Sarah Brightman News

The Concrete Jungle, an original work from American composer Bobby Cronin opened at the Studio Theatre of London's Arts Educational School on 8th June, 2012, and runs until the 16th June, 2012. The show follows the lives and loves of a group of young singletons who have just moved to New York City as they share stories in their local bar, 'The Concrete Jungle'.

IN CONCERT KRISTIN CHENOWETH National Tour blew into the Boston Opera House on the heels of a wind and rain-driven thunder squall for one night only. Backed by an 11-piece orchestra and a trio of triple-threat performers, the diminutive star of stage, screen, and soundtrack put on a tight, well-paced production displaying her vocal versatility and comedic chops.

Today we are continuing the 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with another pairing sure to instigate ample amounts of approbation and opprobrium - now, just as it did twenty-five years ago - the famous Tony Awards battle of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA versus INTO THE WOODS.

This weekend, BroadwayWorld will be presenting an illuminating InDepth InterView with legendary composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber all about the enchanting new performance capture film version of his PHANTOM OF THE OPERA sequel, LOVE NEVER DIES. Until that chat, let's take a look back at some of the finest Andrew Lloyd Webber-related performances related to the entertainment dynasty built upon his operatic pop musical version of the classic Gaston Leroux novel that is about to celebrate its 10,000th performance on Broadway later this month, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, as well as its continuation, LOVE NEVER DIES, and the two revivals of his two classic 70s hit stage collaborations with previous InDepth InterView participant Sir Tim Rice coming back to Broadway in a big way - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA. Plus, a look at the new Simon Phillips-directed production of LOVE NEVER DIES coming to Fathom-equipped movie theaters nationwide on February 28 and March 7, with DVD & Blu-ray after that, as well as the PHANTOM 25 DVD & Blu-ray being released in the US on February 7. It's a busy time of year for phans, clearly! Fetch your favorite mask and check out these four Andrew Lloyd Webber delicacies before they arrive!

In honor of this week's US release of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on DVD/Blu-ray - PHANTOM 25 for short - today we are focusing on the multitude of attributes that have made Andrew Lloyd Webber's unforgettable gothic musical the most successful entertainment of all time, now in its 25th year onstage and about to reach 10,000 performances on Broadway, where it is the reigning longest running show of all time. The gargantuan excitement generated by and the enthusiastic reception enjoyed by PHANTOM for audiences worldwide is unprecedented, yet, the new ultimate presentation of the show - PHANTOM 25 - is even more spectacular and thrilling than any iteration of PHANTOM on any stage or screen thus far. Bringing together the cast of a lifetime with the electricity of a live audience, the HD preservation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL is positively peerless in its sleekness, precision and polish of presentation. Never before - not even in the vaunted hands and cords of original show stars Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford - has the show been this contemporary, sexual and hypnotizing. Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom brings a rawness and austerity to the role that commands attention and Sierra Boggess is, in a word, supreme, as the young ingenue under the Phantom's watchful musical tutelage. So, too, does Hadley Fraser's perfectly painted Raoul hit the right mark, as do the rest of the exceptional cast in their commitment to making clear-cut, strong and colorful impressions in their roles. The LED-enhanced set is an imaginative reworking of the designs by Maria Bjornson and the musical staging is smooth and assured thanks to original show choreographer Gillian Lynne. Yet, the star of PHANTOM 25 is, unquestionably, Andrew Lloyd Webber's rapturous, rich and enveloping score. Bringing together an impressive and inspired assortment of genres in creating the quintessential pop opera, Lloyd Webber employs elements of grand opera, opera bouffe, operetta and musical theatre, as well as incorporates a diverse range of musical styles - even a little heavy metal guitar in the title song, as we shall see (and hear). The score of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest achievements and stands tall alongside his other classic scores for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA, CATS, SUNSET BOULEVARD among many other international hit shows. Indeed, the story and score of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is so very complex and decadent as to allow for a continuation of the story, score, characters and overall themes in the form of the new musical, LOVE NEVER DIES, which premiered in a new version in Australia last year and whose story traces the relationship of the Phantom, Christine and Raoul from the end of the original show all the way from Paris to Coney Island ten years later where PHANTASMA is the show everyone must experience thanks to a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows beyond the carousel. In today's celebration of PHANTOM 25, we will take a look at the original music videos, the legendary Hal Prince production on Broadway and in the West End, the forthcoming LOVE NEVER DIES - coming to Fathom-equipped theaters nationwide later this month - all with a special spotlight on the most phantastic anniversary concert of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

Actor and daughter of the late ITC Board Member Barbara Manuell, Lynn Manuell wrote the following as a plea to help the Illinois Theatre Center finish its season before its impending closure.

It's been a while since original THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA star Sarah Brightman has starred in a theatrical production, but she might be returning to theatre in the near future. When asked in an interview featured on her Facebook page if she would ever return to the stage, she responded: Yes, I particularity would love to entertain performing in a play again.'

Parody must have bite to grab hold of an audience. Since its inception, the Forbidden Broadway series has had the incisors of a shark and the claws of a lion, and theatre folk just clammer to have their gods and divas dished and devoured.

The 25th anniversary spectacular celebrating The Phantom Of The Opera airs on British TV for the first time today. The show, starring Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess and Hadley Fraser, begins on Channel 5 at 1.40pm.

A few days shy of the holiest week of the year for Christians - aptly named Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter (with Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the most sacred events on the calendar coming between) - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's seminal rock opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR was resurrected on Broadway by TOMMY and JERSEY BOYS director Des McAnuff - modeled after the hit Stratford Shakespeare Festival production last year and comprised of many of the same cast members, including all three leads - to hails of praise and hosannas, mostly. While JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR itself will always divide audiences and critics alike - and not merely because of its controversial content and its button-pushing treatment of the hallowed tale it tells - the magnetism and sheer power that Lloyd Webber's propulsive, throbbing rock score imbues gives the show an energy, vitality and life rare to find in even the most earnestly effervescent and energetic of comparable entities - the recently revived and similarly-themed GODSPELL in a revival a few blocks away included. Then, there are Tim Rice's lyrics - oh-so-spot-on in 1970, but still biting and edgy today in McAnuff's hi-tech and elaborately presented new Broadway production. Using the book of John as the jumping off point, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus Christ (Paul Nolan) and his subsequent betrayal by Judas (Josh Young) and sentencing to death at the hands of King Herod and Pontius Pilate (Tom Hewitt). The twelve apostles, Mary Magdalene and her female companions, lepers, Pharisees, priests and others populate the grand story told almost entirely through song - the show is 90% music - and Webber and Rice's score never, ever lets up. While this may not be the most faithful rendering as far as the Bible is concerned, nor the most historically accurate, SUPERSTAR is now available to experience for a whole new generation thanks to this new revival and the timing could not be more ideal. The time is ripe for a revival of SUPERSTAR, and, as Andrew Lloyd Webber himself has recently related, this new production of the show is the best ever as far as he is concerned. High praise indeed - coming from no less than the Lord.

¡Estas son las imágenes que todos los fans del Fantasma han estado esperando! Las primeras fotos de la nueva producción del 25 aniversario de The Phantom Of The Opera de Andrew Lloyd webber en gira por UK, que se estrena en marzo de 2012 en el Theatre Royal Plymouth.

It's the photos that Phantom Phans have been waiting for - the very first images from the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA premiering which premiered Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2012.

Hollywood and Broadway award-winners Kaye Ballard, Liliane Montevecchi, and Lee Roy Reams are to star in "Doin' It For Love," a Broadway-style tribute to the standards and the stories behind the music. Celebrating the finale of its Southwest Tour in Los Angeles on March 9 and 10, "Doin' It For Love" features a 10-piece orchestra conducted onstage by David Geist, the show's music director. Hilary Knight, the internationally renowned artist and illustrator, designed the poster art and collectables for the show. The profits from "Doin' It For Love" will go to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Investigation and Rescue Fund supporting undercover investigations and animal rescue efforts.

Broadway's longest-running production of all time celebrates a triumphant quarter century on stage with The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. The 25th Anniversary performance will air on PBS' Great Performances series tonight, March 4th at 7pm.

Hollywood and Broadway award-winners Kaye Ballard, Liliane Montevecchi, and Lee Roy Reams are to star in "Doin' It For Love," a Broadway-style tribute to the standards and the stories behind the music. Celebrating the finale of its Southwest Tour in Los Angeles on March 9 and 10, "Doin' It For Love" features a 10-piece orchestra conducted onstage by David Geist, the show's music director. Hilary Knight, the internationally renowned artist and illustrator, designed the poster art and collectables for the show. The profits from "Doin' It For Love" will go to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Investigation and Rescue Fund supporting undercover investigations and animal rescue efforts.

Headlining the most successful entertainment of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Michael Crawford was actually not the first name the creative team considered for the gothic musical undertaking during its creation in the mid-1980s, believe it or not. Steve Harley famously recorded the original single of the title song with composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's muse Sarah Brightman and subsequently starred in the grandiose Ken Russell fever dream music video. While the public and critics alike assumed Harley's bid for the lead role in the gestating show was all but guaranteed after the video debut, it was not meant to be. Master director Hal Prince had his sights set on a British stage and screen star who had made a name with American audiences decades before in the troubled film versions of two Broadway hits - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and HELLO, DOLLY! - as well as made a name for himself the world over in the British sitcom SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM. Crawford had also cemented his place in the musical theatre with his roles in FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON and BILLY, but it was PHANTOM that would catapult him into the ranks of iconic musical megastar. So, today, let us take a look at what made Michael Crawford's performance in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA so unforgettable as we celebrate this week's US release of the simply spectacular DVD/Blu-ray of the 25th anniversary production mounted late last year at the Royal Albert Hall starring Ramim Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, loving assembled and presented by original lead producer Cameron Mackintosh and featuring a grand finale complete with original PHANTOM cast-members Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, among a host of other glories.

Casa 0101 Theater in association with CoActive Content will present a new co-production of "The King of the Desert," written by Stacey Martino, performed by Rene Rivera, and helmed by Sal Romeo, all Lifetime Members of The Actors Studio.

Broadway's longest-running production of all time celebrates a triumphant quarter century on stage with The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, coming to Blu-ray™ - with perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound- DVD, On Demand and Digital Download on February 7, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

A small piece of the national tour of "West Side Story" remains in Sacramento these next two months, but it's not what you might think. And while many anticipate the arrival of the hit musical "Wicked," they can get their Wicked kicks at California Musical Theater's Cosmopolitan Cabaret, but with more humor than magic. Songs from these and many more shows are part of a Broadway revue in downtown Sacramento playing through March 18. But this isn't your typical revue. This revue has four fantastic actors constantly changing from excessive costume to excessive costume as they take on some of the most well know Broadway tunes with a revised, "forbidden" twist. The tunes are there, but the cleverly reinvented lyrics of "Forbidden Broadway" make fun of everything musical theater.

Nick Pitera, known for his one man Youtube medleys, has released a new video that is a medley of hits from Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. 'I am such a huge Phantom fan. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a genius! This is my attempt at paying tribute to such a great piece of musical history!' Pitera wrote.