Arlene Phillips News

Russell Grant and Musical Director and former member of Only Men Aloud, Ross Leadbeater invite you to a 'Glamorous Night' in celebration of Ivor Novello - the most successful British musical theatre composer of the first half of the 20th century. Ivor Novello and the Great British Musical plays at St James Studio - London's newest and hottest theatre venue - for one night only on Sunday 23rd June at 7:30pm.

Harold Pinter's macabre tragicomedy returns to London's West End in this new production directed by Jamie Lloyd (Donmar's Passion, Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac, National Theatre's She Stoops to Conquer, Royal Court's The Pride). It follows the critically acclaimed and sold out Macbeth, starring James McAvoy, in a thrilling season of work for Trafalgar Transformed. Starring Simon Russell Beale (Privates on Parade, National Theatre's Timon of Athens and Collaborators) and John Simm (Elling, Sheffield Theatres' Hamlet and Betrayal), The Hothouse opened tonight, May 9, 2013, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

Producers Bill Kenwright, The Really Useful Group, David Mirvish, Troika Entertainment & Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures have just announced that the first North American tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ will commence on September 10, 2013 at The Smith Center in Las Vegas, NV.

See the stars on the red carpet!

UK editor in chief Carrie Dunn follows the Oliviers Party in the Piazza, red carpet and the ceremony, and gives her opinions on the runners and riders...

West End Eurovision 2013 will take place at The Dominion Theatre on Thursday, 23 May. This late night show pays tribute to the Eurovision Song Contest and sees West End shows competing against each other singing past Eurovision songs, aiming to win the votes of the audience, the competing entries judging panels and the celebrity judging panel. Click below to watch Wicked spoof The Hunger Games in a promo for the event!

Click below to watch a medley featuring 'I Dreamed a Dream', 'Bring Him Home' and 'One Day More' from LES MISERABLES, performed at the Laurence Olivier Awards in December 1985!

Dancer, choreographer and director Gillian Lynne will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this month's Oliviers. In recognition of her work, we've got access to archive clips that show her in action throughout her career.

Casts of Cabaret, A Chorus Line, Top Hat and The Bodyguard also to feature!

Last night, Starlight Express was celebrating 29 years to the day when it opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End. Since ending an incredibly successful 18-year run in London, the production has not been very far from our stages. With one of the most impressive set designs in a resident venue, taking it out on tour was never going to be quite as lavish. H

The Book of Mormon creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are in the West End tonight for the show's opening - and so are dozens of other stars!

Today in 1987, Starlight Express opened at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 761 performances. Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Richard Stilgoe (lyrics) and Arlene Phillips (choreography), with later revisions by Don Black (lyrics) and David Yazbek (music and lyrics for the 2nd US tour). The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates.

Queen Theatrical Productions, Tribeca Theatrical Productions, Phil McIntyre Entertainment and NETworks Presentations just announced the first North American tour of the worldwide smash hit musical, Queen and Ben Elton's We Will Rock You.

The Pantages Theatre today reveals its lineup for the 2013-2014 SEASON, a seven-show package. Back by popular demand, THE BOOK OF MORMON which played a record-breaking 12-week run in the fall of 2012 will return for a limited engagement beginning January 21, 2014.

A CHORUS LINE has opened at the London Palladium - here are some shots from the after-party!

Russell Grant finds himself sharing the dance floor with his favourite partner, Flavia Cacace, along with Vincent Simone, in the West End run of Olivier Award-nominated Midnight Tango, which runs for a strictly limited season at The Phoenix Theatre through 2 March 2013. But according to a recent staement released by a show respresentative, Grant will not be able to partake in opening night.

Fresh from her victory on BBC 1's Strictly Come Dancing in December, Flavia Cacace is reunited with her professional dance partner, Vincent Simone, for the third consecutive year, in their highly successful, record-breaking show, MIDNIGHT TANGO. Since the show first began in April 2011, it has sold nearly 500,000 tickets throughout the UK and Ireland, meaning almost half a million people to date have been seduced by Vincent and Flavia's hot and sensual show.

The critically acclaimed Cirque du Soleil show KOOZA opened last night, Tuesday 8 January, for a limited engagement at Royal Albert Hall. Tickets are currently on sale until 14 February 2013. Since its premiere in April of 2007, KOOZA has captivated close to four million spectators in North America and Japan. London is the first destination on the 2013 KOOZA European tour. Check out the star-studded arrivals on opening night below!

As always, the performing arts are well rewarded in this year's New Year's Honours List.

Buzz has been building for the Wizard of Oz all season, thanks in part to the fantastic CBC reality show 'Over the Rainbow', which allowed the Canadian public to vote for the young lady they wanted to portray Dorothy. Danielle Wade was the chosen one. The show began performances on December 20th at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. Click below to listen to the audience's first impressions!