Gina Beck News

The company of the first North American tour of WICKED will welcome Gina Beck as Glinda and Alison Fraser as Madame Morrible on Monday, December 16 in Chicago, IL. WICKED, Broadway's biggest blockbuster, is playing through December 21 at the Oriental Theatre.

WICKED, the long-running hit West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, welcomes international Wicked star Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba), Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero); Sue Kelvin (Madame Morrible) and Olivier award-winning actor Paul Clarkson (Doctor Dillamond) to the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, beginning today, Monday 18 November 2013. Sam Kelly returns to play The Wizard, a role he previously played in 2009/2010. Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose) and Sam Lupton (Boq) continue in their current starring roles. Emma Hatton is the Standby Elphaba and current ensemble cast member Sophie Linder-Lee is now the Standby Glinda.

It's still tight at the top of all the BWW:UK 2013 Award categories! Your votes can still make a difference as The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Once all battle it out for the musical theatre prizes.

Reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue's opinions on who should win the 2013 BWW:UK Awards! Have you got your votes in yet? There's still time!

Voting closes on Friday for this year's BWW:UK Awards! The Book Of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Once all look set to win for the musicals - and Hadley Fraser may pick up a special double award for his performances in a musical and a play.

The collective casts of international stage sensation WICKED in the UK convened to create special videos to commemorate the 10th anniversary of WICKED on Broadway and send an Oz-ian greeting across the pond.

The Book of Mormon is leading in many of the New Musical categories - but Once and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is running it close!

The Theatrical Management Association (TMA) has announced the winners of the 2013 UK Theatre Awards - the only nationwide awards to honour creative excellence and the outstanding achievement seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Big West End showstoppers Once, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Book of Mormon are leading the way, with the competition just as tight for the fringe categories - Chichester's The Pajama Game and Southwark Playhouse's Titanic are also garnering the votes at the moment.

Voting opened this week for the 2013 BWW:UK Awards - and we've already had a record number of votes in!

Kathryn catches up with Kerry Ellis to chat about gigs, conservation and upcoming events.

Gary Naylor enjoys a splendid farewell to an unexpectedly lovely summer.

WICKED, the Olivier Award-winning West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, flies into its 8th year at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and announces the launch of its 16th new booking period, on Monday 2 September 2013 at 10.00am, with tickets going on sale over a year in advance until Saturday 1 November 2014.

LIVE BY THE LAKE, the hotly anticipated series of outdoor summer concerts at Kenwood House, marks the welcome return of the English Heritage concert season. Produced by the young dynamic agency, Rouge Events, Live By The Lake's outstanding lineup of world class music is scheduled over six days - August 23rd-25th and August 30th-September 1st; each show promises to attract up to 10,000 music and film lovers to enjoy the music and share a picnic with friends and family in more than 100 acres of Kenwood House's beautifully landscaped gardens. Boasting the perfect mix of pop, rock, soul, classical, musical theatre and film, LIVE BY THE LAKE promises something special for every music lover in the land. Tickets are now on sale at www.kenwood.seetickets.com and there are a limited number of discounts for residents in many of London's northwest postal districts. Ticket holders will be able to choose a variety of reasonably priced tickets for each concert and to decide whether or not to bring their own picnic and all-weather paraphernalia! For those who want to rock up unhampered, the best of Carluccio's Italian picnics can be ordered in advance and picked up on the day of each orchestral concert. (NB: Suede and Keane concerts will be standing room only, so picnics and chairs should be left at home and a range of drinks and delicious food will be available from the on-site concession stands. PROGRAMME at a glance: August 23rd: SUEDE and special guests BRITISH SEA POWER August 24th: ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY and the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 25th: KEANE and special guest LAURA MVULA August 30th: 'SINGIN' IN THE RAIN' - film screening, score performed by the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 31st: ANA MARIA MARTINEZ and the ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA September 1st: MICHAEL BALL and friends sing GERSHWIN Nathan Homan of Rouge Events says: "We are absolutely delighted to be producing the first LIVE BY THE LAKE at Kenwood House in association with English Heritage. We've got a wonderful lineup of world class performers and I think Kenwood's beautiful grounds are the perfect setting for what promises to be a seriously great series of summer concerts. Even in this digital age, the appetite for live performance is greater than ever - the calibre of artists who are appearing at Live By The Lake is a testament to their own enjoyment of playing outdoor concerts and I think audiences across the six nights will love every minute of it." Publicity: judy.lipsey@premiercomms.com and Robbie.wilson@premiercomms.com 020 7292 8330 www.livebythelake.co.uk THE PROGRAMME in detail: Kicking off proceedings today August 23rd are the multi-platinum selling, mighty SUEDE (left), Britpop progenitors, one of the world's most exciting rock bands and whose sixth studio album 'Bloodsports' was released in March, after a ten year gap, to much critical acclaim. Suede's special guests are the splendid Brighton-based indie rockers BRITISH SEA POWER, the title of whose current album, 'Machineries of Joy', was inspired by a collection of short stories by the great sci-fi author, Ray Bradbury. The band recently performed their soundtrack for the documentary film 'From the Land to the Sea', directed by Penny Woolcock, at the Sundance London Film and Music Festival at the 02 and at the Sheffield Documentary Festival. On Saturday August 24th it's a feast for classical music lovers with the Royal Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Roderick Dunk, performing a wonderful selection of arias from, among others, Carmina Burana, Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Requiem and many more. The night will end with a spectacular firework display. Roderick Dunk will be well known to BBC Radio 2 listeners as the BBC Concert Orchestra's regular guest conductor for the long running Today Night is Music Night. To complete the perfect first weekend on August 25th the Brit Award winning, Grammy nominated, 10 million selling KEANE will take to the stage; fronted by the charismatic Tom Chaplin, the band's fourth studio album, Strangeland, was released in May 2012 and immediately topped the UK charts. KEANE are delighted to have as their special guest the uniquely gifted soul singer/songwriter LAURA MVULA, whose debut album, 'Sing To The Moon', was released this year and instantly catapulted her into the musical stratosphere and a headlining slot at this year's Isle of Wight Festival. Today August 30th offers a truly rare opportunity to film fans: the screening of the 1952 musical romantic comedy 'Singin' In The Rain' to a LIVE score performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Starring the legendary Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, and choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly, the film offers an entertaining depiction of a 1927 Hollywood caught up in the transition from silent films to talkies. The RPO, conducted by Neil Thomson, will bring the film's iconic soundtrack to life while the re-mastered film is shown on the big screen. Saturday August 31st is Opera Alfresco night with the English National Opera Orchestra and a special appearance by the incomparable Grammy Award winning American soprano, Ana Maria Martinez whose lyrical, elegant style has seen her grace all the grand opera houses around the world. The ENO together with principal soloists Wynne Evans, Fiona Murphy, Kai Ruutel and David Webster will perform some of the world's greatest and most popular arias from the works of Bizet, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi and more. On Sunday September 1st MICHAEL BALL, double Olivier Award winner ('Hairspray', 'Sweeney Todd'), multi-platinum recording artist, and radio and TV presenter will close Live By The Lake's programme of events with a special evening of music by George and Ira Gershwin. Britain's top musical theatre star will be inviting friends from the West End stage such as Kerry Ellis, Gina Beck, and David Shannon to join him in performing some of the Gershwin's best loved songs including Summertime, I Got Rhythm, S'Wonderful, Shall We Dance, and many more.

WICKED, the long-running hit West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is pleased to announce that Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero); Sue Kelvin (Madame Morrible) and Olivier award-winning actor Paul Clarkson (Doctor Dillamond) will join the previously announced international Wicked star Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba) in the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre from Monday 18 November 2013. Sam Kelly will return to play The Wizard, a role he previously played in 2009/2010. Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose) and Sam Lupton (Boq) will continue in their current starring roles. Emma Hatton will be Standby Elphaba and current ensemble cast member Sophie Linder-Lee will become Standby Glinda.

LIVE BY THE LAKE, the hotly anticipated series of outdoor summer concerts at Kenwood House, marks the welcome return of the English Heritage concert season. Produced by the young dynamic agency, Rouge Events, Live By The Lake's outstanding lineup of world class music is scheduled over six days – August 23rd-25th and August 30th-September 1st; each show promises to attract up to 10,000 music and film lovers to enjoy the music and share a picnic with friends and family in more than 100 acres of Kenwood House's beautifully landscaped gardens. Boasting the perfect mix of pop, rock, soul, classical, musical theatre and film, LIVE BY THE LAKE promises something special for every music lover in the land. Tickets are now on sale at www.kenwood.seetickets.com and there are a limited number of discounts for residents in many of London's northwest postal districts. Ticket holders will be able to choose a variety of reasonably priced tickets for each concert and to decide whether or not to bring their own picnic and all-weather paraphernalia! For those who want to rock up unhampered, the best of Carluccio's Italian picnics can be ordered in advance and picked up on the day of each orchestral concert. (NB: Suede and Keane concerts will be standing room only, so picnics and chairs should be left at home and a range of drinks and delicious food will be available from the on-site concession stands. PROGRAMME at a glance: August 23rd: SUEDE and special guests BRITISH SEA POWER August 24th: ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY and the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 25th: KEANE and special guest LAURA MVULA August 30th: 'SINGIN' IN THE RAIN' – film screening, score performed by the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 31st: ANA MARIA MARTINEZ and the ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA September 1st: MICHAEL BALL and friends sing GERSHWIN Nathan Homan of Rouge Events says: “We are absolutely delighted to be producing the first LIVE BY THE LAKE at Kenwood House in association with English Heritage. We've got a wonderful lineup of world class performers and I think Kenwood's beautiful grounds are the perfect setting for what promises to be a seriously great series of summer concerts. Even in this digital age, the appetite for live performance is greater than ever – the calibre of artists who are appearing at Live By The Lake is a testament to their own enjoyment of playing outdoor concerts and I think audiences across the six nights will love every minute of it.” Publicity: judy.lipsey@premiercomms.com and Robbie.wilson@premiercomms.com 020 7292 8330 www.livebythelake.co.uk THE PROGRAMME in detail: Kicking off proceedings on Friday August 23rd are the multi-platinum selling, mighty SUEDE (left), Britpop progenitors, one of the world's most exciting rock bands and whose sixth studio album 'Bloodsports' was released in March, after a ten year gap, to much critical acclaim. Suede's special guests are the splendid Brighton-based indie rockers BRITISH SEA POWER, the title of whose current album, 'Machineries of Joy', was inspired by a collection of short stories by the great sci-fi author, Ray Bradbury. The band recently performed their soundtrack for the documentary film 'From the Land to the Sea', directed by Penny Woolcock, at the Sundance London Film and Music Festival at the 02 and at the Sheffield Documentary Festival. On Saturday August 24th it's a feast for classical music lovers with the Royal Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Roderick Dunk, performing a wonderful selection of arias from, among others, Carmina Burana, Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Requiem and many more. The night will end with a spectacular firework display. Roderick Dunk will be well known to BBC Radio 2 listeners as the BBC Concert Orchestra's regular guest conductor for the long running Friday Night is Music Night. To complete the perfect first weekend on August 25th the Brit Award winning, Grammy nominated, 10 million selling KEANE will take to the stage; fronted by the charismatic Tom Chaplin, the band's fourth studio album, Strangeland, was released in May 2012 and immediately topped the UK charts. KEANE are delighted to have as their special guest the uniquely gifted soul singer/songwriter LAURA MVULA, whose debut album, 'Sing To The Moon', was released this year and instantly catapulted her into the musical stratosphere and a headlining slot at this year's Isle of Wight Festival. Friday August 30th offers a truly rare opportunity to film fans: the screening of the 1952 musical romantic comedy 'Singin' In The Rain' to a LIVE score performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Starring the legendary Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, and choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly, the film offers an entertaining depiction of a 1927 Hollywood caught up in the transition from silent films to talkies. The RPO, conducted by Neil Thomson, will bring the film's iconic soundtrack to life while the re-mastered film is shown on the big screen. Saturday August 31st is Opera Alfresco night with the English National Opera Orchestra and a special appearance by the incomparable Grammy Award winning American soprano, Ana Maria Martinez whose lyrical, elegant style has seen her grace all the grand opera houses around the world. The ENO together with principal soloists Wynne Evans, Fiona Murphy, Kai Ruutel and David Webster will perform some of the world's greatest and most popular arias from the works of Bizet, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi and more. On Sunday September 1st MICHAEL BALL, double Olivier Award winner ('Hairspray', 'Sweeney Todd'), multi-platinum recording artist, and radio and TV presenter will close Live By The Lake's programme of events with a special evening of music by George and Ira Gershwin. Britain's top musical theatre star will be inviting friends from the West End stage such as Kerry Ellis, Gina Beck, and David Shannon to join him in performing some of the Gershwin's best loved songs including Summertime, I Got Rhythm, S'Wonderful, Shall We Dance, and many more.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, June 23, 2013 - Sunday, June 23, 2013.

The annual festival West End LIVE - organised by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre, in association with MasterCard - returned to Trafalgar Square yesterday, 22nd June and continues today, 23rd June 2013, for a weekend of free entertainment from some of London's top theatre productions and performers. Watch Wicked's Louise Dearman sing 'Defying Gravity', and Dearman and Gina Beck duet on 'For Good', below!

Rouge Events are delighted to announce that Musical Theatre Legend and double Olivier Award winner Michael Ball is to host and perform at 'Summertime - An Evening of Gershwin', part of the Live by the Lake concert season set to take place in the majestic setting of Kenwood House on Sunday 1st September.