Lauren Samuels, Ashleigh Gray & Lizzy Connolly star in European premiere of Vanities

WhatsOnStage have announced that Lauren Samuels (Buskers Opera/Bend It Like Beckham), Ashleigh Gray (Wicked/Grease) and Lizzy Connolly (Mrs Henderson Presents/Xanadu) will star in the European premiere of Vanities.

Directed and choreographed by Racky Plews, the musical will open at Trafalgar Studios 2 on 6th September (previews from 1st September) for a limited run to 1st October 2016. 

Lauren Samuels & George Maguire to star in new musical The Buskers Opera

MyTheatreMates have announced that Lauren Samuels (Bend It Like Beckham/We Will Rock You) and George Maguire (Sunny Afternoon/Lift) will star as Polly Peachum and Macheath and  in the world premiere of new musical The Buskers Opera.

Written by Dougal Irvine, the show opens at the Park Theatre on 5th May (previews from 28th April) for a limited run to 4th June 2016. 

Lotte Wakeham directs with musical direction by Sean Green, lighting by Christopher Nairne, sound by Andy Graham and musical staging/choreography by Lucie Pankhurst.

Annalene Beechey, Daniel Boys, James Gillan & Lauren Samuels star in workshop presentation of Stiles and Drewe's Anything Can Happen

Casting has been announced for the exclusive workshop presentation of Stiles and Drewe's Anything Can Happen.

The cast includes: Annalene Beechey (Marguerite/Wicked), Daniel Boys (Spamalot/Avenue Q, pictured right), James Gillan (Peter Pan/Little Shop of Horrors) and Lauren Samuels (Water Babies/We Will Rock You).

SimG Productions will present the workshop performance on Friday 25th July at 1.30pm at the St James Theatre. Simon Greiff has specifically created the show to celebrate the diverse repertoire of Olivier award-winning British writing team George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. 

Photo Feature: Water Babies press night at the Leicester Curve Theatre

The world stage premiere of Water Babies officially opened last night (6th May) at the Leicester Curve Theatre. Take a look at pictures of the cast attending the press night party below (click on image to enlarge).

Directed by Ed Curtis, Water Babies runs until 17th May 2014. The show has music by Chris Egan, and book and lyrics by Ed Curtis and Guy Jones. The cast is led by Tom Lister, Louise Dearman, Thomas Milner and Lauren Samuels.

Review: Water Babies at the Leicester Curve Theatre

Tom Milner (Tom) & Lauren Samuels (Ellie)

Water Babies

Leicester Curve Theatre

Reviewed on Tuesday 6th May 2014

Time and time again I find myself complaining about shows opening in the West End before they're ready. Stephen Ward, From Here To Eternity and I Can't Sing are all examples of musicals which opened in the West End too soon and would have hugely benefited from out of town runs to allow the writers and creative teams more time to develop and fine-tune their shows.

Big Interview: Lauren Samuels

Lauren Samuels is currently starring in the world stage premiere of Water Babies at the Leicester Curve Theatre. 

Water Babies  has music by Chris Egan and book and lyrics by Ed Curtis (who also directs) and Guy Jones. Producers claim the production will feature 'landmark special effects' and describe the show as a 'funny, touching and unforgettable' new musical. 

Water Babies marks Lauren’s return to the Curve where she made her professional debut as Wendy in Peter Pan The Musical. After finishing third on Andrew Lloyd’s Webber’s reality programme Over the Rainbow (BBC1), Lauren made her West End debut as Sandy in Grease (Piccadilly Theatre). 

She then starred as Scaramouche in the West End production of We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) and was nominated for West End Frame's 'Best Performance of a Song in a Musical' award for her rendition of 'Somebody To Love', finishing second place. She later reprised her performance, starring as Scaramouche in We Will Rock You's international arena tour.

Her other theatre credits include: Cathy in The Last 5 Years (Tabard), Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (Cyprus), Yonah in The Children of Eden (Gala Performance, Prince of Wales) and the title role in Vampirette (Manchester Opera House). After Water Babies Lauren will play Jenny in the Octagon Theatre’s revival of Love Story with Daniel Boys.

I recently spoke to Lauren about the pressures of creating a new role, what audiences can expect from Water Babies and why she would take a Christmassy musical theatre song with her to a desert island…

There was so much discussion and excitement surrounding Water Babies long before rehearsals had even begun. It must feel great now that the show’s on its feet and you’re about to open?!

We’ve all been so looking forward to it. I found out I got the job last November and, as you say, people have been so excited about it and we’ve been doing a lot of press, photo shoots and so on; so to finally be in rehearsals with the whole cast and creatives is so much fun, we are having a great time!

Daniel Boys & Lauren Samuels to star in Love Story at the Octagon Theatre

It has been announced that Daniel Boys and Lauren Samuels will star in Love Story at the Octagon Theatre. The production runs from 19th June until 12th July.

Inspired by Erich Segal's novel (which was adapted into a 1970's film), Love Story has book and lyrics by Stephen Clark and music and additional lyrics by Howard Goodall. Elizabeth Newman directs.

Two worlds collide when spirited Italian-American Jennifer Cavilleri and wealthy, privileged Harvard Alumni Oliver Barrett IV fall in love. The pair, whose backgrounds could not be more different, are united by love. It is a love that endures in the face of adversity, through family opposition to their marriage and devastating personal tragedy.

Sneak Peek at... The Water Babies starring Louise Dearman; Lauren Samuels joins the cast

Producers of The Water Babies, which will receive its world premiere at the Leicester Curve Theatre later this year, have released the first song from the musical. You can listen to the number, entitled 'Waiting For You', below.

'Waiting For You' is performed by the previously announced Louise Dearman who will play Mrs D. She is joined by Lauren Samuels who will play Ellie. The Water Babies is a brand new musical inspired by Charles Kingsley's classic novel. 

Brenda Edwards and Kevin Kennedy to star in We Will Rock You world arena tour alongside Lucie Jones and Lauren Samuels

Brenda Edwards

Brenda Edwards and Kevin Kennedy will star as Killer Queen and Pop in the first leg of the upcoming We Will Rock You world arena tour! They will be joined by Mig Ayesa (Rock of Ages, Thriller Live) who will be reprising the role of Galileo and previously anounced former X Factor finalist Lucie Jones as Meat and Lauren Samuels who is reprising her role of Scaramouche. Khashoggi will be played by Sean Kingsley.

Speaking about the tour, Kevin Kennedy said: "I'm so excited to return to the We Will Rock You tour, especially to be a part of the first ever Arena Tour, rocking out to thousands of fans every night. It's going to be huge."

Interview: Laura Tisdall - meet the genius behind 'The In-Between'

Over the last few months everyone has heard about The In-Between after the hugely popular concept album was released and some of the songs were performed at West End Live. West End Frame talked to the composer and lyricist of the show, Laura Tisdall, about writing the musical, the upcoming Union Theatre concert and if we will be able to see the show on stage any time soon...

The In-Between Concept Album has been such a massive success – has it sunk in yet? 

Not really! The response has been incredible and there are moments when it hits me and I just go wow, but I think because I’ve been working on this pretty much solidly since February (and on the show and album from a long time before that) it’s very hard to separate myself from it enough to be really objective. I think until we get backing (and probably even if we do) I’ll always be focused on how I can try and improve the show and what I’m doing with it, which means I’m not very good at stopping to think about what has gone well!

Lauren Samuels returning to We Will Rock You as Scaramouche from Wednesday 1st August 2012

Lauren Samuels has just announced on Twitter that she will be returning to the West End production of We Will Rock You to play Scaramouche. She takes over from Sarah French who has already departed from the show.

Lauren excitedly tweeted 'SO excited to announce I will be returning to We Will Rock You London in two weeks time to play Scaramouche again!!'

Sarah French previously announced her departure from the show on 13th July 2012 via Twitter. She told fans 'Hi everyone its time to tell, I have decided to leave WWRY I just want to be a mummy for now! Thanks for everyone's surpport xx'.

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

Everything you need to know about West End Live 2012

This years West End Live will take place in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of June. As usual all the top West End Musicals will be performing including the casts of Top Hat, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd, Singin' In The Rain, Phantom Of The Opera, Les Mis, Ghost, We Will Rock You, Shrek, Matilda and Blood Brothers just to name a few.

Presented by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre in association with MasterCard, West End LIVE showcases the quality and diversity of entertainment on offer in the heart of London, promoting the West End as an exciting venue for all the family – all live, all for free in the iconic setting of Trafalgar Square.

As well as featuring showcase performances from every West End musical there will also be performances from live bands and a wonderful array of interactive exhibits from many of London’s top museums, galleries and cultural institutions – West End LIVE is a unique event that has grown to become a hugely popular fixture in London’s entertainment calendar .

Where: Trafalgar Square
When: Saturday 23 – Sunday 24 June
Cost: Free Entry
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square/Charing Cross/Embankment

There will also be exciting performances from West End Stars who are currently promoting new albums and singles. Louise Dearman will be performing songs from her latest album 'Here Comes The Sun' which we recently reviewed, giving a 5 star rating. Mark Evans will be performing songs from the upcoming English version of his debut album 'The Journey Home'. They will be joined by Alex Gaumond who will perform his new single entitled 'Here I Am'

Finally there will also be special performances from the new concept musical 'The In-Bewtween'. Perfoming the new music from this show are West End Stars Sabrina Aloueche, Hannah Jane Fox, Scott Garnham and Lauren Samuels. Click here to read our full article about The In-Between's performances at West End Live.

Here is the full schedule for West End Live 2012. For more information visit http://www.westendlive.co.uk/

The In-Between to perform at West End Live

West End stars Sabrina Aloueche, Hannah Jane Fox, Scott Garnham and Lauren Samuels will be performing songs from new musical The In-Between at this year’s West End Live in Trafalgar Square, with sets at 3pm Saturday 23 June and 4.40pm Sunday 24 June. Scott Garnham and Lauren Samuels will be performing on the Saturday, with Sabrina Aloueche and Hannah Jane Fox joining Samuels for the Sunday set. Three Scaramouche's on the same stage at once - I'm scared!

I have been listening to this album a lot recently ahead of writing my review later this month and think it is incredible! The music is constantly stuck in my head. It is fantastic that this new show has been given the chance to show-case it's amazing score in the massive West End event that is West End Live.

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…

Initially released as an online concept album in mid February, The In-Between has since received over 40,000 views on YouTube, despite having no commercial backing. Aloueche and Samuels both appear on the album, in a cast which also includes Julie Atherton, Daniel Boys, Cassandra Compton, Hadley Fraser, Alexia Khadime, Dianne Pilkington and Liam Tamne.

A CD version is being released for the first time by Dress Circle, also on Saturday 23 June, with an in-store signing from 11am to 12 noon attended by Daniel Boys, Dianne Pilkington and Lauren Samuels. Click here to find out all the information about the Dress Circle signing.

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.

The concept album is available to pre-order from www.dresscircle.co.uk and can be heard online at www.theinbetweenmusical.com. For more information on West End Live, click here to view our article about everyone else who will be performing and at what time. Alternately visit www.westendlive.co.uk 

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