Oliver! fans to be left wanting more

Oliver!, the hit musical based on Charles Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist, will only consider itself at home at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane until early 2011.

The show, which currently stars Russ Abbot as Fagin and Kerry Ellis as Nancy, is to close on 8 January after two years at the historic London venue.

The much-loved musical, famous for its street urchins, cockney knees-ups and unforgettable characters, was revived in 2008 following BBC series I’d Do Anything. The Saturday night series was an Andrew Lloyd-Webber fronted search for a new West End star to portray Nancy, and unearthed new talent Jodie Prenger who, having finished her run in Oliver!, is currently starring as the Lady of the Lake in the touring production of Monty Python’s Spamalot.

First staged in 1960, Oliver! tells the tale of a young orphan, who makes his way from the workhouse to the streets of London where he meets Fagin and his motley crew of underage pickpockets, the hideously uncaring Bill Sykes and the kind-hearted Nancy.

As a celebration of the show’s 50th birthday, a special performance will be held next Wednesday, 30 June, which will feature a guest appearance by Ron Moody who played Fagin in the show’s original production and in the famous film adaptation.

No announcement about which show might follow Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane has been made.

Five Guys Mo-ve back to Stratford after 20 years

Laurence Olivier Award-winning jazz musical Five Guys Named Moe will return to its original home later this year, when it opens at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on 7 September.

The show, which premiered at the East London venue in 1990, will star its creator and star of The Wire Clarke Peters as Nomax, a broke, newly-single man who finds solace in the show’s eponymous quintet who emerge from his 1930s-style radio to comfort and cajole him with the hits of jazz legend Louis Jordan.

Peters, who played Lester Freamon hit American series The Wire and was last seen in London playing Porgy in Porgy And Bess, commented: “I am over the moon that 20 years on Five Guys still has the power to excite people with expectation. There are fond memories for those who ‘partayed’ with us before and joyful curiosity for those who didn’t. I don’t think they will be disappointed. I’m excited it’s happening.”

Peters is joined in this revival, which is directed by Paulette Randall and will play at the Edinburgh Festival before transferring to London, by Ashley Campbell (Little Moe), Chris Colquhoun (Big Moe), Carlton Connell (Four Eyed Moe), Paul Hazel (Eat Moe) and Horace Oliver (No Moe). Original cast member Paul J Medford, who can currently be seen in West End musical Sweet Charity, provides the choreography.

Speaking about the production, Kerry Michael, Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East said: “20 years on people still talk about how fantastic the show was and once this revival hits the stage I’m sure they’ll continue to talk about it for many more years to come.”

Seagrove and Shaw bring Country to London

Judge John Deed co-stars Jenny Seagrove and Martin Shaw will reunite on the West End stage this autumn when they star in Clifford Odets’s The Country Girl at the Apollo theatre.

The production, directed by Rufus Norris, begins its London season on 6 October and will run until 26 February 2011.

Odets’s play tells the story of fading, alcoholic actor Frank Elgin (Shaw), who is given the chance to once again headline a show, and his long-suffering wife Georgie (Seagrove). Believing Georgie to be the reason for Elgin’s decline, the show’s director, Bernie, strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor’s wife. But how far should she go to redeem the man she loves?

The play is probably best known for its 1954 film adaptation starring Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in the lead roles. The movie went on to win two Oscars including Best Actress for Kelly in the year that Judy Garland was expected to win for her performance in A Star Is Born. It was recently revived on Broadway with a cast including Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand.

Seagrove, who has performed in nearly every West End playhouse, concluded her run in Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce at London’s Duke of York's theatre just last week and was previously seen in A Daughter’s A Daughter at the Trafalgar Studios last Christmas.

Shaw has been away from the London stage a little longer. He last trod the boards in the capital in A Man For All Seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2006. Shaw starred in a previous production of The Country Girl, also staged at the Apollo theatre, in 1983, taking on the role of theatre director Bernie Dodd.

The cast also includes Mark Letheren, Nicolas Day, Peter Harding, Thomasin Rind and Luke Shaw.

The Country Girl will open at the Apollo theatre following the critically acclaimed revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. The tale of forbidden love, loyalty, guilt and the corrupting power of greed, which stars Zoë Wanamaker and David Suchet, has proved so popular that it has extended its run until 2 October.

Alan Plater dies, aged 75

Playwright Alan Plater, whose stage work includes Blonde Bombshells Of 1943 and the Laurence Olivier Award-nominated Peggy For You, has died from cancer at the age of 75.

Raised in Hull and trained as an architect in Newcastle, Plater pursued a career as a dramatist, writing extensively for screen, radio and theatre, as well as publishing six novels.

Plater cut his screenwriting teeth on hit 60s series Z Cars, before going on to write for shows including Softly Softly, Dalziel And Pascoe and Lewis. He wrote the popular Beiderbecke series, screenplays including Keep The Aspidistra Flying and a number of one-off television plays.

His stage work has been equally wide ranging, including the tale of a World War II female band Blonde Bombshells Of 1943, the story of a threatened library I Thought I Heard A Rustling, the tale of a theatrical agent Peggy For You, and, most recently, Looking For Buddy, which was staged at the Bolton Octagon just last year.

Plater’s remarkable contribution to British drama was marked in 2005 when he was given the CBE.

Dreamboat Christie makes West End debut

Is This The Way To Amarillo singer Tony Christie is to make his West End debut this summer, when he joins the all-hopping, all-bopping cast of hit musical Dreamboats And Petticoats on 5 July.

Christie will play Older Bobby and Phil (Bobby’s father) in the jukebox musical that features a host of hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including Bobby’s Girl, Runaround Sue, C’Mon Everybody and Let’s Twist Again.

“I saw the show’s original opening night in London almost a year ago and just loved the story,” commented Christie, “And of course the music is incredible – The Platters, Phil Spector, Roy Orbison, Marty Wilde – all artists I grew up listening to. As soon as I saw it I’ve been searching for a gap in my diary to join the show.”

Christie launched his music career in the 1970s, scoring a number 2 hit with I Did What I Did For Maria and reaching number 18 in the charts when Amarillo was first released.

When Amarillo was unearthed by comedian Peter Kay and launched as a single to raise money for Comic Relief in 2005, it surged to the top of the charts and threw Christie back into the limelight.

Dreamboats And Petticoats first brought its brand of feel-good, retro pop to the West End stage in 2009, landing at the Savoy theatre following a successful UK tour. The musical, based on a series of hit CDs, transferred to its current home, the Playhouse theatre in January 2010, where it has been twisting, jiving and spreading rock ‘n’ roll happiness ever since.

Celebrations for Les Miserables !

Fans of Les Miserables may be pleased to know that the show's 25th birthday celebrations are rumoured to be getting even bigger.

It was recently confirmed that a second version of the hit musical will appear at the Barbican Theatre this autumn to run alongside the original at the Queen's Theatre.

Now, WhatsonStage.com is reporting that Cameron Mackintosh is keen to stage a third version at the O2 Arena in Greenwich in order to mark the milestone.

This has not been confirmed, but the portal states that it could be a concert presentation rather than a full show.

The move to stage both a touring and a standard version of one show in the West End is already unusual, but it could spark new interest for the already perennially popular Les Miserables.

It is the longest running musical in the West End's history and has now been seen by more than 55 million people worldwide.

Weisz wins top actress gong in London theatre awards

Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz scooped a top prize at Britain's Laurence Olivier theatre awards for her role in the classic play "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Weisz was named best actress Sunday for playing fading southern beauty Blanche DuBois in the Tennessee Williams work.

"It means an awful lot. I never thought I would be holding one of these in my lifetime," said Weisz as she accepted the prize.

"Most of all this is for Blanche DuBois, I love her, Tennessee Williams, and all the other messed-up genius poets out there," added the actress, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in 2006 for "The Constant Gardener."

The surprise winner of the night was US playwright Katori Hall, 28, whose work "The Mountaintop" won the best new play award, beating off stiff competition from popular shows "Enron" and "Jerusalem."

Her play follows Martin Luther King the night before his assassination. She is the first black female playwright to win the award.

"I want to thank the London audience for teaching me that this was a story that needed to be heard around the world," she said.

Mark Rylance was named best actor for his role as anti-hero Johnny "Rooster" Byron in "Jerusalem", the second time he has won the award.

And Maggie Smith was recognised for her outstanding contribution to the theatre.

Her cinematic career has included two Oscars, including best actress in 1970 for the "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". More recently, she has played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films.