Willy Russell News

The Ogunquit Playhouse will bring back the most popular show in its history, the Tony Award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet, on stage October 5 through November 6.

The international smash hit musical Blood Brothers will make a triumphant return to Birmingham Hippodrome for two weeks this Autumn from Mon 10 - Sat 22 Oct.

The international smash hit musical Blood Brothers will make a triumphant return to Birmingham Hippodrome for two weeks this Autumn from Mon 10 - Sat 22 Oct. No stranger to Blood Brothers, 'The definitive Mrs Johnstone' (Manchester Evening News) Lyn Paul returns to the iconic role, one she first played in 1997. Lyn played Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012. She has also starred in the UK tour of Cabaret in 2013 as Fraulein Schneider, in Boy George's musical Taboo and in Footloose - the Musical.

Two Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) General Managers have been nominated for a UK Theatre Award, the only nationwide awards to honour creative excellence and the outstanding achievement seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On September 1st, PICT Classic Theatre will open its 2016-2017 season at Union Project with SHIRLEY VALENTINE.  This marks the start of a new partnership between PICT and Union Project, which will bring high quality theatre to the East End and push the boundaries of how theatre is produced in a community space.

Our universal need to be remembered is the underlying theme of a behind-the-scenes baseball comedy by Ken Levine, an Emmy Award-winning writer (Cheers, M*A*S*H, The Simpsons), acclaimed sportscaster and former host of Dodger Talk. Andrew Barnicle directs the world premiere of Going... Going... GONE! for an Oct. 1 opening at the Hudson Guild Theatre in Hollywood.

?Audiences from across Coventry enjoyed a trip back in time to the golden age of rock 'n' roll earlier this week for the official launch of the Belgrade Theatre's brand new production of Roll Over Beethoven, an original British rock 'n' roll musical arriving on the Main Stage from Sat 3 - Sat 17 September 2016.

Certain parts of Jason Robert Brown's score for SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD have been translated for a new South African production of the show which is currently being performed at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. The intention is to explore possibilities for a greater connection for both the performers and the audience with the text of the show and the themes it communicates.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Little Shop of Horrors Reunion Concert; Blood Brothers in Concert; 54 Celebrates The Neil Simon Theatre; Rob McClure at 54 Below; and 54 Celebrates Prince.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

On June 28th, Feinstein's/54 Below will present an one-night-only concert of the popular British musical Blood Brothers. Singing the beautiful score will be Beau Cassidy (whose father, David Cassidy, starred in the Broadway production) as Mickey, Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Taming of the Shrew) as Mrs. Johnstone,  Robert Lenzi (Tuck Everlasting) as Sammy, Collin Kelly-Sordelet (The Last Ship) as Eddie, and more to be announced soon. 

The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye reports that Gary Wilmot, Jay McGuiness and Denise Van Outen will appear in BIG THE MUSICAL at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 5 November-12 and Bord Gais Energy Theatre from 7 December-7 January, 2017.

This June, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

From the writer of Blood Brothers (Willy Russell) comes his most acclaimed play, Educating Rita, an hilarious and moving story of a woman determined to better herself.

EDUCATING RITA by Willy Russell is running at 2nd Story Theatre at 28 Market St. in Warren until May 22. Ed Shea plays Frank, the jaded, just-this-side-of washed-out, alcoholic professor; and Tammy Brown plays Rita, a hairdresser who wants more out of life, who wants not simply a change in circumstances, but, as she says twice in the play, 'the change in yourself.' Rita wants to know, 'what's it like to be free?' If Frank ever knew, he has forgotten. Over the course of the very enjoyable two hours, they each get to look at what they know and to decide what must stay and what has to go. This play reminds you of Shaw's Pygmalion: the young woman comes to the older man seeking knowledge that can transform her life. Henry Higgins is more confidant then Frank in the value of what he has to offer, but Rita, whose real name turns out to be Susan, is every bit as convinced of its worth as Eliza Doolittle ever was.

From the writer of Blood Brothers (Willy Russell) comes his most acclaimed play, Educating Rita, an hilarious and moving story of a woman determined to better herself.

Following his phenomenal decade-long success with The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, which sold over two million tickets and continually played to packed houses all around the UK, Bill Kenwright returns with an all-new instalment of classic mystery in Rehearsal For Murder from Mon 9 - Sat 14 May.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham is thrilled to announce the fifth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Julia Duffy starring in SEX AND EDUCATION, written by Lissa Levin and directed by Andrew Barnicle.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham presents the fifth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Julia Duffy starring in SEX AND EDUCATION, written by Lissa Levin and directed by Andrew Barnicle.

For one night only (June 28, 2016),  experience the international mega-hitBlood Brothers on the stage of Feinstein's/54 Below. Blood Brothers tells the story of Mickey and Edward, twins separated at birth in England in the 1960s. Despite growing up on opposite ends of the social spectrum, they find their lives intertwined as they grow, never knowing their true connection.