|
The Habit Hits
The Road!
THE hit musical comedy Sister Act, produced by
Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, hits the Liverpool Empire
on 22 May 2012 for a strictly limited 2 week run in a tour which has
premiered to rave reviews.
The show, which played to over a million people at the London
Palladium during its West End run and is currently a huge hit on
Broadway, stars Coronation Street’s Denise Black as Mother Superior
and Brookside and The Royal favourite Michael Starke as Monsignor
O’Hara, with rising new star Cynthia Erivo as nun on the run Deloris
Van Cartier.
Whoopi Goldberg said:- "We were thrilled to open Sister Act in
London but I’m even more excited to have the show tour the UK so
even more folks experience those singing nuns. It's a great show for
everyone…your kids, your granny, even the neighbour next door who
you might not like so much! I promise, you'll have a great night in
the theatre. Look out Great Britain and Ireland - the Sisters are
coming!"
Denise Black is probably best known as siren hairdresser Denise
Osbourne in Coronation Street. Other television credits include
Denny’s mad, bad mum in Bad Girls, Hazel, the mum all gay men wanted
in Queer as Folk, as well as Robin Hood, Doc Martin, Small Island,
Sensitive Skin, Dalziel and Pascoe, New Tricks, No Angels, Midsomer
Murders, A Touch of Frost, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Vice. On
stage she has worked at every major producing theatre in the UK in
work as diverse as Chekhov, Wesker and Albee to Akcybourn, Shaw and
Lorca. She recently toured the country in Grumpy Old Women Live! and
won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her role in Roots at the Royal Exchange. Denise is also the lead
singer of the folk-rock band The Loose Screw who gig extensively
around the UK and recently sold out a week-long engagement at Pizza
on the Park.
Liverpool born actor Michael Starke is best known for his role as
Thomas "Sinbad" Sweeney in popular soap Brookside, which he played
for 16 years. He was also a series regular playing Kenneth Hopkirk
in Sunday night ITV1 drama The Royal. In 2007 he joined the cast of
ITV1’s Coronation Street as kebab shop owner Jerry Morton. Previous
stage credits include The Play What I Wrote, Anything Goes, The
Rocky Horror Show, Hamlet, numerous pantomime appearances, and most
recently the UK tour of Hairspray as Edna Turnblad.
The cast also includes Julie Atherton as Sister Mary Robert, Edward
Baruwa as Eddie Souther, Cavin Cornwall as Curtis Jackson, Gavin
Alex as Pablo, Jacqueline Clarke as Sister Mary Lazarus, Tyrone
Huntley as TJ and Laurie Scarth as Sister Mary Patrick.
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put
in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't
be found - a convent! Disguised as a nunshe quickly finds fans
amongst her fellow 'sisters', but makes
the wrong impression on the convent’s strict Mother Superior. When
she turns her attention to the convent’s off-key choir, helping the
nuns to find their true voices and breathing new life into the
rundown neighbourhood, her cover could be blown for good. With the
gang giving chase, is time running out for Deloris? Or have they
underestimated the power of her new found Sisterhood?
Sister Act features a score by Alan Menken, eight-time Oscar winner
and the genius behind many of the world famous songs from Disney’s
movies, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin
and Enchanted, with lyrics from his long time collaborator, Glenn
Slater. The book is by the award-winning team, Cheri and Bill
Steinkellner, whose writing credits include the classic television
comedy Cheers, with additional book material from Douglas Carter
Beane.
Sister Act opened at the London Palladium in May 2009 to huge
critical and audience acclaim. It went on to receive four Laurence
Olivier Award nominations and its cast album shot to Number One on
the iTunes soundtrack chart. During the London Palladium run the
show broke Box Office records for the highest grossing single
performance and highest grossing week for any musical ever at that
venue. The New York production opened at the Broadway Theatre in
April 2011 and was nominated for five Tony Awards at this year’s
ceremony, as well as receiving multiple nominations from every other
major US theatre awards body. Record breaking productions are also
running in Hamburg, Vienna and Milan, with future productions
planned for Spain, France, Holland, South Korea, Japan and Brazil
soon.
Whoopi Goldberg is among the most well-known performers around the
world. She shot to international fame with her Oscar-nominated
performance in Steven Spielberg’s The Colour Purple, before
embarking on a prolific Hollywood career with films such as Jumpin’
Jack Flash, Soapdish, The Lion King, How Stella Got Her Groove Back
and, of course, Sister Act and its sequel. She has had success in
virtually every area of entertainment, from film and television, to
stage and recording, to radio host and best-selling author. She won
the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ghost
in 1991 and is one of a very elite group of artists who have also
won the Grammy, the Golden Globe, the Emmy and, as Producer of the
original Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, a
Tony Award. She is currently moderator of the award-winning daytime
talk show The View in the United States.
Founded by Joop Van Den Ende, Stage Entertainment is one of Europe’s
largest theatrical producers and venue operators, with bases in many
cities across the continent. UK credits include Hairspray, Sister
Act, The Ladykillers, Singin’ In The Rain, Oliver! UK tour, Disney’s
High School Musical 1 & 2, Strictly Come Dancing Live!, Saturday
Night Fever and Fame.
Performance Details for Liverpool Empire Theatre:- Shows take
place over 22 May 2012 to 2 June 2012, at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday,
with Wednesday and Saturday having matinee showing at 2.30pm.
Tickets are from £15 to £42. To book visit the Empire box office, or
call them on:- 0844 871 3017. You can also book
online. |
 |
Can you take
giant strides? GIANTS
WLTM male/female, 18 years upwards, fit, crowd-pleasing, able to
pull at heartstrings (leg strings, arm strings etc)GSOH a must. Last
month Liverpool’s Sea Odyssey team announced they were on the
look-out for volunteers to be part of the biggest event the city has
ever held. This triggered more than 300 enquiries and the team
received a whopping 170 applications from people wanting to fill the
roles. But there is still time for people to come forward to
volunteer for the once in a lifetime opportunity to take centre
stage and be part of the team who operate one of the 2 giants who
will be roaming the city streets from 20 April to 22 April 2012.
Known as 'Liliputiens', marionette operators need to
be physically fit, with a good level of stamina and be a key team
player. Anyone who applies for the volunteer position must be
willing to take part in ten rehearsal sessions throughout April, and
of course must be available and on-hand throughout the three day
spectacular.
Liverpool city council’s cabinet member for culture and tourism,
Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "We’ve created this volunteer
programme as a result of residents asking us if they could get
involved in some of the fantastic events we stage. The visit of the
famous Spider in 2008 was an amazing success, and we had a huge
amount of people approaching us saying it would have been an even
more special experience if they could have been involved in some way
; so it’s great that we can create these unique opportunities around
Sea Odyssey. It will be incredible to see the show, but to play a
role at the heart of the action is something that will stay with
people forever."
Details of all the roles can be found at:-
giantspectacular.com and
click on ‘Get involved’. Application forms should be
filled in as soon as possible. Successful applicants will be invited
to take part in informal interview/auditions later this month.
Sea Odyssey is being brought to the city by world-renowned street
theatre experts Royal de Luxe and will see the 30ft Little Girl
Giant and her 50ft Uncle exploring North Liverpool and the city
centre. The story behind the visit of the 2 giants and the route
will be released in the next few weeks.
Find out the latest by visiting the Sea Odyssey
website and why not 'Like' the Giant
Spectacular page on Facebook or follow Giant Spectacle on Twitter.
New rules for North West landlord
LANDLORDS across the North West must abide by
new tenancy deposit rules or face fines of up to 3 times the amount
of their tenants’ deposit.
All landlords must protect their tenants deposit with a government
approved scheme. Tenancy deposit protection (TDP)
schemes ensure money paid by tenants, as deposits, is kept safe.
However, North West letting agent Jordan’s is warning that the
government has changed the penalties which apply to landlords who
fail to follow the rules when taking a deposit from a tenant. The
new rules come into force on 6 April 2012.
The rules affect deposits already being held, if they aren’t
compliant, as well as new deposits. Among the changes, the rules
mean landlords must protect deposits, under assured short hold
tenancies, within 30 days of receipt of the deposit, up from 14
days. Tenants must then be given information including a copy of the
schemes leaflet within 30 days.
Failure to comply with the 30 day limit means the landlord could
have to pay a penalty of between 1 and 3 times the amount of the
deposit.
Even once a tenancy has ended, from 6 April 2012, former tenants can
claim for up to 6 years and a claim can be made even if the deposit
has been refunded. If landlords fail to abide by the rules they will
not be able to use Section 21 to evict a tenant if necessary.
William Jordan, managing director of residential lettings agency
Jordan’s, which has outlets across the North West, said:-
"Landlords must be familiar with the changes coming up in less than
a month. If they haven’t already registered their tenant’s deposit,
they should do so immediately or face a fine. If you’re a tenant or
landlord working with a letting agent, ask where the deposit is
being held and make sure you have the correct documents. This will
ensure any disputes are handled swiftly and efficiently when the
tenant comes to move out of the property."
Tenancy deposit protection (TDP) schemes guarantee tenants will get
their deposits back at the end of the tenancy if they meet the terms
of the tenancy agreement and do not damage the property. Landlords
must protect their tenants' deposits using a TDP scheme if they have
let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) which started
after 6 April 2007.
Landlords and/or agents must use one if the following approved TDP
schemes to protect tenants' deposits where these conditions apply.
They are reminded that if they use any other scheme, deposits are
not protected in law. The 3 approved schemes are as follows:-
► Deposit Protection Service (DPS)
► MyDeposits
► Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)
More information about this can be found on:-
direct.gov.uk.
Please let our newsroom know your views on this by emailing us via:-
news24@southportreporter.com today!
|
