We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre is one of the most popular shows ever for theatre breaks in London. Monday 5th November would have been Freddie Mercury’s sixty fifth birthday and the We Will Rock You venue intends to celebrate by recreating Freddy’s 40th, when he threw a Summer Tea Party and told everyone to wear a hat. The theatre will open between 12pm and 5pm with a foyer full of  garden furniture and sell cakes for charity. Hats optional. Also on the same day, Mercury Phoenix Trust organises “Freddie For A Day” to raise money to fight HIV/aids. The trust encourages people to get sponsored by dressing up as Freddie himself. Freddie was known for his flamboyant clothing: sparkly leotards, drag-costume, and he sometimes took the stage with a crown and sceptre. Fittingly there are prizes for Best Costume and Freddie in Most Original Location. For more information visit freddieforaday.com   We Will Rock You - Freddy Mercury More about Freddy Mercury and We Will Rock You :

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the 5th of September 1946 in Zanzibar. He died on 24th November 1991 in London, one day after having announced he had AIDS. Liz Swanton, web editor of the Mercury Phoenix Trust set up to fight HIV/Aids created Freddie For A Day.  She dressed up once, raised £1200 and the next year it was a global phenomenon. BBC 6’s Shaun Keaveny is also taking part by growing a moustache he has christened the Bulsara. In New York, bartenders of the Mesa Coyoacan have created the Mercury Margarita and anyone who buys one gets a free Freddie moustache! The Dominion Theatre, where musical We Will Rock You is staged, will recreate Freddie’s 40th Birthday, when he threw a Summer Tea Party and told everyone to wear a hat. The theatre will open between 12pm and 5pm with a foyer full of  garden furniture and sell cakes for charity. Hats optional.

Book We Will Rock You Theatre Breaks in London

New Year Theatre Breaks 2010 New Years Eve Theatre Breaks - Big Ben New Year theatre breaks are a great way to bring in the new decade. As it falls on a Friday night this year lots of shows have performances on New Year’s Eve and London is, of course, a fantastic place to be on such an important night. I’ll go through each of the shows, suggest some central hotels, cover some of the great things on in the city centre after the shows close, and suggest some things to do on New Year’s Day. Shows for New Year Theatre Breaks All the following shows have  performances  on New Year’s Eve 2010 . As of today these all still have some tickets, many only as part of theatre break packages. They are going fast so if you want a New Year’s Eve Theatre Break act now. Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break Musicals: Billy Elliot Blood Brothers Chicago Dirty Dancing Jersey Boys Legally Blonde Les Miserables Mamma Mia Matilda, A Musical Oliver! (Matinee only) Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Lion King The Phantom of the Opera Thriller Live We Will Rock You Wicked Plays: Deathtrap The 39 Steps When We Are Married Woman in Black Yes, Prime Minister Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break Hotels for New Year’s Eve Theatre Breaks You really want to be central to make the most of being in the capital at New Year.  I’ve seen quite a few locally organised breaks advertised where they whisk you back to an out of town hotel for a celebration after the show. This is fine but it does mean you miss out on the fun and excitement of Big Ben’s chimes and the magnificent fireworks displays. To me this is part of why you’ve come to the capital. To miss out on it stuck out of the city, no matter how nice your hotel, would be a shame. I’ll explain more about the fireworks and the New Year’s Day Parade later in the post. Ideally you want your hotel to be in the central area, say not more than 1 mile from the theatre. Sounds expensive? Actually surprisingly not too bad. I looked at good tickets for Phantom of the Opera and 2 nights and found I could get a 3* very central hotel for £250ish per person.  This isn’t much different to a normal weekend rate. New Year Theatre Breaks by Rail Advice – Come By Rail if You Possible Can This is one weekend you do not want to have a car in central London. Really, it’s better to come by rail usually anyway but New Year sees vast numbers of road closures and a car is really going to cramp your style. The theatre breaks agencies usually allow you to include your train tickets and can save you up to 40% on the normal price. After the Show – the fireworks. You won’t get out of the theatre in time to grab a prime position for the displays. They will all be filled by about 10pm. However, no need to despair. Wrap up warm and get yourself to a spot where you can see the London Eye and you will be able to see a really spectacular show. The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast down the length of the river and then the display starts. If you prefer you can head for Trafalgar  Square. There are no events planned but there is a huge screen which will relay the countdown and chimes and then show the fireworks. Just try to keep out of the fountain! No, really, it’s a really bad idea. Once it’s over you can smugly watch everyone head for the overcrowded tube as you stroll back to your cosy central hotel. By the way alcohol is not prohibited in the centre of London on New Year’s Eve so if you did happen to have a hip flask with you it might be a very nice way to bring in the New Year! New Year’s Day Parade After a full English breakfast, ( see hip flask above!) and a gentle potter round the hotel it’s time to head off for the parade. This has become a really fun event. It starts at 12 and goes on till 3. This year is the 25th anniversary of the parade and it looks set to be an extra special one. There are numerous marching bands, floats and performances. You can get a taster of it from this video: Click here to view the embedded video. Ideally why not book tickets for one of the grandstands. They are not too expensive with even the V.I.P. one at Whitehall only costing £20 each. These give you the best view of the parade. Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break New Year Theatre Breaks was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

The best theatre breaks deal this month is with Show&Stay. From now (August) until September 21st you can choose from 13 of the top shows in  a free hotel package. Prices start from just £50 per person including your hotel, and they are good tickets too! Shows The following shows are included in the offer but act fast as some of these will go quickly:

All the Fun of the Fair Blood Brothers Billy Elliot Burn the Floor Chicago Dirty Dancing Dreamboats and Petticoats Grease (with Lauren Samuels, Over the Rainbow runner-up) Hair Jersey Boys Sweet Charity Sister Act (with Whoopi Goldberg!) We Will Rock You

Find out more The free hotel room offer is available for booking until 21st September. Upgrades One of the best things about this offer is that you can upgrade to a 4* central hotel from just a tenner each! Buy two theatre tickets for any show in the offer and enjoy a 4-star hotel stay from just £10pp The other great upgrade is  that you can stay an extra night from just £30 per person. This gives you the chance to see some great shows and have a mini-holiday at a very reasonable price. Here’s that link again: Check if your dates are available

Theatre Breaks with Free Hotel Offer was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

The search for Dorothy The BBC show Over the Rainbow quickly narrowed the field from 20 hopeful Dorothys down to 10 this week. I watched the show with Andy, my co-writer  here and author of the Wizard of Oz London blog. The girls worked in 5 groups of 4 and each group faced the judges twice. The groups each sang a pop song and then met with some of our favourite West End leading ladies to work on a show song. First I’ll go through my impressions of how they got on and then I’ll share some video of the show and tell you what I thought of each of the final 10 potential Dorothys. Tamzin Outhwaite – Sweet Charity Song:If They Could See Me Now It was hard to focus on the group whilst they were with Tamzin, the camera undoubtedly loves her. She gave them some good advice and some of this group worked really well. It’s such a classic song in a way this group had an easier time than some. Having said that I was impressed.  Dorothy might just be in this group. After the group sang ALW made Tamzin blush by saying how fabulous he thought she is in Sweet Charity. Sheridan Smith – Legally Blond Song: Legally Blond Sheridan Smith was funny and helpful and I thought her group would do well. Legally Blond isn’t an easy song, and though the group were OK they were a bit stiff. A couple of them still might be Dorothy. Kerry Ellis – We Will Rock You Song: Somebody to Love Despite excellent advice from Kerry this group didn’t do very well. They found the rock number tricky. Although they did their best it was obvious that some of them struggled with the rock format. Ruthie Henshall – Chicago Song: All That Jazz Ruthie was divine, of course. Full of good advice she guided them through their song. It is a deceptively easy song that relies heavily on good timing and they made quite a success of it. Her group were also probably the best dancers. Dorothy might be in this group. Mel C – Blood Brothers Song: Tell Me It’s Not True This group were totally in awe of meeting a Spice Girl but she soon put them at their ease. She told her group to keep their song ’small’, they did. It’s a sad and difficult song and the best I can say is that it was OK. One of them forgot what the song was about and kept grinning. Understandable given the pressure but not good. Having said all that one member of this group really caught my eye as a potential Dorothy The final 10 +1 The format is that the judges picked their 10 with the ‘help’ of ALW. Click here to view the embedded video. So the final 10 are…. Danielle Hope, 17, from Manchester I quite like Danielle. I think she’ll do well but I’m not sure she’s right for Dorothy. Amy Diamond, 22, from Cheshire Oh dear. I’m sure she’s got a great voice and is talented but er, she’s too grown up to be Dorothy. She’s a woman and she will have to be an amazing actress to make me believe she is a child. Lauren Samuels, 22, from London Again, lovely and talented but not maybe not Dorothy. I might be wrong and I would like to see more of her. Bronte Barbe, 18, from Cheshire She’s definitely got some sort of charisma, nice voice but I’m just not sure. Need to see more of her. Jenny Douglas, 18, from Scotland Not bad at all, she stood out in what was not that strong a group. I’m not sure what her dancing is like and we’re told they need a Dorothy that can dance as well as sing. Steph Fearon, 21, from London Good voice, tended to be a little bit too R&B sometimes. She’s a possible I think if they really are looking for a different Dorothy. Dani Rayner, 16, from Cheshire Youngest in the competition Dani really could be Dorothy. AWL likes her, she’s got a great voice and she seems to be a good actress. I was impressed. Sophie Evans, 17, from Wales As Andy (my co-writer and Wizard of Oz London blog) said “She’s Welsh, of course she can sing” . He’s right and I think she can act a bit too. I’d like her to do well but I’m not sure about the dancing … Stephanie Davis, 17, from Merseyside Very pretty, she’d make a charming Dorothy. I’d like to see more of her acting though. Jessica Robinson, 18, from Middlesborough Great face, something of the Liza Minnelli there. Little bit gawky and awkward in the pop song but she was totally at home in her show tune. She could be Dorothy.. And the wild card….. I wonder who you think should make it through? Then the other 10 sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow so the public could decide who they wanted to bring back: Click here to view the embedded video. Personally I liked Sarah but I think they are all really talented and, though they may not be Dorothy, we haven’t seen the last of any of them. Of course we’re in the world of social media now so you can follow the remaining Dorothys’ adventures on twitter -  @overtherainbow or on Facebook and catch up on any shows you miss on the Over the Rainbow Youtube channel or on iPlayer. If you just want a quick catch-up I think Andy will be doing that on the Wizard of Oz London blog So who do you think will be Dorothy? a

Wicked is continuing to build after its most successful year ever and is bringing in not one but two new witches! Current witches Alexia Khadime (Elphaba) and Dianne Pilkington (Glinda) leave the show on a record breaking high note and will play their final performances on Saturday 27 March 2010. Bound to be a very emotional evening! (If you want tickets for this one you must act fast – Click through to see if there are Wicked theatre breaks available for Alexia and Diane’s final performance. By the way there’s a Free Hotel Offer on weekday Wicked Theatre Breaks until the end of March) Wicked

Rachel Tucker as Elphaba I’m a big fan of Rachel Tucker. I thought she had a great voice when she was in I’d Do Anything and I absolutely loved her in We Will Rock You. She was playing Meat the night I saw her but I believe she made a great success of the lead role, Scaramouche, on the few occasions she got to play it. Rachel will join Wicked as the new Elphaba and I can’t wait to hear her sing “Defying Gravity”. The voice and the song should combine beautifully and give us yet another interpretation of a great standard. So as one Nancy (Jodie) bows out the West End will see another graduate of the I’d Do Anything programme take centre stage. Perhaps this will convince the critics that reality casting shows do actually uncover worthwhile talent. Don’t hold your breath! Like Kerry Ellis, a previous much loved Elphaba, Rachel will bring her own loyal fan base to the show and no doubt to this post. Hi all
Oz Trivia – Rachel is no stranger to Oz having played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. Louise Dearman as Glinda Louise joins the cast of Wicked as Glinda. She’s been widely acclaimed in her lead role in the touring production of Evita. It will be interesting to see what she makes of the role of Glinda and how she stamps her own personality on it. Louise’s voice is described by her agents as: pure, melting soprano voice, with a surprisingly strong belt. Having listened to a sample I have to agree, lovely! But don’t just rely on my judgment have a listen for yourself:

Book Wicked Theatre Breaks a

Related posts:Alexia Khadime in Wicked Theatre Breaks New Wicked Cast but Without Desmond Barrit Wicked Theatre Breaks – the new cast

Theatre Breaks Roundup for 2009 Winter 2009 is here and I’m just wondering what sort of a year this has been for theatre breaks. There’s been a recent survey that assures us reality TV has actually boosted ticket sales. The  box offices are claiming the credit crunch has had little effect on bookings with theatre usually full. So what’s been the reality? Theatre Breaks Shows In terms of shows one or two have closed early but the old favourites like We Will Rock You carry on. Avenue Q was saved from oblivion by popular demand and has moved to a new theatre. The Lion King is as popular as ever and proudly boasts that it is so well booked that it has NEVER released tickets to the reduced ticket agencies. Some good shows reached the end of their natural life and wonderful though Spamalot was it really was time for it to say goodbye. It’s been replaced by Priscilla and that has been a fair swap. Carousel never really quite hit the spot and its closure wasn’t any great surprise. It was sad to see the end of Cabaret and a shame they couldn’t take a leaf out of Chicago’s book and find a constant stream of new familiar faces to keep us going back.  Joseph went too and no doubt was mourned by thousands of Lee Mead fans but it was another one that seemed ready to go. No doubt it will be back someday. One show I thought should have done better was Spring Awakening, which I just loved. All that energy and a theatre full of young people the night we went. I felt positively ancient, and that’s a good thing! (honest!)

Oliver has of course been a total triumph with Jodie Prenger making a real name for herself. Who would have thought she’d still be there doing 8 shows a week nearly a year later? What a star. I saw her at West End live this year and she has a super voice and a lovely stage presence. She managed to upstage Christopher Biggins, to great comic effect and that takes some talent for comedy! I think we’ll see more of Jodie once she moves on but for now she seems happy where she is. She’s on her 3rd Fagin and this is the one I’d really like to see. I think Griff Reese Jones will make a great Fagin and be well worth seeing. Hairspray has seen some major changes with the departure of Micheal Ball. Still Phil Jupitus is doing a grand job and Brain Connely was very well received in the part. I wonder how long Micheal will stay away, I’m sure I heard somewhere that he’s thinking of coming back to Edna. We hope! Wicked is going from strength to strength and is the most popular musical at this witchy time of year. Kerry Ellis is just a distant memory now and Alexia Kadhim has made her own interpretation of Elphaba. I think she has a lovely voice, quite different to Kerry’s but wonderful all the same: Click here to view the embedded video. New shows coming in include Legally Blonde which I was less than keen on when first announced. Since then I’ve had a good look at the videos on youtube and listened to the cast recordings and I might just change my mind. It might be fun and has the sort of casting that makes me want to see it. What to say about Love Never Dies (apart from “I can’t wait!!”)? Well it’s definitely going to be a huge event and it should be a spectacular in the best Lloyd Webber tradition. The Coney Island setting should give it a great atmosphere, you know how creepy fairgrounds can be. We’ve all seen Scoobydoo   It’s got two fabulous stars in Sarah Boggess and Ramin Karimloo (I’ve been doing this so long I can now spell these names without flinching!) In the next part of this series of posts I’ll look at the travel aspects and prospects for theatre breaks in London 2010. a

Related posts:Alexia Khadime in Wicked Theatre BreaksJodie Prenger at West End LiveJersey Boys Theatre Breaks

Here’s the short Theatre Breaks in London Movie made up by capturing some live spontaneous dialogue about going on theatre breaks to London, transcribing the words into text then animating with some clever software to produce a movie for the theatre breaks channel on youTube

In the video, a couple are discussing what to at the weekend and starting to make plans for a theatre break in London before going online to make the booking. The musicals considered are Mamma Mia! and We Will Rock You

We Will Rock You at West End

We Will Rock You theatre breaks

We Will Rock You on the Alan Titchmarsh Show

We Will Rock You on the Alan Titchmarsh Show

Well it’s Saturday night and West End Live is half way through. There were some great shows on today in Leicester Square all to promote the West End and provide some free entertainment for the London crowd at the same time. Highlights sp far have been a good three song set from a big cast from We Will Rock You , always a high energy show, the lovely duet from The King And I and this performance from Jodie Prenger as Nancy from Oliver! who sang as if she thought she needed to win I’d do Anything all over again! Click here to view the embedded video. If you keep an eye on the Theatre Breaks youtube stream you’ll catch a glimpse of Patina Miller and sisters from Sister Act and also Jerry Springer in Chicago!

Related Posts:West End Live 2009 - latest confirmed showsOliver - Jodie Prenger wins I'd Do AnythingOliver! I'd Do AnythingOliver - Jodie gets two extra performances on a Saturday!Gone With the Wind - the costumesa Jodie Prenger at West End Live

West End Live 2009 Saturday 20th June 11.05 Hairspray 11.15 Been So Long 11.30 Wicked 11.40 Dirty Dancing 11.55 The King and I 12.05 Oliver! 12.15 Sister Act 12.25 We Will Rock You 12.45 Priscilla Queen of the Desert 12.50 Chicago 13.10 Jersey Boys 13.30 Thriller Live 13.50 Forbidden Broadway 14.05 The Sylvia Young Theatre School 14.25 The South Bank Centre presents ‘Tom Tom Crew’ 14.45 Little Big Club 15.10 So Jest End 15.25 Avenue Q 15.45 Zanna Don’t 16.05 The London Gay Men’s Chorus 16.30 Too Close to the Sun 16.50 Faithless Bitches 17.05 The KB Fusionnaires 17.45 La Cage Aux Folles 17.55 Stomp West End Live Sunday 21st June 12.00 Stomp 12.15 Little Big Club 12.35 West End Kids 12.55 Jersey Boys 13.15 Thriller Live 13.35 Noise Ensemble 13.55 Zanna Don’t 14.10 Honk! 14.20 SOLT – Competition 14.25 Royal Albert Hall presents ‘The Red Stripe Band’ 15.05 Chinatown Arts Space Presents ‘TheBathroomGirl’ 15.25 Bar Rumba presents ‘Salsateca’ 15.40 Players Theatre presents ‘Victorian Music Hall’ 15.55 National Youth Music Theatre 16.10 Lord Mayor of Westminster’s West End LIVE presentations 16.20 Octave8 presents ‘Yot.K’ 16.50 Dover Street Restaurant and Jazz Bar presents ‘The Blues Engineers’ 17.25 Ain’t Nothin But Blues Bar present the ‘West Western Bluesonics’

Related Posts:West End Live 2008 - running orderWest End Live 2009 - latest confirmed showsWest End LIVE 2008 - Theatre stars in Leicester SquareBrief Encounter - new dates announcedWest End Live 2009a West End Live 2009 Running Order

West End Live Quick Update Latest confirmed shows according to the official web site include: Avenue Q, Been So Long, La Cage Aux Folles, Carousel, Chicago, Dirty Dancing, Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Oliver!, Priscilla Queen of The Desert, Sister Act, Stomp, Thriller Live, Too Close To The Sun, We Will Rock You, Wicked OOh I can’t wait! It was great last year but this looks even better! Be there: Leicester Square on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of June 2009!

Related Posts:West End Live 2009Priscilla Queen of the Desert Cast - Zoe BirkettTheatre Breaks Unaffected by SnowWest End LIVE 2008 - Theatre stars in Leicester SquareWest End Live 2008 - running ordera West End Live 2009 - latest confirmed shows

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)

Related Posts:We Will Rock You breaks recordsWe Will Rock You - free hotel offerMARGUERITE The Original London Cast RecordingWe Will Rock You Theatre BreaksThriller Livea We Will Rock You - 4 free tracks

Fridays are a good choice for Theatre Breaks with Dinner and Hotel. Here’s why:

You can easily travel to London on a Friday afternoon Once you get to your hotel all you have to do is book in Go to you room to relax and freshen up Next stroll down to the hotel restaurant. Then you have your delicious pre-theatre dinner in the restaurant of a classy 4* London hotel. You get to your chosen show in nice time Blood pressure remains within normal range as you’ve had none of the stress or hassle of wondering when and how you are going to eat.

Stress Free Theatre Breaks. Show and Stay’s latest Friday Dinner, Theatre and Hotel Offer lets you have a totally stress-free break and even save money. What they’ve done is put together an inclusive package. You’ve got the choice of 27 top shows and 4 great *4 hotels, all with good restaurants. Just as an example we all know that Priscilla Queen of the Dessert is the latest hot ticket. Prices for Priscilla for a Friday in May.

Stay at the 4* Holiday Inn Bloomsbury (handy for the theatre) 3 Course Dinner in the Junction restaurant Cost per person only £148

The list of participating show also includes:

Spring Awakening Blood Brothers Billy Elliot Hairspray Oliver Jersey Boys Sister Act Dirty Dancing Wicked The Lion King We Will Rock You

All you have to do is select your favourite musical and a Friday date then look for the “Hotel with Dinner” packages at the top of the results. Not only that but with the Show and Stay deal you can book your rail fare at the same time and save up to 40% on that too. This is really the best way to get into London for a stress free theatre break. You can bring your car but don’t forget you’ll need to pay the congestion charge if you bring it into central London and also hotel parking rates are not cheap (allow £17 - £20 a day for hotel parking). Limited Offer This is a limited offer. There are only a limited number of these Friday theatre breaks deals available so you’ll need to be quick to grab the best shows and be sure of getting your dates. Last date to book May 31st 2009 Last Stay date June 26th 2009 Act now to book your Dinner, Theatre and Hotel Stay Participating Hotels and Restaurants

Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum’s Consortia Cafe/Bar. Choice of 2 courses from set menu. Holiday Inn Bloomsbury’s Junction Restaurant. Choice of 3 courses from set menu. Crowne Plaza London St James’ Brasserie Restaurant. Choice of 2 courses. Crowne Plaza London City’ Spicers Restaurant. Choice of 2 courses.

Related Posts:Book Zorro and get a free hotel!Buddy theatre breaks with free hotelStomp with Free Hotel in AugustMarguerite - theatre breaks from £60!Free Hotel Offer with London Theatre Breaksa Friday Theatre Breaks with Dinner and Hotel