For Immediate Release
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC extends its Hong Kong run!
Local Talent chosen to play von Trapp Children
(HONG KONG, 9 February, 2015) There is no doubt THE SOUND OF MUSIC might just be Hong Kong’s most popular musical. Audience interest for the classic show which begins its run at the Lyric Theatre, has been so strong it has already forced producers to extend its season until 14 June.
The legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical celebrated a record-breaking 954 performances at the London Palladium and was seen by over 2 million people. The show now comes from sell-out seasons in Singapore, New Zealand and China.
The acclaimed show comes with a 30-strong international cast who will be singing unforgettable songs like My Favorite Things, Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, and the title song The Sound of Music.
“I left with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Suddenly the world seemed a brighter place.” The Daily Telegraph
“Beg, steal or borrow a ticket!” Sky News
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 2 of 7
20 Local Performers Cast As von Trapp Kids
The coveted roles of six out of the seven children that form the von Trapp family will be played by 20 of Hong Kong young actors and actresses who have been selected from amongst 600 talented and passionate young boys and girls who competed for the coveted role in the show.
The three day audition, held in mid-January, saw Assistant Director Jonny Bowles fly in to put the youngsters through a series of acting, singing and dancing tests. The finalists were handpicked and the successful young boys and girls, aged from 7 to 13, will begin rehearsals shortly. Performing in rotation throughout the season will be the small and cute Gretl, the brothers Friedrich and Kurt, as well as their sisters Marta, Brigitta, and Louisa.
Playing Friedrich: Freddie Fawcett (Age: 11) Jonny Sealey (Age: 10) Teddy Sealey (Age:12)
Playing Louisa: Hattie Conway (Age:11) Sophie Connell (Age:13) Tiffany Ho Ching Tsang (Age:13)
Playing Kurt: Sebastian Clifford (Age:11) Tommy Avery (Age:11) Ethan Joshua Luk (Age:12)
Playing Brigitta: Jorja Mei-Li Townson (Age:12) Canaan Chan (Age:12) Emily Hellen (Age:10)
Playing Marta: Kelsey McLennan (Age:11) Emilia Oliver (Age:8) Miranda Greenberg (Age:10)
Playing Gretl: Felicity Low (Age:7) Chryso Hon (Age:7) Ellabelle Purcell (Age:7)
Swing Gretl/Marta: Elizabeth Stewart (Age:9)
Swing Friedrich/Kurt: Donald Chui (Age:11)
“It was a tough decision for us to select the 20 actors among all these talented young candidates,” explains Bowles. “Our youngsters outperformed the others with their all-round acting, singing and dancing skills. We look forward to the whole international team rehearsing with them here in April.”
THE SOUND OF MUSIC tells the uplifting true story of Maria, the fun-loving governess who changes the lives of the widowed Captain Von Trapp and his seven children by reintroducing them to music, culminating in the family’s escape across the Austrian mountains.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 3 of 7
The original Broadway production won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews as Maria won five Oscars, including Best Picture, and remains one of the most popular movies of all time.
This dazzling production from the home of West End musical theatre – the famous London Palladium is produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Company and David Ian Productions, and is presented in Hong Kong by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and David Atkins Enterprises.
American Express and BMW are the proud Co-title Sponsors of the Hong Kong season of THE SOUND OF MUSIC; OOCL the Official Ocean Carrier; Austrian Trade Commission/ Advantage Austria and Pacific Coffee are the Official Partners.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Music by RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Book by HOWARD LINDSAY and RUSSEL CROUSE
Suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp
For more information, please visit www.lunchbox-productions.com For more updates, please visit
* * * The above press release is issued by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Ltd. through PRO Marketing Services Company Limited
To download images, press material and information on THE SOUND OF MUSIC please visit: http://www.propublicity.com/ProMWeb/public/News.aspx
For further Information and interview requests, please contact: PRO Marketing Services Company Limited Catherine Cheung and Priscilla Lui Ph: (852) 2851 1482 Mob: (852) 9466 4743 Email: [email protected]
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 4 of 7
Ticketing Information Tickets for 8 additional performances go on public sale at 10:00a.m. on Monday, 9 February, 2015.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Date: From Friday, 15th May, 2015 to Sunday, 14th June, 2015 Venue: Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Show Date Show Time Tue - Fri Evening 7:30pm Saturday 2:30pm & 7:30pm Sunday 1:00pm & 5:30pm Price*: $995 (VIP), $795, $595, $395
A limited number of Full-Time Student tickets are available in VIP, A & B Reserve for all performances. (excluding Friday & Saturday Evening Shows)
A limited number of Family Packages include: Purchase 4 tickets together at a special Family Package price (excluding Friday & Saturday Evening Shows) VIP $3,488 (2 Adults + 2 Children aged under 18) A Reserve $2,688 (2 Adults + 2 Children aged under 18) B Reserve $1,888 (2 Adults + 2 Children aged under 18)
Recommended for 4 years and over; One ticket per person, regardless of age. *Ticket prices are exclusive of HK Ticketing booking fees.
Tickets can be purchased via all HK Ticketing outlets or by calling the HK Ticketing purchase hotline or website as follows: - HK Ticketing hotline: 31 288 288 - HK Ticketing website: www.hkticketing.com - HK Ticketing outlets: K11 Select, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, The Academy’s Landmark Heritage Campus-Bethanie, AsiaWorld-Expo, Fringe Club, Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, and all Tom Lee Music outlets
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 5 of 7
NOTES TO EDITORS
About David Ian Productions
David Ian Productions was founded in 2006 and is based in London’s Covent Garden.
Producing credits include: West End: Saturday Night Fever- London Palladium, The King and I, Grease, The Shawshank Redemption - Wyndhams, Sweet Charity - Dominion,Cambridge, Victoria Palace, Piccadilly, Defending the Caveman - Apollo, Ain’t Misbehavin’ - Lyric, Daisy Pulls It Off, Anything Goes - Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Producers -Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Guys and Dolls - Piccadilly, TheSound of Music - Haymarket, La Cage Aux Folles - Playhouse. UK Tours: Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pirates of Penzance, Rocky Horror Show, Singin’ in the Rain, Evita, Chess, Dr Dolittle,The King and I, West Side Story, Cats, Chicago, Starlight Express, My Fair Lady, The New Statesman, The Producers, Flashdance and Britain’s Got Talent (Arena Tour).
Broadway and US: Grease, Gypsy, My Fair Lady (North American tour), The Sound of Music Toronto and Phantom - The Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas. David Ian was Chairman of Global Theatre for Live Nation until 2007.
About Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday later combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game (now called The Boys in the Photograph), The Woman in White, Love Never Dies and Stephen Ward. He composed the film scores of Gumshoe and The Odessa File and a setting of the Latin Requiem mass. As well as many of his own shows, his producer credits include Daisy Pulls It Off, Lend Me a Tenor, Shirley Valentine, La Bête, the ground-breaking Bollywood musical, A R Rahman’s Bombay Dreams, his smash hit productions of The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium and the films of The Phantom of the Opera and the acclaimed Australian production of Love Never Dies. He pioneered television casting for musical theatre with the Emmy Award- winning BBC series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?.
His awards include seven Tonys, three Grammys including Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, two International Emmys, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, a BASCA Fellowship and the Kennedy Center Honor. He currently owns six London theatres, including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the London Palladium. His future projects include support for the breeding programme of the increasingly rare Turkish swimming cat at Van in Eastern Turkey. He was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 6 of 7
About The Really Useful Group
THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP LTD (RUG) (Producer) was founded in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is wholly owned by him. At the heart of RUG’s business are the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations, Tell Me on a Sunday, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Boys in the Photograph, The Woman in White, Love Never Dies and Stephen Ward.
In addition to his own musicals, Andrew’s productions include A. R.Rahman’s Bombay Dreams, the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium and Toronto).
The Really Useful Group is an international entertainment company, with offices in London and Sydney that produce and coordinate Lloyd Webber’s works throughout the world. The company’s theatre and concert production, recording, merchandising, music publishing and licensing divisions provide specialised services for Lloyd Webber’s works and also to other producers and authors.
About Lunchbox Theatrical Productions
Founded in Hong Kong in 1992 by James Cundall, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions has established an unrivalled reputation for producing top quality international entertainment across five continents, and is now headquartered in the UK with companies in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. Productions include musicals such as Les Misérables, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express, West Side Story, Annie and Chicago; spectaculars such as Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria and Riverdance; boutique shows such as Stomp, Slava’s Snowshow, Raise the Red Lantern by the Chinese National Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and Circus Oz; musical concerts including Thriller Live, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Abba Mania and One Night of Queen; international artists Barry Humphries, Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein, Pam Ayres, Elaine Paige and Bryn Terfel; plays such as The Woman in Black, Grumpy Old Women and The 39 Steps; children’s shows Thomas the Tank Engine and Barney’s Space Adventures; The Imperial Ice Stars’ productions of The Sleeping Beauty on Ice, Swan Lake on Ice, Cinderella on Ice and The Nutcracker on Ice; and events such as Yorkshire’s Winter Wonderland (an outdoor Christmas event in York, UK).
As well as The Sound of Music in Hong Kong, future productions for 2015 include STOMP in Dublin; a worldwide tour of Singin’ in the Rain travelling to New Zealand, Singapore, Manila, South Africa and Australia; Cats in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia; Beauty and the Beast in Singapore; The Nutcracker on Ice at the Royal Albert Hall, London and the 11th Season of Yorkshire’s Winter Wonderland in York, UK.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Press Release P. 7of 7
About David Atkins
Recognised in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the entertainment industry, David Atkins is Australia’s most awarded producer, choreographer and director. He has starred in, produced, directed, choreographed and created more than 20 musicals in Australia, Britain, the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2000, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the president of the International Olympic Committee, presented David with a Gold Olympic Pin for his outstanding and innovative work as artistic director and producer of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies. David is the first and only Australian to win an MTV award for choreography. His original production Hot Shoe Shuffle was the first Australian musical on London’s West End, for which he won the prestigious Olivier Award and this year the Green Room Award for “Excellence in Choreography for Music Theatre”.
David has directed and produced some of the largest live events, across continents, languages and international audiences, including the Ceremonies of the Doha 2006 Asian Games, the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the Opening Ceremony of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. In 2011 David directed and produced the Moscow City Day Anniversary Celebrations, the Opening Ceremony of the New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Doha 2011 Arab Games.
David is the only Australian director and producer whose work on Olympic Ceremonies won Emmy awards, with three wins for the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony. His work in Shanghai, Vancouver, Moscow, Doha and New Zealand earned him “Best Export Productions” and in 2010 he was awarded the highly prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the annual Australian Event Awards.
Over and above the enormous body of work that David has directed and produced, beyond the vast number of awards and nominations, he has revolutionised the way shows are created and produced.