A consortium led by Michael Grade, the broadcast executive, has bought four of London’s West End theatres for £50m from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group (RUG). Andrew Lloyd Webber announced: It has been a totally gut-wrenching decision for me to decide to sell the four theatres, however following my illness last year I was advised to reduce the debt in the family company. My commitment to composing, producing and theatre ownership remains as strong as ever. Michael Grade has family connections with the theatre. His father, Leslie Grade, was a theatrical agent , and his uncles were Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont, co-founder of theatre group Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. The four theatres involved in the sales are these: The Palace Theatre – currently playing Priscilla – Queen of the Desert The New London Theatre - currently playing War Horse The Cambridge Theatre - currently playing Chicago Her Majesty’s Theatre – The Phantom of the Opera The sale represents 4,900 theatre seats altogether. RUG retains ownership of larger theatres including The London Palladium – Soon to be the home of The Wizard of Oz The Theatre Royal Drury Lane – Currently showing Oliver!,  soon Shrek the Musical 50 per cent stake in the Adelphi – currently home for the London production of Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webbers most recent new show. He also said: I am particularly proud that over the 25 years that I have owned the Palace I have been able to restore the magnificent auditorium and the exterior, thereby removing the huge neon advertising hoarding that defaced both the theatre and Cambridge Circus. I have agreed the purchase price be reduced by £5m to enable GradeLinnit to invest this sum in the theatres, principally in the Palace.

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

Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogLove Never Dies London Theatre Breaks

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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

Love Never Dies, the new musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber which continues the story from The Phantom Of The Opera, is moving into the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End.

The show opens in March 2010.

Ruthie Rocks in Chicago Want to earn some extra brownie points with your significant other? How about a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend in London with tickets for a great show and a night in a charming hotel? It costs less than you might think! Chicago makes a great choice for Valentine’s Day theatre breaks. It’s such a fun, sexy show with moments of real romance and just enough raunchiness to keep everyone in that special mood! I just happen to know that a couple of the theatre break agencies still have tickets so get them while you still can! Ruthie Henshall Plays Roxy in Chicago London One of the best reasons to see Chicago at the moment, is that West End superstar Ruthie Henshall is playing Roxy. She’s played the part when the show opened and it’s lovely to see her back on the West End stage. She’s doing a strictly limited run and it will finish on February 28th. The performance is just stunning  have a listen to this:

Chicago London Facts and Figures

Chicago is the longest running Broadway musical on the West End. In London it has played to an audience of over 4.5 million people and more than 4,000 performances. The musical transferred from the Adelphi Theatre to the Cambridge Theatre in April last year. After it opened almost 10 years ago at the Adelphi Theatre the show won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Outstanding Musical Production’ and the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for ‘Best Musical’. Based on a play by Maurine Dallas Watkins with a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. The music is by John Kander and the lyrics by Fred Ebb. The West End production is staged by the original Broadway creative team.

How to get there Cambridge Theatre is on Earlham Street, London, WC2 9HU It’s in the area near Covent Garden now known as Seven Dials. Don’t try to get there via Covent Garden tube as it’s currently partially closed! Walk from Tottenham Court Rd, if you have to use the tube, or Charing Cross station if you can get a train. Theatre Breaks - Covent Garden Alternatively try to make sure you get a hotel within easy walking distance of the Covent Garden area. Actually that’s good advice anyway as the area is great . There are lots of yummy shops to browse, a Sunday Market, cafes and restaurants to have a leisurely lunch, it’s one of my favourite areas of London. There is always lots going on in the area and you can just wander round or be amused by the constantly changing street performances. That makes it the perfect romantic area for a Sunday stroll after your hotel breakfast and before you catch your train home. Check Availability for  Chicago London Theatre Breaks ** Chicago London Theatre Breaks via Show And Stay ** a

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Sierra Boggess will play the leading role for Love Never Dies, the long awaited Phantom sequel. The show is expected to open in London at the Adelphi Theatre next spring (2010). Sierra Boggess Sierra  played the title role of The Little Mermaid on Broadway. She is no stranger to the role of Christine and played her for 2 years in The Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sierra Sings Think of Me I found a good video of Sierra which gives a sample of her vocal range. She has a very fine voice and it should combine beautifully with her co-star Ramin Karimloo. Click here to view the embedded video.

a Love Never Dies Christine Announced

Related posts:Phantom of the Opera Ramin KarimlooLove Never Dies – fantasy castJoseph with Gareth Gates

Here’s a video of Gareth Gates as Joseph singing “Close Every Door” on the Alan Titchmarsh show last week, in case you missed it:

Don’t forget, you only have until 30th May 2009 to see Gareth in Joseph at the Adelphi theatre in London.

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Joseph Has a Major Cast Change Gareth Gates will take over the lead role in the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat from February 9 2009 , after Lee Mead leaves on January 10. I know this slightly begs the question “who’ll play it for the missing month or so?” We’ll keep you posted. Gareth Gates was a very popular runner-up in the first ever Pop Idol in 2002. He says: “I have a lot to thank Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for as it is the reason I first started singing, after being chosen to play the lead in a school production when I was eight years old. Ever since then it’s been a dream of mine to appear in a West End musical….. I am really honoured to be appearing at the Adelphi, stepping into that famous coat, and really can’t wait to get stuck in!” Should be interesting!

a Joseph gets a new lead - Gareth Gates!