The stage musical version of Ghost, is scheduled to open at London’s Piccadilly Theatre on June 22 and is booking initially until January 28 so that holiday period theatre breaks to see Ghost can be booked well in advance. This is going to be a very popular show for all sorts of theatre goers including hen party theatre breaks, romantic theatre breaks and anniversaries. Directed by multi-award-winning Matthew Warchus, Ghost will feature music by Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics fame) and Glen Ballard, writer of Michael Jackson’s hit Man in the Mirror. The production will be designed by Rob Howell, and will feature extraordinary, magical stage effects by Paul Kieve, illusionist for the hit film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bruce Joel Rubin has adapted his Oscar-winning screenplay for the stage show which will also feature the unforgettable Righteous Brothers song, Unchained Melody, which featured in the film’s iconic love scene at a potter’s wheel. A story about the power of love, Ghost revolves around a man called Sam, trapped as a ghost between this world and the next. He tries to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic, Oda Mae Brown, in the hope of saving her from his murderer. Richard Fleeshman, recently seen on the London stage playing Warner Huntington III opposite Sheridan Smith in Legally Blonde The Musical, will play Sam in the stage musical. Fleeshman is best known on television for his roles in Coronation Street, in which he played Craig Harris for four years and, more recently, Debbie Horsfield’s All the Small Things for the BBC. Caissie Levy will play Molly. She has most recently been seen on stage on Broadway and in the West End in the leading role of Sheila in the New York Public Theatre Cameron Mackintosh production of Hair. Levy made her Broadway debut as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, a role she recreated on tour in the US. She went on to play Maureen Johnson in the US tour of Rent and in 2008 starred as the green witch Elphaba in the Los Angeles production of Wicked. Sharon D Clarke, who will play Oda Mae Brown, has most recently been seen on stage in the West End as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre. She has played Mama Morton in Chicago at London’s Adelphi and Killer Queen in We Will Rock You at the Dominion. Ghost, the highest grossing film in the UK in 1990, was directed by Jerry Zucker.
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I posted to ghostlondon.com
The Musical version of Ghost, London Theatre Breaks
http://ghostlondon.com/31/the-musical-version-of-ghost-london-theatre-breaks/
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March 25 2011, 7:13am | Comments »
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I posted to distributedresearch.net
Can Scandinavian crime fiction teach socialism?
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/02/24/can-scandinavian-crime-fiction-teach-socialism
I don’t know if it teaches anything at all, but DI Lund and co do make compulsive viewing over 20 episodes shown in ten weeks on BBC 4. Great stuff.
This article titled “Can Scandinavian crime fiction teach socialism?” was written by Deborah Orr, for The Guardian on Thursday 24th February 2011 09.00 UTC Who killed Nanna Birk Larsen? The question grips the relatively small, but avid, band of people who are following The Killing, a Danish crime series being screened on BBC4. The Killing throws up plenty of other questions, too. One even feels a strange tug of interest in Copenhagen’s local political scene because the abduction, rape, torture and murder of a 19-year-old student seems inextricably linked to a number of people fighting a city election. Alliances between various political parties ebb and flow, as the turns of the plot hurl suspicion at different candidates. One of the many things The Killing asks is this: are political coalitions really healthy? It is no doubt coincidence that the query is so particularly pertinent in Britain right now. But there is a definite reason why a slice of Scandinavian crime fiction should be actively concerned with framing socio-political debate. It is part of what is expected of the genre in this part of the world, and has been since Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö started publishing what came to be known as the Martin Beck series, in 1965. The couple, former journalists, conceived 10 crime novels that would provide a deliberate critique of what they viewed as the degeneration of Sweden. Marxists themselves, they intended to use the crime genre to illustrate the advantages of socialistic approaches to social problems. That sounds unbearably didactic and worthy. But the tremendous thing is that the books work first and foremost as crime fiction. In fact, they are reckoned by the cognoscenti to be among the finest and most influential crime novels ever written. Essentially, the pair challenged the convention of the lone genius private detective, replacing him with a group of police officers, led by the low-key Beck, who depended on each other to solve cases – and also, as a matter of course, put up with, or worked round, colleagues who were not so gifted. Maverick individualism was out, patient and humane people management was in. Thus, the ever-shifting group ploughed through many and varied crime scenes – crime scenes that usually in some way or other questioned the permissive values espoused by the liberal left so successfully at that time. It seems to me that in the pages of these Swedish police procedurals, all those years ago, Sjöwall and Wahlöö were examining contradictions that the British left even now refuses properly to acknowledge. The socialist left and the liberal left have little in common, with Blairism a shining example of how difficult it is to “triangulate” them. Hard work and compromise is needed before social freedom and state welfare can be shackled together. Even then, perhaps, the resulting beast is an impossible chimera. Is it too much to speculate that the current huge vogue for Scandinavian crime fiction is somehow a tacit acknowledgement of the need to have this debate, and the fear of what conclusions it might draw? Henning Mankell, in his Wallander series, now televised in two versions in Britain, makes no bones about the fact that he is continuing in the Martin Beck tradition. Stieg Larsson, who meant his phenomenally successful Millennium trilogy to be a 10-part work when he first started writing it, has succeeded in igniting exactly the sort of debate, among feminists anyway, that Sjöwall and Wahlöö expected. Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo, with 5m sales worldwide and film deals in the works, similarly uses sexual crime as an expression of the extremes of discord among men and women. This “metaphor” is somewhat unanswerable, on the face of it. But the details are quite controversial. The women who are killed in his novel The Snowman, for example, stand accused of denying men their paternal roles, and messing up their children in the process. Discuss that thesis in sexually and politically mixed company, and passions can run high quite fast. Nesbo is not a reactionary, despite the “traditional family values” cast that can be placed on his bestselling novel’s storyline. Like his peers and predecessors, he deals with problems inherent in social democracy, problems that are not that usefully divided between “left” and “right”. It is often said now that the two opposing terms have become “meaningless”, since both left and right contain a range of values from libertarian to authoritarian. In truth, the political tension is between freedom and regulation, often between whether the social realm should be regulated in order to benefit the economic realm, or the other way round. Social democracy, if it is about anything, surely, is about constantly striving to get that tricky balance right. The British are used to believing that the Scandinavians, especially the Swedes, have social democracy cracked, while Britain is far from being a socially democratic country. The truth, however, is much more nuanced. Britain shares many of the values and difficulties of the Scandinavian states, and of other European states that Britain tends to view as being much more socially democratic than we are. That was emphasised in a depressing report yesterday from risk analyst Maplecroft, which ranked Britain the 10th most likely country of 163 to undergo another economic crisis. Sweden is fourth, and Japan is the only non-European country to make it into the top 10, at nine. The shared challenges are “ageing populations, substantial levels of debt and high public spending on health and pensions”. Each of these, of course, is already high on the national agenda, the subject of raucous, sometimes hysterical debate. The logical solution – if there is a solution at all – is for everyone to live very healthy and disciplined lives, expecting to look after more vulnerable members of the family whenever necessary, and seeking only specialist or temporary help from a well-ordered state as a last resort. It is a vision that unites authoritarian left and right, but scares the bejesus out of free-marketeers and social liberals. All of these groups, however, can probably find something compelling in a chunk of Scandinavian crime fiction, which possibly owes its great popularity to its ability to offer sensationalist escape, but of a kind that is grounded all too recognisably in the real world.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
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February 24 2011, 4:41am | Comments »
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I posted to wizardofozlondon.co.uk
Wizard of Oz cast and crew on Radio 2
http://wizardofozlondon.co.uk/312/wizard-of-oz-cast-and-crew-on-radio-2/
Wizard of Oz crew with Claudia Winkleman
With the curtain about to rise on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz, we accompany some of of the cast and crew along the yellow brick road to discover more about the latest stage adaptation of one of the world’s best loved movies. Claudia Winkelman’s Arts Show on BBC Radio2 will be accompanying some of the cast and crew along the yellow brick road tonight Feb 3rd at 22:00 to find out all about the latest stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz
February 4 2011, 9:07am | Comments »
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I posted to wizardofozlondon.co.uk
Danielle Hope on The One Show
http://wizardofozlondon.co.uk/304/danielle-hope-on-the-one-show/
Danielle Hope is on The One Show tonight, January 25th at 7.00pm. Danielle is of course in the middle of rehearsals playing Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical The Wizard of Oz, which starts previews in just over a week’s time now! The first Wizard of Oz performance should be at the London Palladium on 7th February 2011. The One Show visits Danielle Hope with Toto in her dressing room at the London Palladium. The One Show is on on BBC1 at 7:00 pm
January 25 2011, 3:08am | Comments »
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I posted to theatrebreaksinlondon.co.uk
Oliver – new Fagin
http://theatrebreaksinlondon.co.uk/94/oliver-new-fagin/
Russ Abbot as Fagin from June 14th Russ Abbot will be take over the role of Fagin in the hit musical Oliver! from 14 June. Russ has played the role of Fagin before at the Palladium, at the Theatre Royal and also on tour. His other credits include Grandpa Potts in hit musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Most recently, Russ played the role of Hobbo in the latest series of BBC 1′s Last of the Summer Wine. Russ takes over from that other favourite entertainer Griff Rhys Jones. Griff has played the role for the last 5 months but he bids farewell to Oliver! on Saturday 12 June.
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May 24 2010, 12:40pm | Comments »
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I posted to usefulwiki.com
Over the Rainbow – the final 7
http://usefulwiki.com/londontheatre/over-the-rainbow-the-final-7.html
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
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April 26 2010, 8:34am | Comments »
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I posted to wizardofozlondon.co.uk
Not Dorothy: Bronte Barbe
http://wizardofozlondon.co.uk/32/not-dorothy-bronte-barbe/
The search for an ideal leading lady to play Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new London production of the Wizard of Oz continued in the BBC’s Over the Rainbow reality TV casting show last weekend.
The latest Dorothy hopeful to hand back her shoes was unexpectedly Bronte Barbe. She was not really expected to go out so early, and Andrew Lloyd Webber had said that both contenders for eviction were in his top five to go all the way and get the part. The public vote disagreed. Linda from London Theatre Breaks blog put her in the top five too: About 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 Dorothies 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 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 for Wicked
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April 12 2010, 10:44am | Comments »
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I posted to wizardofozlondon.co.uk
Over The Rainbow Auditions for Wizard Of Oz Dorothy
http://wizardofozlondon.co.uk/12/over-the-rainbow-auditions-for-wizard-of-oz-dorothy/
Over The Rainbow Auditions Do you think you could be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next leading lady? Would you give anything to become Dorothy in the new London West End production of The Wizard of Oz? Follow in the footsteps of previous winners Connie Fisher, Lee Mead and Jodie Prenger by applying to be part of a TV show challenge to find Dorothy, this one called “Over The Rainbow” beginning in 2010.
Dorothy Wanted for Over The Rainbow
The BBC has just opened applications for their newest reality TV show ‘Over The Rainbow’ , to be judged by a team including Andrew Lloyd Webber and the voting public. Auditions are open to everyone, no matter how much or how little experience you have and nationwide auditions for Dorothy begin in January 2010. All applicants must have been aged 16 or over by 26 June 2009. Apply online now to book your audition
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- audition
- reality tv show
November 26 2009, 8:04am | Comments »
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