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A nostalgic
celebration of classic animated movie music comes to Manchester
BBC ‘How Do You Solve a
Problem Like Maria?’ finalist and West End star Helena
Blackman is set to come to Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester on
Friday, 10 February 2011, from 7.30pm, as part of her first ever UK
solo tour entitled Journey to the Past, a celebration of music from
the wonderful world of classic animated movies. The 3 month
long tour begins in London and will also visit cities and towns
including Birmingham, Stoke on Trent, Cardiff, Halifax, Bath and
Helena’s home town of Southampton. Since Disney’s first full length
animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves graced cinema
screens in 1937, animated films have touched the hearts and lives of
billions of people the world over. From the captivating 1950s
portrayals of classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and Sleeping
Beauty to the reawakening of the ancient Chinese poem Mulan and the
romanticised retelling of the lost Romanov Princess Anastasia during
the late 1990s, animated films have continued to enthral audiences
old and new through their dream like imagery and use of some of the
most famous and magical songs in the history of film. During the
1990s alone, 6 Academy Awards for ‘Best Original Song’
were awarded to animated films including Aladdin, Beauty and The
Beast and Tarzan to name but a few. Audiences are in for a treat as
they hear songs written by some of the most famous songwriters of
the stage and screen including Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, most
famous for their collaborations on Disney classics including The
Little Mermaid and Beauty and The Beast, Tim Rice and Stephen
Schwartz, who has since gone on to write the lyrics for theatrical
favourite, Wicked. Helena will take her audience on a
nostalgic ride through a wealth of timeless songs, including moving
renditions of Disney Classics; ‘Part of Your World’
(The Little Mermaid), ‘Colours of the Wind’
(Pocahontas), ‘A Whole New World’ (Aladdin); songs
from Disney’s latest animated fairytale Tangled and the Oscar
Winning Beauty & the Beast; and songs from An American Tail, The
Land Before Time, Thumbelina and the show’s title song
‘Journey to the Past’ from Anastasia; as well as many, many
more. The intimate performance, with Helena just inches from her
audience, is sure to have most reliving the soundtrack of their
youth, whilst allowing younger generations to discover these
enchanting musical numbers for the very first time. Helena
Blackman first captured the nation’s attention and the unfailing
support of Andrew Lloyd Webber on the BBC’s ‘How Do You Solve
a Problem Like Maria?’. Since then, Helena has gone on to
headline the acclaimed UK tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South
Pacific and starred in the West End première of Stephen Sondheim’s
Saturday Night. In 2011, Helena released her highly successful debut
album ‘The Sound of Rodgers & Hammerstein’ before
going on to perform the unforgettable songs which appear on the
album at the prestigious Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall. She
has also recently toured the UK as a guest artist with number one
charting classical singer Jonathan Ansell. Helena said
that:- "I’m truly delighted to do my first tour as a solo
artist and sing songs that I have loved all my life that I know so
many other people love, too. I have such fond memories of all of
these films, and can’t wait to share those with everyone in
Manchester." More information and Full booking details
for all venues on the tour can be found at:-
journeytothepasttour.com.
Helena Blackman: Journey to the Past is produced
Speckulation Entertainment.
Tickets:- £15/ £12.50 concessions. |
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New lease of
life for arson attack parish centre
A Liverpool community
centre which was destroyed by fire has been reopened with an
attractive new look thanks to Cassidy and Ashton building surveyors
and architects.
The leading North West firm was appointed from the
Archdiocese of Liverpool’s partnering framework to survey the damage
at Our Lady Queen of Martyr Social Club, Croxteth, and design a
new-look interior. The fire was started on the roof of the
building, on Stonebridge Lane, just before Easter 2011. An
accelerant was used, resulting in substantial damage to the roof and
throughout the interior. The centre was closed after the fire,
meaning that parish and community had to find alternative
accommodation, until it reopened shortly before Christmas.
Director of Cassidy and Ashton, Dave Owen, said:-
"Our brief was to repair and restore the club to its original
condition, while bringing a more modern look and feel. The finished
project looks great and will be something that the community can be
proud of for many years to come."
Club manager, Julie Gannon, said the new centre looked fantastic.
"It is great to have the club back up and running and we have had
lots of lovely comments from visitors about the modern new look."
Work on the 800sqm building took around 15 weeks to complete.
Man's body discovered at Southport
Pier
ON Thursday, 5 January
2012, at around 10.30am, a passer-by on the Southport Coast Road
spotted a body on the Pier and called the emergency service. The
area surrounding the pier was cordoned off for a short time while
the man's body was removed. The death is being treated as
unexplained at this point and a post mortem will be held to
establish the cause of death. |
