WEST END's THRILLER LIVE Extends to 2010 and X Factor Finalist Joins Cast

100,000 extra Thriller - Live tickets are to go on sale on Monday May 4 as the West-End box office smash celebrates becoming the highest grossing weekly show in the history of the Lyric Theatre.

Thriller - Live is extending its acclaimed run due to phenomenal public demand to Sunday January 3 - the first anniversary of its opening in the West End.

Thriller - Live, a spectacular, high-octane concert specially created to celebrate the career of the world's greatest entertainer and undisputed King of Pop, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, opened on Wednesday January 21, 2009 following previews from Friday January 2.

The cast now includes "X-Factor" finalist Maria Lawson. Rejected by Simon Cowell at the "bootcamp" rounds in 2004, Maria was one of the favourites to win in 2005 under mentor Sharon Osbourne. Maria even sang Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" - one of her songs in Thriller - Live - in one of the early rounds. Her mentor claimed that she was a victim of the ‘Irish Mafia', referring to Irish judge Louis Walsh's decision to vote her off in favour of Irish act The Conway Sisters. This caused a media uproar and Walsh threatened to quit the show after days of negative press. Lawson's elimination was also a shock for bookmakers who had her as a 66/1 outsider to leave the programme. She did sign to Sony BMG in 2006 which took her to LA to record her debut album with a song written especially for her by Diane Warren. Her self titled album was released later that year and charted in the top 40 and led to a Top 20 single. Maria was also snapped up as the model for lingerie company Bravissimo. Maria's second album, ‘Emotional Rollercoaster', due out later this year, has been produced by Brian Rawling, who has worked with one of her idols, Tina Turner. Maria has also written a book about her experiences, ‘Life Starts Now'.

The non-stop hits just keep on coming in Thriller - Live from "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There", "Show You The Way To Go", "Can You Feel It", "Rock With You", "She's Out Of My Life", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Ben", "ABC", "Man in the?Mirror", "Dirty Diana", "Billie Jean", "Earth Song", and many, many more. To bring to life on stage the distinctive higth-energy dancing and pulsating sound of many of pop's greatest hits, "Thriller - Live" blends eye-popping video footage and effects together with dazzling choreography by the show's award-winning director Gary Lloyd, who has previously worked with Leona Lewis, Will Young, Gareth Gates, Emma Bunton, Robbie Williams, Pink, Anastacia, Lemar; Rachel Stevens, Kelly Clarkson and Girls Aloud. "Thriller - Live" was originally conceived and created by Executive Director of the show, AdrIan Grant, a long time associate of Michael Jackson, and author of ‘Michael Jackson - The Visual Documentary'.

In a phenomenal, unparallelled career, Michael Jackson has to date sold more than 750 million records, had 13 number one singles - more than any other male artist - and is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001.

www.nimaxtheatres.com/thriller

 

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