U.K. Broadcast network ITV has announced that Broadway and West End star Michael Crawford will guide seven celebrities in a new televised musical theatre contest titled All Star Musicals. The program is set to debut this holiday season.
The seven contestants will rehearse in the lead up to performing a big musical theatre number, with the theatre audience deciding at the end of the night whose performance was most impressive. The celebrities will be Sir Tony Robinson, Denise Lewis OBE, Nicky Campbell, Sally Phillips, Lucy Fallon, Michael Parr, and Rebecca Front. Crawford will be on hand throughout the contest to offer guidance, advice, and encouragement ahead of their big performance.
The show will feature numbers from a range of celebrated musicals, including Chicago, Evita, and Guys and Dolls, just to name a few. Freddie Flintoff will host the evening.
“All Star Musicals is going to be the ultimate night out, in. I am so excited that Michael Crawford has agreed to take part and with Freddie Flintoff hosting too, the viewers have a real treat in store, with our fabulous cast performing in some truly iconic musical numbers,“ commented Siobhan Greene, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for ITV, in a statement.
Crawford has a musical theatre resume that spans five decades; he won both Tony and Olivier Awards for his starring role in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and in the West End.
