Samantha Barks, Sheridan Smith and Marisha Wallace perform at Royal Variety Show in Blackpool

Jason Manford presented this year's Royal Variety  show as it returned to Blackpool `s Opera House in the Winter Gardens Complex last night - hosting  a virtual ceremony because of  the COVID-19 pandemic.It returned to the North after nine years, with the show taking place in London every year since 2011.

Sheridan Smith transformed into Cilla Black -  she played the star in the 2014 ITV hit series, wearing  a stunning  green gown with draped sleeves as she gave a sensational performance. 

Les Miserables star Samantha Barks transformed into Elsa as she performed in Frozen The Musical, which she is starring in when it opens at the Theatre Royal Druty Lane is in London's  West End next April.

The show also featured  a phenomenal performance from West End sensation Marisha Wallace who is soon to appear in Hairspray the Musical at the London Coliseum with Michael Ball.

Captain Sir Thomas Moore, who raised  more than £32million for NHS Charities Together, also joined Michael Ball for an exclusive performance

The Royal Variety Performance will be screened on ITV on December 8th.

Full casting and booking info for all male Pirates of Penzance

Casting has just been announced for the West End run of  Sasha Regan's all male The Pirates of Penzance.

Audiences will be socially distanced for the show which is playing at London's Palace Theatre on Saturday 12th  December and Sunday 13th  December at 7pm   

The cast includes  Oliver Savile (Pirate King), Tom Senior (Frederic) Marc Akinfolarin (Sergeant of Police), Michael Burgen (Samuel), David McKechnie (Major General), Alan Richardson (Mabel), Lee Greenaway (Connie), Dominic Harbison (Kate), Sam Kipling (Edith), Richard Russell Edwards (Isabel) and Leon Craig (Ruth) with ensemble members James Chidzey,  Tom Duern ,  Joel Elferink, Matthew Facchino,,  Daniel Miles and Benjamin Vivian-Jones.

The show is produced by Regan De Wynter. and based on Gilbert and Sullivan's classic operetta. It  has previously run at the Union Theatre, Wilton's Music Hall, Rose Theatre Kingston and in Australia during a major tour. Directed by Sasha Regan with choreography by Lizzi Gee, design by Robyn Wilson-Owen, musical direction by Richard Baker, associate choreographer by Lee Greenaway and lighting design by Ben Bull t

Tickets are on sale now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam Tutty and Emily Redpath to star in a filmed version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Sam Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen) and Emily Redpath are to star in a filmed version of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.

Award-winning actor Tutty made his professional stage debut  in Dear Evan Hansen last autumn, while Redpath graduated from Mountview in 2019 and has since appeared Spilt Milk's P**n Flakes.

They are joined by  screen and stage performers including They are joined by Brandon Bassir (Mercutio), Daniel Bowerbank (Benvolio), Jonny Labey (Paris), Vinta Morgan (Friar), Lucy Tregear (Nurse), Sylvester Akinrolabu (Tybalt), Marc Ozall (Montague), Jessica Murrain (Prince), Helen Anker (Capulet), Timmy Driscoll (Sam), Tats Nyazika (Greg), Ollie Tennant (Balthasar) and Iskandar Eaton (Ike).

The film is set to be released in 2021. It will be directed by Nick Evans with assistant direction by Gwenan Bain, editing by Ryan Metcalfe, production design by Jamie Osborne for Preevue, costume design by Natasha Bowles, lighting design by Elliot Smith and  visual effects by Preevue

A release date is yet to be announced, with producers Ryan Metcalfe and Simon Gordon saying today: During a time when it has not been possible to produce shows in venues, this first of its kind production uses ground-breaking technology to film a high production value theatrical performance without the cast and creative team ever stepping foot inside a theatre. We are excited about the future of this technology and the creative possibilities it presents

 

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Sheridan Smith to become a judge on ITV's Starstruck

The multi-talented  Sheridan Smith is reportedly set to become a judge on Stars In Their Eyes when the  show returns to ITV next year as the series "Starstruck" after a  huge revamp

Starstruck is a new take on telly classic Stars In Their Eyes and will see the public living out their dreams on stage as their idols,a source told The Sun.  They added: Sheridan is the perfect fit for the show as one of the judges. Her job will be to critique the acts and then give them advice after they have performed.

Stars In Their Eyes last aired in December 2006 with contestants undergoing a transformation before morphing into their favourite singers and impersonating them on the stage.

It is hoped filming will begin in May next year after it suffered a setback due to Covid-19.

Sarah Brightman: A Christmas Symphony livestream concert in December

The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, and Cats star Sarah Brightman is to live-stream a A Christmas Symphony concert for the first time  with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Aled Jones  on December 20th 7:30 pm GMT/ UK/Ireland & Europe plus  North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea  in a variety of time zones. The concert will be broadcast  from the historic Christ Church Spitalfields in London.

Brightman will perform festive tunes , which will also feature Phantom composer Andrew Lloyd Webber for a special performance of "Christmas Dream", a song written by Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. She will also be joined by Aled Jones and the famous chant choir Gregorian. 

The concert will be in partnership with The Global Food Banking Network, providing relief for those in need during the winter season.

"A Christmas Symphony" Concert Event Trailer

Tickets are on sale now  for Sarah Brightman: A Christmas Symphony with the stream accessible to ticket holders for 48 hours after the event

An American in Paris being streamed as part of The Shows Must Go On! this weekend

An American in Paris will be streamed as part of YouTube channel's "Tony Award Winners Season" series this weekend from 7:00 pm GMT from Friday 27th November for 48 hours 

The recording is the first of the season and will star Robert Fairchild as Jerry Mulligan and Leanne Cope as Lise Dassin Haydn Oakley as Henri Baurel, Zoë Rainey as Milo Davenport, David Seadon-Young as Adam Hochberg and Jane Asher as Madame Baurel plus   a company of over 50 actors, dancers and musicians

Set in Paris after the Second World War, Jerry Mulligan is an American GI striving to make it as a painter in a city suddenly bursting with hope and possibility. Following a chance encounter with a beautiful young dancer named Lise Dassin , the streets of Paris become the backdrop to a romance of art, friendship and love.

It features many of George and Ira Gershwin’s most popular and timeless numbers , including I Got Rhythm, ’S Wonderful and They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Concerto in F and An American in Paris. .

Click on this link to see the show will be available from 7pm GMT from 27 November for 48 hours.

Megan Mullally and Robert Lindsay to lead Kathleen Marshall production of Anything Goes at the Barbican in May

A new UK production of Anything Goes from Tony-winner Kathleen Marshall  will open at the Barbican in the autumn with performances  scheduled to run from 8 May - 22 Aug. 2021.  It will be an entirely reimagined take on Marshall's  Tony award winning  2011 Broadway production of the Cole Porter classic "tailor made" for her stars.

Megan Mullally (best known for playing Karen Walker in Will & Grace) will make her London musical theatre debut as Reno Sweeney in the production . She has appeared in Broadway productions of Grease and Young Frankenstein, with London performances with her band Supreme Music Program at the Vaudeville Theatre in 2010.

West End star Robert Lindsay is set to star opposite Mullally as Moonface Martin. His many musical theare credits include  appearing  in London's Savoy Theatre  in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as well as winning Tony and Olivier Awards for his performances in Me and My Girl and Becket.

Further casting  is to be announced with rehearsals set to begin in March.

The iconic musical  has a book by Guy Bolton and P G Wodehouse, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. 

Cole Porter’s , multi-award winning musical comedy, transports you to the magical age of tap dancing and high society.When Billy Crocker discovers that his heart’s desire, debutante heiress Hope Harcourt is engaged to an English aristocrat, he stows away aboard the S.S. American to win her back. Aided by a string of eccentric passengers on board the luxurious transatlantic liner, can this web of love be untangled before they reach Southampton?

Musical standards  include “You're the Top," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," "It's De-Lovely," "I Get A Kick Out of You," and "Anything Goes.”

The creative team for the show includes Tony award winning set designer Derek McLane, lighting designer Neil Austin, sound designer Simon Baker, and music supervisor Stephen Ridley.

 You can buy tickets from 10:00 am today for Anything Goes at the Barbican

Rosalie Craig , Cedric Neal , Arthur Darvil, Hadley Fraser and Lucie Jones to appear in new concert series Monday Night at the Apollo

Tickets are now on sale for  Monday Night at the Apollo which is  a new concert series with some  leading  stage stars performing live and discussing their careers.

It will commence on l1th January and then take place on subsequent Monday evenings including 25th January and 8th February at the Apollo Theatre. A portion of profits from ticket sales will support Acting for Others.

Appearing in the first concert on 11th January will be Rosalie Craig (Company, City of Angels), Cedric Neal (Chess, Motown the Musical, Back to the Future), Arthur Darvil (Once, Sweet Charity), Hadley Fraser (Les Misérables, City of Angels) and Lucie Jones (Waitress, Rent).

 Performers for subsequent concerts (scheduled for 25th January and 8th February) are to be announced.

Hosted by Greg Barnett (Miss Littlewood), the evening will have musical direction by George Dyer, and is produced by Greg Barnett and Hugh Summers for Wild Mountain Productions Ltd.
 

Buy tickets for Monday Night  at the Apollo

New jukebox musical Falling Stars starring Peter Polycarpou and Sally Ann Triplett to be streamed online this month

Peter Polycarpou (Man of La Mancha, London Coliseum; City of Angels; Donmar Warehouse; Birds of a Feather) and Sally Ann Triplett (Finding Neverland, Broadway; Viva Forever, Piccadilly Theatre; EastEnders) unite in the new musical Falling Stars. 

Conceived and written by Polycarpou, the song cycle is an homage to the composers, collaborators, and publishers of the 1920s, who created some of the greatest music of all time.

The new jukebox musical  was forced to postpone its November run at the Union Theatre,  but you can now see a filmed version of the piece  online from Sunday 22 to Sunday 29 November. The musical  will still be presented at the Union Theatre from 9 to 10 January 2021 and pays homage to composers, collaborators and publishers from the 1920s.

Directed by Michael Strasssen (Billy) with musical direction and arrangement by Mark Dickman, associate direction by Paul Nicholas Dyke, lighting design by Andrew Exeter and production design by Jean Grey. 

Buy tickets for Falling Stars at the Union Theatre

 

Streaming link for Falling Stars 

 

 

 

OTI MABUSE: I AM HERE at London Coliseum in June followed by short tour

Reigning Champion of Strictly Come Dancing and the Greatest Dancer  OTI MABUSE is performing a night of electrifying choreography joined by some of the world’s greatest dancers and the West End’s finest singers and musicians at the London Coliseum at 7:00 pm on 14th June 2021 and at Stoke Regent Theatre on 23rd Apil and Oxford New Theatre on 1st May.

OTI MABUSE – I AM HERE is a whistle stop celebration of the influences and inspirations that took her on a journey from growing up in South Africa to following her dream. This explosive night of dance features spectacular jives, pumping sambas and South Africa’s exhilarating Kwaito

Buy tickets foR  OTI MABUSE: I AM HERE AT the Coliseum

Buy tickets for  OTI MABUSE: I AM HERE at Stoke Regent Theatre

 Buy tickets for  OTI MABUSE: I AM HERE at Oxford New Theatre

  

Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World to transfer to the Vaudeville Theatre for limited run

Producers Lambert Jackson have just  announced that their production of Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World will transfer to the Vaudeville Theatre for a strictly limited run from  5th February to 7th March next year.

This follows on frp,  the show's huge success at The London Palladium in early October when it was the first musical to be performed on a West End stage since the Covid-19 pandemic began.


The cast has been confirmed as David Hunter (Waitress, Once), Rachel John (Hamilton, Memphis), Cedric Neal (Jesus Christ Superstar, Motown), Rachel Tucker (Wicked, Come From Away), and newcomer Shem Omari James.

The production will be directed by Séimí Campbell (who also directed the critically acclaimed London Palladium production) with musical direction by Josh Winstone, musical supervision by Adam Hoskins, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Jonny Dickie of Robins Audio and design consultancy by Madeleine Girling. 

 Buy tickets Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World

The Show Must Go On! concerts rescheduled to January 2021

The Show Must Go On! charity concert series,  has postponed its  dates later this month in response to the November lockdown and  will now play at London's Palace Theatre from 20-24 January 2021 with customers being contacted about the exchange of their tickets.

With all profits going to Acting For Others and The Fleabag Support Fund, the concert will be a collection of cast performances from long-running shows including Dear Evan Hansen, Tina, The Prince of Egypt, Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables.

The concert will be directed by Luke Sheppard and Anna Fox with set design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Neil Austin and Howard Hudson, video design by Finn Ross and Fray Studio, sound design by Adam Fisher and musical supervision and conduction by Stephen Brooker.

Tickets for The Show Must Go On!