Kerry Ellis supports Only Men Aloud at Drury Lane
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ON DECEMBER 20, 2009, West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis will join Only Men Aloud in their finale Christmas show at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The Christmas tour (see below for venues and dates) follows Only Men Aloud’s critically acclaimed sell out tour earlier this year and will include a selection of festive numbers, songs from their albums – Only Men Aloud (Last Choir Standing) and Band of Brothers – and a few firm favourites.
Only Men Aloud was formed in 2000 by Tim Rhys-Evans but it was in 2008 that they entered and won what was to be the UK’s biggest choir competition to date – BBC One’s hit Saturday Night Show Last Choir Standing, in which choirs competed to become voted the best in the UK.
Their top-twenty debut album was recorded over five days at AIR studios in London, and achieved gold status within the first week of sales. It subsequently went on to sell in excess of a quarter of a million albums within the UK.
Rhys-Evans’ primary aim was to encourage younger men to get involved with one of Wales’ oldest and best loved traditions, male voice singing. However, the group are not afraid to tackle music not normally associated with male voice choirs. Accordingly, their repertoire ranges from the 17th Century to the present day and includes the 1983 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart with Bonnie Tyler.
The choir appears regularly on network radio and television and notable broadcasts include the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, Radio Three Choir of the Year from The Royal Festival Hall, and a performance on HMS Belfast for the BBC One New Years Eve broadcast.
Only Men Aloud have also enjoyed two successful trips to the States and performed privately at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and guests.
Ellis was a member of the original London cast of the popular musical Wicked – first as understudy to Idina Menzel’s Elphaba and eventually, from January 1, 2007, as the fabled green witch in her own right. She was subsequently named Best Takeover in a Role in the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers Awards, voted for my members of the public. And, just 10 days after her final performance in London, she reprised the role on Broadway for six months.
Her other numerous credits include the West End production of We Will Rock You, in which she originated the role of Meat; Chess in Concert, in which she played Svetlana alongside Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Marti Pellow (Royal Albert Hall); Les Misérables (as Fantine); the national tour of Miss Saigon (as Ellen); and My Fair Lady, in which she understudied Martine McCutcheon’s Eliza Dolittle (National Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane). She also took part in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.
Most recently, Ellis performed her one woman show The Great British Songbook at the Shaw Theatre, recorded Somebody to Love which features on Band of Brothers and took part in the BBC Radio 2 ABBA concert Thank You For The Music in Hyde Park.
Tickets: £35, £27.50, £22.50 and are available at www.gigsandtours.com
Tour Dates
Tuesday, December 1 – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (0844 4999 990)
Thursday, December 3 – Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre (01492 872 000)
Saturday, December 5 – Cardiff Arena (029 2022 4488)
Sunday, December 6 – Norwich Theatre Royal (01603 63 0000)
Monday, December 7 – Ipswich Regent (01473 433 100)
Tuesday, December 8 – Birmingham Symphony Hall (0121 780 3333)
Wednesday, December 9 – Liverpool Philharmonic (0151 709 3789)
Friday, December 11 – Brighton Dome (01273 709 709)
Monday, December 14 – Manchester Bridgewater Hall (0161 907 9000)
Wednesday, December 16 – Portsmouth Guildhall (02392 824 355)
Thursday, December 17 – Bristol Colston Hall (0117 922 3686)
Friday, December 18 – Nottingham Royal Centre (0115 989 5555)
Sunday, December 20 – London Theatre Royal Drury Lane (020 7403 3331)