Editor's Blog: West End Heroes to "give something back"

On Sunday 23rd June 2013, The Dominion Theatre will host a special charity gala concert called 'West End Heroes'. The event is in aid of the charity Help For Heroes and will celebrate the UK’s finest military musicians as well as the best of West End theatre.

Earlier today I spoke to one of the show's producers, David Pearson, who explained to me how the event came about. David said "We were thinking of various ways that we could raise money for Help For Heroes. I'm an ex-member of the RAF so obviously it's a cause which is extremely close to my heart. The West End is so good at raising money for charities which is usually done via bucket collections, but audiences don't get anything back from that so we wanted to put on an event which really gives something back."

He also told me how the concert promises to be a very unique event. David continued, "We're combining the talent of the West End with the military. We have put the military musicals with the West End shows and mashed it all together. For example we've paired the cast of Stomp with the drums of the Royal Marines which is something which has never been done before."

"At first we weren't sure how it was going to work but we're in the middle of rehearsals now and everything is coming together really well. It is going to be a truly special evening, especially after recent events which have very much put Help For Heroes in the public eye. It will be moving, entertaining and is a great opportunity to see representatives from eight of the biggest West End shows together on one stage."

Help For Heroes will be supported by a 50 piece orchestra from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and will feature performances from the RAF Squadronaires Big Band, Royal Marines Corps of Drums as well as the casts of We Will Rock You, War Horse, Spamalot, 42nd Street, Wicked, Stomp, Some Like it Hip Hop and The Bodyguard. The evening will also see special guest appearances from the likes of Joe McElderry, Daniel Boys, Shona Lindsay, Rachel Tucker, The Overtones, The Soldiers, The Spitfire Kids and Woman The Band (Mazz and Gina Murray and Emma Kershaw).

At the moment there seems to be various concerts every week but West End Heroes really does sound like it is going to be completely different to anything the West End has seen before and of course it is in aid of a very important cause. Tickets for West End Heroes are on sale priced from £45. To book visit www.westendheroes.com

Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

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