A weekly reprise to your inbox Where You Belong Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Today we had our musical theatre book club! With folks dialing in from London, York, Chicago and Brighton, we had a wonderful mix of insightful thoughts about the cast album for Maybe Happy Ending. The group thought it was refreshingly short, but also catchy, different, earnest and gentle. An oasis of charm from the cynical world outside. We all agreed we would go to see the show if we could, controversy...
6 months ago • 1 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox Reawakening a showmance Come to the Fun Home Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Ever forgotten how much you love a show? Like, if someone mentioned that show, you would logically remember it was good... But somehow the memory of discovering it has faded with time. Then it comes back into your life - and BAM. Your heart goes boom. This happened to me last week. I made the trip to York to see my BFF Cat absolutely shine as Helen in Fun Home. Watching her bring...
6 months ago • 2 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox When Folk Music meets Musical Theatre A Safe Harbour Hello lovely musical theatre friend, First of all it has been TWO weeks! Thank you for the intermission. I needed a little break. It's good to be back, fresh from seeing my latest West End musical (that's two in two months!). I saw 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' in the delightfully intimate Ambassador's Theatre. It's a life-affirming story about finding where you belong, told beautifully through...
7 months ago • 3 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox The musical whirlwind of the last 12 months Seasons of Shows Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Is it me, or is the theatre world spinning faster than usual? Shows announcing closing dates, others getting surprise extensions. It's hard to keep up. So I checked with our darling chatGPT. Apparently the number of openings, extensions and tours are all growing, on both sides of the pond. Closures are also decreasing. So the industry really is on the up, hurrah!...
7 months ago • 2 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox Finding magic in unexpected places If / Then Musicals Matter Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Have you ever had one of those moments where you discover someone you know, in a very 'normal' way, is a musical theatre fan? Then suddenly this new world opens up, like the yellow brick road leading towards the Emerald City. Prior to creating this newsletter, my mum-friend Rachel and I discovered that we had a love of musicals in common. After that I knew we would...
7 months ago • 2 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox When does a hot take become a hot mess? Maybe Unhappy Ending Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Following the controversy surrounding 'Maybe Happy Ending', the show might be considered a controversial choice for our first musical book club... but as I know nearly 90% of the subscribers here, I know whoever turns up (and I hope you do!) it will be an open, friendly conversation. If you want to know more about the news story surrounding their latest casting...
8 months ago • 2 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox Why this newsletter exists, part two Musicals for You and Me (But Mostly Me) Hello lovely musical theatre friend, Thank you for being part of this tiny, but intensely fabulous community that I get to speak to every Sunday about this wonderful topic. There are lots of different reasons why 'If Musicals Matter' came into existence (see part one). But one of the real reasons is simply for the pure bloody joy of shows. I wanted more musical theatre in my life, so...
8 months ago • 2 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox Like a book club, but for musical cast albums Introducing: If Musicals Chatter There's something so special about musicals and their ability to create connections between people. Now I want to create that for you and I. How it will work: Sign up Listen to the chosen cast album Join a Zoom call 8pm UK / 2pm CT the following Sunday Chatter about the show for about 30 minutes All free and fun. Possibly transatlantic. Definitely worth a try. Debut Meetup: Sunday...
8 months ago • 1 min read
A weekly reprise to your inbox The world we dream about and the one we live in now… Why this newsletter exists Musical theatre fans are more than a cog in a commercial wheel. The economics of creating a successful musical is TOUGH. It is can take 5-7 years, it can cost hundreds of thousands, they need to sell +70% of its capacity consistently and get great reviews - just to stay open, let alone become profitable. So the pressure to sell tickets is REAL. That's why we get a whole lot of...
8 months ago • 2 min read