The casting of 27-year-old Ben Platt to play a 17-year-old in Dear Evan Hansen is the latest example of a weird trend that shows no sign of abatingBy all accounts, Dear Evan Hansen has plenty of problems to contend with. Transplanted to cinema from its…
‘We didn’t want to do a Grease’: how Everybody’s Talking About Jamie became a film
How do you turn hit musicals like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Dear Evan Hansen into films? You axe songs, throw out plots and don’t worry about anyone’s favourite bitChoosing a stage musical to see right now can feel like browsing the cinema li…
Tantrum of the opera: how Michael Palin’s angry dad inspired new show
Monty Python star has reinvented his play The Weekend as musical theatreTheatres are about to embark on a new “golden age” thanks to the combination of freshly enthused audiences and a drive for new adventurous work, according to Michael Palin.Ahead of…
Cedella Marley: ‘The mission is to spread Daddy’s music to every corner of the Earth’
As a new musical about the life of Bob Marley prepares to celebrate his spirit and classic songs, Marley’s daughter, plus the director and star of Get Up, Stand Up!, discuss his extraordinary legacyCedella Marley was 13 years old when the man she still…
Frozen review – stunning musical extravaganza creates its own magic
Theatre Royal Drury Lane, LondonBeyond the visual thrills and powerful ballads, this adaptation brings an unexpected depth to the relationship between two tortured sisters This musical extravaganza about estranged sisters, an icy kingdom and unharnesse…
Sarah Harding, singer with Girls Aloud, dies aged 39 from breast cancer
Fans and figures from show business pay tribute to pop star who was diagnosed in August 2020 and wrote memoir during her illnessThe pop singer and TV personality Sarah Harding, who had 21 UK Top 10 singles as a member of Girls Aloud, has died aged 39 f…
Let the storm rage on! Frozen hits the West End – in pictures
Take a look behind the scenes and centre stage of the new musical production of Disney’s fairytale favourite as it opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Continue reading…
I’m finally seeing live shows again – and I feel like a kid in a sweetshop
Kitchen discos and archive performances kept us going – but being stuck at home made me pine for a full houseIn the early months of the pandemic, as the survival instinct of the live arts community performed a macabre two-step with the increasingly gri…
Cinderella review – not so much a ball as a blast
Gillian Lynne theatre, LondonBewitching melodies abound as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s terrifically OTT but warm and inclusive musical finally arrivesDelayed by a year because of the pandemic, and with last month’s opening night postponed at the 11th hour, A…
Lina from Lima review – funny, sultry film about a plucky economic migrant
Upending arthouse tropes with musical numbers and lashings of sex, this witty debut about a Peruvian domestic worker refuses to see its heroine as a victimWriter-director María Paz González’s first feature takes a well-worn miserabilist trope out of th…