Rough Magic - - West End Articles Page 16

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.”

Indie pop artist Kayls releases her debut single “Drive Away,” this Friday (11/8) with first listens featured in Ladygunn and Earmilk. The track, produced by female producer Bambor Leany, offers a view into a dark world of shimmering pool lights and 3:00 AM trips in Ferraris and love and heartbreak and muffins, with hard hitting 808s and pop melodies. 

Aoife O'Donovan's In The Magic Hour Solo Sessions, a six-song acoustic EP, is out now. The EP features four songs from In The Magic Hour, a bone-chilling cover of Joni Mitchell's “You Turn Me On (I'm A Radio),” and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's “Nebraska.” Purchase: here.

The original stars of the cult musical PETE N KEELY are reuniting for a run of shows at Birdland. Here, Stephen Mosher talks to the stars about life after Pete N Keely and how it feels to sing together again.

Rough Magic in a co-production with Kilkenny Arts Festival bring a new staging of one of Shakespeare's most romantic comedy dramas, Much Ado About Nothing, on the road this month. This hilarious comedy of gleaming wit and linguistic fervor that gleefully undermines the seriousness of romance, a production which recently premiered at Kilkenny Arts Festival 2019. The play comes to The Everyman, Cork, November 12th and 13th.

Nearly six years after opening on Broadway and 27 years after appearing as a beloved animated Disney film, the national touring cast of the musical ALADDIN soars into the Providence Performing Arts Center. This version of the story contains many callbacks to the original 1992 film, but also adds many new elements, such as new songs, new characters, and even a new spin on the Genie. No matter one's familiarity with the source material, audience goers are in for a flashy and thoroughly entertaining evening, suitable for adults and children alike.

One of the joys of reviewing shows is when I am assigned to critique a production at one of our local schools. It is an opportunity for me to watch actors perform simply for the love of theatre. More times than not, the skill of these young actors and quality of the show will rival that of what you would find at one of our local community theatres. a?oeRough Magic,a?? presented by the Booker High School VPA Theatre Department continues the long-standing tradition of excellence in youth theatre here in Sarasota.

A provocative new festival piece, a premiere Australian work, reimagined international and Australian classics and a post-modern masterpiece that rocks the very foundations of theatre itself are just some of the highlights making up State Theatre Company South Australia's 2020 season, the first program from its new artistic director Mitchell Butel.

At its core, the original production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (and the movie adaptation it spawned) unabashedly celebrated its campy outlandishness. But unlike the original source material which was filled to the brim with sassy sight gags, cartoonish mannerisms, and pulp thrills, this new, gloriously reimagined production---now on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse through October 20, 2019 helmed by director Mike Donahue---feels much more grounded in reality and feels much more guided by the emotions of its characters, rather than have them just play second banana to the monstrous plant of excess vying for all the attention. With this pivoted focus, this incredible new production also now requires a cast of performers that can truly showcase that change---and, wow, did they ever find them in this brilliant ensemble!

Studio Theatre's season-opening production of Doubt: A Parable has been extended a second time, closing October 20, 2019. John Patrick Shanley's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is directed at Studio by Matt Torney and anchored by Studio mainstay Sarah Marshall. She is joined by Christian Conn (Studio Theatre's Venus in Fur) as Father Flynn, Amelia Pedlow as Sister James, and Tiffany M. Thompson as Mrs. Muller.

Neil Patrick Harris may be planning his Broadway return. But this time he won't be taking the stage. According to PureWow, NPH says that his schedule is just too hectic to return to acting on stage at the moment. But, that won't keep him from Broadway!

What do Noah Webster and Aaron Peckham have in common? Some of you had to really think hard, but for the rest of us little known muggles we would instantly recognize the pair as linguists who are well versed on opposite spectrums of the English dictionary. Webster's Dictionary, written by Noah Webster in 1806, is filled with wonderful, diverse words and definitions of American vocabulary but Peckham in 1999 came up with what was eventually to be known as the urban dictionary, an online resource for American slang words which have infiltrated our own pop culture. In addition, another 90's vocabularic author known under the pseudonym J.K. Rowling is best known for her series based on that cute, loveable and lucky guy, Harry Potter. For Mosley Street Melodrama's current olio, Wichita writers Ryan Schafer and Molly Tully wrote a show most likely using these resources to come up with a fresh, new Halloween show for the theatrical company called Harry Squatter and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day.