Friday 29th July 2011 by Will Langdale
A quick pick of what’s hot in the TicketTree.com office
West End shows announce Olympic extensions
With just one year to go until London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, the West End has stepped up to the plate, with several shows announcing booking extensions until December of next year. This means that as millions of people from all over the world come to our nation’s capital, some of the best and brightest theatre that the country has to offer will be on glittering display.
This news comes just as the Society of London Theatre announces a 2% rise in ticket sales for this quarter against the same period last year, good news after a slight slump at the start of the year, although the sector is by no means on firm ground yet. Despite those worries, this is the first time that more than half of shows in the West End have had booking periods of over 15 months in advance. With ticket sales cautiously rising, and hopes for a boost come next year, this is brilliant for the West End as a whole, and for encouraging the production of new and exciting shows.
The full list of extensions (via Whatsonstage.com) includes both shows that have already had very long runs, as well as some relative newbies to the West End. The 39 Steps, Billy Elliot, Blood Brothers, Dreamboats and Petticoats, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, The Mousetrap, Phantom of the Opera, Stomp, Thriller, War Horse, We Will Rock You, Wicked and The Woman in Black will all be extending after runs of several years. Also extending are The Wizard of Oz, Shrek, Million Dollar Quartet and Ghost the Musical, which all opened this year, and Rock of Ages and Matilda the Musical, which have yet to open.
We’ll be updating our site with all the extended dates over the next week, so watch this space!
Shows announcing early closure
Despite this good news, two shows have announced early closure this week. Lend Me a Tenor, at the Gielgud Theatre, will now be closing on August 6th. Despite good reviews from critics, star pulling power with Matthew Kelly, and positive experiences from audiences, the production has sadly failed to sell well. It transferred from the Theatre Royal, Plymouth on June 15th, and was due to run until November 19th.
On the other hand, the slightly less well-received Park Avenue Cat has also announced early closure, also on August 6th. It was previously running until August 20th at the Arts Theatre, and as such has been cut short by two weeks.
Following Park Avenue Cat will be Drama at the Arts from August 31st, but more intriguing is what will fill the space at the Gielgud between Lend Me a Tenor and The Ladykillers in December. We’re extremely excited to find out, and you can be sure to read it here once we know!
Deal of the week
To help you through the school holidays, this week’s deal is for 5% off any Wicked package when you use the code WICKBLOG! This deal will only last for a week, so book now to secure your discount.