February may be the shortest month but it is packed with enticing offerings on the London stage. The weeks ahead promise not one but two star-laden Sophoclean tragedies, and two comparably starry stagings of Shakespeare, alongside the latest offering from a fast-rising solo talent and a Broadway diva back for yet another London hurrah.
BEING SEEN
Rebecca Frecknall’s acclaimed revival of Cabaret has hosted many and varied stars since it opened at the Kit Kat Club late in 2021, with Eddie Redmayne as the shape-shifting Emcee and Jessie Buckley as the time-honored “toast of Mayfair,” Sally Bowles. But the current American leads—Billy Porter and Marisha Wallace—mark the first time anyone can remember that these roles have been given to performers of color. “I never thought I’d play this part,” an exultant Wallace (Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls) told Broadway.com, the two-time Olivier nominee speaking during a lunch break.
Wallace over time had met the usual pushback when she ever enquired about playing Sally Bowles. “I was told there were no Black people around at the time, and thought, that can’t be true. When I did the research, I learned that there were 50,000 Africans living in Berlin before Hitler took power: We were there, and I was just, like, oh my God, I didn’t know.” What of coming into this show at this particular point in its long-running life? The show, Wallace said, “echoes what’s happening around us now. You see the hyper-normality of trying to just get on with your life while the world is crumbling around you. You have to make a choice: Do I fight in the resistance or is the resistance, in fact, me fighting for myself?”
THE EYES HAVE IT
Greek drama seems to be everywhere, with various rewrites of Antigone and last autumn’s knockout Oedipus, starring Mark Strong and Lesley Manville. The Athenian tragedy is back again, this time in an entirely separate Old Vic production co-directed by Matthew Warchus and choreographer Hofesh Shechter. It stars Rami Malek as the murderous king and Olivier winner Indira Varma as—spoiler ahead!—the Theban ruler’s mother and wife; opening night is February 4. “What a treat; what an amazing thing,” playwright Ella Hickson told Broadway.com of the rare opportunity for audiences to experience this timeless story twice in quick succession in entirely different versions, this latest one heavy on dance. Having worked on the project for six years, Hickson points to “an extremity to the political climate” that chimes with the material, and she praises her Oscar-winning leading man for “working so hard and being so invested.” Those wanting more, take heart: The following night sees the West End opening of Elektra, the logical companion piece to Oedipus, starring another Oscar winner, Brie Larson.
ONE NIGHT ONLY
London always seems that much livelier and more fun when Patti LuPone is in town, and here the Broadway legend is for a single night—February 16—at the Coliseum with her touring show, A Life in Notes. Scott Wittman (Hairspray, the forthcoming Smash) conceived and directed the solo entertainment and has been a friend of LuPone for more than 30 years. So he knows whereof he speaks in paying tribute to “a voice made for the theater: What’s so incredible about Patti is the power of her voice and also the lyricism of it. She takes very good care of her instrument and is still singing in the original keys, which is kind of amazing.” An added treat is this Juilliard-trained talent’s attention to text: “Everything in Patti is from the lyric; she approaches everything like an actress.” And lest this appearance feel like the 75-year-old performer’s London farewell, think again. Said Wittman in an interview, “I’m sure she’ll be back.”
THIS SCEPTRED ISLE
Richard II is among the most luxuriantly beautiful of Shakespeare’s plays as it chronicles the final years of its manchild king. Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen and Simon Russell Beale have all, in their own time, tackled the part being taken on this month at the Bridge Theatre by the Olivier-winning Bridgerton heartthrob, Jonathan Bailey, also known as Fiyero on screen in Wicked. He and LuPone both won 2019 Oliviers for Company on the West End, since which time Bailey’s career has gone into orbit while his innate kindness remains. “Jonny seems completely untouched by his fame; he’s not here to do any of that status stuff,” said his admiring co-star, Michael Simkins, who plays the Duke of York, Richard’s uncle. “I think he’s going to be absolutely fabulous.” We shall find out when Nicholas Hytner’s production opens February 18. A second high-profile Shakespeare staging, Much Ado About Nothing, with Tom Hiddleston, opens at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the following night.
ANYTHING BUT LONELY
Jack Holden made waves with his self-penned solo piece, Cruise, nabbing a 2022 Olivier nomination for Best Play for this look at gay British life during the age of AIDS. Now, Holden is back playing a dozen American roles in another tailor-made vehicle, Kenrex, co-written with Ed Stambollouian, who also directs. Opening night is February 18 at Southwark Playhouse Borough, a prominent venue off-West End. What’s with his apparent fondness for going it alone? “They tend to ask more of an audience,” the engaging Holden told Broadway.com of his solo endeavors. “When a solo show is executed well, it asks an audience to do more, which I think is good in the theater. I’ve done big plays with big casts”—War Horse for one— “and would love to get back to that eventually.” In the meantime, this true crime-inflected drama does have musician John Patrick Elliott join Holden on stage. “John is there lending support psychologically and also creatively.” In other words, it’s not so lonely after all.