Stagey Catch Up: Samantha Barks reveals support act, Alex Gaumond's new role & Christina Bianco's tour dates

Here are some stagey stories to keep you up to date with theatreland!

Alex James Ellison to support Samantha Barks

Renowned singer-songwriter and theatre performer Alex James Ellison will support Samantha Barks on her upcoming UK tour. James Ellison, whose credits include Aliens Love Underpants and Aparment 40C, previously released his EP Duvet Days and single 'Chocolate Bar'. Barks' solo tour begins on 8th June at the Theatre Royal Norwich before visiting Bromley, Swansea, Horsham, Liverpool, Shoreditch, Guildford, Richmond, Lancaster Grand and St Andrews.

Alex Gaumond to star in The Trial of Jane Fonda

West End regular Alex Gaumond will star as Larry Bonk in The Trial of Jane Fonda at the Park Theatre. Directed by Joe Harmston, performances begin at Park200 on 13th July. As previously announced, Anne Archer returns to the UK to star as Jane Fonda, with the cast also including Christien Anholt  as Buzzy Banks, Martin Fisher as Reverend John Clarke, Paul Herzberg as Joe Celano, Ako Mitchell as Reggie Wells and Mark Rose as Tommy Lee Cook.

Julie Atherton announces special guests for Crazy Coqs residency

West End leading lady and queen of new musical theatre writing Julie Atherton has announced special guests for her upcoming residency at Crazy Coqs between 16th and 20th February 2016.

Marking her Crazy Coqs debut, Atherton will perform songs from her albums and shows she has starred in alongside some new material. 

Guests will include 2015 Olivier winners Katie Brayben and George Maguire, Atherton's former Avenue Q co-star Paul Spicer as well as Laura Pitt-Pulford and Alex Gaumond. Check out the full schedule below.

Review: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Reviewed on Thursday 23rd July 2015
★★★★

Picture this - you're out and about minding your own business, start chatting to a guy and end up marrying him a few hours later. It's all going swimmingly until you move into his house and discover he has six brothers and only married you because he needs someone to do the cooking and cleaning.

Rehearsal images released for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Rehearsal images have been released for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which opens at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre on 23rd July (previews from 16th July) and runs until 29th August. Check out the images below (click picture to enlarge).

Alex Gaumond and Laura Pitt-Pulford star as Adam and Milly, with the cast being completed by: Rosanna Bates, David Burrows, Angela Caesar, Matthew Clark, Leon Cooke, Eammon Cox, Jacob Fisher, Charlene Ford, Steve Fortune, Trevor Michael Georges, Bob Harms, Bethany Huckle, Frankie Jenna, James Leece, Phillip Marriot, Dylan Mason, Natasha Mould, Peter Nash, Sam O’Rourke, Ryan Pidgen, Adam Rhys-Charles, Karli Vale, Annie Wensak, Ed White and Emma Woods.

Alex Gaumond joins Bryn Terfel & Emma Thompson in Sweeney Todd

Alex Gaumond has announced that he will play Beadle Bamford in Lonny Price's production of Sweeney Todd at the London Coliseum. 

He joins a stellar cast including Bryn Terfel as Sweeney, Emma Thompson as Mrs Lovett, John Owen-Jones as Pirelli and Philip Quast as Judge Turpin.

This production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical thriller marks the first production in a major new long term partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. 

GOSSIP: Sheridan Smith, Alex Gaumond & Jerry Mitchell reunite for Easter Parade workshop?

Sheridan Smith & Alex Gaumond in Legally Blonde

According to the Daily Mail, Sheridan Smith is in discussions to star in a workshop of Easter Parade by Irving Berlin. 

Jerry Mitchell will direct the workshop which is being produced by ATG. Alex Gaumond will also star in the workshop. He previously starred alongside Sheridan Smith in  Jerry Mitchell's production of Legally Blonde. 

Review: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 
Savoy Theatre

Reviewed on Tuesday 18th November 2014

★★★★

It just keeps getting better and better! I loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when it first opened, but eight months later it is slicker and funnier than ever. Set in the French Riviera, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels follows two conmen as they go head to head to pull off their biggest con, whilst fighting for the affections of millionaire soap heiress Christine Colgate.

Alex Gaumond replaces Rufus Hound in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

It has been confirmed that Rufus Hound has left the West End production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and will be replaced by Alex Gaumond.

Gaumond begins performances as Freddy Benson at the Savoy Theatre from Tuesday 11th November 2014, joining Robert Lindsay, Katherine Kingsley, Bonnie Langford and Gary Wilmot. The Daily Mail reports various reasons for Hound's exit. He is apparently filming a movie in Scotland and could have left the show following disagreements with Lindsay. 

Alex Gaumond most recently starred as Miss Trunchbull in the West End production of Matilda. He previously worked with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell when he starred in Legally Blonde. His West End credits also include We Will Rock You and Top Hat.

Matilda extends to December 2014

It has been announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical has extended its West End run at the Cambridge Theatre until 31st December 2014, with over 300,000 tickets going on sale.

Over one million people have seen Matilda since it opened at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon Avon in November 2010. The West End production has won a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards while the Broadway production recently won four Tony Awards.

Alex Gaumond recently joined the cast as Miss Trunchbull. He is joined by James Clyde and Kay Murphy as Mr and Mrs Wormwood and Haley Flaherty who continues in the role of Miss Honey. 

The current adult cast includes: Fabian Aloise, Joseph Davenport, Mike Denman, Lara Denning, Juliet Gough, Madeleine Harland, Antony Lawrence, Joshua Lay, Katie Lee, Antonio Magro, Gary Murphy, Lisa Davina Phillip, David Rudin, Tommy Sherlock, Hollie Taylor, Amy Thornton and Joshua Wyatt.

Alex Gaumond & Kay Murphy joining the West End production of Matilda!

It has been announced that Olivier Award nominated Canadian actor Alex Gaumond will join the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company's critically acclaimed production of Matilda The Musical to play Miss Trunchbull.

Kay Murphy will also join the cast to play Mrs Wormwood from 3rd September 2013. Haley Flaherty will continue in the role of Miss Honey until 7th September 2014. Further casting will be announced soon.

Matilda recently transferred to Broadway and last night collected the awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Gabriel Ebert as Mr Wormwood), Best Book of a Musical (Dennis Kelly), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Rob Howell) and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Hugh Vanstone) at the Tony Awards.

Olivier Awards 2013: Theatre stars storm the red carpet

Take a look at the stars as they arrived at the Royal Opera House for the 2013 Olivier Awards. Click on image to enlarge.

 Idina Menzel (left) performed while Alex Gaumond (right) stars in Top Hat which won Best New Musical.

 Imelda Staunton (left) won Best Actress in a Musical and James McAvoy (right) was nominated for Best Actor

Kristen Beth Williams, Alex Gaumond & Clive Hayward to join cast of Top Hat

From 5th February 2013, joining the previously announced Gavin Lee who will play Jerry Travers in the West End hit musical Top Hat are Broadway actress Kristen Beth Williams as Dale Tremont, Olivier award nominee Alex Gaumond as Alberto Beddini and Clive Hayward as Horace Hardwick. Vivien Parry continues as Madge Hardwick and Stephen Boswell as Horace's valet Bates. In addition, on 28th January 2013, over 275,0000 tickets will be released for sale taking bookings for Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre to 27th April 2014.

Superstar Gossip: Contestants banned from drinking alcohol

According to The Sun Newspaper (so it's up to you weather you want to believe it or not), the remaining contestants on ITV's Superstar have been hit with an alcohol ban for the remainder of the show.

The wannabe musical stars have allegedly been over-indulging in after-show drinking, with some turning up to rehearsals the next day with hangovers. Apart from David Hunter who doesn't drink. An apparent 'insider' said "Some of them have been whingeing that they are being worked too hard on the nightly series and were hitting the bottle to relax, but this is not on."

Everything you need to know about West End Live 2012

This years West End Live will take place in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of June. As usual all the top West End Musicals will be performing including the casts of Top Hat, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd, Singin' In The Rain, Phantom Of The Opera, Les Mis, Ghost, We Will Rock You, Shrek, Matilda and Blood Brothers just to name a few.

Presented by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre in association with MasterCard, West End LIVE showcases the quality and diversity of entertainment on offer in the heart of London, promoting the West End as an exciting venue for all the family – all live, all for free in the iconic setting of Trafalgar Square.

As well as featuring showcase performances from every West End musical there will also be performances from live bands and a wonderful array of interactive exhibits from many of London’s top museums, galleries and cultural institutions – West End LIVE is a unique event that has grown to become a hugely popular fixture in London’s entertainment calendar .

Where: Trafalgar Square
When: Saturday 23 – Sunday 24 June
Cost: Free Entry
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square/Charing Cross/Embankment

There will also be exciting performances from West End Stars who are currently promoting new albums and singles. Louise Dearman will be performing songs from her latest album 'Here Comes The Sun' which we recently reviewed, giving a 5 star rating. Mark Evans will be performing songs from the upcoming English version of his debut album 'The Journey Home'. They will be joined by Alex Gaumond who will perform his new single entitled 'Here I Am'

Finally there will also be special performances from the new concept musical 'The In-Bewtween'. Perfoming the new music from this show are West End Stars Sabrina Aloueche, Hannah Jane Fox, Scott Garnham and Lauren Samuels. Click here to read our full article about The In-Between's performances at West End Live.

Here is the full schedule for West End Live 2012. For more information visit http://www.westendlive.co.uk/

Review: The Sunshine Boys at The Savoy Theatre

The Sunshine Boys

The Savoy Theatre

Performance: 1st May 2012

Walking down the Strand to my favourite theatre in the West End, The Savoy, I began to feel sad I wasn't on my way to see Legally Blonde. As I took my seat I had to continuously remind myself that Sheridan Smith was not about to rise up onto the stage and belt out 'Oh my god you guys'. However as soon as The Sunshine Boys began I completely forgot about Sheridan Smith and fell in love with the incredible Danny  DeVito and the work of Neil Simon.

The play is incredibly funny and has a great mix of verbal and physical comedy. Richard Griffiths looks like a great big monster when stood next to Danny DeVito whose performance is so natural that you forget he's acting. He has the gift of comic timing and builds up a special relationship with the audience. 

Richard Griffiths however is disappointing as Al Lewis. There was so much talk about his character before his entrance so I was getting excited however when he entered during the second act I was shocked. He seemed like he was struggling to get through the show and his accent was shocking! He started with an american accent but it kept on slipping and sounding English! It wasn't even like he took time to get into it as his accent was consistently terrible throughout the performance which you just don't expect. Although he did make me laugh after the bows when he signalled for the audience to go home and go to bed. I'm not saying he is a bad actor as he has clearly had a respectable career, I just felt like this part is not suited to him.

I loved the way that the characters were each introduced slowly. This kept the show fresh and made the storyline easy to follow. The set was impressive however between the 3rd and 4th act I thought it was unacceptable to just leave the audience in darkness listening the the same sketch they had just seen moments before. They should have at least put a screen down so the audience had something to watch or used some of the underused actors in a little sketch in front of the curtain. 

Adam Levy gave a strong performance and had great chemistry with Danny DeVito. I could imagine Alex Gaumond playing that role. Rebecca Blackstone, Nicholas Blakeley, Peter Cadden, William Maxwell and especially Johnnie Fiori gave great performances although were incredibly underused! I wanted to see more of them!!

So if it wasn't for Richard Griffiths' performance, the audience being left in darkness for an extended duration of time and the 4th act being too slow paced I would have definitely given this play a 5 star rating. However I should point out that I did see the show while it was in previews so all of these things could be fixed over time. I would go and see it if you want a good, light hearted night out at the theatre. It has something in it for all ages (although I would not recommend it for children) and will make anyone laugh. You don't have long to see it as the play finishes at the Savoy on 28th July 2012. Head to http://www.sunshineboystheplay.com/ to find out more and to book tickets. TKTS also seems to normally have tickets at a reasonable price.