Jenna Russell Archives - North West End UK

17Feb

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Steve – Seven Dials Playhouse

The newly refurbished Tristan Bates Theatre (now renamed Seven Dials Playhouse) is the perfect setting for this play in which the first scene takes place in a Joe Allen restaurant, and the New York bar setting of the theatre compliments this perfectly. The writer Mark Gerrard has (rather annoyingly) called three of the characters similar names, Stephen (Joe Aaron Reid), Steven (David Ames), and their son Stevie, who we do not see, but who is talked about extensively. The annoying aspect is that it does take some time to understand who is who at the outset, so some of the nuances of the first scene may be lost as you figure out which Steven/Stephen/Stevie, they are talking about. Five old friends meet at Joe Allen’s to celebrate Steven’s birthday, Carrie (Jenna Russel...

1Nov

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Spotlight on Jenna Russell

Olivier Award winner Jenna Russell is due to take to the stage at Cadogan Hall in her first large scale solo show in a few days’ time. We were interested to hear how Jenna is preparing for her new adventure. Follow this link to book tickets to the show at Cadogan Hall on the 7th November 2021 at 6.30pm - https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/jenna-russell-live-in-concert-2021/ With such a large repertoire to choose from, how have you selected the songs for the show? I absolutely wanted to have some songs from shows that I have been in and love singing, and songs that have shaped my career, but I also wanted to bring in some comedy because I always think that a really good evening consists of you laughing and hopefully having a little emotional moment at the same time. I’ve really trie...

27Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Piaf – Leeds Playhouse

Imagine if instead of Beyonce the world’s biggest female star was a foul-mouthed Parisian street urchin who was blessed with a golden voice that lifted her out of the slums to global fame. That’s the story of Edith Piaf – aka The Little Sparrow – and this raucous revival of Pam Gems’ musical biography pulls no punches telling the tale of a damaged woman who flew high before crashing back to earth as like Lady Day she was totally unequipped for the price of fame. If anything, Gems tries too hard to pack in too much of Piaf’s rich life, overegging her rough beginnings, and the second half feels a touch padded. This is not an evening for the faint hearted as the C bomb is dropped a couple of times, among an impressive array of expletives, drawing gasps from some of the more genteel ...

Strong cast announced for Piaf at Leeds Playhouse

4Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Strong cast announced for Piaf at Leeds Playhouse

A year later than originally intended Leeds Playhouse has announced a strong cast for Piaf telling the extraordinary life story of the world-renowned chanteuse. Tony-nominated and Olivier Award-winning actress Jenna Russell will play the troubled French singing legend, with Sally Ann Triplett now confirmed alongside her in the role of Toine, who was Piaf’s close friend and trusted confidante. Russell and Triplett are friends themselves but have not performed together since the original West End production of Sondheim’s Follies 30 years ago. Olivier Award-nominated actress Laura Pitt-Pulford will play Marlene Dietrich and Garry Robson takes the role of Louis Leplee, the nightclub owner who discovered Piaf. Louis Gaunt will play ...

Leeds Playhouse announce summer season and their big festive show

30Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Leeds Playhouse announce summer season and their big festive show

As part of its 50th anniversary year Leeds Playhouse has announced a bold summer season and Wendy & Peter Pan will be the theatre’s now traditional festive blockbuster. The festive are now part of the city’s winter theatrical experience and this year family audiences are off to Neverland with Ella Hickson’s Wendy & Peter Pan. This adaptation of the J M Barrie classic uniquely retells the story from the viewpoint of Wendy Darling, with plenty of flying, laughs and even some Japanese video anime artistry blended with a reinvigorated classic British story. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be returning to Wendy & Peter Pan,” said co-director Jonathan Munby. “The new version will be created by an international team of artists including those from the UK and Japan. I’m overjoyed to...

Welcome to the Café – The Theatre Channel

20Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Welcome to the Café – The Theatre Channel

At the beginning of October in 2020, The Theatre Café released the first episode of their new series, The Theatre Channel, presented by Adam Blanshay Productions. Rallying together some of the West End’s top performers, viewers are treated to fantastically produced musical numbers directed by Bill Deamer. Each episode has its own unique theme, and so fittingly, the first one introduces and welcomes us to the café itself. Opening with ‘Coffee (In a Cardboard Cup)’ from And the World Goes Round, featuring series regulars ‘The Café Four’ (Alyn Hawke, Emily Langham, Sadie-Jean Shirley and Alex Woodward), we instantly get a taste for the energetic, perfected and stagey songs we’re in for. Deamer also lends his tight, upbeat choreography to the series, and it’s evident in this fun first numb...

13Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Title of Show – London Coliseum Online

This one-act musical, by Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen, is a musical about writing a musical. Yes, that’s right. Title of Show follows two writers in their quest to create “an original musical”. The complications, arguments and struggles are all aired out in this performance piece with a difference. It’s an ingenious concept. The action is constantly twisting and turning in this show within a show. It’s a complete musical with catchy numbers but also a work-in-progress where a song may be interrupted half-way through to be cut. Obviously with a lot more moments like this, it’s also a comedy. And it does offer a lot of laughs. “Four chairs and a keyboard does not a musical make” says one critic of the show… within the show. This performance proves that you can put on a musical with just...