Laurence Connor News

Although it is still unclear when the much-awaited London revival of Cameron Mackintosh's mega-musical "Miss Saigon" would get a green light from the big boss, Mackintosh's trusted creative team, made up of executive producer Trevor Jackson, stage director Laurence Connor, musical supervisor Stephen Brooker, and choreographer Geoffrey Garratt, had opted to visit the country to hold the first-ever international auditions for "Miss Saigon" after several years.

Local Disney princesses Rachelle Ann Go, who played the title role in the Asian premiere of Disney's stage musical adaptation of "The Little Mermaid," and K-La Rivera, who is currently playing the role of Princess Jasmine in the Asian premiere of Disney's stage musical adaptation of "Aladdin," both made it to the final round of auditions, mainly dance auditions, for the much-talked-about "Miss Saigon" tryouts, which began last Monday, November 19, and will end tomorrow, Thursday, November 22 at the Opera Haus, Philippine Opera Company's newly opened headquarters in Makati City.

60 out of 420 auditionees got callbacks on the first day of the much-talked-about "Miss Saigon" auditions, spearheaded by British stage director Laurence Connor ("Miss Saigon," "Les Miserables") and Cameron Mackintosh's representative in the Philippines, Dong Alegre ("Miss Saigon"), held at the Philippine Opera Company's headquarters in Makati City early today. Experienced thespians Karylle Tatlonghari, Tippy dos Santos, Jake Macapagal, Julia Abueva, Lorenz Martinez, OJ Mariano, Noel Rayos, Cathy Azanza, Kyla Rivera, Cara Barredo, Topper Fabregas, and Jay Pangilinan were among the 60 who made the short list.

Cameron Mackintosh's creative team for the rumoured 2013 West End revival of MISS SAIGON, which includes executive producer Trevor Jackson, director Laurence Connor, musical supervisor Stephen Brooker, choreographer Geoffrey Garrett, and Mackintosh's Philippine representative Dong Alegre, is looking for three "Kims" and at least seven Asian ensemble performers (male and female) for the auditions that will be held in Manila on Monday, November 19 to Thursday, November 22 at the Opera Haus at 3657 Bautista St. (near the corner of Buendia Avenue), Makati City.

Tickets for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables will go on sale Dec. 3, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. for the Sacramento engagement at Community Center Theater, which runs from May 29 - June 9, 2013. The all new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Tickets for Les Miserables are currently available only by purchasing a Broadway Sacramento season ticket.

Many media outlets in the Philippines have already published series of auditions tips, which primarily came from Tony winner Lea Salonga and London-based actress Monique Wilson, Filipino actresses that both starred in the original production of MISS SAIGON in London 22 years ago. BroadwayWorld took a different turn, and asked some advices from our other favorite Filipino actresses that also played Kim: Joanna Ampil (Sydney and London), Ima Castro (Manila and London), Ivy Rose Padilla (Wellington, New Zealand), and Jennifer Paz (U.S. National Tour).

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of LES MISERABLES has been announced for the back-by-popular-demand Washington engagement at The National Theatre, beginning December 13 for three weeks only. The all-new production of LES MISERABLES features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

The UK touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA features Earl Carpenter as 'The Phantom' and Katie Hall as 'Christine'. They are joined by Simon Bailey as 'Raoul', Angela M. Caesar as 'Carlotta', Andy Hockley as 'Monsieur Firmin', Simon Green as 'Monsieur Andre', Elizabeth Marsh as 'Madame Giry', Vincent Pirillo as 'Ubaldo Piangi', Hannah Cadec as 'Meg Giry' and Olivia Brereton as 'Christine' at certain performances. Check out new photos of the cast in action below!

Laurence Connor and James Powell's direction of the current tour is energetic and lively from opening to close. There are cleverly paid notes of homage to Trevor Nunn and John Caird's original direction of the piece. Yet, the team really takes advantage of being able to breathe new life into the show, almost completely restaging every scene. Likewise, they have taken the opportunity to present a grittier and more realistic LES MISERABLES.

East Jefferson General Hospital Broadway in New Orleans announced the premiere New Orleans engagement of Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables, playing at the Mahalia Jackson Theater tonight, October 30 - November 4, 2012. Tickets will go on sale to the public Friday, August 24, at 11 a.m.

Apparently, if you've seen LES MISERABLES in its current incarnation, you're missing 15 minutes (approximately), and a revolving stage that makes the action come alive. Well, I hadn't seen the production in any form-I even missed the Muny's presentation, so this was a fresh experience for me. I can't imagine what was cut, since it's about 3 hours even with the intermission, but the revolving stage might have been nice to have. In any event, this is still an epic musical that stirs the heart and soul, and it left the audience enthralled as it told its sprawling tale. Having read Victor Hugo's unedited text some years ago, and written a paper on how it compared to the Frederic March and Charles Laughton film, I come at this from a different perspective. For me, this modern opera currently playing the Fox Theatre (through October 28, 2012), is generally more impressive due to it's fine performances and expert staging than its reputation.

Cameron Mackintosh's creative team for the 2013 West End revival of MISS SAIGON, which includes executive producer Trevor Jackson, director Laurence Connor, musical supervisor Stephen Brooker, choreographer Geoffrey Garrett, and Mackintosh's Philippine representative Dong Alegre, is looking for three "Kims" and at least seven Asian ensemble performers (male and female) for the auditions that will be held in Manila on Monday, November 19 to Thursday, November 22 at the Opera Haus at 3657 Bautista St. (near the corner of Buendia Avenue), Makati City.

Celebrating 40 years since it first opened in London's West End, the Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour opened 21 September, 2012, at the O2 Arena in London and went on to visit Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool and Nottingham. The tour culminates in Sheffield tomorrow, 21 October. Let's see what the critics had to say throughout the tour!

Tickets for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables are on sale for the premiere Fort Worth engagement at Bass Performance Hall. The all new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

Last night, 21 September, 2012, at the O2 Arena in London was the first show of the new arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Melanie C as Mary Magdalene, Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Chris Moyles as King Herod and 'Superstar' winner Ben Forster as Jesus. Let's see what the critics had to say...

Tickets for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables are on sale now for the back-by-popular-demand Washington engagement at The National Theatre, beginning December 12 for three weeks only. The all new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables has been announced for the premiere St. Louis engagement at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. The all new production of Les Miserables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, 'Les Misérables' is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of 'Les Misérables' includes the classic songs 'I Dreamed a Dream,' 'On My Own,' 'Stars,' 'Bring Him Home,' 'Do You Hear The People Sing?,' 'One Day More,' 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,' 'Master of The House' and many more. Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Boublil and Schönberg's 'Les Misérables' has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. The production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable and sound by Mick Potter.

Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of the 'World's Longest-Running Musical,' Les Misérables, is now in North America visiting many cities on a multi-year tour. The production features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo and you can catch it at the San Diego Civic Theatre tonight, August 28-September 2, 2012.

East Jefferson General Hospital Broadway in New Orleans today announced the premiere New Orleans engagement of Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables, playing at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, October 30 - November 4, 2012. Tickets will go on sale to the public Friday, August 24, at 11 a.m.