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Rob Houchen
Rob Houchen (born 10 February 1991) is a British stage actor and producer. He is best known for playing Marius in ''Les Misérables'' in both its 30th Anniversary international production as well as at the Queen's Theatre and Fabrizio in ''The Light in the Piazza'' at the Royal Festival Hall. Early life and education Houchen is from Lowestoft, Suffolk. He attended Pakefield Primary and Middle schools, Kirkley High School and East Norfolk Sixth Form College. He trained at the Guildford School of Acting in London, graduating with a BA hons in musical theatre. Career Stage Houchen started his career onstage in 2013 in the musical ''Les Misérables'' as Marius Pontmercy. In 2019 Houchen was part of the London premiere of the musical The Light in the Piazza in the role of Fabrizio. The show starred Dove Cameron as Clara and Renée Fleming as Margaret. The show transferred to the LA Opera in October of the same year with the same principal cast, including Houchen. He then re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman ( Freedman; born 19 March 1960) is a British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre. She is an eight-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, winning three. Her first win was for her 1994 one-woman show, ''By Special Arrangement''. She has also twice won Best Actress in a Musical for the original London productions of '' Passion'' and ''Ragtime''. She played Elaine Peacock on ''EastEnders'' from 2014 to 2017. In 2023 the role was recast with Harriet Thorpe taking over the role of Elaine. Friedman was the narrator in the 1999 straight to video version of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'' Early life Maria Friedman was born in Switzerland, one of four children of Clair Llewelyn (née Sims), a concert pianist, and Leonard Friedman ( Freedman), a violinist for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Her younger sister is the theatre director and producer Sonia Friedman; other siblings are violinist Richard Friedman (now deceas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lauren Drew
Lauren Drew (born 17 February 1993) is a Welsh actress and singer. Known for her work in musical theatre, she won a WhatsOnStage Award and received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Early life Drew was born in Port Talbot. She pursued a BTEC National Diploma in Musical Theatre at Neath Port Talbot College before going on to study at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 2016. That year, Drew was a finalist in the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year competition alongside Courtney Bowman. Career Upon graduating from Mountview in 2016, Drew made her professional stage debut in the ensemble of the UK tour of ''Ghost''. This was followed by her West End debut the next year in '' Kinky Boots'' at the Adelphi Theatre, and a role in '' Heathers'' at The Other Palace in 2018. Drew played Suzanne in ''Sweet Charity'' at the Donmar Warehouse and was the understudy for Eva Peron in '' Evita'' at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2019. Drew portra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development of the site of the White Bear, a seventeenth-century posting inn. The inn was located on sloping ground stretching between Jermyn Street and Piccadilly Circus, known as Regent Circus. A competition was held for the design of a concert hall complex, with Thomas Verity winning out of 15 entries. He was commissioned to design a large restaurant, dining rooms, ballroom, and galleried concert hall in the basement. The frontage, which was the façade of the restaurant, showed a French Renaissance influence using Portland stone. After the building work began, it was decided to change the concert hall into a theatre. The composers' names, which line the tiled staircases, were retained and can still be seen. The redesign placed the large Criter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titanique
''Titanique'' (sometimes stylized as ''Titaníque'') is a jukebox musical featuring music of Celine Dion, with a book by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli. The musical is a parody of the 1997 film ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', and the story is a retelling of the movie's events from Dion's perspective. The show premiered in Los Angeles in 2017. It premiered off-Broadway at The Asylum Theatre in June 2022, before later transferring to the Daryl Roth Theatre. At the 2023 Lucille Lortel Awards, the off-Broadway production won three awards, including Outstanding Musical. Premise In the present-day, Celine Dion hijacks a ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' museum tour, where she claims to have survived the Sinking of the Titanic , ''Titanics sinking. Celine begins to narrate her version of what really happened to Jack and Rose, and the other characters from the movie on the night the ''Titanic'' sank. The musical is partially Improvisational theatre , improvised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joanna Ampil
Joanna Ampil is a musical theatre and film actress from the Philippines and United Kingdom. Career Joanna, at seventeen years old, auditioned for an open call in Manila for the original production of ''Miss Saigon'' in front of director Sir Nicolas Hytner. Despite not having any experience in theatre or the performing arts, she landed the lead role of Kim and was flown to London to rehearse with the West End company at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. She has since reprised her role as Kim in the original Australian production, the original United Kingdom and Ireland Tour and 10th Anniversary Performance. Ampil's other notable roles include Mary Magdalene in the West End revival of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', Éponine in ''Les Misérables'', Fantine in ''Les Misérables'', Mimi in ''Rent'', Christmas Eve in ''Avenue Q'', Sheila Franklin in ''Hair'', Thanh in the world premiere of ''The Real Love'', Heidi in ''I Sing!'', The ingénue June in the West End premiere of ''The M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gina Beck
Gina Beck (born on 30th December 1981 in Buckinghamshire) is a British stage actress and singer, mainly known for playing major roles in various West End musicals. She played the characters of Miss Honey in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of ''Matilda the Musical'', Magnolia Hawks in Daniel Evans production of the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'', Glinda the Good Witch in ''Wicked'', both in the London production and the 1st national tour, Christine Daaé in the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'', Sarah Brown in the 2025 London revival of ''Guys and Dolls'', and Cosette in ''Les Misérables''. Background Gina Beck was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, but moved to Hampshire with her parents at an early age. She attended local schools and was introduced to the stage through school and amateur groups. She passed her Grade 8 singing examination at the age of fifteen and gained experience in both solo and ensem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julian Ovenden
Julian Mark Ovenden (born 29 November 1976) is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert and recording artist. Early life and education Ovenden was born on 29 November 1976 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He is one of three children of the Reverend Canon John Ovenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II. He sang in the St Paul's Cathedral Choir, London as a child. He later won a music scholarship to Eton College. He subsequently read music at New College, Oxford on a choral scholarship. Whilst he has received training as an opera singer, he has professionally used his music training in musical theatre. He continued academic studies in drama at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Career His theatre work includes the multi award-winning '' Merrily We Roll Along'' and '' Grand Hotel'' for Michael Grandage at the Don ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre building in the 1680s. Lacking the requisite licence to perform straight drama, the house became known for dancing, performing animals, pantomime, and spectacular entertainments such as sea battles in a huge water tank on the stage. In the mid-19th century, when the law was changed to remove restrictions on staging drama, Sadler's Wells became celebrated for the seasons of plays by Shakespeare and others presented by Samuel Phelps between 1844 and 1862. From then until the early 20th century the theatre had mixed fortunes, eventually becoming abandoned and derelict. The philanthropist and theatre owner Lilian Baylis bought and rebuilt the theatre in 1926. Together with Baylis's Old Vic, Sadler's Wells became home to dance, drama and opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring Theatre (structure), theatre that plays host to touring Musical theatre, musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building and one of the main theatres in Manchester. The Opera House and its sister theatre the Palace Theatre, Manchester, Palace Theatre on Oxford Street are operated by the same parent company, Ambassador Theatre Group. History The theatre opened as the New Theatre in 1912, renamed the New Queen's Theatre in 1915 and as the Opera House in 1920 when it came under the wing of John Hart and his associates of United Theatres Ltd. In 1931, it was bought by, and prospered under, Howard & Wyndham Ltd which had been formed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1895 by Michael Simons. The group's managing director A Stewart Cruikshank, headquartered at the group's headquarters in the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, was joined on the board by Charles B Cochran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Pacific (musical)
''South Pacific'' is a musical theatre, musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Book (musical theatre), book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway theatre, Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize–winning 1947 book ''Tales of the South Pacific'' and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism. The plot centers on an American nurse stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II, who falls in love with a middle-aged expatriate French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A secondary romance, between a U.S. Marine lieutenant and a young Tonkinese woman, explores his fears of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jenna Russell
Jenna Russell (born 5 October 1967) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in London in both musicals and dramas, as well as appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf .... She performed the role of Dot in ''Sunday in the Park with George'' in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broadway, receiving the Tony Award nomination and the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role. She has also appeared in several television series, including ''Born and Bred'' and ''EastEnders''. Life and career Russell was born in London, grew up in Dundee, and attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She has said she had a "tricky childhood". In 1985, Russell appeared as Matthew's girlfrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
