A major London revival of Kander, Ebb and McNally's musical
Book | Terrence McNally
Music | John Kander
Lyrics | Fred Ebb
CREATIVE TEAM
Director | Adam Lenson
Musical Director | Joe Bunker
Choreographer | Fabian Aloise
Set Design | Bec Chippendale
Costume Design | Libby Todd
Lighting Design | Matt Daw
Sound Design | Mike Thacker
Associate Director | Franny-Anne Rafferty
Assistant Director | Jo Kirkland
CAST
Anna | Caroline O'Connor
Angel | Gemma Sutton
Dino | Stewart Clarke
Lino | Ross Dawes
Lucky | Michael Lin
Ben | Elander Moore
Lenny | Ben Redfern
Tony | Jason Winter
VENUE
Southwark Playhouse, London
DATES
25th May - 23rd June
SYNOPSIS
“We used to live here, Angel. I sold the rink. It’s coming down!”
The Tony award-winning musical The Rink skates into Southwark Playhouse for a strictly limited season from May 2018, for its first London revival in almost 20 years.
With an irresistible score by the legendary Tony and Olivier Award-Winning John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret) and exhilarating book by Tony Award-winning Terrence McNally (Ragtime, Kiss of the Spiderwoman), The Rink originally premiered on Broadway in 1984 starring Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli.
Anna, an Italian housewife who runs a roller-skating rink on the Eastern coast of America, is about to sell it to developers until her estranged daughter, Angel, returns after a long absence, hoping to save the rink and patch things up with her mother.
“Adam Lenson’s assured production is textured and moving; audience tears are gently wiped away as smiles break out at some delightful ensemble roller dancing.
in this wonderfully intimate new staging, The Rink is revealed to be an emotionally intelligent, elegiac chamber piece of a musical, rich in a wistful sense of home and the lost certainty of past times.”
“Director Adam Lenson has taken a decades-old musical and made it feel timeless and engaging.””
““The Rink is the best production seen at Southwark Playhouse in the last year, and possibly one of the best musicals at the moment in London.””
“Adam Lenson’s direction is carefully observed, in what is unquestionably his finest work to date.
Yet again, Southwark Playhouse are delivering an outstanding musical for a fraction of the price of a West End ticket. If you love the genre, it’s unmissable.”
“Adam Lenson’s production has its dazzling moments but doesn’t sacrifice the complexity of the characters, and the fragile mother-daughter relationship that grounds the show.
A big, bursting powerhouse of a revival.”
“Director Adam Lenson more than justifies the decision to revive the show and stages it with the brio and intimacy a space like this one can promote”
“Adam Lenson’s production is bright and dynamic”
“A masterclass in acting, directing and design, The Rink at The Southwark Playhouse is dazzling.”
“Adam Lenson is fast forging a reputation as a musical theatre director. It’s clear that he truly understands the form and musical theatre needs more directors like that. Good musicals can be wonderful but there are no shortcuts and Lenson understands that.
The Rink is a real masterclass in just what can be achieved when you assemble your A team. It’s as good as anything in the West End at the moment and certainly deserves a longer life.”