Phantom of the opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 3/26/2006 2:09 PM
Now the longest running show in the history of Her Majesty's Theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera" opened to enormous success in October 1986 and has been running to capacity ever since, but can this musical still deliver? This is Lloyd Webber at his best. And though the newspaper musical critics like to put Lloyd Webber down for what they think is superficial candy type music, the audiences
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Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales Theatre
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 3/25/2006 1:08 PM
There is a very loose storyline to tie together the reason for including 27 Abba’s hits in the show. Because Abba’s songs are so much a part of all of our lives, this show is just sheer pleasure for most of us. Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus is one of the producers. He says “: "This idea has been talked about for several years but it was only when I was
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Blood Brothers at the Phoenix
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 3/24/2006 3:05 PM
As this is now in its 16th year (and set to play for another year) it must be pretty good. The musical is a nature/nurture controversy, about two bothers separated at birth. Sociologically it is pretty formulaic stuff, but even if the plot is thin, the musical is really enjoyable !
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Theatreland
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 2/17/2006 4:08 PM
London's main theatre district is located in the heart of the West End of the city centre, and is traditionally defined by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east although The South Bank Complex is now considered by some to be part of it. Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane, Shaftesbury Avenue, and The Strand. This area contains approximately forty large theatres and is often referred to as Theatreland. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic or middle brow plays, and comedy performances.
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The World of Musicals – A History Pt2
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 2/9/2006 6:53 PM
The growing scale (and cost) of musicals led to some concern that musicals were eschewing substance in favor of style. The 1990s and 2000s have seen many writers create smaller musicals (Falsettoland, Passion); the topics vary widely and the music ranges from Sondheimesque to pop, but they generally are produced off-Broadway and feature much smaller casts (and thus much lower costs).
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Recent Overview of the World of Musicals Part 1
West End Musicals By westendmusicals on 2/9/2006 6:46 PM
1976 brought one of the great contemporary musicals to the stage. A Chorus Line emerged from recorded group therapy-style sessions Michael Bennett conducted with gypsies - those who sing and dance in support of the leading players - from the Broadway community. From hundreds of hours of tapes, James Kirkwood and Nick Dante fashioned a book about an audition for a musical, incorporating into it many of the real-life stories of those who had sat in on the sessions - and some of whom eventually played variations of themselves or each other in the show.
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