On Tuesday Nov 3rd 2009 many West End Musicals favourites will be helping light up the city as part of the switch on of London’s Christmas lights. At 3 main venues in the centre of London stars from major productions will be involved in the switch on. Sister Act – Oxford Circus It’s the 50th Anniversary of the Christmas lights in Oxford St and the Sister Act cast will be there in force to make sure the ceremony goes with a swing. The switch will be flicked by Jim Carey (no really, Truman himself!),  the girl group The Saturdays, Taio Cruz will also entertain the crowds. Sister Act Oliver! – Regent St Oliver! star Jodie Prenger and the London Community Gospel Choir will be at Regent St. Colin Firth (down girls!) will be doing the switch on. The Noisettes and  Daniel Merriweather will also be performing. Jodie Prenger as Nancy in Oliver Hairspray – St Paul’s Cathedral The cast of Hairspray will be at St Paul’s Cathedral, along with Spandau Ballet, Little Boots, St Paul’s Cathedral Choir and Bob Hoskins doing the honours. St Paul's Cathederal, London More stars will no doubt soon be announced and I’ll keep you posted here on the Theatre Breaks blog a

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I expect everyone has heard the sad news of the untimely death of Stephen Gately. Stephen Gately was probably best known as a leading member  of the boyband Boyzone. He went on to  star in the West End and in touring productions of several musicals. He took the lead in Bill Kenwright’s production of Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the New London Theatre in 2003. He later went on to play the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2004. He’ll probably be best remembered for singing the lead vocals on “No Matter What,” a song taken from the score to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s  ill fated musical Whistle Down the Wind.

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Peter Townsend of The Who has written anther rock musical. This one isn’t about growing up but rather about growing old. The musical is called Floss and tells the story of an ageing pub rocker and relationship with his wife. Songs from the show will appear on the next Who album. Townsend is said to be in talks for a US opening in 2011. He says he wants to tackle the issues the Baby Boomers are facing as they realise they didn’t die before they got old. The music will reflect the anger and disillusionment of this newly retired generation. Meanwhile that other Townsend offering, Quadrophenia continues its UK tour.

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West End Live 2009 will take place on Saturday the 20th (11am to 6pm) and Sunday the 21st of June (12noon to 6pm). The venue will be Leicester Square. This is the 5th annual West End Live and promises to be even bigger and better than last year’s extravaganza. Although there’s no official running order or confirmations yet it seems likely we can expect to see performances from new shows like Priscilla and SIster Act as well as several of the more established favourites. As ever there will be some extracts from new off West End shows as well. As soon as I hear what the running order will be I’ll post it here so you can plan your trip to be sure of seeing favourites. I really want to see Sister Act! West End Live 2008 Last year’s West End Live was fantastic and well worth putting up with the crowds.

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Serious drama is the new black Writing in the Evening Standard Nicholas Hytner makes a ‘confident prediction’. He says: the hot tickets in London this summer will be for Shakespeare, Chekhov and Racine. He suggests there’s serious hunger amongst the theatre audience for more complex plays. He goes on to say: Over the next few months, sold out houses, a thousand strong, will discover again that honesty, intelligence and nobility of mind can be a crippling handicap (Hamlet). That the destruction of a decayed old order is necessary and absolutely heart-breaking (The Cherry Orchard). That obsessive love is an affliction that can turn a woman into a stalker (All’s Well That Ends Well) or prompt her to accuse an innocent young man of rape (Phedre) - but that in both cases the audience will stay with her, will not easily condemn, will not turn tabloid editor and cry witch. I can’t disagree with any of that. They are all productions that I’d love to see. Rich, complex, serious drama. And there is an audience for it. Those productions, in the main, sell out before most of that potential audience can even book seats. He’s not saying the West End musicals are dead. He’s being much more subtle than that. His point seems to be that the London theatre can both celebrate and satirise ‘pop culture’. I think he might be saying that we can have our ‘jukebox’, feel-good, musicals so long as they come with a suitable spoon full of self-awareness and make us think, as well as sing. It will become part of a London theatre that is thriving because it provides escape, because it both satirises and embraces a debased popular culture. But above all, because it is serious. And it turns out that serious is what the public wants. What do you want? I hate to point out the obvious but Nicholas Hytner is Director of the National Theatre. To an extent he has to believe serious drama is what the public wants. So it’s over to you, dear reader, what is it that you want? More serious drama? Or more fluff like Legally Blonde? (Oh and please, don’t try to persuade me it’s making a serious feminist point!)

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I’ve found a great new free way to listen to original cast recordings of lots of musicals on my computer. Right now I’m enjoying Zorro! Spotify is a legal way to listen to music online either for free (with occasional ads) or if you pay for premium it’s ad free. Spotify is sort of like radio on demand. It’s a streaming service so you can’t store the music on your computer or transfer it to an MP3 player but it’s good enough to listen to music whilst working on your computer. You can make up your own playlists and share them with friends. The service pays a small fee to access the songs legally so it’s perfectly ok to use. You have to download the software onto your computer but it’s really easy. Cast recordings on Spotify They are adding stuff all the time so it’s worthwhile searching. So far I’ve managed to find: Avenue Q Chicago (1997 version with Ruthie Henshall) Godspell Hairspray Les Miserables (several versions) Jersey Boys (Broadway Cast) Joseph (various) Mamma Mia! Phantom of the Opera (various cast recordings) Spring Awakening Zorro! They are lots more - so I hope you enjoy Spotify.

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We Will Rock You We Will Rock You - Original Cast Recording Next week’s Mail on Sunday is giving away a free CD. It has 10 classic Queen Tracks sung by the band, including Freddy Mercury. It also has 4 bonus tracks from the original London cast recording: Bonus tracks from the London cast recording of We Will Rock You

Somebody To Love (Live) I Want To Break Free (Live) A Kind Of Magic (Live) No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young) (Live)

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Connie Fisher Connie Fisher has cancelled her forthcoming UK tour due to throat surgery. Sadly Connie who won How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? to star in The Sound of Music is to have surgery on her vocal chords  to save her professional career. Connie,who is only 25 years old, has just been diagnosed with condition known as congenital fusion anomalies. This is a birth defect which is not uncommon in the general population but extremely rare in professional singers. According to walesonline.com a consultant ear nose and throat surgeon Jonathan Osborne, described the operation as “very delicate”. “I do not know of Connie’s personal medical details but I’ve performed similar operations on the vocal chords and this can be very difficult. The problem is caused by a web of tissue that crosses the gap between the two sides of the vocal chords. This can be removed but there is a chance of it reforming. “In severe cases if this tissue is left it can cause breathing difficulties but after surgery at least three months of voice rest is needed. I wish Connie well.” A spokesperson from Connie’s management team said: “Connie is obviously very disappointed and upset she will not be able to do the concert tour, but we wish her a full recovery. “Connie’s condition was diagnosed in March following a smaller operation but she was told last week she needed an urgent operation to have any chance to perform again. “Connie’s doctor has advised her that the situation she finds herself in has been with her from birth. Effectively how Connie Fisher has ended up having a singing career is nothing short of a miracle. “Connie is obviously very disappointed and upset she is not able to do the concert tour, but we wish her a full recovery.” Connie had on-going problems with her voice during her time as Maria in The Sound of Music which she finally left in February 2008. Her plan was to pursue a solo singing career and she was due to return to the role for a UK tour starting in July. We’d like to wish her a speedy recovery.

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Brian Conley will take over as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, currently running at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre, according today’s Daily Mail. Conley will take over from Michael Ball on July 27 2009. Michael Ball says that the show “has without doubt been one of the happiest and most fulfilling experiences of my professional life.”

Brian Conley started out at Pontin’s and used to be warm-up man for Terry Wogan, Noel Edmonds and Kenny Everett. Since then he’s gone on to have his own TV shows “Brian Conley: This Way Up” and “The Brian Conley Show,. He’s probably best known for presenting The National Lottery Show Live. His West End credits include ‘Me and My Girl’ where he took the lead role of Bill Snibson in the Adelphi Theatre production. More recently he played Caractacus Potts in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” at the London Palladium in 2005.

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Wicked has a new Wicked Witch of the East, Natalie Anderson (best known for her appearances on ITV in The Royal) will take over the role in May. Natalie will play Nessarose, Elphaba’s a spoilt, wheelchair-bound, younger sister. Nessarose grows up to be the witch who’s flattened under Dorothy’s house in The Wizard of Oz. Natalie’s first lead role was in Alice In Wonderland at Bradford Playhouse, aged 12. She was working on a film called Freight when she was offered the Wicked role. “My agent rang saying I’d got an audition in London,” she said. “I went down and they asked me back next day. It happened so fast and because I was busy filming I had hardly any time to prepare. I was learning my lines on the train! I hadn’t even seen the show when I auditioned, but I’ve seen it since. It’s amazing.” Best known as Nurse Stella Davenport in The Royal,Natalie left the show last year.She launched her singing career after quite recently with the release of her debut album, Return to Me.

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Mathew Horne and Imelda Staunton are both to return to the cast of Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Trafalgar Studios tonight. The production has only one week left in its run. Both actors have been absent with a virus after Mathew Horne collapsed on stage last week. Horne was initially believed to have collapsed due to overwork but then his co-star also became ill.

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Moonshadow, the Cat Stevens musical will not open at Royal & Derngate, Northampton in July as originally planned. The producers blamed their inability to find a West End venue to transfer to and say that the musical will go straight to the West End instead. In a statement they said: “A West End venue is still hoped to be secured for an autumn 2009 opening at which point the production will open directly into London. The creative and design process will continue so that the production is ready to be mounted as soon as a West End theatre becomes available.”

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Spring Awakening will transfer from The Lyric, Hammersmith (until March 14th 2009) to the Novello Theatre . Previews will be at the Novello from March 21st with an opening night on March 26th. Spring Awakening is booking until October 31st in the first instance. Video Extract of Spring Awakening

Looks good, doesn’t it? The show has had some critics complaining about the level of sex and violence so it’s not for everyone, perhaps. The Story of Spring Awakening Spring Awakening tells the story of three school friends as they move into adulthood. Melchior is a brilliant student whose best friend is the troubled youth Moritz, and Wendla is a beautiful teenage girl. All three are on the verge of discovering who they are and experiencing sexual awakening. Based on a play by Frank Wedekind Spring Awakening is full of repressed emotion and not so repressed adolescent passion. The Cast of Spring Awakening The young British cast range in age from 16 -24 Aneurin Barnard -Melchior Lucy Barker -Ilse Natasha Barnes -Anna Chris Barton - Swing Jamie Blackley -Hanschen Hayley Gallivan - Martha Evelyn Hoskins -Thea Edd Judge - Otto Harry McEntire -Ernst Iwan Rheon -Moritz Jos Slovick-Georg Charlotte Wakefield - Wendla Swing (alternate cast members) Natalie Garner -swing Mona Goodwin -swing Jamie Muscato - swing Gemma O’Duffy -swing Richard Southgate -swing Sian Thomas and Richard Cordery play all the adult roles and are understudied by Andrew McDonald and Yvonne O’Grady Director Michael Mayer Choreographer Bill T. Jones. Just to remind you from March 21st the Novello Theatre in London’s West End will be the new home of Spring Awakening.

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