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Review: Annie at the Liverpool Empire ****
Time and tide wait for no man…or girl. And even little orphan Annie is now marking her big 5-0, despite being preserved for all time as a precocious 11-year-old. When the musical was first staged back in the 1970s, the Great Depression was still well within living memory, and the world was going through another troubled time. One might say plus ça change. But while the 1930s setting may not have any resonance for today's children, there’s still plenty to capture the imaginati
Review: Barnum at the Liverpool Empire ****
Every generation is gifted its own Barnum moment, from the 1930s movie The Mighty Barnum to the 2017 (highly fictionalised) cinematic blockbuster The Greatest Showman. For those of us of a certain age, the name PT Barnum likely conjures up images of Torvill and Dean skating their way to an acrobatic gold in the World Championships in Helsinki. There, the now-knighted skating stars used a medley of tunes from Barnum, Cy Coleman/Michael Stewart/Mark Bramble’s 1980 stage musical
Review: Waitress at the Liverpool Empire ****
To lose one leading actor on opening night may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both ‘names’…well, let’s just say it’s not ideal. But as the Reverend Mother tells Maria in The Sound of Music, when God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window. And the absence of both Carrie Hope Fletcher AND Les Dennis from the Empire stage, both indisposed for undisclosed reasons, allowed several other members of the Waitress cast a chance to shine. None more so than Ellie Ruiz Rodrigue
Review: Moulin Rouge! the Musical at the Liverpool Empire ****
Time flies and it’s somehow now a quarter of a century since Ewan McGregor’s Christian met Nicole Kidman’s Satine at the Moulin Rouge. It seems though that truth, beauty, freedom and love don’t have a shelf life, certainly if the reported ticket sales for Moulin Rouge! The Musical, the Empire’s glitzy summer blockbuster offering, are anything to go by. The stage musical, which started its life over the pond eight years ago where it gathered armfuls of awards, takes Baz Luhrma
Liverpool dates for Sam Ryder in Jesus Christ Superstar
Eurovision star Sam Ryder is set to return to the stage in 2027 reprising his acclaimed performance in Jesus Christ Superstar on tour - with dates confirmed in Liverpool. The UK tour of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit sung-through rock opera is set to visit the Liverpool Empire from September 21 to October 2, 2027. Tickets go on general sale this Wednesday, June 24 at 10am. Originally released as an album, Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway in 1971, where
Review: The Bodyguard at the Liverpool Empire ***1/2
When The Bodyguard was released in cinemas in 1992 it propelled Whitney Houston from successful music artist to global superstar. And while film critics were generally unimpressed (the movie picked up no fewer than six Razzie nominations), audiences loved it, and the soundtrack swept the board at nearly every music awards, clocking up an estimated 45 million sales to date. That music remains the beating heart (and backbone) of this stage version, on its latest visit to Liverp
Review: The Rocky Horror Show at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s astounding, time really is fleeting – because it seems only a matter of months ago that Rocky Horror was at the Playhouse. But in reality that was Christmas 2024, and now Richard O’Brien’s timeless shlocky horror juggernaut has rolled back into town again (fresh from a New Zealand sojourn), returning to its usual Liverpool Empire stamping ground with a mixture of a few familiar and lots of fresh faces among the cast. Two years ago, Jason Donovan appeared in a handful of
Review: Miss Saigon at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s been two decades since Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s ‘Nam-set wartime weepie Miss Saigon last touched down on the Empire stage – practically the same length of time as the entire conflict lasted. Has it been worth the wait for Liverpool audiences? It appears so. But it’s not entirely the same creature fans of the dramatic retelling of the Madama Butterfly story may have encountered before, with Michael Harrison and Cameron Mackintosh – sharing producer cred
Jackie Clune talks Rocky Horror ahead of Empire date for cult classic
When Jackie Clune was first approached to play the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show it’s perhaps fair to say she wasn’t really aware of what she had signed up for. Although she had watched the film at some point, she reveals she had never actually seen Richard O’Brien’s cult smash hit stage show. At least not until the day before she went on for the first time. “It was a bit of an eye opener,” she admits. “I didn’t really know what’s going on. “If you don’t know the plot, it
Liverpool Empire dates for Live Aid musical Just for One Day
Live Aid musical Just for One Day is set to come to the Liverpool Empire as part of an inaugural national tour. The musical, written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, will be staged at the Lime Street landmark from August 3-7, 2027. Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical is the story behind the greatest concert in music history, and features hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Diana Ross
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