January 2017

Andy Karl (Phil Connors) and Carlyss Peer (Rita Hanson)
Photo © Manuel Harlan

Groundhog Day won The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical today, at the U.K. Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

The presentation ceremony, hosted by Mark Shenton, took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London.

For a list of all the winners, please take a look here.

Groundhog Day enjoyed a hugely successful and critically acclaimed 10 week season at the Old Vic Theatre, London, in the summer of 2016, only a couple of weeks ago winning FOUR 2016 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Awards including Theatrical Event of the Year!

And now Broadway-bound:

Rehearsals for the Broadway production of Groundhog Day are well underway with previews beginning March 16th, 2017. More information and tickets can be found at groundhogdaymusical.com.

APRA members across Australia have voted to shortlist Come Home (Cardinal Pell) for the 2017 APRA Song of the Year. This is the largest peer-voted music award in Australia.

The Top 20 will now be voted on by a specialist Voting Academy, consisting of previous nominees from the Awards’ 23 year history, with the nominees announced in early March. For more information head to the APRA website.

There’s even an APRA Song of the Year Top 20 playlist on Spotify, which you can listen to for free here or if you use the Spotify app, search for user: apraamcos to find the playlist.

Proceeds from Come Home (Cardinal Pell) continue to be donated to the survivors of clerical abuse. You can buy the song here (as well on other platforms) and you can also purchase the video here

Here’s Tim’s blog, from February last year, about why he wrote and released the song as a charity single and his follow up statement.

Rehearsals for the Broadway production of Groundhog Day got underway last week and the marquee has gone up at the August Wilson Theatre!

As the sign says: previews begin March 16th, 2017, with the official Groundhog Day opening night on April 17th, 2017.

Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Andy Karl (Phil Connors)
Photo © Manuel Harlan

Andy Karl will reprise his much lauded London performance as Phil Connors, a cynical Pittsburgh TV weatherman sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Caught in a time loop, he’s forced to relive the same day again and again…and again.

Barrett Doss will play Rita Hanson. Joining them are Rebecca Faulkenberry, John Sanders, Andrew Call, Raymond J. Lee, Heather Ayers, Kevin Bernard, Gerard Canonico, Rheaume Crenshaw, Michael Fatica, Katy Geraghty, Camden Gonzales, Jordan Grubb, Taylor Iman Jones, Tari Kelly, Josh Lamon, Joseph Medeiros, Sean Montgomery, William Parry, Jenna Rubaii, Vishal Vaidya, Travis Waldschmidt and Natalie Wisdom.

The show reunites composer and lyricist Tim, with director Matthew Warchus, choreographer Peter Darling and designer Rob Howell, four of the Matilda The Musical creative team. They have joined forces with writer Danny Rubin to collaborate on this new musical based on his 1993 hit film.

Additional information can be found at groundhogdaymusical.com.

Groundhog Day enjoyed a hugely successful and critically acclaimed 10 week season at the Old Vic Theatre, London, in the summer of 2016, recently winning FOUR 2016 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Awards including Theatrical Event of the Year!

Andy Karl (Phil Connors)
Photo © Manuel Harlan

Groundhog Day at The Old Vic Theatre has won FOUR 2016 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Awards including Theatrical Event of the Year!

The further three awards were for:
Best Direction of a New Production of a Musical – Matthew Warchus, Best Set Design of a New Production of a Play or Musical – Rob Howell and Best Lighting Design of a New Production of a Play or Musical – Hugh Vanstone.

You’ll find the full list of 2016 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Awards winners here.

Groundhog Day opens on Broadway this spring.

Yesterday evening, following a sensational, Tony Award winning run, Matilda The Musical closed on Broadway, but our eponymous hero is off on a NEW US Tour which launches January 12th, 2017!

Matilda opened on Broadway in April 2013, to marvellous reviews and has delighted audiences across a run comprising 1,555 performances, on top of 37 preview performances.

Direct from the Toronto show, Hannah Levinson, Jaime MacLean, and Jenna Weir share the title role. The principal cast features: Paula Brancati (Miss Honey), Dan Chameroy (Miss Trunchbull), Keisha T. Fraser (Mrs. Phelps), Brandon McGibbon (Mr. Wormwood), and Darcy Stewart (Mrs. Wormwood).

Tickets for the US Tour are already on sale here.

The stops planned so far:

Albuquerque, NM – Popejoy Hall – January 12-15, 2017
Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Hall – January 17-29, 2017
San Diego, CA – Civic Theatre – January 31-February 5, 2017
Tempe, AZ – ASU Gammage – February 7-12, 2017
Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater – February 21-26, 2017
Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium – February 28-March 5, 2017
San Jose, CA – Center for the Performing Arts – March 7-12, 2017
Las Vegas, NV – Smith Center – March 14-19, 2017
Sioux Falls, SD – Washington Pavilion – March 22-26, 2017
Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre – March 28-April 2, 2017
Cincinnati, OH – Aronoff Center for the Arts – April 4-16, 2017
Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre – April 18-23, 2017
Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Broward Center – April 25-May 7, 2017
Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – May 9-14, 2017
Providence, RI – Providence Performing Arts Center – May 17-21, 2017
Raleigh, NC – Memorial Auditorium – May 23-28, 2017
Lincoln, NE – Lied Center – May 31-June 3, 2017
San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre – June 6-11, 2017
Fort Worth, TX – Bass Performance Hall – June 13-18, 2017
Tulsa, OK – Chapman Music Hall – June 20-25, 2017

More stops may yet be added.

Currently playing at The Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, Canada. Booking until 7th January 2017.

Toronto Matildas will reprise their role on the US Tour