Shaftesbury Theatre

The original Broadway production won six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, including the win for Best Musical at both award ceremonies.

In London in 2003, the original creative team reunited to save the show in London's West End at Shaftesbury Theatre.

It began previews on October 11th and opened on October 21st.

UK TV personality Amanda Holden starred in the title role with Maureen Lipman and Marty Webb, alternating as Mrs. Mears and Sheila Ferguson as Muzzy Van Hosmeer.

I will only list a few of his best known because, again, very prolific.

But we already mentioned Hare, of course, in London's West End Shaftesbury Theatre.

He was also in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1971 with the Scottish Opera.

Of course, Rocky Horror that we discussed earlier.

He played the umplumper in Wonka.

I did see Mrs Doubtfire the musical in the West End in the Shaftesbury Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.

And I thought that was extremely good.

But I would think it was better if I hadn't have seen Back to the Future the musical with all those special effects the day before.

I heard Dicky Senn talking about you one day." "Are you alluding to Mr.

Richard Senn of the Shaftesbury Theatre?" "Chap who does the ragtime dance in the second act." The young man assented.

"He was cracking you up all over the shop.

Said you were the only doctor in England who combined a certain amount of skill in his profession with a reasonable leaven of common sense.

The narrative follows them through a whirlwind sequence of dance rehearsals, capturing the genuine media frenzy surrounding them at the time.

The video ultimately culminates in a polished performance filmed specifically for cameras at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, with an audience made up entirely of real fan club members.

Look closely and you can even spot their real-life manager Jill Shirley and tour manager Tony McGrogan making appearances.

Musically, the track served as a crucial bridge for the group.

Anyway, world premiere in Manchester took place in 2019.

It subsequently transferred to the Shaftesbury Theatre.

I actually booked myself a ticket to be there at the opening night performance, which was very special, and this was a very quick transfer in November 2019.

The only problem is that we would soon enough find ourselves in 2020, and theaters across London, and indeed around the world, would be shut down, putting & Juliet out of action in London for a prolonged amount of time.

Eventually, & Juliet returned.

However, the West End landscape to which it returned was one that had shifted somewhat economically, and alongside this, they were also encountering other challenges.

Though the Shaftesbury Theatre has one of the most eye-catching marquis in the West End, for the majority of the time that & Juliet was at that theater, its presence seemed negatively impacted by the amount of construction work happening outside, preventing them from getting the same kind of enthusiastic footfall that they otherwise might have.

I've also always thought that when it comes to marketing in theater, the easiest shows to sell tickets for are the ones that you can explain in a single sentence, and & Juliet has always needed at least two.