I just found this on the BBC Radio 2 site; I'm sure DR Ben knows about the show that will be hosted live by Beverley Humphreys!
It's against the rules here, but I have downloaded Real Player and I'm listening to The Voice Of Musical Theater Contest right this very minute!
The Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre returns to the Welsh capital from 15th October - 5th November 2006, presenting an exciting range of shows and events celebrating the world’s most popular live art form - the musical.
The inaugural Festival took place in 2002 and plans are currently being put in place for the third Festival of Musical Theatre, which remains the only one of its kind in the world.
The Opening Gala at St. David’s Hall, Who Could Ask For Anything More' (15th October) will feature 300 local school children with musical stars from the West End who will perform a number from the school’s chosen musical. This event has become one of the most loved elements of the festival and provides a suitable curtain raiser to three weeks of festive fun.
One of the main themes of this year's Festival will be centenaries. David Heneker, the composer of, among others, Half a Sixpence and Charlie Girl, who spent his last years in West Wales, will be celebrated with a concert at the Sherman Theatre. The Symposium Day, following on from last year’s hugely successful event featuring Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Jule Styne, the East End boy made good in the USA with hit after hit including Gypsy, Funny Girl and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Joanne Benjamin, Chief Executive of the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre, is working with international producers to bring the Olivier Award-winning West End production of Guys & Dolls to the Wales Millennium Centre.
The 2006 Festival will start a new strand, which will continue in the future, of Forgotten Gems beginning with the UK premiere of Gershwin's Treasure Girl, presented in conjunction with the Ira and Leonore Gershwin estate.
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There will also be a BBC Wales community concert, hosted by Beverley Humphreys, in which the audience is invited to sing along their favourite musical hits in the company of West End stars.
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For the first time, there will be a 24 hour Singathon in aid of BBC Children in Need which will feature audience members bidding to hear their favourite numbers (2nd - 3rd November).
Following their sold-out smash-hit production of Amazing Grace at the 2005 Festival, Wales Theatre Company returns with a new production of the much-loved Dylan Thomas short story, A Child's Christmas in Wales. This will be presented at the New Theatre (23rd - 28th October), adapted for the stage by Michael Bogdanov with music and lyrics by Jack Herrick, the leader of the Tony Award-winning Red Clay Ramblers.
The Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre competition will once again take place at the New Theatre (15th - 21st October). The competition has received a huge number of entries from professional performers around the world. Laura Michelle Kelly, winner of the first competition in 2000, went on to play the title role in Mary Poppins in the West End, for which she won an Olivier Award. Managed by BBC Wales, the Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre will be featured extensively in a number of national and regional radio and television programmes. And, for the first time, the winner will perform in one of the Festival’s concerts. Alongside Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre, BBC New Talent will be hosting a similar talent scout for non-professional singers.
The third Global Search for New Musicals, has again received a high number of entries from around the world. This initiative aims to discover the best in new musical theatre writing and provides an arena for composers, lyricists and librettists to bring their work to the attention of producers, directors and the general public. The 2005 Festival showcases were a great success, applauded by the industry professionals who attended. Many of the shows presented have gone on to further production following their presentation in Cardiff. In 2005, there were 256 entries from 28 countries, three of which were performed at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival. The six chosen submissions in 2006 will be showcased at Chapter Arts Centre (3rd - 5th November). Other new musical highlights include an off-Broadway musical, I Sing, prior to its West End transfer.
Over the past two Festivals, more than 2000 young people have taken part in Festival events. As part of the Festival’s increasing educational programme, local secondary schools will stage well known musicals in theatres around the region including the renowned Bridgend Youth Theatre, Llanishen High School and Stanwell School. There will also be further series of masterclasses with world-renowned figures from the world of musical theatre. The Festival is also delighted that a new musical production of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince will be premiered at the Sherman Theatre prior to an all-Wales tour.
After a successful series last year, the musicals quiz Showstoppers returns to BBC Radio Wales during the period of the Festival for an entertaining and lively showbiz quiz about musicals (produced by Torpedo). The six half hour shows will be presented by Mal Pope and the panellists for all teams made up of participants from productions in the Festival programme. Showstoppers will be recorded with an audience at Chapter Arts Centre at lunch times on Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th and Friday 29th October.
The Festival has now firmly taken root in Cardiff, with more people taking part than ever before. Our next Festival promises to be a cavalcade of the best musical theatre from around the world, attracting the foremost practitioners, performers and commentators of this much loved genre.
Joanne Benjamin, Chief Executive
