Olivier Audience Award Nominees Announced!

2011 Laurence Olivier Award is just right around the corner and one of the categories presented on this March 13th is the BBC Radio 2 Olivier Audience Award which gives us theatregoers a chance to vote for our favourite West End show. From 14 shows, the list is now narrowed down to only 4 shortlisted productions.

Billy Elliot: The Musical (at the Victoria Palace Theatre) is a musical based on the 2000 film of the same name about a boy who wants to become a ballet dancer. It opened in London in 2005 and won 4 Olivier Award that year including Best Musical and will celebrate its 6th anniversary this March. The musical has gone on to be a big hit on Broadway since 2009 as well. Its reputation has grown so much and I can't believe that I have never seen it yet. The reviews I've heard from people are pretty mixed so I'm very much looking forward to seeing it some time this year to witness it for myself. 

Jersey Boys (at the Prince Edward Theatre), premiered in London in 2008 after its Broadway opening in 2006, is a 'jukebox' musical based on the music and the story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. Argubly, it is one of the best musical experiences I've had having seen it in Las Vegas with a really superb cast and the music and the book was just amazing. 

Les Miserables (at the Queen's Theatre) is a musical that needs no introduction. Today, it is the longest-running musical in the West End with a grand celebration marking its 25th birthday last year. I have the great chance of seeing the show in the West End back in 2003 at the Palace and very recently at the Queen's Theatre plus a DVD recording of the O2 concert. After all these years, it still proves to be going as strong as ever.

We Will Rock You (at the Dominion Theatre) is probably the weakest candidate is this group. A futuristic fictional musical about the world where music is banned based on the songs by Queen has its opening on the West End in 2002. It is the only musical in the list that has never played on Broadway. I'm actually surprised at how long it has been playing (8 years+) and how it beats other productions to be in the final. I saw its shortened version in Vegas back in 2005 and wasn't impressed much but, to not be biased, I might need to check it out again in its full form. I don't think it has much hope at the award but this really shows that it still holds a very strong fanbase.

Last year's winner, Wicked, is excluded from the list but will be at the event to hand over the award to one of the four nominees this year.

Some tough decision to make. I'll go cast my vote now and will have my fingers crossed for my favourite. What's yours? Cast your vote at http://www.olivierawards.com/vote/

Rent Lives On

Rent is arguably one of the most influential musicals of the 1990's and having seen the production at the Nederlander Theatre in 2006, I totally agree. The musical was full of energy, wonderful music, clever books and a group of talented actors pouring their hearts and souls into this Jonathan Larson's work. And every time you hear that "Seasons of Love" theme, you just can't help but get chilled and moved by the music! It was a shame that the production had closed in 2008 while many thought it would live on to be another long-running hit. 

Well, the good news is the musical is back in New York at the Off-Broadway's New World Stages starting July 14th with opening night on August 11th. This off-Broadway revival will be directed by original Director, Michael Grief. No casting has been announced yet. We only can hope that the cast will be good.

In the meantime, why don't you pick up that wonderful original Broadway cast recording or the amazing DVD recording of its last performance on Broadway or even the film version featuring most of the original cast members to relive those beautiful memories before it opens again? Haven't got it? Well, go buy one!

For a full report, visit http://www.broadway.com/shows/rent/buzz/155409/off-broadway-rent-revival-sets-july-14-move-in-date-at-new-world-stages/

Original Cast Members of Rent on Broadway
during "La Vie Boheme" at the end of Act One

Welcome Back to Broadway, Ashley Brown!!

Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee
in Mary Poppins


I've just read an exciting news from Broadwayworld.com that Ashley Brown, the original Mary Poppins, will return to the role on Broadway starting March 8th until July 17th at the New Amsterdam Theatre, filling in for Laura Michelle Kelly who will take a brief hiatus for a film project. Ashley Brown will reunite with Gavin Lee who originated the role of Bert both in the West End and on Broadway.

Since I'll be going to Broadway in April, I am now very much looking forward to seeing Mary Poppins especially with Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee. Ashley was pretty much a Disney veteran and by far one of my favourite female Broadway stars, having seen her live as Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre back in 2006 and owning a recording of 2005 Original Cast of Disney's On the Record where she simply shines!



For a full report, see http://broadwayworld.com/article/Ashley_Brown_Returns_to_MARY_POPPINS_38_20110222



Ashley Brown as Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2006)



Ashley Brown in Disney's On the Record (2005)



DVD Review - Sondheim! The Birthday Concert

I have just finished watching the DVD of  the 80th Birthday concert celebration of one of the most influential people in the musical theatre, Stephen Sondheim, filmed live at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City in March 2010. And I must say that this star-studded event was overall a very enjoyable one.

David Hyde Pierce hosted the event and he was very funny. I especially like how he kept going back to the fact that he wants Steve's songs to be sung in other languages and how he kept stopping Paul Gemignani, the musical director, from playing Sweeney Todd tune.

The performers presented here were a very talented and, no doubt, flawless in interpreting Steve's songs. They include the like of Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy, Victoria Clark, Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Manday Patinkin, Elaine Stritch, to name a few.

The show begins with the talented and Tony-winning Karen Olivo and her fellow castmembers from West Side Story performing 'America'. This really shows why she earns herself that Tony Award.

The production was cleverly done. I like how the show opened with the Overture from a mix of Steve's shows with all the performers in that evening parading out on the stage. I also like how the camera always close-up on Steve in the audience. I just wish they would seat him somewhere the camera could have a better view of him.

Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason in 'It Takes Two'

About 30 minutes into the show, there was a section on performance from original cast members. Standouts were Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien (as the Baker's Wife and the Baker) singing 'It Takes Two' from Into the Woods and Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin singing songs from Sunday in the Park with George

George Hearn, Patti LuPone & Michael Cerveris joined forces in 'A Little Priest'

I also like how they put 2 Sweeney Todds on the same stage, George Hearn and Michael Cerveris performing 'Pretty Women' and then Patti LuPone (who played Mrs. Lovett with both of them in different productions) joined them in an impeccable performance of 'A Little Priest'. I was fortunate enough to see Michael and Patti on Broadway when they revived Sweeney Todd and here, it just shows how excellent their actings were.

"Beautiful Girls" (from left to right)
Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters, David Hyde Pierce,
Elaine Strich, Donna Murphy and Marin Mazzie

However, the best part definitely has to be the "Beautiful Girls" section where David Hyde Pierce introduced the 6 leading ladies of Broadway: Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, each then took turn in singing a song by Stephen Sondheim. Patti was really good in 'The Ladies Who Lunch' from Company and it made me looking forward to seeing her and hearing her sing this song live this April even more. It was really hard to judge who was the best so I gave it a 6-way tie then. :)


I personally didn't like Nathan Gunn's rendition of 'Johanna' from Sweeney Todd though there's nothing bad that I could flaw about his technique. I just didn't like they way it was sung, I guess. Frankly, some of the not so popular songs had me on fast forward sometimes, notably the ones sung by Gunn, Audra McDonald, and Laura Benanti.

Running at just under 2 hours, I feel that the concert didn't really do justice to all of Stephen Sondheim's works and the songs chosen weren't really fairly spread between the musicals. How can it be fair when you have 7 songs from Follies and none from A Funny Thing.., Passion or Assassins. His standard songs such as 'Send in the Clowns' 'Being Alive' were excluded as well. Probably since there has been many Stephen Sondheim tribute concerts over the decade so they were trying to be different. The unfamiliar songs were nice but admit it, sometimes we want to hear those same old songs in a celebration like this.

However, it was still a great DVD to be seen and it's worth the money already just to hear the 6 Broadway's leading ladies sing their songs at the end.

Man of the hour: Stephen Sondheim

"First you're young, then you're middle-aged, then you're wonderful. This was wonderful. Thank you all." -- Stephen Sondheim

SONG LIST
Overture
America from West Side Story (Karen Olivo & Company)
We're Gonna Be Alright from Do I Hear a Waltz (Jason Danieley & Marin Mazzie)
Don't Laugh from Hot Spot (Victoria Clark)
Johanna from Sweeney Todd (Nathan Gunn)
You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through from Follies
(Matt Cavenaugh, Jenn Colella, Laura Osnes & Bobby Steggert)
Too Many Mornings from Follies (Audra McDonald & Nathan Gunn)
The Road You Didn't Take from Follies (John McMartin)
It Takes Two from Into the Woods (Joanna Gleason & Chip Zien)
Growing Up from Merrily We Roll Along (Jim Walton)
Finishing the Hat from Sunday in the Park with George (Mandy Patinkin)
Move On from Sunday in the Park with George (Bernadette Peters & Mandy Patinkin)
Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd (Michael Cerveris & George Hearn)
A Little Priest from Sweeney Todd (Michael Cerveris, George Hearn & Patti LuPone)
Theme from Reds with Pas de Deux
So Many People from Saturday Night (Laura Benanti)
Beautiful Girls from Follies (David Hyde Pierce)
The Ladies Who Lunch from Company (Patti LuPone)
Losing My Mind from Follies (Marin Mazzie)
The Glamorous Life from A Little Night Music (Audra McDonald)
Could I Leave You from Follies (Donna Murphy)
Not a Day Goes By from Merrily We Roll Along (Bernadette Peters)
I'm Still Here from Follies (Elaine Stritch)
Sunday from Sunday in the Park with George (Company)

WhatsOnStage Awards Result

The result for 2011 WhatsOnStage Awards: The Theatregoers' Choice are out. Legally Blonde leads the pack with 4 awards including Best Musical and Best Actress which I'm really happy for. Its strongest contender was Love Never Dies which manages to win 2 awards for its actors, Ramin Karimloo and Joseph Millson as Phantom and Roaul respectively.

I am so glad that the UK Tour of Chess also won the Best Regional Production since I thought it was a very well-produced show. Wicked , with its strong fanbase, also wins 2 awards for Best West End Show and Best Takeover in a Role by Rachel Tucker, though not to my liking. I am really surprised at how high War Horse is in the Best West End Show category, maybe I need to check it out.

And yes, The 25th Anniversary Concert celebration of Les Miserables at the O2 wins 2 awards for Best Ensemble Performance (which I'm not sure whether it's really eligible) and, no doubt, theatre event of the year. I just wish Hair would win something.

Here are the results along with their votes percentage. I only show the whole category for the more-musical related ones but all winners list are shown at the bottom. Congratulations!

THE SEE TICKETS' BEST NEW MUSICAL
Legally Blonde 37.8%
Love Never Dies 32.0%
Fela! 9.5%
Flashdance 8.2%
Departure Lounge 6.4%
All the Fun of the Fair 6.0%

THE AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
Les Miserables: 25th Anniversary Production 46.1%
Hair 15.6%
Sweet Charity 13.1%
Into the Woods 12.3%
Passion 6.6%
Bells Are Ringing 6.3%

THE BABY GRAND BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Sheridan Smith in Legally Blonde 39.7%
Sierra Boggess in Love Never Dies 23.8%
Tamzin Outhwaite in Sweet Charity 14.8%
Elena Roger in Passion 8.4%
Anna-Jane Casey in Bells Are Ringing 7.2%
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt in Flashdance 6.1%

THE EMG BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Ramin Karimloo in Love Never Dies 32.3%
John Owen-Jones in Les Miserables: 25th Anniversary Production 27.4%
Alex Gaumond in Legally Blonde 18.2%
Mark Umbers in Sweet Charity 10.0%
Sahr Ngaujah in Fela! 8.0%
Michael Arden in Aspects of Love 4.2%

THE NURSING STANDARD BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jill Halfpenny in Legally Blonde 33.9%
Summer Strallen in Love Never Dies 27.1%
Hannah Waddingham in Into the Woods 16.5%
Josefina Gabrielle in Sweet Charity 8.8%
Scarlet Strallen in Passion 8.6%
Rosalie Craig in Aspects of Love 5.0%

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Joseph Millson in Love Never Dies 28.7%
Chris Ellis-Stanton in Legally Blonde 23.7%
Michael Xavier in Into the Woods 18.1%
Paul J. Medford in Sweet Charity 12.2%
Dave Willetts in Aspects of Love 9.2%
Tim Newman in All the Fun of the Fair 8.0%

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Les Miserables: 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2 57.1%
Hair 19.1%
When We Are Married 6.8%
Men Should Weep 6.4%
Posh 5.9%
Women, Power & Politics 4.8%

THE TAKE ONE MEDIA BEST TAKEOVER IN A ROLE
Rachel Tucker in Wicked 25.7%
Kerry Ellis in Oliver! 21.9%
Lee Mead in Wicked 15.1%
Ben Richards in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 13.7%
Griff Rhys-Jones in Oliver! 12.1%
Denise Van Outen in Legally Blonde 11.5%

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Jerry Mitchell in Legally Blonde 31.9%
Arlene Philips in Flashdance 24.2%
Stephen Mear in Shoes & Sweet Charity 13.3%
Karole Armitage in Hair 11.3%
Jason Gilkison in Burn the Floor 9.7%
Bill T. Jones in Fela! 9.6%

BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION
Chess on Tour 29.3%
42nd Street at the Chichester Festival Theatre 19.9%
Hamlet at Sheffield Crucible 19.0%
Lend Me a Tenor at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 15.8%
Antony & Cleopatra at the Liverpool Playhouse 8.7%
A Raisin in the Sun at The Royal Exchange, Manchester 7.3%

THE EQUITY BEST WEST END SHOW
Wicked 26.3%
War Horse 20.7%
Les Miserables 17.7%
The Phantom of the Opera 15.4%
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 10.1%
Jersey Boys 9.8%

THE AKA THEATRE EVENT OF THE YEAR
Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2 & screened to cinemas worldwide 52.5%
The transformation of the Eurostar Terminal at Waterloo for The Railway Children 15.0%
Judi Dench returning to the role of Titania after 40 years for Sir Peter Hall in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose, Kingston 14.6%
The Donmar Warehouse "Sondheim at 80" concert 8.9%
The relaunch of the King's Head as London's first new opera house in 40 years 5.0%
Jellyfish, the UK's first recycled theatre, built on a playground in Southwark 4.1%

OTHER AWARDS RESULTS INCLUDE...
THE OBERON BOOKS BEST PLAY
Anne Boleyn 33.6%

BEST NEW COMEDY
Yes, Prime Minister 27.0%

THE RADISSON EDWARDIAN BEST PLAY REVIVAL
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 26.0%

THE SPOTLIGHT BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Zoe Wannamake in All My Sons 31.2%

THE SPOTLIGHT BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
David Suchet in All My Sons 23.2%

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Tamsin Greig in The Little Dog Laughed 22.0%

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Nigel Lindsay in Broken Glass 23.7%

THE CAPITAL BREAKS BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE
Meera Syal in Shirley Valentine 25.5%

THE SHAKESPEARE 4 KIDZ BEST SHAKESPEAREAN PRODUCTION
Hamlet 28.6%

THE LAST SECOND TICKETS BEST DIRECTOR
Timothy Sheader in Into the Woods & The Crucible 25.7%

BEST SET DESIGNER
Joanna Scotcher in The Railway Children 31.8%

THE WHITE LIGHT BEST LIGHTING DESIGNER
James Farncombe in Ghost Stories 31.6%

THE DEWYNTERS LONDON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jonathan Groff in Deathtrap 34.4%

THE LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION
La Boheme 33.0%