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Michael Xavier
Michael D. Xavier (born Michael David Smith; 27 November 1977) is an English actor and singer. He is a two-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee and has performed on Broadway and in the West End. Early life Michael David Smith (later known as Michael Xavier) attended Knutsford High and ultimately completed his professional acting training at the Manchester Metropolitan University in 1999. His first professional role and London West End debut was in the musical comedy Pageant in 2000. Work in theatre Xavier has been nominated twice for a Laurence Olivier Award. He was first nominated for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2011 for his performance as the Wolf/Cinderella's Prince in ''Into the Woods'' at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. The same year he was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Oliver in the musical ''Love Story'' at the Duchess Theatre. In January 2017, Xavier's lead performance in ''Sunset Boulevard'' (at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knutsford Academy
Knutsford Academy, formerly known as Knutsford High School, is a secondary school in Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It has Specialist School Status in the areas of Performing Arts. As of 2014, it also includes a Studio school site. History The upper school on Bexton Rd was opened as a secondary modern school for boys and girls on 13 November 1953. The lower school on Westfield Drive was built as a separate school for girls and opened on 26 April 1966. In 1973 the two schools combined to form one comprehensive co-educational establishment known as Knutsford County High School. Over 2011–12, work was being performed on the lower site to remove asbestos that was built into the walls. Knutsford High School became Knutsford Academy on 1 April 2012 after gaining Academy status. This brought with it a complete uniform change. Instead of the previous Blue polo shirt and jumper, the current uniform consists of a blue blazer, embroidered with the Academy Logo, with a striped tie. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his choreography debut. The story deals with labor troubles and romance in a pajama factory. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, at the St. James Theatre, and ran for 1,063 performances, with a brief stop at the Shubert Theatre at the end of the run. It was revived in 1973, and again in 2006 by The Roundabout Theatre Company. The original production, produced by Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, won a Tony Award for Best Musical. The 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical is a popular choice for community and school group productions. The original West End production opened at the London Coliseum on October 13, 1955, where it ran for 588 performances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mamma Mia! (musical)
''Mamma Mia!'' (promoted as ''Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia!'') is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson (playwright), Catherine Johnson, based on songs recorded by Swedish group ABBA and composed by members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The musical's title is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia (ABBA song), Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson were involved in the development of the show from the beginning, while singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad was involved financially in the production and also appeared at many of the premieres around the world. The musical includes hits such as "Super Trouper (song), Super Trouper", "Lay All Your Love on Me", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Take a Chance on Me", "Thank You for the Music", "Money, Money, Money", "The Winner Takes It All", "Voulez-Vous (song), Voulez-Vous", "SOS (ABBA song), SOS" and "Mamma Mia (ABBA song), Mamma Mia". Over 70 million people have seen the show, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place (then known as Nelson's Place) to the rear of the Crawford Art Gallery. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and a replacement opened in 1965. With a number of additions in the early 21st century, the 1000-seat venue hosted over 100 theatre, music, opera, and comedy events in 2015. History Original building (1855–1955) Cork's opera house was originally built in the 1850s to designs by architect John Benson. Intended for the "promotion of science, literature and the fine arts, and the diffusion of architectural knowledge", the building was based on a template that the architect had used for the exhibition buildings at the Irish Industrial Exhibition. Opened in 1855, this building was originally called "The Athenaeum", and was renamed "The Munster Hall" in 1875. It was renamed as the "Opera House", after extensive reconstruction, in 1877. The op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, including ''Macbeth'', as well as opera and musicals, such as ''Cats'' (1981) and '' Les Misérables'' (1985). Nunn has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, winning Tonys for ''Cats'', ''Les Misérables'', and '' Nicholas Nickleby'' and the Olivier Awards for productions of '' Summerfolk'', '' The Merchant of Venice'', '' Troilus and Cressida'', and ''Nicholas Nickleby''. In 2008, ''The Telegraph'' named Nunn among the most influential people in British culture. He has also directed works for film and television. Early years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane. The present building, opened in 1812, is the most recent of four theatres that stood at the location since 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music). The first theatre on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theatres were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration. Initially known as "Theatre Royal in Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Russell (lyricist)
Bill Russell (born 1949) is an American librettist and lyricist. Among his stage musicals are '' Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens'' and '' Side Show'', which was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Musical. Career Russell's first musical to be produced is ''Fortune'', which ran Off-Broadway at the Actors' Plahouse from April 27, 1980 to November 23, 1980. Ronald Melrose wrote the music, with Russell writing the book and lyrics. The musical director and arranger was Janet Hood; they have gone on to write several musicals together. The musical concerned four performers who were headed to be stars. According to ''The New York Times'' reviewer, John Corry, it "marked the maturity of the gay musical", and he commended the "literate" lyrics. Russell wrote the book and lyrics for the song cycle '' Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens'', with music by Janet Hood, which originally ran Off-Off-Broadway in 1990 and in the West End in 1993. It played a benefit concert in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of Theatre of the United Kingdom, commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Prominent screen actors, Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and World cinema, international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are approximately 40 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre—built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan—was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Society of London Theatre, The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced that 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous structure. The current building dates from 1926, and the capacity is now 690 seats. Early stage mechanisms, including rare thunder drums and lightning sheets, survive in the theatre. History Origins The theatre was designed by prolific architect C. J. Phipps, and decorated in a Romanesque style by George Gordon. It opened on 16 April 1870 with Andrew Halliday's comedy, ''For Love Or Money'' and a burlesque, ''Don Carlos or the Infante in Arms''. A notable innovation was the concealed footlights, which would shut off if the glass in front of them was broken. The owner, William Wybrow Robertson, had run a failing billiard hall on the site but saw more opportunity in theatre. He leased the new theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Audio Drama Awards
The BBC Audio Drama Awards is an awards ceremony created by BBC Radio to recognise excellence in the radio industry, in particular in Radio drama, audio dramas. The inaugural awards were presented in 2012 and the ceremony hosted at the BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House where it has remained ever since. The awards were first announced with an invitation for entries on 24 October 2011, and the shortlisted nominees revealed on 10 January 2012. The inaugural ceremony took place on 29 January 2012 and proved hugely successful. Prior to this, there was no official awards ceremony to recognise audio dramas; the Sony Radio Academy Awards mainly encompassed radio shows and presenters while the Richard Imison Award (for best original script by a new writer) and Tinniswood Award (for best audio drama script of the year) were awarded separately. The Imison and Tinniswood Awards are now incorporated into the Audio Drama Awards, the former administered by the Society of Authors and the latt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oval House Theatre
Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (located at 385 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8GL). History The roots of Ovalhouse can be traced back to the 1930s and its foundations, as Christ Church (Oxford) Clubs, by the graduates of Christ Church, Oxford. Young people from disadvantaged areas in South London were able to access sports activities, skills training and supervised leisure activities through membership of the club. Ovalhouse's reputation as one of the most important centres for pioneer fringe theatre groups dates from the 1960s, when the club underwent a radical change in the policy of the club with the arrival of newly appointed warden, Peter Oliver. Oliver refocused the club's activities from sport to drama and became the artistic founder of Oval House Theatre. Oliver staged the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unity Theatre, Liverpool
The Unity Theatre is a theatre in Liverpool, England. Formed by directors Gerry Dawson and Edgar Criddle as the Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s, the theatre became known as the Merseyside Unity Theatre in 1944. The company was known for being radical and experimentalist, staging classics alongside contemporary left-wing theatre; an aim was to make theatre accessible to the working class. Today, the theatre provides workshops and performance space and is based in a converted synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ... (the former home of Liverpool Reform Synagogue) on Hope Place off Hope Street. External linksOfficial Unity Theatre website [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
