It's all change in theatreland at the moment! On Wednesday I saw We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre for the final time. The Queen musical has divided opinions throughout its twelve year West End run (which ends on Saturday 31st May 2014) and this certainly isn't the last we'll see of it! (Plus there could be a sequel on the way...)
Love it or hate it, We Will Rock You is an extremely important piece of theatre as it has attracted new audiences to the West End for over a decade. There are so many people who would rather stick pins in their eyes than sit through an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, but have seen We Will Rock You countless times.
The musical has been kept alive for all these years by its tremendous casts, and the final company couldn't be stronger. Oliver Tompsett is by far my all-time favourite Galileo, there aren't words to describe his unbelievably incredible vocal talents. It's also nice to see someone bring something new and refreshing to the role.
It was great to finally see Katie Paine blow the roof off the Dominion Theatre as Killer Queen. Amanda Coutts was sensational, with her emotionally stunning rendition of 'No-One But You' providing the highlight of the evening. She stars opposite Rolan Bell as Brit who also gave a huge stand out performance; his vocals during 'I Want It All' were incredible!
Oliver as Galileo in We Will Rock You
The entire cast, including Kevin Kennedy as Pop, Alasdair Harvey as Khashoggi, and Rachael Wooding as Scaramouche and the hard-working ensemble, gave their all and brought the entire audience to their feet before the performance had even ended. After 31st May the West End will not be the same!
Whilst I'm on the topic of show closures, last week I went to the final night of I Can't Sing at the London Palladium. Despite not liking Harry Hill and Steve Brown's musical (and standing by my three star review) I wanted to see the production one final time as the cast were all so strong and it's unlikely we'll ever have another chance to see I Can't Sing again (unless the Union revive it in fifty years!).
The atmosphere was electric inside the Palladium and the cast were certainly given the big send off they deserved. The company were emotional, but ensured they went out with a bang. The ad-libbing was hysterical, with Simon Lipkin on particularly fine form. "What are they going to do? Fire me?" he said as he ad-libbed the night away.
Harry Hill and Steve Brown both made heartfelt speeches after the bows. Brown explained that Simon Cowell wanted to be there, however he was having his hair dry-cleaned. I Can't Sing certainly had everyone talking - which can only be a good thing - and let's hope other producers can learn from the musical's mistakes.
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| Kelli O'Hara & Steven Pasquale in The Bridges of Madison County |
It's so important that new shows, particularly musicals, are given time to find their audience. Writers need to be able to tweak and fine tune a piece after discovering audience reactions - a three week intense preview period is not enough to perfect a show.
Before seeing We Will Rock You on Wednesday I caught a matinee of the UK touring production of Cats at the New Wimbledon Theatre to see the new cast who had joined two days earlier. It was amazing to see so many familiar faces giving knock out performances. Andrew Lloyd Webber and T. S. Eliot's musical is in fine shape and Gillian Lynne's choreography is still extraordinarily impressive.
Finally, as I write this one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen is playing its final performance on Broadway. Jason Robert Brown's stunning musical The Bridges of Madison County certainly should not be closing, in my eyes it was near perfect. I can't recommend the cast recording highly enough and we can only hope and pray the show finds its way to London as soon as possible (it would be perfect for the Menier or Donmar ahead of a West End transfer). Click here to read my five star review of the Broadway production.
Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Photo Credit 2: Joan Marcus
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