April 2017

The Outer Critics Circle are the organisation of writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway.

Today, the Broadway production of Groundhog Day received FIVE nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Awards:

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Outstanding Book of A Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) – Danny Rubin
Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) – Tim Minchin
Outstanding Director of A Musical – Matthew Warchus
Outstanding Actor in a Musical – Andy Karl

The winners will be announced by press release on Monday 8th May, 2017, with the awards presented on Thursday 25th May, at the annual Gala Awards Dinner at Sardi’s.

A complete list of nominees can be found here.

Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Additional information can be found at groundhogdaymusical.com. Details of the Groundhog Day (Original Broadway Cast Recording) album can be found here.

The eagerly awaited Groundhog Day (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is now available to download from:

iTunes
or
Amazon, for example, US Amazon and UK Amazon.
or
Google Play
or
Try your preferred digital music store.

The CD was released on the 12th May and is available to order from Broadway Records and Amazon (internationally). Plus other stores worldwide, such as Barnes & Noble and HMV.

The Broadway production of Groundhog Day received two Drama League Awards nominations today!

Outstanding Production of a Musical
and
Distinguished Performance for Andy Karl.

The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honours in America. Created in 1935, they honour distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway.

A full list of 2017 nominees can be found here. The winners will be announced at the 83rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony on Friday, May 19th, 2017, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, NYC.

Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Additional information can be found at groundhogdaymusical.com and you can listen to the full Groundhog Day (Original Broadway Cast Recording) album here before its release on Friday.

Last night the New York production of Groundhog Day, for which Tim wrote the music and lyrics, opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway to joyful cheers and a full standing ovation.

The reviews are in, with praise flowing for all aspects of the production, but especially for leading man Andy Karl, who fought back from injury to play weatherman Phil Connors.

The New York Times (Critic’s Pick)
Ben Brantley hails that “A Star Is Born (and Born and Born)… Repetition is an art of infinite variety as it’s practiced by Andy Karl in ‘Groundhog Day’, the dizzyingly witty new musical from the creators of ‘Matilda’.”

“Mr. Karl is so outrageously inventive in ringing changes on the same old, same old, that you can’t wait for another (almost identical) day to dawn… Thanks to his character’s successive reincarnations, Mr. Karl is giving not one but many of the best performances of the season.”

“The insanely talented Mr. Minchin writes songs in many shades… undulating melodies and whip-smart lyrics tap into the brooding sides of the supporting characters, extending the reach of existential anxiety beyond Phil’s solipsism.”

The Hollywood Reporter
David Rooney declares that “‘Groundhog Day’ is a delirious reinvention with its own defiantly unique personality, a relentless forward-backward spin that leaves you smiling, exhilarated and giddy.”

“Karl gives a musical-comedy performance of the highest caliber, sliding from self-centered insouciance into surprising open-heartedness, displaying a seemingly inexhaustible range of physical expressiveness along the way.”

“Madly entertaining… Worth repeating.”

New York Post
Johnny Oleksinski calls it “A miracle on Broadway… [Karl’s] performance — a suave, comic wonder… [in] songwriter Tim Minchin’s deliriously zany, yet touching show.”
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A third song – Hope – from the upcoming Groundhog Day (Original Broadway Cast Recording) album is available to download or listen to right now!

All three songs are available on Spotify; You’ll find ‘Hope’ here.

If I Had My Time Again
and Seeing You are still up on Vevo.

The digital album can be pre-ordered from iTunes or Amazon internationally, for example, US Amazon and UK Amazon. Otherwise simply search your Amazon store.

If I Had My Time Again and Seeing You will download immediately on both iTunes and Amazon with Hope downloading immediately on Amazon only, at the moment.

The CD is available for pre-order from Broadway Records and Amazon (internationally).

Digital Release Date: April 21st

Physical Release Date: May 5th

Groundhog Day Broadway has its official Opening Night, on Monday, at the August Wilson Theatre in New York! Tickets and more information can be found on the Groundhog Day Broadway website.

Today, the Royal Shakespeare Company announced that Matilda The Musical will be touring the UK and Ireland in 2018-2019, opening first at Leicester Curve in March 2018. (It will continue to play, at the Cambridge Theatre, in London).

Tim said: “I – like millions of others – feel like Dahl is in my blood, because I grew up with his books. So to have contributed to a piece of work that brings one of his most famous stories to life is one of my life’s great joys. I’m utterly thrilled that audiences in cities all across the UK and Ireland will now share and be part of Matilda’s story.”

The dates announced, so far, for the RSC’s touring production of Matilda The Musical are:

Leicester Curve (5th March – 24th March, 2018)
Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre (4th April – 28th April, 2018)
Sunderland Empire (8th May – 2nd June, 2018)
Milton Keynes Theatre (5th June – 30th June, 2018)
Birmingham Hippodrome (3rd July – 8th September, 2018)
Manchester Palace (18th September – 24th November, 2018)
Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre (4th December – 12th January, 2019)

Matilda has a dedicated UK and Ireland tour page, including a tour map, to which further dates and venues will be added in due course.

Tickets for Leicester, Dublin, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Manchester and Cardiff will go on sale on 26th April, following a priority booking period from 19th April. Tickets for Birmingham go on sale on 9th May, after a priority booking from 25th April.
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Last night, the London Old Vic Production of Groundhog Day won Best New Musical at the glittering Olivier Awards ceremony, held in the beautiful Royal Albert Hall.

Sporting a fetching Friar Tuck beard, Tim accepted the award on behalf of the UK company and the creative team. Most of the creatives – including director Matthew Warchus, book-writer Danny Rubin, and music supervisor Chris Nightingale – were unable to attend the ceremony, as they are in New York ahead of Groundhog Day’s Broadway opening next Monday!

The award will not be lonely on Tim’s mantelpiece; Matilda the Musical won Best New Musical in 2012.

Earlier in the evening, Andy Karl had won the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Phil Connors. His award was accepted by Georgie Hagen (who played Nancy in the London production), as Andy is reprising his Phil in the Broadway version.

Tim performed ‘Hope’, a song from the show, backed by some of the cast of the Old Vic production and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The ceremony will be broadcast on ITV on Tuesday 11th April from 8pm to 10pm BST and then available to view on the ITV Hub for 30 days. It will also be broadcast worldwide (ex-UK) at 8pm BST on Facebook Live. More details here.

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Two songs from the new Groundhog Day (Original Broadway Cast Recording) album have been made available* to listen to in full!
On repeat if you wish…

If I Had My Time Again
and
Seeing You.

Both songs are available on Spotify and to download now from iTunes.

The digital album can be pre-ordered from iTunes or Amazon internationally. Release dates and details here.

The CD is available for pre-order from Broadway Records and Amazon (internationally).

Groundhog Day is heading into its final week of previews at the August Wilson Theatre in New York. Opening Night is on April 17th. Tickets and more information can be found on the Groundhog Day Broadway website.

* The songs were debuted by Broadway.com and Entertainment Weekly respectively.

Today, Scholastic announced a global deal for a new magical picture book inspired by When I Grow Up, Tim’s hit song from the acclaimed and multi-award-winning Matilda the Musical.

The book will be illustrated by Steve Antony, an internationally published award-winning author and illustrator. It will imagine life from a child’s viewpoint, with all the humour and poignancy of the song.

Tim says: “I feel incredibly lucky to be able to lend my lyrics to a children’s book. I adore Steve’s work, and it’s been a thrill to watch him develop his gorgeous illustrations. I can’t wait to hold a copy in my hands.”

Steve says: “I feel so lucky and honoured to be working on such an exciting and unique picture book project with Tim and the team at Scholastic. Adapting Tim’s beautiful and emotive song into a visual narrative really is a dream job and has allowed me and my inner child to indulge in a world of imagination, fun, hope and possibility.”

‘When I Grow Up’ by Tim Minchin and Steve Antony will publish in the UK in October 2017.