Category Archives: Franchise musicals

I’ll Sing once More: Connie Fisher heads for the hills

Posted on July 29, 2015 by rageoffstage

The BBC recently broadcast a documentary about Connie Fisher, called I’ll Sing Once More – there is still some time left to watch it on iPlayer.  It is billed as the story of Connie Fisher’s ‘attempt to cure the loss of … Continue reading →

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Hello? The Book of Mormon tops the league table for overpriced tickets….again

Posted on July 18, 2015 by rageoffstage

According to The Stage, there’s a new league table in town, and theatres seem to be clammering to be at the top of it. Yes, this is The Stage’s new annual ticketing survey, which declares ‘The Book of Mormon’ winner … Continue reading →

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The Stage 100 – movers and shakers or users and takers?

Posted on January 15, 2014 by rageoffstage

It’s probably fair to say that we are not exactly the target audience for the Stage 100 list, a list of ‘movers and shakers’ in the theatre world published annually by ‘The Stage’ since 1997.  We’ve never been great fans … Continue reading →

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A winning formula? Cameron Mackintosh reveals the secrets of his success in Musical Theatre

Posted on November 29, 2013 by rageoffstage

We commented recently in a post about previews that the wrong people seem to be in charge of theatre, and in a recent episode of the highly entertaining Channel 4 series The Sound of Musicals we saw a perfect example of … Continue reading →

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Tom Hooper’s movie puts the misery back into ‘Les Miserables’ and takes the ‘musical’ out

Posted on January 14, 2013 by rageoffstage

Having expressed our views about the hype surrounding Tom Hooper’s new film version of ‘Les Miserables’, and our concerns that the casting would prove as disappointing as it was for the 25th Anniversary concert, we felt it was time to give … Continue reading →

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The pain goes on and on: Will it be a ‘Les Miserables’ new year for fans of musical theatre?

Posted on December 11, 2012 by rageoffstage

Ever since Cameron Mackintosh announced that he favoured Alfie Boe to play Jean Valjean in the film version of ‘Les Miserables’, declaring that screeching musical theatre voices wouldn’t work, we have had to face the possibility that this film might not be for … Continue reading →

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So much for the Olympic spirit – Andrew Lloyd Webber throws away the baton for team West End theatre

Posted on January 2, 2012 by rageoffstage

Speculation about how the Olympics will affect West End theatre has been going on for some time, although an article in ‘This is Money’ quoted by Mark Shenton in his Stage blog in November brought matters to a head by suggesting the … Continue reading →

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Creators or curators? What’s so great about long runs?

Posted on September 15, 2011 by rageoffstage

News reporting about the West End seems to veer between two extremes – SOLT boasting about how profits are going up and up, and general panic about shows closing.  The announcement of the closure of Betty Blue Eyes was greeted … Continue reading →

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Is Cameron Mackintosh better than a pig?

Posted on August 21, 2011 by rageoffstage

Before you accuse us of being offensive, this a question that the man himself would like an answer to.  Yes, this is the latest survey to arrive in our inbox.  Ten out of ten for brevity, and for offering some … Continue reading →

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Re-writing history: more ‘confessions’ from Andrew Lloyd Webber

Posted on July 26, 2011 by rageoffstage

As we have previously noted, Andrew Lloyd Webber is a master at making seemingly self-effacing comments whilst stabbing his colleagues in the back.  It’s no different in his recent interview with Patrick Healy in the New York Times, in which he indulges … Continue reading →

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Hubris unmasked: Love Never Dies reaches the point of no return

Posted on June 19, 2011 by rageoffstage

So, the West End incarnation of ‘Love Never Dies’ has announced its forthcoming closure.  The perfect cue for the normally sensible Mark Shenton to throw his toys out of the pram (again) over the ‘Love Should Die’ website, which has supposedly had … Continue reading →

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Wizard of the West End: Andrew Lloyd Webber – reluctant millionaire?

Posted on May 8, 2011 by rageoffstage

So, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the second richest music millionaire in the UK, richer even than Cameron Mackintosh, as reported in the Evening Standard.  In his recent TV documentary with Piers Morgan ‘When Piers meets Andrew Lloyd Webber’ he claims that … Continue reading →

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“Love Never Dies” versus “Love Should Die” – What exactly is Andrew Lloyd Webber complaining about?

Posted on March 12, 2011 by rageoffstage

So, Mark Shenton, in his blog in The Stage, has reignited the discussion around ‘Love Never Dies’, and in particular the ‘Love Should Die’ campaign.  We are very grateful to Mark for making us aware of this campaigning website, which raised … Continue reading →

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Revealed! Cameron Mackintosh hates Musical Theatre!

Posted on February 10, 2011 by rageoffstage

As keen followers of the debate around the casting of the O2 Les Miserables concert, we were stunned by an article we found at the Daily Mail online dated 25th November 2010, where Cameron Mackintosh referred to Alfie Boe as … Continue reading →

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Rebecca Caine on the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert

Posted on February 3, 2011 by rageoffstage

Thanks to Lucy Thackray at http://www.thepublicreviews.com for her gem of an interview with Rebecca Caine, published last month.  We were intrigued to hear her touch on some of the issues we brought up in our recent post about the 25th Anniversary concert … Continue reading →

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