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Dateline:
22nd September, 2002
Shaftesbury Sound
Problems Solved
The sound problems which forced the closer of the South African musical
Umoja at the Shaftesbury Theatre in Camden have been solved,
the theatre and the council announced last week. An agreement on sound
levels and sound proofing has been reached which "won't diminish
the impact of future shows or disturb local residents," said John
Thane, Camden Council's Executive Member for the Environment.
We Will Rock You
- With Shock!
According to a report in "The Stage", the producers of the
Queen musical We Will Rock You are considering raising ticket
prices again. Currently the top priced seats are £47.50, having
just been put up from £42.50, but now a price of £55, a
new West End record, is seen as a distinct possibility.
The show is already a box office smash hit. It has broken all the Dominion's
box office records and took over £1m in a ten day period during
the summer.
Gentlemen to Close
Art
The League of Gentlemen, the TV comedy trio behind the horrors of Royston
Vasey, will be Art's final cast. Yasmina Reza's comedy hit will
finally close on 4th January, 2003, having been running since 1996.
Isitt Revival to Close
Early
The revival of Debbie Isitt's The
Woman Who Cooked Her Husband at the New Ambassadors is to close
a week early, on 30th November. It opened on 12th September. Reviews
have been mixed but audiences have responded very enthusiastically.
The reason for the closure has been given as the transfer to the New
Ambassadors of the revival of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party (starring
Elizabeth Berrington), which will move in from the Hampstead Theatre
in early December.
It is likely that The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband will transfer
to another theatre.
Eden to Open
in October
After one cancellation, Eugene O'Brien's Eden, a major hit at
Dublin's Abbey Theatre, is at last coming to the West End. It will play
at the Arts Theatre where it was originally scheduled to open in February
this year. It is directed by Conor McPherson.
Arsenic
at the Strand
Joseph Kesselring's classic 1941 comedy Arsenic and Old Lace
(a staple of amateur groups for many, many years) is to be revived at
the Strand in February, opening on 25th, previews from 14th. The cast
will include Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld), Stephen
Tompkinson, Thelma Barlow and Marcia Warren.
Cats
On Tour Again
Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's show based on T.S. Eliot's Old
Possum's Book of Practical Cats, is to begin a national tour on
15th February, 2003. Opening at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, it will
then visit Manchester, Wolverhampton, Sunderland, Edinburgh and Belfast,
with further dates to be confirmed later. The tour is due to end on
28th June.
Cats finished its record breaking run in the West End on 11th
May this year, its 25th birthday.
They're Still Not
Finished Our House!
In a development which most home-owners will understand and sympathise
with, Our House, the musical based on the music of pop band Madness,
will not open on time. It appears the set builders have not yet finished
their work, so the first two previews have been cancelled. These were
on 2nd and 3rd October. The actual opening should not be affecetd, a
spokesperson said.
Elton to Write Another
Pop Musical
Ben Elton may write another musical based on the work of a pop singer.
This time it's Rod Stewart who is to get the Elton treatment. No details
are known, other than that negotiations are at an advanced stage.
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