Wednesday, July 30

Louise Dearman in Marvin Hamlisch Concert next month

West End leading lady Louise Dearman is to perform at a celebration of the work of the late. great Marvin Hamlisch at the St James Theatre on Sunday  August 24th at 3.30pm and at 7:00 pm.

It is being produced by Alex Parker, with staging by Alastair Knights and choreography by Racky Plews. who are the team behind the recent staging of Putting It Together earlier this year starring  Janie Dee


The Marvin Hamlisch concert will feature music from shows including  A Chorus Line, as well as songs he wrote for Barbra Streisand. The cast also includes Michael Colbourne, Emma Harrold, Rob Houchen and Joe Vetch accompanied by a 12-piece ban.

Tickets for Marvin Hamlisch Concert 

Monday, July 28

Forbidden Broadway to transfer into Vaudeville

Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory has just been extended by two weeks until 30th August and now comes the news that it is to transfer into the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End for a limited 11 week run  from  September  9th  to November 22nd.
Three of the cast - Damian Humbley, Anna-Jane Casey and Ben Lewis - will remain with the production, and they will be joined by YouTube star Christina Biancowho has appeared in Forbidden Broadway: Goes to Rehab in New York and whose latest YouTube video of "Let It Go" has received over 5 million views,

Sunday, July 27

Marti Webb appearing in David Bedella and Friends at St James' Studio

Continuing his monthly Sunday night residency - David Bedella and Friends - Primetime! - on 3rd August at 7:00 pm at St James Studio David Bedella hosts another  evening of laughter, song, gossip & chat with The League of Gentlemen and Sherlock actor/writer Mark Gatiss, Tell Me On a Sunday star Marti Webb & talented illusionist Tom Silburn.


Tickets for David Bedella and Friends - Primetime!


Thursday, July 24

John Owen Jones and Gloria Onitiri Friday Night is Music Night Gala Concert tomorrow

Tomorrow night's Friday Night is Music Night on BBC Radio 2 at 8:00 pm is a special gala celebrating the Commonwealth Games live from the City Halls in Glasgow.

With the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Balcombe with West End singers John Owen Jones (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables) and Gloria Onitiri (The Bodyguard and The Lion King) and medal winning guests Colin Jackson, Jonathan Edwards, Steve Cram and Matthew Pinsent.

Music includes 'This is The Moment', Go the Distance, One Moment in Time, The Natural, I Will Survive, Search for the Hero, We Are the Champions together with famous sporting themes 'Rocky', 'Champions', 'Chariots of Fire' and a world premiere - Rimsky Korsakov's Flight of the Bumble Bee for Symphony orchestra .

Wednesday, July 23

Cast changes to The Phantom of the Opera

There will be a number of key cast changes in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical “The Phantom of the Opera" at Her Majesty’s Theatre with effect  from 1st September 2014.

Liam Tamne will star as ‘Raoul’, John Ellis is ‘Piangi’ and Alicia Beck is ‘Meg.

 Gerónimo Rauch continues as ‘The Phantom’ with Harriet Jones as ‘Christine’ and  Emmi Christensson, as her alternate.

Continuing their roles are: Andy Hockley as ‘Monsieur Firmin’; Martin Ball as ‘Monsieur Andre’; Lara Martins as ‘Carlotta’ and Jacinta Mulcahy as ‘Madame Giry’.

Liam Tamne is probably best known from the second series of BBC 1’s ‘The Voice’. His previous theatre credits include ‘Enjolras’ in “Les Miserables” (Queen’s Theatre); “Hair” (Gielgud Theatre); “Hairspray” (Shaftesbury Theatre) and “Wicked” (Apollo Victoria Theatre).

John Ellis has most recently performed the role of ‘Piangi’ in the German production "Das Phantom Der Oper”. This role marks his West End debut. Previous theatre credits include: ‘Old Deuteronomy’ in “Cats” (World Tour); ‘Simon’ and ‘Judas’ in Jesus Christ Superstar (UK Tour) and in his native Australia: “The Wizard of Oz”; “Summer Rain”“Assassins” and “Passion.”

Alicia Beck is making her West End debut as ‘Meg’. After training with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Alicia danced with Ballet Dortmund, Ballet Nice Mediterenee and The Zurich Ballet. Most recently she has played the role of ‘White Cat’ in the UK and European Tour of “Cats.

Emmi Christensson is making her West End debut as ‘Christine’. Previous theatre credits include, most recently ‘Cosette’ in Les Miserables in Norway, a role she also did at Malmo Opera, Sweden. Other roles include ‘Maria’ in West Side Story (Nojesteatern), Sound of Music (Gota Lejon and tour of Sweden) and ‘Wendy’ in Peter Pan (Rival).

The full cast will be: Zoe Arshamian; Martin Ball; Emma Barr; Alicia Beck; Kieran Brown; Emmi Christensson; Joseph Claus; Scott Davies; Hadrian Delacey; Meshell Dillon; John Ellis; Fiona Finsbury; David Francis; Lyndsey Gardiner; Ryan Goscinski; Philip Griffiths; Layla Harrison; Andy Hockley; Elizabeth Holmes; Daisy Hulbert; Ellen Jackson; Harriet Jones; Tim Laurenti; Lara Martins; Leo Miles; Tim Morgan; Fiona Morley; Jacinta Mulcahy; Richard Munday; Ryan O’Gorman; Joanna O’Hare; Simon Rackley; Gerónimo Rauch; Shena Sanders; Oliver Savile; Danielle Stephens; Liam Tamne; Claire Tilling; Georgina Ware and Lisa-Anne Wood.



Sunday, July 20

Ben Forster starring in Tour of Elf the Musical

Updated 25th September: Ben Forster will star in the leading role of Buddy the Elf this Christmas. Joining Ben will be Irish stage and screen star Aoibhínn McGinnity in the role of Jovie with JoeMcGann and Jessica Martin.

There will be a tour of the Broadway hit  Elf the Musical at the end of this year.The only dates we  have so far are Theatre Royal Plymouth (6th-13th December) and Bord Gais Energy in Dublin (16 December - 10 January). The show ran on Broadway in the Christmas seasons of 2010-11 and 2012-13, and also toured the US.in 2012.

The show is narrated by Santa Claus and based on the 2003 movie starring Will Ferrell, telling the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. He finds him, but like many other New Yorkers he doesn't believe in the spirit of Christmas, which  is a problem, because Santa's sleigh is powered by the people's belief in Christmas.

Elf he Musical Features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar & Chad Beguelin. Book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan & Bob Martin. Direction & choreography by Morgan Young. Set and Costume design by Olivier Award winner Tim Goodchild. Lighting design by Oliver Award winner Tim Lutkin and Sound design by Ciem Rawling.


 

Wednesday, July 16

Full cast announced for Jersey Boys Tour

The full cast has just been announced for the tour of Jersey Boys which kicks off in Manchester in September.

As already  confirmed Tim Driesen will be heading the cast as Frankie Valli. He has been playing the role in the Dutch production and also was in the show at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End for a short time. He will be joined by Stephen Webb as Tommy DeVito, Sam Ferriday as Bob Gaudio and Lewis Griffiths as Nick Massi. (Matt Comer will play Frankie Valli at certain performances Sean Kingsley/Gyp DeCarlo, Matt Gillett/Bob Crewe, Nathaniel Morrison/Barry Belson, Dominic Smith/Norm Waxman, Damian Buhagiar/Joey Pesci, Henry Davis/Hank Majewski, Leanne Garretty/ Lorraine, Amelia Adams-Pearce/ Mary Delgado and Sinead Long as Francine, with Dan Krikler, Dayle Hodge, Luke Morton and Charlie Allen.

Tuesday, July 15

Louise Dearman as Bianca in Kiss Me Kate with John Wilson Orchestra at Proms

Following the  success of the semi-staged performance of My Fair Lady at the Proms in 2012, John Wilson returns to perform Cole Porter’s Tony Award-winning musical Kiss Me, Kate. Joining John Wilson and his  Orchestra are Broadway stars Ben Davis/Fred Graham/Petruchio, Alexandra Silber/Lilli Vanessi/Katherine Tony Yazbeck/Bill Calhoun/Lucentio and West End star Louise Dearman/Lois Lane/Bianca performing an  irreverent reworking of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew – a play within a play. This is the BBC Proms debut for all four performers as they sing the energetic score in ts original 1948 arrangement.

The show takes place on  Saturday 2nd  August and will be broadcast Live on BBC Radio 3, 7.30pm
and Recorded for broadcast on BBC Two in December 2014

Returns only for seated tickets. Up to 1400 Promming (standing) tickets at £5 are available on the day for every Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. For more information please visit bbc.co.uk/proms 

Reshooting of Into the Woods Movie

The much anticipated Disney big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's fairy tale-themed musical INTO THE WOODS is apparently adding some new material to what's already been shot with a month of reshoots about to begin.

Suggestions of the changes that have been made to the feature film, include the decision to not kill off the character of Rapunzel.

INTO THE WOODS is set to be released on December 25, 2014.

New Elder Price and Elder Cunningham to join The Book of Mormon

 The Book Of Mormon  at the Prince of Wales theatre is about to undergo a cast change on 28th July when US stars Billy Harrigan Tighe and A J Holmes take on the lead roles of Elder Price an Elder Cunningham from  Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner wgo are due to leave on 26th July.

Harrigan Tighe's (Elder Price) credits include Pippin on Broadway and the US tour of Wicked.

 Holmes has played  Elder Cunningham  in all three North American companies of the musica.

Harrigan Tighe and Holmes will join current cast members including Alexia Khadime, Stephen Ashfield, Kevin Harvey, Hugo Harold Harrison, Chris Jarman, Mark Anderson, Benjamin Brook, Daniel Clift and Christopher Copeland - all of whom continue in their roles.

Kerry Ellis to return to Wicked!

Willemijn Verkaik who plays the green witch Elphaba in Wicked! will unfortunately be leaving the show earlier than planned on this Saturday 19th July due to back injuries that require surgery. 

Kerry Ellis will be returning to the show;for 12 weeks to reprise the role she originally played in 2007 from 4th August to October 25th until Nikki Davis-Jones officially takes over at cast change on  October 27th. (Emma Hatton will be performing during  the 2 weeks gap between Willemijn leaving and Kerry joining).

NB: Kerry Ellis will not be appearing in Wicked on Tuesday 19 August, Saturday 27 September, Thursday 2 October - Friday 10 October, Tuesday 14 - Thursday 16 October and Saturday 18 October due to her concert appearances.

Saturday, July 12

Dolly Parton the Musical!

Following her triumph at Glastonbury Dolly Parton has revealed that she is writing a new Broadway musical based on her larger than life career tracing her journey from humble family beginnings in Tennessee, through decades of country music and worldwide superstardom.

She said "I'm writing my life story as a musical for Broadway. I probably won't be in it but I'll find a way to introduce it somehow, maybe the older me." She wrote original songs for the stage version of 9 to 5: The Musical that went to Broadway in 2009 and recently toured he UK.

Parton is due to star in A Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah in cinemas from January 13th. They  play  two strong-minded women who are forced to cooperate when budget cuts threaten to shut down a small-town choir..

Kinky Boots to arrive in London next August?

Updated 11th January: a casting call has been leaked online and  reveals that the first preview of Kinky Boots will be "on or about 21 August 2015". No venue is given.
-----------------------------------
 According to the Daily Mail, the Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots, is hoping to arrive in London's West End in spring 2015, possibly at the Palace Theatre.

Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels fame) will direct and choreograph Kinky Boots, which is based on the 2005 film of the same name.

The musical has a new book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles, Newsies) and a score by Grammy and Tony Award-winning "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" hit-maker and "True Colors" songwriter Cyndi Lauper.

Friday, July 11

Alexander Hanson, Sabrina Aloueche, Nadim Naaman, Rebecca Caine, Mark Moraghan, Chloe Hart peforming Songs of Daniel & Laura Curtis

Alexander Hanson (Stephen Ward, Jesus Christ Superstar), Sabrina Aloueche<(Les Miserables, We Will Rock You), Nadim Naaman (Phantom Of The Opera, One Man, Two Guvnors), Rebecca Caine (Phantom Of The Opera), Mark Moraghan (Priscilla Queen of The Desert), Chloe Hart (Hairspray, Wicked) and many other special guests including  Maria Coyne,  Kara Lily Hayworth, Duncan Heather, Kasia Howley, Max Keir, Rosie Ladkin and  Adam Robert Lewis will be performing a concert of the music of Daniel and Laura Curtis in the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room on 14th October  at 8:00 pm

Their latest album, Love on 42nd Street features performers including Lea Salonga, Samantha Barks, Sierra Boggess and  Simon Bowman  and reached No.1 in the iTunes Vocal Chart and No.1 in the Amazon Broadway Chart.

The evening will feature music from Love on 42nd Street as well as premiering a number of new songs.

 Tickets for The Songs of Daniel & Laura Curtis

Jenna Russell & Jonathan Slinger but no Richard Fleeshman in Urinetown at Apollo

According to today's  Mail, Jenna Russell will star in the West End transfer of Urinetown, reprising her performance as Ms Pennywise, with a number of the original St James' Theatre cast reportedly returning (including Jonathan Slinger as Officer Lockstock). Unfortunately  Richard Fleeshman will not be there as Bobby Strong explaining on Twitter that he could not commit to the transfer due to other commitments. saying "I wish the show every success and I know it's going to be amazing."

Marc Elliott, Rosanna Hyland and Karis Jack will also reprise their performances as Mr. McQueen, Hope Cladwell and Little Sally. Further confirmed casting includes Chris Bennett (Swing), Katie Bernstein (Little Becky Two Shoes/Mrs. Millennium), Cory English (Old Man Strong/Hot Blades Harry), Madeleine Harland (Soupy Sue), Julie Jupp (Old Woman/ Josephine Strong), Aaron Lee Lambert (Billy Boy Bill/ UGC Executive), Mark Meadows (Senator Fipp), Joel Montague (Swing) and Jeff Nicholson (Tiny Tom/ Dr. Billeaux).
Further casting will be announced shortly, including the roles of Caldwell B. Cladwell and Bobby Strong.

Jamie Lloyd's production transfers to the Apollo Theatre from Monday 29th September 2014. The production is currently booking to  24th January 2015.

Tickets for Urinetown 

Monday, July 7

Booking info for Cats at London Palladium

At the press launch of Cats the Musical this morning at the London Palladium it  was announced hat the show is playing at the London Palladium for a limited run of 12 weeks previewing from 6th December and running until 28th February 2015. Tickets go on sale at noon  today.

Tickets for Cats the Musical

Friday, July 4

Michael Ball to host West End Heroes Gala at Dominion

It has just been announced that  Michael Ball  will host the 2014 West End Heroes gala concert.
at  the newly refurbished Dominion Theatre on Sunday 28 September at 8.00pm

Last year the gala raised over £88,000 for the charity Help for Heroes and again his year it will be supported by many TV and theatre stars featuring  line-ups from current and past West End Shows. 

Michael will also perform in the  gala concert, which will again unite the country's top military musicians with even more West End performers and productions in a showcase of showstopping numbers, unlikely song mash-ups and stunning choreography and precision drilling.

Tickets for West End Heroes 

Thursday, July 3

Oh What a Lovely War back at Stratford East

Theatre Royal, Stratford East has announced its new season, which features the return of Oh What a Lovely War  for a limited run from 29 January to 7 February 2015 prior to a UK tour.

Casting news to follow.

The show, which is 'true to the spirit' of Joan Littlewood's 1963 original production, is a musical entertainment focused around the First World War.

General booking opens at 10:00 am on 7 July.

Cynthia Erivo to star as Dessa Rose with Cassidy Janson, Jon Robyns and Miguel Brown.

The uniquely stirring musical drama Dessa Rose is coming to London's Trafalgar Studios previewing from 29th July, opening on the 31st  and running until 30th August.  Dessa Rose is based on the book by Sherley Anne Williams with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical and Rocky The Musical) who have won Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards and been nominated for Grammys, Academy Awards and a Golden Globe.It will be directed by the Multi-award winning  Andrew Keates.

Casting includes Cassidy Janson, Cynthia Erivo (in the title role), Jon Robyns ,John Addison,  Edward Baruwa , Sharon Benson, Cameron Leigh, Alexander Evans, Abiona Omonu and Miguel Brown.

This powerful and moving story, set in 1846 in the ante-bellum South, follows two young women on their journey to acceptance. With elements of blues, folk, hymns and gospel, Dessa Rose perfectly blends history and fiction. The storytelling for which Ahrens and Flaherty are most famous is masterfully exhibited throughout. Passionate and innocent Dessa Rose is a young slave faced with a barrage of hardships because of the colour of her skin. While Ruth, a young white mother, faces difficulties because of her gender.

Ruth and Dessa ‘hand down the story’ to their grandchildren, reliving the adventure they experienced together. Through their extraordinary tale we see their deep and lasting bond and how this makes them part of a long, strong line of women.

Buy tickets for Dessa Rose 

Tuesday, July 1

Urinetown into Apollo Theatre

The long awaited transfer of  Urinetown the Musical which played at the St James' Theatre and closed in May of this year has just been announced.

The show is going into the Apollo Theatre from 29th September until 30th August 2015
is timed to end its run on 30 August 2014.
is timed to end its run on 30 August 2014.
is timed to end its run on 30 August 2014.