Terry Gilliam is just the man to realise Into The Woods: his Python sensibility helps, and he co-directs with Leah Hausman who, with dancer-choreographer wit, can make every movement speak whether in somersaulting pratfall or darkening tragedy.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Into the Woods at St James Theatre, New York
We take a look at what critics have had to say about Lear deBessonet’s Broadway production of Into The Woods starring Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel.
’It’s sexy, dark & riveting’: PASSION – Manchester ★★★★★
Make no mistake, this is a world class Passion, and one which any Sondheim nut, or indeed anybody who wants to see a collection of remarkable talents at the top of their game, would be mad not to make the journey to the Hope Mill Theatre Manchester for.
‘Everything is heightened’: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Even a minor Sondheim has something to recommend it, and ticking this one off leaves just two of his shows left for me to see live.
My knowledge of Anyone Can Whistle was confined to the three numbers included in the Side by Side revue, so clearly …
‘Sondheim’s songs are the saving grace of this rather purposeless musical’: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE – Southwark Playhouse
One of Sondheim’s earliest works Anyone Can Whistle has just opened at Southwark Playhouse. Notoriously a flop back in 1964, many have tried but few have succeeded in reviving its fortunes.
‘One of the strangest & least performed musicals in the Sondheim canon’: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE – Southwark Playhouse
This wacky tale of faked miracles, town economics, mental health and social segregation is a puzzling one, combining some really great Stephen Sondheim songs and some strong female characters with a cartoonish plot.
What won’t now come to pass: Stephen Sondheim was in the midst of writing a new musical
Stephen Sondheim – Broadway’s musical theatre’s greatest innovator and powerhouse over the last seven decades – left us, after 91 years, in the midst of writing another new musical that he revealed only weeks ago.
NEWS: The Old Vic announces Back Together season
The Old Vic has announced its Back Together season, the seventh from artistic director Matthew Warchus, which will run from July 2021 to July 2022 and combines both streamed and live shows.
Marking the nostalgia of the past for Follies’ 50th & edging towards some hope for Broadway’s future
On Friday the resumption of theatre life began in New York; meanwhile, today is the 50th anniversary of the Broadway opening night of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, his jagged and shattering tribute to the musicals as well as the marriages of yesteryear, as James Goldman’s characters confront their current predicaments as middle and old-aged people looking back on their lives through the prism of the nostalgia of their theatrical pasts — all set to a score that gently pastiches the songs of the period while actually improving on them.
Album Reviews: Marisha Wallace – Tomorrow / Shan Ako – Brave Heart / Soviet Zion
A trio of music reviews with Marisha Wallace’s album Tomorrow, Shan Ako’s EP Brave Heart and the original concept album of Soviet Zion.
‘There’s always something new to speak to me’: Mark Shenton chooses his top ten Sondheim songs
We are now onto the third of my new weekly musical theatre podcast series ShenTens. This week I count down my top ten favourite Sondheim songs — at least my favourites right now.
Mark Shenton kicks off his new ShenTens podcast with a top ten favourite musicals
I’ve launched a brand-new weekly podcast, called ShenTen, in which I will countdown my personal top tens in different theatrical categories.
’An unalloyed pleasure’: MARRY ME A LITTLE – Barn Theatre, Cirencester (Online review)
Rob Houchen and Celinde Schoenmaker star in a beautifully sung, beautifully filmed digital version of Sondheim’s revue Marry Me A Little for the Barn Theatre.
‘The show’s coup comes with a spine-tingling performance from Linzi Hateley’: The Theatre Channel – Episode Two (Online review)
Episode Two of The Theatre Channel takes its Halloween theme and has a ball with it, with brilliant performances from the likes of Linzi Hateley, Jordan Shaw, Bradley Jaden and Sophie Isaacs.
CD Review: Amanda Holden – Songs From My Heart
Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden releases her debut album Songs From My Heart, full of musical theatre treats and Sheridan Smith.
NEWS: Broadway transfer of Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George postponed until 2021
The highly anticipated Broadway transfer of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford, has postponed its season in the West End until further notice.
NEWS: Sherlock creators Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss collaborate in Chichester Festival Season packed with world premieres
World premieres in Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2020 include first plays by Steven Moffat and Kate Mosse and new work by Suhayla El-Bushra and Christopher Shinn.
Ought To Be Clowns’ 10 favourite shows of 2019
Ought To Be Clowns barely saw 250 shows this year, quiet by his standards. And as is the way of these things, here’s a rundown of some of the productions that moved me most…
‘Ria Jones’ Mama Rose is an undeniably forceful presence’: GYPSY – Manchester
Because nothing says Merry Christmas like a stage mum going off the rails! Gypsy offers a different festive treat at Manchester’s Royal Exchange.
‘An absolute triumph’: WEST SIDE STORY – Leicester
No doubt about it, Nikolai Foster’s production of West Side Story for Curve Leicester is damn close to musical theatre perfection.