Ben Elton News

UK's The Stage reports that WICKED's Kerry Ellis, currently starring in the West End's OLIVER!, joins Queen's guitarist Brian May, soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, and tenor José Carreras for the final BBC Proms in the Park concert of the season, to be held September 11 in Hyde Park. The concert will be broadcast on Radio 2. The concert will end with a live video exchange with 'Last Night of the Proms' at the Royal Albert Hall.

Having kicked up dust across the UK with her powerhouse performance as the Killer Queen in the recent touring production of Queen and Ben Elton's We Will Rock You, former X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards has been invited to join the West End production to reprise the role which brought her great critical notice during the show's year-long tour.

Having kicked up dust across the UK with her powerhouse performance as the Killer Queen in the recent touring production of Queen and Ben Elton's We Will Rock You, former X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards has been invited to join the West End production to reprise the role which brought her great critical notice during the show's year-long tour.

British actress and comedienne Maureen Lipman joins the judging panel for The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year Competition & The Stiles and Drewe Best New Song of 2010 Awards, to be hosted by West End star Hannah Waddingham at The Queen's Theatre on Sunday 6th June.

British actress and comedienne Maureen Lipman joins the judging panel for The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year Competition & The Stiles and Drewe Best New Song of 2010 Awards, to be hosted by West End star Hannah Waddingham at The Queen's Theatre on Sunday 6th June.

Universal Music Philippines has made it possible for local fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber to savor a thrilling sampling of music from 'Love Never Dies', sequel to Webber's magnum opus 'The Phantom of the Opera', a mere one week after the highly anticipated musical had its world premiere (March 9, 2010) at the Adelphi Theatre in London. 'Love Never Dies' two-compact disc recording, featuring Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine Daaé, is now available in local music stores.

West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis, who will next be seen as 'Nancy' in the Cameron Mackintosh production of 'Oliver' at the Royal Drury Lane, sits down for a studio chat with legendary musician Brian May to discuss her upcoming album 'Anthems' (produced by May) which is set for release in September.

West End star Hannah Waddingham will host a prestigious awards ceremony, now in its fourth year, on Sunday 6th June at The Queens Theatre, London. The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year Competition & The Stiles and Drewe Best New Song of 2010 Awards are presented by The Stephen Sondheim Society and Mercury Musical Developments (MMD).

Video highlights of the 2010 Olivier Awards!

All the news from the Grosvenor as UK theatre's most prestigious gongs are given out...Mark Rylance and Rachel Weisz win actor/actress, Iwan Rheon, Samantha Spiro and Aneurin Barnard win the musical awards, with Wicked picking up the brand-new audience award and Spring Awakening getting the nod for best new musical

The Olivier Awards take place on Sunday evening - and you can follow all the news here!

This week we are taking a look at the just-released cast album of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical sequel, LOVE NEVER DIES, which has proven to be among many phans and theatre fans, in a word, divisive. Be sure to check out last week's Phantom Round-Up for a rundown of the original PHANTOM OF THE OPERA as it stands on disc if only because it is beneficial to have at least a tertiary knowledge of that show‘s score in order to fully appreciate the music here... And what rich, rapturous music it is!

The 2010 Olivier Awards will take place on 21 March 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, with Spring Awakening, Enron, Jerusalem and A Little Night Music among the standouts of the season with the most nominations. The Laurence Olivier Awards were established in 1976 as The Society of West End Theatre Awards, and Lord Olivier agreed to have his name associated with them in 1984. The Awards are run by The Society of London Theatre but are adjudicated by panels that are equally made up of members of the theatregoing public and experts chosen for their knowledge and professional experience. For more information and updates, visit www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards.

RELAX is set in the Gemini Lodge Guesthouse, near Weston super Mare, where the kinky guest house owner has a habit of seducing his unsuspecting male guests, but the next morning blaming it on his supposed identical twin brother.

The next Olivier Awards will take place on 21 March 2010.

Stage and screen star Imogen Stubbs is set to star in the upcoming UK tour of THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams. The tour will begin in Salisbury with performances from March 4th through March 20th. The production will be directed by Polly Teate.

Now running in its eighth year, Queen and Ben Elton's musical WE WILL ROCK YOU, is set to rock on through 2010. Bookings are now available through to October 2010, guaranteeing the show a further year at least at the Dominion Theatre, a wholly-owned Nederlander venue.

Recently celebrated as the Best Musical of the Decade by Entertainment Weekly magazine, WICKED London is proud to launch its 2010-11 cast with the news that Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman will be taking over the West End's most sought after leading lady roles of Elphaba and Glinda.

Well, as Miss Fleck (aka Niamh Perry) has reported, yesterday was the Meet and Greet.

2009 was a fantastic year for Canadian Theatre, and with many exciting things on the horizon for 2010, there is a lot for us to be thankful for. Throughout the year, BWW interviewed many people who were part of the various productions that graced the Canadian stage, and asked them for their advice on how to break into musical theatre. Here is a recap of some of the best tips we heard throughout 2009, to help gear up for 2010!