Grand Opera House (2-8 Oct)

Theatre preview: Cabaret heads to Grand Opera House (2-8 Oct)

Bill Kenwright presents Rufus Norris’ multi award-winning production of Kander and Ebb’s landmark musical Cabaret, which arrives at the Grand Opera House, from Tuesday 8 until Saturday 12 October, before continuing its extensive 2019 UK tour.

Starring as the enigmatic Emcee is John Partridge, winner of Celebrity MasterChef in 2018, well known to TV audiences as EastEnders’ Christian Clarke, and…

[lovebooksgroup]

📢 Exciting CASTING news 📢 John Partridge announced as Emcee in Cabaret @Captheatres #LoveTheatre

📢 Exciting CASTING news 📢 John Partridge announced as Emcee in Cabaret @Captheatres #LoveTheatre

‘DIVINELY DECADENT’ STAGE AND SCREEN STAR JOHN PARTRIDGE ANNOUNCED AS EMCEE

BILL KENWRIGHT PRESENTS

CABARET

FESTIVAL THEATRE EDINBURGH

Tuesday 5 – 9 November 2019

THE AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF KANDER & EBB’S AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL DIRECTED BY RUFUS NORRIS

«««««

‘THE MOST STUNNINGLY FRESH

& IMAGINATIVE REVIVAL OF A CLASSIC

MUSICAL THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN’

The…

[hindinewshub]

Ian McKellen to start ‘Hamlet’ rehearsals next week

Ian McKellen to start ‘Hamlet’ rehearsals next week

[ad_1]

Sir Ian McKellen’s show must go on.

A new production of “Hamlet,” starring the 81-year-old actor in the title role, will begin rehearsals Monday in Windsor, England, The Post has learned.

It will be the first major play in the English-speaking world to get back to work in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Put on by powerful producer Bill Kenwright, the age-defying Shakespeare show…

[tinahawleylma32]

Roles within a professional production

When putting on a show, there is so much more that goes into it than one may realise. It is not only the cast and director that is required, but many other production roles that all work together to produce a professional production of a high quality.

Figure 3 - Theatre stage production roles 

 Below I will list and explain each role within a production. 

Front of House - This role could be easily overlooked when thinking of production roles, however it is very important. This is the first impression an audience has when entering the theatre before the show has even started. They may have the ability to make or break an audience member’s experience. Front of House welcomes the audience into the theatre and helps them locate their seats. They may also sell tickets (if not previously purchased) and refreshments. A front of house member must be friendly and helpful, willing to answer any questions the audience may have about the theatre and or show. Therefore they must also have sufficient knowledge of their place of work enabling them to advise and help others.

Musical Director - According to Moon, Z. (2015) ‘ A musical director generally works under the lead director and producer, and acts as a conduit between the upper management and everyone else. However, after the rehearsals are wrapped up and the show’s run begins, the director/producer tend to take a backseat. At this point, the musical director will work with the stage manager to keep the entire production on track thereafter.’ The Musical Director guides the cast in rehearsals as to what they are singing and where. However, during the show the MD will direct the orchestra (if they have one), helping every member stay in time to create the right sound. ‘ Many musical directors start off as musicians first and foremost such as violinists or pianists, working on small productions before being tasked with leadership roles.’ - Moon, Z (2015).  

Stage Manager -  Stated on Prospects.ac.uk. (2020),   ‘Theatre stage managers coordinate all aspects of a theatre production to ensure the successful delivery of the performance.’ The stage manager is an extremely important role and their ‘checklist of duties can be huge depending on the production: blocking, cues, lighting, scenery, props, and scheduling and reporting to the director and producers are all part and parcel of the job.’ - Moon, Z (2015). The Stage manager has many responsibilities, including; set up and run rehearsal schedules, procure props, furniture and set dressings and, in small companies, assist in set construction, arrange costume and wig fittings, distribute information to other theatre departments, manage the props, and possibly the design budgets, liaising with the production manager regarding costs, supervise the 'get in' to the theatre, when the set, lighting and sound are installed, and the 'get out', when all the equipment is removed. 

Producer -  ‘One of the most nebulous terms in both musical theatre and film, a producer can be expected to wear many hats during the course of a show’s run, but is primarily in charge of raising funds, managing said funds, and sometimes hiring personnel. The producer is usually the one to have discovered the script and initiated the production.’ - Moon, Z (2015). The universal role of a producer is to make sure a production happens on time and in budget. As suggested by  Hescott, T. (2015). ‘Traditionally, producing is something a certain type of person seems to fall into almost by accident.’ Producers such as Bill Kenwright and Nica Burns both started out as actors, before beginning to produce their own work.

Choreographer - The choreographer is an essential part of any musical theatre show and they are in charge of bringing a production to life. As explained by Moon, Z (2015) the choreographer works ‘out exactly how the talent should move when on the stage (and that is usually more than just the dance routines). Like makeup artists, choreographers have been a part of the industry since the inception of theatre in Greek antiquity.’ 

The Cast -  These are the actors/dancers/singers in the show. ‘ Working directly under the choreographer, directors, and stage managers are the main event: the people who the public have paid good money to see. This more generic entry covers a wide swathe of skill sets and different disciplines, with some members being proficient in just one or many.’ Moon, Z (2015). Of course without the cast, there is no show. 

Costume - These are the people who make and fit the costumes for the cast. ‘Very few musicals can operate without a team of wardrobe staff, and costume attendants make up the bulk of this workforce. Tasked with making sure costumes fit the stage talent, keeping them in good condition between shows, and helping actors in and out of them during the show.’ - Moon, Z (2015). 

Lighting Designer - This role is also an extremely important aspect of creating and putting on a show. Without lights the audience would not be able to see what was happening on stage. Good lighting also really makes a difference in a shows appearance and can almost make a bad show look good if done cleverly. Moon, Z (2015) describes how ‘Lighting designers work hand-in-hand with light board operators, the former planning everything out in advance to match the artistic vision of the show, while the latter makes sure that plan is followed on the night.’ 

Sound operator -  The Sound Designer is in charge of securing all sound effects, whether recorded or live for a specific production. They are also responsible for setting up the sound playback equipment and must make sure the board operator is properly trained. As Theatre.uoregon.edu. (2020) suggests, ‘Sound Design is an artistic component of the production. The Sound Designer needs to have imagination to create sound effects and not just rerecord them.’

Director/ Creative Director -  Last but not least is the role of the director. ‘ Theatre directors have responsibility for the practical and creative interpretation of a dramatic script or musical score.’ - Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). They are involved in the whole process, from the design and pre-production stages, right through to the final performance. They tie both the creative and production teams together as they work closely with both. They direct the cast and must ‘able to coordinate effectively across a range of disciplines and with artistic vision.’ -Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). Some directors may also be writers and devise, design, direct, and possibly act in their own work. 

Much more goes into a show than just people performing on a stage. All these roles need to work together to produce a professional production. This is why impressive productions take months of rehearsals before opening. It takes time to learn a show, plot sound and lights, make and fit costumes, source props, and make sure everything runs like clockwork. The rehearsals are not only for the cast but for each production role as well. This is something an audience member may not even realise when going to watch a show.   

[elisharaymondgibsonlma32]

History of ‘Heathers’

Figure 2. Performance picture from the Off-Broadway production of ‘Heathers,’ from ‘The Guardian,’ 2014.

In 1989, ‘Heathers’ burst onto screens, unfortunately it was not to everybody’s taste and was originally considered a box office flop.

‘Needless to say, not everybody in 1980s America saw the funny side. Heathers was not a box-office hit. “People were outraged: ‘How dare you make a comedy about teenage suicide?’ Well I didn’t make a comedy about teenage suicide,” says Lehmann (nobody in Heathers actually commits suicide). “There were plenty of people at the time who thought the humour was irresponsible, and that the choice of subject was not something that should be put up for satire and, you know, I just rolled my eyes and said the most horrific topics should be the ones that are best suited to satire.”’ (Rose, 2018).

In the absence of a regular crowd, Heathers was forced to take a back seat to other box office hits and as a result of this, the producers lost so much money that they halted future production.

‘If only more people had caught it in the cinema. Heathers made just $1.1 million back on its $3 million budget. It was the last film released by New World Pictures, which closed weeks after the film’s release.’ (Brady, 2018).

Despite its lack of success back in 1989, it was later adapted into a musical.

‘As well as capturing its time, Heathers caught something universal, then, but bringing it into the modern day has required some adjustments. Heathers: The Musical is a brighter, more optimistic proposition than the movie, with more of a female self-empowerment theme and less in the way of transgressive satire. The sexual assault incidents have been removed, fewer guns are waved around, Veronica no longer burns her hand with a cigarette in self-loathing. It hits the spot with fans, but others have likened it to “a mere Glee episode about suicide”.’ (Rose, 2018).

So in 2010, Heathers made its off-Broadway debut and it featured a few changes.

‘The movie’s pitch-black comedy has been brightened somewhat on its journey to the 21st-century stage, with the addition of musical numbers such as Freeze Your Brain (on the transformative properties of 7/11 slushies) and My Dead Gay Son (in which a double funeral becomes an anthem to inclusivity).’ (Rose, 2018).

In 2018, Heathers was revived in an off-West End production.

‘The show, which transfers to the West End in September, was raucously received. As a Heather would say, it was very.’’ (Rose, 2018).

Due to the success of the off-West End previews, Heathers finally achieved the recognition that many believed was overdue and deserved as it moved to Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End.

‘Heathers: The Musical premiered in 2014 and will transfer to London’s West End this September.’ (Brady, 2018).

After it finished its run on the West End, it was announced that Heathers would be embarking on a UK Tour.

‘With music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, the adaption has had productions across the world including a recent West End run starring Carrie Hope Fletcher. Produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, the musical is now embarking on its first UK tour for 2020.’ (Darvill, 2020).

There have been many productions of Heathers ranging from amateur high school shows to Riverdale and a TV series of the same name.

‘The musical is not the only recent repackaging of Heathers; there is also Heathers the TV series. Set in the present day, it is billed as “a satirical comedy that takes creative risks in dealing with many of society’s most challenging subjects, ranging from personal identity to race and socio-economic status to gun violence”. The show makes some drastic changes to the original set-up: the new Heathers of the piece are no longer all thin, privileged white girls; instead, one is a plus-sized girl, one is a black lesbian, and one is a genderqueer male (Veronica is white and blonde). Thus, the original film’s political satire is turned on its head. It was applauded by far-right commentators, which was probably not the intention.’ (Rose, 2018).

The TV show was cancelled due to a tragedy in America which clashed with its timing of release.

‘A TV reboot was scrapped by the Paramount Network last June following the Parkland shootings. In this new version, which is now expected to land with one of the streaming sites, Heather McNamara (originally played by Lisanne Falk) is now portrayed by Jasmine Mathews and is written as a black lesbian. Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty) is played by Brendan Scannell, who identifies as genderqueer and Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) is now played by Melanie Field – a plus-sized actress.’ (Brady, 2018).

The TV series may have been cancelled but Heathers lives on, it has inspired many adaptations.

‘In its absence, some of that Heathers legacy has percolated down through the generations, in teen movies such as Clueless, Mean Girls and Election, or this year’s Thoroughbreds, about two privileged white girls who coolly plot a murder.’ (Rose, 2018).

Many believed that Heathers was an inaccurate representation of High School but others worry that it is far too close to reality.

‘Now Lehmann wonders if we’re not actually living in a Heathers sequel: “I watch the American political news and I can’t believe how much it’s like high school!’ (Rose, 2018).

Figure 3. A poster advertising the ‘Heathers’ inspired episode of ‘Riverdale,’ from ‘Entertainment Weekly,’ 2019.

[theatre-geek-reviews]

Cilla, The Musical - Liverpool

In 2014 multi award-winning writer Jeff Pope treated UK television audiences to a breath-taking biopic of Cilla Black, starring actress Sheridan Smith. The audience reach for the first episode made it ITV’s highest rated drama debut of that year and it of course went on to be nominated for (and then win) multiple awards.

Fast forward 3 years, and Bill Kenwright (Producer/Director) brings ‘Cilla - The Musical’, an adaptation of the critically acclaimed TV series to Cilla’s home town of Liverpool for its first performances before embarking on a lengthy UK and Ireland tour.  

Pope’s musical, just like the TV show is an entertaining account of the early life of a national treasure. It celebrates the thriving culture of Liverpool in the Sixties, when hundreds of artists were playing venues across the City and developing their unique Merseybeat sound. It also celebrates the late Cilla Black who got her big break at the Cavern Club where she worked and where she met The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein who ultimately launched her iconic career.

There was certainly a lot of hype about this musical before it opened. Following weeks of highly publicised open auditions at venues up and down the country the producers of ‘Cilla - The Musical’ announced they had identified their Cilla. Kara Lily Hayworth was named as the actress who was to play the musical and TV legend after multiple auditions including a live performance at the Cavern Club.

Executive Producer and Son of Cilla Black, Robert Willis is quoted as saying: “We wanted somebody who wasn’t going to impersonate my mum but someone who could capture her spirit… when I saw the response of the audience at the Cavern, I knew she was the one my mum would have wanted!”

Hayworth is undoubtedly a talented performer who is likely to go far in her career. Trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she is no stranger to the stage and musical theatre and performed her socks off throughout singing Cilla Black’s cherished hits including: ‘You’re My World’, ‘Alfie’ and ‘Something Tells Me’.

In my opinion, the first few numbers performed by Haworth: ‘Zip-a-dee Doo Dah’ and ‘Chime Bells’ didn’t quite land well and cast some initial doubts on the rest of the production. Set in a busy Cavern Club and supported by on-stage Big Three band, Hayworth seemed to get swallowed up Kenwright’s stage direction. It all seemed a little too busy and the ensemble dancing with their backs to the audience distracted from Hayworth’s vocals.

However, once the scenes moved out of the club setting and into the studio, Hayworth seemed to relax into her role and the crescendo of the Act One finale ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ was simply breath-taking and a real breakthrough moment for the production bringing the audience to their feet even before the song had finished.

Hayworth is joined on stage by several principal colleagues and a large supporting multi-role ensemble cast that brought to the production enthusiasm and energy, and supported the principle cast excellently. Cilla’s parents are skilfully brought to life with lots of humour by Pauline Fleming and Paul Broughton, and The Beatles are portrayed well vocally by Bill Caple, Joshua Gannon, Michael Hawkins and Alex Harford.

Carl Au gave a very confident and skilled performance as Bobby Willis, Cilla’s boyfriend (and future husband) with a perfect mix of humour; stage presence and vocal talent. His duet with Hayworth ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’ was haunting and his solo, ‘A Taste of Honey’ was brilliant.

Another highlight performance is credited to the Actor who played The Mammas and the Pappas Denny Doherty for ‘California Dreamin’. Unfortunately, this Actor isn’t credited in the programme for this number but should absolutely take a bow for one of the stand out; epic vocal performances of the night.

Technically, this is an epic production with lots of scene; costume and instrument changes. Unfortunately, sound (designed by Dan Samson) was a big issue for this performance, particularly sound cues throughout dialogue and songs. From the start, it seemed like there were missed cues and many lines of script were unfortunately clipped by poor microphone coverage.

Gary McCann’s set design was spectacular with huge scale recreations of the Cavern Club, the London Palladium and Sixties era TV studios that transported the audience back in time. Supporting McCann’s set was a visually pleasing lighting design by Nick Richings with huge lighting arches and what seemed like hundreds of rigged lights to compliment the on-stage action.

So final verdict, did ‘Cilla – The Musical’ do Liverpool proud?

The adapted musical version of Cilla doesn’t quite pack the same gritty punch as it’s TV inspiration. Pope’s multi-layered TV script showed audiences the truth of working class life in Liverpool, spattered with religious tensions and lots of drama. ‘Cilla – The Musical’ whilst certainly entertaining, approaches the same content in a lighter, glitzier and more humorous manner which unfortunately, in my opinion loses some of the texture of the true story.  

Hayworth certainly has a real strength and maturity to her singing voice that shone through clearly in her portrayal of the title role, but if I’m honest, I’m not certain that she truly captured the spirit of Cilla. She played the role a little meeker than you would expect, never really showing the raw grit and drive that we all know the legend possessed. However, I suspect that Hayworth will quickly grow into this role and make it her own in no time at all, a potential star of the future and therefore definitely a production that is recommended so you can say that you were “there at the birth of a star”.

The UK tour continues around venues throughout 2017/18: www.cillathemusical.com

Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin Reviewed: 08th September 2017  

This review was originally written for North West End. North West End Rating: ★★★★

http://www.northwestend.co.uk/index.php/professional-reviews/liverpool/2362-cilla-the-musical-empire-theatre-liverpool

[edharrisdaily]

MGM Repping Sales On ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ With Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ben Foster & Colin Morgan

As we reported Monday, filming has wrapped on the under-the-radar screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer prize-winning play.

Well known British theater and opera director, Jonathan Kent, has made his feature directorial debut on the project, which filmed in Ireland. Above is a first image from the production.

The project sees double Academy Award and five-time Golden Globe winner Lange reprise her 2016 Tony-winning Broadway role, also directed by Kent. She portrays the troubled, emotionally fragile and addiction-plagued Mary Tyrone. Four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris is her husband James, a celebrated actor but failed property magnate – and a man with fears and regrets deeply rooted in his impoverished beginnings.

Foster will play their wayward, charming and hard-drinking elder son, Jamie. And Colin Morgan (Belfast) is the bleakly optimistic and consumptive younger son, Edmund – a portrait of O’Neill himself. David Lindsay-Abaire (Poltergeist) adapted the play for screen.

Set on one single day in August 1912 at the family’s Connecticut seaside home, the story follows the Tyrone family as it faces the looming dual spectres of Edmund’s potentially fatal consumption diagnosis alongside his mother Mary’s increasingly fragile and anxious state of mind. The family knows that the situation threatens to return her to the severe morphine addiction that was only recently overcome.

Filmed on location in County Wicklow, Ireland, the film is financed by Magnoliamae Films, BKStudios, Brouhaha Entertainment and Fetisoff Illusion. It is produced by Gabrielle Tana (Philomena), Bill Kenwright (Cheri) and Gleb Fetisov (Loveless).

As first reported by the Irish Times, filming was briefly halted after just a few days when a financier unexpectedly exited the project but we’re told those issues were resolved soon after when BKStudios stepped in.

Executive producers are BKStudios’ CEO, David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter), and head of production is Naomi George (My Pure Land). The film is co-produced with Redmond Morris and his Irish production company Four Provinces Films.

Director of photography was Mark Wolf with production design by Anna Rackard and costume design by Joan Bergin and Jane Greenwood.

Eugene O’Neill’s classic play has been adapted multiple times for the big and small screen including versions by Sidney Lumet and Jonathan Miller.

[fuckyeahthebookofmormon]

The winners were today announced for theatrical charity Acting For Others’ inaugural Presidential Awards.

The awards celebrate the most supportive and successful fundraisers, who have helped the charity raise £380,000 over the previous twelve months.

The Golden Bucket Award, London, which is awarded to the Theatreland show which raised the most money through bucket collections went to The Book Of Mormon. Other recipients included Bill Kenwright Limited (Tour De Force Award - for most supportive touring production company) and Brian Sears and KJ Hippensteel from the cast of The Book Of Mormon (Super Hero award - for individuals nominated by theatre managers and supporters of the charity who worked above and beyond to support it).

Congratulations, Brian, KJ, and the entire West End production!

[londontheatre]

“I’m telling you that ‘thing’ upstairs isn’t my daughter…” Forty-five years after William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel terrified an entire generation, The Exorcist will be unleashed onto the West End stage for the very first time in a uniquely theatrical experience directed by Sean Mathias and adapted for the stage by John Pielmeier.

Jenny Seagrove will play Chris MacNeil opposite Peter Bowles as Father Lankester Merrin, Adam Garcia as Father Damien Karras, Clare Louise Connolly as Regan, Todd Boyce as Doctor Strong, Mitchell Mullen as Doctor Klein, Elliot Harper as Father Joe and Tristram Wymark as Burke.

The Exorcist will play a strictly limited run at the Phoenix Theatre from 20 October 2017 to 10 March 2018.

Widely considered the scariest movie of all time, the film adaptation of The Exorcist sparked unprecedented worldwide controversy when it was released in cinemas in 1973. Winner of two Academy Awards, William Friedkin’s masterpiece saw audiences petrified to the point of passing out and went on to become one of the top ten highest grossing films of all time.

“Oh please, Mother, make it stop! It’s hurting.” When the medical profession fails to provide answers to young Regan’s strange symptoms her desperate mother Chris turns to a local priest for help. But before Father Damien can tackle what’s before him, he must overcome his own shaken beliefs, as this fight is for more than just one girl’s soul…

Peter Bowles, star of stage, film and television, will play Father Lankester Merrin – the Exorcist of the title. Peter’s West End theatre credits include Hay Fever with Judi Dench at Theatre Royal Haymarket, Archie Rice in John Osborne’s The Entertainer (Shaftesbury) and several leading roles in classic plays for Sir Peter Hall. He is probably best remembered for playing the role of Richard DeVere in the hit BBC comedy series To The Manor Born as well as leading roles in The Irish RM, The Bounder, Rumpole of the Bailey and Only When I Laugh. Peter can currently be seen on ITV’s Victoria as the Duke of Wellington.

Jenny Seagrove, one of the UK’s most respected actresses, will be playing the role of Chris, the mother of Regan, who suffers emotional turmoil in the search to find help for her daughter’s ever increasing strange behaviour. Her prolific theatre career has seen her play the lead in almost every West End playhouse, with recent credits including Alan Ayckbourn’s How The Other Half Loves at the Haymarket, Brief Encounter, Volcano, Tennessee Williams’ Night Of The Iguana, David Rabe’s Hurlyburly and The Country Girl with Martin Shaw. Jenny recently appeared as Louisa Gould in the film Another Mother’s Son but perhaps is best known to TV viewers as QC Jo Mills in ITV’s BAFTA award winning Judge John Deed.

Adam Garcia plays Father Damien Karras. Adam is a two-time Olivier Award nominee, was last seen in the West End in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s The Winter’s Tale (Garrick) and recently starred in the world premiere of Kevin Elyot’s last play Twilight Song (Park Theatre, London). Musical stage credits include Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn (Chichester/Old Vic); Fiyero in the original London cast of Wicked with Idina Menzel (Apollo Victoria), Chip in On The Town (London Coliseum) and Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (London Palladium). Adam gained international recognition for leading roles in films including Coyote Ugly and Riding in Cars with Boys with Drew Barrymore, and he appears in Kenneth Branagh’s forthcoming film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express.

Director Sean Mathias has worked at the National Theatre and many times in the West End and on Broadway, as well as extensively internationally. In 2009/2010 Sean’s production of Waiting For Godot played two seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and toured the UK and internationally. In 2013 Godot played Broadway along with his production of Pinter’s No Man’s Land, the latter transferring to Wyndham’s Theatre in October 2016 starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, and won Best Revival at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards that year.

The Exorcist is designed by Olivier Award-winning Designer Anna Fleischle (Hangmen), Lighting Design by Philip Gladwell (Five Guys Named Moe), Composition and Sound Design by Adam Cork (London Road), Projection Design by Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington (Brief Encounter) and Illusion Design is by Ben Hart (Impossible).

LISTINGS Bill Kenwright presents THE EXORCIST

A play by John Pielmeier. Adapted from the novel by William Peter Blatty. Directed by Sean Mathias.

By Special Arrangement with Ben Sprecher and Stuart Snyder In Association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Phoenix Theatre Charing Cross Rd London WC2H 0JP

http://ift.tt/2wtAqZT LondonTheatre1.com

[kkmooandmonkey2]

Ghost Booking

  GHOST THE MUSICAL TUE 17 – SAT 21 JANUARY BILL KENWRIGHT  presents a new production of the timeless story of love, despair and hope: Ghost The Musical.  Walking back to their apartment late one night a tragic encounter sees Sam murdered and his beloved wife Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. But with the help of a phony storefront psychic Sam, trapped between this world and the next,…

[belfasttimes]

Cabaret at the Grand Opera House: John Partridge announced as Emcee

Cabaret at the Grand Opera House: John Partridge announced as Emcee

Bill Kenwright presents Rufus Norris’ multi award-winning production of Kander and Ebb’s landmark musical Cabaret, which embarks on an extensive 2019 UK tour, arriving at the Grand Opera House, Belfast from 8 October 2019.

Starring as the enigmatic Emcee is John Partridge, winner of Celebrity MasterChef in 2018, well known to TV audiences as EastEnders’ Christian Clarke, and one of West End…

[mastcomm]

Graeme Sharp appointed Everton players’ life president

Graeme Sharp is to advise the Everton board of directors in a new role at Goodison Park.

Sharp, 59, who has been appointed as the club’s players’ life president, is Everton’s post-war leading scorer.

The former Scotland striker scored 160 goals in 447 appearances – second only to Dixie Dean on the Everton scoring list – between 1980 and 1991 and returned to Goodison in an ambassadorial position in 2000.

Speaking about his new enhanced advisory role to the board, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright told the official club website: “It’s all about the DNA with Evertonians and Sharpy has that.

“That is the reason why we asked him to be the players’ life president.

“Sharpy was a major part of the club’s greatest period ever. He’s not only kept that love of Everton, he’s kept the Everton DNA and that’s why the fans love him.

“I could not imagine Everton without Graeme Sharp.

“As a player, he had skill, he had finesse but he was and still is such a humble lad who is grateful to remain part of Everton and that makes me even more grateful to have him.”

Sharp, who won two League titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup with the Blues, will provide a point of contact for the club’s captain, board, academy, executive leadership team and first-team management staff.

He said: “I have been fortunate enough to represent Everton around the world and the way in which the supporters, current and former management teams and staff, and our current and former players are connected to and have a bond with the club makes Everton special.

“The ambition shown by Mr (Farhad) Moshiri, the chairman, and the board at Everton means it is a really exciting time to be an Evertonian.

“I look forward to being able to work with all the people who make our club what it is and represent them in my new role.”

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script','//connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');

fbq('init', '230404523817416'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); fbq('track', 'ViewContent', "content_type":"product","content_ids":"100191344");

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/sport/graeme-sharp-appointed-everton-players-life-president/