David Soul as Jerry Springer
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Two Extensions: Jerry Springer & Round the Horne

Two West End productions – multi award-winning musical Jerry Springer - The Opera and comedy tribute show Round the Horne...Revisited - have announced extensions to their West End booking periods.

At the Cambridge Theatre, Jerry Springer has added nine months to its schedule, taking it up to 1 October 2005. Following its sell-out season at the National (See News, 4 Jul 2003), the new musical, by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, transferred to the West End on 10 November 2003 (previews from 14 October).

Promising "triumph, tragedy and trailer trash as high art meets low life", Jerry Springer - The Opera is based on America's most lurid talk show and the host who has broadcast programmes such as "Pregnant by a Transsexual", "Here Come the Hookers" and "I Refuse to Wear Clothes".

The 36-strong cast is now led by Starsky and Hutch’s David Soul in the title role, with Olivier Award-winning Best Actor in a Musical David Bedella now returned as Warm-up Man/Satan. The cast also features Whatsonstage.com Best Newcomer Benjamin Lake as Dwight/God. This past year, Jerry Springer won all four Best Musical honours in the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle, Laurence Olivier and Whatsonstage.com’s own Theatregoers’ Choice Awards.

Meanwhile at The Venue, off Leicester Square, Round the Horne...Revisited, a tribute to the classic radio serial, has extended its London booking period by another two months. Opened on 22 January 2004 (previews from 12 January), it’s now booking up to 21 January 2005.

Brian Cooke, the last still living member of the original writing team of the 1960s radio comedy series, has written and adapted the new stage play based on two live radio episodes as well as previously unheard material by Cooke and his former partners, Barry Took, Marty Feldman and Johnnie Mortimer (See News, 9 Dec 2003).

In the original Round the Horne, the mad-cap bunch of comedians - Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Horne, Douglas Smith and Betty Marsden –mercilessly sent up the establishment. Directed by Michael Kingsbury, the current West End cast for the stage version features Charles Armstrong, Kate Brown, Nigel Harrison, Jonathan Rigby and Robin Sebastian.

A separate touring production launched from Bournemouth on 6 September 2004 and continues until 23 December (See News, 28 Jul 2004). Round the Horne is presented by Joabri Productions.

- by Terri Paddock

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