Willy Russell News

The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premiere destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of  the original comedy/drama Twist Of Faith in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.   This newly revised production of the Off-Broadway hit is written and directed by Michael Gurin, and based on an original concept by Matt Okin. 

Shirley is a Liverpool housewife. Her kids have left home and she makeschips and egg for her husband while talking to the wall. Where has her life disappeared to? Out of the blue, her best friend offers her a trip to Greece for 2 weeks and she secretly packs her bags. She heads for the sun and starts to see the world and herself very differently.

Willy Russell's heart-warming comedy Shirley Valentine comes to The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, next month. 

The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premiere destination for both cutting-edge professional theater andcollaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of  the original comedy/drama Twist Of Faith in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.

The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premier destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of   Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man, starting later this week in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.

Venice Theatre will present the dramatic musical Blood Brothers opening Thursday, March 30, 2017 running through Sunday, April 23, 2017. This gripping story by British playwright Willy Russell (also known for Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine) concerns twin brothers who are separated at birth, with one raised in wealth and the other in poverty.

The Queen's Theatre Hornchurch is set to stage a refreshing take of Willy Russell's classic comedy Educating Rita, with Rita being portrayed as an 'Essex girl', instead of being Liverpudlian. It runs at the theatre from 22 April - 13 May.

The Epstein Theatre has announced the full casting for its first ever Shakespeare production.

The complexities of the mother and son relationship are not easy to depict. The unwavering unconditional love and a mother's need to defend her boy against all foes can become creepily like the ancient Greek story of Oedipus if not handled correctly and Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman, which is currently touring the country, doesn't quite get it right.

???????Willy Russell's heart-warming comedy Shirley Valentine premiered in 1986 and took the world by storm. In celebration of its 30th anniversary the first major revival of this national treasure will visit the Lyceum Theatre from Monday 24 - Saturday 29 April on its UK tour, starring much loved actress Jodie Prenger as Shirley.

From musical numbers to American Sign Language, CATCO's 2017-18 season will bring alternative modes of storytelling to the stage. The Columbus-based theater company announced its complete 33rd season via press release on Monday.

There are few male playwrights who have captured the female psyche as well as Willy Russell. The character of Shirley is both simple and complex. On one hand all she wants is to escape her life of regimented predictability, where her husband Joe demands his steak on a Thursday and the only source of entertainment is talking to her kitchen wall. On the other is the deep and heartbreaking aspect of wanting to return to her past, where she felt she had more worth and character.

It is the 1980s, Liverpool, England. Frank is a tutor of English in his fifties whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and to bury himself in his books. Enter Rita, a forthright 26 year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn and to change her social circumstances through the pursuit of higher education. Willy Russell delightfully weaves together the lives of these two unique characters, with great wit, humor and profound insight. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Educating Rita premiered at The Warehouse, London, in June 1980 starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston. The play was directed by Mike Ockrent, and in 1983 became a hit film with Michael Caine and Julie Walters.

Willy Russell's SHIRLEY VALENTINE is running right now at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, and I advise you to call them at once to purchase a ticket and them come back and finish reading my review.  This is the second trip to Russell-Land for director Mark Peckham and 2nd Story; last year they scored with EDUCATING RITA.  I think they're on to something.  This time Russell has created the circumstance of a housewife, who, feeling shortchanged by life, has the chance to travel to Greece and see what more there might be.

Known for his strong female characters, from Educating Rita to Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers, Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine stands head and shoulders above his other work as an in depth exploration of what it was really like to be a woman in the 1980s. Transporting the audience from her kitchen in Liverpool to a beautiful beach in Corfu, 42 year old Shirley Bradshaw's life is thrown out of balance by an unexpected holiday, causing her to question the mundane, limiting life she finds herself leading.

It is the 1980s, Liverpool, England. Frank is a tutor of English in his fifties whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and to bury himself in his books. Enter Rita, a forthright 26 year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn and to change her social circumstances through the pursuit of higher education.

???????The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premier destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of  Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.

The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premiere destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of  the original comedy/drama Twist Of Faith in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.

2017 marks 30 years since Bill Kenwright's production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers first toured the UK. In celebration, the iconic musical will visit theatres across the country next year, opening on Tuesday 17 January at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

The Black Box Performing Arts Center continues to emerge as the Tri-State area's premiere destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education as it proudly presents a new production of Caryl Churchill's  Cloud 9 in the heart of Teaneck, NJ - just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge.