All stories by Mark Shenton on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Shenton's View: Sting's The Last Ship sinks, but Broadway sails on by Mark Shenton

Broadway keeps breaking its own records. According to the Broadway League (the US equivalent to the Society of London Theatre), 2014 exceeded the previous year in both revenue and attendance…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Casting Complete for World Premiere of Zinnie Harris' How to Hold Your Breath at London's Royal Cour by Mark Shenton

Full casting has been announced for the world premiere of Zinnie Harris' How to Hold Your Breath, beginning performances Feb. 4 prior to an official opening Feb. 10 at London…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:26AM[SHARE]

Casting Complete for World Premiere of Zinnie Harris' Hold Your Breath at London's Royal Court by Mark Shenton

Full casting has been announced for the world premiere of Zinnie Harris' Hold Your Breath, beginning performances Feb. 4 prior to an official opening Feb. 10 at London's Roy…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:26AM[SHARE]

Jonathan Pryce and Michelle Terry to Star in Productions at Shakespeare's Globe in London by Mark Shenton

Two-time Tony winner Jonathan Pryce is to star as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice that opens the 2015 season at Shakespeare's Globe, beginning performances April 23 prior to an off…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:21AM[SHARE]

Shenton's View: Saying goodbye to Pippin on Broadway by Mark Shenton

Last weekend alone seven shows closed on Broadway: as playbill.com’s editor-in-chief Adam Hetrick wrote last week, “January turnover on Broadway is common, with producers cutt…

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Monday, January 5, 2015

Cats Extends at London Palladium; New Grizabella Named by Mark Shenton

Cats has extended its season at the London Palladium and is now booking through April 25, with Kerry Ellis joining the company Feb. 9 to take over as Grizabella from Nicole Scherzinger. It w…

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:52AM[SHARE]

Shenton's View: Mark Shenton's theatre picks for 2015 by Mark Shenton

So that was 2014 " we’ve drawn up our various lists of the best of last year and The Stage 100 of the most influential people in theatreland, but now it is time to look…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 4, 2015

Review: Wicked by Mark Shenton

An autumn rich in musicals in the West End may yet bring better ones, but it'll be difficult to find a more eye-poppingly lavish show anywhere than Wicked. And a musical about the castings o…

SOURCE: shentonstage.com at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Review: War Horse by Mark Shenton

Straight after coming home from seeing War Horse, the now annual National Theatre production based on a children's book and designed for family audiences, I went online to book tickets to se…

SOURCE: shentonstage.com at 10:29PM[SHARE]

Review: Treasure Island by Mark Shenton

The first half, alas, passes by in a lot of sluggish exposition and character development as we are introduced to the pirate band, before the second half takes more imaginative flight when t…

SOURCE: shentonstage.com at 10:25PM[SHARE]

Review: Thriller Live by Mark Shenton

All the hits are here -- Man in the Mirror, Billie Jean, Bad, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Can You Feel It etc -- and more (yes, Heal the World is in there, too).

SOURCE: shentonstage.com at 10:22PM[SHARE]

Review: Sunny Afternoon by Mark Shenton

Edward Hall's production has more room to breathe on the West End stage, with the action spilling happily beyond it into the stalls via a ramp that bisects the front rows. There is also some…

SOURCE: shentonstage.com at 10:04PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 1, 2015

Jerry Herman's The Grand Tour Makes European Premiere Tonight by Mark Shenton

Jerry Herman's 1979 Broadway flop The Grand Tour receives its European premiere, beginning performances Jan. 1, 2015, at London's Finborough Theatre prior to an official opening Jan.…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:13AM[SHARE]

Jerry Herman's The Grand Tour Makes European Premiere Tonight by Mark Shenton

Jerry Herman's 1979 Broadway musical The Grand Tour receives its European premiere, beginning performances Jan. 1, 2015, at London's Finborough Theatre prior to an official opening J…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hurt, James Corden, Sheridan Smith and More Honored in Queen's New Year's by Mark Shenton

Kristin Scott Thomas has been made a dame, and John Hurt has been knighted in the annual Queen's New Year's Honors list announced by Buckingham Palace, both for "services to dra…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:06AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 30, 2014

LONDON SPRING PREVIEW 2015: Carole King Will Move the Earth While Mama Rose and Tom Stoppard Return by Mark Shenton

Looking ahead to the 2015 spring theatre season in London and the U.K., theatregoers will see the first production of Gypsy in more than 40 years while Emma Thompson serves up the worst pies…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 26, 2014

Opinion: 2014 in review: London by Mark Shenton

Mark Shenton selects his peaks and troughs among the capital's musicals and plays over the past year, noting that the West End seems to have found its way back to the 1980s. While last year&…

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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Shenton's View: Mark Shenton's musical theatre Christmas playlist by Mark Shenton

At this time of year, Classic FM " my station of choice while I work " becomes virtually unlistenable thanks to the constant stream of Christmas music it plays. But here’s an alternati…

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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Star of Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar to Lead Cast of U.K. Tour by Mark Shenton

Glenn Carter, who played the the title role in the 2000 Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar that he had previously played in the West End, is to return to the role for a new U.K. tour…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:17AM[SHARE]

Shenton's View: Behind the scenes in 2014 by Mark Shenton

Critics inevitably look at what’s happening onstage in our end-of-year round-ups, and I’ve already provided my 10 best London musicals of the year and a critical round-up of the …

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Monday, December 22, 2014

Shenton's View: Best London musicals of 2014 by Mark Shenton

It’s the time of year when critics and commentators routinely draw up their best of the year lists, and I’m no exception. In the bumper Christmas edition of The Stage, you can fi…

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Friday, December 19, 2014

New Production of Jerry's Girls to Play London's St. James Studio by Mark Shenton

A new production of Jerry's Girls, the 1985 Broadway musical revue that celebrated the work of composer Jerry Herman, is to receive a new production at London's St James Studio, begi…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:53AM[SHARE]

New Production of Jerry's Girls to Play London's St James Studio by Mark Shenton

A new production of Jerry's Girls, the 1985 Broadway musical revue that celebrated the work of composer Jerry Herman, is to receive a new production at London's St James Studio, begi…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:53AM[SHARE]

The West End's The Commitments Extends Booking Through Sept. 2015 by Mark Shenton

The West End production of The Commitments, a stage version of Roddy Doyle's best-selling novel of the same name, has extended bookings at the Palace Theatre through Sept. 13, 2015.

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:50AM[SHARE]

Full Casting Announced for New U.K. Tour of David Hare's The Absence of War by Mark Shenton

Full casting has been announced for the new U.K. touring production of David Hare's 1993 play The Absence of War, that is being jointly produced by Headlong, Rose Theatre Kingston and Sh…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:14AM[SHARE]

Shenton's View: Mark Shenton's New York theatre picks: December 19 by Mark Shenton

I’m currently enjoying the luxury of a month-long visit to New York, my favourite city on the planet " and it is giving me a chance to catch up with everything that’s playing her…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 18, 2014

No Man's Land, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, Confirmed for West End Run by Mark Shenton

The U.K.'s Playful Productions, which in April 2015 will celebrate its fifth anniversary as an independent production company, has confirmed that its plans for the New Year will include …

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:47AM[SHARE]

U.K. Tour of Jersey Boys Announces Further Dates for 2015 by Mark Shenton

The current U.K. and Irish tour of Jersey Boys has added further dates to its touring schedule for 2015, with visits now scheduled for Bradford's Alhambra Theatre, Cardiff's Wales Mi…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:23AM[SHARE]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to Shutter at West End's Savoy Theatre by Mark Shenton

The West End premiere run of the 2005 Broadway musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is to shutter at the Savoy Theatre March 7, 2015. It follows the announcement that Gypsy is to begin performanc…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:13AM[SHARE]

Imelda Staunton Gypsy Will Transfer to West End; Box Office Now Open by Mark Shenton

The revival of the 1959 Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents musical Gypsy that ran at Chichester Festival Theatre in October and November has confirmed its West End transfer to …

SOURCE: Playbill at 08:55AM[SHARE]

Shenton's View: Mark Shenton's theatre picks: December 18 by Mark Shenton

There’s a final flurry of new shows opening in London and around the country ahead of Christmas " and not much of a break after it as the theatre schedule resumes almost immediately in…

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All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off