Latest News on Jesus Christ Superstar

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has just been interviewed on ITV's This Morning and revealed that his new arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Tim Minchin, Christ Moyles and Mel C as Judas, Herod and Mary has now found its final 10 contestants for the part of Jesus.

The ITV shows start in July when the public can vote for their favourite, and ALW said that although the part was open to both sexes and  several women auditioned,  none of them really wanted that role but were out audition for him. Their ploy seems to have worked as one of them is now likely to go into the Phantom of the Opera.

He said that all of the final 10 are very different and some of them are complete unknowns which raises the question that some of the West End performers who auditioned might have made it into the line up.

He also said that the "tour will go on" suggesting that after the first the initial shows end in October there might be more to come (probably with a different cast).

Michelle Ryan to play Sally Bowles with Will Young as Emcee in Cabaret

As already mentioned Rufus Norris’ Olivier-award winning production of the musical Cabaret stars Will Young making his West End debut as the enigmatic Emcee. The production is going on a four week tour from 3rd September prior to a run at the Savoy Theatre running from 3rd October until 19th January 2013.

Ex EastEnders actress (she played Zoe Slater) and Bionic Woman Michelle Ryan has been cast as Sally Bowles. She has no musical theatre credits but is a mezzo soprano who studied singing and dancing.

Luckily Sally isn’t supposed to be a great singer and  Ryan said: "It’s one of those roles that’s like a gift.  Sally is quite delusional. She’s not the best singer, she’s not a performer, but she has this kind of spirit that takes her through it all".

In her next  The Man Inside which is due out in July she plays a character  who sings. "I had to get my voice up to scratch for the film. I’ve been working with a voice coach for two years, so you could say that when Cabaret came along I was ready."

Profumo the Musical to follow Jesus Christ Superstar

Andrew Lloyd Webber seems to be sticking with the idea that after the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar his next musical will be linked to the Profumo scandal.

Once the ITV1 Superstar search is over and someone has been found to play Jesus, Lord Lloyd Webber plans to take some time off to write his next musical (the last one was Love Never Dies in 2010).

The story will centre on London osteopath Stephen Ward and Conservative War Minister John Profumo was forced to resign from the Cabinet in 1963 for lying to the House of Commons over his affair with Christine Keeler. The brief affair began after he was introduced to her by Ward at Lord Astor's Cliveden country estate  in 1961. Ward subsequently took an overdose of tablets and died three days after being found guilty of living on immoral earnings.

The Lord said: "I'm pleased that I've found a subject that I want to write now," he admitted. It's not - as people will immediately say - a musical about the Profumo Affair and Christine Keeler. It's about the life of this man - and how a man who was probably the most popular, most sought after, most urbane - a figure who you really wanted to meet if you were in London - ended up as a waxwork in the chamber of horrors in Blackpool.

He was the fall guy for what happened in a whole series of events that spun out of control... but the more you look at the story the more it's quite clear that a lot of things that were alleged to have happened probably didn't happen. It’s also very much about how both the press and media put pressure on these very young girls to say things that weren't necessarily true. It's an incredibly interesting subject for today, and it's right at that time when everything was changing, the old Britain was going and The Beatles were just happening."

Spamalot Tour to Move into Harold Pinter Theatre in July

Updated 24th May: The touring production of Spamalot is set to move into the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End on 24th July for a limited run until 8rd September 2012.

Tickets go on sale at 12 noon on Friday 25th May.

The cast of the UK tour of Spamalot who will be transferring into the West End with the production includes Marcus Brigstocke/King Arthur, former EastEnders actor Todd Carty /Patsy and Bonnie Langford as The Lady of the Lake.

Playing King Arthur’s loyal knights are Kit Orton (Sir Lancelot), Jon Robyns (Sir Galahad), Robin Armstrong (Sir Bedevere) and Rob Delaney (Sir Robin). The rest of the cast is made up of Adam Ellis, Tim Bonser, Niall Sheehey, Rachel Knowles, Hannah Malekzad, James Nelson, Michael Burgen and Amelia Adams-Pearse.


 

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 himself, plus a special guest judge every night. 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.  I have actually been searching for him my whole life, and I can't believe that inside a few weeks we are going to find him.  The fact that he is going to be a Rock God is a massive bonus."”

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.”

Matt Rawle & Alison Jiear Live Ivor Novello Concert Tomorrow Night on Radio 2

Tomorrow night on BBC Radio2 at 8:00 pm Friday Night is Music Night salutes the Ivor Novello Awards which will be announced next Friday and are given every year to honour excellence in British music writing.

This special Friday Night is Music Night concert comes live from the Watford Colosseum with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Richard Balcombe playing scores by past winners John Barry; Andrew Lloyd Webber; Elton John; Lennon and McCartney as well as Ivor Novello.

Guest vocalists include West End stars Matt Rawle and Alison Jiear with singer/songwriter and producer Mike Batt as special guest.  Paul Gambaccini presents the concert.

Rebecca to open on Broadway without Sierra Boggess and Tam Mutu

The previously cancelled Broadway premiere of the musical Rebecca based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier which was to star Sierra Boggess and Tam Mutu will now open on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on 18th November, with previews from 30th October. The musical was originally scheduled to open at the Broadhurst earlier this year on 22nd April but was cancelled due to funding problems.

The cast will now feature the previously announced Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia!) as Mrs Danvers, Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera) as Frank Crawley, James Barbour (Beauty and the Beast, A Tale of Two Cities) as Jack Favell, Donna English (Lend Me A Tenor) as Beatrice de Winter, Nick Wyman (Les Miserables) as Giles and Henry Stram as Ben.

Casting for the leading roles of “I” and 'Maxim de Winter' will be announced in the coming weeks. The roles were initially to have been played by Sierra Boggess and Tam Matu. They are no longer available as Boggess is star in the new Hal Prince biopic The Prince of Broadway and Mutu is joining Les Miserables playing Javert at the Queen’s Theatre in June.

Cast for Bobby Cronin Musical Daybreak

Bobby Cronin's new musical Daybreak will make its London debut next month at the Tristan Bates Theatre at Tower Street from June 5th-30th. Opening night is June 8th.

Daybreak is directed by Hayley Cusick with musical direction by Richard Bates. The cast includes Suzy Bastone (Jersey Boys, Never Forget, Saturday Night Fever, Starlight Express), Matt Stevens (Tale of Two Cities, Jekyll and Hyde, Chess at the Royal Albert Hall) with Kayleigh Louise-Smith and Tom Senior.

Daybreak features words and music by Cronin with additional lyrics by Brett Teresa and is a "non-traditional, coming-of-age musical journey about the troubled relationship of Dylan Ryan and his in denial wife Rebecca, whose biological clock is ticking loudly. Dylan likes to sleep with men and as the couple move into Dylan's childhood home in San Francisco, the story of Dylan's parents unfolds which spirals Dylan further into darkness."
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For tickets call 020 7240 6283 or visit www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk

Wizard of Oz to close on September 2nd

With the announcement that Des O’Connor is to take over the role of the Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium from 22nd May, comes the news that this is the show's final season with it now due to close on 2nd September. 

The original booking period was to 28th October but this has now been bought forward to 2nd September. It will take the show through the summer holidays and leave time for another show to run over Christmas and the New Year  before Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens there next Autumn.

So O’Connor is the final Wizard in this production with Sophie Evans now extending her contract until September after Russell Grant leaves.

Tim Minchin as Judas and Nicole Scherzinger as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar?

According to today’s Telegraph and his twitter account Matilda’s Tim Minchin is playing the disciple Judas in Andrew Lloyd’s Webber’s arena tour of the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

The newspaper is also saying that he will join the pop singer Nicole Scherzinger playing Mary Magdalene with Jesus being cast via a television talent competition next month on ITV1. Minchin has said via twitter that it's not Nicole.

Nicole Scherzinger is a favourite of Andrew Lloyd Webber and her name has been attached to this revival for some time, also being mentioned as a member of the judging panel.  She is certainly more than up to the role having shown her vocal power when the Lord asked her to perform as Christine with four of his notable phantoms at the last Royal Variety Performance.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs Minchin selected Heaven on their Minds which is a song from the musical and hinted at his desire to play Judas saying:  “I reckon I sang this song standing in my parents’ living room, to the vinyl original recording, about 500 times, and subsequently got to understudy the role of Judas in two separate Perth productions of JC Superstar but I never played the role and I keep thinking one day I’m going to play Judas. I just love it because it is just pain and rock.”

I haven't heard Minchin's voice but certainly Judas is a very demanding role to sing.

This is all still unconfirmed but Nicole Scherzinger has been mooted as Mary Magdalene for some time …

Jason Donovan Joins Tour of Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The New Generation - Alive on Stage

Jason Donovan played the Artilleryman in the last tour of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds and is now due to join the new tour Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The New Generation - Alive on Stage which starts at the Dublin 02 Arena on 29th November.

He will be playing Parson Nathaniel and will star alongside Kerry Ellis  who is playing Beth and Ricky Wilson (lead singer from the Kaiser Chiefs) is playing the Artilleryman.  Liam Neeson replaces Richard Burton appearing in 3D holography as the story's narrator journalist George Herbert. He appears in three ways during the show as an 11-foot high hologram; within CGI sequences on a 100-foot animation wall and as a full body interacting holographically with the show’s live performers.

Des O'Connor New Wizard of Oz

Updated 9th May 2012: Des O'Connor is now confirmed as new Wizard of Oz joking “The funny thing is, I may have done over 1,200 performances at the Palladium but I’m still in with a chance of winning best newcomer.”

The current Wizard Russell Grant leaves the show on 20th May and O’Connor will take over the role for the show's final season from May 22nd to 2nd September starring alongside Sophie Evans as Dorothy.
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Veteran entertainer Des O'Connor (he's 80) is stongly rumoured to be taking over from Russell Grant as the Wizard of Oz in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production at the London Palladium. Grant leaves on 20th May and the show is currently booking until 28th October with the current Dorothy (Sophie Evans) now staying on until September.

The role was originally played by 70 year old Michael Crawford and O'Connor will take over the dual roles of  Professor Marvel/Tour Guide/Doorman/The Wizard of Oz. This is only the second time he has performed in a West End musical appearing in Dreamboats & Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre last year.

Since his first television appearance back in 1963 he has starred in his own shows for over 45 years - longer than anyone else anywhere in the world. He is probably best remembered in the West End when he hosted Sunday Night at the London Palladium making over 1000 appearances.  His very successful career includes popular  television shows (which include Des O’Connor Tonight and The Des O’Connor Show) O’Connor has 36 albums which have sold  more than 16 million copies worldwide.

Des was awarded the CBE in 2008 for his services to Entertainment and Broadcasting and is widely regarded as one of the best loved and most respected stars in England.

Russell Crowe Finding Broadway Stars in LesMis Movie hard acts to follow

Russell Crowe is currently involved in filming Les Miserables playing the vocally challenging role of Inspector Javert.  Oscar winning Crowe has been a musician for as long as he’s been an actor and frequently gigs with his band “The Ordinary Fear of God,” but according to Fox News he is feeling a bit intimidated by Broadway co-stars Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried and Anne Hathaway. 

Javert has some very pòwerful numbers and most of the singing requires a number of takes as it is being done live on screen rather than in a studio. According to an insider “He is pretty out-of-his element which is strange for Russell.  He’s co-starring with Hugh Jackman and Anna Hathaway, both very experienced musical performers, so this is all very daunting.”

Crowe did not respond to a request for comment, but according to sources Crowe is on his best behaviour on set and “Is easy to work with”.

Universal Pictures gave audiences a preview of what to expect during last week’s CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas showing a clip of the LesMis characters in their costumes accompanied by Anne Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”.  The response was a big thumbs up.