Andrew Lloyd Webber’s protégés scooped the top awards at this years People’s Choice Theatre Awards, Lee Mead (unsurprisingly) received ‘Favorite Theatre Actor’ and Connie Fisher won the ‘Favorite Theatre Actress Award’. Both Mead and Fisher were shocked that they’d won but were grateful to the public for appreciating their talents - ahem I’m sure women everywhere appreciate Lee’s talents in more ways than one!
Daniel Radcliff’s nude scenes helped score Equus the ‘Favorite Play Award’ and the spellbinding show Wicked conjured up ‘Favorite Musical’ and ‘Favorite Theatre Moment’.
However the most shocking award of the night had to be ‘The Favorite Pre-theatre Dinner Award’, in my opinion the public had pretty much hit the nail on the head when dishing out these awards but when ‘The Favorite Pre-theatre Dinner Award’ was announced I was left slightly confused! Drum roll please………….The Pizza Express Haymarket, now don’t get me wrong - I do love Pizza Express, I just think that the pre-theatre restaurant should be as divine as the theatre and as delectable as the show. There are hundreds of delicious restaurants to choose from in this area that serve mouthwatering dishes for reasonable prices in luxurious settings, maybe I’m bias as we sell some amazing restaurants in our packages but they are definitely worth a try before a theatre show.
Nevertheless the awards went to deserving winners and a good night was had by one and all!

Technorati Tags: connie fisher, Daniel Radcliff, equuis, lee mead, the peoples choice awards, theatre awards, wicked

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Guys…imagine having 3 trolly dolly girlfriends at once, each from different countries, all don’t know about the other and shower you with affection on different days of the week.
Every guy’s dream?….well it is a reality for Bernard in the theatre production Boeing Boeing.
Make sure your seat belt is fastened securely and your seat upright as this show is a rocky ride of laughter, fun and nail biting tension. Bernard the playboy manages to juggle three air stewardesses due to their hectic timetables and then boasts to his friend about his idyllic situation. More fool him for being too cocky as inevitably the girl’s schedules change leaving the philandering Bernard looking over his shoulder and missing disastrous situations by a whisker.
So for all those playboy men out there, take warning now and watch what happens to Bernard in Boeing Boeing.

Here is a taster of the drama from the 1960’s version of Boeing Boeing.

Technorati Tags: boeing boeing, boeing boeing farce, boeing boeing london, boeing boeing west end, Frances de la Tour, matthew warchus, Roger Allam, Tamzin Outhwaite

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After recovering from a vocal strain, Connie Fisher is now stepping down from her full time roll as Maria Rainer. That’s right folks, on her doctor’s orders, the star is now taking Monday night and Wednesday afternoon off so she can relax and catch up with what’s going on Wisteria Lane and keep an eye on Mo’s dodgy dealings in Albert Square. Fear not, the show will go on as Aoife Mulholland will be stepping in as a replacement on these nights. Fourth placed in the show, ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria’ Aoife finally gets her chance to shine in the show after her huge success in Chicago. As from 9th april, you will be able to catch Aoife live on stage.

Technorati Tags: aoife mulholland, connie fisher, how do you solve a problem like maria, musicals, sound of music, west end show

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“Well this car is systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic
Why, it could be Greased Lightnin’!”

That’s right, Grease is heading back to the stage, but not before yet another series of laughter, cringing and crying at the vast multitude of contestants on NBC’s latest reality show, ‘You’re the One That I Want’. Which cool dude will win the chance of playing Danny Zuko and which lucky lady will get the opportunity to be Sandra Dee….? Over the last few months, contestants have been whittled down from thousands to just 12; six Dannys and six Sandys. We’ve already seen ‘Serious Sandy’ and ‘Second Chance Danny’ eliminated which leaves the question on all of our lips….who will take the crown? Only the American Public can decide.

In the U.S version of the show, Billy Bush and our very own Denise Van Outen will be hosting whilst the judges panel is made up of theatre producer David Ian, quirky Jim Jacobs and director-come-choreographer Kathleen Marshall. The idea for the show came from Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian after the blazing success of the BBC’s ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’ where the lead role for the Sound of Music was cast to an unknown hopeful. The show began on U.S. screens on 7th January 2007 and with only a few shows left, the four contestants are undoubtedly beginning to get butterflies in their bellies now. The Broadway show goes live in June this year.

ITV have staked their claim to the reality show crown by airing a British version of the show, ‘Grease is the Word’ later this year. Grease is coming to the West End and contestants will be subject to the same abuse that you would have seen on X factor and Pop Idol. Cancel your social life and get your VCR dusted off because you’re going to be watching, listening to and reading all about this for the next few months…

Check out these sites for further info on NBC’s show…
http://www.nbc.com/Grease/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease:_You’re_The_One_That_I_Want

Technorati Tags: broadway, danny zuko, Grease, greased lightning, nbc, sandra d, sandy, the one that i want

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Stars of Chicago, Equus, The Drowsy Chaperone and Mary Poppins flocked to Dress Circle yesterday to support the launch of a new Julie Andrews biography written by Richard Stirling. The biography of this iconic star of the stage and screen is set to be a huge success.

Writer and an actor, Richard Stirling, first met Julie Andrews over 20 years ago when he interviewed her in 1985. He has since followed her career with interest and says that he has been ‘impressed by the way that she’s been able to embrace all these new opportunities.’ Julie Andrews became a Hollywood legend following her roles as Maria in the award-winning musical The Sound of Music, Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady and as the magical nanny in Mary Poppins.

Supporting Stirling at the biography launch was a host of British stars, including: Jane Horrocks, Aoife Mulholland (current star of Chicago), Anne Rogers (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Gavin Creel who plays Bert in Mary Poppins. These current West End stars have all been influenced in some way by the work of Julie Andrews. For example, Aoife Mulholland was a finalist on the BBC talent show, ‘How Do You Solve A Probelm Like Maria,’ where she competed to win the role of Maria Von Trapp, which was originally made famous by Andrews.

Here’s a reminder Julie Andrews in her most famous roles: as Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady.

Technorati Tags: biography, chicago, julie andrews, mary poppins, my fair lady, richard stirling, sound of music

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Connie Fisher was recently voted Best Newcomer at the Whatsonstage Theatregoers Choice Awards. To celebrate Connie’s recent rise to West End stardom we’ve put together a little tribute for Britain’s favourite Maria! We’ve charted her success over the past years and even found a couple of video clips for your enjoyment! Congratulations Connie!

Having won the BBC’s talent show ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria’ in September 2006, Connie Fisher was cast in the role of Maria Von Trapp in a West End revival of The Sound of Music, which is currently playing at the London Palladium Theatre.

Connie was born in Belfast in 1983. She then moved to Dorset where she lived until she was six years old. At the age of six, Connie moved to Pembrokeshire in Wales. Connie was classically trained in stage arts from the age of twelve. She won a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where she received a first class BA in Musical Theatre. Her first job after graduation was as the Princess in a local pantomine version of Aladdin. However, she struggled to make her breakthrough in the West End, going to countless auditions and narrowly missing out on many roles. She worked in media sales whilst continuing to audition, a job which she claims to have hated as it destroyed her confidence. She explains that she lost hope of achieveing her dream while working in sales.

In August 2006 Connie made it through to the final 9 of BBC talent search, ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria.’ Connie got through to the top 9 after a gruelly set of auditions. She beat off competition from 6,000 other hopefuls. The TV talent search was the brainchild of legendary British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber wanted an unknown actress to fill one of the most famous roles in musical history, that of Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. This role was originall made famous by Julie Andrews in the award winning 1960s film.

Connie was up against nine other contestants, all vying for the part. The hugely successful show was hosted by Graham Norton and featured a panel of experts. However, the elimination process was entirely down to a public vote. Connie won the final, when over two million people cast telephone votes. Connie was understandably delighted to win the role, saying, ‘I feel on top of the world, thanks very much. I won’t let you down. Every night will be an opening night. Thanks for making my dreams come true.’

The Sound of Music opened to critical acclaim on the 15th of November 2006. The show has since received a number of prestigious awards and has played to sell out audiences night after night.

Watch Connie perform in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria

A funky little collection of clips showing Connie’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria Experience

Take a sneaky peek at Connie performing in West End show, The Sound of Music

Technorati Tags: awards, best newcomer, connie fisher, how do you solve a problem like maria, maria von trapp, the sound of music, theatregoers choice, whatsonstage

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