Andrew Lloyd Webber to find new Superstar

SOCIAL MEDIA ROUND-UP

Andrew Lloyd Webber has defected from the BBC to ITV for his next TV talent search, this time casting a Jesus and Judas for his new, arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

[If you are reading this on a mobile device, visit this story here: http://storify.com/westendtheatre/lloyd-webber-finds-new-superstar]

 

 

Jesus Christ Superstar TV talent show

It’s no secret that Andrew Lloyd Webber was pretty excited about the new production of Jesus Christ Superstar mounted by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada last year. The show then transferred to the La Jolla Playhouse in California and is now slated for Broadway, opening at the Neil Simon Theatre on 22 March starring Paul Nolan as Jesus and Josh Young as Judas.

But the Great Lord has other plans for the show.

Rumours of a London revival of this Des McAuff production have been circulating for a while, but The Sun has now broken the story that Lloyd Webber is defecting from the BBC to ITV to run another TV talent search, this time to find a Jesus and Judas for his new London production of Superstar.

Lloyd Webber’s TV talent searches have all been for the Beeb, most recently Over The Rainbow which resulted in Danielle Hope being cast in his multi-million pound production of The Wizard of Oz, still playing at the London Palladium.

But ITV is keen to poach Lloyd Webber for its own channel. ITV ran Grease talent search Grease Is The Word in 2007 to cast Danny in Sandy in David Ian’s Grease revival but it was a ratings flop. ITV’s head of programmes Peter Fincham is believed to consider a Lloyd Webber-fronted show would fare much better.

Rumours are also circulating that a UK tour of Lloyd Webb’er s1984 musical Starlight Express, which kicks off at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 10 May 2012 produced by Bill Kenwright, may also come into town at some point.

In other ALW news, excitement is mounting on Broadway for the Michael Grandage helmed production of Evita at the Marquis Theatre starring Ricky Martin and Elena Roger, which starts previews on 12 March 2012.

LINKS

Book tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York
Book tickets to EVITA at the Marquis Theatre in New York
Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium in London

Hal Prince happy with new Phantom touring show?

We would love to know how Hal Prince feels about Cameron Mackintosh’s new touring production of The Phantom of the Opera, celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary.

Hal directed the original 1986 production of Lloyd-Webber’s show, which is still playing in London and New York and has grossed over $5 billion worldwide.

If you cast your mind back to 2010, Mackintosh suffered a very public falling-out with Trevor Nunn over the “re-imagining” of the 25th anniversary touring production of Les Miserables. Nunn, co-director John Caird and designer John Napier were said to be furious that new directors, Laurence Connor and James Powell, and designer Matt Kinleywere, hired to give the show a touring makeover, including ditching the revolving barricades as these were too costly and complex to tour. Presumably the same will happen to the falling chandelier in Phantom.

As with the Les Mis tour, Mackintosh has recruited director Laurence Connor to stage the new version of Phantom and has even cast his Les Mis touring leads, John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter, to share the role of the Phantom.

Mackintosh has been careful to suggest in the press that the tour has Prince’s blessing, with Variety in March revealing than an “agreement” had been struck with Prince for the all-new version. But a September interview with Prince in the Huffington Post asked him whether he would change anything about the show if he had the chance to revisit it. “No, I would leave it alone”, he said, “it works”.

The UK touring production, directed by Laurence Connor, will feature choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown and costume design by original designer Maria Björnson. The production will be overseen by Cameron Mackintosh and Matthew Bourne and will premiere at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2012. In addition to John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter sharing the Phantom role, Katie Hall will play Christine.

LINKS

Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre

The Phantom of the Opera UK tour information

 

 

TMA’s Theatre Awards UK 2011 nominees heading to London

The Theatrical Management Association’s nominations for its annual Theatre Awards UK 2011 were released on Thursday, and its good to see that a number of the shows are heading to the West End over the next  few months.

In the Best Show for Children and Young People category, Swallows and Amazons by the Bristol Old Vic is being brought into the West End by the National Theatre, running at the Vaudeville Theatre from 5 December 2011.

Two Best Musical Production nominees, the RSC’s Matilda The Musical and Chichester Festival Theatre’s Singin’ In The Rain are both heading to town, Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre from 25 October and Singin’ In The Rain at the Palace Theatre from 4 February 2012.

And in terms of performers, Best Performance in a Play nominee David Haig and Best Performance in a Musical nominee Bertie Carvel are both bringing their star turns to London, David in Peter Hall’s production of Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George III at the Apollo Theatre from 23 January 2012, and Bertie in Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre from 25 October.

TMA THEATRE AWARDS UK 2011 NOMINEES

The awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Banqueting House in Whitehall on Sunday 30 October 2011, hosted by ventriloquist Paul Zerdin.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY
Marianne Oldham for THE YEARS BETWEEN: a Royal & Derngate, Northampton production at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton
David Haig for THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III: a Peter Hall Company production at the Theatre Royal, Bath and on tour
Derek Jacobi for KING LEAR: A Donmar Warehouse production at the Grand Opera House, Belfast and on tour

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Kenneth Alan Taylor for THE PRICE: an Octagon Theatre Bolton, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough and Hull Truck Theatre production on tour
Clarke Peters for FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE: a Theatre Royal Stratford East production at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Claire Price for THE PRIDE: A Sheffield Theatres production at the Crucible, Sheffield

BEST NEW PLAY
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE: a Theatre Royal, Plymouth and Paines Plough production at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth and on tour
MOGADISHU: a Royal Exchange, Manchester production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester and on tour.
HERDING CATS: a Theatre Royal, Bath production in the Ustinov Studio

BEST SHOW FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE.
WHITE: a Catherine Wheels production at the Theatre Royal, Bath
SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS: a Bristol Old Vic production at the Bristol Old Vic
THE MONSTER IN THE HALL at Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and on tour

BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION
ME AND MY GIRL directed Anna Mackmin: a Sheffield Theatres production at the Crucible, Sheffield
MATILDA THE MUSICAL directed by Matthew Warchus: an RSC production at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN directed by Jonathan Church: a Chichester Festival Theatre production at Chichester Festival Theatre

BEST TOURING PRODUCTION
THE TEMPEST directed by Declan Donnellan a Chekhov International Festival and Cheek By Jowl production, on tour
RICHARD III and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS directed by Edward Hall: both Propeller productions, on tour
THE BIG FELLAH directed by Max Stafford-Clark: an Out of Joint and Lyric Hammersmith production on tour

BEST DESIGN
HAPPY DAYS designed by Lizzie Clachan, lighting design by Natasha Chivers: A Sheffield Theatres production at Sheffield Studio
‘TIS PITY SHE’S A WHORE designed by Mike Britton, lighting design by Oliver Fenwick: a West Yorkshire Playhouse production at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
THE DUCHESS OF MALFI designed by Ruth Sutcliffe, lighting design by Philip Gladwell; a
Royal and Derngate, Northampton production at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton

BEST DIRECTOR
Erica Wyman for WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? A Sheffield Theatres and Northern Stage co-production at Sheffield Theatres and Northern Stage.
Muriel Romanes for AGE OF AROUSAL: a co-production between Stellar Quines and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, on tour
Michael Sheen and Bill Mitchell for THE PASSION a National Theatre Wales/Wild Works co-production

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL
Tony Hasnath for THE JUNGLE BOOK: at Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Jemima Rooper for ME AND MY GIRL: A Sheffield Theatres production at the Crucible, Sheffield
Bertie Carvel for MATILDA at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
New Adventures for an outstanding revision of CINDERELLA
Luca Silvestrini’s Protein Dance for LOL – an ingenious multi-media blending of choreography with text.
Hofesh Shechter’s POLITICAL MOTHER – a powerful piece by a choreographer on a controversial theme.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
OPERA NORTH for the variety of its repertoire this season
MUSIC THEATRE WALES for its production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek
GERALD FINLEY for his performance as Hans Sachs in Glyndebourne Festival’s production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

LINKS

Book tickets to Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Book tickets to Singin’ in the Rain at the Palace Theatre in London

Betty Blue Eyes cast recording announced

Good news for Betty Blue Eyes fans.

The Cameron Mackintosh show at the Novello Theatre in London is going to release a cast recording – although there’s still no news of an exact release date.

To get fans whipped up a first track has been released via Betty’s Facebook page, with Sarah Lancashire and cast singing Lionheart from the show.

Adapted from Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray’s comic film ‘A Private Function’, Betty Blue Eyes features a score by Stiles and Drewe (Mary Poppins) and a cast led by Sarah Lancashire as Joyce and Reece Shearsmith as Gilbert.

Betty Blue Eyes is directed by Richard Eyre with a book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman.

LINKS

LISTEN to Sarah Lancashire sing Lionheart from musical Betty Blue Eyes

More News on Betty Blue Eyes

SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to Betty Blue Eyes

Music: Wicked’s Mark Evans launches new single

West End star Mark Evans, who is currently playing Fiyero in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, has released a brand new single – The Journey Home/Adre’n Ol.

This double A side single is taken from his forthcoming debut album of the same name, The Journey Home, which will be released in October 2011.

The Journey Home is originally from A. R. Rahman’s musical Bombay Dreams, and Adre’n Ol (Homeward Bound) was written for Mark by brother and sister, Ynyr and Angharad Llwyd, from Prion in Wales.

LINKS

Mark Evans’s website

MUSIC SHOP

Buy a copy of Mark’s new single

New Stiles and Drewe musical Soho Cinders to get West End premiere

The writers of Betty Blue Eyes to present their new musical Soho Cinders in a one-off charity concert.

George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, whose recent work includes Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Theatre in London, are set to premiere a brand new work at the venue.

Soho Cinders will get its world premiere in a one-off charity concert at the Novello Theatre on Sunday 9 October 2011, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

An all-star cast of West End big-hitters has been announced to star in the show including Kerry Ellis, Hannah Waddingham, Beverly Rudd, David Bedella and Sandi Toksvig, and the concert will be directed by Jonathan Butterell.

Soho Cinders, which is billed as “Cinderella remixed”, is a modern musical satirical comedy about the love life of prospective Mayoral candidate James Prince, his fiancée and his law-student lover, Robbie.

LINKS

Book tickets for Soho Sinders

Book tickets to Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Theatre

Bill Kenwright receives honorary degree

Three cheers for Bill Kenwright, who collected an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool yesterday.

The hard-working West End theatre impresario was said to be “delighted” after picking up the honour at the city’s Philharmonic Hall. His partner, the actress Jenny Seagrove, said that she was “very proud”.

The Liverpudlian, who was born in Wavertree, started as an actor before setting up Bill Kenwright Ltd, which has become one of the world’s most prolific theatre production businesses. His production of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers has played in the West End since 1988. He is also Chairman of Everton football club.

His other London productions include Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre, and he is co-producer of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium and forthcoming transfer on the National’s The Pitmen Painters at the Duchess Theatre. His company also runs a myriad of UK touring productions including Spamalot, Evita and Joseph.

Channel 4 News journalist Jon Snow also picked up an honorary degree at the ceremony.

Bill was awarded a CBE in 2000 for services to film and theatre, and this latest honour is justly deserved: He continues to be one of the West End’s greatest and most passionate champions.

LINKS

Book tickets to Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre
Book tickets to Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre
Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium
Book tickets to The Pitmen Painters at the Duchess Theatre

West End Tug of War won by Lend Me A Tenor!

In a rather random PR stunt that only the West End could have got away with, the inaugural West End Tug of War contest took place this week between cast members of the Gielgud and Queen’s Theatres.

The stage doors of the two theatres both empty out on to Winnett Street, and so battle commenced on the street between the Gielgud’s Lend Me A Tenor cast and the Queen’s Les Miserables during the break between their matinee and evening performances on Wednesday 13 July.

The Gielgud’s Lend Me A Tenor had originally challenged the Queen’s Les Miserables to the Tug of War, and after a best-of-three it was the Tenors who took the prize, with Matthew Kelly accepting the trophy on behalf of the Tenors.

The Tug of War was said to bring back happy memories of the annual Society of West End Theatre (now SOLT) West End bed race in Leicester Square. Could the Tug of War become an equally big event?

LINKS

Book tickets to Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre

Book tickets to Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre

Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow tips Phoebe Fox for the top

I’m happy to see that Phoebe Fox is featured in Screen International’s annual Stars of Tomorrow report this week.

Whilst watching Anya Reiss’s excellent new play The Acid Test in May at the Royal Court, I was not alone in getting that tingle-down-the-spine feeling over Fox’s performance.

A recent RADA graduated, Fox’s next job is There Is A War at the National Theatre, part of their season of short plays in the National’s newly opened back-stage venue Paintframe.

Fox tells Screen International that she has ambitions to work in film as well as theatre. I’d say that this is a pretty safe bet: watching her performance in The Acid Test reminded me of the first time I saw Carey Mulligan act, in a read-through for My Boy Jack in 2007.

Also good to see that Fox’s fellow co-star in The Acid Test Vanessa Kirby is on the list, along with Robert Emms, who starred as Albert Narracott in War Horse at the New London Theatre and also features in Steven Spielberg’s up-and-coming film, and Sebastian Armesto, who recently appeared in Rocket to the Moon and A Woman Killed With Kindness at the National Theatre.

LINKS

Screen International Stars of Tomorrow