All stories by Matt Merritt on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

THE TRUTH – West End by Matt Merritt

Florian Zeller’s name is fast becoming a byword for gripping, fascinating and often brilliantly funny theatre. Productions of The Mother and The Father have racked up critical raves and wh…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:27AM
Friday, June 24, 2016

MACBETH – Shakespeare’s Globe by Matt Merritt

Like most of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Macbeth works best when viewed on the strength of the relationships between its characters. Sure the blood and guts murders are ways to get bum on sea…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:26AM
Monday, June 13, 2016

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Shakespeare’s Globe by Matt Merritt

Anarchy! It’s not what you expect from a Shakespeare play… even one that has been performed in as many ways as A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been tackled. Emma Rice’s debut piece in…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:38AM
Tuesday, June 7, 2016

TITANIC – Charing Cross Theatre by Matt Merritt

Can I start with a confession? I never really “got” Titanic… Sure, Maury Yeston’s music and Peter Stone’s book had the requisite bombast, but I’d never seen much evidence of the …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:15AM
Saturday, June 4, 2016

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW – Shakespeare’s Globe by Matt Merritt

Press week was delayed when Kathy Rose O’Brien was injured and unable to perform but, as we should expect in a year where Ria Jones and Natasha Barnes have stepped up and stolen the show i…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:25AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2016

GUYS & DOLLS – Touring by Matt Merritt

The mix of Damon Runyon’s characters with Frank Loesser’s music has always been hugely popular and this vibrant production, directed by Gordon Greenberg brings it bang up to date with pu…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:05AM
Thursday, May 5, 2016

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE – Chichester Festival Theatre by Matt Merritt

Hugh Bonneville, making a long-awaited return to the stage, plays the role of Dr Stockmann to perfection with a mix of zealous need to do what is right and just a touch of egotistically need…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:03AM
Sunday, April 24, 2016

SUNSET BOULEVARD (with Ria Jones as Norma Desmond) – London Coliseum by Matt Merritt

Before today I knew she was good but by the time I left the theatre I was sure of one thing… Ria Jones is a star!

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:15PM
Thursday, April 21, 2016

NEWS: Titanic casting announced for new Charing Cross Theatre run by Matt Merritt

Final casting is announced for the return of the multi award-winning production of the Broadway musical Titanic, first seen at Southwark Playhouse, which is coming back to London with direct…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:20AM
Wednesday, April 13, 2016

AVENUE Q – Touring by Matt Merritt

I’m a bit of an Avenue Q fan, I think we can admit that. In fact, every time this production has appeared anywhere near home I’ve made a point to go see it, you can read my thoughts on t…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:49AM
Tuesday, April 12, 2016

DVD REVIEW: RSC’s King and Country Box Set by Matt Merritt

But how do the plays translate to the small screen? Surprisingly well actually. The RSC’s theatre is tailormade for filming a production with the thrust stage allowing for a variety of ang…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:02PM
Monday, April 11, 2016

AN INSPECTOR CALLS – Touring by Matt Merritt

It’s been almost a quarter of a century (well, 23 and a half years) since Stephen Daldry’s revival of An Inspector Calls first opened in London and it was 18 years ago that I first saw i…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:48AM
Sunday, March 13, 2016

DVD REVIEW: The Merchant of Venice, RSC by Matt Merritt

This year may be the battle of the Cymbelines, with the Royal Shakespeare Company presenting their take while the Globe present two versions, one currently running in the Sam Wanamaker Playh…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:21AM
Friday, February 26, 2016

PHOTOS: Rehearsal room images released for Hamlet at The RSC by Matt Merritt

Great rehearsal images from Hamlet, starring Paapa Essiedu in the title role. Hamlet opens 12 March 2016 in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photos by Manuel Harlan for th…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:44AM
Sunday, February 7, 2016

Curtain Up: News from the last week in theatre, tickets on sale by Matt Merritt

In the theatre news round-up this week: Dreamgirls, The Painkiller, In the Heights and more.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:11AM
Sunday, January 24, 2016

Curtain Up: News from the last week in theatre, tickets on sale by Matt Merritt

Another week has passed and somehow I still haven’t been to the theatre (damn that day job!), but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a whole heap of theatre news to excite us all. Her…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:52PM
Sunday, January 17, 2016

Curtain Up: News from the last week in theatre, tickets on sale by Matt Merritt

The festive season is long gone, pantomimes have finished and hundreds of actors are putting away their Dame costumes for another year, the presents have been put away (or exchanged) and aft…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:52PM
Tuesday, December 22, 2015

A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Chichester Festival Theatre by Matt Merritt

For some Christmas begins when they leave the office for the last time before the holidays. For others it’s the moment the Coca-Cola advert starts running on the TV. For me Christmas begin…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:04PM
Sunday, December 20, 2015

Matt Merritt: My top picks of 2015 by Matt Merritt

It’s that time of year again, when critics, theatre writers and bloggers all put together their lists of the shows that have most impressed them this year, so after a great deal of thought…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:13AM
Thursday, December 17, 2015

THE BFG – The Spring by Matt Merritt

The BFG is perhaps the most beloved of Roald Dahl’s brilliantly twisted stories for children (though theatre fans may have fallen for Matilda in recent years). It’s certainly one that pe…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 02:38PM
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Curtain Up: The news from the last week by Matt Merritt

being laid up on the sofa has allowed me to keep my head above water with the volume of theatre news emerging lately, so I thought this would be a good time to start my new weekly round-up o…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:17AM
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS – Touring by Matt Merritt

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was last year’s must-see musical in the West End, with audiences and critics lapping up the jokes and raving about Robert Lindsay’s performance. Predictably I did…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:05PM
Thursday, November 12, 2015

HENRY V – RSC, London by Matt Merritt

Shakespeare has loomed large over London’s theatre scene in 2015, from the fevered anticipation to Benedict Cumberbatch’s performances in (the underwhelming) Hamlet to Kenneth Branagh fo…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:00AM
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

INTERVIEW: Paul Englishby, RSC composer for The Histories by Matt Merritt

As the Royal Shakespeare Company King and Country cycle hits London's Barbican Centre, Matt Merritt is catching up on this insightful interview with the company's industrious composer, Paul …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:19AM
Saturday, October 31, 2015

ROMEO & JULIET – English National Ballet by Matt Merritt

Romeo and Juliet is, of course, one of (probably the) most famous love stories ever told. It seems then a fitting subject for a ballet and I was excited to see how English National Ballet wo…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:32AM
Saturday, October 17, 2015

SWEENEY TODD (Welsh National Opera) – Touring by Matt Merritt

With Sweeney Todd being my favourite musicals, I had been looking forward to the Welsh National Opera’s staging for quite some time. There is something about the tragedy coupled with Sondh…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 04:24AM
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

NEWS: RSC Shares Update on Productions at The Barbican Centre by Matt Merritt

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) returns to the Barbican in November with Henry V, followed by a major theatrical event in January 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:01PM
Friday, October 2, 2015

REVIEW: Arsenic & Old Lace @ The Spring, Havant by Matt Merritt

How do you approach a play when the film based on it is steeped in generations of lavish praise and is a regular on “favourite” and “best” lists? Well, if HumdrumR…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:46PM
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

REVIEW: Lord of The Flies @ The Mayflower, Southampton by Matt Merritt

I was hugely impressed by the Regent’s Park Theatre production of To Kill A Mockingbird when it toured earlier this year, so I was eager to see how they’d approach another modern…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:28PM
Sunday, September 6, 2015

REVIEW: Miss Saigon @ Prince Edward Theatre by Matt Merritt

I’ve long been a Miss Saigon fan and adored the new production when it opened in London last year, so when I was offered the chance to head back to the gorgeous Prince Edward Theatre a…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:08AM
Saturday, September 5, 2015

It’s Never Been Easier To Get Your Theatre Tickets by Matt Merritt

I’m often asked by friends and workmates why I’m so passionate about theatre and what got me hooked on going to see shows. I normally just turn the question back on them with wha…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:06PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards