LOVE STORY Announced for 2013

Although details are still scarce, Dutch musical theatre actor Freek Bartels (LES MISERABLES, NEXT TO NORMAL, JOSEPH) announced today that the British one-act musical LOVE STORY will open in Utrecht, the Netherlands early 2013. Bartels will be playing the male lead, "Oliver Barrett IV" who looks back at his life with Jenny after she passes away from leukemia.

The musical, based on the book and movie by the same name, was conceived at the Chistester Festival in 2010, and transfered for a limited 10-week West End run to mixed reviews. The show featured an onstage pianist and a septet of strings. A US version is currently playing the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.

LOVE STORY will be produced by Stage Entertainment at the Beatrix Theatre in Utrecht, which is owned by Stage Entertainment and most recently housed the revised MISS SAIGON. 

Bartels was slated to play "Carl" in GHOST until the production was unexpectedly cancelled altogether. Like LOVE STORY, the story of GHOST deals with life after the death of a lover.

As a writer and theatre enthusiast living in the Amsterdam area, I'd love to be your guide to significant developments and background information from The Netherlands and nearby countries. Despite being a small country, where theatres can't rely on tourists to fill seats, the musical culture is thriving and diverse. International musical theatre mogul Joop van den Ende has his homebase here and musical theatre performers and creatives from the UK and US are often warmly welcomed in the Netherlands to work in (creating) local and international productions.

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