Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Charlotte Church will be touring North America in the holiday production of A Royal Christmas, December 3-21. Produced by Princeton Entertainment Organization in Pennington, NJ, the production is one of the largest holiday extravaganzas ever produced. Among the cities included on the tour are Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Toronto, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale.
A Royal Christmas will also feature 150 dancers, singers and musicians, including England's Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Westminster Concert Choir, Westminster Bell Choir and Principal & Solo Dancers from London's Royal Ballet, Winnipeg's Royal Ballet, Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, Ukraine's Kyiv Ballet and Shumka Dancers.
A Royal Christmas tour itinerary:
December 3 Cincinnati, OH USB Arena
December 4 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
December 6 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
December 7 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
December 8 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
December 10 London, ONT John LaBatt Centre
December 11 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre
December 12 Ottawa, ONT Corel Centre
December 14 Providence, RI Dunkin' Donuts Center
December 15 Boston, MA Fleet Center
December 16 Albany, NY Pepsi Arena
December 17 Hershey, PA Giant Center
December 18 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
December 20 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
December 21 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Office Depot Forum
Michael Flatley To Return To Las Vegas In $250 Million Deal
Michael Flatley's Unicorn Entertainment company has signed a five-year, $250 million deal with The Venetian Hotel's Showroom to stage his new production of 'Lord of the Dance.' The new production opens November 1.
'Lord of the Dance' will be seen and enjoyed by the 40 million visitors per year that pass through Las Vegas," said Richard Heftel, owner of H & H of Nevada. "It is the number one show in the world and we are proud to have it."
Rod Gunner, chief operating officer of Unicorn Entertainment added, "We're delighted with this deal, 'Lord of the Dance' is stronger than ever, from Moscow to Mexico we are still No. 1."
Flatley said, "We can promise our audiences an even more spectacular show and look forward to the standing ovations this show receives wherever it's presented throughout the world."
McGraw Documentary to Show in U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — A documentary on Tim McGraw will be digitally simulcast on about 30 movie screens in more than 20 U.S. cities on Nov. 25 — the day before his CD hits the stores. Billboard reports tickets to the film will be given away by country radio stations in each city.
McGraw will also make his Grand Ole Opry debut on Nov. 30, and his performance will be televised on CMT's "Grand Ole Opry Live" show. McGraw will also debut his first primetime special, "Sing Me Home," on NBC on Nov. 27.
McGraw's new Curb album is titled "Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors."
In other country music news, Tammy Cochran has been named "New Artist of the Year" by the ABC Radio Networks 2002 Listener Awards. Real County listeners called in and e-mailed their votes in several categories. Cochran, whose second CD, "Life Happened, is in stores now, says the award is validation that there's a place for music that comes from the heart.
Lee Greenwood was also honored, receiving the Spirit of America Award at the recent 89th Annual Convention of the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW. The organization honored him for writing and performing "God Bless The USA," a song that has become a modern day patriotic anthem. As nice as the honor is, it also came with a $20,000 check.
Greenwood's spokesman says the singer-songwriter asked that the money be designated to a local Boy and Girls Club, in eastern Tennessee.
Minor Injuries Occur at Rap Concert
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Several concert-goers suffered minor injuries Saturday night when a railing gave way at the Target Center during a performance by the rap artist Bow Wow.
About 10 people were taken by ambulance for treatment, said Reid Katzung, director of operations. The most serious complaints appeared to be of lower leg pain and of back pain, he said.
Four people were being treated for minor injuries at Hennepin County Medical Center late Saturday, a nursing supervisor said.
The railing — about 12 feet long and 5 feet off the arena floor — gave way as fans pressed forward when Bow Wow worked his way into the crowd about 10 p.m., near the end of his show, Katzung said.
The railing snapped in three places, causing fans to fall forward, Katzung said. Bow Wow was not hurt and resumed his performance from the stage.
Repairs will be made and other railings inspected before the Minnesota Timberwolves' NBA season-opener Wednesday, Katzung said.
Little Steven: The Boss To Tour Again In Spring
Little Steven says that Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band will tour this coming spring.
"Well, we're gonna continue," he told Launch. "We're gonna step things up. Really, this first four months is really just a quick hit warm-up. The real tour is gonna start in March, April, I think. You know, we're gonna probably start camping out in cities. Right now, we're doing nothing but one-nighters, literally–I mean, we have not done two shows anywhere, and we won't through December–just sort of to introduce the record to as many different cities as we can."
