Rough Magic - - West End Articles Page 16

Paul Mescal recently revealed on The Late Late Show that he starred in The Phantom of the Opera, as 'the big man himself, Phantom' at Maynooth Post Primary as a teen.

Stars of stage and screen including Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, David Suchet, Dame Penelope Keith, Timothy West, Jamael Westman, Tobias Menzies, Aimee Lou Wood, Grace Saif, Dame Penelope Wilton, and Julie Hesmondhalgh have joined forces to perform Shakespeare's 154 sonnets for Jermyn Street Theatre, a 70-seat studio in London's West End.

San Francisco Playhouse announced their new Empathy Gym Fireside Chat series which will be streamed live for free on YouTube. Each week, Artistic Director Bill English invites playwrights to join him for a one-hour conversation about playwriting, business, and the future of theatre. Audience members can participate in the conversation by leaving a comment on YouTube.

Kris Kelly has shared the song and video for his newest single 'More', which premiered last Friday on HuffPost. Director Kris Moyes is well known for his innovative music videos for artists such as Sia, Beck, Grizzly Bear, The Presets, and others.

Renowned crooner Bradd Marquis is due to release his brand new self produced single, entitled “No War”, on Friday April 3rd. His first release since 2017s hit single “Who Let You Go”- No War comes straight from the depths of Marquis' soul.

The 23rd Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards was due to take place tomorrow night at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. 

Forced indoors and relying on our memories of life before quarantine, the cast album for a musical about music recovered from memory data seems oddly apropos and strangely relatable. This is the moment where Broadway Records' RAGS PARKLAND SINGS THE SONGS OF THE FUTURE (Original Cast Recording) meets us. Highly intellectual and with a somewhat obscured concept in the album setting, this record is equal parts poignant and entertaining.

Prolific and popular singer-songwriter-musical director Michele Brourman is in town to collect her Bistro Award tonight and Stephen Mosher talks with her about her life and her work in an industry that loves her.

Jay is trapped in a toxic home environment. Taking care of her drug-addicted mother and lonely and misunderstood younger brother, she dreams of escaping into a better world. She is presented with the chance-of-a-lifetime when winning a nation-wide essay contest to be the new writer of the final book in a beloved series left incomplete by the death of the author. However, Jay's 'dream ending' of the story is threatened when she has to collaborate with an additional, surprise contest winner. Set in the American Midwest, Jay and the Contest explores what it means to make it out of our hometown, no matter the consequences.

 Vita and The Woolf, aka Jen Pague, has announced the May 8 release of Anna Ohio via Tender Loving Empire, the follow up to her 2017 debut TUNNELS. To celebrate the announcement, she has shared the music video for her new song “Operator.” Listen below! Pre-order Anna Ohio HERE.

British-Congolese singer Jordan Mackampa creates soul-soaked, indie-driven tracks that swim in the sounds and stories of the cities he's inhabited over the years. His searing songs are documents of his life as an outsider, and his sound is a melting pot of cultures that stretch from his birthplace in the Republic of Congo to a hip hop-obsessed childhood in North London to teen years spent immersed in indie-rock in Coventry, UK. He combines his timeless vocals with catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics to create an exciting hybrid of alternative pop and soul which will enchant and uplift in equal measure. 

Theatre fans need not travel all the way to New York City to get a taste of Broadway. Though the Big Apple boasts perhaps the freshest productions and greatest talents in the world, many of the most successful shows on Broadway will eventually hit the road- bringing and equally magical (though sometimes slightly updated) version of their production to cities across the country.

Why? Every time I answer that, I start to feel like the Genie in a?oePrince Alia?? when he's counting all those elephants, peac*cks, and camels. There are a lot of problems here. Maybe not fifty-three or seventy-five or however many Persian monkeys he has, but I can definitely point to at least five things that keep this stage version one jump behind its cinematic counterpart.

The World Premiere of What I (Don't) Know About Autism makes history tonight, Tuesday 4th of February, as the first-ever 'relaxed performance' staged at Ireland's National Theatre.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced today the lineup of productions and cabaret performances for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, featuring students from A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program and Young Conservatory (YC). Single tickets for all productions and cabaret performances are on sale now by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or online at act-sf.org/csvshows. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

Jordan Mackampa just shared “Magic,” the latest single from his upcoming debut full length album Foreigner, out March 13 via AWAL. The album sees Jordan scaling fresh heights, adding sumptuous strings, gospel backing vocals and grime influences to his contemporary soul fused with his Congolese roots. Regarding “Magic”--which premiered on Los Angeles tastemaker radio station KCRW--Jordan notes, “This is a bossa nova and samba-infused feel good kinda track about when you can't get someone off your mind.

Brooklyn-based duo, argonaut&wasp, have returned with their first release of 2020, a new single titled 'TVS.' The track is out now with +1 Records.

In their continued and laudable feat of presenting diverse voices in theater, Orange County's South Coast Repertory is currently staging another stirring new drama, this time from playwright Donja R. Love entitled FIREFLIES, which continues performances through January 26, 2020 in Costa Mesa under the admirable direction of Lou Bellamy. At times heartbreaking and devastating, but ultimately empowering and (slightly) hopeful for future generations, FIREFLIES is a must-watch drama with searing emotions and real-world importance, highlighted by powerful performances from its two talented leads.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a starry Beckett revival to Tom Stoppard and magical mishaps, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews, interviews and features!

Rorschach Theatre's first musical follows Melvin Ferd the Third, who wants to clean up Tromaville, the most polluted town in New Jersey (just off Exit 13B on the Turnpike). Foiled by the mayor's bullies, Melvin is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey's first superhero. Affectionately known as Toxie, our new hero is a seven-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. He's out to save New Jersey, end global warming, woo the blind librarian in town, and save the world.

2020 is already shaping up to be an incredible year of theatre. Here are some of our picks for the best new London shows to see in the new year. Some shows are already running, some start before Christmas, and some are already on sale, so you can get booking before ringing in 2020.

Casting is set for Studio Theatre's production of Pipeline, playwright Dominique Morisseau's searing drama about the school-to-prison pipeline and a mother desperately trying to keep her son from becoming ensnared in it. The production runs January 15-February 16, 2020 and is directed by Awoye Timpo. Starring are DC theatre favorite Justin Weaks (Studio's Curve of Departure) as high school student Omari and Andrea Harris Smith making her Studio debut as his mother, public school teacher Nya. In its recent People Issue, Washington City Paper's called Weaks a 'standout,' going on to say: 'D.C. theater audiences love Justin Weaks. ...Weaks came to D.C. for a job about four years ago, not expecting to stay. But he kept getting cast in shows, and lucky for local theatergoers, he's still here.'

Disney's Aladdin is flying into East Lansing from December 4th through 15th at the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts. The hit musical, based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, has been amazing audiences since the show's Broadway debut back in 2014. It has the music that we all know and love from the film and new songs that add to the Disney magic. a?oeMagical, romantic, surprising, exhilarating and funny,a?? is how Jonathan Weir, who plays Jafar the villain on the tour, described the show. a?oeIt's a fantastical story of a young man's adventure to become himself, the friendship he creates with a genie in a lamp, and the adventures and romance it unfolds.a?? Read more of BroadwayWorld Detroit's conversation with Jonathan Weir below to find out why he thinks Disney's Aladdin is special and if Jafar is really all that villainous!

Pure magic are the two words I would use to describe The Boy in the Dress. Appearing for the first time on stage, David Walliams' book has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. Most recently the BBC adapted it for screen, which went down very well and ensured that the story reached even more people. Now, it is the RSC and Mark Ravenhill's turn to bring it to life, under the direction of the venue's Artistic Director Gregory Doran. It's an adventurous challenge and clearly there has been no expense spared to ensure that the musical remains as authentic to its origins as possible.

The Los Angeles based alt-indie band Run River North will kick off the new year with a US tour, starting locally in Santa Ana, CA (Constellation Room on January 14), and taking them full circle to close the run in Los Angeles at The Lodge Room on February 22.  The tour is to support the recently released EP Monsters Calling Home, Vol. 2, which includes their biggest, boldest, best song to date, “Wake Up.”