VIDEO: Promo for Evita on Broadway starring Ricky Martin and Elena Roger
October 30, 2011
Tickets are now on sale for the Broadway production of Evita, which starts previews on 12 March 2012 at the Marquis Theatre in New York.
Ricky Martin as Che in Evita
Produced by Hal Luftig and Scott Sanders, the classic musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber will star world renowned music artist Ricky Martin as Che, Olivier Award-winning Argentinean actress Elena Roger as Eva Perón and Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris as Juan Perón.
Michael Grandage will direct the show, joined by Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford who will choreograph the musical. Grandage will shortly step down as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse in London and returns to Evita after directing an acclaimed production in London in 2006, also starring Elena Roger.
VIDEO
Evita on Broadway – promotional video
PHOTOS
LINKS
Hal Prince happy with new Phantom touring show?
October 29, 2011
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 Prince
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.
The Phantom of the Opera UK tour poster
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
Michael Crawford To Continue As The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz!
July 30, 2011
MICHAEL CRAWFORD is to continue in his starring role of The Wizard in ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’s new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Michael has been thrilling audiences since the show opened at the LONDON PALLADIUM on 1 March 2011 and now he will star in the iconic role until Sunday 5 February 2012.
In addition to the eponymous role, Michael also plays the characters of The Wizard in disguise as both the doorman and the tour guide in the Emerald City, as well as Professor Marvel, for whom a new song has been specially written, The Wonders of the World. This is one of several brand new songs by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER and TIM RICE, which also include Red Shoes Blues, a solo for The Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy’s opening number Nobody Understands Me.
THE WIZARD OF OZ combines these new musical numbers, which mark the first time Andrew and Tim have worked together in over 30 years on a new production, with all the much-loved songs from the Oscar-winning movie score.
MICHAEL CRAWFORD is internationally renowned for originating the title role in The Phantom of the Opera and loved by millions for his role as the hapless Frank Spencer in the classic British sitcom, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. His hugely successful career spans four decades, and includes his triumphant performance in the hit show Barnum at the London Palladium. He is a multi Olivier and Tony-award winning star whose acclaim encompasses theatre, television and film and he was appointed an OBE in 1988.
Michael stars alongside DANIELLE HOPE, the winner of the BBC smash hit talent show Over The Rainbow, who is Dorothy, EDWARD BAKER-DULY (Tin Man), DAVID GANLY (Lion), PAUL KEATING (Scarecrow), EMILY TIERNEY (Glinda) and HANNAH WADDINGHAM (as The Wicked Witch of the West).
The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum is directed by Jeremy Sams, choreographed by Arlene Phillips, music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg, with additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, set and costumes designs by Robert Jones, and produced by Bill Kenwright and the Really Useful Group.
Release issued by: Target Live
LINKS
Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium
Andrew Lloyd-Webber: “Anything I get involved with seems to go wrong”
July 20, 2011
Andrew Lloyd-Webber told the New York Times’s Patrick Healy last week that the failure of Love Never Dies in the UK – and more notably the success of a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, has led him to consider that, “what I might do is to have nothing to do with my shows for the foreseeable future.”
He admits in the interview that “anything I get involved with seems to go wrong… I’ve come to this new conclusion. I’ll just smile and turn up at opening nights.”
Read the interview with Lord Lloyd Webber in the New York Times
Celebrating 25 Years, Cameron Mackintosh Presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera At The Royal Albert Hall On Saturday 1st And Sunday 2nd October 2011
July 1, 2011
RAMIN KARIMLOO AND SIERRA BOGGESS LEAD A CAST AND ORCHESTRA OF OVER 200 TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 4TH JULY AT 10.00AM
Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to present Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 1st October at 7.30pm and Sunday 2nd October at 1.30pm and 7.00pm. Tickets for “Phantom of the Opera at the Albert Hall” go on sale on Monday 4 July at 10.00am and are available on 0845 401 5045 or at www.phantom25th.com
This lavish, fully staged production of “Phantom of the Opera at the Albert Hall” will star Ramin Karimloo as ‘The Phantom’ and Sierra Boggess as ‘Christine’. They will be joined by Barry James as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Gareth Snook as ‘Monsieur André’, Liz Robertson as ‘Madame Giry’ and Wynne Evans as ‘Piangi’ together with a cast and orchestra of over 200 and some special guest appearances.
“Phantom of the Opera at the Albert Hall” will be directed by Laurence Connor with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne. The Royal Albert Hall will be transformed with a spectacular and unique design by Matt Kinley inspired by Maria Björnson’s original design. Lighting is by Patrick Woodroffe and Andrew Bridge and Sound by Mick Potter. The original London production was directed by Hal Prince.
Ramin Karimloo’s theatre credits include, leading roles in “Love Never Dies” (2011 Olivier Award Nominee and Winner of the 2011 What’s On Stage Award, both for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’), “The Phantom of the Opera” (Theatre Goers’ Choice Award Nomination) “Les Misérables”, “Miss Saigon”, “The Pirates of Penzance” and “Sunset Boulevard”.
Ramin had the privilege of performing as ‘Enjolras’ in “Les Misérables – A Special Concert at Windsor Castle” to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, in front of Her Majesty The Queen and also reprised the role for the 25th Anniversary celebration of “Les Misérables at The 02”. Recordings include: his own album “Within the Six Square Inch” and the première symphonic recording of “Love Never Dies”. Ramin has signed with a major label and is currently recording his
first solo album.
Sierra Boggess is currently starring opposite Tyne Daly in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s “Master Class”. Prior to that, she starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies” in the West End. For her performance as ‘Christine Daae,’ Sierra received a 2011 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Sierra’s other NY theatre credits include starring as the title character in the Broadway production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations and Broadway.com award for Favourite Breakthrough Performance) and in the City Centre Encores! production of “Music in the Air”. She starred as ‘Christine’ in “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” and has been seen in the national tours of “Les Misérables” and “West Side Story”. Recordings include the Symphonic Recording of “Love Never Dies” and the Original Cast Album for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh said “It is amazing to think that the extraordinary success of The Phantom
of the Opera is about to celebrate 25 years.
From the very first performance, audiences have fallen in love with the unique alchemy of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gorgeous score and Maria Björnson’s fabulously beautiful design, so brilliantly staged by Hal Prince and Gillian Lynne.
The success of the show has become the stuff of theatrical legend so Andrew and I felt we needed to create a really special performance to celebrate the 25th anniversary.
One of the great strengths of The Phantom of the Opera is that being set in an opera house, its production is totally theatrical. So we felt that there could be no better 19th Century theatrical auditorium in London for this occasion than the Royal Albert Hall. With its Victorian red plush and celebrated magnificent organ it is the perfect place for The Phantom to haunt. Though this special staging will naturally be drawn from the brilliant original, it will be both a spectacular and unique
production with a cast and orchestra of over 200 headed by Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. Both artists have been an outstanding ‘Phantom’ and ‘Christine’ in recent productions and have also enjoyed huge success together as the stars of Love Never Dies.
I have no doubt that these three performances at the Royal Albert Hall will be a thrilling celebration of the Music of the Night.”
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder “Cats”. This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has won over 50 major theatre awards, including seven Tonys on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End. It won the ‘Most Popular Musical Audience Award’, voted by the public, in the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 starred Michael Crawford as ‘The Phantom’ and Sarah Brightman as ‘Christine.’ It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company Limited.
Worldwide, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over £3.2 billion. The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including “Titanic”, “ET” and “Star Wars”. It has been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries and played to over 100 million people. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is currently showing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas, and Kyoto.
Release issued by: Raw PR
LINKS
Book tickets to the Phantom 25th Anniversary at The Royal Albert Hall
Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London
Karimloo and Boggess confirmed for Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall
July 1, 2011
Cameron Mackintosh has confirmed the leads for the 25th anniversary celebration of The Phantom of the Opera, to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 and 2 of October 2011.
Stars of the Phantom 25th anniversary show, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess (pictured in Love Never Dies)
Ramin Karimloo, who is currently playing the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, which runs at the Adelphi Theatre until 27 August, will star in the title role, joined by Sierra Boggess as Christine. Both stars have enjoyed extensive periods playing the roles in both the original show and Love Never Dies.
Tickets will go on sale for the Royal Albert Hall show on Monday 4 July at 10am.
A cast and orchestra of over 200 will feature in the three special performances, which promises to be a lavishly staged new interpretation of the musical, directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging and choreography by the show’s original choreographer Gillian Lynne. A brand new set will feature in the Royal Albert Hall production by Matt Kinley inspired by Maria Björnson’s original designs.
Other cast will include Barry James as Monsieur Firmin, Gareth Snook as Monsieur André, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry and Wynne Evans as Piangi.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who produces the original show, said “From the very first performance, audiences have fallen in love with the unique alchemy of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gorgeous score and Maria Björnson’s fabulously beautiful design, so brilliantly staged by Hal Prince and Gillian Lynne. The success of the show has become the stuff of theatrical legend so Andrew and I felt we needed to create a really special performance to celebrate the 25th anniversary.”
The last celebration for The Phantom of the Opera took place on 23 October last year, to mark the 10,000th performance of the show.
Speculation over a concert or special performance of Phantom had been fuelled by Ramin Karimloo posting on Twitter in March that he would be appearing in the 25th anniversary celebrations, and by an Ebay auction held in aid of Comic Relief, to win ”two great tickets to the Celebration of Phantom’s 25th Birthday in October 2011 – when he [Karimloo] will don the mask as the original Phantom one more time”.
Michael Crawford, currently playing the Wizard in Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, originated the role of the Phantom, alongside Sarah Brightman as Christine. It is still unconfirmed whether Crawford and Brightman will play any part in the celebrations for the show.
The Phantom of the Opera originally opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 directed by Harold Prince and has won over 50 major theatre awards, including seven Tonys on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End, and has grossed over £3.2 billion worldwide.
LINKS
Book tickets to the Phantom 25th Anniversary at The Royal Albert Hall
Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London
Love Never Dies to close at the Adelphi Theatre
June 17, 2011
Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, has announced its closure in the West End.
Rumours have circulated for some time that the show, which is produced by Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and is housed in one of the company’s theatres, jointly owned with the Nederlanders, was losing a significant amount of money and would struggle to continue unless it saw a sharp rise in box-office receipts.
The National Theatre’s hit new show One Man, Two Guvnors starring Gavin and Stacey’s James Corden will move in to the venue from mid-November 2011.
It is unclear whether Love Never Dies will continue with its international roll-out, including a production in Toronto and a Broadway opening.
The show did open last month in Melbourne to fair reviews, with the Herald Sun giving the show four stars but saying that, “While Love Never Dies sets a visual design standard that will be difficult to surpass, it is disappointing that the narrative and music fail to reach the same lofty heights”. Australian National newspaper The Age said that, “An inspired, often ravishing production for sure, though of a sequel that doesn’t make a strong enough musical or narrative argument for its own existence.”
Lloyd Webber wanted to the show to be completely revisited for the Melbourne opening, recruiting New Zealand director Simon Phillips to work on the show. The hope was that a good production in Melbourne could act as the template for future international productions.
Love Never Dies got off to a decidedly shaky start in the UK, with creative differences between the director Jack O’Brien and Lord Lloyd Webber, prompting the composer to close the show for four days in November 2010 to allow friend and producer Bill Kenwright to make a number of changes.
It had been rumoured that the show would close again for two weeks in September 2011, when the current cast was to change, to incorporate some of the changes made by Simon Phillips from the Melbourne production.
In May, Baz Bamigboye reported in the Daily Mail that Really Useful Group were struggling with £4 million loses from the show despite significant cost cutting.
Other shows that had been thought to be lining up for the Adelphi included a Robert Lindsay-led revival of Camelot directed by David Leveaux.
LINKS
SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London
RUMOUR CHECK-LIST
- Show: Love Never Dies
- Theatre: Adelphi Theatre
- Date closing: 27 August 2011
- Stars: Ramin Karimloo, Celia Graham, David Thaxton
- Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Director: Jack O’Brien / Bill Kenwright
Source: Daily Mail (17/06/11)
LEE MEAD in Legally Blonde The Musical
June 1, 2011
West End star Lee Mead joins the cast of Legally Blonde The Musical at the Savoy Theatre.
Lee Mead. Photo: © Roy Tan
Legally Blonde is on a roll!
The show has already scooped three 2011 Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. And now the multi-talented actor Lee Mead is joining the cast from 20 June 2011 in the role of Emmett.
Lee Mead’s story is a classic showbiz tale for the 21st Century: a chorus boy struggling to break into the big time enlists on a TV talent show and ends up a star.
Mead came to prominence by winning BBC One’s talent show Any Dream Will Do in 2007, and going on star in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s major revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. However, before winning the show he was a jobbing West End actor having played in a number of musicals including The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Tommy.
He left Joseph in 2009 to release a successful solo album and then took the title role in the UK tour of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime. He released a second album and has performed around the UK whilst also starring as Fiyero in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre last year.
Lee Mead is married to TV and stage performer Denise Van Outen, who was on the judging panel for Any Dream Will Do. They married in April 2009 and have recently had a baby daughter, Betsy.
And in a bid to keep it in the family Denise is currently starring as beautician Paulette in the show – although there may not be a cross-over between the two performers. Other cast include Susan McFadden as Elle Woods, Siobhan Dillon as Vivienne and Peter Davison as Professor Callahan.
SPECIAL OFFER: Save on tickets to Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre in London
Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary celebrations to be staged at the Royal Albert Hall
May 26, 2011
Plans have been announced for the 25th anniversary celebrations of The Phantom of the Opera this October.
A gala celebration of the long-running show will be staged at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The show’s original choreographer, Gillian Lynne, will stage the spectacle, which will be produced by Phantom’s producer Cameron Mackintosh and the musical’s composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Unconfirmed sources suggest that the show will be a fully staged, brand new production of the show which will run for more than just one evening.
The role of the Phantom will be played by Ramin Karimloo, who is currently starring as the Phantom in Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre and has also spent long periods playing in the original show.
The Stage newspaper is also reporting today that Karimloo will be joined by Sierra Boggess, who will reprise the role of Christine after playing the role in Phantom in Las Vegas and in Love Never Dies in London. The actress is currently in rehearsals for a new production of Terrence McNally’s Master Class on Broadway featuring Tyne Daly.
Stars of the Phantom 25th anniversary show, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess (pictured in Love Never Dies)
As previously covered on westendtheatre.com, Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful group and Cameron Mackintosh Ltd will team up to produce the large-scale show, following Mackintosh’s dazzling production last October celebrating the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables at the O2.
The last celebration for The Phantom of the Opera took place on 23 October last year, to mark the 10,000th performance of the show. Patrick Woodroffe will design the lighting for the show, advised by original Phantom lighting designer Andy Bridge.
Speculation over a concert or special performance of Phantom had been fuelled by Ramin Karimloo posting on Twitter in March that he would be appearing in the 25th anniversary celebrations, and by an Ebay auction held in aid of Comic Relief, to win ”two great tickets to the Celebration of Phantom’s 25th Birthday in October 2011 – when he [Karimloo] will don the mask as the original Phantom one more time”.
Michael Crawford, currently playing the Wizard in Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, originated the role of the Phantom, alongside Sarah Brightman as Christine. It is unconfirmed whether Crawford and Brightman will play any part in the celebrations for the show.
The show originally opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 directed by Harold Prince. Over 80 million people have seen the show worldwide, ranking it the most popular entertainment of all time.
LINKS
Book tickets to the Phantom 25th Anniversary at The Royal Albert Hall
Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London
Book tickets to Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London
Betty Blue Eyes and The Wizard of Oz extend booking periods
May 5, 2011
Two of London’s major new musicals – Cameron Mackintosh’s Betty Blue Eyes and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz – have both announced new booking periods, extending their runs into 2012.
Andrew Lloyd Webber with Sophie Evans, who is starring as Dorothy this week
Betty Blue Eyes, which opened at the Novello Theatre on 13 April 2011, is now booking to 28 January 2012. The show, which is adapted from Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray’s film A Private Function, features a score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe and the cast includes Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith.
The Wizard of Oz opened on 1 February 2011 at the London Palladium and stars Danielle Hope as Dorothy, Michael Crawford as the Wizard and Hannah Waddingham as the Wicked Witch. The show is now booking until 15 January 2012. This week has seen Over The Rainbow runner-up Sophie Evans cover the role of Dorothy across all performances whilst Danielle Hope is on holiday. Sophie also plays the role every Tuesday.
LINKS
Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium
Book tickets to Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Theatre
Read more news and reviews on Betty Blue Eyes and The Wizard of Oz
