UK Theatre Network

This celebration of Michael Jackson’s music and unique dance style has become something of a tribute in light of his untimely death last week.  Topical issues aside, the quality of this performance is good enough to turn your socks white and blow one glove off your hand!

Thriller Live delivers the MJ magic in spades with a loosely chronological review of his music from the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” through to his 1995 release “Earth Song”.  The presentation style was unusual for a stage show, delivering a documentary of Michael Jackson’s musical history and record breaking achievements rather than a more traditional biopic.  This lent itself to a focus on the music and dance rather than the star’s controversial live story.  With such a rich back catalogue of music to choose from over a 30 year period, the delivery did not disappoint the audience.  The deceptively simple fixed set proved to be incredibly dynamic as a huge movie screen featuring dazzling effects, movie clips and photos became transparent on several occasions to reveal the live onstage band.

The unique Jackson 5 sound was authentically reproduced from the off, but the glove (quite literally) came off in the second act as tens of millions of pounds of the worlds most expensive music promotion videos were reproduced live on stage!  The choreography, styling and effects of “Smooth Criminal” were just mind blowing with particular emphasis on the astonishing talents of Michael Anthony Duke.  A short, dedication was made to the ‘King of Pop’ before a very moving performance of “Man in the Mirror” by fellow lead vocalist Ian Pitter – the song likely to top the UK charts next week (it reached number 11 back in 1988).  Other MJ high notes were hit by TV’s Popstars finalist Hayley Evetts and talented fellow vocalists Peter Murphy and Dwayne Wint.  The signature fedora hat should also be tipped forward in recognition of the amazing talents of 11 year old Tyler McLean who played young Michael.

This production was so slick it had my “click track” senses tingling (particularly in reference to the backing vocals), however I was won over by astonishing solo vocals and high energy dance routines that followed the unique MJ style flawlessly through three decades of hits.  This show will have you moonwalking in the aisles.  Shamone!

Listings Info:

Thriller-Live

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

29 June to 4 July

Mon –Fri eves 7.30pm

Sat 4pm & 8pm

Tickets: £12 - £27.50

Box Office: 0844 871 7648(Bkg)

Ken Stott, Arthur Miller, Dorian Gray, Chitty Citty Bang Bang, Quadrophenia and that's just for starters...

This spring looks set to be an amazing time for all Scottish theatre goers as the King’s and Theatre Royal will be playing host to some phenomenal productions!

At the King’s there’s still time to book for the devilishly brilliant musical

The Witches of Eastwick (28 Apr – 9 May) starring Glasgow’s own Marti Pellow. Other season highlights include Quadrophenia (2- 6 Jun), a brand new production based on the iconic movie with music by Pete Townsend; Roald Dahl’s The BFG (1 – 5 Sep) a whizzcracking show which will excite Dahl lovers young and old; The Silver Darlings, directed by Kenny Ireland, (8-12 Sep), an epic adventure based on one of the most cherished Scottish novels of the 20^th Century; Chicago (5 – 10 Oct) will razzle and dazzle its way on stage with Gary Wilmott and Eastender’s Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell) and of course the ultimate classic adventure story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (20 Oct – 14 Nov); this fantasmogorical award-winning musical is in Glasgow for 4 weeks only and stars Barbara Rafferty as Baroness Bomburst. Finally it’s never too early to book for the King’s panto and this year we present Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (4 Dec – 17 Jan), with a brand new script and never before seen sets and costumes.

At the

Theatre Royal we are delighted to announce we are one of only three British tour dates for Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge (2-6 June). This electrifying production boasts an outstanding cast featuring Scotland’s own Ken Stott and Hollywood star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. A View from the Bridge is currently storming the West End and we are thrilled to be the theatre bringing this production to Scotland. Our series of drama continues with an exciting co-production by two of Scotland’s acclaimed companies, the Dundee Rep Ensemble and the National Theatre of Scotland with Peer Gynt (23 – 27 June). A raucous and radical interpretation of Ibsen’s classic Peer Gynt takes its audience on a truly wild and theatrical journey.

Other not to be missed shows include the stunning

Imperial Ice Stars with Cinderella on Ice (9 – 13 Jun); the much-loved family musical Annie (4 – 8 Aug); West End sensation Tim Flavin in Singin in the Rain (1 – 5 Sep); Matthew Bourne’s Edinburgh International Festival sell-out hit Dorian Gray (29 Sep – 3 Oct) and later in the year don’t miss one of the most popular Scottish plays of all time, The Steamie (2 – 7 Nov).

To

DOWNLOAD copies of both the King’s Theatre and Theatre Royal brochures please log on to

This oldest of the popular ballets is delighting audiences at the Kings this week.

The Russian State Ballet of Siberia presents this enchanting ballet based on the music of composer Leo Delibes.  Dr. Coppelius, a magician and toymaker, and his ‘daughter’, Coppelia, live in a small town.  All the men of the town are mesmerised by Coppelia who sits on a balcony all day giving no-one her attention, including Franz ... much to the chagrin of his fiancé, Swanilda.  Franz and Swanilda are soon to be married and tradition dictates that the happy couple should receive a special gift to commemorate the occasion.  Swanilda and her friends decide to satisfy their curiosity about Coppelius by investigating his house.  They discover a magical room full of mechanical life size toys and it appears that Coppelia is, in fact, a marionette, too!  Franz has an alternative motive to enter the house and scales the wall to be discovered by Dr. Coppelius.  Coppelius uses his magical power to try to transfer Franz's life force into Coppelia to bring her to life.  But Swanilda has tricked the Doctor by disguising herself as Coppelia!  She escapes with Franz and her friends.  On the day of the wedding Coppelius forgives the couple for their intrusion and the entire town celebrate the happy occasion.

When you consider that the company has undertaken this national tour with four distinct productions (Coppelia, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Giselle) the spectacle and presentation of Coppelia was breathtaking.  In particular, the costumes were quite stunning.  As Swanilda, Anna Snegina was captivating.  She seemed lighter than air on points and her partner work with Vyacheslav Kapustin as Franz in the third act made the impossible seem effortless.  Alexander Kuimov was a charismatic Coppelius throughout.  Conductor Anatoly Tchepurnoi empowered this emotional Delibes score and was unnecessarily modest during the company bow.

This production will be replaced on Wednesday by performances of Swan Lake and again on Friday by The Nutcracker the same company until the end of the week.

Performances:
Kings Theatre, Glasgow 

Mon 23 & Tue 24 Feb (Coppelia)

Wed 25 & Thu 26 Feb (Swan Lake)

Fri 27 & Sat 28 Feb (Nutcracker)

Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm

Tickets - £13 - £30.50

Booking Fee - 0870 060 6648 (bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com

There is a danger associated with putting a particular show on a pedestal.  18 months ago I proclaimed that the first Scottish tour of “Sunshine on Leith” was the best musical I had ever seen (and I have seen a LOT of musicals).  Surely it wasn’t that good?  So, with emotions firmly in check, I switched on to Critical Mode and tried to find some flaws.  Second time around, it is even better!

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story 

Two words: Buddy brilliant! The hugely successful story of Buddy Holly, Buddy, returns for a UK tour, and the King’s and I (did I get away with that one?) had the pleasure of experiencing a special commemorative performance. On February 3^rd 1959, Charles Hardin Holley, or as we know him, Buddy Holly, along with two other successful performers, JP Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens, were tragically killed when their chartered plane crashed while returning from what was to be their final performance. The inexperienced pilot, Roger Peterson, was also killed, and the day is immortalised in the words of Don McLean’s “American Pie”: the day that music died. The special performance was staged 50 years to that fateful day, to pay tribute to, and celebrate the life of, the short lived talent that was, Buddy Holly.

This was my first experience of the Buddy Holly story, and what a treat it was. For much of the performance, it was easy to forget that the man in front of us was an actor playing the part of Buddy Holly. Glen Joseph, who was our bespectacled impresario for the night, played the part to absolute perfection, and more than any other performer I have seen recently, seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, as did the excellent supporting cast. The only place I could draw criticism from would be the performance of Steve Simmonds, as Norman Petty, the record producer who secured many of Holly’s greatest hits, including “That’ll Be The Day”, “Peggy Sue” (which was originally conceived as “Cindy-Lou”, but changed to appease Jerry Allison, The Crickets’ drummer, Jerry Allison), “Oh Boy!” and “Not Fade Away”. From an acting point of view, there were no problems with his performance, but his attempt at the southern drawl was extremely weak, and in fact his struggle to produce something which even slightly resembled a Texan was occasionally abandoned to reveal quite a well-refined English accent. Some may consider this a fairly minor flaw, but when the location is such a major part of the story, it is of great importance that accents and cultural indicators are perfect.

Indeed, the performance is stuffed full of pop culture and prophetic references designed for the audience’s amusement, including references to a “young lad, Orbison or something”, and an ironic jibe about Ray Charles. The redneck culture of the American South is also heavily referenced, and it is this attitude which Holly’s music aimed to attack, with great success. The story shows Holly being forced to play country, when he really wants to play rock ’n’ roll. However, Holly is shown to be determined and headstrong, and in fact the only section where we see any doubt or worry in Holly’s eyes is immediately before playing at the Harlem Apollo, whose black majority audience assume Holly and the Crickets to be African-American. And as his short but illustrious career shows, these were characteristics which were present in the real Buddy, and if they hadn’t, who knows what our music industry would be like today?

All the music of the night was performed live by our stellar cast, an addition which gave great authenticity and personality to the performance. I cannot praise [Glen] Joseph enough, as he had Holly’s demeanour, his high pitched, nasally voice and his showmanship down to an art, and he played the guitar with equal aplomb. However, praise must also go to Christopher Redmond (Joe Mauldin, the Crickets’ bassist), Dan Graham (Jerry Allison), Colin McGregor (The Big Bopper), Pedro Reichert (Ritchie Valens) and all the other musicians and vocalists in the show, who gave it their all, leaving the audience with a nostalgic and exciting image of the man himself, Buddy Holly.

Listings:

King’s Theatre, Glasgow
Monday 2 – Saturday 7 February
Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm
Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm
Tickets: £9 - £27
0870 060 6648
www.kings-glasgow.co.uk