Friday 24th June 2011 by Will Langdale
A quick pick of what’s hot in the TicketTree.com office
At the end of Thurs-day...
It’s an époque joyeuse for Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre as Alfie Boe and Matt Lucas join the cast this week as Jean Valjean and Thenardier. After a few days’ closure, last night saw the first performance with the pair and by all accounts it was an absolutely stunning show. Twitter, Facebook and forums are awash with accounts of a tear-jerking Bring Him Home and multiple standing ovations throughout the show.
We’ve been struggling to hold on to tickets for this run for months now, and with Matt Lucas leaving on September 10th and Alfie only continuing until November 26th, there’s precious little time before weekend tickets disappear completely.
Rockin’ on heaven’s door
A rather exciting event we missed in last week’s blog was the full cast announcement of Rock of Ages. Oliver Tompsett and Amy Pemberton will star as Drew and Sherrie, two lovestruck kids on the Sunset Strip in a jukebox musical based around 80s classic rock. West End fans will recognise the pair from several other West End musicals, including Oliver’s long stint in Wicked, and Amy in Jersey Boys. Joining them are X-Factor winner Shayne Ward as rock singer Stacee Jaxx (a role to be played by Tom Cruise in an upcoming film), and the hirsute Bristolian Justin Lee Collins as Dennis Dupree, a struggling nightclub owner.
Love dies, Priscilla rumours and Pygmalion departure
After just under a year and a half at the West End, and weeks after it opened in Melbourne, Love Never Dies has announced early closure at the Adelphi Theatre. Its final performance will be on August 27th. While disappointing, rumoured to be replacing it is the National Theatre’s sellout production of One Man, Two Guvnors – certainly something to look forward to!
Meanwhile, rumour has it that Priscilla Queen of the Desert won’t be lasting into the new year at the Palace Theatre. Tweets reported by Whatsonstage.com reveal that although the producers have informed the cast of the likely closure, “no formal notice has been given”.
Finally, Rupert Everett is leaving Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre due to TV commitments. Replacing him on August 15th will be Alistair McGowan, best known for The Big Impression alongside Ronni Ancona, but who has an impressive list of dramatic credits under his belt.
Deal of the week
See it while it’s still around! Just for those of you who read This Week in the West End, this week we’ve got an exclusive 5% off on all Love Never Dies packages. Book your package in the next week using the code LNDBLOG on the payment page to get your money off. Offer available both online and over the phone.