Check out the photos from The Witches of Eastwick in Concert
The musical returned to London after two decades
Last updated 21st Jun 2022
Witches of Eastwick returned for a one-ff concert on Monday 20th June 2022 at the Sondheim Theatre.
This was the first production of the show in London since its original West End run which ran at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2000 and the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2001.
IN PHOTOS: The Witches of Eastwick in Concert
The concert starred John Partridge (Cabaret UK tour, The View Upstairs) as Darryl Van Horne, Natasha J Barnes (Funny Girl, Spring Awakening) as Alexandra Spofford, Carrie Hope Fletcher (Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, Les Misérables) as Sukie and Laura Pitt-Pulford (Gypsy in concert, Falsettos) as Jane.
The ensemble included Lydia Bannister, Isabel Canning, Aoife Dunn, Christopher Howell, Emma Knudsen, Martin McCarthy, Benjamin Mundy, Emily Ooi, Joshua Robinson, Rachel Spurrell and Rafe Watts. They will be accompanied by The Guildford School of Acting (GSA) Choir.
Maria Friedman - who played the role of Sukie in the original West End production - will direct this concert with staging by Stephen Mear. Jack Maple is producing in arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.
Maria Friedman said: “I am absolutely thrilled that John Partridge is bringing his luminous charm, charisma and talent to the role of Darryl Van Horne and that the fantastic Natasha J Barnes joins us as Alexandra. Together with our full company, this will be a devilish treat for our audience, and I am so looking forward to making this spellbinding concert with them.”
Cameron Mackintosh said: “I’m really thrilled that Jack Maple is conjuring up the wickedly funny Witches of Eastwick again, for one night only in concert with a glorious cast at the Sondheim Theatre. It has always been one of my favourite scores, which I’m very much looking forward to hearing in its full splendour.”
The Witches of Eastwick has a book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana P. Rowe. It is based on the 1984 novel of the same name by John Updike and the 1987 Warner Brothers motion picture.
Our favourite musicals based on books:
Cabaret
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Cats
A slightly different type of adaptation came with Cats. A collection of T. S. Elliot's poems about cats were published in 1939 in a book called Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
The poems were used as lyrics in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats which was at one point the longest running musical both in the West End and on Broadway.
The Color Purple
Alice Walker's 1982 novel The Color Purple has been voted one of the UK's most loved books and Alice became the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The novel was adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985 and a musical that explores more of the themes included in the source material opened on Broadway in 2005. The musical version of The Color Purple is now being adapted into a film.
Doctor Doolittle
During the First World War, Hugh Lofting began sending illustrations to his children about a physician who could talk to the animals. He went on to publish the stories with the first one released in 1920.
The stories had their first big screen adaptation in 1967 with Rex Harrison as the titular character. The film and stories were adapted for the stage with the first run taking place at the Hammersmith Apollo with Phillip Schofield in the leading role.
Gypsy
Gypsy Rose Lee, who was famous for her striptease act, released her autobiography titled Gypsy: A Memoir in 1957. The book served as the inspiration behind Jules Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' iconic 1959 musical, Gypsy.
Legally Blonde
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Les Misérables
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Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins made her debut in P. L. Travers' children's stories with the first book released in 1934. It took Walt Disney 20 years to convince Travers to allow the film to be made - but she wasn't a fan of the final product.
When she was approached by Cameron Mackintosh for the stage adaptation, one of her conditions was that nobody from the original film could be involved with the production. This meant that the Sherman Brothers were barred from writing the additional music.
Matilda
Roald Dahl's beloved story of an intelligent young girl that had telekinetic powers was brought to the stage in 2010 when it opened in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Matilda the Musical has music and lyrics by Tim Minchin transferred to the West End in 2011 and won an impressive seven Olivier Awards.
Oliver!
It's fair to say that Lionel Bart's musical, Oliver! is one of the most famous British musicals around. It's fitting considering the musical's source material, Oliver Twist was written by one of the most famous British authors, Charles Dickens.
The Phantom of the Opera
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South Pacific
A collection of short stories about the Pacific Campaign in World War II by James A. Michener was published in 1947. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted into Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific which opened on Broadway in 1949.
Wicked
Considering Wicked's huge success as a musical, many don't know that the musical is in fact based on a novel. Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was first published in 1995.
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