NEWS
March 2010
Congratulations to the Ballinrobe Musical Society for their splendid production of The Pirate Queen. It was put on with an extraordinary level of passion and commitment with excellent singing, acting and dancing and with superb technical staging and direction. An amazingly professional production!
January 2010
The Pirate Queen
The world amateur première of The Pirate Queen will play at the Ballinrobe Community School from 11 to 20 February 2010. The Ballinrobe Musical Society has been granted a one off licence to bring the show home to its roots in County Mayo, the land of Grace O’Malley’s birth. They believe they can bring something unique to its interpretation – the soul, spirit and passion of Grace O’Malley, the people and the place from where she hailed and sailed. For further information and ticket details visit: www.ballinrobemusicalsociety.com
Les Misérables
Herbert Kretzmer, Cameron's mother, Cameron Mackintosh and Claude-Michel Schönberg at the opening night party in Cardiff
The dates of the tour are:
11 December 2009 - 16 January 2010
WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE CARDIFF
Box Office: 08700 40 2000
www.wmc.org.uk
19 January - 13 February 2010
MANCHESTER PALACE THEATRE
Box Office: 0844 847 2403
www.palaceandoperahouse.org.uk
16 February - 20 March 2010
NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL
Box Office: 01603 63 0000
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
23 March - 17 April 2010
BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME
Box Office: 0844 338 5000
www.birminghamhippodrome.com
20 April - 15 May 2010
EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Box Office: 0844 847 166
www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk
26 May - 4 July 2010
PARIS
THE CHATELET
Box Office: +33 (0) 1 40 28 28 40
www.chatelet-theatre.com
13 Jul-7 Aug 2010
BRISTOL HIPPODROME
Box Office: 0844 847 2325
www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk
10-21 Aug 2010
SALFORD
THE LOWRY
Box Office: 0843 208 6000
www.thelowry.com
24 Aug-11Sep 2010
SOUTHAMPTON
THE MAYFLOWER
Box Office: 02380 711 811
www.mayflower.org.uk
December 2009
The Pirate Queen
From the left: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Margaret Vermette and Alain Boublil at the opening night party in Tokyo
The first Japanese production of The Pirate Queen opened at the Imperial theatre in Tokyo on 28 November. This performance was attended by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and received a long standing ovation from the audience. It was an excellent production by Toho and I was fortunate to be there to enjoy it. For more details and photos see the UPDATES section.
August 2009
The Pirate Queen
A Japanese production of The Pirate Queen is due to open on 28 November and run until 25 December 2009 at the Imperial Theatre, Tokyo. It will then play at the Umeda Arts Theatre, Osaka from 1 January to 11 January 2010. It will be produced by TOHO.
Les Misérables
Later this year Les Misérables will enter its 25th year in the West End and in order to celebrate this record-breaking achievement Cameron Mackintosh is presenting a new production of the show, which will begin a major international tour at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff on 11 December.
Cameron Mackintosh: To celebrate 25 years of Les Misérables I cannot think of a better gift to the show than to deliver a brand new production, just like I did with my critically acclaimed national tours of Mary Poppins and Miss Saigon. For this new production, not only has Victor Hugo inspired Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical adaptation, he has also provided, through some of his extraordinary artwork, the inspiration for the spectacular new sets.
A great cast line up will see John Owen Jones playing Jean Valjean, with Earl Carpenter as Javert and Gareth Gates as Marius.
This exciting new production will be directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and designed by Matt Kinley, inspired by the works of Victor Hugo and John Napier. Original costumes will be by Andreane Neofitou, with lighting by Paule Constable and sound by Mick Potter.
February 2009
Marguerite opened at Tokyo’s Akasaka Act Theater on February 10. It will play there until February 19, then at Osaka’s Umeda Arts Theater from February 25 to March 5, and then at Tokyo’s Nissay Theater from March 12 to 29.
Miss Saigon is currently playing at the Hakataza Theatre in Fukuoka until March 25.
Les Misérables will begin its 2009 run on March 3 at the Chunichi Theatre in Nagoya. It will play four touring venues throughout March and April, before taking a summer break and playing a two month season in Tokyo from October, after which The Pirate Queen will open.
Simon Bowman’s long awaited album One Night with You has just been released. There are songs from Les Misérables and Miss Saigon as well as the many other West End shows and worldwide concerts in which he has played leading roles. There are a few surprises too! Details can be found on the LINKS page which takes you to his website and the CD can be ordered directly from there.
July 2008
Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil before the Marguerite Première
A Japanese production of Marguerite, directed by Jonathan Kent and starring Sumire Haruno, the leading actress from the Takarazuka Revue, will open at the Akasaka ACT in Tokyo in February 2009, followed by performances in Osaka. This production of Marguerite will be presented by Horipro and Umeda Arts Theater. Plans are underway for a Spanish Production of Marguerite in 2009 and a French production in 2010.
Miss Saigon opens in Tokyo this month and Les Misérables will tour Japan in the spring.
A new production of The Pirate Queen will open at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in December 2009
May 2008
The after-show party at Mint Leaf. From the left Claude-Michel Schönberg, Jonathan Kent, Ruthie Henshall, Michel Legrand and Alain Boublil
The critical response was, on the whole, very good with some excellent reviews, particularly from the Daily Mail and the Sunday Telegraph and a few mixed reviews. (Review extracts and a brief story synopsis can be found in the UPDATES section)
March 2008
A love story set in Paris during the Second World War, Marguerite draws inspiration from one of the greatest romantic novels, La Dame Aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. Marguerite is the beautiful and notorious mistress of a high ranking German officer, Otto. Armand is a young musician, half her age, who falls obsessively in love with her. Their dangerous love story is played out against the background of Occupied Paris.
Ruthie Henshall is playing the title role, with Julian Ovenden as Armand and Alexander Hanson as Otto.
See more on the UPDATES and SHOWS pages and check the Marguerite website: www.marguerite-themusical.com, where you can hear songs from Marguerite recorded by the cast from the show.
