Since the early days of the S&S Award – given to the best new unproduced musical of the year – its founders, literary agent Caroline Underwood and writer Warner Brown, have longed to encourage links between the UK musical writing scene and that of the US. Now, with the Award becoming S&S Theatre Productions, Caroline and Warner will have the opportunity to do just that, presenting co-productions of new, radical musical theatre both Off-West End and Off-Broadway.
‘The passion that Kaye has for his profession & Elton John is clear’: ELTON JOHN: IT’S A LITTLE BIT FUNNY – Touring ★★★★
Elton John: It’s A Little Bit Funny is a whistle-stop tour of Elton John’s outrageous life, with a soundtrack of some of his greatest hits performed by an excellent live band.
‘Kaye’s enthusiasm for Elton is infectious’: ELTON JOHN IT’S A LITTLE BIT FUNNY – Upstairs at the Gatehouse ★★★
Clever and entertaining, Elton John It’s A Little Bit Funny is a musically brilliant tribute to one of our greatest showmen.
‘It’s all really rather good fun’: TICKLE THE MUSICAL – King’s Head Theatre
Set in the world of competitive enduance tickling, Tickle the Musical proves a rather good-natured, sweet thing at the King’s Head Theatre.
‘A polished gem’: A NIGHT AT THE OSCARS – Upstairs at the Gatehouse ★★★★
Carefully curated by Chris Burgess, and starring Kieran Brown, Steven Dalziel, Natalie Green and Laura Sillett, A Night At The Oscars is a charming production of a delightful idea.
THAT’S JEWISH ENTERTAINMENT – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
That’s Jewish Entertainment doesn’t just focus on the showbiz greats made famous by Jewish writers or performers, but also takes in snatches of liturgy from the synagogue alongside a sprinkling of Yiddish songs that stem from the vanished world of the shtetl, as well as from New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the last century.
THE MGM STORY – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Transporting us through the history of musical theatre’s golden age, The MGM Story dives into the tale of how the Hollywood studio nurtured the talent of stars that were to include Judy Garland and Gene Kelly alongside composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and countless others.
DEVILISH – Landor Theatre
This new musical with music by BB Cooper and book and lyrics by Chris Burgess has plenty of potential but needs stronger characterisations to make it even better.
DEVILISH – Landor Theatre
The Landor Theatre has made an occasional departure from its repertoire of well-focused chamber-sized revivals to host an original creation called Devilish. Possibly with an exclamation mark. Like Oklahoma! Only not remotely like Oklahoma! Starting not even from a novel, an anecdote really, in which an angel descends from heaven and is shot down into the melee of modern Britain, Chris Burgess has fashioned the slenderest of stories and a battery of lyrics with easy-listening-to-soft-rock music by BB Cooper.
THE GREAT JEWISH AMERICAN SONGBOOK – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Once upon a time Jews wrote the shows…Now it seems they ARE the shows, with revues and plays, some good, some Bad lining up to have the “J” word in the title. The latest pot-pourri – or should that be cholent (google it) – of kosher-themed offerings is Aria Entertainment’s rather charming, which includes many of the 20th century songwriters who composed for Broadway and Hollywood. Note “many”, but significantly, not “all”, with notable omissions on the night including Bernstein, Sondheim, Styne, Kander, Ebb.