The
stage adaptation of Disney's animated film The Lion King, featuring music
by Elton John and Tim Rice. The Lion King tells the unforgettable story of Simba
- the epic adventure of his battles, his friendships, his dreams, and his journey
from wide eyed cub to his destined role as King of the African Pridelands.
Venue:
Lyceum Theatre
Performances: Tuesday-Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on
Wednesday
and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm
Ticket Prices: £15-£37.50
Station: Covent Garden Tube
2.
Mamma Mia!
Now
in its fifth year Mamma Mia! continues to pull in crowds of all ages for a
no-holds barred celebration of seventies kitsch. Created by original ABBA
members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus the show is packed with
ABBA classics such as Money, Money and The Winner Takes It All.
It tells the story of Donna, a feisty forty-something single mum, who recalls
the distant memories of carefree days and careless nights whilst her daughter
Sophie dreams of tradition, romance and a big white wedding. As Sophie prepares
for her big day on a remote island she attempts to discover who her real father
is, but inviting three of her mother's exes along to the wedding! This West
End
favourite makes for a quality evening out.
Venue:
Prince Edward Theatre
Performances: Monday-Thursday and Saturday at 7.30pm, and Friday
at 5pm
and 8.30pm, with matinees on Saturday at 3pm
Ticket Prices: £15-£37.50
Station: Leicester Square Tube
3. Phantom of the Opera
Phantom
of the Opera is possibly the best Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ever made.
It's eighteen year run at Her Majesty's Theatre has seen many stars tackle the
challenging roles of Christine and the Phantom including Micheal Crawford and
Lloyd Webber's beautiful ex-wife Sarah Brightman. This gothic tale tells of
the
tragic love between a beautiful singer and a scarred composer, who lives
beneath the majestic Opera House in Paris.
Phantom
has been a worldwide box office smash, grossing well over £1.6 billion.
The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history and
it has
been played in 110 cities to over 70 million people. Central to its success
is the
ability to appeal to both critics and fans, earning it three prestigious Oliver
awards
inthe West End and seven Tonys on Broadway. As the cast prepare for their
7000th show on 12 August 2004 the future continues to look bright for Phantom!
Venue:
Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket
Performances: Performances are Monday-Saturday at 7.45pm, with
matinées
on Tuesday and Saturday at 3pm
Ticket Prices: £10-£37.50
Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube
4. Fame
This
West End favourite is based on the massively popular eighties TV series and
film which spawned a generation of leg-warmer wearing fans. Join the students
from
New York's legendary School of Performing Arts as they climb the ladder to their
ultimate goal - Fame! The all-singing and dancing light up the stage with their
acrobatic dance routines and sheer raw energy.
Fame
follows the highs, the lows, the romances and the ultimate triumphs of the
star struck pupils bringing to life the glamour and sweat that characterises
life
at the legendary Manhattan school whose alumni include such respected figures
as Liza Minnelli, Alicia Keys and Al Pacino. The thirty strong cast for this
production
all exude a bombastic energy and take the audience with them on an unforgettable
rollercoaster ride. Now in its ninth year this musical looks set to live forever!
Venue:
Aldwych Theatre
Performances: Mon-Thurs & Saturday 7.30, Fri 5.30 &
8.30, Saturday Matinee 3pm
Ticket Prices: £15-£35
Station: Covent Garden Tube
5. The Woman in White
A dashing young man, employed as the art tutor to two devoted sisters, is stranded
at
a remote railway cutting. Out of the darkness looms a woman, a mysterious figure
dressed in white, desperate to share a chilling secret...
When Andrew Lloyd-Webber admitted eighteen months ago that he was currently
without any ideas for his next project, he was deluged with suggestions. It
was Wilkie
Collins's Victorian thriller that particularly appealed to him. This adaptation
has
allowed him to return to the rich, romantic, gothic material of his greatest
work,
'Phantom of the Opera'.
Presented in the magnificent, nineteenth century Palace Theatre, and directed
by
Trevor Nunn, this has all the signs of being yet another classic from the West
End's
unstoppable hit factory.
Matinees Wed & Sat 14:30.
Venue: Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
Performances: Mon to Sat from 19:30 until 23:00 [commencing
28 August]
Ticket Price: £17.50-50
Station: Leicester Square Tube
6. Les Miserables
Les
Miserables is still storming the barricades after a stunning adaptation of
Victor Hugo's epic masterpiece, set in the Paris uprising. Jean Valjean, released
on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave
he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast.
Only the saintly Bishop of Digne treats him kindly and Valjean, embittered by
years
of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is caught and brought
back
by police, and is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him,
also giving
him two precious candlesticks. Valjean decides to start his life anew. But will
fate allow
him to? The acclaimed, long running musical extravaganza continues in a different
home.
Venue:
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1
Performances: Monday-Saturday at 7.30pm with matinées
on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm
Ticket Prices: £15-£45
Station: Leicester Square Tube
7. Chicago
Roxie,
a chorus girl who has murdered her lover but manages to get acquitted with the
help
of sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn teams up with another murderess Velma to form an
unusual
nightclub act, which they hope will keep them in the public eye. The musical,
which won the
1998 Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production, includes the songs All
That Jazz,
Razzle-Dazzle, Class and All I Care About. Currently starring former Wet Wet
Wet star
Marti Pellow as Billy Flynn, Frances Ruffelle as Roxie, and Zee Asha features
as Mama Morton.
Venue:The
Adelphi Theatre
Performances: Monday-Thursday at 8pm, Friday at 8.30pm with
Matinees on Saturday at 3pm and 8pm
Ticket Prices: The Adelphi Theatre £15.00 - £37.50
Station: Charing Cross Tube
8. The Mousetrap
A
group of people are gathered together in a remote part of the countryside, and
one
of them is a murderer. The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie is a classic whodunit
and
also the world's longest running theatre production, now in its 50th year.
Venue:
St Martin's Theatre
Performances: Monday-Saturdaay at 2.45pm and Saturday at 5pm
Station: Leicester Square Tube
9. Jerry Springer - The Opera
Booking until January 2005
This
is Jerry Springer’s moment. Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas’s creation
is the most
outrageous opera to ever hit theatreland. A sizzling combination of trailer
trash, transvestites
and operatic overtures, it wowed audiences at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe
Festival.
The hilarious, and often emotional, first half features a stream of guests with
Springer-style
peccadilloes. A ’chick with a dick’, a nappy fetishist and an all
singing, all dancing Klu Klux
Klan take centre stage.
Jerry
Springer – The Opera started life as a fringe production at the BAC and
has evolved
with each production. The comedy of the lyrics provides the perfect foil for
the funked-up
classical score. The second half sees Springer stranded in Hell, where he has
host a
reconciliation show between Jesus and Satan to save his life. Hilarious, heretical
and
howlingly funny, this opera is the West End's most popular show, even the real
Jerry Springer
is desperate to see it!
Venue:
Cambridge Theatre
Address: Earlham Street, WC2 9HH
Information: 020 7494 5549
Ticket Price: £25-50
Nearest Station: Covent Garden
10. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Join
the under-appreciated inventor Caractacus Potts, his family and confectionery
heiress
Truly Scrumptious in their adventure against the evil machinations of Baron
Bomburst
and the sinister child catcher. This sell out stage version of the classic children's
film
is based on Ian Fleming's novel.
All
the Sherman & Sherman singalong favourites are there, including Truly Scrumptious,
Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain and the Oscar-nominated title song Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang.
You too will believe that cars can fly as it sprouts wings and hovers over the
audience.
The cast includes musicals veteran, Michael Ball and stage legend, Derek Griffith.
London
Venue: The London Palladium, Argyll Street, W1
Performances: Monday-Saturday at 19:30, with matinees at 14:30
on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Ticket Prices: £18.50-£40.00
Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube