Boulevard’s leading lady Danni Dee is celebrating 10 years in Newcastle and is doing it in some style with the Summer Show
Danni Dee in Boulevard’s 2026 Summer Show(Image: Haydn Brown Photography)
If you’ve been to Boulevard over the last 10 years, you will have seen its leading lady Danni Dee dazzle in array of magnificent numbers. Well now several of them have been brought back as the ante is upped down on Churchill Street to celebrate a decade of her being in Newcastle.
After she made the move from London Town to the Toon in 2016, it took no time at all for Danni to ingratiate herself to the Geordie faithful, with stellar star turns from the get-go, one of which features rather heavily in the new Summer Show. One thing you know you’ll always get from Danni and from Boulevard on the whole, is a bloody good night out and, I’m going to say it now, the 2026 Summer Show is up there with the best things I’ve seen at the Purple Palace to date, which is a rather bold declaration, given just how many fabulous productions there have been since it opened back in 2010.
The new Summer Show is like a Danni Dee greatest hits and unlike when some musicians release a ‘best of’ on the strength of one or two decent sized hits; when you’ve got as many fine routines in your locker as Danni and the Boulevard cast have, no liberties need to be taken at all.
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Because it’s a show that I’d urge everyone to go and see for themselves over the next few months, I’m going to at least try not to give too much away, even though it’ll take a lot not to scream from the rooftops about just how good it is.
To be deliberately vague; if you love a Broadway or movie musical, one of the world’s most iconic pop divas and a certain Eurovision interval act from 1994, you will quickly ascend to cabaret heaven, as the Summer Show ticks every box you’d want to be ticked. It’s not even one of those productions that builds in its tempo, as it hits hard from the get-go, courtesy of a diamond encrusted number that is very topical, given what musical is wowing audiences down the road at Sunderland Empire right now.
This is very much an all killer, no filler kind of affair. I was in the seats when I went to see the Summer Show last week, but it’s the kind of night where I’d actually loved to have been in standing, just to be able to dance (probably a bit too enthusiastically!) without blocking anyone’s view.
The Cher medley is a real highlight(Image: Haydn Brown Photography)
To slightly expand on the Eurovision hint from earlier in the year, two words – Irish dancing and Irish dancing done very VERY well at that! What Danni and Boulevard’s Broadway Dancers have is some serious skills, which can see them master all manner of genres and choreo and it’s just as well, as there are plenty of both this time round!
The Summer Show packs in as many musicals as an Elaine Paige Sunday afternoon broadcast on Radio 2 – including Chicago and The Greatest Showman to name just two – and is like being walloped in the face by a pair of over enthusiastic jazz hands… but loving every second of it!
Miss Rory in action in the Legally Blonde number(Image: Haydn Brown Photography)
Of course, no Boulevard revue would be the same without the indomitable Miss Rory, who is once again in fine form, both from the confines of her box and on stage, with her Legally Blonde number a stand out moment, as is the finale, which most definitely turns up the dial and the heat.
There is no element to Boulevard’s latest production that isn’t top drawer, with the costumes, choreography and staging all superb. It’s rather apt that Danni Dee wears a dress with a newspaper design in the Summer Show, as this is a production that should be making ALL the headlines!
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