MUSICAL THEATRE STARS
TO PERFORM IN NEW CONCERT SERIES
‘TONIGHT AT THE LONDON COLISEUM’
FILMED IN THE WEST END AND
STREAMED LATER THIS YEAR
Jack Maple and Brian Zeilinger, on behalf of Take Two Theatricals, in association with Jamie Chapman Dixon and John-Webb Carter on behalf of Carter Dixon Productions, are delighted to announce ‘Tonight at the London Coliseum’, a week-long series of concerts to be performed on stage at the London Coliseum by some of the UK’s most prolific musical theatre stars. The concerts will be streamed in September, with dates and streaming information to be announced. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 14 August and viewers can sign up for more information at www.taketwotheatricals.com.
The seven intimate acoustic concerts will be streamed over a week with each night being headlined by a different leading musical theatre artist – Sharon D. Clarke, Kerry Ellis, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Cassidy Janson, Ramin Karimloo and Sharon Sexton & Rob Fowler. One of the seven concerts will be a performance of a new British musical, After You, written by Alex Parker and Katie Lam and starring Alexia Khadime and Bradley Jaden. The Creative Supervisor for the concerts will be Annabel Mutale Reed.
All tickets will cost £15 with a portion of each ticket sold going to the ENO Contingency Fund, a charity that is committed to bringing opera to as many people as possible.
Sharon D. Clarke’s most notable theatre credits include Blues in the Night (Kiln Theatre), Death of a Salesman (Young Vic and Piccadilly Theatre), for which she won the Critics’ Circle Award, Caroline, or Change (Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and Playhouse Theatre), for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and The Amen Corner (National Theatre) for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other theatre work includes The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (National Theatre), Guys and Dolls (National Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Ghost (Manchester Opera House and Piccadilly Theatre), for which she won the Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actress, Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre), Mama Morton in Chicago (Adelphi Theatre), Killer Queen in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, for which she won the WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice Award, and The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre). Sharon won the Black British Theatre Award—Lifetime Recognition in 2019 and received an MBE for services to drama in 2017. In 2021, Sharon will be making her Broadway debut in Caroline, Or Change.
Kerry Ellis is a renowned theatre star and recording artist, best known for originating the role of Meat, in Queen’s We Will Rock You, for being the first British actress to play Elphaba in Wicked, for which Kerry won the 2008 WhatsOnStage Award for ‘Best Takeover in a Role’. She then played the role at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway for six months, where she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for ‘Favourite Female Breakthrough Performance’. Her other West End theatre work includes Sara in Murder Ballad, Nancy in Oliver!, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Ellen in Miss Saigon, Fantine in Les Misérables and she took over from Nicole Scherzinger in the role of Grizabella in Cats. Kerry has achieved chart-topping success as a recording artist, releasing four albums and touring the UK and Europe with Brian May of Queen.
Carrie Hope Fletcher was starring as Fantine in Les Misérablesat the Sondheim Theatre ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. She made her West End debut in 2001 at the age of seven as Young Eponine in Les Misérables and then returned in 2013 to play (grown-up) Eponine. As a child, Carrie also appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2002) as Jemima Potts and Jane Banks in Mary Poppins (2004).She returned to Les Miserables for a second time in 2015 and, in 2016, Fletcher re-joined Chitty as Truly Scrumptious on tour around the UK. Her other theatre work includes Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family (UK tour), Heathers the Musical (The Other Palace and Theatre Royal Haymarket), Fantine in Les Misérables – The All-Star Staged Concert(Gielgud Theatre).In addition to acting, Carrie has released an album called When the Curtain Falls, as well as writing a number of novels, including All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully, based on her blog, which became a number one Sunday Times bestseller. She has over 600,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In February 2020, it was announced Fletcher would play the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical version of Cinderella, set to open at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in March 2021.
Cassidy Janson was starring as Anne in the West End production of & Juliet before lockdown. She was one third of the Brit-nominated band Leading Ladies with Beverly Knight and Amber Riley. Cassidy has starred as Aldonza/Dulicinea in Man of La Mancha (Coliseum), Florence in Chess (Coliseum), Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Aldwych), Ruth in Dessa Rose (Trafalgar Studios), Paquette in Candide (Menier Chocolate Factory), Maggie Saunders in Lend Me A Tenor (Gielgud), Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q (Gielgud)and Susan in Tick, Tick… Boom! (Menier Chocolate Factory).
Olivier and Tony Award nominee Ramin Karimloo made his name in the early 2000s in some of the West End’s most enduring productions, most notably Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. He originated the role of the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies in 2010 before making his Broadway debut in the 2014 revival of Les Misérables. Karimloo has also performed show tunes on a series of solo recordings, including his second album, From Now On, released in 2019, which landed on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton met when cast in Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical where they played the roles of Falco and Sloane at Manchester Opera House, the London Coliseum, the Dominion Theatre and the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, Canada. They were due to reprise their roles in the 2020 UK tour, which has been postponed due to COVID-19. Most recently they starred opposite one another once again in the International Tour of Mamma Mia!. They will base their concert on their debut duets album Vision of You, which takes fans on a musical journey through the past of the much loved characters of Falco and Sloane, filling in the backstory of their romance, and offering an insight into how they were brought to life. They will be joined by a live band, under the musical direction of Steve Corley.
After You – A New Musical is written by Alex Parker and Katie Lam and directed by Jordan Murphy. Set on a cruise liner that sets sail from the south coast of England, bound for New York. He’s looking for fun and adventure. She’s just trying to keep her head down. A chance encounter gives rise to an unlikely companionship, filling their days as they speed across the Atlantic – but what awaits them on the other side of the crossing?
A new musical about the lives we choose, the paths we don’t take, and the things we sometimes need to keep for ourselves. With music by Parker and book and lyrics by Lam, After You stars Bradley Jaden (Les Misérables and Wicked) and Alexia Khadime (The Prince of Egypt, The Book Of Mormon and Wicked) and is presented in association with Quick Fantastic.
Website to sign up: www.taketwotheatricals.com
Twitter: @taketwotweets
Facebook: @taketwotheatricals
Instagram: @taketwotheatricals
LISTINGS INFORMATION
On sale Friday 14 August
Tickets: £15