TICKETS go on sale today for the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s autumn and winter season of musicals, dance performances, pantomime and one-night shows.
Theatre trustee and volunteer director Barbara Boyce says: “Everyone loves a musical show and we have a great selection to delight you this season. I’m thrilled to see such incredible talent performing on our beloved stage.
“We’re proud to showcase such a wonderful array of talented performers and to bring joy to theatregoers. We hope the people of York and the surrounding areas will enjoy our new season of shows, with stories of adventure, drama and song.”
After a pandemic-enforced two-year wait, York Light Youth’s production of Fame will go ahead at last from October 26 to 29. Set in 1980s’ New York, the show follows the highs and lows of High School for the Performing Arts students, sharing their struggles, triumphs and often tempestuous relationships with each other and their teachers.
Complex issues such as prejudice, drug abuse and sexual exploitation are tackled as the young performers experience the realities of striving for a career and chasing fame in showbiz.
York Stage’s York premiere of Broadway hit Bring It On The Musical will invite audiences to channel their inner cheerleader in this highly energetic musical adaptation of Peyton Reed’s 2000 film starring Kirsten Dunst.
Back flipping into York from November 2 to 5, the story of the challenges and surprising bonds forged through the thrill of extreme competition is told by Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q) and Tom Kitt (Grease: Live).
NE Musicals York will follow up their summer show Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical by serving up Oliver! from October 16 to 19 and 22 to 26. Based on Charles Dickens’s story of crime, poverty, friendship and fate, Lionel Bart’s musical is set on the darkest streets of London, where young, orphaned Oliver has to navigate an underworld of theft and violence as he searches for a home, a family, and – most importantly – for love.
Written as ever by Howard Ella, Rowntree Players’ rollicking romp of a pantomime, Babes In The Wood, will enjoy a Christmas run from December 3 to 10 (no show on December 5). Expect the usual festive cocktail of slapstick comedy, drama, adventure, song, dance and cheeky gags aplenty.
The Victoria Rooke School of Dance and Drama will present The Nutcracker Story on September 24; Wyrley Music and Promotions will celebrate the hits of Billy Fury and Cliff Richard in Billy Meets Cliff on September 25; Irish band The Wild Murphys will return to the JoRo with One Night In Dublin, revelling in Galway Girl, Tell Me Ma, Dirty Old Town, The Irish Rover, Brown Eyed Girl and Seven Drunken Nights on September 29.
October will open with It’s Dance Time 2022, Barbara Taylor School of Dancing’s festival of song and dance, climaxing with excerpts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!, on October 1.
The UK Ultimate Physiques fitness, physique and bodybuilding competition is booked in for October 9, when athletes will seek to qualify for that month’s 2022 UKUP British finals.
Vibe With Perform will showcase versatile dance, acting and singing talent from Emma Bassett’s school on October 15; JoRo regular Steve Cassidy & Friends will return with more rock, country and classic ballads on October 16, and York School of Dance and Drama will present two performances for the price of one in Survivors and Cinderella on October 22.
Survivors is a new choreodrama designed to help children to overcome major trauma experienced during the pandemic in a story of learning to survive when a boarding school collapses. Innovative dance and American tap will feature. Cinderella will follow with all the fun and pathos of British pantomime.
Christmas Showtime with Don Pears & Company will feature the vocal talents of Singphonia in a selection of warming seasonal favourites, from solos and duets to trios and ensemble numbers, on December 11.
The Shepherd Group Brass Band’s Christmas Concert on December 16 and 17 will bring together myriad musicians, from their Brass Roots beginners through to their championship section Senior Band, playing Christmas and winter music with plenty of audience participation.
21st Century Abba will re-create the super-Swedes’ greatest hits for a new generation, using the latest technology, combined with that unforgettable sense of Seventies and Eighties’ fashion, in this Wyrley Music & Promotions tribute show on December 18.
Confirmed for 2023 already is A Gala Night Of Musical Theatre to blow away the post-Christmas blues, hosted by White Rose Theatre on January 14 with contributions from the Katie Ventress School of Dance, York Musical Theatre Company and guest soloists.
Under the musical direction of John Atkin, songs from Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Anything Goes and plenty more favourite shows will feature in this fundraiser for the JoRo’s Raise the Roof campaign.
For full show details, performance times and tickets, including special offers, head to josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on. Tickets can be booked on 01904 501935 too.