Stephen Schwartz Joins Cast Of 'Unlimited: The Songs Of Stephen Schwartz' Concert On Thespie

Theatre discovery platform Thespie has announced that renowned composer Stephen Schwartz has created a special sung performance at the piano for audiences to enjoy as part of the first concert of the Reunited series- four filmed musical theatre concerts premiering throughout December.

Unlimited: The Songs of Stephen Schwartz is a celebration of his works including Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, Children of Eden, and The Prince of Egypt, Schwartz's newest musical. The concert will premiere on Thursday 3 December at 8pm GMT, and will be available on demand afterward for audiences around the globe.

The nine artists in the concert (Nikki Bentley, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Alexia Khadime, Melanie La Barrie, Carl Man, Dianne Pilkington, Liam Tamne, Oliver Tompsett) have all starred in Wicked during its first 14 years in London, and two (Khadime, Tamne) are in the current cast of The Prince of Egypt.

Stephen Schwartz shared, "Since right now we can't see Wicked, The Prince of Egypt and other live shows, I'm grateful to Thespie for offering the Reunited series of concerts and I'm excited to have these amazing artists singing my songs in this program."

Developed by Aimie Atkinson (Thespie's Creative Producer and the Olivier nominated star of Pretty Woman and SIX), each Reunited concert presents ensemble music performances (filmed in COVID-secure London venues), with over 40 of the UK's top musical theatre artists appearing in the series. The program of each concert has been developed by the artists involved and will also include intimate interview footage.

Thespie Creative Producer Aimie Atkinson commented, "This is truly an all-star cast singing a wide range of Schwartz's repertoire, music that has meant so much to them since their school days and throughout their careers. The artists really deliver vocally and emotionally, and audiences are in for some incredibly special performances."

The Reunited concerts are designed to inspire global theatre audiences, by bringing the UK's best musical theatre talent directly to their homes this holiday season. The artists involved collectively represent over three centuries of experience on UK stages; their recent credits include The Prince of Egypt, Pretty Woman, SIX, Dear Evan Hansen, & Juliet, Come From Away, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and Kinky Boots.

The further concerts in the Reunited series are:

Oops!... I Streamed It Again... (10 Dec), a high-energy concert of pop, rock, and musical theatre songs starring artists who met performing in the musical & Juliet.

Girl Power (17 Dec), an empowering concert of songs by famous girl bands through the decades, from the artists of The Reunion who first met starring in the musical SIX.

All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre (21 Dec), a love letter to the tradition of seeing theatre with those you love during the holiday season starring more than 40 top UK theatre artists, with full casting to be announced in the coming weeks.

Streaming tickets for a single concert are £15 ($18). (10 other currencies available.) Purchasers of the first three concerts will have 72 hours to watch, and purchasers of All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre will have 7 days to watch with their households. An Extended-Access bundle (£45/$54) gives purchasers access to all four concerts from their premiere through 31 December, and provides a 25% discount over booking the concerts separately. All concerts and the bundle can also be purchased after their premiere, with the same window of access (72 hours, 7 days, or through 31 Dec.)

The Reunited Series and Thespie's original content initiative support its work to foster the connection between artists and audiences on its theatre discovery platform. Thespie's first original production, The Reunion, was one of the bestselling paid theatre streaming events in the UK, selling tickets to 3600 households across 65 countries; and employed 35 live entertainment workers who received over £30k in income from the event.

Thespie founder Tyler Stoops said, "The message that Stephen Schwartz shares in Unlimited about the humanity of theatre really underscores Thespie's mission and purpose. We're very fortunate that he is lending his talents to this already-incredible line-up of artists."

Thespie offers listings for theatre streaming, theatre music & audio, theatre eBooks, educational resources, live London theatre, theatre news, and more. Audiences can use Thespie to stream the Reunited concerts and more than 400 other shows, or to discover over 1000 more shows available on other popular platforms and services, such as Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Audible.

Artists, producers and arts organisations interested in adding their show listings and theatre streaming to Thespie can learn more at https://thespie.com/submissions.

To post a comment, you must register and login.