From Les Miserables to Let it Be - there are plenty of musicals coming to Yorkshire this summer

Yorkshire, I think it is fair to say, is enjoying a rosy period of producing some seriously high class, nationally recognised work in its theatres.
Les Miserables will be coming to Bradford Alhambra, its only Yorkshire date on the tour. (Picture: Helen Maybanks).Les Miserables will be coming to Bradford Alhambra, its only Yorkshire date on the tour. (Picture: Helen Maybanks).
Les Miserables will be coming to Bradford Alhambra, its only Yorkshire date on the tour. (Picture: Helen Maybanks).

There is yet another way in which our theatres are league leaders: in bringing some of the best work created elsewhere to Yorkshire audiences.

Nowhere is this truer than in the are of the big, bold, unashamedly crowd-pleasing musical and this summer there seems to be a glut of big shows that will pack in audiences across the county.

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In Bradford, the Alhambra is about to enter a particularly strong run of shows in the coming months.

The Rocky Horror Show comes to Leeds Grand. (Richard Davenport).The Rocky Horror Show comes to Leeds Grand. (Richard Davenport).
The Rocky Horror Show comes to Leeds Grand. (Richard Davenport).

For the Alhambra it begins next week with Let it Be: A Celebration of the Music of The Beatles (June 3-8). The original show has been seen around the world by more than two million people, including a West End run.

This new version features a second act which imagines a reunion concert ten years after the band split, featuring solo hits including Band On The Run, Got My Mind Set On You, My Sweet Lord, Live and Let Die, and Imagine.

Producer Jeff Parry says: “The original Let It Be was a hit with Beatles fans all over the world, but UK audiences’ reaction to the new show and the new Act Two reunion concert that never was, has been nothing short of phenomenal.

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“It may be almost half a century since The Beatles split, but their popularity and their influence just seems to keep growing, with their incredible and creative catalogue of music attracting a whole new generation of fans.”

The show, which still features Beatles hits in the first act, marks the start of a remarkable run of musicals being brought to Bradford by the Alhambra’s general manager Adam Renton and his team.

American Idiot, based on the music of US pop punk band Green Day, opened a decade ago before transferring to Broadway in 2010 where it won two Tony Awards.

Coming to Bradford for the first time (June 11-15), the cast includes Halifax’s Tom Milner and Bradford X Factor contestant Luke Friend. The musical, which is advertised as ‘not suitable for under 14 year olds’, takes its title from Green Day’s concept album and features songs including Boulevard of Broken Dreams, 21 Guns, Wake Me Up When September Ends and the title track American Idiot from the 2004 Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum album.

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It’s imaginative programming from Renton and his team and will bring in a younger audience to the Alhambra – which continues its commitment to also bringing world class dance to the city.

Following the Green Day musical are two new shows, both based on hit indie movies.

The first is Little Miss Sunshine the Musical, (June 19-22) based on the 2006 Michael Arndt movie which tells the story of a little 
girl who wants to take part in a beauty pageant and the effect her mission has on her family, the Hoovers.

Adapted by James Lapine, the man who wrote the book for Into the Woods, it arrives in Bradford with impressive pedigree. Following Little Miss Sunshine is Amelie, the Musical (July 1-6) based on the all-conquering French 2001 romantic comedy by Jean-Pierre Jeunet which was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two BAFTAs. Again, the pedigree is undeniable and it arrives in Bradford on a wave of four and five star reviews.

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The list so far is impressive, but all will be dwarfed by arguably the greatest musical theatre show in history when Les Miserables arrives in Bradford (July 9 -August 10).

Touring for the first time in over a decade, the Cameron Mackintosh production of Boublil and Schönberg’s masterpiece has been seen by over 120 million people worldwide in 52 countries and in 22 languages. To have landed the only Yorkshire date for Bradford, where it will run for five weeks over the summer, is an impressive catch for the theatre.

In Leeds, the Grand Theatre might not have Les Mis, but it does have an equally impressive line up of big summer shows.

Next week (June 4-15) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat arrives at the theatre. Some might be snooty about the musical, I might have even been a little sarcastic in these pages about it, but you can’t argue with the numbers and there is clearly a reason audiences still turn out in their droves to sing along to Any Dream Will Do. Speaking of singing along, Grease the Musical, based on one of the most popular musical movies of all time, the 1977 John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John classic, arrives in Leeds on June 19 for an extended run (to July 20). I recommend it not just because of the songs and story, but because it is directed by Skipton-born Nikolai Foster, now the artistic director of Leicester Curve and a brilliant stager of this kind of work. The show will be followed in quick succession by three more musicals based on movies, Dirty Dancing (August 5-17), The Rocky Horror Show (August 19-24) and Saturday Night Fever (August 27-31). It’s like the phrase ‘crowd pleasing’ was coined to describe the Leeds Grand’s summer season.

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In the south of the county, Sheffield is doing its bit with the Lyceum hosting Annie (June 4-8) with Craig Revel Horwood as 
Miss Hannigan, Kinky Boots the musical (June 10-22) which is highly recommended if only because the music is provided by Cyndi Lauper, and Hair (July 1- 6). There is also the hilarious, if utterly filthy, Avenue Q (July 29-August 3), which is highly recommended.

Unmissable shows heading our way

These are the ones not to miss...

Les Miserables (Bradford Alhambra, July 9-August 10). Especially if, like me, you missed it when it last toured, if you 
only go to see one musical 
and all that.

Avenue Q (Sheffield Lyceum, July 29 to August 3). It stands up to repeat viewing, but if you’ve never seen it, this is a show that will make you laugh as much as it shocks.

The Rocky Horror Show (Leeds Grand Theatre August 19-24). Dig out the fishnets and take part in what is more theatrical event and controlled mayhem than musical.