Nicholas Parsons to Host Ross Leadbeater's THE GREAT BRITISH MUSICAL IN CONCERT at the London Hippodrome, June 1

Following the critically acclaimed sell-out concert, Ivor Novello - The Great British Musical, award-winning Musical Director Ross Leadbeater (formally of Only Men Aloud) returns to the London Hippodrome on Saturday 1st June at 7pm with a new cabaret-concert celebrating the best of The Great British Musicals.

Narrated by presenter, actor and BBC Radio 4 Just A Minute host Nicholas Parsons CBE, this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to enjoy an intimate evening in the Hippodrome's glamorous Matcham Room, with a host of West End performers and special guests.

The evening celebrates the music of Arthur Sullivan, Lionel Monckton, Vivien Ellis, Noel Coward, Lionel Bart, Leslie Bricusse and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and features a special centenary tribute to Ivor Novello's 1914 composition 'Keep the Home Fires Burning'.

There is no finer setting for a celebration of these British musical theatre composers than this landmark London venue, which housed the original production of Vivien Ellis's Mr Cinders in 1929 and where, in 1945, Novello's Perchance to Dream played for over 1,000 performances.

West End performers include Katy Treharne (The Phantom of the Opera, Dear World), Rhidian Marc (Les Miserables), Richard Kent (Wicked, Salad Days) Annatt Bass (The Phantom of the Opera) and the début performance of The Novello Singers - a new eight-voice musical theatre ensemble.

Nicholas Parsons has worked in every branch of show business.A serious actor and comedian, he has performed solo cabaret work and stand-up comedy around the world, including the Edinburgh Festival - where he has appeared for nine years presenting three different shows. He became a household name in Britain as straight man to comedian Arthur Haynes in the early 1960s, topping the comedy ratings for Independent Television for ten years. He hosted the amazingly successful Sale of the Century for fourteen years, and has hosted BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute for forty-five years. His starring roles in the West End include Boeing-Boeing, Say Who You Are, Uproar in the House, Charlie Girl, Into the Woods, and two London seasons and a national tour in The Rocky Horror Show.

Ross Leadbeater has a versatile career as a musical director, pianist, vocal coach, producer and presenter in theatre, television and radio. He is a former member of the Classical Brit Award winning choir Only Men Aloud, having appeared on The Royal Variety Show, BBC Proms in the Park and Songs of Praise. West End credits as Musical Director include Talent (Garrick Theatre), West-End Eurovision 2012 (Dominion Theatre) and Betwixt! (Trafalgar Studios). He was the Assistant Musical Director for the West End workshop of Crush (Harold Pinter Theatre); rehearsal pianist for South Pacific (Barbican), Legally Blonde (UK tour) and repetiteur for The Mikado, HMS Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance (Buxton Opera House).

Tickets are £25, £30, and £35 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 020 7769 8866 from 10am-8pm daily or by visiting www.hippodromecasino.com/whatson/the-great-british-musicals. Please note that audience members must be 18 years or older.

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