Next year’s biggest event for theatre breaks in London is likely to be the opening of The Wizard of Oz by all accounts. The full cast list has yet to  be revealed but we do know that Michael Crawford, the former Phantom from The Phantom of The Opera is to play the Wizard and of course Danielle Hope is Dorothy. With such a cast, and building on the interest from the TV show Over The Rainbow, Andrew Lloyd Webber looks set for a big hit but of course it will all depend eventually on word of mouth, and how well the new musical theatre show is produced at the London Palladium. Being a long standing favourite family show will hel as well for some kinds of London breaks with the children I suppose, but that’s not to say the Wizard  of Oz won’t appeal to grown ups and couples after a good weekend break in London. Tickets sales are reported to be brisk even at this early stage, and fans of the runner up in the competition, Sophie Evans have been booking up theatre breaks with hotel and travel deals to see Sophie when she plays the part of Dorothy herself at the London Palladium on Tuesdays and some of Danielle Hope’s holidays.

Sophie Evans

Love Never Dies By the time many people read this the free tickets competition will be over, so I’ll write about why I think you might like to consider Love Never Dies theatre breaks anyway. I guess you may have already seen The Phantom of The Opera ? The most successful piece of live entertainment ever, it’s been on long enough. Or maybe your parents enjoyed it thirty years ago when Michael Crawford played the Phantom. Well Love Never Dies is a continuation of the story, but with completely new twists. The scene is set ten years after the incident at the Paris Opera House, and the Phantom is now presiding over a huge entertainment complex at Coney Island, New York. He manages to manipulate Christine and Raoul into sailing across the Atlantic and into his lair. But there’s much more than that…

Some of the music in Love Never Dies comes from the operetta genre, some from light entertainment and some even from a rock background. This is the fusion which Andrew Lloyd Webber does so well. The staging, sets and costumes are magnificent, so you really do see a big musical theatre event up there on the big stage. This is certainly not one of your small cast and minimalist aesthetics plays, like many even in the West End, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess are both star quality singers in the lead roles and it’s nice to hear the full orchestra getting a proper work out. Did I mention the free tickets? Love Never Dies Tickets Competition One pair of top price tickets have been donated. That’s worth around £180 normally. Now, you’d need to be able to get to the London Adelphi Theatre for tomorrow night, Saturday 9th October 2010. So if you are in London anyway, and can clear out all of your prior engagements to be free then you’d do well to nip over and quickly enter the simple competition on the Love Never Dies blog. The odds are not against you! Here’s the link again… http://www.loveneverdiesphantom.co.uk Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks If you don’t have easy access to the capital then buying London theatre breaks packages with the tickets and convenient hotel room plus optional discount rail travel is nearly always the best way to go.

Other London Theatre Breaks to see West End Musicals

Theatre Breaks The Wizard of Oz The Phantom Of The Opera Les Miserables Ghost

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If you are very quick and can make it to London’s West End for Saturday 9th October 2010 you could very well win two free tickets to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi. There’s a quick fire competition over on the Love Never Dies blog to win two top price tickets and all you have to do is leave a comment. Love Never Dies continues the story of the Phantom of The Opera with Raoul, Christine and the Phantom ten years later set in Coney Island, New York around 1910. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s big musical has been running in London since February 2010 and is due to open in Australia and Toronto soon, then eventually Broadway, New York. Easily one of the best big musicals in London, Love Never Dies is a feast for eyes and the ears from the start and keeps your interest right the way through with some very clever changes of tone and scene. To win two tickets urgently, you’ll need to go over to the Love Never Dies blog right away and leave a comment saying why you’d like to see the show on Saturday. Here’s the link again: http://loveneverdiesphantom.co.uk Good luck!

Love Never Dies Tickets Competition was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

Two Shows for Theatre Breaks In London 2011 I’m going to suggest two shows that I think will be very popular for theatre breaks in London by the end of 2011. The first has already been mentioned in passing at the end of the previous post about New Season Theatre Breaks in London and that show is The Wizard of Oz. The new musical of The Wizard of Oz just has so many things going for it that it’s hard to see how it can fail. The first thing is the timeless popularity of the film and the book and all of the amateur and professional adaptations of the Wizard of Oz that have been produced over the years. Building on a heritage such as this is unadventurous, sure but it gives the venture a head a shoulders start. The next cunning ploy was to use a TV casting show to gain loads of pre-publicity and to guarantee that you already have a star who the public adores! That star is Danielle Hope and she shone through with a wonderful natural talent in all departments despite being up against a host of really high quality competitors. In fact the Dorothy who came a close second, Sophie Evans is set to play Dorothy as understudy every Tuesday, so it’s two TV selected Dorothy stars for the price of one. Well, it would be for the price of two if you wanted to book theatre breaks in London to see both of them, but you know what I mean. Just being an Andrew Lloyd Webber production is another huge factor in the show’s favour, but this is more than that since it’s the reunion of the formidable music and lyrics team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber no less. Tim Rice is writing the lyrics for about four new songs including one for, wait for it…..   Michael Crawford. Casting Michael Crawford as the Wizard has to be the piece de la resistance but there could well be more. Who will be the Tin Man, Scarecrow or the cowardly Lion? Ghost London Theatre Breaks

Ghost London Musical The second show is one you may not have heard of yet, but rest assured you will have done by 2011. It’s Ghost the Musical, an adaptation of Ghost the movie, but with a solid rock music soundtrack supplied by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. Another film to stage adaptation, Ghost London is sure to be a hot ticket in 2011. Dates for Ghost And Wizard of Oz Theatre Breaks in London Theatre breaks in London to see The Wizard of Oz can be booked for dates from March 2011 while Ghost will arrive in London for theatre breaks from June 2011 after a run in the Manchester Opera House first.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects Of Love, which will be directed by Trevor Nunn at the Menier Chocolate Factory, will feature a cast led by Michael Arden and Katherine Kingsley.The run starts on 14 July, following on from the new musical Paradise Found. The Story of Aspects of Love Lovers Alex Dillingham and Rose Vibert play out a love story that spans 20 years and three generations. Aspects Of Love is based on David Garnet’s novel. We follow student Alex as he travels through France and watch him fall in love with the beautiful actress, Rose. They start a passionate affair, Alex’s uncle arrives changes their lives forever. The Cast and Creatives of Aspects of Love Director Trevor Nunn return to the Menier Chocolate Factory for the first time since his successful revival of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music last year. Having someone as prestigious as Nunn at the Mernier only further confirms the theatre’s status as the place to try out revivals and new shows before West End transfers. Nunn directed the original production of Aspects Of Love and collaborated with Lloyd Webber on the original stage version in 1979. Arden, an American, makes his West End stage debut in Aspects Of Love. However he’s already well known on Broadway having stared in Big River and The Times They Are A-Changing. However I’m sure most of his UK fans will know him from cult series Grey’s Anatomy. Katherine Kingsley is currently in the UK touring production of The 39 Steps.She’s probably best known for her performance in the Donmar Warehouse production of Piaf which saw her nominated for an Olivier Award. The Music of Aspects of Love The music of the show is classic Lloyd Webber, with many themes you’ll recognise,including the iconic “Love Changes Everything”

As the original production ran for over 1,000 performances this just might be another hit for the Mernier, following on from other successes like A Little Night Music and Sweet Charity.

The search for Dorothy Over the Rainbow, the BBC’s search for a Dorothy for The Wizard of Oz, moves into a more serious phase now. We’ve said goodbye to Dani Rayner and Emilie Fleming. You can read more about them  and their departure on the Wizard of Oz London blog. Now we are on to the really hard stuff. There  7 girls left and every single one of them is a potential star. She could still be Dorothy These girls are tightrope walking without a net, the slightest falter and they are gone. The standard is so high in this competition I’m convinced we are now watching the start of at least 4 classic West End leading ladies careers and 2 possible pop divas! Here they all are performing this week’s mash-up: Click here to view the embedded video. So, in classic Over the Rainbow style, here  are the remaining contestants in no particular order: Danielle Hope, 17, from Manchester I  like Danielle. I thought she would do well but I was not sure  at first about her voice. Well, now I am sure! She could be Dorothy.  Her voice is much better than I’d realised and she has a great tone combined with real power and strength in ballads. She can act too and her dancing is pretty good. More than any of that she has star quality and I think she could be a long term West End hit. Jenny Douglas, 18, from Scotland Jenny is cute and attractive. She’s got a smashing voice and a great quirky quality. Her dancing is coming on and she is definitely still in the running. If it doesn’t work out for her I think she’d make a super pop singer. I disagreed with the panel and enjoyed her version of Warick Avenue! Lauren Samuels, 22, from London I love being proved wrong! I wasn’t that keen on Lauren but she’s really grown on me. Great voice, good dancer, nice acting skills. I think that even if she’s not Dorothy,(and she may well be!) she’ll still go far. I think she’ll be in the top 5 Sophie Evans, 17, from Wales Well, Andy said “She’s Welsh, of course she can sing”  but I’m afraid we’re just not hearing it at the moment. She’s got it all there, singing, dancing even acting  but she seems to be holding back. I think she’s a bit overwhelmed, poor kid. I fear she’s the weak link at the moment and was lucky that Andrew Lloyd Webber saved her. Personally, based on the sing-off, I would have saved Emilie! Stephanie Davis, 17, from Merseyside Stephanie has a great voice and good dancing skills. Full of life, warmth and energy. She’d make a charming Dorothy and I expect her to be in the top 5. If not she’s going to have a great career anyway either on stage or as a recording artist. Love that voice, as Charlotte Church said “I could listen to you sing the phone book!” I do wonder about her acting range but only because she’s not really had chance to show us. Jessica Robinson, 18, from Middlesborough Great face, something of the Liza Minnelli or maybe Lorna Luft there. Little bit gawky and awkward sometimes, and so were they at her age. She going to be a star. I’m not totally sure she’s Dorothy but watch this space. This girl will go far. I’d love to see her do musical comedy but there’s more depth to her than just that. Steph Fearon, 21, from London Good voice, good dancer, nice acting skills, great on stage presence. Steph can still be a little bit too R&B sometimes but she’s got to be a contender. She is becoming a real favourite and she’s got the maturity to handle a huge production resting on her shoulders. The Wizard of Oz and the Search for Dorothy Continues I’ve really been enjoying the programmes this time. As far as reality casting TV goes this show must be the best they’ve done. Andy’s been collecting all the videos over on The Wizard of Oz London blog so if you’ve missed anything, or you just want to see something again you can find them there. Who’s your favourite? a

If They Could See Me Now - Charity (Tamzin Outhwaite) Sweet Charity will start previews at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket  on April 23rd after a sell out run at the Mernier Chocolate Factory. At the moment the show is booking through to January 2011. The show has been a big hit with audiences and critics alike. Tamzin Outhwaite’s outstanding performance in the title role has even been remarked on by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sweet Charity will make a brilliant treat for theatre breaks fans. We follow Charity Hope Valentine as she travels a bumpy path in pursuit of love. Charity is a paradox, a scheming innocent, a dreamer who always gives her heart and her trust to the wrong man. She still travels hopefully and despite all her misadventures, or perhaps because of them, she still captures the audience’s heart along the way. Sweet Charity has some favourite show stopping musical numbers that you will know the words to including  If They Could See Me Now, (Hey) Big Spender! and The Rhythm of Life and some less familiar numbers that deserve to be better known. The jazz dance style of the show is classic Fosse with those now familiar elements of bowler hatted  dancers  with lots of shoulder rolls, knees, elbows, and wrists bent at unlikely angles. Expect syncopated rhythms, lots of toe tapping, finger clicking and pelvic thrusts. This is the original that shows like Chicago built their dance style on. And this production really does it justice! Click here to view the embedded video. History of the Show Sweet Charity is based on Federico Fellini’s screenplay for Nights of Cabiria. The show was choreographed and conceived by Bob Fosse, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon. The original production directed by Fosse opened on January 29, 1966 on Broadway at the Palace Theatre, and ran for 608 performances. Nominated for 12 Tony Awards the show only won  for Fosse’s choreography. The 1969 film version of Sweet Charity  (which I love!) was also directed and choreographed by Fosse. It starred Shirley MacLaine as Charity Hope Valentine and until recently I thought hers was the definitive Charity. Tamzin Outhwaite does a brilliant job of making the part and especially  If They Could See Me Now her own. Sweet Charity Theatre Breaks As yet (April 15th) Show and Stay do not seem to have theatre breaks to Sweet Charity available on the site. They do suggest that breaks will soon be available with prices starting from £113 per person. TheatreBreaks.com also have the show on their site but are not showing any performances as available Superbreaks does have availability and prices start from £109 per person. You could also try a build your own theatre break. UKTickets have tickets from £31 per person during previews rising to £42 in May. a

The search for the perfect Dorothy for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s forthcoming production of the Wizard of Oz continued in Over the Rainbow this weekend. The latest hopeful to hand back her silver shoes (don’t get me started on how weird that is!) was Bronte Barbe. I felt really sorry for her as she’d obviously not expected to go out so early. I thought she was a good bet for the top 5 (so did ALW!) but the public vote disagreed. Bronte Barbe Bronte comes from Macclesfield, a quiet, sensible town at the edge of the Peak District. It’s not quite Kansas but I expect it sometimes feels like it to someone like Bronte! She lives there with her Mum, sister and dog.  She’s only 18 and she’d been working as a volunteer teacher at her former dance school before the show.  She does have some amateur musical theatre experience and she’s got her Grade 8. I think she’ll do well and she could have been Dorothy. Over the Rainbow Show 5 put an end to Bronte’s Dreams of the Emerald City One not quite brilliant performance of K.T. Tunstall’s Suddenly I See and Bronte was doomed to be in the bottom two. I thought quite a few of the Dorothys were on dodgy ground on Saturday night’s show. The producers had given them all songs that went against type. Some of the girls pulled it off but I agreed with the public vote that both Bronte and Lauren struggled. I though Sophie struggled even more than either of them though so I was surprised that she survived. Steph on the other hand was a revelation singing “It’s So Quiet” she seemed to finally get her R&B warbling under control and give us a real musical theatre number. Very nice! Not sure she’s Dorothy but still, very nice. So why did ALW save Lauren? He said it was down to experience and Lauren is 22 against Bronte’s 18. However I also think Lauren has a stronger voice. She might even be Dorothy  if she can just stop mugging to the camera! Goodbye Bronte Click here to view the embedded video. My Favourites for Dorothy My favourites at the moment, in no particular order (where did I get that idea from?) are: Jenny Douglas – Good voice & full of life and devilment. Danielle Hope – Reasonable voice, good stage presence. A strong dancer she has that adolescent quality that Dorothy will need. Dani Rayner – Lovely voice, looks the part, just a bit worried about her acting skills and very young at only 16. And almost any of the others – it is as they say, all to play for, and the standard is so high that one slip can be fatal. I’d feel sorry for them but I know how well many previous losers have done! Talent won’t be ignored and for some of them not being Dorothy might be the best career move they’ll ever make! Bronte would make a smashing Glinda

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The search for Dorothy Over the Rainbow continues Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for Dorothy this Easter weekend. By Sunday night we will know which girl will go home and definitely not be Dorothy. While we wait for that result I thought I’d take a look at the panel of judges, tell you a bit more about each of them and explain why they are uniquely qualified to help choose Dorothy. Charlotte Church I suppose most of us know who Charlotte Church is, or at least think we do. After all some of us remember her first TV appearance with Richard and Judy. On that occasion she was a child with an amazing voice who sang Pie Jesu down a phone line because her aunt had rung in to Good Morning. Charlotte Church We watched her grow up and for a while turn into  a bit of a wild child. Well, she’s moved on somewhat since that. Although she doesn’t have any musical theatre experience there is a lot she could teach the Dorothies. She’s a very good technical singer with a deep understanding of how voices work. She also seems to be quite good at explaining to the girls which aspects of their singing they need to work on. John Partridge John Partridge We  all know John Partridge best these days from his soap career as a member of the EastEnders cast but he has a long history in musical theatre. John was a member of the touring cast of Cats in 1988 at the tender age of 17 so he understands some of what the younger Dorothies are going to face. Then much later he starred in the West End production of Cats first as Rum Tum Tugger and later as Mukustrap. He also played Rum Tum Tugger in the film. John has also played lead roles in Starlight Express, Miss Saigon and Rent. He’s bringing this depth of musical theatre experience to the panel  and giving the girls quite detailed feedback on their performances. Sheila Hancock Sheila Hancock What to say about a trouper like Sheila Hanock? She’s a gifted and intelligent actress who also sings. She has  an impressive depth of knowledge and experience in the theatre.  Her list of theatrical credits would take up the whole page! An alumnus of Joan Littlewood’s famous Theatre Workshop, Sheila has been treading the West End stage since 1958. She’s currently appearing in Sister Act as the Mother Superior and still enthralling audiences. The best thing about her in this context though is that she can  and does clearly and precisely tell the girls how to improve their performances. Dorothies or Dorothys? I’m torn. Should it be ‘Dorothies‘ or ‘Dorothys’. I’ve checked and that august organ the BBC uses Dorothys. I was always taught that proper nouns (names etc.) that ended in ‘y’ took ’s’ for their plural form.  but my co-writer here, and editor, Andy prefers Dorothies. Which of us is correct? Do you know? a

Recommending Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks Love Never Dies is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s not exactly  sequel to Phantom of the Opera. I saw it in previews, liked it very much but was not quite ready to recommend it for theatre breaks fans. I wanted to see if the show settled down and to let ‘his Lordship’ make the inevitable changes a preview period brings. Now the show has settled and people are happily booking their Love Never Dies theatre breaks and having a great time. ** Book Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks ** The Story of Love Never Dies Set on Coney Island, New York some 10 years after the events of Phantom, Love Never Dies is a more grown-up story of love. It has lost some of the teenage fascination with the Gothic that is such a huge part of the power of Phantom and in its place there is a much more human set of characters. There are plenty of places online where you can find a synopsis of the story but my advice is to go to the show without any preconceptions and enjoy it for what it is, a powerful piece of theatre, full of spectacle and gorgeous music. Love Never Dies  Music I just adored the music. Some people thought there were not enough memorable tunes but my house rang to much whistling and humming for days after we saw the show. I think the music is more interesting and I actually enjoyed it more than Phantom (gasp!).  Speaking of the gorgeous music just listen to the divine voice of Sierra Boggess: Click here to view the embedded video. Oh and how about the utterly wonderful Ramin Karimloo: Click here to view the embedded video. And that’s without mentioning the great performance of Summer Strallen as Meg Girey! Love Never Dies theatre stage set I thought the set was mostly wonderful. There’s good use of back projection and special effects but it’s the Art Nouveau aspects that just blew me away. Some of the sets looked like exquisite pieces of Art Nouveau jewelry or spectacular Tiffany lampshades. At times I was reminded of the film set of Moulin Rouge, but then I loved that too! It made a wonderful backdrop for the passionate story. A big question:  One show or two? I know people were worried that they haven’t seen Phantom and would find it hard to follow the story. In our party we had someone who had never seen Phantom and she said that within the first ten minutes she had worked out enough to make sense of what was happening. She didn’t feel that not knowing the back story spoiled her enjoyment at all. Having read all the fuss about certain bloggers and forums I think there have been more problems with the devoted ‘Phans’. They’ve had to let go of their preconceptions about what the Phantom could be like and his relationship to Christine. People were too quick to judge a show that was still being ‘tweaked’ and seem to have forgotten that Phantom had its share of problems when it opened. I’ve seen both shows and I think the ideal solution is a double show theatre break. No one is offering one yet but there are rumblings from one or two of the agencies. Never fear as soon as they are available I’ll let you know! ** Book Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks ** a

My tip for theatre breaks in London in 2010 is going to be for, “Love Never Dies”, the Phantom of the Opera sequel. We don’t know all that much about it yet, but that doesn’t matter, even this early. We know the pedigree behind it, with Andrew Lloyd Webber in charge and a whole string of hit musicals behind him, but that’s not the clincher. Theatre breaks in london Anybody who has been up to London on a special trip just to see The Phantom of the Opera will be wanting to see what happens next, and that’s where Love Never Dies theatre breaks in London will pick up a certain number of devotees but there’s more. There are two books which Phantom fans may have come across. One by the original author of the novel upon which phantom the musical was based, ( that one is also called “Love Never Dies”) and a later novel by Frederick Forsyth called “The Phantom of Manhattan”.
Where I think this new musical is going to make sure of its own survival in London theatreland though, is in having Ben Elton write the playscript. Elton is the comedian, comedy writer and novelist who is behind the storyline in “We Will Rock You” which is another of the longest running West End musicals, and a long term favourite for theatre breaks in London, not just for the great classic rock songs by Queen. So with a host of talented established musical theatre stars lined up for a possible three instances of Love Never Dies worldwide, with the experience of the management, talent of the writers and the following of Phantom to build on, I can’t see Love Never Dies failing to make a permanent marl on the London theatre breaks scene.

Musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd-Webber has railed against the internet broadband suppliers in the House of Lords for profiting from customers who share digital music - so called internet piracy, and urged the government to clamp down hard. What I Think I don’t mind a bit of eccentricity but LLoyd Webber is braying like a dinosaur at the small and furry ones. He’s desperate to preserve something called “The music Industry” at a time when the number of people who have access to the means to create music and reach new audiences has massively multiplied. But these are not the kind of ‘creatives’ he’s interested in, only the industrial megastars with their sanitised overproduced market segment targeted version of music. His argument that without the contrived scarcity of monopolistic media industry giants generating profits for shareholders and large numbers of managers and marketers, then creative people would simply stop creating is clearly nonsense.
Lloyd-Webber said investment in higher speed broadband networks should be delayed until “there is a sustainable commercial arrangement for those creative works on which these new networks depend”, suggesting unregulated higher bandwidth would mean the film industry would suffer the same fate as the record business. He wants to maintain a system which means that a very small number of manufactured “Stars” generate the lion’s share of the income so that the old fashioned media industries and all their hangers-on can continue to enjoy their lifestyles off the back of a restricted set of safe and successful artists. He’s using his position in the unelected House of Lords to urge The government to put try to put the internet genie back into a bottle, to stop a whole generation of people who have grown up with technology, from applying their own innovations and using the social media freely as a they have become accustomed to do so.
He might as well have been speaking at the annual dinner of the flat earth society. The record industry has contracted largely due to its own inability to adapt to the changes in business model which the new media enables. Trying to slap government restrictions onto the digital peer to peer channels is like trying to prop up the hot metal print industry long after digital desktop publishing has been invented. Did the art of creative writing die and all the writers stop writing when the old system was replaced? No, they adapted and prospered and so will the songwriters, musicians and creative entertainers find new and different ways to earn a living in the digital age, it’s just that the shape of the pyramid structure that grew around the old system might have to change somewhat.

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