LIFT the curtain on Bradford Theatres’ autumn season and you’ll find the Cell Block Tango, Mormons on a mission, the Modfather, a Disney hero, a Neighbours stalwart, sporting legends and Strictly stars - and plenty more.
Here’s our exclusive preview of what’s coming up:
ALHAMBRA:
* Disney’s Aladdin: One lamp, three wishes and infinite possibilities...From the producers of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Frozen comes the spectacular Broadway and West End musical Aladdin, flying onto the Alhambra stage this summer. Escape to a whole new world in this extraordinary theatrical event, seen by over 14 million people worldwide. Featuring hit songs from the 1992 animated film, the dazzling show is filled with magic, comedy and spectacle.
* Michael Palin: There and Back The Diary Tour: The best-selling author and comedy legend looks back on his extraordinary career, with rarely seen photos and video, and talks through the most recent decade, which saw him visit North Korea and Nigeria.
* Only Fools and Horses The Musical: The Trotters come direct from a hit four-year run in the West End. Based on John Sullivan’s legendary sitcom, the critically acclaimed musical features cherished material from Britain’s best loved comedy. A cushty night out.
* Now That’s What I Call A Musical: Two best friends, one unforgettable reunion... New musical comedy sees EastEnders actress Nina Wadia joined by special guest Jay Osmond, performing Osmonds hit Crazy Horses. Celebrating 40 years of chart-topping compilation Now! albums, the show features 80s classics including Gold, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves.
Nina Wadia stars in a celebration of the Now! music franchise (Image: Bradford Theatres)
* Chicago: “Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery...all things we hold dear to our hearts.” So begins the hit Kander and Ebb show, with legendary Bob Fosse choreography. The sassy score includes Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango and All That Jazz.
* Ghost The Musical: A tragic encounter, walking back to their apartment one night, sees Sam murdered and his beloved Molly left alone, in despair and lost. But with the help of a phony storefront psychic, Sam tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger.
* The Book of Mormon: The nine-time Tony and four-time Olivier winning Best Musical is an outrageous comedy from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Bobby Lopez, co-writer of Avenue Q and Frozen. It follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.
* Hairspray: The big, bold and beautiful musical stars Yorkshire’s Neil Hurst, last seen at the Alhambra in The Full Monty, as Edna Turnblad and Strictly champ Joanne Clifton as fierce Velma von Tussle. Making her directorial debut is Hairspray royalty Brenda Edwards.
* The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Alhambra’s autumn season ends with the spectacular panto. Funnyman Billy Pearce leads the cast as toymaker Geppetto, joined by Coronation Street star Chris Gascoyne as the evil Stromboli.
ST GEORGE’S HALL:
There’s music a-plenty, for all tastes. Chris Norman, original lead singer of Bradford rockers Smokie, brings his show The Voice of Smokie and Gareth Malone presents Sing-a-long-a-Gareth: My Life Through Song. Also taking to the stage are Paul Weller, Kate Rusby and Peter Hook and the Light, playing Joy Division and New Order’s Substance albums in full.
There’s music nostalgia in A Night at the Movies: The Soundtrack to your Life; The Ultimate Boy Band Party Show, Northern Live: Do I Love You, Lipstick On Your Collar and Discos for Grown Ups. More floor-fillers from the Chicago Blues Brothers: Respect, the Australian Pink Floyd Show, and Luther with Harry Cambridge and his 10-piece band, and festive favourites in Rick Wakeman: Yuletide Christmas Show, Christmas with Anton Du Beke, and the Brighouse and Rastrick Band Christmas Concert.
Neighbours star Ryan Moloney, who has left the Australian soap after playing Toadie Rebecchi for 30 years, takes us behind the scenes in Toad on the Road.
An Evening with Kevin Sinfield sees one of the most successful players in Rugby League history talk about his life and sporting career, and his friendship and remarkable fundraising with Rob Burrow.
Strictly Come Dancing fans are in for a treat with Legends of the Dance Floor, featuring Strictly legends Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite. If opera is your thing, Bradford Opera Festival presents The Marriage of Figaro.
There’s comedy from Katherine Ryan, Frank Skinner, Mo Gilligan, Al Murray - The Pub Landlord, Jimmy Carr, Ed Gamble, Jason Manford, Paddy McGuinness, Adam Kay, Tez Ilyas and Paul Smith.
KING’S HALL, ILKLEY:
Lots of laughs from Ed Byrne, Dom Joly and the Comedy Store, and music from Will Young, Lloyd Cole and The Manfreds. Find out what makes music stars tick in Shaun Ryder: Happy Mondays - and Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays; ABC: An Intimate Evening with Martin Fry and Aled Jones: Full Circle. And for sports fans, An Evening with Sir Geoff Hurst and An Evening with Jeff Stelling.
* RESTAURANT 1914: Fancy a meal with a difference at the Alhambra’s top floor restaurant? The Betrayers: Final Move sees strangers in a remote castle compete to survive the “ultimate murder mystery” hosted by Cornelia Shrinkleman. When the show’s producer is murdered “for real”, who will solve the riddles and crack the code before the evening ends?
In Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, anything can happen - because 70per cent of the show is improvised. The fun starts as guests wait to be seated then hurtles along in a two-hour tour de force of shambolic service as Basil, Sybil and Manuel serve a 1970s-style three-course meal, with a dollop of mayhem. The tribute to Fawlty Towers uses scripts and a format devised by Imagination Workshop Pty Limited and “is not endorsed in any way by John Cleese or Connie Booth”.
THE STUDIO:
An Evening Without Kate Bush celebrates the genius that is Kate, and there’s comedy from Tom Stade: Risky Business and Henry Normal and Nigel Planer.
* Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk
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