John Wilson News

The Distance You Have Come follows the lives of six individuals who juggle the constant challenges of life, depression, heartache and love. Told through the music and lyrics of award-winning composer Scott Alan, this brand-new musical brings together a song cycle of his most acclaimed works for the first time, performed by some of the greatest generational voices in the West End.

After a disappointing start to the new season with the bizarre Salome, the ENO fights back with a towering production of the Gershwin brothers' Porgy and Bess. After nearly 80 years since its premiere, the folk opera receives its first staging by the ENO as a co-production with the Dutch National Opera and New York's Metropolitan Opera. And boy does it deliver!

Asolo Rep proudly kicks off its 60th season with a highly imaginative production of Meredith Willson's Tony Award-winning exuberant masterpiece THE MUSIC MAN. Directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun (Newsies), this tap dancing-infused production stars legendary Broadway song and dance man Noah Racey as Harold Hill. Calhoun and Racey previously collaborated on the smash hit world premiere of Noah Racey's Pulse at Asolo Rep in 2013. The perfect family holiday outing, THE MUSIC MAN begins previews on November 13, opens November 17 and runs through December 29 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

The CIT Cork School of Music percussion department collaborate for the first time with the percussion ensemble “Millennial Percussion” from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and its artistic director Adrian Spillet (principal percussionist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra), and the conservatoire's percussion lecturers Sophie Hastings and Cormac Byrne.

Scott Alan is a much-loved songwriter and performer in the theatre industry. A selection of his songs have been brought together into a song cycle, The Distance You Have Come, which will premiere at The Cockpit on 16-28 October. 

The full company has been announced for Laura Wade's new play THE WATSONS, adapted from Jane Austen's unfinished novel, which receives its world premiere at the Minerva Theatre from 3 November - 1 December, with a press night on 8 November. Directed by Samuel West, the cast is: Sam Alexander, Sally Bankes, Joe Bannister, Jane Booker, Elaine Claxton, Tim Delap, Leonardo Dickens, Sophie Duval, Archie Elliot, Louise Ford, John Wilson Goddard, Grace Molony, Elander Moore, Katherine Rose Morley, Paksie Vernon, Cat White and Laurence Ubong Williams.

Scott Alan is one of the industries most prolific composers. He took a moment to chat with BroadwayWorld about the upcoming concert dates, his song cycle in London, and the things that have influenced his music.

The Distance You Have Come follows the lives of six individuals who juggle the constant challenges of life, depression, heartache and love. Told through the music and lyrics of award-winning composer Scott Alan, this brand-new musical brings together a song cycle of his most acclaimed works for the first time, performed by some of the greatest generational voices in the West End.

The BBC Proms announce the full cast for the concert performance of Bernstein's On the Town

The multiple Tony award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I, currently enjoying huge West End success, will be released in cinemas around the world this fall via Trafalgar Releasing. THE KING AND I: FROM THE PALLADIUM, filmed on stage at the iconic London Palladium, will open in cinemas globally on Thursday, November 29, 2018 with an encore presentation exclusively in the United States on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, August 31, 2018 at www.KingAndIMusicalCinema.com.

It has been confirmed that the current West End production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's timeless classic, The King and I, will be screened in the United Kingdom this winter.

Louise Dearman has tackled many musical theatre leading roles, and is the only actress in the West End to have played both Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked. She also has a successful concert career and has released four solo albums. Dearman will be taking part in the upcoming concert at Cadogan Hall, There's Nothing Like a Dame - 100 Years of Women in Musical Theatre.

The BBC Proms concert of West Side Story was presented this week in conjunction with the centennial celebration of composer Leonard Bernstein.

The ITHT Commission, which oversees the beautiful and historic 116-year-old, 432-seat theater in Town Hall of Irvington, N.Y., announced on Wednesday the launch of a three-date benefit concert series for the 2018-2019 season, beginning with the Cool Music / Hot Night season-kick-off concert on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, at 7:30pm.

According to Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail, the Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I, which recently began an acclaimed West End run featuring original stars Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe, will head out on an international tour in 2019.

Adelaide and London based theatre producer GWB Entertainment has opened the iconic musical production of The King and I to rave reviews and critical acclaim at the world-renowned London Palladium in the West End.

The multi Tony Award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I has transfered from Broadway to London this month following a critically acclaimed 16 month run at New York's Lincoln Center Theater and an unprecedented continuing record-breaking sold out USA tour.

Following a hit run at New York's Lincoln Center Theater in 2015, Bartlett Sher's production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic makes its way to London's West End for a limited run at the London Palladium. Transferring with it is Tony Award nominee Ken Watanabe and Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara, in the title roles.

Production photos have been released for For King and Country at Southwark Playhouse. Check them out below!