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Tag Archives: tap
42nd Street, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
The curtain rises just high enough to reveal a long line of tapping feet: a thoroughly appropriate intro, as those feet are the real stars of the show. The plot might centre around a leading lady battle, but this loving … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged 42nd Street, broadway, broadwayworld, chorus, clare halse, dancing, london, musical, review, sheena easton, singing, tap, theatre, theatre royal drury lane, tom lister, west end
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Stepping Out, Vaudeville Theatre
Never mind Stepping Out – the real wonder of this production is Anna-Jane Casey stepping in for the injured Tamzin Outhwaite at such short notice. It’s a plot twist worthy of the backstage shenanigans in Richard Harris’s genial 1984 play … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged amanda holden, anna-jane casey, broadwayworld, class, comedy, dance, dancing, eighties, london, maria friedman, play, review, richard harris, stepping out, strictly, strictly come dancing, tap, theatre, tracy-ann oberman, vaudeville theatre, west end
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead leads March’s Top 10 new London shows
From starry Stoppard and Marber revivals to toe-tapping musicals and Elena Ferrante on stage. Read my full BroadwayWorld article here
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged amanda holden, an american in paris, arts theatre, ballet, book tickets, brexit, broadwayworld, dance, dancing, daniel radcliffe, david tennant, dominion theatre, don juan in soho, elena ferrante, garrick theatre, ian hislop, kate fleetwood, lee mead, london, lyric hammersmith, march, my brilliant friend, my country, national theare, old vic, rose theatre kingston, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, seventeen, stepping out, tap, the miser, the wipers times, theatre, tom stoppard, top 10, ugly lies the bone, vaudeville theatre, west end, wyndhams theatre
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Talking tap on Mark Forrest’s show
I joined Mark Forrest on his BBC radio show to talk La La Land and the tap revival. Click here to listen to the interview (I’m on at about 2hr 42min)
Posted in Dance, Film, Journalism, Theatre
Tagged 42nd Street, an american in paris, bbc, class, dance, dancing, emma stone, interview, la la land, learn, mark forrest, musical, on the town, radio, ryan gosling, stepping out, tap, tap dance, theatre, west end
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Branagh is assured but lacks true desperation
Brexit-ish rants, generational divide, tax dodging and Middle East chaos: the contemporary resonance of John Osborne’s 1957 state-of-the-nation play The Entertainer is almost eerie. Paired with an effective metaphor – the dying days of music hall – it’s a strong closing … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged archie rice, brexit, comedian, comedy, dancing, garrick theatre, greta scacchi, ham and high, john osborne, kenneth branagh, laurence olivier, middle east, music hall, review, singing, suez canal, tap, the entertainer, vaudeville, west end
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The Entertainer, Garrick Theatre
The latest 2016 state-of-the-nation play has arrived – from 1957. There’s the Brexit-ish granddad mired in corrosive nostalgia, the forward-looking granddaughter joining anti-establishment protests in Trafalgar Square, tax dodging, a crisis of British identity, and chaos in the Middle East. … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged archie rice, brexit, broadwayworld, comedian, comedy, dancing, garrick theatre, greta scacchi, john osborne, kenneth branagh, laurence olivier, middle east, music hall, review, singing, suez canal, tap, the entertainer, vaudeville, west end
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Xanadu, Southwark Playhouse
It trashed Olivia Newton-John’s film career, halted the movie-musical revival, and was so critically reviled it led to the creation of the Razzies. How, then, could the stage version of hubristic 1980 flop Xanadu become a 2007 Broadway hit? The answer, … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre
Tagged 1980s, 80s, america, ancient greece, andrew lloyd webber, andrews sisters, art, artist, australian, broadway, california, calliope, camp, christmas, clio, comedy, dancing, disco, drama, eighties, elo, evil woman, festive, film, gene kelly, greek, jazz, jeff lynne, leg warmers, london, mount olympus, movie, muse, musical, Nathan M Wright, olivia newton-john, pastiche, physical, play, pop, review, rock, roller skate, rolling skating, satire, singing, skating, southwark playhouse, swing, tap, the arts desk, theartsdesk, theatre, thriller, venice beach, vogue, xanadu, zeus
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A swellegant elegant party
Ten years after beginning his tenure with The Philadelphia Story, departing artistic director Kevin Spacey finishes in grand style with Arthur Kopit’s stage version of High Society, made a fully-fledged musical with the addition of several – tangentially related – … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre
Tagged busby berkeley, cole porter, dance, dance today, dancing, downton abbey, grace kelly, high society, jamie parker, jazz, kate fleetwood, katharine hepburn, Kevin Spacey, love, magazine, maria friedman, marriage, musical, Nathan M Wright, old vic, party, play, review, romance, sing, singing, song, tap, the philadelphia story, theatre, wedding
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theartsdesk Q&A: Choreographer Stephen Mear
From Singin’ in the Rain and Anything Goes to Hello, Dolly! and Mary Poppins, Olivier Award winner Stephen Mear has done more than any other British choreographer to usher classic musicals into the modern era. But adept as he is … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Theatre
Tagged 42nd Street, acorn antiques, adam garcia, anything goes, arlene phillips, ballet, betty blue eyes, bob avian, broadway, busby berkeley, cats, chicago, chichester festival theatre, choreographer, city of angels, crazy for you, dance, dancing, disney, donmar warehouse, drama, english national opera, eno, evita, gershwin, gillian lynne, gypsy, gypsy rose lee, hello dolly, imelda staunton, interview, jerome robbins, jonathan kent, josie rourke, julie walters, kiss me kate, lara pulver, london, mama rose, mary poppins, matthew bourne, musical, national theatre, new york, Oklahoma, old vic, olivier awards, on the town, play, regents park open air, richard eyre, rob marshall, sadlers wells, singin in the rain, steam heat, stephen mear, stephen ward, strictly come dancing, strip, stripper, stripping, striptease, susan stroman, tap, the little mermaid, the pajama game, the producers, theatre, trevor nunn, victoria wood, west end
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Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Dominion Theatre
’Tis the season to be nostalgic, but even the most misty-eyed yuletide reveller will struggle with the sheer volume of syrup in White Christmas – the theatrical equivalent of marinating in cheap eggnog. Based on the 1954 film, a wholesome … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Film, Journalism, Theatre
Tagged aled jones, Bing Crosby, broadway, christmas, dance, dance today, dancing, Danny Kaye, dominion theatre, festive, fred astaire, ginger rogers, irving berlin, london, magazine, musical, review, Rosemary Clooney, scd, seasonal, singing, snow, soldier, song, strictly, strictly come dancing, tap, tom chambers, vermont, war, west end, white christmas
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