On The Town (2017)
19 May – 1 July
Music by LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Book and Lyrics by BETTY COMDEN and ADOLPH GREEN
Based on a Concept by JEROME ROBBINS
In our 2017 production of On The Town, Olivier Award-winner Drew McOnie directed and choreographed our biggest dance musical to date. McOnie's choreography was widely celebrated by critics, expressing how 'no one can fill a show with exhilarating jazz and beautiful balletic movement quite as explosively as Drew McOnie' (The Stage). Alongside the 'stunning dance ensemble' (Musical Theatre Review), Bernstein's score was 'played with pinpoint precision by the 17-piece orchestra' (Musical Theatre Review), making the production 'a glorious reimagining of Broadway rarity' (The Arts Desk).
Many of the cast members were also noted for their individual performances including 'stand-out man' Danny Mac, 'whose effortless tenor gives gorgeous voice to one of the show's loveliest, most mellow numbers' (The Stage), and Siena Kelly: the way she 'dances every step is if her life depends on it' (The Guardian). This production was also nominated for Best Musical Revival in the 2018 Olivier Awards.
The cast
Miriam-Teak Lee
Claire
Naoko Mori
Lucy Schmeeler
Mark Heenehan
The Judge
Maggie Steed
Madame Dilly
Rodney Earl Clarke
The Workman/Rajah Bimmy
Mollie Melia-Redgrave
Diana Dream
Michelle Andrews
Ensemble
Myles Brown
Ensemble
Matthew Caputo
Ensemble
Edward Chitticks
Ensemble
Lavinia Fitzpatrick
Ensemble
Cristina Hoey
Ensemble
James Leece
Ensemble
Rachel Muldoon
Ensemble
Melissa Nettleford
Ensemble
Emily Ann Potter
Ensemble
Lisa Ritchie
Ensemble
Sam Salter
Ensemble
Brandon Lee Sears
Ensemble
Barnaby Thompson
Ensemble
Creative team
Reviews
Mail on Sunday
"Leonard Bernstein’s musical romcom is a glorious Valentine to the Big Apple. It’s a helluva score, pulsating to the JAZZY, BLUESY, SEXY, SLEAZY, EXHILARATING and ROMANTIC rhythms of the city that never sleeps" "'Sex and art don’t mix'...They mix perfectly in this show, the hottest to trot in London Town"
The Times
“Stylish, sultry Manhattan musical is ONE HELLUVA SHOW” “LAVISH and IMAGINATIVE…as more performers than you think possible twist and spring and strut and swing in midair, this amphitheatre in Regent’s Park fills with spring fever”
The Guardian
“AS DELICIOUS AS ICE-CREAM ON A HOT SUMMER'S DAY” “McOnie’s choreography has a freshly minted zing that captures the youthful, glad-to-be-alive exuberance of its protagonists. As the trio of sailors, Samuel Edwards, Danny Mac and Jacob Maynard, dance athletically and sing tunefully and are immensely likeable…Siena Kelly’s Ivy dances every step is if her life depends on it”
Observer
"ON THE TOWN HITS ITS NEW YORK STRIDE in Regent’s Park." "In a dream sequence, night-tinted by Howard Hudson’s wonderful lighting, everyone moves as if they were melting. Peter McKintosh’s set and costume design would have been unimaginable at the Open Air theatre before imaginative Timothy Sheader took over as artistic director."
Financial Times
“McOnie’s exuberant work is irresistible. A smart, INFECTIOUS production”
Sunday Times
"A SHOW WITH PULLING POWER. On The Town is a high-octane, superslick romp."
Radio Times
“A DAZZLING REVIVAL. Director and choreographer Drew McOnie explores the work's full balletic possibilities, and in Peter McKintosh the production has a set and costume designer who has a true artist's way with colour.” “Maggie Steed stands out as the whisky-swigging dragon of a singing teacher Madame Dilly.”
The Arts Desk
“Triple threat Danny Mac and co are UNMISSABLE...a glorious reimagining of Broadway rarity” “Crisp-as-Vermouth, towering, scissor-legged Miriam-Teak Lee is so delicious that you wonder where she has been hiding… only to discover that this is, astoundingly, her professional debut.”
WhatsOnStage
“Lizzy Connolly, Siena Kelly and Miriam-Teak Lee steal this show. Connolly is hilarious … she is GRACEFUL and HILARIOUS and manages Hildy's comedy with ease and perfect timing”
Daily Telegraph
“It looks exquisite, and sounds gorgeous rising to the bravura challenge of the score with it’s clarinet siren wails, clownish shifts of tempo, and thrilling collision of jazz age dreaminess with bombardments of brass.”
Daily Express
“VIVACIOUS…the stage erupts in a whirligig of dance and flashing colours; if there is any justice, newcomers Miriam-Teak Lee and Siena Kelly are on their way to stardom, while Lizzy Connolly as a gum-chewing saucebox and veteran Maggie Steed as a Jack Daniel’s-swigging singing teacher are outstanding”
Evening Standard
“To the strains of Leonard Bernstein’s beautiful, often haunting, music, the ensemble twirls about the stage in a flurry of colourful costumes.”
The Stage
“No one can fill a show with exhilarating jazz and beautiful balletic movement quite as explosively as Drew McOnie” “The stand-out man is Danny Mac whose effortless tenor gives gorgeous voice to one of the show's loveliest, most mellow numbers, Lonely Town; Jacob Maynard brings an IRRESISTIBLE sweetness to the character of Chip; Lizzy Connolly is SCANDALOUSLY SENSATIONAL” “Drew McOnie's sexily hilarious and thrillingly danced revival of a Broadway classic makes THE PERFECT SUMMER TREAT”
Programmes and Marketing
Sets
Rehearsals
Misc Images
Videos
Awards
Best Actress in a Musical
Stage Debut Award: Won
Best Musical Revival
Olivier Award: Nominated