Michael Xavier, Cynthia Erivo, Peter Polycarpou, Simon Bailey, Adrian Hansel, Charlotte Wakefield & Julie Atherton West End Voices at Christmas Charity Concert

West End Voices are performing “West End Voices At Christmas”  at The Actors Church in Covent Garden on Sunday 22nd December at 7:00 pm.  Tickets for the concert are £25 and all profits will be donated to The Honeypot Children’s Charity.

This is a concert of Musical Theatre and Christmas songs sung by West End performers backed by the West End Masterclass choir hosted by Olivier Award presenter and West End Star Michael Xavier.

The line up of West End performers taking part include:

Peter Polycarpou (Miss Saigon, Sweeney Todd, Love Story)
Cynthia Erivo (Sister Act, The Color Purple, I Can't Sing X Factor Musical)
Charlotte Wakefield (Spring Awakening, Sound Of Music)
Jason Denton (Hello Dolly, Piaf)
Jodie Jacobs (Rock Of Ages, Fame)
Tommy Sherlock (Matilda, Wicked)
Julie Atherton (Avenue Q, Mamma Mia)
Sabrina Aloueche (We will Rock You, Les Miserables)
Simon Bailey (Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables)
Stephen Webb (From Here To Eternity, Footloose)
Stuart Matthew Price (Shrek, Parade)
Jessica Parker (seussical The Musical, Kiss Me Kate)
Adrian Hansel (Hairspray, Starlight Express)
Laura Pitt-Pulford (The Light Princess,Sunset Boulevard)

Buy tickets for West End Voices at Christmas

Graham Bickley, Mary Carewe, Alison Jiear and Sarah Lark the Music of Burt Bacharach

Responsible for 52 Top 40 hits, Burt Bacharach is one of America's most prolific and celebrated pop composers.

West End leading performers Graham Bickley, Mary Carewe, Alison Jiear and Sarah Lark are in concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra singing the Music of Burt Bacharach including "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", "Walk On By", "Alfie", "What's New Pussycat?" at Croydon Fairfield Halls on Valentine's Weekend, Saturday 15th February at 7:30 pm


You can save 32% on tickets with great seats from £17.60 & Top price £25.20 with no fees.

The Sound of Musicals final episode Top Hat & Thriller Live

The final episode of the Sound of Musicals is on Channel 4 next Tuesday 3rd December at 9:00 am.

It covers the problems of keeping audiences once the show has been open for a while and the glitz and glamour of the red carpet and PR announcements have long gone.  Reasonable size audiences are needed six days a week to cover the running costs for a medium size show which can be more than a quarter of a million each week.

It illustrates how performers who replace the existing cast at the end of their contracts are important in keeping the show fresh and alive using the example of Andrew Derbyshire who is hoping to land a part in Thriller Live with just three weeks to impress the producers. He has been in Joseph and We Will Rock You, but in recent years has been doing regional tours and is now desperate to get back into the West End.

Thriller auditions are taking place to find new performers to play the role of the young Michael Jackson. They are so hard to find that the show runs a Michael Jackson Academy teaching singing, dancing and moon walking. 13 year old Kierran's  audition is good enough for him to go straight into the show, but can he overcome terrible shyness?

Top Hat is in its second year in the West End with seven nominations for the Olivier awards. The team have also been asked to perform on the live awards show to an audience of millions which is a good way boost ticket sales. But there is good and bad news for Top Hat.

Sir Tim Rice Confirms From Here to Eternity Leaving Shaftesbury

With the news this morning that From Here To Eternity will not extend its run at the Shaftesbury Theatre when the current booking period ends next April, Sir Tim Rice has just tweeted: "FH2E future not all grim. We have to leave Shaftesbury in April but if houses continue to improve we shall find a new home! Cast/crew on fire!"

Hadley Fraser Concerts at St James' Studio

As part of St James Theatre Cabarets, West End leading man Hadley Fraser is there in concert again following three sold out shows in 2012.

He is performing two show on Sunday 16th February at  15:00 and 19:30.

His last shows sold out within hours so book tickets now for Hadley Fraser

The Pajama Game to Move into Shaftesbury

Updated 17th December: Peter Polycarpou is again playing Vernon Hines (a time and motion expert who is in love with Gladys the quick-witted secretary and is always jealous of her flirting).

Updated 16th December:  Michael Xavier and Joanna Riding to star in The Pajama Game in London's West End. Xavier to take on role played by Hadley Fraser and Riding to by released from Stephen Ward to reprise the role she played in Chichester.It will start previews on 1st May and open at the Shaftesbury on  May 13, 2014.

------------------------

According to Baz in today's Mail Richard Eyre's Chichester Festival production of The Pajama Game is due to open at the Shaftesbury Theatre next May. No official dates or casting has yet been  announced.

This will replace the new Tim Rice musical From Here to Eternity starring Darius Campbell which has been struggling to find an audience in the barn of a theatre which is known to be difficult one to fill with Hairspray starring Michael Ball being the last show to do any real business there. The show is currently booking to 26th April 2014 which will probably be its closing date unless it decides to shutter earlier.

In the Chichester production Hadley Fraser played Sid Sorokin, Joanna Riding was Catherine 'Babe' Williams with Peter Polycarpou as Vernon Hines. All three were exceptional so it would be great if some of them could make the West End transfer.

More news to follow.

Me and My Girl Back in London Next Year?

Fiery Angel are planning a revival of the musical Me and My Girl  for the West End in late 2014/15. They are  a co-producer of The Ladykillers at the Vaudeville Theatre and The 39 Steps at the Criterion.They toured the show around the UK in 2006 and later produced it in 2010 at Sheffield Theatres.

Robert Lindsay played cockney millionaire heir Bill Snibson  in the 1980s with Emma Thompson as "his girl". Other Bills have included Gary Wilmot and Tim Curry and Homeland's Damian Lewis was reportedly in talks to take on the role earlier this year.  When he recently hosted the Evening Standard Awards he said was yearning to return to the musical stage and opened the Awards ceremony with an impressive performance of Leaning on a Lamp Post from the show.

More Casting for Miss Saigon

Updated 29th November:  There has been a change in plan on the role of Kim and Julia Abueva and Tanya Manalang will now be covers for Eva Noblezada and not alternates.

The cast from Miss Saigon which opens next May in London has already been announced with 17 year old Eva Noblezada playing the title role of Kim for just four performances a week so that she can continue with her studies. Julia Abueva and Tanya Manalang will be alternating the role for the remaining four shows.

18 year old Abueva recently graduated from the Singapore American School and has performed in shows with Pangdemonium Productions, New Voice Company and Repertory Philippines. She is next playing Cinderella at the Resorts World Manila.

Manalang is also 18 and from the Phillipines. She is currently at Theatre School  in London. She played 'Liesl' in The Sound of Music and 'Tuptim' in The King and I at the Resorts World Manila.

Strictly Come Dancing does the Musicals

It's week 10 of Strictly Come Dancing this Saturday when the remaining celebrities will be performing to songs from the musicals.

•  Ashley and Ola: Rumba - A Whole New World from Aladdin by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle
•  Patrick and Anya: Charleston - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
•  Abbey and Aljaz: Salsa - You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees from Saturday Night Fever
•  Sophie and Brendan: Viennese Waltz to the Sound of Music's My Favourite Things by Julie Andrews
•  Mark and Iveta: Samba to The Lion King’s I Just Can’t Wait To Be King
•  Susanna and Kevin: Quickstep - Singin’ In The Rain's Good Morning
•  Natalie and Artem: American Smooth - Dreamgirls' I Am Telling You I’m Not Going by Jennifer Hudson

You can see them dancing this Saturday at 7:00pm on BBC1.

Matthew Morrison When You See My Name In Lights

Broadway leading man and Glee's Matthew Morrison is presenting When You See My Name In Lights on Christmas Day on BBC Radio 2 from 6:00pm-8:00 pm.

Everyone's journey to stardom is different and  Matthew presents two hours of Broadway hits taking you through his rise to fame. He has one song that he's used in every audition:  On The Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady.

 He will be going backstage to share the dreams of some of the leading men and leading ladies on  Broadway.

Elaine Paige Announces her Page by Page by Paige Farewell Tour

Elaine Paige has just announced her Page by Page by Paige new UK concert for 2014 celebrating her 50th Anniversary in show business is to be her ‘farewell’ tour.

She said:   “I’ve thought long and hard about this decision, but feel this landmark event, my 50th Anniversary, is a good time to bid adieu. I’m really look forward to seeing everyone – it’ll be As If We Never Said Goodbye!”

The tour starts on Thursday 9th October 2014 at St David’s Hall in Cardiff and ends at the Brighton Dome on Wednesday 22nd October, including a special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 20th October with special guests and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Presale bookings will open from 10am on Thursday 28 November and go on general sale on Friday 29th November at the following venues:

• Thursday 09 October – Cardiff St David’s Hall
• Saturday 11 October – Bristol Colston Hall
• Sunday 12 October – Manchester Bridgewater Hall
• Tuesday 14 October – Gateshead Sage 
• Wednesday 15 October – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
• Friday 17 October – Birmingham Symphony Hall
• Saturday 18 October – Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
• Monday 20th October - London Royal Albert Hall
• Wednesday 22 October – Brighton Dome

Elaine Paige in Line Up for Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

The line up of celebrities appearing in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special has just been announced.

The show will be televised on BBC1 25th December and Elaine Paige will be joined by Rochelle Humes from girl band The Saturdays, radio DJ Sara Cox, EastEnders' actor Ricky Norwood, comedian and West End performer Rufus Hound and singer Matt Goss.

Professional dancers Ian Waite, Pasha Kovalev and Robin Windsor will partner Rochelle, Elaine and Sara respectively, while Aliona Vilani, Flavia Cacace and Janette Manrara will dance with Matt, Rufus and Ricky.

All six couples will perform a festive dance in a battle to be crowned 2013 Christmas champions and lift the silver star trophy.

Cast for Tour of Fame the Musical

The cast has just been announced for the tour of Fame the Musical which kicks off at Wimbledon Theatre in February.

The show will feature a young, energetic cast fresh from drama school including Jodie Steele as Carmen Diaz, Harry Bleumenau as Schlomo Metzenbaum, Sarah Harlington as Serena Katz, Alex Jordan-Mills as Nick Piazza, Molly Stewart as Mabel Washington, Alex Thomas as Tyrone Jackson, Sasi Strallen as Iris Kelly, Joseph Giacone as Joe Vegas, John Canmore as Mr Scheinkopf, Alexandra Sarmiento as Grace 'Lambchops' Lamb, Ross Lee Fowkes as Goodman 'Goody' King, David Haydn as Mr Myers who will be joined by Ryan Lee Seager, AaRon James, Farrah Abigail Hussain, Micha Richardson and Hannah Wilson. Further casting still to be announced.

Michael Ball in Toast on Channel 4 Tomorrow

Michael Ball is appearing the final episode of the comedy series Toast on Channel 4 tomorrow night at 10:30 pm.

Steven Toast is an eccentric middle-aged actor with a chequered past who spends more time dealing with his problems off stage than performing on it.  Sunday night is all about him losing £20,000 to Andrew Lloyd Webber in a celebrity poker game and being hunted by musical superstar and part-time theatre-land enforcer Michael Ball.

When Toast's nemesis, Ray Purchase, finds him in bed with his wife, Toast is caught up in a life or death showdown with both Purchase and Ball on the stage of his appalling play...

Marti Webb performing Tell Me On A Sunday

Updated 3rd April: Tell Me On A Sunday will be broadcast on Easter Sunday 20th April on BBC Radio 2 between 7:00-8:00 pm

Updated 22nd January: Tell Me On a Sunday starring Marti Webb is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 this Easter as Radio 2 recorded a performance of the musical during its recent run at the St James Theatre and will air it in April.

The special 60-minute programme will also include interviews with Webb and the show's lyricist Don Black.

Updated 5th January: Marti Webb's 'Tell Me On A Sunday' transfer to Duchess Theatre from Tuesday 18th February to Saturday 1st March. Book tickets

Updated 30th December: BBC Radio Two are to record this for broadcast (suspect for a Friday -Night is Music Night). Details to follow.

Marti Webb is again performing Tell Me On A Sunday which  Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black musical wrote specially for her and which was premiered 24 years ago and then broadcast as a TV special.

Webb said: “I love doing it, it’s just beautiful. It was wonderful to be there at the conception, so unusual that you’re watching someone as brilliant as Andrew sitting down at the piano and playing something and asking "What do you think of that?"I wasn’t young when I did it 10 years ago. Most likely it will be the last time I will do it.She said the charm of the story of a 35-year-old English woman newly arrived in New York was that she was an ordinary person: She is not theatrical. There are lots of girls who can identify with her. She’s funny, just like a normal person really".

Marti Webb is performing Tell Me On a Sunday at the St James Theatre in London from  January 7th-12th 2014.

Sugababe Jade Ewen and Michael McKell cast in tour of Rod Stewart's Tonight's the Night

The tour of Tonight's the Night musical inspired by the music of Rod Stewart kicks off in January.

The cast will include Jade Ewen as Dee Dee to 26th April. She is a member of the Sugababes and also represented the UK at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest performing Andrew Lloyd Webber's penned ‘It’s My Time’. She has appeared as Young Nala in The Lion King and Curly in Whistle Down the Wind.

The show will also star Michael McKell (Dr Nick West in Doctors) reprising his role as Stoner until 26th April with Ben Heathcote (Mamma Mia!, Three Musketeers) as Stuart, Jenna Lee-James (We Will Rock You, Joseph) as Mary, Tiffany Graves (We Will Rock You, Sweet Charity) reprising her role as Satan/Baby Jane, Andy Rees (Legally Blonde, A Chorus Line) as Rocky and Craig Mather (Les Miserables) as the alternate Stuart.

They will be joined by Michelle Antrobus, Joshua Dever, Amy Diamond, Rosie Fletcher, Rosie Heath, Sinead Long, Tom Millen, Darryl Paul, Ricky Rojas, Spin and Lindsey Tierney.

Casting News for Miss Saigon

The Mail's Baz Bamigboye has announced the first bit of casting for the revival of Miss Saigon which is due to open next May with an advance of £7 million in ticket sales already.

Laurence Connor will direct this time around with Jon Jon Briones as Engineer, Alistair Brammer (Marius in LesMis, Taboo, War Horse) as Chris, Hugh Maynard (Jesus Christ Superstar, Tenors of Rock, Sister Act) as John and Tamsin Carroll (Barnum, Dusty, Oliver!) as Ellen who has the new number Maybe which has been included in overseas productions.  Rachelle Ann Go will play bar girl GiGi who sings Movie In My Mind. They may not be the best known names but most of them can certainly sing!

17-year-old Eva Noblezada is playing the lead role of Kim  She was discovered at the 2013 Jimmy Awards in New York and you can hear her singing With You from Ghost very beautifully at the ceremony here.  She is a student at the NorthWest School Of The Arts in Charlotte and to ensure she continues her studies in London she will do four performances a week, with two understudies covering the remaining shows.

Jon Jon Briones was in the ensemble of the original cast of Miss Saigon at Drury Lane 25 years ago and has since played the Engineer in the Philippines, London and on tour in the UK, US and Germany. Hugh Maynard played John in two UK tours of Miss Saigon. 

The ensemble members are Julia Abueva, Natalie Chua, Jon-Scott Clark, Rob Compton, Callum Francis, Ashley Gilmour, Maria Graciano, Simon Hardwick, Jack Harrison-Cooper, Matthew Jeans, Kurt Kansley, Kittiphun Kittipakapom, David Lee, Mitch Leow, Ela Lisondra, Tanya Manalang, Christian Rey Marbella, Kanako Nakano, Thao Therese Nguyen, Saori Oda, Ariel Reonal, Jon Reynolds,  Romeo Salazar, Jordan Shaw, Marsha Songcome, Eloisa Amalia Tan, Christian Tanamal, Thao Vilayvong, Amadeus Williams and Gerald Zarcilla

Next Sound of Musicals: Casting for Top Hat and The Bodyguard

Episode 3 (of 4) of  The Sound of Musicals Next is next on Channel 4 at 9:00 pm on Tuesday 26th November.

This episode is all about casting illustrating how over the last ten years TV reality shows have changed the West End with a greater demand for recognisable faces.

Casualty and Strictly Come Dancing star Tom Chambers has been appearing in the new Top Hat musical but is nearing the end of his contract. Producer Kenny Wax is looking for a performer who can act, sing and dance and  has to go to Broadway to find his new leads Gavin Lee and Kristen Beth Williams. They only have six weeks to learn the complicated choreography and songs before press night.

Producer David Ian is in the process of trying to find a star capable of singing Whitney Houston numbers for his new show The Bodyguard  and is hoping Grammy and Tony award winning star Heather Headley can pull it off.  She describes the role as running a marathon every night, for a year.

After losing Craig Revel Horwood, producer Amy Anzel has found a new director and is now looking for a name to play the  Fonz in the tour of Happy Days: A New Musical.

John Wilson Singular Sensations - Up Close and Personal at Charing Cross Theatre

The next Charing Cross Theatre SINGULAR SENSATIONS - Up Close and Personal with the Stars of Musical Theatre is an intimate chat with John Wilson on Sunday December 8th at 3:00 pm.

John Wilson and his orchestra specialise in recreating great movie scores in concert halls up and down the UK.  A Wilson Prom is now an annual event and this year he and the orchestra presented their MGM tribute in Hollywood itself.

Tickets for John Wilson

Ruthie Henshall New Concert Tour

West End star Ruthie Henshall has announced new tour dates of An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall for 2014.

It opens at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln on 8th February and tours until 24th April  playing at venues including the Theatre Royal in Wakefield, the Radlett Centre, the Epsom Playhouse and the Dunstable Grove.

Full list of tour dates and booking details

Joining Ruthie will be her musical director Paul Schofield on piano, Lewis Andrews on guitar, and Stephen Maclachlan on the drums.

Louise Dearman, John Owen-Jones and Samantha Bond It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Concert

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas is a special BBC Radio 2  Friday Night Is Music with a seventy piece BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Broadway's Larry Blank.

Ken Bruce will be presenting  Louise Dearman,  John Owen Jones,  the West End's Capital Voices and readings and poetry from actress Samantha Bond plus a surprise guest.  They will be performing classic festive numbers including White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Jingle Bells, Sleigh Ride and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

This concert will be performed at the Mermaid Theatre in London's Blackfriars on Friday 20th December and you can hear it live on  BBC Radio 2 at 8:00 pm 

Jason Donovan, Brian McFadden and Carrie Hope Fletcher in Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds Final Arena Tour

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds is to tour for the sixth and final time at the end of 2014.  It will be the sixth UK tour in eight years.

The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist will be performed by Brian McFadden (ex Westlife), Jason Donovan is reprising his role as Parson Nathaniel and Carrie Hope Fletcher (Eponine from Les Miserables)  is playing Beth, Parson Nathaniel's Wife. The final two musical guest artistes are still to be announced.

The show will again feature Jeff Wayne conducting the 9-piece Black Smoke Band and 36-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings. Liam Neeson's 3D holographic performance as The Journalist will also return with enhanced technology.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 22nd November at 9:00 am with prices starting at £38.50.

Hannah Waddingham Appearing in New Series of Benidorm

Updated 17th December: New series of Benidorm returns to  ITV on  2nd  January at 9:00 pm. 
........
The comedy Benidorm is returning to ITV in the New Year with a new family joining the sixth series.

The Dykes are a family from Watford who arrive at the Solana Resort with Perry Benson playing Clive and Hannah Waddingham as his no-nonsense wife Tonya accomopanied by their two kids who are described as "young, single and looking for fun".

They will be joining regulars Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran, Sheila Reid, Oliver Stokes, Sherrie Hewson, Kenny Ireland, Tim Healey and Jake Canuso with Nicholas Burns returning as Martin Weedon for the first time since series three.

Cameo guest appearances will include the return of Matthew Kelly as Cyril Babcock, Ken Morley as the head of a local hairdressing mafia, Philip Olivier as a sexy new barman, the Krankies and Rustie Lee as friends of swingers Donald and Jacqueline and Joan Collins will play Crystal Hennesy-Vas (CEO of the Solana Hotel Group).

Alan Ayckbourn’s The Boy Who Fell Into a Book Musical

Alan Ayckbourn’s 1988 fantasy play The Boy Who Fell Into a Book is being adapted into a stage musical by composers Cathy Shostak and Eric Angus with a view to it running at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough next year.

Shostak and Angus' previous credits include a musical adaptation of the BBC children’s drama The Demon Headmaster. Paul James is writing the book and lyrics with musical direction by Mark Warman.

The Boy Who Fell Into a Book is a journey into the unknown with bookworm Kevin finding himself with his fictional hero investigator Rockfist Slim. They travel through all the books on Kevin’s bookshelf to find a way home and avoid the underworld baddie The Green Shark. Their dash takes them through Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Kidnapped, a book of Ghost Stories, Chess For Beginners and a family of jelly-throwing Wooblies!

The show is currently at the workshop stage with Ayckbourn directing a cast including Janie Dee, who has worked on his productions Woman in Mind and the musical Dreams From a Summerhouse based on Beauty and the Beast.

Goodnight Sweetheart the Musical

Comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran say that twenty years on while there are no plans to bring the show Goodnight Sweetheart back to television  they are "some way down the line of doing a stage musical" 

Marks and Gran are the writers of the very popular musicals Dreamboats and Petticoats and Save the Last Dance for Me which are both currently on tour, with other TV shows including Birds of a Feather, Relative Strangers, The New Statesman and Shine on Harvey Moon. 

Goodnight Sweetheart ran for six series on BBC One between 1993 and 1999 with the initial cast including Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, Michelle Holmes as his wife Yvonne, Victor McGuire as his best friend Ron Wheatcroft, while his war-time companions were Christopher Ettridge as bumbling PC Reg Deadman and Dervla Kirwan was the "other woman" Phoebe.

Goodnight Sweetheart still has a devoted following and the writers say Goodnight Sweetheart The Musical  could be ready soon and  feature music from the 1940s and the 1980s.

Julie Atherton with Daniel Boys & Richard Fleeshman at St James' Studio

Julie Atherton is performing  All I Want For Christmas... Is An Audience at London's St. James Theatre Studio on 7th and 8th December. 

She will be joined by different guests each night: Daniel Boys and Daniel Anglès on 7th December and Richard Fleeshman (original London and Broadway cast of Ghost), Carley Stenson (Spamalot's Lady of the Lake) and Andy Coxon on 8th December .

Julie Atherton's recent theatre credits include The Opinion Makers (Colchester Mercury), Another Way (The Cockpit), the world premiere of Lift (Soho Theatre) and The Hired Man (Colchester Mercury); she also played the title role in Cinderella (Lyric Hammersmith). In the West End she played Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in the original London production of Avenue Q, Sophie in Mamma Mia! and Serena in Fame.

Book tickets for Julie Atherton

Rachel Tucker & Dianne Pilkington Giggin 4 Good A Christmas Cracker

Rachel Tucker and Dianne Pilkington will be performing in Giggin4Good - A Christmas Cracker at the Union Theatre on Sunday December 8th.

Dianne Pilkington originated the role of Kim in Taboo and her many other West End credits include roles in Les Miserables, The Far Pavilions, The Beautiful Game and, of course, a three year run as Glinda in Wicked. She is currently playing Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! Rachel Tucker played Meat in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre and Elphaba in Wicked! which she recently left to have a baby son.

Giggin4Good was founded by children's nannies Emma Howe, Karen Howe and Hayley Guild in 2011 in order to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Giggin4Good: A Christmas Cracker will celebrate Christmas with festive songs both old with WestEnd vocalists joiing Rachel and Dianne including: Marcus Ayton, Andrew Bateup, Charlotte Bradford, Lucyelle Cliffe, Harry Cooper-Millar, Goldstone Girls, Natalie Gray, Anna Haresnape, Kim Ismay, Benjamin Vivian-Jones, Rosie Ladkin, Jordan Langford, Nathan Lodge, Leigh Lothian, Shaun McCourt, Jane Milligan, Ciaran O'Driscoll, Katie Paine, Jennifer Potts, Jodie Steele, Joe Sterling, Gary Wood.

The musical director is actor/musician Marc McBride (who was Tour Musical Director for Save The Last Dance For Me)

The Book of Mormon Wins London's Best Night Out Evening Standard Award

This year's Evening Standard Theatre Awards are being presented today at London's Savoy Theatre but it has already been announced that the reader-voted "London's Best Night Out" has been won by The Book of Mormon, following an online poll which also included nominations for  Once and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

According to the Evening Standard "Thousands of votes were received on our website, and the hit musical, currently at the Prince of Wales Theatre, beat off tough competition to scoop the prize."

The Book of Mormon is also nominated for the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical competing with the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Merrily We Roll Along and the new Tori Amos penned musical The Light Princess at the National Theatre. 



Cynthia Erivo, Simon Bowman, Scott Garnham & Michael Xavier A Very West End Christmas Charity EP

Updated 15th December: Link to itunes

Cynthia Erivo, Simon Bowman, Sophie Louise Dann, Shona White, Scott Garnham, Jodie Jacobs & Michael Xavier are among a hot musical theatre stars who have recorded A Very West End Christmas EP.

Co-producers Darren Bell and Kris Rawlinson brought together almost fifty stars of musical theatre,  at the St James Theatre on the 14th October to record an album of Christmas songs for charity: the proceeds of which will be split between equally between Giggin’ For Good, which raises money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, West End Fests, which raises money for CRY UK and The Band Aid Charitable Trust.

The A Very West End Christmas EP features five festive tracks:

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – A Very West End Christmas Choir.

2. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire) – Michael Xavier (The Sound of Music, Into the Woods)

3. Oh, Holy Night –Sabrina Aloueche (Les Miserables, We Will Rock You), Jodie Jacobs (Rock of Ages) & Katie Paine (We Will Rock You).

4. Baby It’s Cold Outside – Chloe Hart (Wicked, Hairspray) & Jeremy Legat (Wicked).

5. Do They Know It’s Christmas? – tA Very West End Christmas’ Choir.

Each track will be available for purchase, individually or as part of the entire EP, on most music platforms including iTunes and Amazon on 14th December 2013 which you can pre-order now. 

The artists involved (alphabetically): Sabrina Aloueche, Simon Bailey, Lucy May Barker, Will Barrett, Andrew Bateup, Jamie Birkett, Simon Bowman, Georgie Burdett, Ambra Caserotti, Jasmine Colangelo, Erin Cornell, Alexandra da Silva, Sophie Louise Dann, Jordan Lee Davies, Cynthia Erivo, Stephanie Fearon, Scott Garnham, Joseph Giacone, Chloe Hart, Keith Jack, Jodie Jacobs, Samuel James, Conleth Kane, Rosie Ladkin, Jeremy Legat, Hannah Levane, Sophie Linder-Lee, Leon Lopez, Shaun McCourt, Gabriel Mokake, David Muscat, Lauren Osborn, Katie Paine, Ian Parsons, Jennifer Potts, Helen Power, Tim Prottey-Jones, Michael Quinn, Ian Stroughair, Thomas Sutcliffe, Amy-Jean Ward, Shona White, Gary Wood, Thomas Wright & Michael Xavier.

Brian Conley to star in tour of Barnum

Brian Conley is to star in a new UK tour of the musical Barnum which Cameron Mackintosh is co-producing with Michael Harrison (whose West End credits include The Bodyguard).

It will  open at Leicester’s Curve Theatre next summer and is based on the Chichester Festival production this July and August, but it is believed that the staging will undergo some changes.

Conley is a real showman and I think he will make a great PT Barnum with strong theatre credits illustrating this including Jolson, Me and My Girl, Hairspray and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Fagin in Oliver!

More information and dates to follow.

Meet Me In St Louis Opens at the Landor in December

The Landor Theatre are presenting the UK Premiere of Broadway musical Meet Me In St Louis which will play from Wednesday 11th December (press night 16th December) to 18th January 2014.

Based on the 1944 MGM motion picture starring Judy Garland, it is the story of The Smiths, who are a well-to-do suburban family living in turn of the century Midwestern St Louis. The city is about to host the World’s Fair, a spectacular exhibition on a scale never before seen, and the Smiths are preparing to celebrate its arrival.

Meanwhile, sisters Esther and Rose are dreaming of romance. Esther is in love with the boy next door, whilst Rose is awaiting a phone call in which she hopes to be proposed to. However, their father Alonzo is unexpectedly beckoned to New York with the offer of a promotion and the Smith’s are suddenly arranging to move away from St Louis; an uprooting that threatens to indelibly change their lives forever.

Meet Me in St Louis features numbers including The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song and the timeless classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who was first introduced to Judy Garland on set and later married her. The film was later adapted for the stage and premiered on Broadway in 1989.

Meet Me in St. Louis has music and lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, and a book by Hugh Wheeler. It is directed by Robert McWhir with choreography by Robbie O'Reilly, design by Francisco Rodriguez-Weil and lighting design by Richard Lambert.

Casting will be announced shortly.

Tickets for Meet Me In St Louis

Adrian Mole the Musical?

Leicester’s Curve and the Royal and Derngate in Northampton have commissioned Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary to write a musical adaptation of Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾.

It was presented in a workshop format to an invited audience in London last week to try and find a commercial producer who could provide funding to help bring the production to the stage.

Brunger and Cleary’s other credits include Jet Set Go! and The Great British Soap Opera.

Happy Days Tour & Barnum Featured on Episode 2 The Sound of Musicals

The first episode of the Sound of Musicals aired last night on Channel 4 and mostly featured director Sam Mendes and his team's lead up to the opening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Next Tuesday 19th November at 9:00 pm episode 2 will cover Cameron Mackintosh's staging of the circus musical Barnum in the special tent he had erected at Chichester and producer Amy Anzel who is trying to raise funds and cast her fledgling production Happy Days: A New Musical which starts an extensive UK tour in January next year.

It also features 21 year old Dickie Wood who is straight out of stage school and landed his first job in Mamma Mia!  He has a lot to learn in just five weeks before his West End debut.

With time, money and reputation at stake, Cameron, Amy and Dickie have their work cut out. And in the West End the drama's not just on the stage!

Anton Du Beke and Summer Strallen Ballroom to Broadway Tour

Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke it going on a UK and Ireland tour next year with  a new production Ballroom To Broadway.

Anton will present and perform a collection of show-stopping numbers that include ‘Anything
Goes’, ‘Rhythm of Life’, ‘Impossible Dream’, ‘Hushabye Mountain’ and ‘Begin The
Beguine’.

His usual dancing partner Erin Boag is expecting a baby, so he will be joined by special guest West End star Summer Strallen (Top Hat, Love Never Dies and The Sound of Music), singer Lance Ellington and  world-class ensemble dancers including Faye Huddleston (Burn The Floor) and the Raymond Gubbay Big Band Orchestra conducted by Richard Balcombe.

Click here for a full list of the tour dates and booking details

Tim Howar Jingle Belles Concert

Jingle Belles returns to the Royal Albert Hall this Christmas on Sunday 15th December with shows at 1:00pm and 4:15 pm.

Tim Howar (Co-lead singer of Mike & the Mechanics, Peggy Sue Got Married, Tonight's the Night, On the Town, Rent, Betwixt, Rock of Ages) and Jacinta Whyte (Les Miserables, Blood Brothers, Miss Saigon) are performing with the Capital Voices and London Concert Orchestra conducted by John Rigby.

They will be performing classics including Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree • We Need A Little Christmas • Merry Christmas Everyone • Mambo Santa Mambo • Jingle Bell Rock • Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer • It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year • Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas • Baby It’s Cold Outside • Blue Christmas • We Wish You a Merry Christmas • Santa Claus is Coming to Town • I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day

Book tickets for Jingle Belles

West End Performers in Singers Soiree Concert

The Singers Soiree presents West End performers in concert with proceeds going to Shooting Star Chase charity which helps terminally ill children enjoy and be properly looked after in their final few years/months of life.

Their next event is their seventh which takes place on December 5th at  St Giles-in-the-Fields, London WC2 with doors opening from 6:45pm for a 7:30pm start.

The host for the evening is Dean McCullough with a great line up of  performers including Marcus Ayton, Sam Buttery, Erin Cornell, Nadeem Crowe, Emma Ralston, Faye Roberts, Danny Whitehead and Dickie Wood.

Book tickets for The Singers Soiree

Alfie Boe in Winter Concert at Royal Festival Hall next month

Huawei is presenting an evening of music and song in support of The Prince's Trust at the Royal Festival Hall on Monday 2nd December at 8:00 pm

Their Winter Concert features Alfie Boe with his band, Laura Wright, the Tiffin Boys' Choir and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Book tickets for the Huawei Winter Concert

Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy BBC Tonight

On BBC1 tonight at 10:40 pm there looks to be an interesting programme about the influence of Jewish composers on Broadway including the musicals Porgy & Bess, West Side Story and Cabaret.

New York musical theatres offered a chance for those who had fled persecution and oppression to make it big in America.  Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy features performances by Broadway's most creative talents, with archive footage and interviews, exploring the work of musical maestros including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jule Styne.

Marius & Cosette Announced for Broadway LesMis

Cameron Mackintosh has just revealed more casting for the Broadway production of Les Miserables which is due to open on 23rd March 2014.

As already announced Ramin Karimloo (currently in the Toronto show: The Phantom of the Opera: Love Never Dies) will star as Jean Valjean with Tony Award nominee Will Swenson (Hair, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Little Miss Sunshine) as Javert, West End and Broadway actress Caissie Levy (Ghost, Hair, Murder Ballad) as Fantine and Tony Award winner Nikki M James (The Book of Mormon; Fetch Clay, Make Man) as Eponine.

Two new cast members who are making their Broadway debut are Andy Mientus (NBC musical drama Smash, Spring Awakening national tour, Off-Broadway's Carrie) and Charlotte Maltby (Les Miz at the St Louis Muny, student at the University of Michigan) will play Marius and Cosette.  Charlotte is the youngest daughter of Richard Maltby Jr who is probably best known in  the UK as co-lyricist with David Shire on Miss Saigon.

Jonathan Ansell Concert An Evening with the Prince

Ex G4 tenor and musical performer Jonathan Ansell is playing Prince Valiant in the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at theWatersmeet Theatre in  Rickmansworth from 6th-31st December.

He will also be performing an Evening with the Prince concert for one night only at 9:00 pm on 22nd  December. It will include popular opera, rock anthems, classic songs, show tunes and some Christmas favourites.

Jonathan has also just released a new album Two Hearts which you can find out more about and order online by clicking on the link.

Tickets for An Evening with the Prince

Kerry Ellis, Oliver Tompsett, Alasdair Harvey and Helen Hobson in West End Anthems

Kerry Ellis, Oliver Tompsett, Alasdair Harvey and Helen Hobson are performing West End Anthems at the Watford Colosseum on Sunday 12th January at 7:30 pm.

The show is packed with smash hit songs from the best West End Shows sung by the performers that made them popular. They have played leading roles in shows including Wicked!, We Will Rock You, Phantom, Les Miserables, Oliver, Beauty and the Beast and Rock of Ages.

Buy tickets for West End Anthems

First Tour Dates for Marc Bolan Musical 20th Century Boy

The musical 20th Century Boy is inspired by the music and life of T Rex's Marc Bolan featuring his songs including Ride a White Swan, Metal Guru, Get It On, I Love to Boogie, Children of the Revolution and of the title track 20th Century Boy.

It premiered in 2011 at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, ran at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in September 2012 and is now due to go on tour next year again directed by Gary Lloyd.

The first dates for the musical 20th Century Boy are now on sale:  22nd- 26th April Manchester Opera House: 28th April-3rd May Birmingham Alexandra: 12th-17th May Bristol Hippodrome: 28th May York Grand Opera House: 9th-14th  June Woking New Victoria with more dates and casting  to follow.

Book tickets for 20th Century Boy

Tour of Top Hat the Musical

When Top Hat the Musical closed in the West End last month it was mooted that a UK tour would follow.

Well the  the tour of Top Hat is due to start next August and last for 48 weeks. The first dates to be released are for the New Wimbledon Theatre and the Theatre Royal Newcastle.

More dates to follow shortly.

Jonathan Ansell in Carols at St Pauls for Breast Cancer Care

Carols at St Pauls is a concert being performed in aid of Breast Cancer Care on Tuesday 17th December at 7:00 pm at  St Paul's Cathedral in London

Carols by Candlelight has seasonal readings from celebrity supporters and carols led by the St Paul’s Cathedral Choir with Jonathan Ansell already confirmed to sing at the event.

Tickets for Carols at St Pauls

Evening Standard Awards Musical Theatre Nominations

This year is the 59th Evening Standard Awards which will be announced during a ceremony compered by Damian Lewis at the Savoy Hotel on 17th November.

The shortlists have been announced with musical theatre nominees including The Book of Mormon, Merrily We Roll Along and The Light Princess up for Best Musical.

In the newly created Best Musical Performance category is Rosalie Craig (The Light Princess), Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) and Charlotte Wakefield (The Sound of Music).

Frances Ruffelle, Isy Suttie and Michael Matus in A-Z of Mrs P at Southwark

Updated 10th December: Isy Suttie (Shameless) is to play Phyllis Pearsall who is an eccentric Bohemian artist who left her husband in Venice in 1936 to find her way in London but got lost.  The A-Z Of Mrs P tells the story of how she put down her paints and picked up the drawing board to map an entire city and walked London’s 23,000 streets to create the A-Z map back in the Thirties.

The new musical The A-Z Of Mrs P which is being presented at Southwark Playhouse from 20th February -29th March 2014.

Award-winning Frances Ruffelle will play Pearsall’s emotionally fragile Irish-Italian mother, with Michael Matus  (Martin Guerre, The Baker's Wife, The Sound Of Music) as Phyllis’s beloved and impossible father the map publisher Alexander (Sandor) Gross.  They will be joined by  Sarah Earnshaw (Wicked), Turlough Convery (Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year 2013), Stewart Matthew Price (Parade, Shrek) as Phyllis' brother Tony Goss,Dawn Sievewright (Glasgow Girls) and Sidney Livingstone (Acorn Antiques The Musical, Oklahoma!). 

The show was conceived by Neil Marcus,  the book is by Diane Samuels with music and lyrics by Gwyneth Herbert. The production will be directed by Sam Buntrock.

Book tickets for The A-Z of Mrs P

Daniel Crossley in Beatles Radio Play

Daniel Crossley/Ringo, Andrew Knott/John, Stephen Fletcher/Paul and Luke Broughton/George are portraying The Beatles in Ray Connolly’s Radio 4 play Sorry, Boys, You Failed The Audition.

In the summer of 1962 the Beatles auditioned for producer George Martin at Parlophone Records having been rejected by every other record company and it was their last chance to get a recording contract. 

As everyone knows they were signed up, but what if they'd been turned down? Seen through the eyes of Freda (their teenage Liverpool fan club secretary) this is a comedy drama about what might have happened to the Beatles if George Martin had said 'No'..

Ray Connolly is perhaps best known for writing the screenplays for the films 'That'll Be the Day' and the sequel 'Stardust' and for his many interviews with the Beatles. He was due to interview John Lennon on the day the day was murdered which he wrote about in the BBC radio play 'Unimaginable'. He wrote Lennon's biography 1940-1980 and the introduction to The Beatles Complete songbook.

It will have its first broadcast next Thursday November 14th on BBC Radio 4 at 14.15

Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in That Day We Sang new TV musical comedy by Victoria Wood

 Updated 5th December: Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball were a tour de force in Sweeney Todd,  they are now  starring together in a new BBC TV romantic comedy called Tubby and Enid (now called That Day We Sang)which is written and directed by Victoria Wood.

 The 90 minute drama is to be shown on BBC2 at  9:00 pm on Boxing Day, December 26th.

It is based on a play with songs called That Day We Sang that Miss Wood created for the Manchester International Festival which starred Jenna Russell.   Tubby and Enid sang in children’s choirs in Manchester in the late Twenties and they meet again forty years later when a TV documentary is made commemorating a famous recording of Nymphs and Shepherds.