Michael Ball News

Members from the current West End casts of long-running hits THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LES MISERABLES will convene to join former footballers and some A-list stars at Hayes Lane in Bromley for a special charity soccer game to benefit the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The Les Miserables company have been asked by the lovely people at BWW:UK to blog about the forthcoming charity football match between Les Miserables and The Phantom Of The Opera. As the organiser of the event, I have decided to go first, so here goes…

Due to popular demand, South Bend Civic Theatre has extended Les Miserables for two extra performances, Friday August 2 at 8:00 PM and Saturday August 3 at 8:00 PM. Advance ticket sales for this blockbuster musical have resulted in sold-out shows throughout Les Miserables' opening weekend.

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.

"Do You Hear the People Sing?" The musical phenomenon that has enthralled spectators all over the globe comes to South Bend Civic Theatre this summer. Based on the masterwork by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables shares the lives of men, women, and children struggling to survive and make their voices heard against oppression and injustice. The odyssey of Jean Valjean from embittered convict to love and redemption has captivated readers and theatregoers for generations. Now, SBCT presents the musical in a homegrown production with area talent.

Jason Manford brings his brand new tour show to the Edinburgh Festival this year then across Scotland! The show promises to feature a wealth of comedy anecdotes, misunderstandings and audience banter delivered with Jason's likeable charm and teasingly intelligent wit.

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.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of May 6!

The 2013 Olivier Awards 2013 took place on April 28, hosted by Sheridan Smith and Hugh Bonneville, at the Royal Opera House. For a full list of this year's winners, click here, and below, watch Michael Ball perform 'Love Changes Everything' with the Arts Ed choir at the awards show!

It's time for the 2013 Olivier Awards - we'll be updating live with all the winners in all the categories!

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...

Boggess recently chatted with BroadwayWorld about the upcoming concert, her biggest influences, upcoming projects, and more!

On Saturday, April 13, 2013, the Oratorio Society of New York announced the winners of the 37th Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, the only major vocal competition devoted to solo oratorio singing.

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!

Two of musical theatre's biggest worldwide stars Matthew Morrison and Idina Menzel will be giving special solo performances at the 2013 Oliviers, while Michael Xavier will be co-presenting from the BBC Radio 2 Stage in the Covent Garden Piazza.

Today we are talking to the originator of Jean Valjean in LES MISERABLES onstage and a preeminent Phantom (and the first to actually play the role) in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA who has clearly made a major mark with his performances in the theatre - not to mention his work on the original concept albums of EVITA and JEKYLL & HYDE - who now makes the leap to the big screen in his featured role in the super-successful feature film iteration of the Claude-Michel Schonberg/Alain Boublil musical based on the Victor Hugo novel - the titanically talented Colm Wilkinson. Opening up about his work in the original Royal Shakespeare Company production of LES MISERABLES and his collaboration with the creative team and cast of actors as well as his association with producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Trevor Nunn and more, Wilkinson details the finer points of creating one of the modern musical theatre's most memorable characters, from his first audition through to the West End, Broadway and beyond. Additionally, Wilkinson reveals all about shooting the feature film version, with Broadway/Hollywood superstar Hugh Jackman taking over the leading role and whether he would consider taking on another character in the show after having essaying Jean Valjean onstage and the Monsignor onscreen - maybe Javert? Plus, Wilkinson shares backstage stories involving fellow theatrical luminaries like Trevor Nunn, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more in this career-spanning conversation with one of the mega-musical era's most major of stars - - all of that and much, much more awaits!

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, March 31, 2013 - Sunday, March 31, 2013.

Andrew Lloyd Webber: 40 Musical Years gave TV viewers the opportunity to share in the stories behind a range of the award-winning composer and producer's most enduring shows. The 90-minute ITV special, hosted by Michael Ball today, Easter Sunday, featured a star-studded line up performing some of Andrew's best-loved songs, as Andrew reflected on an unbroken run of 40 years of shows in the West End. Click below to watch performances and clips from the show!

Andrew Lloyd Webber: 40 Musical Years will give TV viewers the opportunity to share in the stories behind a range of the award-winning composer and producer's most enduring shows. The 90-minute ITV special, hosted by Michael Ball at 6.30pm on Easter Today, features a star-studded line up performing some of Andrew's best-loved songs, as Andrew reflects on an unbroken run of 40 years of shows in the West End.

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER: 40 MUSICAL YEARS will be presented on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 6:30pm.