London West End Theatre – 2007 Review of the Year

The words ‘credit crunch’ and ‘financial crisis’ are only too common as the media enters its annual period of reflection and looks back and review the year. While the recent knock to the consumer’s confidence has had an impact on London theatre with a number of early closures, in review 2008 is more notable for its successes than its failures in the West End.

The year kicked off on a surreal note with with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber wandering into Channel 4’s Hollyoaks to find a new Maria for The Sound of Music. The bizarre life-reflecting-art-reflecting-life scenario resulted in Summer Strallen stepping into Connie Fisher’s postulant shoes at the London Palladium.

Happily, ALW turned his back on acting and returned to judging the BBC’s talent search for his next project, joining Cameron Mackintosh to cast Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This series, I’d Do Anything, sought to cast two roles, with Gwion Jones, Harry Stott and Laurence Jeffcoate chosen to alternate as Oliver, and Jodie Prenger being voted the public’s Nancy. The Blackpool lass is attracting fans from across the country to see her perform with many choosing to book Oliver theatre and hotel packages.

2008 has been a rollercoaster for West End theatre, a feeling only emphasised by constant media reminders of the shaky economic climate. The public’s unwillingness to risk their money on new shows was blamed for the dismal failures of the musicals Gone With the Wind and Imagine This, and for a spate of early closures this autumn, with Riflemind, Eurobeat, Girl with a Pearl Earring and Never Forget all closing their doors well before their contracts were up. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for new shows, as 2008’s runaway musical successes Jersey Boys

and Zorro will testify.

By the end of the year, these tragedies have been outweighed by some breathtaking triumphs, and 2008 is the year the West End has shown Broadway how its done. Wicked’s Kerry Ellis caused a sensation when she transferred to the New York production in June, while her London replacement Alexia Khadime sent UK audiences into a frenzy. Wicked theatre breaks

 continue to sell like hotcakes as demand for the show grows outside of London.

By far the biggest success story of 2008 was for Mamma Mia!, 

which has not only branched out beyond London, but beyond its genre. While ecstatic kids rushed to regional theatres to see Disney’s High School Musical on the stage, the grown ups were stampeding the cinema as Mamma Mia! the Movie became the biggest blockbuster of the summer. With a stellar cast including Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, Mamma Mia! has beaten 1998’s Titanic to become the highest grossing film ever to be released in the UK. The Stockholm premiere saw the four members of Abba together in public for the first time in over twenty years and the frantic hype worldwide has driven even more fans into what is already an international stage sensation.

So, ever-optimistic, and providing welcome escapism in these dark economic times, the West End’s 2009 looks to be another triumphant year.