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Linzi Hateley will make a sensational return as the Narrator at special performances, in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Linzi Hateley Photo Credit: Laura Lewis

Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group have announced today that Linzi Hateley – who starred in the original London Palladium production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – will make a sensational return to the musical in this summer’s strictly limited season at the iconic theatre.

Linzi – who was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance as the Narrator, and starred alongside Jason Donovan in the title role – will perform as in the role at special performances, in the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s legendary musical.

The production will begin performances on Thursday 1 July (Gala Night: Thursday 15 July) and will be one of the highlights in the return of theatre to the UK cultural landscape.

Alexandra Burke will play The Narrator for the other performances this summer in the celebrated musical. Her many West End credits include the lead roles in The Bodyguard, Sister Act, Chess and Chicago. Alexandra first rose to fame winning The X-Factor in 2008, and has since gone on to sell over 5 million records.

Jason Donovan will return in the role of Pharaoh. He was originally in the show when he made his defining stage performance as the title character of Joseph in the 1990s, in a sold-out 18-month run which produced a No.1 single and best-selling soundtrack album. Jason raised the roof of the London Palladium in 2019 as Pharaoh, who rocks ‘Song of the King’ in the iconic musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Jac Yarrow caused a sensation when he made his professional stage debut playing Joseph, following in the footsteps of a line of stars who have previously played the title character. His portrayal of Joseph won him unanimous acclaim and an Olivier Award nomination, with his rendition of ‘Close Every Door To Me’ regularly stopping the show with standing ovations.

The production will begin live performances on Thursday 1 July, with Linzi Hateley’s first performance on Saturday 17th July after the proposed “Step Four” in the Government’s roadmap to easing restrictions, and therefore is planning to accommodate full-capacity audiences in accordance with the intended lifting of all limits on social contact.

Michael Harrison said: “This dream just keeps getting better. It was special enough to announce Alexandra Burke recently as the Narrator, but to now have the added bonus of Linzi playing the role at special performances – and to reunite her with Jason Donovan again at the London Palladium –  turns Joseph into a dream ticket. The combination of nostalgia for the original Palladium production, coupled with the excitement of our new critically acclaimed version, means we all have a summer to look forward to.”

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat enjoyed a completely sold out season in 2019. Audiences and critics were unanimous in their acclaim for the legendary musical – the first major collaboration by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber – as it returned to the London Palladium.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be directed by Laurence Connor. Laurence’s credits include the acclaimed London production of School of Rock and the Tony-Award nominated production on Broadway, the recent London productions of Miss Saigon and Chess, the international arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and he is also the Co-Director of the new version of Les Misérables which has enjoyed worldwide success including Broadway, UK and US tours. He is the director of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of Cinderella, which also opens this July at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Laurence will be joined on the creative team by Choreographer JoAnn M Hunter (who has 20 Broadway shows to her credit, including School of Rock and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever), the award-winning Morgan Large who will design the set and costumes, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell and Sound Designer Gareth Owen.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small-scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru! The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into hardship by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is produced by Michael Harrison.

 

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Top 5 Shows Of 2019 (according to me)

Top 5 Shows

To get a sense of how many great shows played UK theatres in 2019, look at some of the outstanding productions that didn’t make my top 5.

The Boy in the Dress

The Boy in the Dress

From the RSC’s Robbie Williams powered The Boy in the Dress (brilliantly adapted from David Walliams’ book), the first actor-musician staging of Kiss Me, Kate at Watermill Theatre in Newbury, Ian McKellen’s herculean 80 date one man evening of autobiography that was a love letter to theatre, a reinvigorated West Side Story at Manchester’s Royal Exchange and, of course, Chichester Festival Theatre’s dazzling Oklahoma!

There was a dizzying array of delights on offer.

Let’s get the bad out the way, shall we?

Waitress. Oh Waitress…

Based on Adrienne Shelly’s film and scored by Sara Bareilles, the New York hit arrived in London in a flat, laboured, commercially driven production. It lingered on and on and on with haphazard marketing, repellent casting & the worst set in town.

Joe Sugg in Waitress

Joe Sugg in Waitress ( i can’t)

States of denial vary, obviously. But casting vlogger Joe Sugg and Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts was a desperate attempt to keep the doors open that made me shudder.

A move which was either an act of open warfare on its own audiences or a demonstration of supreme charity towards superior broadway imports peppered across town.

Elsewhere, Sean Foley’s musical staging of The Man in The White Suit featured Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon. Both performers were trapped in “what the hell’s going on” territory, and up against some hum-drum stage effects, while Sue Johnston phoned it in as a washer-woman.

The Man in the White Suit

The Man in the White Suit ( hellish)

Bizarre and ghastly, it left audiences in theatre hell and closed 6 weeks early.

Best we can say about The Man In The White Suit is at least it was brief.

I don’t think I have the energy to give Big – The Musical an autopsy – suffice to say it was totally terrible.

Anyway, my top 5 shows of 2019:

1. Life of Pi 

If I were picking a theatre of the year, it would undoubtedly be Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

With one compelling show after another in Guys and Dolls, Reasons To Stay Alive and then this remarkable reimagining of Yann Martel’s book. Everything was stunningly brought to life in a production of theatrical genius, cunningly adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti.

The puppetry was terrific and the stage design by Tim Hatley was gorgeous. The entire cast, led by Hiran Abeysekera were remarkable by any standards.

In case you missed this five-star spectacle, fear not; Crucible Theatre’s acclaimed production will come to the London stage next year.

The Wyndham’s’ auditorium will be reconfigured for the first time in order to accommodate the production, with seating levels altered and the stage extended out into the stalls. Unmissable.

Come from Away

Come from Away ( very good)

2. Come From Away

This feel-good musical comes straight from the heart and it is solid gold, winning the best new musical Olivier award, as well as best sound design and outstanding achievement in music.

Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s folksy show tells the tale of 7,000 stranded air passengers amid the chaos of 9/11 and the small town  that took them in.

A uniformly excellent cast captivate audiences for 100 storming minutes: you’ll laugh, tap your foot, cry happy tears, and leave feeling good about civilisation. A must see.

3. Death of a Salesman 

Originally staged at the Young Vic and transferring to the west end in the autumn, a beautiful piece of theatre which was and there are no two ways about this, amazing.

Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman ( stunning)

Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke probably nailed some Olivier Award nominations with their outstanding and dusted down performances as Willy and Linda Loman too.

Arthur Miller’s timeless play – staged with clear-eyed precision by Marianne Elliott & Miranda Cromwell – was something special, while Wendell Pierce delivered a shattering portrait of a man adrift.

Dream team Elliott and Cromwell carved something new and utterly contemporary out of an old play, with the dislocating quality of a dream.

Broadway beckons, surely.

4. Standing at The Sky’s Edge

An astonishing musical, with new and old songs by pop star Richard Hawley and a snappy book by Chris Bush, possessed the rarest things in modern British musicals, a beginning, a middle, an end, and a sense of humour.

Standing at the Sky's Edge

Standing at the Sky’s Edge

The portrayal of high-rise communities in the iconic concrete housing estate could hardly be bettered. Sky’s Edge delicately told the story of three very different families through generations in the 1960s, 80s, and 2000s on Sheffield’s most notorious estate.

What moved me and others to tears, in this across-the decades wonder, also offerered one of the richest and most profound audience experiences of the year. Robert Hastie’s heartfelt production delighted in being visceral. Ben Stone’s concrete multi-level design both stunningly simple and enchanting; it all added up to something greater than the sum of its parts.

It was damn near perfect. I hope it has another life.

5.  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 

Look, 2019 marked 50 years since the original Joseph concept album was released. This summer, the eccentric show was back at the London Palladium.

Laurence Connor directed a cast including Sheridan Smith and Jason Donovan, who brought  charisma to a gleeful revival – but neither could match the professional debut of Arts Ed graduate Jac Yarrow. This was a shimmering summer pantomime.

Joseph at the Palladium

Joseph at the Palladium

At its centre, Yarrow elevated Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s silly musical to new heights; it was almost as if he was born to sing Close Every Door on that Palladium stage. I didn’t always know what was happening, but it didn’t matter – everyone left with a smile on their face after an entertaining and vibrant 100 minutes.

Brava!

And that brings our list to a close. Not great news for 9 to 5 The Musical, but pretty good news for theatre’s best people.

The end.
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to return to the London Palladium for summer 2020

Michael Harrison and The Really Useful Group have announced that the new, smash hit production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will return to the iconic London Palladium next summer, following its triumphant season this year.

Performances will begin on Thursday 2 July 2020, with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat playing a strictly limited 10-week season through until Sunday 6 September 2020 (Gala Night: Thursday 16 July 2020). Tickets for 2020 go on General Sale on Friday 27 September 2019.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat enjoyed a completely sold out season this year, with audiences giving the new production nightly standing ovations. Critics were also unanimous in their acclaim for the legendary musical – the first major collaboration by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice – as it returned to the London Palladium.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the worlds most beloved family musicals. The multi-award winning show, which began life as a small scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru! The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

Casting for 2020 will be announced at a later date.

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Full casting announced for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group have confirmed the full casting for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, following the previous announcements that Sheridan Smith will star as The Narrator, Jason Donovan will return to the show as Pharaoh, and that Jac Yarrow will mark his professional debut as Joseph.

 Today’s announcement completes casting for the new production at the world-famous London Palladium, where the production will play a strictly limited 11-week season from Thursday 27 June (Press Night: Thursday 11 July 2019).

 Michael Pickering will play Simeon and Richard Carson will be Reuben. Joining them will be Femi Akinfolarin, Casey Al-Shaqsy, JR Ballantyne, Lydia Bannister, Thalia Burt, Michael Cortez, Vanessa Fisher, Ahmed Hamad, Blythe Jandoo, Matt Krzan, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Billy Mitchell, Georgina Parkinson, Emily Ann Potter, Matthew Rowland, Harriet Samuel-Grey, Carl Spencer, Joshua Steel, Hannah Taylor and Jack Wilcox.

The cast will also include a rotating children’s ensemble, featuring Rihana Akhtar, Mia Byers, Angel Clark, Aoife Connelly, Oliver Crouch, Jacob Dennison, Anna De Oliviera, Tilly Doherty, Nessa Eriksson, Dara Gleeson, Sean Gordon, Maci Hughes, Isabelle Jones, Dino Karakostas, Jamie Kenly, Jaxon Knopf, Olivia Leask, Olivia McNulty, Indiphile Mbonzongwana, Jack Meredith, Chloe Muldowny, Keanna-Skye O’Quinn, Regan Parker, Devon Pomeroy, Etienne Ragoo, Olivia Seagrove, Tom Skoines, Nina Stevenson, Jandice Stewart, Mia Walsh, Luca Willemburg and Sacha Yarwood.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be directed by Laurence Connor (School of Rock Miss Saigon). Laurence will be joined on the creative team by Choreographer JoAnn M Hunter, Morgan Large who will design the set and costumes, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell and Sound Designer Gareth Owen.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small-scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru! The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is produced by Michael Harrison.

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Jason Donovan will return to the London Palladium in the new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Today Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group announced that Jason Donovan will return to the London Palladium in the new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to star as the Pharaoh.

Jason made his defining stage performance as the title character of Joseph in the 1990s, also at the London Palladium, in a sold-out 18-month run which produced a No.1 single and best-selling soundtrack album. It remains one of the most successful revivals of all time. Jason now returns to the show as Pharaoh, who rocks ‘Song of the King’ in the iconic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, soon to be re-imagined in this brand new production.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will play a strictly limited 11-week season from Thursday 27 June (Press Night: Thursday 11 July 2019).

Jason joins Sheridan Smith, with the double Olivier Award winning actress recently announced as The Narrator. Casting for the role of Joseph is to be announced soon.

Jason commented: “You never know the measure of a moment until it becomes a memory, and what a moment that was for me. Joseph was a ground breaker in 1991, and what a blast it will be to be back on the prestigious Palladium stage and be part of it all again with a brand new cast in this re-imagined 2019 production. I’m looking forward to breathing new life into Pharaoh and I’m so relieved he doesn’t wear a loin cloth!”

Jason became an international star with the role of Scott Robinson in Neighbours. The series went on to become one of the highest-rating shows in the UK, which led to Jason’s association and huge success with acclaimed producers, Stock, Aitken and Waterman. His debut album Ten Good Reasons was the biggest selling album of 1989, with career sales of 13 million albums and 4 UK No.1 singles.

Following his Olivier-nominated portrayal of Joseph, he has gone on to star in The Rocky Horror Show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Priscilla, Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music, The King’s Speechand Million Dollar Quartet. On television he has featured in I’m A Celebrity and Strictly Come Dancing, Who Do You Think You Are, ITV’s Superstar and Piers Morgan’s Life Stories. Jason also appeared in ITV’s drama Echo Beach and he continues to play sell-out tours across the country.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be directed by Laurence Connor (School of Rock Miss Saigon). Laurence will be joined on the creative team by Choreographer JoAnn M Hunter,Morgan Large who will design the set and costumes, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell and Sound Designer Gareth Owen.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small-scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru! The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is produced by Michael Harrison.

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Sheridan Smith returns to the West End in new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium

Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith

Sheridan Smith

Today Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group have announced that BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning actress Sheridan Smith will return to the West End this summer in the new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium.

Sheridan will play The Narrator, as the iconic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is re-imagined in a brand new production. The production will play a strictly limited 11-week season from Thursday 27 June (Press Night: Thursday 11 July 2019).

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be directed by Laurence Connor. Laurence’s credits include the acclaimed London production of School of Rock and the Tony-Award nominated production on Broadway, the recent London productions of Miss Saigon and Chess, the international arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and he is also the Co-Director of the new version of Les Misérables which has enjoyed worldwide success including Broadway, UK and US tours.

Laurence will be joined on the creative team by Choreographer JoAnn M Hunter (who has 20 Broadway shows to her credit, including School of Rock and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever), the award-winning Morgan Large who will design the set and costumes, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell and Sound Designer Gareth Owen.

Double Olivier Award winning Sheridan Smith is Britain’s most captivating young actress. She made her TV debut in 1999 in ITV’s comedy series Dark Ages and went on to become a renowned household name on the long running cult series Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Her other TV credits include her starring role in Mrs Biggs, for which she was named Best Actress at the 2013 BAFTA TV Awards and was nominated for an International EMMY, and winning the National TV Award for her highly acclaimed portrayal of British icon Cilla Black in ITV’s 3-part drama Cilla, for which she was also nominated for her second BAFTA and International EMMY. Her most recent TV project was the ITV Primetime Drama Cleaning Up.

Her film credits include Hysteria, Tower Block, Quartet and Universal’s The Huntsman and Winter’s War.

Sheridan made her stage debut at the Donmar Warehouse in Into the Woods, and has since gone on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses in UK theatre. She earned her first Olivier Award Nomination for her performance in Little Shop of Horrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory and in the West End, and in 2009 was awarded her first Olivier Award for her role of ‘Elle Woods’ in the West End production of Legally Blonde the Musical. She also won the 2012 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance and the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her role of ‘Doris’ in Flare Path. Most recently Sheridan enjoyed a highly celebrated run at The Savoy Theatre in Funny Girl, playing ‘Fanny Brice’, a role last played by Barbara Streisand.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small-scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru! The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is produced by Michael Harrison.

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