Chicago is an American musical set in the jazz age. It is based on the reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins’ 1926 play of the same name, which deals with the actual criminals and crimes that she reported on. The original Broadway production ran for 2 years after oepning in 1975 and was later staged in London’s West End in 1977. The musical was then revived in the mid 1990s and has ran in theatre’s across the globe ever since. The 2016 U.K. production of the musical was directed by Walter Bobbie with choreography by Ann Reinking. It was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 2nd and 7th of May and featured a star studded cast including X-Factor star Sam Bailey as Mamma Morton and the former soap stars John Partridge and Hayley Tamaddon who played Billy Flynn and Roxie Hart.
Save The Last Dance For Me is a musical by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and features a soundtrack made up of 1960s songs written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. It follows teen sisters Jennifer and Marie as they go on holiday without their parents and meet and fall in love with American airmen at a local dance. The story deals with themes of racial tension both in the American military and British society, as well as Anglo-American relations in the 1960s. Directed by Bill Kenwright, the musical was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 30th of August and the 3rd of September 2016. The cast featured X-Factor finalist Lola Saunders, Antony Costa, Wayne Robinson and Elizabeth Carter.
A comic musical adapted from the celebrated original stage play and film, this performance of Calamity Jane was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 28th of October and the 1st of November 2018. It was produced by The Watermill Theatre in association with Jamie Wilson, Paul Elliott and Duncan C Weldon. The musical featured a stellar cast with Jodie Prenger playing the title character and Rob Delaney playing the role of Francis Fryer.
The Wind in the Willows is a musical by Julian Fellowes based on Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel of the same name. The musical follows Rat, Badger, Mole and Toad as they embark on a series of adventures. The play was staged at Hall for Cornwall by its summer school on the 18th of August 2012.
Avenue Q is a musical comedy that features both puppets and human actors. The unconcealed puppeteers, costumed human actors and puppets all visibly interact on stage; a format which parodies Sesame Street. The production was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 22nd and 26th of February during its 2011 U.K. tour.
Peter Pan was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 11th of December 2004 and the 9th of January 2005 in association with The Hiss and Boo Company Ltd. The design of the programme cover features a hand drawn image of Captain Hook and his ship.
The T.A.O.D.S staged their own production of the Dickens classic ‘Oliver’ at Hall for Cornwall in 2002. The cast for the production featured a large number of child actors as featured in this photograph.
Described as one of the greatest operas ever written, the Magic Flute is an opera in two acts by Mozart which follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina. The opera ran at Hall for Cornwall between the 19th and 22nd of November 2003. The first newspaper cutting praises the first night of the performance as a ‘marvellous relaxation and pleasure.’ The second newspaper cutting is an advertisement for coach trips by Mounts Bay Coaches Penzance which also featured in the same publication of the West Britton. The article advertises a coach trip to see the Wizard of Oz pantomine at Hall for Cornwall on Sunday the 11th of January.
The Random Dance company was founded in 1993 by the multi award-winning British choreographer and director Wayne McGregor. In 2003, McGregor commissioned two other world-ranking choreographers, Rui Horta and Shobana Jeyasingh, to join the company and contribute to their newest production called ‘Polar Sequences’. The company then began touring Polar Sequences later in the year, with the show running at Hall for Cornwall from the 24th of November. This article gives an overview of the company, the show and the programme to provide oppurtunities for Cornish children to experience the arts.
The Wizard of Oz stage shows are based on the 1900 novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by L. Frank Baum. Although usually produced as a musical, The Wizard of Oz was staged as a pantomine at Hall for Cornwall between the 12th of December 2003 and the 11th of January 2004.