Star studded Palladium concert to celebrate Bill Kenwight 50 Years in Showbiz

BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night is celebrating  producer Bill Kenwright’s 50 years in showbusiness at a gala concert at The London Palladium at 7:30 pm on Thursday 11th May .

The show will be presented by Academy Award winning lyricist Don Black and feature a star studded cast including Kiki Dee (Blood Brothers), Marti Pellow (Jekyll and Hyde), Martin Shaw and Simon Bowman (Are You Lonesome Tonight), Madelena Alberto (Evita), Kris Harding (Starlight Express), Joe McElderry (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Danielle Hope (The Sound of Music), John Partridge (La Cage Aux Folles), Glenn Carter (Jesus Christ Superstar) and Tommy Steele (Scrooge) accompanied by the 60 piece BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Mike Reed.

The Liverpool-born theatre and film producer’s milestone will be recorded and broadcast on n a Friday Night Is Music Night special on June 3rd.

Tickets for Friday Night is Music Night Celebrates Bill Kenwright 

Bill Kenwright to take over as Director for Love Never Dies

I have just blogged that Love Never Dies is to close for four days in November and has extended its booking period to 28th May next year,

But I have just heard that during the closure for re-working prolific producer Bill Kenwright will be the new Director and Bill Deamer the Choreographer instead of Jack O’Brien and  Jerry Mitchell respectively.  Deamer most recently worked with Kenwright on the current international tour of Evita.

Kenwright  has been linked to ALW a lot lately and appeared as one of the judges on his Any Dream Will Do search to find a Joseph.

Opening date for Jekyll & Hyde tour starring Marti Pellow

The first (and opening) venue for Bill Kenwright’s tour of  Jekyll and Hyde next year has been announced as the Churchill Theatre in Bromley with dates scheduled for Thursday January 20th until January 29th 2011.

Tickets are already on sale.

More tour dates added for Whistle Down the Wind

Bill Kenwright’s tour of Whistle Down the Wind starring Jonathan Ansell (ex pop/opera groupG4 member), has added a couple more tour dates to Malvern and Norwich so that it is now playing until 17th July.

Neil Sedaka to make special appearance in Laughter in the Rain at Manchester

Bill Kenwright’s tour of Laughter in the Rain is currently touring the UK to rave reviews.

Neil Sedaka was at the opening night when the show opened in Bromley, and when it plays at the Manchester Opera House on May 17th he will again be in the audience with a strong rumour that he is making a special appearance at the curtain call and may even perform.

Keith Jack to play Joseph on Tour

Bill Kenwright was one of the judge’s on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC casting fest to find a Joseph to appear in London’s West End in the Technicolor Dreamcoat show. 

He was very supportive to the lads who were vying for the dream role (which Lee Mead subsequently won) and cast Seamus Cullen as Che in his touring production of Evita and Craig Chalmers in his tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Craig has been playing Joseph for a couple of years and is  leaving the tour in July, so Kenwright has cast runner up Keith Jack (a Scotsman who was also an aspiring Joseph) to take  over when the show plays at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on 20th July.

Jack has already played the role of Narrator in a previous UK tour of Joseph and has also starred as Aladdin at the King’s Theatre Glasgow and released two albums:  “This Time” and "A Night at the Musicals".

Full Cast List for Laughter in the Rain Tour

Although the new musical Laughter in the Rain which is based on the life of Neil Sedaka has been touring for several weeks now to rave reviews,  it has been virtually impossible to obtain a full cast list – until now that is!

Listed below are all the performers on the Bill Kenwright tour:


Wayne Smith/Neil Sedaka
Julia Farino/Eleanor Sedaka
Simon Connolly/Mac Sedaka/Burt Bacharach
Jade Sampson/Ronnie Sedaka
Edward Handoll/Howie
Anna Clayton/Leba
Caroline Dennis/Aunt Ann/Mrs Grenfield/Mrs Strassberg
Natalie Hope/Aunt Kate/Carole King/Mrs Glantz
Carla Freeman/Aunt Molly/Connie Francis/Cynthia Weil
Alastair Natkiel/Don Kirshner/Mr Lass/Hal David
Kieran Brown/Elton John/Norman/Tony Christie
Charlie Adams/David/Stoller/Messenger
Jody Crosier/Seymour/Professor/Barry Manilow

Other roles played by members of the company

Dreamboats & Petticoats Extends Booking Period

Dreamboats & Petticoats has extended its run for another six months at the Playhouse Theatre and is now booking until 27th November.

This is a Bill Kenwright production, and Dreamboats & Petticoats is also on tour  featuring songs from Roy Orbison, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, Chuck Berry and many more.

Casting for Evita Tour

As previously blogged, Abigail Jaye is playing the lead role (to rave reviews) in Bill Kenwright’s UK and European tour of Evita. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical is running at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley until 10th April before it embarks on a European tour.

The charismatic Mark Powell is playing Ché Guevara and in make-up and costume, he looks very much like the legendary revolutionary. His fabulous voice and the chemistry between him and Abigail create some real electricity.

Mark Heenehan gives an assured performance as Juan Perón.  The very dodgy politics that bring him to power are cleverly represented by a deadly game of musical chairs during the song The Art of the Possible.  During this number Perón disposes of his rivals and takes control of Argentina.

Abigail Jaye playing Eva Peron in Evita tour

Abigail Jaye is playing the role of Eva Peron, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron, in Bill Kenwright’s latest tour of Evita which kicks off at the Churchill Theatre Bromley on 23rd March. 

Evita was written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  The tour runs until the end of the year, but only has three UK dates as it travelling through Greece, Italy and Germany.

Abigail’s credits include the Churchill Theatre Production of Dr Dolittle as Emma Fairfax, playing opposite Tommy Steele in Scrooge at the London Palladium and the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the New London Theatre, West End.

Casting for Neil Sedaka’s Laughter In The Rain

The Neil Sedaka Story: Laughter in the Rain opens at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley tomorrow (4th March) but casting information is very hard to come by.

But I have at least managed to find out that Sedaka will be played by Wayne Smith (pictured) who was one of the eight Danny finalists in the ITV live casting show Grease Is The Word. Wayne has previously appeared as Pharoah in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and as Ray in Dreamboats and Petticoats which are also Bill Kenwright productions .  Kieran Brown will be playing Elton John/Tony Christie.  Watch this space for more information which surely must be released soon!

Meanwhile Neil Sedaka is in the UK promoting the show.  He was on the Weekend Wogan Radio 2 show on Sunday and is performing a live concert at the Mermaid Theatre this Friday, 5th March which will be broadcast on Friday Night is Music Night at 19:30 on BBC Radio 2

More Dates for Evita Tour

Two new dates have been announced for Bill Kenwright's tour of Evita : 22nd March-10th April, Churchill Theatre Bromley & 12th April-1st May. Gaiety Theatre Dublin

 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita  features some of the biggest hit songs ever written, including “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, “On This Night Of A Thousand Stars”, “Another Suitcase In Another Hall”, “I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You”, “High Flying Adored”  and  “Oh What A Circus”

It tells the life story of the extraordinary Eva Peron (second wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron) following her acting career, rise to power, charity work, feminist involvement and eventual death. She gained enormous wealth and power during her ultimate rise to sainthood.

Ray Davies's Kinks “Come Dancing” musical tour cancelled

Ray Davis from the Kinks was apparently so happy with the story, book, music and lyrics for his “Come Dancing” musical tour that he cast himself as the star.

But now it has all been cancelled and the theatres to which the show (which was being produced by Bill Kenwright) was due to tour are now offering refund.

The cancellation comes just days after it was announced that the story of The Kinks was to be turned into a film, highlighting the rivalry between Davies and his younger brother Dave.  The group has a number of hits including Waterloo Sunset and You Really Got Me, but the brothers had a notoriously difficult relationship often fighting on stage.  Rumour has it that Ray actually once stabbed Dave with a fork while they were in a restaurant!

They were briefly reunited in 2004 when Ray was shot by a mugger and Dave suffered a stroke and they moved in together to convalesce which again proved to be an impossible time for them.

Premiere of new Neil Sedaka Musical “Laughter in the Rain”

Laughter in the Rain is a new show which charts the highs and lows of Neil Sedaka's  extensive music career.  It is being produced by Bill Kenwright and premieres on 1st  March 2010 at the Churchill Theatre Bromley before touring until 3^rd July to Woking, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Sunderland, Hull, Blackpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Bradford and Southampton - with more venues and dates to be announced.

Neil Sedaka’s career spans over sixty years and some of classic numbers include “Oh, Carol”, “Breaking up Is Hard to Do”, “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen”, “Hey Little Devil”, “Laughter in the Rain” and “Amarillo” (which was given a new lease of life when it was re-released by Peter Kay for Comic Relief in 2005).