Oliver! The Musical with Rowan Atkinson and Jodie Prenger from I’d do anything
Oliver! the musical based on Oliver Twist opens in London’s West End on December 12th 2008 with Olivers and Nancys selected by TV’s “I’d do anything” show.
** Book Oliver! theatre breaks for JAN – SEPT 2009 **
Jodie Prenger at West End Live June 20, 2009
Posted by admin in : Oliver, theatre breaks, westendlive , add a commentWell it’s Saturday night and West End Live is half way through. There were some great shows on today in Leicester Square all to promote the West End and provide some free entertainment for the London crowd at the same time. Highlights sp far have been a good three song set from a big cast from We Will Rock You , always a high energy show, the lovely duet from The King And I and this performance from Jodie Prenger as Nancy from Oliver! who sang as if she thought she needed to win I’d do Anything all over again!
If you keep an eye on the Theatre Breaks youtube stream you’ll catch a glimpse of Patina Miller and sisters from Sister Act and also Jerry Springer in Chicago!
Oliver! another new Fagin April 3, 2009
Posted by Linda in : Oliver, cast changes , add a commentOliver! will have a new Fagin a little sooner than expected.
Russ Abbots as Fagin
Russ Abbot will take over as Fagin from April 13. Rowan Atkinson has been forced to pull out for three weeks to undergo surgery for a hernia.
He’s hoped to be back on stage by April 27.
A statement from a spokesperson for the show said:
“Rowan has been nursing the problem for a few weeks but it flared up badly whilst on a break with his family this week. He has cut short his holiday to fly back to have surgery immediately to speed the recovery process…..The condition, whilst neither serious nor dangerous, is extremely painful and prevents normal movement, making performing impossible.”
Russ Abbot played the role of Fagin in the 1997 production and also in a couple of touring productions.
Oliver! extends booking through to 2010 February 24, 2009
Posted by Linda in : Oliver, dates , add a commentOliver! is now booking through to February 2010 to meet the increasing demand for tickets.
News that Omid Djalili will taking over the role of Fagin from Rowan Atkinson in July has not made any difference to booking levels. For many people the easiest way to get tickets for the dates you want will be to book them as part of an Oliver theatre break.
Oliver! Cast Burn Gorman February 13, 2009
Posted by Linda in : Oliver , 3comments
Burn Gorman
Oliver has several ’stars’ but Burn Gorman (Bill Sikes) is one who everyone seems to want to know more about.
5 things you might not know about him:
- Burn Gorman was born in 1974 in Hollywood (USA) where his father was a visiting academic. He moved to the UK when he was 7.
- He doesn’t think much of his singing voice and is glad that his main song can be mostly acted out.
- He plays Hinley Earncliffe, another nasty piece of work, in a new TV adapation of Wuthering Heights this spring on ITV.
- His on-stage dog Bullseye is a replacement. The original kept biting him and other cast members. The new one has bad breath!
- He is quite sympathetic to his character and thinks that Bill Sikes probably started off a bit like The Artful Doger and experienced some really terrible trauma that damaged him so much that he can kill without flinching.
What have I missed? What’s your favourite fact about Burn Gorman and Oliver!
Oliver! The New Fagin to be Omid Djali February 11, 2009
Posted by Linda in : Oliver, cast changes , 2commentsIranian comedian Omid Djalili will replace Rowan Atkinson in the role of Fagin in Oliver! from July 20th
Mackintosh said in the Stage today
“Oliver! has been a success beyond my wildest dreams and I’m thrilled that Rowan Atkinson has had such a tremendous triumph in a role I always thought he was born to play. The only way to follow such a unique performance is with a talent just as unique, yet entirely different. No one could fulfil this criteria better than Omid Djalili.
“Omid started his career as an actor but was soon to become a major television star and one of the funniest comic actors and writers in Britain, who regularly plays unforgettable cameos in movies. It is his ability to inhabit his characters with such comic energy and wily cunning that will make his Fagin his own. Undoubtedly the first Iranian ever to portray Dicken’s legendary Jewish creation, we all look forward to him becoming part of the family in July.”
This should be interesting! I think he’s a good comic actor but I didn’t know he could sing.
Rowan Atkinson Dates for Oliver February 4, 2009
Posted by admin in : Oliver, dates , 5commentsRowan Atkinson has recently had to miss two performances of Oliver the musical in which he plays Fagin, due to a strained voice, but he has fully recovered and is now back at work.
Rowan Atkinson has performed in the musical since mid-December alongside Jodie Prenger as Nancy and Gwion Jones, Harry Stott and Laurence Jeffcoate as alternate Olivers.
Oliver the musical is set to run and run but Rowan Atkinson will continue in the role of Fagin until 18 July 2009 with one short holiday from 26th March to 5 April. Tickets for shows in March and April are running out fast but there are still good dates available for theatre breaks to see Oliver
Oliver! Reviews and Opinions January 16, 2009
Posted by Linda in : Musicals, Oliver, reviews , 4commentsOliver Reviews
Oliver! the musical has opened at last in London, the critics’ reviews are in and it seems like a good moment for Reviewing the Situation.
The Daily Mail’s Review
Quentin Letts seems to have really enjoyed Oliver! He lavishes praise on almost all the major performers.
Drury Lane has known more tuneful musical stars in its long history, but the grand old temple of dreams can seldom have played host to one with such a God-given gift for comedy.
Rowan Atkinson, playing that warped scoutmaster Fagin, was the eyebrow-wriggling, funnywalking, laugh-wringing supremo on Wednesday night when Lionel Bart’s wonderful musical opened at the Theatre Royal
He also enjoyed Jodie Prenger’s Nancy saying she:
stands up to the test like a sturdy galleon…… She swings her big hips and heaves her all into the role
I’m sure he means well but poor Jodie! Ouch!
He enjoyed Harry Stott’s performance as Oliver and Ross McCormac’s Artful Doger is also picked out :
This child seems to have been born to dance and skip and wink and swagger at an audience.
His final verdict:
Anyone who needs cheering up – and after recent jobs news, heaven knows, that probably means most of us – should get along to Drury Lane sharpish and catch this humdinger of a night.
Verdict: More please, Sir Cameron
I think he liked it!
The Times Oliver Review
not an old Bean but an infinitely creepy criminal with lank hair, a yellow face and a sinister, silvery glint in his eyes.
He wasn’t so sure about Jodie at first but she convinced him in the end:
Initially she struck me as parading, posturing, performing rather than acting, but she went on to prove herself a tough, coarse, credible presence with a big, robust voice — and that’s all that is needed.
He picks out Burn Gorman’s Sikes as:
a particular success, a pale, quiet figure who threatens more with his stillness than with his cudgel.
He also makes particular mention of “Anthony Ward’s splendidly atmospheric sets”
The Guardian Oliver Review
Michael Billington describes Rowan Atkinson’s Fagin as “a saturnine comic presence” saying:
Rowan Atkinson turns in a sprightly, distinctive performance…….Atkinson’s Fagin may be essentially comic but he endows the character with a camply sinister edge.
He seems to have enjoyed Jodie Prenger’s performance and in particular her interpretation of Nancy’s big numbers As long As He Needs Me and Oom-Pa-Pa
Mr. Billington’s main issue seem to be with Bart’s interpretation of Dickens and the very musical itself. Dickens’ book Oliver Twist gives a grim view of Victorian London which Oliver! tends to glide over. He says:
too many of the characters are ciphers, and the plot is largely a device for getting the numbers on
That is something that could be said of many musicals, I’m afraid.
Oliver Reviews: The Independent
Michael Coveny reviewing Oliver for The Independent has fewer qualms about Bart’s musical but is less convinced by Jodie Prenger.
The moment Prenger appears, I’m afraid, the heart sinks. She seems to be hiding from the audience. Her voice is okay, but she can’t act and she doesn’t have the depth of lung power to fill a plastic bag, let alone a West End theatre on a nightly basis.
“As Long As He Needs Me,” one of the great theatre songs of our time, is a total embarrassment compounded by a naff downstage centre rush for applause.
Ouch!
He’s a little bit kinder to Rowan Atkinson but not much:
Long-haired and slithery like a Semitic toad, he weighs his options with a Mr Bean-style blubberiness, tugging at his lower lip and casting malignant glances to the wings. He’s funniest when fingering his stolen gems, or kicking his legs above his head in a sideways exit. But he’s not a malevolent, gleeful, stage-hogging, dubiously paedophiliac monster that you long for and Lionel Bart wrote, even if Charles Dickens didn’t.
There seems to have only been one lead performance that he really enjoyed:
….the Artful Dodger was played by Ross McCormack, and he was terrific. The absolute centre of the show is “Consider Yourself” in Clerkenwell, as the Dodger’s gang materialise from inside a statue of a top-hatted worthy and the whole city erupts in a series of knees-ups and key changes, beautifully lit by Paule Constable.
Your Opinions
So what do you think? Have you seen Oliver! yet? Are the critics’ Oliver reviews right or are you baffled by them?
Behind The Scenes of Oliver! The Musical January 9, 2009
Posted by Andy in : Oliver, press , add a commentOliver The Musical on the TV and Radio
Next Tuesday, the 13th of January 2009 we will be able to take a peek behind the scenes at Oliver! The Musical on ITV1’s This Morning, and listen in to The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 for interviews with Rowan Atkinson, Cameron Mackintosh, Rupert Goold and Matthew Bourne and also watch the BBC news for a special report on the official opening of the much awaited production.
updated 14/01/09:
Well the Today Programme article wasn’t much, it must have been squeezed by other news. Just an an interview with Rowan Atkinson in which he explained how he played the part of Fagin in Oliver for his son’s school and called Cameron Mackintosh for help with the role. I expect there’ll be a lot more publicity about Oliver the musical today and tomorrow tough. Have you heard any good original coverage yet?
Oliver! The Musical Theatre Breaks and Full Cast List November 1, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Oliver, theatre breaks , 60commentsOliver the Musical London Theatre Breaks
** Book Oliver! London Theatre Breaks **
When people were choosing the next Nancy for the stage musical of Oliver!, I wonder how many of them thought of taking London theatre breaks to really see the show properly. Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Lionel Bart’s family musical Oliver! will make a great theatre show for a family visit to London. Rehearsals are underway already and the previews start in December. One of the best ways of getting tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows is to book them as part of all inclusive London theatre breaks.This is because the hotel and show package agencies have tickets for popular dates you might otherwise struggle to get.
Oliver with Jodie Prenger tip
Top tip – if you can’t get tickets for a Saturday try booking for the Friday. You can really make a weekend of it and can often stay the Saturday night as well for just a bit more.
Remember if you want to see Jodie Prenger don’t book Wednesday or Thursday evenings. If you don’t mind you can sometimes pick up a bargain for those shows and Tamsin Carrol (Nancy alternate) has a great voice!
When booking for whichever dates you have chosen, you will then be presented with the hotel options and here are some suggestions which may help with making that decision:
Hotels for Oliver! theatre breaks
These are just a few of the possible hotels for your stay in London to see Oliver! the musical. Your choice depends partly on whether you want to be handy for the West End or if you prefer to be nearer your train station. I think the hotels nearer the West End are often a better idea. These ones are all within a short walk but the choice is vast and most are very good.
The Buckingham – 4* elegant Georgian townhouse hotel in the Bloomsbury area. This area is a short walk from the theatre and handy for lots of attractions.
The Grange Holborn Hotel – 5* modern, high rise, luxury hotel. More affordable than you’d think. Handy for central London attractions and the theatre. This one has amazing facilities including a Roman Art Deco pool and steam rooms!
Holiday Inn Bloomsbury – 4* modern hotel just off Russell Square. It is only a short walk from the West End and is close to London parks.
Oliver! the musical Cast List
Three young actors get to play Oliver and the Artful Dodger on a rotational basis that isn’t always published:
Laurence Jeffcoate, Gwion Wyn Jones and Harry Stott – ‘Oliver’
Eric Dibb Fuller, Robert Madge and Ross McCormack – ‘The Artful Dodger’
Rowan Atkinson - ‘Fagin’
Jodie Prenger - ‘Nancy’
Tamsin Carroll -’Nancy’ on the Wednesday and Thursday evening performances.
Burn Gorman – ‘Bill Sikes’
Rosemary Leech – ‘Mrs Bedwin’
Julian Bleach – ‘Mr Sowerberry’
Louise Gold – ‘Mrs Sowerberry’
Julius D’Silva – ‘Mr Bumble’
Wendy Ferguson – ‘Widow Corney’
Other members of Fagin’s Gang
Jordan Li-Smith, 13, has been offered the part of Charlie Bates,the Artful Dodger’s best friend. Jordan appeared in BBC hit Saturday night series I’d Do Anything. Unfortunately, he wasn’t Oliver but impressed the judges.
Dan Ferrarri – one of our blog readers, is playing a member of Fagin’s gang. Dan said that each gang leader has a team and that he is in the Tanners team with Ross McCormac.
Oliver the musical Video Clips
Now, just to get you in the mood, here are all three Olivers singing “Where is Love?”
And of course – “Food Glorious Food!” from the film version:
** Book Oliver! the musical London Theatre Breaks **
Exclusive Saturday Night Theatre Breaks August 2, 2008
Posted by admin in : Dirty Dancing, Grease, Hairspray, Musicals, Oliver, Special Offers, jersey boys, offers, theatre breaks , add a commentExclusive Saturday night theatre tickets
A new offer from Superbreak gives you the chance to choose Saturday night tickets for one of a range of popular shows with two nights in a London hotel for a very reasonable price. There’s also a fantastic bonus pack but more about that later. The top London show Saturday night tickets for these particular dates can be hard to find which is part of what makes this exclusive theatre break deal particularly attractive. You can not only choose from a range of 3* and 4* hotels but also specify from a range of theatre ticket price bands.
For example, two could stay 2 nights in a 3* hotel and see Oliver! (with Jodie!) in January from as little as £252 ! Or go in November and see Lee Mead in Joseph before he finishes, 2 nights in a 3*hotel plus tickets for 2 from £262
Not only that you get a VIP Theatre Pack full of goodies including a special exclusive CD and loads of valuable discount vouchers. But just wait until you see which West End Musicals are included in this exclusive offer.
Want to be sure of getting tickets? Book now
Shows and Dates
The offer is for specific dates in the autumn and winter of 2008. You could even book more than one.
Dirty Dancing Saturday 18 October 2008
do I see a girls’ night out in your future? Plus these weekends in London would be perfect for anyone planning a Hen Night.
November
Feeling like a musical November to chase away the winter chills?
Grease – Saturday 08 November 2008
Is this the one that you want?
Dirty Dancing - Saturday 15 November 2008
Wedding not till November? No Problem!
Joseph – Saturday 22 November 2008
Yes, see Lee before it’s too late!
Hairspray – Saturday 29 November 2008
Top show, what can I say, these are class shows! check availability
December
What about a shopping break in London combined with a show?
Jersey Boys – Saturday 06 December 2008
Oh What A night!
Dirty Dancing – Saturday 13 December 2008
Aw, Xmas weddings are cute 
January 2009
Oliver! – Saturday 24 January 2009
Oh yes, would you believe it? Tickets to see Jodie on a Saturday in January could be yours!
Act Fast – Book Now
You are going to have to act fast to grab these. It’s such a good offer the shows will book up fast.
So act now to book your Saturday Night Exclusive Theatre Break in London
What’s in the VIP Theatre Pack?
- An Exclusive Directors Choice CD
- A free subscription to Passport of the Arts (worth £20)
- A host of discount vouchers for London Attractions
Further details and check availability of tickets on the Exclusive Saturday Peformance Offer page
Thanks for reading London Theatre Breaks articles about Oliver
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