The show has been put together by director George Lucas' company Lucasfilm and composer John Williams. It will premiere at the O2 Arena in London in April before a European tour. It will not be a traditional musical with actors playing characters from the films, but will feature live narrators. The six Star Wars films have been edited down to two hours for the show, and Williams has "painstakingly rewritten" the music he wrote for the movies, a statement said.
The Royal Philharmonic will use an 86-piece orchestra and an accompanying exhibition will feature original models, props, costumes and production artwork. David Campbell, chief executive of AEG Europe, which runs the O2, said, "Star Wars holds memories for practically everyone. John Williams is THE composer of our times, and fans will be thrilled to know that both he and Lucasfilm have contributed fully to this new production. To have the premiere at the O2 is a real coup for us, and I know there will be a lot of very happy Star Wars fans out there when they hear the news."
Festival Funding - Edinburgh's festival fringe is to be given a £250,000 funding package to tackle cash-flow problems. It follows problems at the box office this summer which affected tickets for hundreds of shows. The funding package includes a loan of £125,000 from Edinburgh City Council and a one-off grant of £65,000 from the Scottish Arts Council. The Scottish Government will also provide an advance of £60,000 on future funding. Scottish Enterprise will provide specialist business analysis and development advice to help the event into 2009.
"This very welcome support package will allow us to stabilise our immediate cash flow challenges," said Fringe general manager Tim Hawkins."We look forward to building a strong relationship with funding partners which will allow us continue providing an economic benefit of over £100m to Edinburgh and the wider Scottish economy."
Roll on Summer - Blur have announced plans to play a second show in London's Hyde Park next summer. The band have added an extra date on 2 July 2009 after their initial show on July 3 sold out. It will be the first time Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree have played together as a band since 2000. Coxon left Blur in 2002 to pursue a solo career and relations between him and Albarn have remained frosty. But in November this year Damon Albarn told BBC's Newsbeat, "It's very possible I'll go back to Blur, it really is very possible"
Artist of the Year - R&B singer Chris Brown has been named Billboard magazine's artist of the year for the second time. The 19-year-old also won the accolade in 2006. Rapper Lil' Wayne, whose hits this year include Lollipop, was the number two artist with Brown's girlfriend Rihanna at three. Rounding out the top five were Alicia Keys and country singer Taylor Swift.
On Broadway - A musical adaptation of the animated blockbuster Shrek has opened on Broadway in New York. Tony-nominated actor Brian d'Arcy James plays the green ogre with a heart of gold, with Tony-winning actress Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. Stars including Cameron Diaz, who voices Fiona in the film franchise, Ben Stiller and Joan Rivers attended the show's opening performance. A fourth Shrek film is scheduled to be released in 2010.
(Jim Evans)
