Seeing a show in London’s West End is a special experience for many reasons, but one is the centuries-long history surrounding the dozens of theaters. Where can you learn more about those storied performance halls? Enter Neil Maxfield, owner of The West End Musical Walking Tour. He takes tourists around the famed theatre district discovering fascinating architecture, anecdotes, and historical figures from the 1700’s to today.

Watching a piece of choreography, one sees image after image, animated through movement, brought to life by a performer. But distilling dance to a single picture is an art form all its own. From just a few movements, an audience can immediately discern a story, an emotion, or even identify a choreographer. The flexed jazz hands in Bob Fosse’s work in Chicago, the kick line in Michael Bennett’s work in A Chorus Line, and more all take on a life of their own when isolated from the larger body of work.

The Tony and Olivier-winning Jersey Boys will return to London’s West End, opening at the newly renovated Trafalgar Theatre July 28 with an official opening scheduled for August 10.

1872 Birthday of singer and actor Anna Held, future wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, and the classic sexy French flirt of her era. She plays that role in a series of musical vehicles including La Poupee, The French Maid, Mam’selle Napoleon, The Parisian Model, and Miss Innocence.

Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster celebrates her birthday March 18. In honor of the stage and television actor, we take a look at her greatest musical theatre performances.

Audible continues its spring releases March 18 with an audio play version of 2020 Tony nominee The Sound Inside, starring Mary-Louise Parker and Will Hochman, reprising their roles from the Broadway production. The Adam Rapp play follows an Ivy League professor who approaches a mysterious student with a troubling proposal.

Also returning from the Broadway staging is director David Cromer, along with composer and sound designer Daniel Kluger.

Read on for more theatre headlines you may have missed in today’s news.

Nearly a year after the curtain came down on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical due to COVID-19, the male cast of the hit musical reunited for a photo shoot with Andrew Werner. The shoot, led by company member Sheldon Henry, commemorated the show and the Broadway community.

A new play [hieroglyph] by Erika Dickerson-Despenza makes its streaming debut with performances beginning March 13. The San Francisco Playhouse and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre co-production is directed by the latter’s artistic director Margo Hall.

When New York Governor Cuomo announced the Broadway shutdown on March 12, 2020, audience and industry members alike were looking into an unknown future, with formal predictions forecasting that theatres would be able to reopen in April 2020. But as the shutdown extensions continued to roll out, theatre artists found new ways to create beyond the stage, including virtual performances and starting new businesses.