The Wizard of Oz, Flashdance, Stephen Fry, Ian Richardson, Matthew Fox... it's all happening this week!
Phew, another busy week in theatre with Flashdance closing, the casting of Matthew Fox in Neil LaBute's new play and more news featuring Stephen Fry and The Wizard of Oz.
Ding dong, the wicked chick-flick's dead
The reign of chick-flicks adapted to musicals is over! Flashdance The Musical has posted it's closing notices for January 15th – anyone who has bought a ticket for a later date is advised to contract the ticket provider. Whether it was the lukewarm reviews or the public losing interest in unoriginal musicals that try to leech off successful films remains to be seen, but the writers of Ghost The Musical, opening next year, must be quaking in their boots.
Also closing on January 15th will be The Young Vic's The Glass Menagerie after a two week extension of their run. An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville Theatre has also been extended and will now run until 26th February.
Ding dong, the Witch is cast
The rumours that Hannah Waddingham will play the Wicked Witch of the West in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's production of The Wizard of Oz have been confirmed. Also confirmed are Olivier nominated Paul Keating (Little Shop of Horrors, Tick...Tick...BOOM!) as the Scarecrow, Edward Baker-Duly (Gone With The Wind, West Side Story) as the Tin Man and David Ganly (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Chicago) as the Cowardly Lion. They will join Over the Rainbow winner Danielle Hope and Michael Crawford, who will play the Wizard.
Whilst Spoonfed isn't easily influenced by a pretty face, the three-day-stubbled chin of Matthew Fox might just be the one to do it for us. Fox, more commonly known as the good doctor Jack in Lost, will be appearing next year in a new Neil LaBute play, In A Forest, Deep and Dark. Along with L'Oreal's most moisturised face, Olivia Williams will also star.
Ding dong, the dead live on
The Royal Shakespeare Company may have acquired themselves an unscripted ghost – the ashes of Ian Richardson, who died in 2007, were placed in the concrete of the foundation of their new theatre, which opened this week. The ashes of the well respected actor, still in their container, are slap bang in the middle of row A. His son Miles said, “my father will be on the front row for every future performance and just where he liked to be, centre stage. And, if you are sitting in row A, you will not be alone.” Spooky.
Ding dong Bell
As well as getting into the Christmas spirit by playing God in the one-off charity performance based on the Nativity, Stephen Fry will be featured in the Lyric Hammersmith's Dick Whitington and his Cat. He and his QI friend Alan Davies provide the voices of the two puppets Bow and Bells. Andy Serkis (Gollum in Lord of the Rings) is getting in on the action by providing the voice of Nyame the Sky God in Anansi at the Southwark Playhouse.
Until next time peeps.
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