Michael Crawford News

Earlier this week, Dorothy, Danielle Hope performed 'Over the Rainbow' at the Royal Variety Performance in London at the Palladium. Michael Crawford, who will play The Wizard, introduced the segment.

USA Network's Character Approved Blog (characterblog.com) has chosen Lady Gaga, Alexander McQueen, Foursquare, Food Trucks, eBooks and the feature film The Social Network among many others as some of the biggest cultural influencers, trends and ideas of 2010. Each of the eleven experts who contribute weekly updates to the blog handpicked ten people, places and/or things that have had the greatest impact in 2010 across architecture, art, design, fashion, film, food, music, social good, technology, theatre, and writing. The lists also include events whose effects reach far beyond their designated category, such as the freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi, the introduction of the text 'Haiti' campaign, the release of the documentary Waiting For Superman and the success of the nonprofit Making It Right New Orleans. The year-end content was announced today by Alexandra Shapiro, USA's senior vice president, brand strategy and digital.

We popped down to the rehearsal studios at the beginning of the week to see how the cast, creatives and crew of The Wizard of Oz got on on their first day of rehearsals. Choreographer Arlene Phillips welcomes us, we catch up with Hannah Waddingham and Danielle Hope, and spot a few more familiar faces in the rehearsal room - from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Michael Crawford to Tim Rice….

Meet our Toto! Regular visitors will be familiar with the antics of our "Cast by TV" Toto, Dangerous Dave, who was selected by the special panel of judges on the BBC's Over the Rainbow programme to appear at a special one-off gala performance of The Wizard of Oz ; however for every other performance of the show the role will be played a specially-trained dog… And so Bobbie, veteran of stage and screen, will soon be treading the boards of the world-famous London Palladium stage when The Wizard of Oz opens in February - you can get an early glimpse of Bobbie in action when he appears alongside Danielle Hope and 58 children in tomorrow evening's broadcast of The Royal Variety Performance (BBC1, Thursday 16th December, 8pm). In this video, Jerry Cott, Bobbie's owner and trainer, talks us through Toto's training schedule for the lead up to the big day…

In our latest video blog with Wizard of Oz Production Manager Matt Towell, he takes us on another (slightly noisy) tour of the London Palladium to see how the set-build is progressing. And this time, we're actually above the stage..! Watch out for more from the London Palladium and find more videos on the Wizard of Oz YouTube channel.

Last week we went backstage at the London Palladium to see our Dorothy Danielle Hope in rehearsal for the 2011 Royal Variety Performance, which saw her take to the Palladium stage ahead of her starring role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Danielle was introduced at the Royal Variety Performance, which was recorded live at the Palladium on Thursday 9th December, by our Wizard Michael Crawford. You can see her performance on the show in full on BBC1, Thursday 16th December from 8pm.

Four of musical theater's brightest talents offer behind-the-scenes tales and the magical music of a true legend in Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman. Beloved songs from Cy Coleman's award-winning shows including Sweet Charity, City of Angels and The Will Rogers Follies and songs such as 'Witchcraft' and 'The Best is Yet to Come' will be performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center December 9 - 12 in this heartfelt and personal tribute to the life and incredible work of this great American artist. The show features Tony-winning lyricist David Zippel, who collaborated with Coleman on City of Angels; Center favorite Jason Graae, whose special way around a song has taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland and the Rainbow Room; Jenifer Lewis, who has starred in numerous Broadway productions as well as movies and television and the multi-talented Tami Tappan Damiano, who has appeared on stages all over the world.

Four of musical theater's brightest talents offer behind-the-scenes tales and the magical music of a true legend in Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman. Beloved songs from Cy Coleman's award-winning shows including Sweet Charity, City of Angels and The Will Rogers Follies and songs such as 'Witchcraft' and 'The Best is Yet to Come' will be performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center December 9 - 12 in this heartfelt and personal tribute to the life and incredible work of this great American artist. The show features Tony-winning lyricist David Zippel, who collaborated with Coleman on City of Angels; Center favorite Jason Graae, whose special way around a song has taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland and the Rainbow Room; Jenifer Lewis, who has starred in numerous Broadway productions as well as movies and television and the multi-talented Tami Tappan Damiano, who has appeared on stages all over the world.

The Wizard of Oz promises to be the biggest theatre event of the West End year, combining all the much-loved songs from the Oscar-winning movie score with new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, marking the first time they have worked together in over 30 years on a new production. Last night, Dorothy, Danielle Hope performed 'Over the Rainbow' at the Royal Variety Performance in London at the Palladium. Michael Crawford, who will play The Wizard, introduced the segment.

Four of musical theater's brightest talents offer behind-the-scenes tales and the magical music of a true legend in Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman. Beloved songs from Cy Coleman's award-winning shows including Sweet Charity, City of Angels and The Will Rogers Follies and songs such as 'Witchcraft' and 'The Best is Yet to Come' will be performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center December 9 - 12 in this heartfelt and personal tribute to the life and incredible work of this great American artist. The show features Tony-winning lyricist David Zippel, who collaborated with Coleman on City of Angels; Center favorite Jason Graae, whose special way around a song has taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland and the Rainbow Room; Jenifer Lewis, who has starred in numerous Broadway productions as well as movies and television and the multi-talented Tami Tappan Damiano, who has appeared on stages all over the world.

Four of musical theater's brightest talents offer behind-the-scenes tales and the magical music of a true legend in Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman. Beloved songs from Cy Coleman's award-winning shows including Sweet Charity, City of Angels and The Will Rogers Follies and songs such as 'Witchcraft' and 'The Best is Yet to Come' will be performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center December 9 - 12 in this heartfelt and personal tribute to the life and incredible work of this great American artist. The show features Tony-winning lyricist David Zippel, who collaborated with Coleman on City of Angels; Center favorite Jason Graae, whose special way around a song has taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland and the Rainbow Room; Jenifer Lewis, who has starred in numerous Broadway productions as well as movies and television and the multi-talented Tami Tappan Damiano, who has appeared on stages all over the world.

One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in White River Junction when Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, stages L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz from December 8 - January 2.

After last week's revelations, we return to the London Palladium to see how Production Manager Matt Towell and his team are getting on with the process of transforming the world-famous Theatre into the land of Oz…

One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in White River Junction when Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, stages L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz from December 8 - January 2.

EDWARD BAKER-DULY (Tin Man), DAVID GANLY (Lion), PAUL KEATING (Scarecrow), EMILY TIERNEY (Glinda) and HANNAH WADDINGHAM (Wicked Witch of the West) are to join Michael Crawford and Danielle Hope in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ, opening at The London Palladium in February 2011.

It's all change at the London Palladium! After yesterday's introductory video blog, in our latest update Matt Towell - The Wizard of Oz Production Manager - takes us on a (slightly noisy) tour of the London Palladium stage as his team begin the process of creating the wonderful world of Oz onstage at the world-famous theatre…

In our latest Wizard of Oz video blog we catch up with Production Manager Matt Towell as he talks us through the early stages of the show's production process. From flying effects to health and safety; working in a listed building to taking part in the 'sitzprobe'… the hard work has barely begun at the London Palladium!

Show business veteran Ken Lundie will be making his way up the Hudson River Valley from New York City to Hurley, New York in November to see his 15 year old voice student Anne Clare Gibbons-Brown sing the lead role of Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" at John A. Coleman Catholic High School.

John A. Coleman Catholic High School in Hurley, New York is among the first schools to acquire the rights to produce Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway classic 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the longest running show in Broadway history.

Time for another video update from our Dorothy, Danielle Hope! Danielle tells us what she's been up to during her training at Arts Educational School in London, gives us her thoughts on the upcoming Wizard of Oz rehearsals, spills the beans on the Royal Variety Performance, and introduces her new website - which you can check out at www.daniellehope.co.uk.