It didn’t take long for West End producers to pounce on the runners up in the BBC’s search to find Dorothy.
Lauren Samuels, who place third in the competition is going to star as Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from the 26th July and is contracted to perform until the 22nd January 2010.
Lauren Samuels will star as Sandy in Grease
Lauren was one of the most experienced of the finalists, having studied at the Guildford school of acting, which probably contributed to her very polished performances on Over The Rainbow. She has a superb voice as well, so it’s not a surprise that she has found such a high profile job so quickly. And if the directors of Grease can hone her acting skills a bit (although Grease is the type of show that commands over the top facial expressions) Lauren should be a huge asset to such a long running and well known show.
Grease is playing at the Piccadilly Theatre and Lauren Samuels will join the cast on the 26th July. Discount Theatre has tickets reduced to 32.50 and some great meal deals available.
Just stay with me for a moment….yes I am referring to the TV show.
Songs from musicals feature in the television program Glee
I had heard the buzz regarding the new show Glee, but didn’t really take much notice. Did I really want to watch another American high school show that portrayed a totally unrealistic view of the rather traumatic place that high school really is? With Gossip Girl and 90210 already occupying my time, I dismissed the idea immediately. But when I visited my sister in Canada at Christmas time, Glee was the topic on everyone’s lips - she was raving about the show. I knew that it was set to premiere in the UK soon, and when I saw the adverts on E4, I recorded some episodes for a rainy day.
I finally got around to watching some of the show this weekend…..and it is fantastic. I had no idea that every episode features songs from musicals as well as contemporary chart toppers. So far, I have heard renditions of You’re The One That I Want from Grease, Mr Cellophane from Chicago, Maybe This Time from Cabaret, and On My Own from Les Miserables. And apparently in one of the coming episodes the cast sings Defying Gravity from Wicked.
Combined with edgy humour, Glee is the perfect balance between hip comedy and musical revue. Yes the characters are stereotypes (think jock, cheerleader and primadonna) but how else do you visually portray the complexities of the high school hierarchy so easily?
Despite its comedic narrative and characters, at its core, I think Glee is a great promoter of musical theatre; just as Subo’s performances of I Dreamed a Dream managed to breathe a new life into Les Miserables, this show highlights some great musical theatre numbers that are not usually emphasised in mainstream media.
Next episode is on tonight….I can’t wait.
"Defying Gravity" from Wicked will feature in an upcoming Glee episode
Deep down inside, we all knew it would happen, yet again.
At the beginning of July I mentioned the heat wave gripping Britain. People rejoiced; finally we would have a decent summer! We could go outside and enjoy ourselves and be warm and dry!
Ha ha ha. I should have realised a long time ago. Just because we have 3 days of 30 degree weather doesn’t mean that the annual summer monsoons wouldn’t come back. And they have with a vengeance. For instance, we at Discount Theatre towers had a prime viewpoint for the Harry Potter film premiere the other week; however, with the thunder, lightning and torrential rain beating on the windows there really wasn’t much we could see. Not even Emma Watson’s underwear.
Anyways, before we drown, let’s move on to the important stuff.
More blondes will be joining Sheridan Smith on stage at the Savoy Theatre this December. It was announced that Reality TV stars Susan McFadden and Aoife Mulholland will perform in the Broadway hit Legally Blonde.
Susan McFadden and Danny Bayne in Grease
McFadden participated in the ITV show Grease Is the Word and won the part of Sandy. She starred in the production of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre with Danny Bayne in 2007/2008. McFadden’s brother is Brian McFadden of West Life fame, so the music talent runs in the family.
Mulholland was also a contestant on a reality television show, the BBC program, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? She placed a very impressive 4th with Connie Fisher eventually winning the role of the Maria in The Sound Of Music. Mulholland then went on to star as Roxie Hart the West End production of Chicago and also became the alternate Maria in the Sound Of Music, performing two shows a week.
Throw in Duncan James from boyband Blue and Legally Blonde The Musical is shaping up to have quite a nice little cast. Best to get in early if you are a fan of one or all of these talented actors. Buy your Legally Blonde tickets here.
