Jenny Ell - Page 4

The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry has teamed up again with Imagine Theatre and panto veteran Iain Lauchlan this year to create a brand new production of Dick Whittington - a very popular title choice in the Midlands this year it seems! Remarkably busy for a school night, there was a very good mixture of adults and children alike making up last night's audience - all of whom were able to find plenty of elements to entertain them across the three-hour production.

Stephanie Martin is a Canadian born singer-songwriter who has enjoyed a varied career, but most notably in musical theatre. She starred in three productions of Les Miserables as Eponine and provided the Quebec French singing voice of Pocahontas for the 1995 Disney film. Martin's last studio album - Shape, Line and Harmony - was released in 2007 to critical acclaim and after a nine year wait, her eagerly anticipated second CD, April Snow, was released earlier this year when it reached number two in the iTunes Top 100 Adult Contemporary music chart.

Lennon: Through A Glass Onion is a part-biographical, part-concert whistle stop journey into the mind of international musical icon, John Lennon. Featuring 31 hits including his solo work, the show has enjoyed great success all over the world but most recently in Lennon's birthplace in Liverpool.

Further empowering their ethos of preserving 'lost' British theatre, Stage Door Records are releasing their latest cast album, Maddie, with a 20th Anniversary Deluxe edition bumper pack of a CD. Originally developed at Oxford University in 1990 during a Stephen Sondheim masterclass, emerging and ambitious producer Kenny Wax opened the show at Salisbury Playhouse in 1996 following a series of workshops. The production then went on to open in the West End the next year following superb reactions from the critics. The two-disc album includes the original recording, alongside a collection of studio demos which include cut songs and alternate versions, and three bonus tracks recorded this year.

SimG Records is soon to release a Studio Cast Recording of original British love story, Before After, written by Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman. The show enjoyed its original workshop at the St James Theatre back in 2014 - funded by the Arts Council and directed by Simon Greiff - and has since been produced in Japan. Musical theatre stars Hadley Fraser and Caroline Sheen featured in this workshop and have gone on to record the album, in the hope that a full UK production will follow in the near future.

TMS The Musical Season UG present the Frankfurt premiere of the smash ­hit Off­-Broadway musical, The Last 5 Years, opening at Kulturhaus Frankfurt on 1 October 2016.

Writer Bob Eaton had previous success with 2-Tone Musical Three Minute Heroes at the Belgrade Theatre in 2014. This time, he has put pen to paper to create a musical loosely based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Roll Over Beethoven boasts an original rock 'n' roll score against a backdrop of post-war England. Protaganist Johnny returns from National Service to attend his father's funeral where he notices his Mother and Uncle acting questionably. This, teamed with his Father revisiting him in various forms, further arouses suspicion surrounding his death.

Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act premiered onstage in the West End in 2009 starring Patina Miller as Deloris Van Cartier and Sheila Hancock as the Mother Superior. The lavish production opened at the London Palladium to critical acclaim and has enjoyed many revivals across the globe ever since. The last major UK production was in 2010, starring the now Tony award-winning Cynthia Erivo which took the same format as the original production. Craig Revel Horwood's new take on the musical, produced by Jamie Wilson, opened officially at the Curve in Leicester last night before it begins its UK tour.

Following the success of the previously released Lost West End comes the aptly named Lost West End 2 - of course! The albums, produced by Stage Door Records, are revisiting forgotten musical numbers from shows that sadly didn't enjoy a long run in London. Lost West End 2 features songs that date back to 1970, then ventures through successive years up until 2008.

The latest cast recording release from Auburn Jam Records, Prodigy, was only released yesterday and has already placed in the top 100 albums on iTunes. This new musical, by the immensely talented Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, has been commissioned by the National Youth Music Theatre and received its premiere in August last year at the St James Theatre. As well as being performed by a 27-strong cast made up of 11-23 year olds, over half of them also play a musical instrument during the show. Centred around a competition to be Britain's Best New Classical Music star, five young competitors fight it out to claim the prize. Budding romances, teenage angst and pushy parents added to the mix make for a less straight forward journey to the title.

Caroline Sheen is one of our busiest and most popular musical theatre actresses. She has an unbelievable string of credits to her name including the title role in Mary Poppins, Fantine/Eponine in Les Miserables, Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Jennifer in the Original Cast of The Witches of Eastwick. She is currently in rehearsals for Crazy For You where she is playing Polly alongside Tom Chambers as Bobby. BWW:UK catches up with Caroline to chat about her time so far at the Watermill.

Following the announcement last week about the return of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, there has been a lot of excitement buzzing about. After a sell-out and critically acclaimed run last year, the demand for a revival had been duly noted. Fortunately, for the theatre-going public, the production is returning to the Arts Theatre for one day only on Monday 15th August. BWW:UK spoke to Director Kirk Jameson about the show's previous success and why he's looking forward to revisiting I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change one last time.

Prior to their run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, White Slate Theatre are currently previewing their new show Captured. A two-hander, the writing by Jenna May Hobbs focuses on Isaac and Sophie - estranged five years ago but drawn back to one another in the present. Suzanna Ward directs this exploration of two people who viewed their relationship in a different way; love was undoubtedly there but was it amplified through a camera lens?

Hartshorn - Hook Productions is thrilled to announce the reunion of last year's critically- acclaimed cast in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. The production, nominated for Best Revival in last year's Broadway World Awards, will return for two performances at the Arts Theatre on Monday 15th August.

Alongside performing as Raoul eight times a week in The Phantom of the Opera in the West End, Nadim Naaman has somehow found the time to record his second album, Sides, with independent record label Auburn Jam Music. The CD is split into two sections; the first being original songs penned by Naaman himself and the second half consisting of personal favourites from musical theatre including ones that have shaped his career until this point.

From Charles Dickens' classic novel A Tale of Two Cities stems the musical, Two Cities. The show opened in London's West End in February 1969 where it received a mixed reception from the critics. However, many who watched the production fed back positive comments which increased the interest and continued to get people through the door. Sadly though, Two Cities had already been given its closing notice.

As Long As I Have Music is the debut album from both Rob Eyles and Robert Gould. It is a compilation of their music including numbers from their highly acclaimed musical A Pebble for Aaron (finalist for Stiles and Drewe's Mentorship Award) and their upcoming show The Wonderful Musician, based on the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale.

Richard Adams' best-selling novel Watership Down is opening shortly at the picturesque Watermill Theatre; not far away from the location that inspired the well-loved story. Towards the end of the rehearsal period, BWW:UK speaks to James Backway who is playing Hazel in this stage adaptation. He was mostly recently seen in War Horse in the West End where he played Albert until the production closed.

As part of Fertility Fest, Gareth Farr's new play The Quiet House has its world premiere at Birmingham Rep this week. This co-production - also between Echo Presents and Park Theatre - is the exploration of a happily married couple in their mid-thirties who are desperate to have a child. After years of trying to conceive, they turn to fertility treatment. The play follows their painful struggle (often literally) towards their ultimate desire and the impact this has on their relationship.

Ramin Karimloo is a leading man at the forefront of the musical theatre industry worldwide. He is most fondly known for playing the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. He appeared in the 25th Anniversary celebrations for both productions and has won a multitude of awards, plus nominations for an Olivier award in 2011 and a Tony Award in 2014. Ramin is going to be performing in a one-off solo concert with his band at the London Palladium in July. BWW:UK chats to Ramin about the concert and his future ambitions.