Dan Partridge Archives - North West End UK

8Sep

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Waitress – Liverpool Empire

The diner doors are open and excitement is served, as Liverpool Empire welcomes the UK tour of Waitress. And this particular audience got an extra helping of sweetness added to an already superb show. Jenna is an expert pie-baker and waitress, whose dreams of happiness seem a little out of reach. While her friends support her, and a new Doctor in town spices up her love-life, Jenna has to take matters into her own hands; will baking the perfect pie be the solution to her problems? Based on the film by Adrienne Shelley, this musical takes a fantastic score by Sara Bareilles and an inspiring story written by Jessie Nelson and creates a perfectly seasoned piece. (Yes, there are more baking puns to come) This evening, Ellie Ruiz Rodriguez donned the leading lady’s apron for the first ...

2Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Waitress – Hull New Theatre

The first time I reviewed Waitress for this website, in 2022, I wrote: “Sometimes the singing was a wee bit too loud for me to distinguish certain words, but I’m sure my ears were to blame”. Well, those same ears are still attached to my noggin, so how would they fare four years older? I am pleased to say the sound engineers got it just right on Tuesday night, when Waitress started its - 10th anniversary - run at a packed Hull New Theatre. The city’s theatregoers were out in force, maybe with the expectation of seeing the show’s star, entertainer Les Dennis, in action as diner owner, Joe. However, a helpful notice at the box office informed us his role on the night would be undertaken by Dan O’Brien. But any initial disappointment at not seeing the famous name soon disappeared ...

14Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Waitress – Bradford Alhambra

The Great British Bake Off had been going for some years when Waitress hit the West End a decade ago, so there was a ready made audience for a show based on cakes….or pies as they are known stateside. This warm hearted musical uses the ingredients waitress Jenna Hunterson uses in her unique pies as a metaphor for the trials and tribulations of her life and those around her. Waitress is actually much like Jenna’s pies, a bittersweet affair as whilst Jessie Nelson’s book celebrates the tight community that work and eat in her southern diner, Jenna is not only trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband Earl, but reluctantly expecting his baby. She escapes her grim life through an affair with her obstetrician Dr Pomatter and dreaming of winning a pie-baking contest to escape from E...

26Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Kinky Boots – Sheffield Lyceum

The Sheffield Lyceum gets Kinky this week with the iconic Red Boots, and sass galore graces its stage. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from the anything but glamorous 'Price and Son' shoe factory in Northampton to the dazzling catwalks of Milan in this sassy, vivacious and heart warming tale of true British grit with catchy songs by Tony and Grammy Award winning eighties pop princess, Cyndi Lauper and a Book by Harvey Fierstein. With exceptional choreography on this tour by Leah Hill and pacey precise direction by Nikolai Foster adding to strong and full score under the Musical supervision of George Dyer, Kinky Boots both technically and in production is a touring tapestry of tease and tenderness. Set and costume Design by Robert Jones is in situ and avoids unnecessary...

17Apr

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

West Midlands

Kinky Boots – Birmingham Hippodrome

Undeniably the best musical ever to be set in Northampton, the story of ‘Kinky Boots’ first came to the nation’s attention back in 2005 in the non-musical film version. Although brilliant, it always felt that this story was born to be brought alive with sequins, sparkles, and as its leading diva describes them, “a gaggle of fabulous Drags”. So just shy of a decade later, Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein and icon of pop Cyndi Lauper got their hands on it, and turned it into the glittering musical that we know and love today. One of the rare examples of a musical adaptation being better than its original source material, the story of the failing shoe factory that turned its fate around by manufacturing outrageous boots for drag queens has seen great success both on Broadway...

5Feb

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Kinky Boots – Palace Theatre

A regular feature across Broadway and the West End since its debut 13 years ago, it’s no wonder Kinky Boots has a list of accolades as long as a pair of knee-high boots to its name (including Olivier, Tony and Grammy Awards to name but a few). Music and lyrics were provided by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, who created a score that perfectly underpinned the story and allowed its performers to explore their vocal talents. Lauper even says her participation in writing the songs for Kinky Boots is one of the things she is most proud of in her illustrious 40+ year career. The curtain opens on a young Charlie Price, whose father bequeaths him the family shoe manufacturing business upon his death. A crisis of confidence and identity soon ensues, as Charlie battles with the pressure of inheriti...

19May

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

Grease – Dominion Theatre

‘Grease’ is one of those shows that everyone knows, even people who don’t like musicals. Who among us hasn’t performed one half of the legendary megamix (badly) at a wedding or Christmas party? Steeped in kitsch 1950s nostalgia, the original “high school musical" premiered on stage in 1971 before being immortalised on film with the world’s tightest trousers in 1978, cementing the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Now, 15 years after it was last seen in London, the show is back in town. Reimagined by Nikolai Foster (Curve’s resident Artistic Director), and featuring choreography by Arlene Phillips, ‘Grease’ has moved into the Dominion Theatre for a summer run on the back of a successful UK tour. But with such a well-known and often-visited show, ...

1Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Grease – Leeds Grand Theatre

It’s great that this production carries on the classic movie’s proud tradition of having twentysomethings playing teenagers about to leave Rydell High School for the real world. It’s a bit odd the thick American accents the relatively inexperienced cast deploy seem to be from Brooklyn rather than the tough working-class area of Chicago the original theatre production was set in. The voice coach should have dialled it down a bit which would have helped with the sometimes wayward diction. It’s probably fair to say most of the audience were looking for a scene by scene recreation of the beloved movie, and to that extent they do get well staged versions of all songs they had grown up loving. But the producers claim to have retained the darker elements of the rawer early 1970s scrip...

17Nov

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Grease the Musical – Liverpool Empire

Fantastically feel good and naughtily nostalgic, Grease the Musical arrived in Liverpool this week with all the right moves and an abundance of exuberant energy. You cannot help but leave this show with a smile. Starring Peter Andre, and debuting several newcomers, it offers a slightly different flavour to what has been done before. Expect to have a good time. This production took a couple of scenes to find their flow but once they were in it there was no stopping them. Directed by Curve’s Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, Grease demands strong dancing from the cast in order to carry out creative sequences and transports the audience back to Rydell High School with ease. Led by Dan Partridge (Danny Zuko) and Ellie Kingdon (Sandy) the dialogue is fast paced with ...

Grease the Musical – Manchester Opera House

13Oct

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Grease the Musical – Manchester Opera House

If, like me, you’re a lifelong fan of the 1978 titular film Grease, then the touring production of Grease the Musical is not to be missed. Like its namesake, this production is as slick as you like. It has got everything a good show should have: a toe-tapping soundtrack, mesmerising choreography, and - quite literally - an all-singing, all-dancing cast. The performance I had the pleasure of attending starred Dan Partridge as the leading man Danny Zuko, and understudy Ellie Kingdon as his leading lady, Sandy. I was a bit apprehensive to see an understudy in such a prominent role - especially one who is making their professional debut in this show - but I needn’t have worried: Kingdon was incredible. Far from being “oh so scared and unsure” like her wallflower character Sandy, Kingd...