The Regents Park Open Air Theatre 70th Anniversary Gala

Louise Gold featured, as herself playing Adriana from The Boys From Syracuse, at The Regents Park Open Air Theatre, on 1 September 2002  

Cast

 Narrators

Ian Talbot and Judi Dench

 

Performers In Illustrative Extracts

David Alder (as a Major General from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Jamie Beamish

Paul Bentley (as Gremio from Kiss Me Kate)

John Berlyne

Gillian Bevan (as Luciana from The Boys From Syracuse)

Cameron Blackeley (as Charley from Where’s Charley)

Paul Bradley (as one of the cast from Pirates Of Penzance)

Steve Bradford

Harry Burton (as Harold Hill from The Music Man)

Claire Carrie (as Jennifer Rumson from Paint Your Wagon)

Jon Cartwright

Bernard Cribbins (as Watty Watkins from Lady Be Good)

John Conroy

Daniel Crossley (as A Pierrot from Oh What A Lovely War)

Alison Crowther

Benedict Cumberbatch

Joshua Dallas (as Frederick from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Alicia Davies

Janie Dee (as Sandy from A Connecticut Yankee)

Peter Duncan (as Denny Machin from The Card)

Rodger Dunklee

Fiona Dunn

Howard Ellis

Karen Evans (as Mabel from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Lucie Florentine

Peter Forbes

Jenny Galloway (as Luce from The Boys From Syracuse)

Louise Gold (as Adriana from The Boys From Syracuse)

Dickon Gough

Nigel Harman

Rebecca Hartley

Graeme Henderson (as Lucentio from Kiss Me Kate)

Sara Hiller

John Hodgkinson (as The Drill Sergeant from Oh What A Lovely War)

Eileen Hunter

Andrew Hutchings

Jimmy Johnston (as The Pirate King from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Ramin Karimloo

Abigail Langham

Adam Levy

Dominic Marsh (as A Pierrot from Oh What A Lovely War)

Jessica Martin (as Bunny Byron from Babes In Arms)

Caitlin Mottram

Tam Mutu (as A Pierrot from Oh What A Lovely War)

Audrey Palmer

Harry Peacock (as A Pierrot from Oh What A Lovely War)

Su Pollard (as Ruth from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Lucy Quick (as Mabel from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Issy Van Randwyck (as Bianca from Kiss Me Kate)

Joanne Redman

Joanna Riding (as Susie Trevor from Lady Be Good)

Liz Robertson (as Marian Paroo from The Music Man)

Mark Roper

Clive Rowe (as Gus Esmond from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

Jenna Russell (as Nellie from The Card)

Michael Sadler

Liza Sadovy

Tony Selby (as Ben Rumson from Paint Your Wagon)

Gay Soper (as Ruth from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Mark Umbers (as Frederick from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Giles Taylor (as The Sergeant from The Pirates Of Penzance)

Paul Thornley (as Hortensio from Kiss Me Kate)

Andrew C Wadsworth (as Petruchio from Kiss Me Kate)

Gary Wilmot (As The Pirate King from The Pirates Of Penzance)

 

Guests

Maria Aitken

Billy Barker

Christopher Biggins

Rhys Ifans

Saeed Jaffrey

Rachel Kavanaugh

Natasha McElhone

Mr Medwin

Haley Mills

Tim Piggott-Smith

Denis Quilley

Carol Royle

Samantha Spiro

Paula Wilcox

 

Production Team

 Artistic Director - Ian Talbot

Musical Director - Catherine Jayes

Orchestrations - Catherine Jayes, Steven Edis, William Barnett, Duncan Lamont Jnr

Band Members  - Emma Fowler, Duncan Lamont Jnr, Richard Hammond, Liam Kirkham, David Berry, Robert Millett, William Barnett, Catherine Jayes

Choreography - Gillian Gregory, Lisa Kent, Kenn Oldfield

Sound Designer - Emma Laxton

Lighting Designer - Daniel Lloyd

 

Click here for a full review/account of the gala 

 

All of the performers appearing in the show had previously appeared with The New Shakespeare Company at The Regents Park Open Air Theatre.

Louise Gold, Jenny Galloway, and Gillian Bevan were in The Boys From Syracuse, as was Samantha Spiro, directed by Judi Dench with musical direction by Catherine Jayes, for which Kenn Oldfield did the choreography

Issy Van Randwyck, Paul Bentley, Graeme Henderson, Paul Thornley and Andrew C Wadsworth had appeared in Kiss Me Kate, as indeed did Rebecca Hartley, Lucy Quick and Louise Gold, which was directed by Ian Talbot, with musical direction by Catherine Jayes. Steven Edis also worked on this production, and Liza Kent did the choreography

Samantha Spiro, Jenny Galloway and Louise Gold appeared in the 1991 production of A Midsummer Nights Dream, which was directed by Ian Talbot with choreography by Kenn Oldfield

For three weeks up until the night before this gala, Louise Gold and Paul Bentley were appearing in Follies.

Louise Gold also reprised her The Boys From Syracuse performance of Sing For Your Supper in A Lost Musicals Occasion, but without Jenny Galloway and Gillian Bevan.

Comedy Tonight  is one of those wonderful numbers often incorporated into compilation shows, for example Louise Gold has been involved in singing it in such productions as Side By Side By Sondheim, Curtain Up, and a particularly unusual performance in The Company Of Mary Poppins’s FUNdraising gala . She may also have the song (with Kenn Oldfield’s choreography) in a gala called Comedy Tonight.

Sixteen years earlier, Gillian Bevan briefly understudied/replaced Louise Gold in a production of Blood Brothers.

Judi Dench and Gay Soper also appears on the JAY/TER recording of Cabaret

Paul Bentley has previously appeared in Assassins

John Berlyne had previously appeared in New Girl In Town

Maria Aitken, Gillian Bevan, Christopher Biggins and Steven Edis, had previously appeared in Kids At Heart, and Jessica Martin may have appeared in it.

Liz Robertson and Steven Edis had previously contributed to A Time To Start Living.

Fiona Dunn had previously appeared in Of Thee I Sing, and, Final Chic Cabaret 2003.

Gay Soper had previously appeared in Ratepayers' Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado

Gay Soper and Christopher Biggins had previously appeared in The Soap Opera

Peter Forbes had previously appeared in Mamma Mia, as of course have Louise Gold and Jenny Galloway

Louise Gold and Jessica Martin have appeared together on several occasions: Something For The Boys, and, A Lost Musicals Occasion. They also both worked on Spitting Image and feature on the album Spit In Your Ear, and in the documentary Best Ever Spitting Image. They have also appeared on the radio on: Let’s Do The Show Right Here.

Louise Gold, Jessica Martin, and, Abigail Langham had previously appeared in One Touch Of Venus (2000 Production)

Louise Gold, Jessica Martin, and, Paul Bentley were all members of The Company on the radio on Ned Sherrin’s Review Of Revue.

Liz Robertson has previously appeared in: The Royal Variety Performance (1982), Chicago & Company, CLIC’s 18th Birthday Celebration, Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It. Side By Side By Sondheim, and the Side By Side By Sondheim 25th Anniversary Gala. Her recording credits include Cole Porter - Night And Day, The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears and Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It. She may have appeared in Will-Aid.

Kenn Oldfield did some of the choreography for Will-Aid.

Liza Sadovy appeared in the film Billy The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire.

Issy Van Randwyck has previously appeared in: Love Life, By Jupiter, and Hot ‘n’ Spicey 2, her recording credits include Encore The Very Best From The Musicals , Cole Porter - Night And day, The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears and The History Of The Musical. Her appearance in this gala is only about her second since the memorable occasion when Louise Gold stood in for her at The Hampstead And Highgate Arts Festival (see Louise Gold Sings Some Nice Songs)

Kenn Oldfield and Louise Gold had appeared together on stage 26 years previously in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Touring Production).

Gillian Bevan and Louise Gold may also have danced Kenn Oldfield’s choreography in Comedy Tonight

Janie Dee, and, Judi Dench may also have gone on to appear in Comedy Tonight

Louise Gold and Jenny Galloway have previously appeared together in Godspell

Denis Quilley and Louise Gold have previously appeared in Let ‘Em Eat Cake

Giles Taylor had previously appeared in Into Exile

Issy Van Randwyck, Jessica Martin, and, Gay Soper went on to appear at Dress Circle Grand Reopening

Peter Duncan is of course best known for having presented Blue Peter, during his time on the programme, in 1983, Louise Gold once made an appearance as a guest in an item about the film The Dark Crystal.

It is perhaps worth noting that once, when Peter Duncan left Blue Peter (in the autumn of 1986), Clive Rowe auditioned for, but did not get, his job. He lost out to one of the best broadcasters to have graced British television and radio in the 1980’s and 90’s.

Janie Dee’s recording credits include Defiant Dames, which Clive Rowe was also involved with.

Alicia Davies, Fiona Dunn and Louise Gold have gone on to appear together in The Gondoliers and The Water Babies

Alicia Davies and Louise Gold went on to appear in another theatre (Chichester)’s fundraising gala, Curtain Up

Paul Bradley went on to appear in Noises Off (alongside two performers from the Drury Lane production of The Pirates Of Penzance)

Janie Dee, Joanna Riding, and, Peter Forbes had previously appeared on television on A Week In The West End.

Christopher Biggins’s recording credits include Simply Musicals.

Christopher Biggins, Bernard Cribbins, Janie Dee, and, Joanna Riding may have previously appeared in Dear Ralph, which was also directed by Ian Talbot.

Gary Wilmot and Christopher Biggins went on to appear (alongside Louise Gold) in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Gary Wilmot’s recording credits include The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century.

Liz Robertson, and, Louise Gold went on to appear in a gala dedicated to Denis Quilley, Happily Ever After.

Janie Dee, Judi Dench, Liz Robertson, Gay Soper, and, Christopher Biggins went on to appear in Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala.

Janie Dee, and, Jessica Martin went on to appear in A Love Letter To Dan.

Denis Quilley’s recording credits include The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales.

Gillian Bevan, Clive Rowe, and, Gay Soper’s recording credits include Centre Stage Showtime!.

Louise Gold has gone on to sing a very different version of Comedy Tonight in a late night FUNdraising special featuring The Company Of Mary Poppins.

Paul Bentley has gone on to appear, along with Louise Gold, in Mary Poppins.

Liz Robertson, Ian Talbot, and, Issy Van Randwyck went on to take part in Shopping With The Stars 2008.

Gillian Bevan, and, Gay Soper’s recording credits include Magic Of The Musicals, and, The Great Musicals - From Broadway to Hollywood.

Louise Gold, Jessica Martin, and, Liz Robertson went on to take part in A Celebration Of The Life And Work Of Dick Vosburgh.

Jenna Russell, Christopher Biggins, and, Gillian Bevan may have previously taken part in Thing A Thon.

Liz Robertson, Gay Soper, Ian Talbot, and, Paula Wilcox went on to take part in Shopping With The Stars 2009.

Paul Bentley, Gillian Bevan, Mark Umbers, and, Issy Van Randwyck’s recording credits include 100 Hits Musicals.

Gay Soper’s recording credits include Let’s Go On With The Show – Hit Songs From The West End & Broadway.

Liz Robertson’s radio credits include The Radio 2 Arts Programme Chichester Festival 1994.

Mark Roper went on to appear in Oliver!.

Tim Piggott-Smith appeared on ITV’s 50 Greatest Shows.

 

Critics Comments

 “ ...not least ‘Sing for your supper’ from The Boys From Syracuse, beautifully trilled again by as good as a girls group gets - Louise Gold, Jenny Galloway and Gillian Bevan” Mike Walters, MUSICAL STAGES, Issue 35/36, Winter 2002/2003

 

Links about The Regents Park Open Air Theatre 70th Anniversary Gala

 The Unofficial Chronology Of Dame Judi Dench’s Career’s review of the evening: http://www.djdchronology2.com/openairtheatregala2002.htm

Regents Park Theatre History (details of a fairly comprehensive book by David Corville): http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1840027347?ie=UTF8&tag=thestageonlin-21&link_code=em1&camp=2502&creative=11130&creativeASIN=1840027347&adid=915cf43c-6d60-4437-9888-3880a64a05ba

  Agency Licensing Campaign (article in The Stage): http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/31022/theatre-stars-back-campaign-for-talent-agency, and Online Petition (which anyone who supports it can sign): http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41085.html , seeing as Liza Sadovy and Tim Piggott-Smith are among the stars backing this worthy campaign.

 

 

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