Kerry Ellis On The Voice

Tons and tons of opinions flying round about Kerry Ellis appearing on the voice. This is all I have to say on the matter - listen to this video from 1.16

Someone who saw that live said this: "I was there, the curtains closed like 2 mins, the scene was completely re choreographed, she got a standing auvation at the INTERVAL for the way she belted it, i have never experienced anything like it, Seen idina, eden and maggie d'awd do elphie, nothing compares to Kerry. Wud love t meet her! Stunning in every way!"

That is all...

Poll Result: Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical - Top 3!

Below are the top 3 winners from our 'Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical' poll...

3rd Place 

Oliver Tompsett 

I Wanna Rock

Rock Of Ages

Votes - 70 - 14%

Just when you think Oliver Tompsett's voice can't get any stronger, or go any higher... it does! He is an incredible talent, one of the best the West End has to offer! For a lot of this week he was in 2nd place, and then had a little war with Lauren Samuels before settling for 3rd place. I can't wait to see what he does after Rock Of Ages... pretty much anything he wants to I guess!

2nd Place 

Lauren Samuels 

Somebody To Love

We Will Rock You

Votes - 81 - 16%

Lauren Samuels is one of the most beautiful performers I have ever seen on stage. She has great attention to detail and puts her all into every little tiny note she sings. Already in her short career she has shown she is not type cast and I can't wait to see what other roles she plays in the future **cough cough Wicked & Les Mis**. 

I would also like to thank Lauren for the support she has shows us over last week with her tweets, re-tweets & mentions. It is much appreciated Lauren!

1st Place 

Rachel Tucker 

Defying Gravity

Wicked

Votes - 231 - 45%

So I think it's official... Rachel Tucker is the Queen of the West End! Rachel is the most consistent and passionate performers I have ever seen. Also Defying Gravity is by far the best song in any musical ever. Rachel adds such depth to the song and I like the way every time I see her perform it, I will notice something slightly different. You never see the same thing twice with Rachel and I look forward to seeing her as I know I will always see a flaw lace performance. While I never want Rachel to leave Wicked I do look forward to seeing what she does next. Wicked is only her 2nd West End Show. I would love to see her do a one off concert one time as well so she can show off her voice in different songs.

It also has to be said Rachel has the most amazing fans, led by @TeamTucker1 on twitter who I would like to thank for being supportive of the blog throughout the last week.

To see who came 4th - 8th place in the poll click here.

Finally a massive thank you to everyone who has voted in the poll and who has reading the blog. It is amazing to know I have people reading the blog, it makes it all worth while! Also keep your eyes pealed on the blog and twitter (@WestEndFrame) as I will be launching another poll soon!

Thank you!!

....and breathe

Poll Result: Rachel Tucker wins 'Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical' for her performance of 'Defying Gravity'

Over 500 of you have voted and decided that Rachel Tucker is the winner of our 'Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical' poll. She won for her performance of the incredible song 'Defying Gravity' in long running West End Show Wicked!!

Below is a countdown of the winners!

8th Place 

Joanna Monro 

Take A Chance On Me

Mamma Mia

Votes - 3 - 1%

Joanna is great in Mamma Mia and I actually think it is a shame she didn't get more votes. She is incredibly funny and always puts her all into Take A Chance On Me. 

7th Place 

Sharon D Clarke

Believer

Ghost The Musical 

Votes - 10 - 2%

Sharon is also another hilarious performer! What i love about her is how efforless it is for her to get laughs. All she has to do is walk across the stage and everyone is laughing at her. Her performance of Believer is always great, its such a great introduction to the character. She also gave incredible performances in Hairspray and We Will Rock you (and I loved her in Holby City, but please don't tell anyone I used to watch that)

6th Place 

Carley Stenson

So Much Better

Legally Blonde The Musical 

Votes - 19 - 4%

I won't write too much about Carley here as I wrote a whole blog post about her last week. She has come along way since joining Legally Blonde and she owes the producers of the show a lot for giving her the chance to prove herself. She is a great performer, and also has great comic timing and I can't wait to see her take on a completely different role in Shrek!

5th Place 

Dean Chisnall

Who I'd Be

Shrek The Musical 

Votes - 46 - 9%

For a long time Dean was in 3rd place, only slipping into 5th in the last few days. Dean is great in Shrek, I saw him when he was understudying the role and Alice was on as Fiona. I have to say they have great on stage chemistry and I wish she could take over as Fiona after Carley leaves! Also when I first saw Shrek I wasn't expecting it to have a big ballad like Who I'd Be which is actually one of my favorite musical theater songs at the moment! It has such a strong meaning behind it, the lyrics contain great metaphors and Dean puts such power into it when he sings.

4th Place 

Caroline Sheen

I Dreamed A Dream

Les Misérables

 Votes - 49 - 10%

Only beating Dean by 3 votes to 4th place is Caroline Sheen! Caroline is the only person in the poll I have never seen on stage before however I had to include her as I only ever hear incredible things! For the first few days she didn't get any votes, however in the last few days she really shot up the poll! I will try to make an effort to see how now as I want to see for myself how talented she is.

click here to find out who the top 3 are...

Review: Legally Blonde The Musical - A Must See Before 7 April 2012

Legally Blonde The Musical
The Savoy Theatre

In August 2010 I was practically bullied into going by a friend. Arriving at the incredible Savoy Theatre I was planning to sit there and make it clear I was not enjoying it, however from beginning to end I sat there with the biggest smile on my face and left walking down the stand singing 'oh my god, oh my god you guys' (I would have said I was holding it in but that would be a lie). It has to be said though that for me, the reason it was so amazing was because of the incredibly talented Sheridan Smith. Not because of her strong voice or comic timing but because of that relationship she created with the audience and the way she completely understood the character she was playing. The best thing about her portrayal of Elle was that because she is nothing like her in real life, she played her in a way, where it was like she was almost taking the mickey out of her. This is why I think British people loved her because they related with her and were almost laughing at the Americans. Also other actors in the show did this and it was as if they were taking the mickey out of there own characters.

Susan McFadden as Elle

Once Susan McFadden took over the role, that extra omph Sheridan brought left the show. Susan was the best vocalist to ever play Elle in my opinion and her acting was also good, I loved her sarcasm, however she didn't lead the show and didn't create that relationship with the audience. However I do think Carley has started to bring this back to the show. Also I think Tamara Wall and  Denise Van Outen were also good at creating that relationship with the audience.

I also love the three friends who follow Elle round in the show. I once saw, Pilar, Lucy & Emma together and they were soooo funny together, adding lots of bits in. Legally Blonde also has tones of great songs across all different genres! I thought it would just be poppy music and when 'oh-my-god' started I feared the whole show would be like that however I love how funny 'Serious' is. 'What You Want' is also great and I love how so much time passes during that song. It also includes a bit of rap. The 'Gay Or European' is so so funny and is just like Old British Theatre.

Something else that shows that Legally Blonde is so great is that all three Elle's have gone on to do great things. Since leaving Legally Blonde Sheridan smith has filmed 6 films and is Currently filming a new ITV drama in which she plays the title role 'Mrs Biggs'. Susan McFadden is currently touring America having joined 'Celtic Woman'. And as I previously wrote about on the blog Carley Stenson is joining the cast of Shrek and is to perform in her first cabaret. Also I'm pleased for Swing Ruthie Stephenson who is to be the Dance Captain on the new Starlight Express UK Tour!

If you haven't seen Legally Blonde you must see it before it closes in a few weeks! The whole cast always put all their effort into every performance and I grantee you will leave feeling uplifted!

Ben Freeman & Carley Stenson will star as 
Warner & Elle until the end of the current west end run

Poll: Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical

In shows actors come and go all the time. The best thing about theatre is that you will never see the same thing twice. We have some outstanding performers in the West End. All people in this poll are extemely talented people. You watch shows like X Factor and then go and see a West End Show and to me it is pretty obvious where this country's best singers can be found...

Vote below for which performer you think gives the best performance of a song, think about they way ther indervidual performs it. Will give this poll longer before anouncing the results! Thanks guys!

Best Performance Of A Song In A Musical
	Rachel Tucker - Defying Gravity - Wicked
	Carley Stenson - So Much Better - Legally Blonde
	Lauren Samuals - Somebody To Love - WWRY
	Oliver Tompsett - I Wanna Rock - Rock Of Ages
	Sharon D Clarke - Believer - Ghost
	Joanna Monro - Chance On Me - Mamma Mia
	Caroline Sheen - I Dreamed A Dream - Les Mis
	Dean Chisnall - Who I'd Be - Shrek

Poll Result: 'Rock Of Ages Best Rock Musical In Town' says West End Frame Blog Readers!

Nearly 300 people have voted and decided that Rock Of Ages is the best Rock Musical in town!!

A massive comgratualtions to you and a massive thank you to everyone who voted! I did not expect a responce like that! I will try and do more polls in the future as they seem to be popular! Also thank you to everyone who commented on the blog post as even though you were expressing your opinions there was no rudeness and everyone was respectful of both shows which is exactly the kind on community i want to be a part of as the reason i don't often visit fourm's is because of the rudeness!

Also a massive thankyou to Sandy Moffat, Oliver Tompsett and the Rock Of Ages London Twitter page for promoting the poll online! I don't know how you found it but it's great that you did!

You can now follow the blog on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/westendframe @WestEndFrame.

Love you guys! Rock Of Ages review and more polls on the way soon!

Poll: Rock Of Ages vs We Will Rock You - what is the better rock musical in town?!

The official voting period ended Monday 12th March 2012. Click here to view the result

We Will Rock You has been in the West End for a very long time and despite what people thought it has done incredibly well! I think the main reason for this is because it attracts a different sort of audience. So it was only a matter of time before something similar came along - Rock Of Ages. Both shows are simular yet different. I think We Will Rock You is better in terms of the big set and massive ensemble dance numbers where as Rock Of Ages has a much smaller cast but is much much funnier and up to date and modern. But what is your favourite? Vote Below....

Carley Stenson takes over the west end! (and yes, I am still alive)

There will be no rest for Carley Stenson after she finishes her successful stint playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical next month as she is to star in her first Cabaret and and cross the swamp to take over as the green girl in Shrek The Musical!!!  

Carley as Elle Woods

The first time I saw Carley was when she played Margot in Legally Blonde (and was 2nd Cover Elle) and I have to say I thought she was very weak. Her voice was noticeably not as strong as everyone else's and her acting was just OK. So when she got the role of Elle I was quite shocked and presumed she would be terrible! The first time I saw her as Elle I was surprised as she was great! Her voice was still weak which was a massive floor as it was the only thing that prevented her from leading the company as she acted the role amazingly and created a great relationship with the audience. However when I saw her this January it was like a completely different person! She really led the company and her singing had massively improved. I think she brought back something to the show that had been lost once Sheridan left - she made the audience really care for Elle which gets you much more into the show. 

This is something I hope she can really bring to Shrek as I felt Amanda Holden really led the cast, especially through out 'Morning Person'. I wish Carley the best of luck and the details of her cabaret are below.

Listen to how good Carley is these days singing So Much Better in Legally Blonde...