Marti Webb in Tell Me On A Sunday BBC Radio 2 tonight

Tonght on BBC Radio 2 at 7:00 pm there is a repeat of Tell Me On A Sunday featuring the show's original star Marti Webb  which was recorded live at the St James Theatre London.

Anneka Rice is in conversation with composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Don Black recalling their first collaboration which became a ground breaking one woman musical. They recall the joy of writing about just an 'ordinary girl' from North London who travels to New York in search of the American Dream. With hit songs such as 'It's not the end of the world' 'Come back with the same look in your Eyes' and of course the title song it remains one of their favourite and most popular shows. .

Tour of the Judy Garland Story

Updated 16th April: New Promo for tour 

There is a new tour of Judy - the Judy Garland Story:  The Life and Music of a Legend which features  the life and music of Judy Garland_ the highs and the lows: good times and bad next summer starting  in May at Edinburgh Playhouse.

Casting is yet to be announced but her classic songs will be performed by award-winning singers and dancers, who recreate film scenes from her golden Technicolor years at MGM, her legendary concert performances, including New York’s Palace Theatre and the London Palladium.

The special guest for the evening will be Judy Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft.

Casting details to follow.

Behind the scenes footage of That Day We Sang starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton

On BBC2 today at  5:30pm is Victoria Wood: That Musical We  Made featuring  behind the scenes footage of That Day We Sang starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton which is on the same channel later at 9:00 pm

Victoria Wood takes you  behind the scenes of the film she wrote and directed through  the whole process, skipping only the actual writing.

But the cameras have captured  the whole complicated process - from the first day of orchestral recording to the last shout of 'cut!' on a huge dance number. Looking  at the nuts and bolts of a big musical production, revealing how the choreography, musical arrangements and design all have to work together to tell the story.

How does Michael Ball hang off a ladder while singing at the top of his voice?

Victoria also looks at the real events which inspired her story.She goes back to Manchester to find out about the original choir of the 1920s, and the children who sang on the record of Nymphs and Shepherds.Victoria unpicks the process in an attempt to understand how what started as a straightforward account of a day in the life of a children's choir in 1929 ended up as a middle-aged love story about the power of music to reconnect lonely people and give them a second chance to fall in love.

Johnnie Walker meets Bette Midler Radio 2 today

On BBC Radio 2 today at 14:00 Johnnie Walker meets Bette Midler: From Broadway to Beaches discovering how she went from being voted at school "Miss Talkative" to "the Divine Miss M".

Garnering 3 Golden Globes for her films "The Rose", "For The Boys" and "Gypsy". Plus 3 Grammy Awards. She has enjoyed the most varied career with her ability to reach 
people helping  with her success.

 Details of Bette Midler's UK July tour here

The Best of the Royal Variety on ITV3 today

Today at 15:25 on ITV3 you can watch The Best of the Royal Variety, Episode 5: Song and Dance: Highlights from 46 years of the Royal Variety Performance which  celebrates the greatest musical extravaganzas ever to be performed at the show including  classical singers like Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli plus hits of the West End stage and the latest pop sensations

Glenn Carter, Rhydian Roberts and Tim Rogers cast in tour of Jesus Christ Superstar

The first cast members  have  been announced for the new Bill Kenwright 2015 UK Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar which opens at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on 21st January.

Glenn Carter is Jesus, a role he has played in the West End, on Broadway and on film. His extensive musical theatre credits include leading roles in Whistle Down the Wind, Les Miserables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell and Merrily We Roll Along. The cast also includes Welsh tenor Rhydian Roberts as Pontius Pilot (The Rocky Horror Show, Grease, We Will Rock You and X Factor) , Tim Rogers is Judas Iscariot (Whistle Down the Wind. West Side Story, Jersey Boys, The Full Monty, Aspects of Love and Jekyll & Hyde)  and Rachel Adedeji (Thriller Live/X Factor) as Mary Magdalene. The cast also includes David Burilin and Cavin Cornwall with further casting to be announced.

Louise Dearman in Singular Sensations at Charing Cross Theatre

The next Singular Sensations at Charing  Cross Theatre on Sunday 25th January at 3pm will feature Louise Dearman when  Edward Seckerson (formerly the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s  musical theatre show Stage & Screen) continues his series of in-depth encounters with stars of musical theatre. 

Louise Dearman was  the first actress to play both Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked with other credits including UK tours of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Jekyll and Hyde, Evita and Debbie Does Dallas at theEdinburgh Festival. She also starred in the International production of Cats.

 

Recent/current projects: An Evening of Movies and Musicals at the Apollo Victoria, Friday Night is Music Night on BBC Radio 2, Kiss Me Kate at the BBC Proms, The Waterbabies, a Variety Gala Evening at Bradford Alhambra with Michael Ball, Bond and Beyond tour and Tell Me On A Sunday.

 

Buy tickets for Singular Sensations 

Casting for Jerry's Girls Revue at St James' Studio

Updated 3rd February:  Jerry’s Girls are Anna-Jane Casey, Ria Jones and Sarah-Louise Young.

Anna-Jane Casey was recently seen starring in Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Vaudeville Theatre. West End credits include Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot, Lady of the Lake in Spamalot and Velma Kelly in Chicago, with other recent work including appearing as lead vocalist with the John Wilson Orchestra in the UK Tour of Cole Porter in Hollywood, Company at Sheffield Crucible, The Comedy of Errors at the Open Air Theatre and Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Ria Jones’ many West End credits include Grizabella in Cats, Fantine in Les Miserables, The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Svetlana in Chess. Other work includes the UK Tour of West End Women, 42^nd Street at Leicester Curve, Nine at the Donmar Warehouse and the UK Tours of High Society, Acorn Antiques and The Witches of Eastwick. Ria also performs worldwide as a concert soloist.

Sarah-Louise Young has been voted one of Time Out's Top Cabaret Acts and Best Musical Variety Act in the London Cabaret Awards. She has guested with Fascinating Aïda and is a member of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. West End credits include her solo show Julie Madly Deeply at Trafalgar Studios. She has performed her other solo piece, Cabaret Whore at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Soho Theatre and Off-Broadway.

Aria Entertainment and Guy James  are presenting Jerry’s Girls at the St James' Theatre Studio from 3rd-15th March. The musical revue is based on the songs of composer and lyricist Jerry Herman and will be Directed by Kate Golledge.

The revue was created by Herman and Larry Alford in 1981 at Onstage, a nightclub located in the Theater District in midtown-Manhattan. After La Cage aux Folles opened  two years later, producer Zev Bufman approached the pair and suggested they mount a full-scale, all-star version. In  1984 the expanded show premiered in Palm Beach, Florida, with Carol Channing, Andrea McArdle, and Leslie Uggams, with  an all-female chorus, recreating scenes and songs from Herman’s hits, including Hello, Dolly!, La Cage Aux Folles, Mame, and Mack and Mabel.

Chita Rivera was nominated for her role in this musical at the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical 1980s at the 1986 40th Tony Awards.

Casting still to be announced.

Tickets for Jerry's Girls

Keith Jack, Jodie Jacobs & Sabrina Aloueche in The Songs of Scott Morgan

Performers Keith Jack (Joseph), Jodie Jacobs (Rock Of Ages) and Sabrina Aloueche (We Will Rock You) are to  perform The Songs of Scott Morgan in The Lounge  at the Leicester Square Theatre on Sunday 1st February 2015 for a 2:30 matinee show ( sold out) and at 8:00 pm 

The  line-up also includes: Maria Coyne, Lewis Bradley, Suzie Lowe, Sophie Ramsey, Lauren Varnham, Katie Paine, Oliver Savile, Luke Bayer and Nicole Faraday.

Thet  will perform songs from Morgan's musicals Geek! and Strange People as well as other new  projects he is working on

Tickets for the Songs of Scott Morgan  

City of Angels to transfer?

Josie Rourke, the artistic chief of the Donmar Warehouse, and lyricist David Zippel are in the early stages of talks about transferring the newly opened smash hit  jazzy musical City Of Angels from the Donmar into the West End.

The show is pretty much  sold out at the Donmar with discussions now  at an exploratory stage with theatre owners and if  a potential home can be identified  the availability of the cast will need to be chacked out.  The impressive line up includes Katherine Kelly, Rosalie Craig, Rebecca Trehearn, Samantha Barks, Hadley Fraser, Tam Mutu and Peter Polycarpou.

Kerry Ellis to take over as Grizabella from Nicole Scherzinger

Andrew Lloyd Webber and his creative team of Trevor Nunn, Gillian Lynne, John Napier and David Hersey have reincarnated  Cats the musical  into a sensation yet again with many shows at the Palladium sold out. 

The Mail his morning is saying rumour has it that West End leading lady  Kerry Ellis is going to take over the role of the faded glamour puss Grizabella,  from Nicole Scherzinger   from February 9th

Nicole has recording and performing obligations and has never been staying with the show until the end of its  Palladium engagement on 28th February with rumours that Andrew Lloyd Webbetr wants to transfer into another theatre to extend its run.  They will be hard shoes to fill but Miss  Ellis has a loyal following  with an impressive list of West End credits including MY FAIR LADY, WE WILL ROCK YOU, LES MISERABLES and OLIVER!, as well as the national tours of MISS SAIGON, CHESS, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and RENT.

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Kerry Ellis, Adam Garcia and Christina Bianco in Tonight – From the West End

Kerry Ellis, Adam Garcia and Christina Bianco will perform in ‘Tonight – From the West End’ next April.  They will be accompanied by Scotland's Soul Nation choir to celebratemsome of the biggest musical theatre hits from the West End and Broadway.



The full list of dates and venues with booking link  are:

• 23 April 2015 – The Music Hall, Aberdeen.
• 24 April 2015 – The Caird Hall, Dundee. 
• 25 April 2015 – The Usher Hall, Edinburgh. 

Elaine Paige postponed Irish Concert tour dates rescheduled

Elaine Paige's  postponed Irish dates from her recent concert tour have now been rescheduled and tickets are available. Here are the details including an extra show in Limerick:

• Tuesday, 10th Feb 2015: National Concert Hall, Dublin
  (Phone: + 353 1 417 0000 | www.nch.ie)
• Thursday, 12th Feb 2015: National Concert Hall, Dublin
  (Phone: + 353 1 417 0000 | www.nch.ie)
• Saturday, 14th Feb 2015: University Concert Hall, Limerick
  (Phone: + 353 61 331 549 | www.uch.ie)
• Monday, 16th Feb 2015: Cork Opera House, Cork
  (Phone: + 353 21 417 0077 | www.corkoperahouse.ie)

The Book of Mormon cast changes

There are some cast changes taking place at the Book of Mormon next year. Nic Rouleau  will take over the role  Elder Price from A J Holmes February 2nd.  Brian Sears (will play Elder Cunningham replacing Billy Harrigan Tighe from the same date).  Both actors have played these roles on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Gavin Creel, who originated Elder Price in London,  will take over that role on Broadway from January 6th.

Royal Variety Show to be shown on Monday

This year's Royal Vaiety Show was recorded last month. It will be shown on ITV on Monday 8th December on ITV from 7:30pm to 10:15pm

Michael McIntyre hosts this year's Royal Variety Performance from the London Palladium in the presence of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The  line up includes special performances from Bette Midler, Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Dame Shirley Bassey, Demi Lovato, Alfie Boe, Ellie Goulding, McBusted, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Simply Red and Britain's Got Talent winners Collabro. The cast of the  West End musical Miss Saigon perform an exclusive excerpt from the show, and the spectacular circus of La Soiree take to the stage. Comedians Jack Whitehall, Trevor Noah, Russell Kane and Sarah Millican provide the laughs.

Alfie Boe to star in Symphonic Quadrophenia Concert next year

Alfie Boe is to  star in  a new symphonised version of Pete Townshend’s  Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall on 5th July 2015

Pete Townshend has created a new orchestral version of The Who’s landmark albums – Quadrophenia which was also made into a film.  There will be a world premiere concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 5th July, starring Pete Townshend and Alfie Boe, who sings the parts originally sung by Roger Daltrey. Performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and London Oriana Choir, conducted by Robert Ziegler.

Pre-sale tickets, including VIP packages available at 9:00 am on Wednesday 3rd December

Full Cast for Dr Zhivago musical on Broadway starring Tam Mutu

Updated 18th December:
West End leading man Tam Mutu (Les Misérables, Love Never Dies currently appearing in the  Donmar's  City of Angels) is to make his Broadway debut in the title role of the new musical Dr. Zhivago.

He will star as Yurii Zhivago in a cast that also features Kelli Barrett (Wicked, Rock of Ages) as Lara Guishar, Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt (Rocky Horror Show, Dracula) as Viktor Komarovsky and Paul Nolan (Once, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Pasha Antipov with Lora Lee Gayer as Tonia Gromeko. It will begin performances March 27, 2015, at the Broadway Theatre.

The  cast also features Josh Canfield as Liberius with Jacqueline Antaramian, Jamie Jackson, Heather Botts, Wendi Bergamini, Melody Butiu, Julian Cihi, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Bradley Dean, Michael Brian Dunn, Drew Foster, Kira Guloien, Robert Hager, Ericka Hunter, Denis Lambert, David McDonald, Joseph Medeiros, Pilar Millhollen, Gary Milner, Spencer Moses, Julius Sermonia, Jacob L. Smith and Jesse Wildman.

Based on the 1958 Nobel Prize-winning novel by Russian author Boris Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago will begin previews on March 27th, 2015, at the Broadway Theatre. An official Broadway opening has been set for April 21.

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