The World of Musical Theatre from the West End to Broadway and beyond HIG ALS MusicalsMagazine.com Shows of 2023 The soul diva and POR eg LY es ColaM aaa ac cole llale} i and Sister Act revisited - ae ~ Elaine Paige hails ai’ PACT) rad oe rock opera eCTge itty TN Teg CoN Raley SA leeoe Te ae flocking to panto ey eae eH rere) ere) Pic Rate hag Ulric Ue Sah Von Secu arta eeu) STS Lee) a ge (2 Meee eelear cot El ere PwShare your love of theatre Get your Christmas presents sorted early by ordering MIN Col ic Mo) Broadway Bulletin It's long been the norm to pay three figures for a ticket to a Broadway shows says Matt Wolf, who considers the impact of hefty ticket prices on the collective experience of theatregoing Glass ceing? The phrase - once frequently deployed in theatre cites to suggest a barter ‘beyond which ticket prices couldn be pushed ~ has long been a ting of te past Mote and more, the headtines surrounding shows are to do withthe cost of being able tosee them, To hel with at, the mortgages required for ‘Onand Off Broadway fand In London too), social media / Nove Cabaret with Eddie Redmayne heads to NYC abounds with reports — Left Ticket prices soared Tor Broadway's Music Man tismaylsurpise/outrage — ofthe seemingly imitiess heights OB” vinnetiwas reached by producers who, lp-synching to Understandably from their lene or two of the more physically point of view, want return on | demanding numbers, There wae Investment in evertiekier times, _ no social mela then. so such The receved wisdomisthat one | assertions, accurate or otherwise, in every seven or eight Broadway didnt gain the traction they shows recaups, so youcan ‘would nowadays. (Also in those imagine adesireto cash out days, The New York Ties ‘while you ean, since most theatre ads would often include productions do not the ticket prices, something Onthe other hand. it rendered impossible now by sometimes seems asf the trend toward dynamic pricing reached a once-imagined realm where costs can change on that no longer seems out of aime and do) reach, The proffered notion then Flash forward to 2002 when ‘was of one Broadway show the Broadway production of Playing eighttimesa meekto.an The Producers took the unusual ‘audience of one who had pald | move of setting aside 50 or so ‘milion dollars a ticket. Not seats per performance to be sold ‘much jay to be had there nthe at S480 when the prevaling| convivial at of theatregoing, $100 ticket high confiemed Te been around ong enough double-digit cost for aeate a= totrace the ise and rse on this part ofa allowed bygone era. front. In 3987, responding to Late in 2017, the Bete micter wage increases and sialing ‘eval of Hel, Doty took to costs, producers ofthat season's charging $998 for front row seats Broaaway revival of Cabaret that would allow an up-close vith Joel Grey retuming tohis view of The Divine Mis M (sear and Tony-winning ole 3 insure her act Broadway the Emcee — dared to charge $50 appearance. That level of fora best seat, and the Broadway _ pricing, in turn, had been bow of The Phantom ofthe ‘equalled previously only (Opera quick followed suit bby Hamiton in 2018, Prior to that. the Liza Minne star vehicle The Acta decade eater made headines for charging an unheard-of $25, an indignity compounded by rumours swing atthe time that, 18 M Muska Dee 25/3an 242025 It these numbers represented successive shatterings of a clearly fragile celing, average ticket costs have continued o skyrocket. The Hugh Jackman-Sutton Foster revival of The Music Man, with tickets topping out at $697, was reported to have an average ticket price of $283. The show was credited fr iting Broadway out ofthe pandemic to achieve weekty grosses in excess of $3.5 milion, but astonishingly, vaunted a revival dant report ‘recoupment of costs Asiilar price tag is reported {or Broadway's Apri 2024 transfer ‘of Rebecca Frecinals ongoing revival of Cabaret, which, the invaluable Brovehay Journal reports, wit ave to sell out for ‘a year atthe August ison Theatre at an average ticket price (0f $248 to pay back costs. That's 2 serious challenge fora show ‘that wl ony retain Rs Oiler Award-winning leading man Ede Redmayne fr five montis whe The Music Man kept Jackrnan and Faster loyaly on board for overayear. And more ‘than $9 millon of the ety captalsation of Cabaret going ‘toward physical makeover of It's reported that Cabaret will have to sell out for a year at an average ticket price of $248 to pay back costs the theatre in keeping with the ‘overhaul ofthe Playhouse ‘Theatre in London on the way to becoming the KR Kat Club, Noristhisa uniquely Broadway, or even commercial, Phenomenon. Eyebrows have been raised atthe trple-cigit ticket costs of a good seat forthe ‘Off Broadway Hell’ Krchen, the show from Alla Keys that has Broadway in is sights as previous shows originated a the not-for= profit Public Theater dis before It including Hamiton and, ‘going way back Chorus Line Here We Av, the posthumously realised Stephen Sondheim musical 63], promoted Rede threads astounded ata $549 top ticket fora musica at Hudson Yards ‘The Shed uated well away ‘rom te Broadway mainstream, Thats unts you remember that ts creatives constitute a who's who ‘of Broadway ~ and in the case of ‘Tracie Bennett, the West End [see My Musicals on page €2I ~ andso interest, nd demand, ae bound toe high Indeed, Sondheim ofall people would be gobsmacked to note that arguably the three toughest New York tickets a write are for shows afhis Mery We Roll ‘Along and Sweeney Todd on Broadway, and Here We Are.on ite way there, So much for the view of his genius as inimical to mainstream consumption. Stil, can help but think that he, ofall people, would question ‘consumers landscape that has for some Wwhie careered trom ‘one price-reated record high to another rt int easy, were told in Sunday inthe Park ity George, and nether, these days. is finding an affordable ticket, Were not quite at that rea of the sole occupant waiting forthe show to begin but fand when that scenario does ever arive, ite bound to foak aly lonely atthe top. MusicalsMagazine comRi / ing Star Billy Nevers This young, versatile performer is living his best life as Lafayette/Jefferson in the new tour of Hamilton Who tony 2 Bly Nevers hasbeen working profesonlly since 2019 when wa plucked ‘oto Atsoappearinthe ensemble of Tint Sheaders Jesus Cs Superstar JCS) athe arbican.Hethen went Stcghtinio Jb fistin Manchest andafterardsin London, apeaingasasuing then asi cover rangi, thenasFancois ised ont ‘tery opportunity there was with thathownejoke) When ‘Jul clozed by ring thepandemic Nevers reumed toSheaders JCS thistimest Regen Pak Open fr Theat here the production is inated. n202 he retumed tothe vemie ar encembllcver Emmettin acy MosssLegaly Blonde, a production he remains ‘very pou tohwebeenapart of Therefollonedastintas Fed inGrounog Day atthe Ol Vic thssimer where Nevers otto pusuehispasion for‘haracter ‘tng comedy dancing and working with wonderful people, Which rings sto Heiton~ for Nevers, the ultimate ream tocometie ‘Theatrical besianings eoing vp inure ith ‘amethe who wine an ‘acess and whocurenty teaches drama atacollege where shes also head of pefoing arts Neverstooklocal dance asses ad then joined Songtine Theatre ts row Bitch Theatre cade. or BT fromthe age of seen Atschool he stuggled acadeicallyanhapily moved toa Conto takes GCSEs. HewonaMuscl Theatre scholashiptohrtsdor Sith fm, and was du to the eile tosingin,andhe does nce. Groundhog Day letme ofl these passens andthe OldViwaea venue Talus aspired to workin Hamilton nally) hen the show frst came out the young Nevers was obesiedTingit inthebithroomand amy way toschool was hess, the frst show Teen where could seeaversion of ysl onstage Whenhefistaudiionsdin Yar 15.hemade al thewaytothe fina Every yar since eas auctioned, without sucess, fovdtferen rack —btthe yearwas diferent Tey only SentetheLafoeteeferion ‘ateialAninthe past. ve anes mary ounds but this timeitwasonlytwoor three During rehearsals Nevers says hewas holding backteas’on a dalybasi, wed tosay hat ileould de Harton raat ts he conte. Contnuethere onthe re yet degree course but uimately that wasnt be ‘Auditions Nevers knewhisheart waitin doinga degrees whe sitin Year 13, he auctioned or ‘every show under the sta and dso wel wasinhe als forSimbain TheLion king hat hedeciedtobrave inthe profesional ord Helanded Sand the through sind GraceMout-who he dmetat National Youu Music Theabe ~hemetthe casing director of Juliet. The show waz area. learning cuveIwasadearin theheadlights reals To covet asixmaeensebie tracks wae doting bato exciting vas ratfor eto testy sls asadancer singer andensemblemember 8 the timethe show coed he wat playing Fancisand ‘audit ave ated or anything more Mentoring Teaching isinporant to Neversbecauseatschool helachedolemodelt ert have teachers that ok he me or spoke kee, o danced heme er saw the wold the re He ae zee theinflvence smu onyeung people in changing perceptions of themselves andsince Legally Blondehas een positive changes ihn the industry bute believes there's along way ogo Neves doesn takefor ranted thechangshe an affectasa teacher and performer went comes tothe younger generation Asheputsit'Iwant toshowthemthathe 50 ‘much merethan the boxes were putin: Passions ego thisindusy, ‘weputpresureonourslesto ‘how theword were blezedto beworing!Nevessa Groundhog Day was crac rand Forhimto ead with Your pasion, net your ego. Peoplewouldsay-Butyour roléSnotasig as Frags’ but Francis does singin apart of “Hamilton opened at Manchester Palace Theatre on 1 November andi playing there unt 41 March 2024 i's thn on tour unt 25 January 2025 - vist hamitonmusial.comul-tour ‘MusicalsMagazinecom News M Curtain Up! Southwark Playhouse! _Arevluionary new musicals visting Southwark Playhouse Boroughin Februar 2024, Sein 1936in the hear of London's Jewish community, Cable Stretisthe tue story of cote secton of East Londoner who rece up to protect their neighbourhood from Oswald Mele’ farcie Blacks ‘The show is rten by playwright Alex Kanefsky and composers Ti Givin the ater also penned the music for Unfortunate, laying at Southwark Payhouse over Christnas), and stars Debbie Chazen and Sophia Ragavels. Its iectd by dam Lenson, founder of SIGNAL, which has, showcased the work of multiple emerging writer. Researching the story Kanetsky became increasingly aware of the paralels with today: rancial depression, plat uphewal and powertl gues seapegoating minorities, Thebattl of 936 fees deeply resonatin these] darktimes. Formore information, vist southwarlayhouse co.uk Touring the UK in 2024. ‘An Officer andl Gentleman with Luke Baker and Georgi Lennon sets salon 23 February and Come from Away (pictured) launches on L March, with Sara Poyzer and Natasha 3 Barnes Lite Shop of Horrors starts at ipswich's New Woleey Theatre (L Ma and Grease jves across the Ux/ieland trom 12 Api Mesnwnile, Douglas Hodge and Johnny MeKnights 101 Dalmatians tours from 22 June, and ACChorus Line returns to Leicester Curve rom 28.June prior to Sacer’ Wells and beyond, Fresh from the West End, & Juliet embarks ont rst UX tour rom 8 July. and Brenda Edwards, a previous ‘Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray co-directs anew production ofthe show rom 16 July ‘And finally. a new production of Dear Evan Hansen tours from 8 September and Only Fools and Horses w= Peckham for Bromiley ana ‘elsewhere from 23 September Look fur for reviews in future issues! New UK writing on the up “The annual tls + Drewe Bert New Song Pie which wat founded by composer George Stiles and yc Anthony Drewe n2009, returned o The Other Palace on 15 November forits 6th instalment hosted by Rob Madge The event, once again produced by Mercury Musical Developments (HD, saw the £3,000 prize go to Rachel Walker Mason and ina Sundstrom for‘Drown Without Water rom The ile, The Other Palace and The Turbine Theate,meanwile have announced the retun of MTFetUKin January 2024, during which ight shortisted productions willbe presented. sit mercurymuscalscom;theturbinethestrecom idan 26 M19