TICKETS go on sale at 9am on Thursday for the first season of shows in the Theatre Royal’s newly restored auditorium.
Announced today is End of the Rainbow, a musical play about the latter part of Judy Garland’s career when she was struggling to relive past glories.
Peter Quilter’s play, premiered in 2005, was revived in Northampton last year and transferred to London’s West End in November where it ran for six months.
Reviews were mostly good but all critics agreed that Tracie Bennett was brilliant as Garland.
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph called it “one of the greatest musical theatre performances I have ever witnessed” while Rachel Cooke in The Observer said the actress gave “the performance of her life”.
The production was nominated for four Olivier Awards and arrives at the Newcastle theatre for the week beginning October 10 with Ms Bennett in the role that has earned her acclaim and a score studded with the singer’s greatest hits.
It follows Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George III, which reopens the theatre on September 12, running for a week, and The Sound of Music (Connie Fisher back in the habit) which begins a three-week run on September 20.
Amanda Donohoe is to star in Noel Coward’s last play, Star Quality, which goes behind the scenes in the making of a West End show. It runs from October 24-29.
After their stint at The Sage Gateshead, Opera North return to their North East home with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and two previous hits, Ruddigore and Madama Butterfly (Nov 8-12).
The build-up to Christmas will feature Northern Ballet with Nutcracker (November 15-19).
And after the fun of this year’s panto, Sleeping Beauty, will come another version, Scottish Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty (February 1-4).
But the first big New Year show will be The King and I with Ramon Tikaram starring in the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic (Jan 24-28).
Also in 2012 we can look forward to Rambert Dance Company celebrating 85 years with the “magical and humorous” Seven for a Secret (Feb 7-9), the new Susan Boyle musical, I Dreamed a Dream, starring Elaine C. Smith (March 23-31), and the all-male Propeller theatre company with The Winter’s Tale and Henry V (April 24-28).
Parents of young children will make a note of Peppa Pig (February 11 and 12) and people of all ages won’t want to miss Derren Brown, here for a week this time (May 7-12) after previous one night sell-outs.
“Once we reopen in September we will offer our customers the best theatrical experience in the UK, bar none,” promises Theatre Royal chief executive Philip Bernays.
Check www.theatreroyal.co.uk for full details. Box office 08448 112121