Fame tours to King’s in 2018

Autumn dates for Fame: the Musical

Fame: the Musical will fly, high, into the Edinburgh King’s in October 2018 as part of Selladoor’s 30th anniversary tour of the musical based on the 1980 movie, Fame.

It will be the second production of the show to play Edinburgh this year, with EU Footlights staging the amateur version at the Church Hill Theatre next month, running five nights from Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 February 2018.

The professional tour, to be directed and choreographed by Nick Winston with design by Morgan Large, will kick off in Manchester in July and is booked through to February 2019.

Fame: the Musical is based on the award-winning 1980 movie directed by Alan Parker, staring Irene Cara and Eddie Barth. The musical premiered in 1988, having been developed by David de Silva.

It follows the lives of a group of aspiring entertainers at New York’s High School for Performing Arts from their first audition right up to graduation. It has endured partly because of its hit title song, but more because of the issues it covers – prejudice, identity, pride, literacy, sexuality, substance abuse and perseverance.

Having had its London premiere in 1995, the show toured the following year and is a regular both in the West End where it has had seven incarnations and on the touring circuit. The last professional tour to hit Edinburgh was a somewhat re-booted affair in 2014 at the Playhouse (★★★☆☆ Learning to fly).

The amateur version of the show is well produced – most recently last summer at the King’s from the Beyond Broadway Experience (★★★★★ “Electrifying”). The Footlights production is being directed by Caitlin Powell with choreography from Caili Crow and musical direction from Carey Andrews.

nostalgia

Announcing the new tour, Selladoor’s David Hutchinson promised: “This new tour for 2018 celebrates the 30 years since the premiere of the production and will very much have its roots in the style and nostalgia of the original musical.”

He added: “Selladoor are dedicated to bringing large scale theatre to as broad an audience as possible across the UK and internationally, and we’re delighted to add another classic musical to our ever-growing portfolio.”

Listings:

Fame – The Musical (EU Footlights’ amateur production)
Church Hill Theatre, 33a Morningside Road, EH10 4DR
Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 February 2018
Evenings: 7.30 pm; Matinee Sat: 2.30 pm.
Tickets and details: www.edfootlights.com.

Fame – The Musical (Selladoor professional tour)
King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ.
Monday 22 – Saturday 27 October 2018.
Times (tbc): Evenings: 7.30pm; Weds, Sat matinees: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: www.capitaltheatres.com.

ENDS

Tags: Church Hill Theatre, David Hutchinson, Edinburgh University Footlights, Fame the Musical, King's Theatre, Morgan Large, News, Nick Winston, Production News, Selladoor Productions