Groundhog Day the Musical’s hugely successful and critically acclaimed 10 week season at the Old Vic Theatre, London, has come to an end.
If you managed to spend some time in snowy small town Punxsutawney, this summer, you were part of something pretty special and the enthusiasm and joy of the audiences has been a delight to the cast, musicians, crew and creatives.
So, the Groundhog Day posters and hoardings have been taken down…
…but last week, it was announced that:
Groundhog Day the Musical is heading to Broadway spring 2017!
Groundhog Day opens on Broadway, at the August Wilson Theatre, April 17th, with a start date for previews still to be set. There’s no information yet on the Broadway casting but we’ll keep you updated.
“RHLSTP #114 Fish Pie Mix- Tim Minchin: Rich has exciting news that will make other puppet-sex enthusiasts very jealous, but there’s no time for even a brief wank using the hand of a 100 year old ventriloquist dummy as it’s the second coming of, if not the new Jesus, certainly the new Judas, Tim Minchin. The pair bring out the best worst in each other again, alternating between inappropriate chat about wangs and fufus and serious topics like the rise of anti-intellectualism, the imminent destruction of the planet and what motivates anyone to betray a living God. Also what would you do if you had the chance to destroy a space ship where a small majority of the aliens were evil? Should dirty britcom confessions be seen as a compliment? How does David Duchovny spend his spare time on set? Has anyone interviewing Tim not attempted the obvious Groundhog Day joke? And most importantly has Tim Minchin ever tried sushi? This is the one place that will tell you.” (more…)
Tomorrow evening, Saturday 10th September 2016, Tim will be performing at the celebrations for the Last Night of the Proms in Hyde Park, London. Proms in the Park is an open-air concert, presented by Michael Ball and featuring a host of musical stars along with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Richard Balcombe.
Tim will be performing several songs from Matilda The Musical with two of the Matildas, Zaris-Angel Hator and Clara Read (pictured L-R) and the BBC Concert Orchestra (no room for them in the picture). He’ll also perform a song from his new musical Groundhog Day.
There are various ways to watch and catch up on Proms events including online video coverage from the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall and the Proms in the Park events around the country at bbc.co.uk/proms. We’re unable to give a time that Tim and the Matildas will hit the stage in Hyde Park but there will be a live blog at the above link and social media coverage which may give some indication on the day.
Please check here for all the ways to watch and listen, along with timings and what you can access if you are not UK based, but in summary:
The Royal Albert Hall event will be streamed live, whilst the Park events will be shown via BBC Red Button coverage.
Live coverage will also be available via BBC iPlayer.
After the events, on-demand audio and video content will be available at bbc.co.uk/proms. (more…)
Matilda and Me airs in the UK on Tuesday 13th September at 9pm on Sky Arts.
(Repeat schedule, Now TV details and trailers below)
Narrated by Tim’s sister Nel, who co-directed with Rhian Skirving, Matilda and Me is a family documentary telling the story of Matilda The Musical‘s journey to the Sydney Lyric Theatre, where the Australian production of the global smash hit opened last year.
Through a mix of footage (including some rare family moments), interviews, musical performance and Australian Matilda The Musical rehearsals, Matilda and Me charts Tim’s long-term fascination with Roald Dahl and the intimate relationship that developed between him and the multi-award-winning musical, for which he is now internationally known. Specially shot footage of Tim globetrotting between LA, London and Sydney, culminates with his return home for the triumphant opening night of Matilda The Musical in Australia.
Nel Minchin:“Anyone who has a brother or sister knows what it’s like to grow up so close to someone, and yet still be surprised at who they turn out to be. It was a chance for me to go back in time and piece together how my brother Tim became ‘Tim Minchin’ right before my eyes.”
Tim:“When Nel approached me about being involved in a Matilda doco, I was mostly just excited that she (and her co-director, Rhian, who is one of my best mates) had an excuse to come to LA to hang out. But what they’ve created is really lovely and surprising. They have explored my (unremarkable) origin story, and woven it beautifully into the (remarkable) origin story of this musical… celebrating the world-class Aussie theatre industry on the way. Clever sis.” (more…)
“…tone is finely established in composer Tim Minchin’s evocative and exhilarating score… It is at once supremely melodic, magical, haunting and hilarious.”
“[Andy Karl’s] is an outstanding performance at the centre of a magnificent work that sends everyone out into the night cheering – and just a little wiser.”
This new box set provides the opportunity to watch all of the live shows Tim’s recorded in the UK so far – in one epic marathon if you wish!
You can track how the rock ‘n’ roll nerd developed his satirical lyrical trickery, piano thrashing wizardry, iconic dance moves and that ‘look’, as he plays at the Bloomsbury Theatre, then the HMV Hammersmith Apollo and finally the Royal Albert Hall with the Heritage Orchestra.
Comprising three discs, the DVD collection is region code 4, so it’s mainly for Australia and New Zealand.
These two hour+ shows are packed with songs and talky-bits. The individual DVDs will give you a full track-list but here’s an idea of the content: (more…)
Tim’ll be polishing his piano and tousling his mane into ‘rock mode’ to perform at the Beacon Theatre in New York, as part of the New York Comedy Festival, this Autumn.
Tim Minchin – Live and Solo Thursday, November 3rd at 9:45pm
Beacon Theatre, NYC
There’s a PRESALEhere from Wednesday, August 10th, at 10am ET through to Sunday, August 14th at 10pm ET. Use the presale code: FNYCF.
Hello
So yep/yay, Groundhog Day is now previewing in London – there’s been lots of fun chat about it – the Old Vic have made this video to look at:
For the next six weeks until 17 September, we’re putting a bunch of super talented actors and musicians (led by the remarkable Andy Karl as Phil Connors) through their very own Groundhog Day. Every. Single. Day. With no exceptions. Except Sundays.
We’d love you to come and see it before the really quite limited run ends in September. You may not get another chance to see it for a long time. (Or you may, but let’s not bank on that).
So grab a ticket before it gets harder to get one after our official premiere on 16 August.
“Late one night, for no particular reason, something stirred in the black mud at the bottom of Berkeley’s Creek…”
Last month, ABC KIDS presented a series of Play School Celebrity Covers in celebration of 50 years on air for the adored children’s series. In Tim’s mini-episode, The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek, he reads the inspiring story of an existentialist Bunyip seeking identity.
The star-studded PLAY SCHOOL: FAMOUS FRIENDS is now available on CD & DVDfrom the ABC Shop.
Last night, the glittering 2016 Helpmann Awards ceremony was held at Sydney’s Lyric theatre.
Photo by James Morgan
It was an extraordinary evening for an extraordinary show. Having been nominated for 13 Helpmann Awards, the Australian production of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical converted them into a record breaking 13 wins, including Best Musical!
Tim won Best Original Score in a Musical for his music and lyrics, while Best Female Actor in a Musical went to the eight Australian Matildas who have shared the role of the eponymous hero in Sydney and Melbourne: Molly Barwick, Dusty Bursill, Tiana Mirra, Alannah Parfett, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin, Bella Thomas and Ingrid Torelli.
James Millar scooped Best Male Actor in a Musical with Matthew Warchus winning Best Direction of a Musical.
The rest of the wins, across the other categories, are as follows: Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Daniel Frederiksen Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Elise McCann Best Costume Design in a Musical – Rob Howell Best Scenic Design in a Musical – Rob Howell Best Sound Design in a Musical – Simon Baker Best Lighting Design – Hugh Vanstone Best Music Direction in a Musical – Stephen Amos Best Choreography in a Musical – Peter Darling
Tim and the 8 Australian Matildas. Photo by James Morgan
On Thursday, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Canadian production of Matilda The Musical had its official Opening Night at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto!
Three young actresses alternate playing Matilda, with Hannah Levinson swinging gloriously into action in the title role for the premiere. Jaime MacLean and Jenna Weir make up the rest of the Toronto Matilda trio.
They are joined by the principals (in alphabetical order) Paula Brancati (Miss Honey), Dan Chameroy (Miss Trunchbull), Keisha T. Fraser (Mrs Phelps), Brandon McGibbon (Mr Wormwood) and Darcy Stewart (Mrs Wormwood).
Tickets are on sale for performances up until 16th October, 2016, from www.mirvish.com or by phone at TicketKing at 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333. (more…)
Ten days to go! In case you missed them, here are a selection of photos of Tim, some of the cast, musicians and creatives in rehearsals for Groundhog Day.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musicalarrives at the Adelaide Festival Centre in May 2017 to play a strictly limited eight week season. There’s a waitlist now open for tickets – you can sign up here.
Matilda The Musical is currently playing to excited and packed houses at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre, before heading to Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre at QPAC in November 2016, then Perth’s Crown Theatre from February 2017, before swinging back over to Adelaide in May 2017.
Tickets for Brisbane are already on sale and you can sign up to the waitlist for priority access to tickets for Perth and Adelaide when they go on sale. For the best seats to Melbourne performances, at the moment, go to August when booking.
Those of you following the story will know Matilda The Musical was recently nominated for 13 Helpmann Awards and has won over 50 major international awards, including 13 for Best Musical, delighting audiences in London, Australia, on Broadway and on tour around the USA.
Play School, Australia’s longest-running children’s series, is celebrating 50 years on air! Next month ABC KIDS is presenting a series of Play School Celebrity Covers, sure to delight both the young and the young-at-heart. From the 4th July, episodes will air daily on ABC KIDS at 8am and 5pm.
Tim’s mini-episode, The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek, is on ABC KIDS at 8am on the 13th July and it will be up on iView shortly after the broadcast.
Here’s a sneak peek at the star-studded line-up who’ll be performing a song or reading a story:
Until we hear the rest of the story, Tim’s apparent existential crisis will remain an enigma…
UPDATE: Click here for a video clip of Tim reading a bit more of The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek.
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