I hope the curtain will rise FAB5 on this
WHEN i t comes to predicting the future, I always defer to that old joke about The Big Fella: ‘ How do you make God laugh?’ Answer: ‘Tell Him your plans.’
So it is with some trepidation that I make my theatre recommendations for 2021 — lest it jinx the year completely.
But i n the spirit of abiding selfdelusion, here are five shows I’ll be wishing, and hoping, and praying go ahead, as scheduled.
If there’s one production that shouldn’t need divine intervention, it’s surely the musical version of SISTER ACT, pairing Whoopi Goldberg with Jennifer Saunders. Goldberg, star of the original 1992 film, returns as lounge singer Deloris van Cartier, on the run from the Mafia. Saunders plays the Mother Superior who reluctantly hides her in her San Francisco convent.
That billing alone was enough to make my wife laugh. But Clive Rowe is surely big enough to win a few laughs of his own, as good cop Eddie Souther.
The show is set to run at London’s Eventim Apollo from July 20 to August 29 before hitting the road, though its stars may not make all the dates on tour (0844 249 1000/ sisteractthemusical.co.uk).
The new Bob Marley musical — GET UP, STAND UP! — is due to open on May 28. I can’t believe it’s Marley’s West End debut; but hey, ‘no critic no cry’ (as no one ever sang in Trenchtown).
Up and coming star Arinze Kene stars as the reggae legend; and his story, detailing his rise from rural Jamaica to global stardom, is written by Lee ‘Billy Elliot’ Hall and directed by Clint Dyer. (Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London; 0330 333 4812/ getupstandupthemusical.com).
Also in May, ANYTHING GOES, the classic musical set aboard a luxury ocean liner bound for London, is due to dock at London’s Barbican, with Megan Mullally (mouthy Karen from TV hit sitcom Will & Grace) as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. Veteran showman Robert Lindsay plays small-time mobster Moonface Martin.
Cole Porter songs include, I Get A Kick Out Of You and It’s DeLovely. And with a book co-written by P.G. Wodehouse, plus a crew of tapdancing sailors, who could resist — especially since it’s the closest most of us will come to a cruise for quite some time. (May 8 until August 22, barbican.org.uk).
After the way 2020 scrambled everybody’s sense of time, a new, musical version of Eighties’ sci-fi adventure comedy BACK TO THE FUTURE could be a perfect fit for our collective disorientation.
Newcomer Olly Dobson takes the Marty McFly role that made Michael J. Fox a star. And the terrific Roger Bart plays Doc Brown, madcap inventor of the legendary time-travelling DeLorean. (From May 14, Adelphi Theatr e , Strand, London ( backtothefuturemusical.com).
And talking of time travel, I can’t wait to revisit the West End transfer of the National Theatre’s 2019 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s cult novel for young adults, THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE.
It’s the story of a young boy, grieving after the death of his mother, who discovers a portal to another world in a nearby farm.
The genius of Katy Rudd’s production i s that i t’ s both scary and enchanting, using puppetry and magic on a shapeshifting set. (From October 23, Duke of York’s, St Martin’s Lane; tickets on sale from March 13, nationaltheatre.org.uk)
It only remains for us to touch wood, hang up a horseshoe, cross our fingers, or simply say our prayers…