Glenn Slater Archives - North West End UK

16Jul

By Paddy Darnell-WalshNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Blackpool Opera House

Grab your habits and rush down to the Opera House, because the nuns are in town! Based on the Whoopi Goldberg classic from 1992, the musical version of Sister Act largely stays true to the movie plot. The story follows wannabe singer Deloris Van Cartier’s escape from her gangster boyfriend, as she inadvertently witnesses a murder. Where does she go? Into hiding, as a nun, in a Philadelphia convent – of course! When she struggles to adapt, annoying Mother Superior in the process as she leads her fellow sisters astray, she is tasked with improving the woeful convent choir. Wonderful music from composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast), and lyrics by Glenn Slater (School of Rock, Love Never Dies), breathe fresh life and vibrancy to the story. The production boast...

25Jun

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Storyhouse Chester

Hold onto your rosaries folks, Philadelphia’s favourite sisters are in the building, ready to bring the musical version of the 1992 hit film vividly to life. Sister Act is a vibrant, feel-good show and it’s easy to see why it has become a staple for am-dram group, full of energetic ensemble numbers, humour and heart. The musical, with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater respectively, and sparklingly directed by Bill Buckhurst, largely sticks to the film’s plot. Club singer Deloris Van Cartier witnesses her gangster boyfriend Curtis commit murder and is placed into witness protection in a convent, leading to much fish-out-of-water hilarity. The cheerful but tuneless nuns soon tap into Deloris’ talent as a singer to inject some oomph into their choir despite the misgiving...

2May

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

West Midlands

Love Never Dies – Wolverhampton Grand

When Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom’-follow-up ‘Love Never Dies’ hit the West End in 2010, it opened to a critical mauling that led to the show being closed to allow significant reworking. The press still wasn’t too kind, with some jokingly retitling the show as ‘Paint Never Dries’. While the show never stood a chance of replicating the success of its predecessor, there is still a lot of love for it in theatreland, as showed by the standing ovations at the Drury Lane concerts last year. And now it’s time for the country’s amateur groups to have a bash, starting with the West Bromwich Operatic Society (WBOS), who are performing the show this week at the Wolverhampton Grand. Loosely based on the 1999 novel ‘The Phantom Of Manhattan’ by Frederick Forsyth, ‘Love Never Die...

19Mar

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Palace Theatre

Arriving at the bustling theatre, where red carpet welcomed many an actor from the phenomenon that was Coronation Street, the evening started with fans in awe, the atmosphere electric and everyone ‘giddy’ with excitement for the show ahead. The Coronation Street actors had come along in their numbers to support their colleague the nominated favourite female soup star Sue Cleaver who for this epic show of female comradeship was playing the Mother Superior. Many people may know the film of Whoopi Goldberg played the husky blues singer Deloris Van Cartier desperate to make it big but in falling for a married mobster ends up, after watching this crook Curtis murder a gang member, is on the run for her own life. For this show, the threatened disco diva is played amazingly by Brita...

Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy – Eventim Apollo

28Jul

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

London

Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy – Eventim Apollo

This latest revival of Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner’s divine comedy has been a long time coming. Initially conceived as an opportunity to return Whoopi Goldberg to the role she created in the hit nineties film, the planned second coming fell foul of the pandemic. So, two years after its planned debut Beverley Knight is rocking the habit, and the Eventim Apollo, in Bill Buckhurst’s revised production. The production is not short of spectacle with Knight and the singing nuns bringing enough glitz to hold their own amongst the long list of performers who have graced the Eventim Apollo stage over the years. The musical is fairly faithful to the film’s plot - having witnessed a murder Deloris Van Cartier is forced to hide out in a convent helping her ‘...

27Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

School of Rock – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield was raising the decibels into the stratosphere last night with the England Women’s Team winning the Semi Final against Sweden in the Euro22 competition at Sheffield Bramall Lane ground and the School of Rock opening at the Sheffield Lyceum, Sheffield really was the place to be! The city was euphoric – Sheffield Rocked! School of Rock is written by Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame with Lyrics by Glenn Slater, the dialogue is both topical and sassy and extremely funny on numerous occasions. The music by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is as expected, catchy with some great songs such as Top of Mount Rock, Stick it to the Man and If Only you would listen. Anna Louizo’s sets are compact, yet well designed to move fluently and at speed between the Horace Green school rooms, Ned Schn...

Virtual Viewing: Disney Cruise Line’s ‘Tangled: The Musical’

27Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Virtual Viewing: Disney Cruise Line’s ‘Tangled: The Musical’

I confess I am somewhat a Disney aficionado. From the heart-warming, family-friendly stories, to the toe-tappingly catchy songs, anything that bears the moniker ‘Walt Disney’ is almost guaranteed to be a winner for me. So, when the chance came to review Disney Cruise Line’s original stage production of Tangled: The Musical, I jumped at the chance. Being able to see a brand new Disney stage production in the inner sanctum of a Disney cruise ship – without having to shell out an eye-watering amount for the privilege – was too good of an opportunity for a Disneyphile like me to pass up. Cruises start from £1,078 for a 3-day excursion (yes, really!), so to be able to watch these once exclusive shows without winning the lottery is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity (probably the same stat...