Jason Donovan joins judges for Jesus Christ Superstar

Jason Donovan has been assisting in the audition process for Andrew Lloyd Webber`s new reality show Superstar to cast the lead for his new arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.

He is now joining the judging panel  to find the lead from the final 10 contestants on ITV1 at the end of June,  joining Dawn French.and the Lord.  Amanda Holden will host the show.

Jason said: “I can’t wait for the live shows to start.” Dawn added: “I’m gagging to find Jesus with the help of the good Lord.”

Tickets go on sale this morning for the month long  tour which kicks off at London's O2 Arena on 21st September. As already announced Radio 1’s Chris Moyles will play Herod, Spice Girl Mel C is Mary Magdalene and Tim Minchin is  Judas.

Tour Dates for Jesus Christ Superstar

Tickets go on presale for the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar this Thursday at 09:00 at the following venues:

Friday 21 September           London O2 Arena
Tuesday 25 September        Glasgow SECC
Friday 28 September           Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Sunday 30 September         Manchester Arena
Tuesday 2 October               Cardiff Motorpoint
Thursday 4 October             Birmingham NIA
Tuesday 9 October               Belfast Odyssey
Friday 12 October                Dublin O2
Tuesday 16 October             Liverpool Echo Arena
Friday 19 October                 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
Sunday 21 October               Sheffield Motorpoint

Tim Minchin, Mel C and Chris Moyles confirmed for Jesus Christ Superstar cast

After much speculation on who was going to play Mary Magdalene in the Andrew Lloyd Webber arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar (with Nicole Scherzinger being the favourite), Spice Girl Mel C has now been confirmed for the role. She last appeared in the West End as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers and has been working with Jason Donovan and the creative team on shortlisting candidates for the lead.

Tim Minchin has already been announced as Judas and now radio and TV personality Chris Moyles has joined the team playing King Herod.

The title role of Jesus is still to be cast on the Superstar ITV reality show.

A Night with Barry Manilow on BBC4 Friday 18th May

With Barry Manilow currently in the UK on a concert tour until 23rd May, on Friday night at 21:00 the BBC Four archive presents a night with Barry Manilow offering a mixture of songs, interviews and rarely-seen footage giving a glimpse on how his career has evolved for more than forty years.

Manilow classics including Mandy, Copacabana and Could It Be Magic can be seen and heard in clips from Top of the Pops, Parkinson and various filmed shows including his open air concert at Blenheim Palace in 1983.

Corrie's Street of Dreams Postpones Tour

The Coronation Street musical Street of Dreams has postponed its tour, with the producers claiming they are “are far from happy with the show artistically and are not prepared to take it out again in its present form. We will be re-working the show for dates later in the year”.

The show opened to mixed reviews in Manchester on May 9th and was due to tour  to Dublin, Belfast and Newcastle later this month.

John Ward from Reckless Entertainment stressed the show has not been cancelled but admitted that it has “been a very rocky ride”.

An Evening of Dirty Dancing

An Evening of Dirty Dancing is a tribute show/concert with dance and songs from the movie and musical of the same name including Do You Love Me, She's Like the Wind, Big Girls Don't Cry, Hey Baby, Wipeout, Be My Baby, Hungry Eyes and the Oscar-winning (I've had) The Time of My Life.

Matthew Goodgame (Grease, Chicago) will be joined on stage by West End and Coronation Street actress  Rachael Wooding (Jersey Boys, Evita, Hairspray, Saturday Night Fever and Footloose) and Sophia Ragavales (Les Miserables).

An Evening of Dirty Dancing starts at the Felixstowe Spa Pavilion on 18th May and then goes on a countrywide tour which currently extends into May 2013.

There is also an extensive tour of the musical Dirty Dancing which is visiting theatres throughout the UK with dates currently booking until May 2013.

Tim Minchin Summer Concert Dates

Award winning writer and composer of Matilda the Musical and soon to be Judas Iscariot in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, Tim Minchin is performing solo or with his band Brad and Pete at a number or summer festivals/concerts.

Dates are as follows: RockNess Festival Inverness on 10th June: Trust in Comedy in Grantham 15th June: Eden Session in Cornwall 23rd June: Kew the Music at Kew Gardens in Surrey 5th July: Henley Festival 6th July: Larmer Tree Festival in Wiltshire 12th July: Latitude Festival in Suffolk 13th July: GuilFest in Guildford 14th July and Truck Festival in Oxfordshire on 20th July.

You can find out booking details on Tim’s website

Voice’s Nathan James in Final of Jesus Christ Superstar

Long-haired rock tenor Nathan James was eliminated in the first round of auditions on BBC’s The Voice with none of the mentors (Jessie J, Will.i.am, Tom Jones or Danny O’Donoghue ) turning their chairs round to choose him.

But now according to the Sun he has made it to the finals of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ITV1 talent search for someone to play Jesus in a revival of 70s rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

He auditioned on The Voice last month belting Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer.  Jessie liked his top C but added: “I feel I only heard one layer of what you can do”.

Lord Lloyd-Webber has picked Nathan for the final stages of his new Superstar show when it airs this summer. The early stages have already been recorded and viewers will see ten acts compete to play the role.  Nathan told a friend: “I’ve made it to the Superstar finals. I can’t believe it. I’m not meant to tell anyone. But it’s The Voice’s loss.”