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BROADWAY STAR
KERRY ELLIS AND 'SUPERSTAR' RUNNER UP RORY TAYLOR LEAD A WEST
END CAST AND LIVE BAND IN 'RENT'
JP Productions have
announced that they are producing a UK tour of smash-hit Tony Award
winning Broadway musical 'Rent'.
Celebrating 20 years since its 1st staged performance, West End and
Broadway leading lady Kerry Ellis stars in this iconic concert of
the smash-hit Tony Award winning musical 'Rent'. The
production will also star runner up of ITV's 'Superstar',
Rory Taylor. The show will visit The Auditorium Liverpool (within
the Echo Arena's sister venue BT Convention Centre) on Saturday, 27
April 2013.
RENT... is set in the East Village of New York City, RENT is about
falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of
the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama,
this musical has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that
rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. Based
loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, the show follows a year in the life
of a group of friends struggling to make it in the big City under
the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
Rent includes songs Seasons of Love, Out Tonight, Without You, Will
I and Finale B. Previous cast members include Mel B, Denise Van
Outen, Jesse Wallace, Idina Menzel and Adam Pascal. Rent last toured
the UK in 2001 and was last in the West-End in 2007. A film of the
musical was released in 2005 starring original Broadway cast members
Idina Menzel and Adam Pascal.
The Broadway production closed on 7 September 2008 after a 12 year
run of 5,124 performances, the 9th longest running Broadway show of
all time. The production grossed over $280 million. The show still
plays off Broadway.
Kerry Ellis has fast become recognized as the First Lady of West End
musicals from her starring roles in London and on Broadway, and has
achieved chart-topping success as a recording artist signed to
Universal Decca with her debut album Anthems. Kerry originated the
role of Meat, in Queen's We Will Rock You and was the first British
Elphaba in the West End smash, Wicked, for which Kerry won the 2008
Whatsonstage.com Award for
'Best Takeover in a Role'. She then immediately transferred
to Broadway and played Elphaba at the Gershwin Theater for 6 months,
where she won the
Broadway.com Audience Award for
Favourite Female Breakthrough Performance, before returning to
London for 6 months in 2009. Her many other leading role credits
include Nancy in Oliver! at the London Palladium, Eliza Doolittle My
Fair Lady, Ellen in Miss Saigon and Fantine in Les Miserables.
Kerry's 1st major CD release was the amazing Wicked in Rock, which
is still flying high in the Dress Circle's bestseller list. Wicked
in Rock was collaboration with long-time friend and Queen guitarist,
Brian May. This led to her being signed to Universal as a solo
recording artist and her debut album Anthems was released in 2010 on
Decca Records. The success of the album, which reached No.15 in the
UK album chart, and No.10 in the UK pop club charts (for Defying
Gravity), led to a major tour Anthems: The Concert throughout 2011,
which kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall.
Kerry headlined at this years 2012 'Night of a 1000 voices'
and has been performing her one woman show On the Edge which has
been a huge success. Also this year she has been filming the Les
Miserables feature film and headlining various festivals across the
country.
Kerry Ellis said:- "I am really looking forward to being a
part of this amazing concert version of 'Rent'. It is a show that I
have always wanted to do, as it has the most fantastic songs! It
will also be great to be back in Liverpool after 'War of the Worlds'
and back at the Echo Arena in their new more intimate venue The
Auditorium Liverpool, where the audience will really be able to
connect with the show and the performers on stage."
Local lad Rory Taylor from Heswall, has recently shot to fame after
appearing in 'Superstar' on ITV. Rory was runner up in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's TV search for an actor, to play the role of
Jesus in an arena tour of his hit musical:- 'Jesus Christ
Superstar'. Rory is lead singer in a band called:-
'54321'. He sings with his cousin and three brothers and the
band are resident in The Cavern Club, Liverpool where they play
every Sunday.
Rory Taylor told us that:- "It is so exciting to be performing
with this show in my home town. 'Rent' has an amazing rock score and
I am really excited to be playing the lead role of Roger in this
production. It is also a privilege to be working with some of the
most talented performers in the West End including the absolutely
amazing Kerry Ellis, who I recently supported in her one woman show
at The Hippodrome in Leicester Square."
Tickets are on sale now! To book tickets log on to:-
echoarena.com or call the Echo
Arena Box Office on:- 0844 8000 400. Tickets are priced at:-
£35/£28.50/£26.50, but are subject to a booking and handling fee.
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Liverpool
University Boat Club raise cash for local Jospice
THE Liverpool University
Boat Club, were raising money for Jospice, St. Joseph's hospice in
Crosby on Sunday, 14 April 2013. Just outside Liverpool Central,
passengers leaving the railway station would have seen 2 rowers, on
2 rowing machines side by side along with a few supporters, as they
took part in a sponsored rowing challenge. Laura Deacon, Fundraising
Officer for LUBC told us:- "I have visited (St Joseph's
)during my course as a medical student and I liked their work, so we
all chose them as our charity for the event. We had 2 rowers rowing
side by side, doing hour relays, however a couple of our members did
2 hours each! 34 of us in total took part and we covered a total
distance of 562 kilometres on the rowing machines! We raised
£1961.37 over the whole weekend, which was a massive achievement,
all thanks to the generous Liverpudlian public! If anyone would like
to donate to Jospice after reading about our efforts the link to do
so is:-
justgiving.com/Liverpool-University-Boat-Club
Next week we are rowing again! Doing a 10 hour Rowathon in aid of
Cancer Research, it will be outside the Cancer Research shop, at the
bottom of Bold Street, between hours of 10am and 8pm if anyone wants
to donate and show support."
Editors note:-
"Well done and good luck on your next challenge, to you all from
all of us at Southport & Mersey Reporter...."
APPEAL - MISSING PERSON MARK MARCH
MARK James March, aged 30, was last seen by
his family around 10am, on Saturday, 9 March 2013. He has not made
any contact with them since or returned to his father's home in Dane
Ghyll Park. Cumbria Police have been appealing since his
disappearance for information about where he maybe.
Detective Inspector Amanda Sadler, who has been working on the case,
said:- "So far we have had two possible sightings however both
have proved to be negative. We now know that on Friday, 8 March
2013, Mark was in the Salthouse area around 5pm then went to the
shops at Lakes Parade, Hawcoat then early evening took a route to
the Ormsgill area via Oxford Street."
Police are looking at all lines of enquiry, including the
possibility that Mark is currently staying in another area. He does
have connections in the Grimsby area and Portsmouth.
Mark attended Thorncliffe School between 1994 to 1999. He has
previously worked for BAE in Barrow and has friends in the Hawcoat
and Ormsgill areas. His family describe him as a quiet individual
that mainly socialises with a close circle of friends.
Detective Inspector Sadler continued:- "A helicopter search
has been completed in some harder to search areas as a normal
procedure. Enquiries are continuing and the Police are keen to speak
to anyone who has any information about Mark both prior to and since
he has gone missing. It is important for the Police to build up a
picture of events leading up to Mark going missing so that all lines
of enquiry can be followed up. Mark's family are very concerned that
he has not been in contact for over four weeks and this is
completely out of character for him. They wish to express that Mark
(also known as MJ) is not in any trouble with them and they just
want to hear from him so that they know he is safe and well."
Mark is described as white with short dark-brown hair, 5ft 9inch
tall with a slim build.
He was last seen wearing a blue
cotton jacket, with dark tracksuit bottoms, with white trainers.
Detective Inspector Sadler added:- "We are asking everyone to
have a look at the picture of Mark and if you see anyone in the area
who looks like him or matches his description to let us know. People
who were in the area during the morning of Saturday, 9 March 2013,
and have seen Mark, we would like to hear from you. Have a think
about what you were doing that day, were you on a normal routine and
maybe seen someone who looks like Mark in the area? Please do not
think that your information wouldn't help, anything, even the
smallest piece could help us in tracing where Mark is and bringing
him home to his family."
If you have seen Mark or anyone matching his description please
contact Cumbria Police on:- 101 or Crimestoppers on:- 0800 555 111. |
