Grease fans to be treated to free show

Show laid on for Grease fans to celebrate launch of new bagel range

The Piccadilly Theatre in London will host a 20 minute lightnin’ version of Grease The Musical on 24 March 2011. But it’s an early start – 8AM – timed to launch the New York Bagel Company’ s new breakfast bagels range.

The bagel brand has been on a PR offensive in the UK, having recently brought famous Times Square busker the Naked Cowboy over to London to promote its range.

To enter for two free tickets to see the breakfast performance of Grease, simply email musical@breakfastbagels.com. 450 tickets are up for grabs, and email entries will go into a hat to each win a pair of tickets for the show.

A new cast joined Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre on 24 January, with Carina Gillespie replacing Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels as Sandy alongside Matthew Goodgame as Danny, and Michael Pickering, who recently starred in All The Fun of the Fair at the Garrick Theatre, as Doody.

The hit show, which has run for four years at the Piccadilly Theatre, will end its run on 30 April.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £23.50 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre

Natasha Hamilton in Blood Brothers tonight

This week in the West End two big shows see a change of stars as Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton joins the cast of Blood Brothers, and Carina Gillespie replaces Lauren Samuels as Sandy in Grease.

Natasha Hamilton in Blood Brothers

Former Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton is to follow Spice Girl Melanie C into the West End tonight playing the lead role in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre.

Mel C scored a huge hit with the show, making the transition from pop star to stage star, and Hamilton will be hoping for more of the same.

Natasha said on her Twitter page last week that she “can’t begin to describe how tired I am” but that she had been loving every minute of the rehearsals and preparation for tonight’s first show.

Hamilton, 28, is the youngest actress to play the lead role of Mrs Johnstone at the Phoenix Theatre in London. She told the Liverpool Echo today that by the end of the show “I’ve been sobbing, crying my eyes out when my sons are dead on the floor. It’s just hard not to feel that emotion. The play’s so powerful and it tugs at those heart strings so much.”

Her husband Riad and sons Josh, Harry and baby Alfie will all be there tonight to support her in her first big acting role in the West End.

Natasha joins a roll call of famous theatrical ladies who have played the part of Mrs Johnstone including Mel C, Barbara Dickson, Petula Clark, Kiki Dee, X-Factor runner-up Nikki Evans and most recently Maureen Noaln.

SPECIAL OFFER: Half-price tickets to Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre

Carina Gillespie in Grease

Another West End debut is also made tonight by another Liverpudlian actress: Carina Gillespie will replace Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels this evening as Sandy in Grease. She will be joined by Matthew Goodgame as Danny.

Carina Gillespie trained at the Liverpool Theatre School and has appeared in Buddy- The Buddy Holly Story, Bloodbath- The Musical and Jack in the Beanstalk.

Also joining the cast will be Michael Pickering as Doody, who recently starred in All The Fun of the Fair at the Garrick Theatre.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £23.50 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre

New cast for Grease The Musical

Lauren Samuels to leave Grease; New cast to join the show in its final months in London

A new cast will join Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 24 January 2011. The hit show, which has run for four years at the Piccadilly Theatre, will end its run on 30 April.

Replacing Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels as Sandy will be Carina Gillespie, who will make her West End debut in the part alongside Matthew Goodgame as Danny.

Carina Gillespie trained at the Liverpool Theatre School and has appeared in Buddy- The Buddy Holly Story, Bloodbath- The Musical and Jack in the Beanstalk.

Also joining the cast will be Michael Pickering, who recently starred in All The Fun of the Fair at the Garrick Theatre, as Doody, David O’Reilly as Roger, Zoe Doano as Frenchy, Matthew Russell-Jones as Eugene, Nancy Hill as Miss Lynch and Kristina MacMillan as Cha Cha.

Cast continuing in the show include Siubhan Harrison as Rizzo and Jason Capewell as Teen Angel/Vince Fontaine.

Grease is the longest running show at the Piccadilly Theatre.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £23.50 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre

Musicality star gets lead in Grease

The winner of a TV talent show is to take the lead in a West End musical.

Matthew Goodgame, a winner of Channel 4 show Musicality, will take the lead as Danny in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 27 September.

In 2004 Goodgame beat over 2000 musical hopefuls on Musicality, a talent show that aimed to find a new generation of musicals stars. Alongside four other winners, Goodgame won the chance to star in a special one-off performance of Chicago in the West End.

The former primary school teacher has gone on to forge a professional career in musical theatre, with recent roles including Father Ralph de Bricassart in a new musical based on The Thorn Birds, Munkustrap in the German tour of Cats and currently playing Kennickie in Grease.

He will star in Grease opposite Over the Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels, who joined the cast in July playing Sandy. Noel Sullivan continues in the role of Danny until 25 September 2010.

The hit show will end its run at the Piccadilly Theatre next Spring, on 30 April 2011, before embarking on a UK tour. The show first opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on 25 July 2007 and is the longest running show in the venue’s history, having played over 1,300 performances and been seen by over 1.25 million people.

The cast of Grease also includes Siubhan Harrison, Lucas Rush, Hayley Gallivan, Faye Brookes, Bennett Andrews, Robyn Mellor,   Michael Vinsen, Susannah Allman, Kerry Winter, Stephanie Powell, Jason Capewell, Jamie Capewell  and Giovanni Spano.

Following the closure of Grease, new show Ghost The Musical will open at the Piccadilly Theatre directed by Matthew Warchus and with music and lyrics by the Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard.

Special Offer: Save £23.50 on tickets to see Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

ITV’s This Morning – Musicals week

Whilst we desperately try to avoid turning on the TV before cocktail hour, sometimes the search for art and beauty (and a good show tune) prevails.

All this week, ITV’s This Morning has been celebrating the West End Musical, with Monday’s show featuring the cast of Mamma Mia! and Tuesday shaking things up with Sister Act.

Today, at 11am, Noel Sullivan, Lauren Samuels and the cast of Grease sang Summer Nights on the show.

And coming up next is the cast of Dirty Dancing tomorrow, Thursday 26 August, and the cast of We Will Rock You on Friday.

THE MICHAEL BALL SHOW

ITV’s The Michael Ball Show, on ITV1 weekdays from 3pm, will feature Cameron Mackintosh today. The theatre impresario will discuss celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables, and will be joined by Gareth Gates who is playing Marius in the touring production – soon to come to the Barbican in London.

We Will Rock You tickets at the Dominion Theatre

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2011 Olivier Awards, London’s long-running rock musical features the songs of legendary band Queen, with a book by Ben Elton. Now starring Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels.

Lauren Samuels in Grease TONIGHT

Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels starts run in Grease

Good luck to Lauren Samuels tonight, who starts her run as Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London.

Lauren came third in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s recent BBC One talent search Over The Rainbow to find a Dorothy for his new production of The Wizard of Oz – starting next year at the London Palladium.

She makes her West End debut in Grease tonight, 26 July, alongside Noel Sullivan as Danny and Siubhan Harrison as Rizzo.

A number of Lauren’s fellow Over The Rainbow Dorothys are expected to attend the show.

Grease is now in its third year in the West End and has been seen by over 1 million people. The show is now booking to September 2011.

Lauren takes over from Siobhan Dillon, who was also discovered through an Andrew Lloyd Webber TV talent searched – How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

Other cast in the show include Matthew Goodgame, Lucas Rush, Hayley Gallivan, Benjamin Ibbott, Faye Brookes, Bennett Andrews, Robyn Mellor, Michael Vinsen, Susannah Allman, Kerry Winter, Stephanie Powell and Jason Capewell.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

Over the Rainbow’s Sophie Evans off to Oz

Who says that it’s all about winning?

Over The Rainbow runner-up Sophie Evans is set to make her West End debut next year playing Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-million pound new production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.

Sophie, 17 and from Tonypandy in Wales, will take over from Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope every Tuesday evening and the week of 2 May and the 5 to 17 September, when Ms Hope will be on holiday.

Lord Lloyd-Webber and producer Bill Kenwright made the announcement yesterday at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Lloyd Webber’s controversial decision comes in an attempt to learn lessons from his previous TV casting experiences. “People do get sick,” he said, referring to Connie Fisher, star of his 2006 production of The Sound of Music, who was also cast from a BBC One TV show. “[She] had very bad flu and sang through it which she shouldn’t have done, so she was off for a couple of weeks. We didn’t want a repetition of that. We have a responsibility to the girls as well as the audiences”.

Already a number of the other Over The Rainbow finalists have secured parts in shows, including Lauren Samuels, who makes her West End debut next week playing Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre, and Steph Fearon, who is currently appearing in Smokey Joe’s Café at the Landor Theatre.

Loyd Webber and Tim Rice to reunite

In an interview with the Daily Mail this week, Lord Lloyd Webber also revealed that he will be reuniting with Tim Rice after 34 years to pen a number of new songs for The Wizard of Oz. Rice and Lloyd Webber are arguably the world’s most successful living composer-lyricists with shows including Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph. Lloyd Webber told the paper: “The fact is that The Wizard Of Oz has never really worked in the theatre. The film has one or two holes where in the theatre you need a song. For example, there’s nothing for either of the two witches to sing.”

The Wizard of Oz will follow the success of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria in London, which has broken all box-office records and tells the story of the witches from The Wizard of Oz.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group will produce the show, with performances starting from 7 February 2011 at the London Palladium. The creative team behind the 2006 revival of The Sound of Music, including director Jeremy Sams, designer Robert Jones and choreographer Arlene Phillips, will work on the show.

The first stage version of L Frank Baum’s classic book was in 1902 starring Anna Laughlin. The 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland is the most famous version of the show, and was adapted into a stage musical in 1945 by Frank Gabrielson for the St. Louis Municipal Opera.

Book tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium

LAUREN SAMUELS in Grease

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s loss is David Ian’s gain

TV talent shows have not only boosted the fortunes of the music industry. West End theatre has become increasingly reliant on TV talent and casting shows to generate a new generation of recognisable faces to join the casts of long-running shows.

David Ian’s Grease The Musical - which was itself cast through 2007 ITV talent show Grease Is The Word – has seen Ray Quinn (discovered on The X-Factor, winner of Dancing on Ice) play Danny, and has now cast Over The Rainbow runner-up Lauren Samuels in the part of Sandy in the long-running show.

Lauren trained at the Guildford School of Acting where her roles included Esta in Moby Dick! The Musical, Grace in Anyone Can Whistle, Sarah in Bitter Sweet and Frances in The Matchgirls.

Earlier this year she auditioned for Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s BBC One talent search Over The Rainbow to find a Dorothy for his new production of The Wizard of Oz – starting next year at the London Palladium. She rose up through the weeks of auditions and live shows to get to third place in the contest, attracting many millions of followers on the way.

Last year she made her professional stage debut as Wendy in the Christmas production of Peter Pan at the Curve in Leicester.

Lauren will join the cast of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 26 July.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

Lauren Samuels to star in Grease

Over The Rainbow finalist Lauren Samuels to play Sandy in Grease

A new leading lady will join the cast of long-running musical Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 26 July, as rising young star Lauren Samuels takes the role of Sandy.

Lauren came third in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s recent BBC One talent search Over The Rainbow to find a Dorothy for his new production of The Wizard of Oz – starting next year at the London Palladium.

She will make her West End debut in the show alongside Noel Sullivan as Danny and Siubhan Harrison as Rizzo.

Lauren trained at the Guildford School of Acting and last year made her professional stage debut as Wendy in the Christmas production of Peter Pan at the Curve in Leicester. She said today: “I am so unbelievably excited to be joining the wonderful cast of Grease. It was one of the first musicals I was taken to see as a young child and so to be given the opportunity to recreate the iconic role of Sandy and to make my West End debut in the show, is a dream come true. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!”

The longest ever run of a show at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, Grease is now in its third year and has been seen by over 1 million people.

Other cast in the show include Matthew Goodgame, Lucas Rush, Hayley Gallivan, Benjamin Ibbott, Faye Brookes, Bennett Andrews, Robyn Mellor, Michael Vinsen, Susannah Allman, Kerry Winter, Stephanie Powell and Jason Capewell.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

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