All stories by Mark Shenton on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Mark Shenton: Do theatre shows need ‘trigger warnings’? by Mark Shenton

Theatre is a place of comfort and pleasure, but sometimes it is also a place where we go to be taken out

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The Sorrows of Satan review at Tristan Bates Theatre, London – ‘fun new chamber musical’ by Mark Shenton

It is often said that the devil gets all the best tunes. In Luke Bateman and Michael Conley’s modest but accomplished new

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:18PM

Gary Barlow’s The Girls review at Phoenix Theatre, London – ‘sheer joy’ by Mark Shenton

“Find the rules you knew and break them, / Find the roads you knew, don’t take them,” goes a line in Dare,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00PM

U.K. Premiere of Lizzie, Starring Eden Espinosa, Begins London Performances Feb. 22 by Mark Shenton

The new rock musical that comes to London via Denmark kicks off its run in Greenwich.

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:39PM

Olivier-Winning Musical Honk! to Receive 20th Anniversary London Revival by Mark Shenton

New actor-musician version will feature puppetry, illusions, and water guns.

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:34PM

All-Female Version of Posh to Star Game of Thrones’ Hannah Murray by Mark Shenton

Originally seen at the Royal Court in 2010 and subsequently filmed as The Riot Club, Laura Wade’s play returns in a new production.

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:53AM

The Crucible review at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch – ‘timely and timeless’ by Mark Shenton

Famously written as an allegory for the McCarthy era witch hunts against perceived Communists in America, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible now stands

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:02AM
Monday, February 20, 2017

The Wild Party review at the Other Palace, London – ‘sizzling and sensational’ by Mark Shenton

The Other Palace, formerly London’s St James Theatre, is holding a wild, wild party to mark its relaunch. Under the ownership of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:00PM

Casting Announced for New U.K. Tour of Jane Eyre by Mark Shenton

The co-production between the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic Theatre will star Nadia Clifford and Tim Delap.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:08PM

Mark Shenton’s week: Not all shows get the West End transfers they deserve by Mark Shenton

Much is made these days of our isolated social bubbles. So I wasn’t surprised to be contacted, independently, by two prominent London

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Saturday, February 18, 2017

What’s Hot in London: Feb. 18–24 by Mark Shenton

New management at Chichester, farewell to a landmark London theatre bookshop, and the latest casting news.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, February 17, 2017

Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre to Feature Alan Ayckbourn World Premiere by Mark Shenton

Ayckbourn’s 1979 play Taking Steps will also be revived.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:42PM

First London Performance for Andrew Scott's Hamlet Is Canceled by Mark Shenton

Performances will now begin at the Almeida Theatre February 18

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:10PM

London's 187-Year-Old Samuel French Bookshop to Shutter by Mark Shenton

But theatre readers can still purchase books and plays online.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:09PM

Mark Shenton’s top 10 orchestrators and musical directors by Mark Shenton

When you watch a musical, a big part of the aural experience is the work done on the sound of it. That’s not

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Thursday, February 16, 2017

Edward Fox to Bring Solo Play About John Betjeman to West End by Mark Shenton

Hugh Whitemore's play will run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket May 30–June 3

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:37AM

West End Stars to Headline The Sound of Musicals U.K. Concert by Mark Shenton

The line-up of vocalists feature Samantha Barks, Tim Howar, Oliver Tompsett, and Hannah Waddingham

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:35AM

Tim Firth: ‘Musicals are the best and worst of what theatre can be’ by Mark Shenton

The people we meet early on in our lives often remain close to us, both personally and professionally. It says a lot

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:00AM

Annie to Return to the West End, Starring Miranda Hart as Miss Hannigan by Mark Shenton

The production arrives in the 40th anniversary year of the show’s original Broadway premiere.

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:39AM

2017 Chichester Festival Theatre Season Includes Marcia Gay Harden and Ian McKellen by Mark Shenton

Inaugural season of new artistic director Daniel Evans will also include new plays by James Graham and Deborah Bruce.

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:15AM

Denzel Washington: ‘Before Hollywood, I was a theatre snob’ by Mark Shenton

Denzel Washington cuts a serious figure as he sits opposite me, as we meet as part of a packed London press junket to

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:00AM

Mark Shenton: From famine to feast in London’s theatre calendar by Mark Shenton

After the excesses of the Christmas season, hearty drinkers sometimes declare the following month to be ‘dry January’, where they self-impose temporary

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Wedding Singer review at Curve, Leicester – ‘appealingly retro’ by Mark Shenton

Even the title promises songs: adapting the 1997 film The Wedding Singer was a natural fit for a Broadway musical. And so

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:08AM

Mark Shenton: How to be the New York Times’ next theatre critic by Mark Shenton

Last week, the New York Times laid off its second-string full-time theatre critic, Charles Isherwood, who, since 2004, has covered the theatrical

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Samantha Barks and Arthur Darvill to Star in Honeymoon in Vegas U.K. Concert Premiere by Mark Shenton

The March 12 performance at the London Palladium will be conducted by composer Jason Robert Brown.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:39PM

London Hamlet, Starring Andrew Scott, to Offer Five Free Performances to Those Under 25 by Mark Shenton

Hamlet for Free festival will also include a discussion with Game of Thrones actor Jacob Anderson.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:07AM

Film review: Disney’s Newsies – The Broadway Musical – ‘refuses to slow down’ by Mark Shenton

The live action Disney movie musical Newsies famously flopped on its initial release in 1992, though later it acquired a cult following

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:42AM
Monday, February 13, 2017

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie review at Sheffield Crucible – ‘power and poignancy’ by Mark Shenton

Everybody should soon be talking about Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. This new British musical is by turns courageous and outrageous. Inspired by

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:21PM

Bill Rosenfield's 46 Beacon to Transfer to London’s Trafalgar Studios 2 by Mark Shenton

The London-based playwright also writes the annual Drama Desk Awards and was formerly a producer of Broadway cast albums.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:21AM

Full Casting Announced for West End Transfer of RSC’s Queen Anne by Mark Shenton

Helen Edmundson’s play stars Romola Garai and Emma Cunniffe.

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:20AM

Eve Best Will Star in Trevor Nunn-Directed Revival of Love in Idleness by Mark Shenton

The Menier Chocolate Factory revival will also feature Anthony Head and Helen George.

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:15AM