London Musical Theatre Orchestra Announces 2018 Season

London Musical Theatre Orchestra is proud to announce its 2018 season which features three spectacular musicals in concert: Tony Award-winning Camelot by Lerner and Loewe at the London Palladium; Girlfriends, composed by Emmy Award-winner Howard Goodall and starring Lucie Jones and Lauren Samuels, at Bishopsgate Institute; and the return of festive favourite A Christmas Carol at the Lyceum Theatre. The concerts follow London Musical Theatre Orchestra and Hackney Empire's presentation of Martin Smith's King at Hackney Empire.

The London Musical Theatre Orchestra is conducted by founder Freddie Tapner, who said: "It is a great privilege to be able to bring such a diverse range of stories to our audience across 2018, in what is our biggest and boldest season to date. What unites Camelot, Girlfriends and A Christmas Carol is the sensational music at the core of each show, which will be brought thrillingly to life by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra at each concert."

Girlfriends was composed by Howard Goodall, who said: "My musical Girlfriends was first seen in May 1986. It was one of the few musicals to have been written at that time which set out to create the sound of mainly women's voices, in a (hopefully) stirring polyphony of strong, independent parts and I am pleased to say it has since been revived many times in many different incarnations. It celebrates women who made huge sacrifices in the struggle against fascism in the Second World War and whose spirit and fortitude are still an inspiration to us today."

Tickets for Girlfriends and A Christmas Carol will be released for general sale on Friday, 25th May at 10am. Subscribers to the LMTO mailing list will receive early access to booking for Girlfriends and A Christmas Carol on Wednesday 23rd May at 10am. Tickets for Camelot will be released in early June. Sign up to the mailing list at http://www.lmto.org/get-involved/newsletter/

CAMELOT AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM, 7.30PM ON 6TH OCTOBER

Lerner and Loewe's majestic Camelot, winner of four Tony Awards, returns to the West End for the first time in over thirty years. Packed with some of musical theatre's best songs, LMTO's concert version with full orchestra will celebrate the centenary of Alan Jay Lerner's birth at the West End's favourite theatre, the London Palladium.

This much-loved musical brings the legend of King Arthur to vivid life with an extraordinary score and book based on T H White's novel The Once And Future King. When Guinevere falls for Lancelot, one of The Knights of the Round Table, Arthur's loyalties and beliefs are tested, and the fate of his beloved Camelot hangs in the balance.

Camelot includes the songs "If Ever I Would Leave You", "How To Handle A Woman", "The Lusty Month of May" and "Camelot", and will feature an all-star cast soon to be revealed. Tickets for Camelot will go on sale in early June.

GIRLFRIENDS AT BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE, 7.30PM ON 2ND NOV / 2.30PM AND 7.30PM ON 3RD NOV

Girlfriends, by Emmy, Brit and BAFTA-winner Howard Goodall CBE (Bend It Like Beckham, The Hired Man), returns to London in concert form with the London Musical Theatre Orchestra and an all-star cast, led by Lucie Jones as Lou (Legally Blonde, UK Eurovision Entrant 2017, Les Misérables) and Lauren Samuels as Amy (Bend It Like Beckham, Romantics Anonymous, We Will Rock You).

Girlfriends follows recruits of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) on an RAF Bomber Command base during the Second World War. This emotionally compelling musical explores the bravery, camaraderie, solidarity and humour between the women in the WAAF while they pack parachutes, make shells, fall in love and live through the horrors of the War. With sweeping melodies and epic all-female choruses, set to brand new orchestrations by Simon Nathan and the composer, Girlfriends is the British musical at its best and will be performed in the beautiful surroundings of the Great Hall at Bishopsgate Institute.

Girlfriends is a London Musical Theatre Orchestra co-production with Bishopsgate Institute and Howard Goodall.

For tickets and more information please visit: www.bishopsgate.org.uk/Girlfriends

A CHRISTMAS CAROL AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE, 7.30PM ON 10TH AND 17TH DECEMBER

Following on the five-star sell-out successes in 2016 and 2017, the London Musical Theatre Orchestra returns to the Lyceum Theatre with their spectacular concert production of A Christmas Carol, for what is now a firm London Christmas tradition.

Charles Dickens' classic tale gets the full Broadway treatment by the award-winning team of Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical) and Mike Ockrent (Crazy For You, Me and My Girl). This joyous tale of the redemptive power of Christmas ran for ten years at New York's Madison Square Garden, where The New York Times called it "a tonic for adults, and for children a transfixing journey".

With an all-star cast soon to be announced, and the 32-piece London Musical Theatre Orchestra in full festive swing, this is the perfect start to the Christmas season.

For tickets and more information please visit: http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/london-musical-theatre-orchestra-presents-a-christmas-carol/lyceum-theatre/

For further information and booking details go to www.lmto.org