Chaplin – The Musical

Rating: X out of 5 stars (Read why below)

Following a successful regional run in San Diego in 2010, Chaplin the Musical opens at the Barrymore Theatre on New York’s Broadway on 10th September, with previews commencing in August. Bookings for Chaplin can be made online now.

An Impressive New Production

Chaplin has been developed by an impressive production team, with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and a story written by Curtis and Tony award-winner Thomas Meehan. The production will be directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, who previously directed Finian’s Rainbow, and it will star Rob McClure in the title role. McClure has previously appeared on Broadway in Avenue Q and played the Charlie Chaplin role when Chaplin – The Musical was staged in San Diego. Rob McClure’s co-star will be Ashley Brown, who plays Chaplin’s wife, Oona O’Neill. Ashley Brown was also part of the production at the La Jolla Theatre in San Diego. Brown has previously appeared on Broadway in the title role of Mary Poppins. The production will premiere at New York’s Barrymore Theatre on 10th September and bookings are already being taken at the box-office and online. The Barrymore is a state of the art theatre that specialises in quality theatrical productions. Tickets are also on sale for the preview shows which begin on 21st August. If the Broadway run of Chaplin is successful, it is certainly possible that we will see a production in London’s West End before too long.

Chaplin at the Barbican Theatre in London

Coincidentally, another musical production telling the story of Chaplin’s life is being staged at the Barbican Theatre in London this summer. But the London production is unrelated to the Broadway show and is based on an off-Broadway show that was staged in the early 1990s. The cast of this version is made up of students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Chaplin’s Story

Chaplin tells the story of London-born Charlie Chaplin and his journey from the music halls of England to his achievement of world-wide fame through his career in Hollywood. The show presents Chaplin’s story in song, dance and drama. It is a classic rags to riches story tracing Chaplin’s life from his humble beginnings in Lambeth to fame, fortune as a film actor and the widely-accepted title of the ‘funniest man in the world’.

The show emphasises that Charlie Chaplin was not just a successful comic actor but, through films such as The Gold Rush and City Lights, he indelibly influenced the way Hollywood made movies. But Curtis and Meehan’s script also highlights that there is a down-side to fame, and suggests that there are sacrifices that have to be made in order to achieve it.

Review of Chaplin in NY

We’re unable to do a review before the new musical is launched, the 10th of September 2012.

Where to see the Chaplin?

The Broadway show will go live at Barrymore Theatre within short. Make sure to book your tickets well in advance.

Cheap Tickets to Chaplin on Broadway

Bookings are currently being taken for the Broadway run of Chaplin. Tickets for Chaplin can be reserved online now, with discounts available for concessions and groups. This inspiring musical promises to show, as the Barrymore Theatre’s advance publicity puts it, Chaplin’s rise ‘from the slums of London to the heights of Hollywood’.

Other theatre shows worth visiting in New York

There are plenty of other spectacular shows to see on Broadway. Read our reviews of Memphis, Jersey Boys, Wicked, Mary Poppins and Ghost to name a few.