Alexia Khadime, Julie Atherton, Keith Jack & more to perform at next month's Giggin4Good; full line-up announced

Alexia Khadime (The Book of Mormon), Julie Atherton (Avenue Q), Keith Jack (Joseph, pictured right), Leanne Jones (Hairspray) and Caroline Keiff (Legally Blonde) will perform at Giggin4Good next month. 

The stars will "take the West End to Disneyland" to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Taking place at the Actors Church in Covent Garden on Sunday 18th May, the concert has been named When You Wish Upon A Star. Performers will take to the stage to perform Disney favourites.

Giggin4Good have raised thousands of pounds via a series of concerts supported by many West End stars for oncology, play therapy, respiratory care, neonatal and palliative care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. When You Wish Upon A Star will raise funds for slow release syringes which are used in palliative care wards to infuse morphine and other essential pain relief drugs.

Nominees announced for Best Performance of a Song award; voting opens tomorrow

Alexia Khadime

We are thrilled to announce the nominations list for West End Frame's 2014 Best Performance of a Song in a Musical Award.

UPDATE: Voting is now open. Click here to vote.

Best Performance of a Song in a Musical is part of the 2014 West End Frame Awards. Unlike other theatre awards, West End Frame only opens voting for one category at a time and combines male and female actors from musicals and plays into the same categories (where applicable). 

In 2012 Rachel Tucker won the award for her performance of 'Defying Gravity' in Wicked and last year the award was won by Sofia Escobar for her performance of 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' in The Phantom of the Opera.

Voting for Best Performance of a Song in a Musical opens at 2pm tomorrow (Friday 25th April) and closes at 3pm on Monday 12th May 2014. Sixteen performers, all of whom are currently starring in the West End's biggest musicals, have been nominated.

Casting announced for The Book Of Mormon!

Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner will play Elder Price and Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon, which previews at the Prince of Wales Theatre from 25th February 2013. They are currently leading the company in the Los Angeles production, which has broken all box office records at the Pantages Theatre.

Other cast members, announced include: Mark Anderson, Stephen Ashfield, Benjamin Brook, Daniel Buckley, Daniel Clift, Ashley Day, Terry Doe, Candace Furbert, Patrick George, Nadine Higgin, Tyrone Huntley, Evan James, Chris Jarman, Michael Kent, Alexia Khadime, Matt Krzan, Oliver Liddert, Daniel McKinley, Luke Newton, Terel Nugent, Haydn Oakley, Olivia Phillip, Lucy St. Louis, Giles Terera, Kayi Ushe, Tosh Wanogho-Maud and Liam Wrate.

Review: The In-Between Concept Album

 

The In-Between Concept Album
Music, Lyrics & Book by Laura Tisdall

http://www.theinbetweenmusical.com/

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I sat down to listen to The In-Between Concept Album for the first time. Obviously I was excited by who was involved - stars from musicals including Wicked, Les Misérables and We Will Rock You. However the true star of The In-Between is its composer, Laura Tisdall. Her music is enchanting.

The first song on the concept album, 'She's My Sister' is one of my favourites. It introduces us to clashing sisters Alice and Flick who consider their love-hate relationship during the song. It is sung by Dianne Pilkington & Cassandra Compton who don't just sing the song - they act every single word. This enables you to picture exactly what is going on the whole time, as if you are watching it being performed. Their voices compliment each other perfectly and trust me, after listening to this song once you will never be able to get it out of your head! It is extremely catchy.

'Never Expect' is the second song on the concept album, during the song Flick extols the virtues of being average. This song shows how incredible Sabrina Aloueche's voice is. She sings with such power and emotion. This song demonstrates how inspiration has come from other musicals although it also brings something new to the table. The In-Between has a distinct sound which is consistent throughout the concept album. While each song is different you could hear the song somewhere and straight away identify the song as being from The In-Between. This shows how clever Laura Tisdall's writing really is.

'Out Of Your World' is another extremely catchy song, sung by Daniel Boys. This song introduces us to Calicus. The song is about him offering Flick the chance to travel another word. Daniel's voice really draws you into the world of the In-Between, making you forget about about the real world for 2 minutes and 26 seconds. It is one of those songs that you realise you are humming around the house and think 'hang on - what is this song'. The In-Between would be one of those musicals that you leave singing all the songs on the train because after just one listen you remember them.

'When I Was Nineteen' is sung by Julie Atherton. The sons is about Alice, Flick's sister, looking back on her family's troubled past. You don't just listen to this song - you live it. When I listen to this song it touches something inside of me, enabling me to feel each and every emotion of the song. It is refreshing to hear such a simple song being so powerful. This song is extremely moving and it was not until the silence after the song finished that I realised how much it had touched me. When I Was Nineteen is simply stunning.

One of the most popular songs on the album is 'Beyond The Door'. Hadley Fraser was the perfect choice for this song! The song has so much depth. It is about Calicus, who is unable to forget Flick, wondering what life is like outside of the In-Between and how finds himself tempted to look through one of the exit doors into the worlds. You can take the song metaphorically enabling the song to mean something different to each and every person who listens to it. The song builds tremendously and like 'When I Was Nineteen' has a long lasting effect once the song is over. As Hadley Fraser sings  with such intensity, while listening to him I freeze and can do nothing but concentrate on what he is singing. This is something not all singers can accomplish. 

I love 'Someone You'd Be Proud Of' because anyone can relate to it. Everyone can think of a moment in their life which is similar to the situation Flick finds herself in. This song is the one I connected to the most. I also think Lauren Samuels' voice is breath taking. She starts off singing so soft and beautifully before slowly building up and belting out the most heart wrenching notes, once again showing us how versatile she is. If this show was to be performed on stage I would love to see Lauren portraying role of Flick. 

The final song on the concept album, 'Not Alone' really does leave you wanting to know how the story ends. While Laura Tisdall is keeping what happens to conclude the story a closely guarded secret this song definitely leaves you wanting more. Alexia Khadime & Liam Tamne's voices together create magic.

The In-Between concept album opens your eyes to the next generation of theatre. It comforting getting to know new characters, new music and a brand new composer. As The In-Between has proven to be incredibly popular among theatre fans on social networks and at West End Live I am confident it won't be to long before we can buy tickets to see the show in the West End...

The concept album is available to buy from www.dresscircle.co.uk or can be bought on iTunes
The music can be heard online at www.theinbetweenmusical.com
Like The In-Between on Facebook www.facebook.com/theinbetweemusical
Follow The In-Between on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/TIB_Musical

Daniel Boys, Dianne Pilkington and Lauren Samuels to attend 'The In-Between' album signing at Dress Circle

A CD version of the concept album for new musical The In-Between is being released by Dress Circle on Saturday 23 June 2012.The album will be launched with an in-store signing at Dress Circle to be attended by three of West End Stars who feature on the album -  Daniel Boys,  Dianne Pilkington and Lauren Samuels. The singing will run from 11am to 12 noon.

Initially released solely online in mid February, the album has since received over 35,000 views on YouTube, despite having no commercial backing.The recording’s line-up is completed by other leading performers Sabrina Aloueche, Julie Atherton, Cassandra Compton, Hadley Fraser, Alexia Khadime and Liam Tamne.

A quirky tale of love, friendship and letting go, The In-Between is a fantasy musical telling the story of nineteen-year-old misfit, Flick Wimple, a perpetual underachiever who stumbles through the wrong doorway and finds herself trapped in between parallel worlds.Desperately searching for a way home, Flick must overcome new challenges as she finds help in unexpected places and is forced to confront her troubled past…

The In-Between has music, lyrics and book by Laura Tisdall, whose previous credits include Bill Kenwright’s UK tour of The Haunting and Kerry Ellis and Brian May’s Anthems: The Concert.

Daniel Boys was a finalist on the BBC programme Any Dream Will Do and was in the West End Cast Of Avenue Q. Diana Pilkington has had an amazing career in the West End. Her more recent credits include Master Class, The 39 Steps & Wicked. Lauren Samuels was a finalist in the BBC programme Over The Rainbow, coming third. She has since led the casts of We Will Rock You and Grease in the West End and recently came second place in our 'Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical' poll for her performance of Somebody To Love in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre. Sabrina Aloueche was also meant to be present at the signing but can no longer attend due to commitments with David King's Bohemian Rhapsody which will be touring the UK this spring.

I have been listening to the music from the album and have to say I cannot get the song's out of my head!. I can't wait to write my review of the album next Month. I thoroughly you recommend you have a listen. All the details you need are as follows:

The concept album is available to pre-order from www.dresscircle.co.uk
The music can be heard online at www.theinbetweenmusical.com
Like The In-Between on Facebook www.facebook.com/theinbetweemusical
Follow The In-Between on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/TIB_Musical
All artists appear subject to professional engagements.
Update: The In-Between will also be performing at West End Live on Saturday 23 June and Sunday 24 June. Click here to find out more