Fittingly, the reviewing year has ended in the grandest of styles at Paris’ Grand Palais to where the city’s illustrious Theatre du Châtelet have temporarily decamped, reviving their 2015 production of Singin’ In The Rain.
42nd STREET – Paris
Dan Burton who plays Sawyer’s love interest Billy Lawlor is another of Mear’s regular ingénues, last seen in the West End’s Gypsy. Arguably the best of his generation in musical theatre dance, Burton has a grace in his movement that has to be seen to be believed alongside perfectly pitched, mellifluous vocals. Other Brits in the cast include Alexander Hanson, Ria Jones and Jenny Dale.
HAIRSPRAY – Touring
Based on the classic 1988 film and subsequent Tony award-winning Broadway production this is an all-singing, all-dancing delight of a show. It’s the story of a larger-than-life teenager who is fighting both sizeism prejudices and trying to bring colour integration into a wholesome 1960s early evening entertainment programme. This effervescent teen, Tracy Turnblad, falls in love and has a few scrapes along the way, which makes for a super fun entertaining show.