Tezza's Theatre Place

The Marvelous Wonderettes Ah, the 1950s. For every American high school senior year student of the era, only one thing really mattered and that was the end of year prom. But, after what was usually a very important rite of passage for the students, as the confetti was swept up and the last decorations were taken down, it was time to face their futures as adults. So, what happens after the prom? Well, that is at the heart of  The Marvelous Wonderettes  which is receiving its UK premiere at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre. Springfield High School in 1958 and its prom time. Due to their lead, Billy Ray Patton, being suspended from school for smoking, the Glee club aren’t able to perform at the prom so, thanks to Mr Lee, entertainment is being provided by a group of cheerleaders called The Marvelous Wonderettes. The four girls – Missy (Sophie Camble), Cindy Lou (Rosie Needham), Betty Jean (Louise Young) and Suzy (Kara Taylor Alberts) – are best friends determined to mak...

Bad Girls – Photographer Lidia Crisafulli Ever thought about going to prison? I have to admit that there are times when the idea has quite appealed to me. No real worries, three meals a day, do an OU degree/Masters for free and get fit in the gym. Of course, that is not the reality for many and prison is often a dark, frightening and violent place best avoided at all costs. Still, there’s a fascination with the idea of prison life. Look at the various films and TV shows set in one of the world’s jails. Not to be outdone, musical theatre has its own salute to life inside in the shape of  Bad Girls: The Musical  which I have just seen at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village. HM Prison, Larkhill is welcoming a new inmate today. Rachel Hicks (Megan Jobling) is young, terrified and totally unsure of what is going on as she goes through prison induction under the brusque and impersonal eye of Senior Officer Sylvia “BodyBag” Hollamby (Carol Sharp) to whom, Rachel is jus...

http://www.carnstheatrepassion.com/review-thats-jewish-entertainment/ Did you know, in the early 1940’s all the major movie studios – bar one – had one thing in common, any idea what that was? They were all headed up by a Jewish man. Now you may wonder how this came about. If you do, then get yourself along to Upstairs at the Gatehouse where Aria Entertainments are staging That’s Jewish Entertainment. This lovely revue show takes its audience on a journey spanning over a hundred years. From the mass migration of Jews in the 19th Century, from the shtetl or Eastern Europe. Onto a new dawn in the United States of America. As they travelled, the jews took their culture with them. That culture has always been steeped in music and drama. For many of the dispossessed jews arriving in the USA, entertainment became more than just a cultural thing – It became a career. From the stages of Vaudeville they exported their skill in entertainment. Fully embracing the commercial side of show busi...