West End News!

Billy Elliot - The Musical

Actor and comedian Jackie Clune is to play Billy Elliot's dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson from 4th June 2007. Billy Elliot - The Musical is currently taking bookings until 20th October 2007 at the Victoria Palace Theatre.


FAME 

Fame will be back in London on May 8th 2007! Runar Borge's stage version of the 80's screen classic is returning for London. Abi Finley from 'How do you Solve a Problem like Maria' will be starring in the 2007 Tour alongside the London performance.


Olivier Awards 2007

This year has been one of the most competitive yet with so many new productions flooding the West End. Spamalot dominates the musical competition with 7 nominations including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Role in a Musical. On the non-musical front A Moon for the Misbegotten, Rock 'n' Roll, The Crucible, Donkey's Years and Frost/Nixon are all strong contenders.

Winners were announced on the 18th February:

Best New Musical - Caroline, Or Change
Best New Comedy - The 39 Steps
Best Actor - Rufus Sewell
Best Actress - Tamsin Greig

JOSEPH

Andrew Lloyd Webber has joined forces with BBC's Peter Fincham to create a second reality TV show. Thanks to the massive success of 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria'; Lloyd Webber is preparing to find the lead roles for a new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!

'Any Dream Will Do' will audition wannabe West End stars who are competing for a place infront of the Nation to perform on this prime-time television programme. The show will be searching for a school choir, a lead boy and girl and of course Pharoah/Elvis!



GREASE

Hot on the tails of Peter Fincham is the hugely successful producer David Ian who has bravely enlisted the help of reality guru Simon Cowell to rival Andrew Lloyd Webber's forthcoming television star search. The dynamite duo will be looking for 2 outstanding people to star as Sandy and Danny in Ian's new production of Grease entitled 'You're the One That I Want'. Lloyd Webber does not see his old colleague as a threat but rather as an ally, working together to educate and interest the younger theatre goer.

Ian and Lloyd Webber will go head to head in the ratings war, with David Ian working with Cowell's production company Syco and Talkback Thames and Andrew Lloyd Webber attempting to repeat his success with the BBC.

There have been disputes over the benefits of conducting reality TV shows for professional jobs in the theatre world. Some feel that it doesn't truly represent a proper theatre audition process and that these reality shows focus more on audience entertainment rather than the acting and singing quality. However Lloyd Webber sees it as an opportunity to tap in to the Nation's wealth of undiscovered talent that may otherwise never be exposed.



WICKED

Kerry Ellis has taken over from Idina Menzel to become the first British Elphaba in the hugely sucessful production of Wicked at the Victoria Apollo. The swap took place at the start of the New Year on January 1st. Ellis is a West End veteran having starred in Les Miserables and Miss Saigon.

Wicked has enjoyed massive success in recent weeks and has set an all time record for a single week's gross in the West End. The record breaking gross amount was £873,020 for the week 26th-30th December!



LORD OF THE RINGS

The much hyped Lord of the Rings has revealed its 50 strong cast. Laura Michelle Kelly will return to the London stage as Elven Queen Galadriel in the eagerly awaited musical adaptation of the massively successful Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein. Alongside Kelly will be James Loye and Peter Howe who are resuming their original roles from the Torronto production as Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane has been closed for 4 months to build the staggering £13 million production!



ENTERTAINMENT

Dirty Dancing has recieved more online searches for its tickets than pop star Robbie Williams has for his tour, according to Google! These astonishing results have lead to the speculation that theatre has made a massive impact on the entertainment world in the last year.

Blue Man Group has extended its stay in London until October 2007, it had previously been booking until April. This is not the first time it has extended its booking period as its bizarre combination of comedy, theatre, visuals and music have been a huge hit with London audiences. The Blue Men have not only performed to packed auditioriums throughout their stay in London but they have also teamed up with Swatch to create their own watch!