Simon Phillips News

Ray Meagher, best known on television for playing Alf Stewart in the long running Australian soap Home and Away, will re join the West End cast of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical as mechanic Bob from 5 October 2011, following his hugely successful run in the show last year. With booking now open at the Palace Theatre until 7 January 2012, Meagher joins Don Gallagher (Bernadette), Richard Grieve (Tick) and Oliver Thornton (Adam) in the internationally award-winning musical at the Palace Theatre.

Broadway's Tony Award winning hit musical PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT is showing her true colors to celebrate this year's Gay Pride festivities with a series of appearances throughout the city leading up to its 'journey to the heart of fabulous' on a Priscilla bus float at this Sunday's parade.

Internationally renowned rock band TOTO perform their only UK concert this year at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday 26th June, 2011. Ticket Hotline: 0844 888 9991 or 0844 847 1642.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical LOVE NEVER DIES will close on 27 August 2011. The production had recently announced that bookings were open through January 2012. The musical opened at the Adelphi Theatre 9th March 2010, with previews from 20th Feb and closed down briefly last winter for a set of changes.

In the 2010-2011 season, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT was honored with three Best Musical award nominations from the Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Award organizations. Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon has also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical in addition to Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations and the Theatre World Award for outstanding Broadway debut. Sheldon was also honored with a Tony nomination as were costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who took home the prize. In celebration of the nominations, the company took the stage at the 2011 Tony Awards on Sunday with a performance of 'It's Raining Men' with the song's composer Paul Shaffer and original songstress Martha Wash. PRISCILLA ensemble member Thom Allison grabbed some backstage shots of the crew as they prepped for their performance and BroadwayWorld brings you a look backstage below!

Considering the fact that it is Broadway's longest running show - and, not only that, but also the most successful entertainment of all time - the top spot in our 2011 31 Days of the Tony Awards Countdown should be, must be and is: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and its multi-Tony-winning composer and producer, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, its director, Hal Prince - the King of the Tony Awards with 21 wins - as well as the original Phantom himself, Tony-winner Michael Crawford. Now that original PHANTOM composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a sequel to the smash hit musical juggernaut - the wildly different LOVE NEVER DIES; two different versions of it, to be exact: one in the West End, and, the exceptionally elaborate Simon Phillips production in Australia - a dicey proposition for a show that, for me, delivers on its premise and possesses a score with the potential to be just as classic as PHANTOM's iconic score undoubtedly is - the world of PHANTOM is reaching a new generation in a whole new way. With clips of Michael Crawford performing alongside Lord Lloyd Webber's then-wife Sarah Brightman - the score's inspiration and the original Christine in the West End and on Broadway - on that year's Tony Awards, as well as the 2006 Tony Awards tribute to PHANTOM's legendary director - as well as EVITA's, also by Andrew Lloyd Webber - the one and only Hal Prince, twenty-one-time Tony Award winner - we also can boast a bevy of clips featuring Tony-winner Michael Crawford singing the show's most famous song, "The Music Of The Night". What a trio - and what a note to go out on -Crawford's in "MOTN" and otherwise!

Friday's Single Day Arena Tickets are $66 and include three performances; Saturday or Sunday's Single Day Arena Tickets are $132 and include five Arena performances.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT's Australian Tony Award nominated costume designer Tim Chappel took Seven Network Australia's 'Sunrise Morning Show' host Nelson Aspen on a backstage costume tour at the Palace Theatre on Broadway to discuss the inspiration behind his and partner Lizzy Gardiner's acclaimed costume designs for the new hit musical. Click below to check it out!

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT's Tony Award nominated costume designer Tim Chappel visited CBS 2's 'Eye on New York' anchor Dana Tyler to discuss the inspiration behind his and partner Lizzy Gardiner's acclaimed costume designs for the new hit musical.

Due to popular demand, New York City's legendary Magnolia Bakery has announced a return of the official cupcake of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL in celebration of the Tony Awards.

Due to popular demand, New York City's legendary Magnolia Bakery has announced a return of the official cupcake of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL in celebration of the Tony Awards.

LOVE NEVER DIES composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, stopped by opening night and gave his thoughts at the end of the performance. View his speech below!

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT has been honored with three Best Musical award nominations from the Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Award organizations. Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon has received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical in addition to Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Best Actor nominations. Academy Award winning design team Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner have also been nominated for a Tony Award® for their costume design for the stage production. Check out a 'diva-mix' of songs featured in the show by clicking below!

A lack of enthusiasm embodied me as I entered the Regent Theater on Saturday night for the Australian opening of Love Never Dies, the sequel to Andrew LLoyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Having seen the show twice at the Adelphi Theater in London I had a fair idea of what I was in for and quite honestly I felt that the two previous times where more than enough to convince me that this show, no matter how hard LLoyd Webber tries, simply does not work. How wrong I was. This is a brand new show from Overture to Curtain and even the familar story and score seemed to rise in this herculean effort by an Australian creative team led by Director Simon Phillips and Designer Gabriela Tylesova. The vast minimalist expanses of the Adelphi stage were now filled with a carnival of lights, carousels, and a cast of freaks and outcast characters that finally gave the show the vibe it needed. One cannot help but be wowed by the spherical design employed by Tylesova in the Coney Island Waltz in the early stages of Act 1, and in reality, it is the design of the show that is its star attraction. That and Phantom Ben Lewis. Lewis' character is vocally as powerful a Phantom that I have seen. However, it wasn't Lewis' vocal ability that won me over, it was his tender acting performance. So much so that what in the past was a particularly unmoving final scene became one of the most finite and complete in recent memory. The audience either side of me were fossicking for their handkerchiefs and it left me wishing I had brought one myself.

The continuation of Broadway's longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies has opened the Regent Theatre in Australia.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has let the world know what he thinks of the Melbourne version of LOVE NEVER DIES, his sequel to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA which opened last Thursday. The $9 million production has many differences from the LOVE NEVER DIES that has been playing in London for over a year.

To celebrate PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT's 100th performance on Broadway, tonight, Friday, May 27th -- the smash hit new musical is counting down 100 'memorable' fun facts and backstage secrets leading up to the landmark performance.

Following hit productions in Australia, London and Toronto, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL opened to critical acclaim on March 20 at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway). The show will give its 100th performance on Broadway, tonight, Friday, May 27th, and the cast recently celebrated the milestone with a Cupcake Toast. BroadwayWorld brings you full coverage of the event below!