The Matinee

Welcome to The Matinee

The Matinee is your portal to Musical Theatre in the UK and World Wide. The site is run by the guys behind The Matinee Radio show on 103.6 Tameside Radio and 87.7 Gaydio.This means we can get behind the shows in a way other sites can only dream of. You can use this site to book tickets, find out about theatre, meet the stars and hear completely independent reviews of the shows.

NEWS & REVIEWS

16/08/2008



The Matinee On Tour This week we are live from Taurus Bar. We are looking at all the great entertainment available in the bars in Manchester in the lead up to Manchester Pride. We also chat to Suko, Shane Ritchie and Tim Driesen from Never Forget.

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Weekly Quiz


Test your knowledge of Musical Theatre!
1. Witches of Eastwick comes to the Opera House, Who Plays Daryl Van Horne?
a) Marti Pellow
b) Pete burns
c) Elton John
d) James Dean

2. What is the most sung song from Carousel?
a) Walking on Sunshine
b) You'll Never Walk Alone
c) Total Eclipse of the Heart
d) Music of the Night

3. Who is Playing Emcee in the current touring version of Cabaret?
a) Wayne Sleep
b) Madame Aries
c) Stephen Gatley
d) Andrew Lloyd Webber

4. Who is playing Nancy in Oliver after winning the part on TV?
a) Madame Aries
b) Lilly Savage
c) Jodie Prenger
d) James Dean

5. Nicki French's recent theatre experience was in?
a) Menapause the Musical
b) Stroppy Women
c) Joseph
d) Stupid Men

 

New Shows

Le Grand Cirque -Wed 27 Aug 2008 - Sun 31 Aug 2008

  • The Lowry has the perfect treat for all the family this summer with one of the most magical and spellbinding circus shows ever to grace the stage – Le Grand Cirque. Click the image to watch a preview.

Oliver - Stage Experience - Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th August 2008 - 7.30pm

Oliver

    This year's Stage Experience will be an ‘oompah-pah’ occasion as young people from the Manchester area will star in Lionel Barts’ classic musical Oliver!

Letter from Broadway

8/21/2008





As the eagerly awaited Broadway opening of Shrek: The Musical draws closer, photos of the transformation of actor Brian D'Arcy James into the jolly green ogre, Shrek, have been released. To view the results of the 2 hour 15 minute process, go to http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/news/2008-08-11-shrek-musical-james_N.htm. Shrek began its pre-Broadway run at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre on August 14th with the Broadway preview beginning on November 8th at the Broadway Theatre in preparation for it's planned December 14th opening.

Shakespeare in the Park, the Public Theatre's gift to New York City each summer which stages free performances in Central Park's Delacourt Theatre during the summer, including at least one Shakespeare production each season, is getting Hair extensions. This year the Public staged a revival of Hair which has met with great success and been extended for the third time. The critically praised production was originally to run July22-August 17. It was extended to August 31, then September 7 and now to September 14. It sounds like a good bet for a Broadway revival.

On the other hand, it looks like Godspell won't be opening any time soon, if at all. Producers have pulled the plug on the Broadway revival which was to start previews next month. The producers have found themselves $1 million short of the $4.5 million dollar budget. Several factors may be in play here, including the bad economy which has made going to the theatre a luxury rather than a casual past-time and the question of whether this religious musical, which was considered hip and ground-breaking in the 70's when it originally opened, would still be viable for today's audiences.