Help fund a "Santa Santa!" orchestral concert
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Together with a phenomenal team of friends and colleagues, I have now been working on my full-scale family musical, "Santa Santa!", for more than ten years.
Covid willing, this coming December presents the strongest possibility yet to finally mount a full orchestral concert version of the show. We were devastated when Covid forced the cancellation of the show's premiere production, planned for Tring 2020, but are delighted that the intention now is to swap the planned 12-piece band for a full 35-piece orchestra.
Preparing an 80-minute score for a full orchestra is no small task, so we are starting straight away; but, sadly, we do need financial help to get the sleigh moving!
Many people considering this campaign will already know me and the show well, but for those who don't, here is some information about "Santa Santa!" and its writers.
The show is a large-scale traditional musical for the whole family, in the vein of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Mary Poppins", "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory". With Santa as the main protagonist, the story concerns young Colin, whose mother can't be found anywhere. It seems that she has been accidentally kidnapped by Jack Frost. Santa needs Colin's help to rescue her, and so begins a fantastic adventure into the world of Christmas and magic.
Seven soloists lead the show, plus elves and children, with full orchestra and choir.
Further details as well as demo recordings of all the songs can be found on the "Santa Santa!" website: www.santasanta.co.uk
AIDAN BELL
Music and Lyrics
"Santa Santa!" is Aidan's fourth musical, following "Piper", the story of the legend of The Pied Piper of Hamelin; "Elite", based on the best-selling 80s computer game of the same name; and "Aesop", a reworking of the famous fables.
Born in 1964, Aidan has worked all his life in music and theatre, essentially as a performer, with roles including Aunt Spiker in "James and the Giant Peach" (Hornchurch), Riff-Raff in "The Rocky Horror Show" (Vienna), Mary Sunshine in "Chicago" (Stuttgart), Chantal in "La Cage Aux Folles" (Graz), Odyseus in "Troy - The Musical" (Wellington), Annas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Tecklenburg), Teen Angel in "Grease", Margaret Mead in "Hair" and Uncle Ernie in "Tommy" (Kassel). He has also recorded several CDs, including his solo album, "Timewarp"; the live recordings of "Musical? - Oh My God..." and "The Best of Musicals"; and in London, new recordings of "The Rocky Horror Show" (with Brian May and Christopher Lee) and "Hair".
LEO WEST
Book
Leo has been involved in musical theatre since he was 13, when he appeared in a youth production of "West Side Story" as Officer Krupke. Since then he has completed a Master's Degree in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. He was involved in over 70 theatrical productions during his his four years of study, including shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and Off-West End showcases.
After his role in the new musical "Sunshine Guy", he turned his hand to writing musical theatre and directed his first musical, "The Comedian", written with Josh Sood, to success in Birmingham. Now based in London, he continues to write for stage and screen.
Following, a few photos taken during production of the demo, which can be found at www.santasanta.co.uk
Covid willing, this coming December presents the strongest possibility yet to finally mount a full orchestral concert version of the show. We were devastated when Covid forced the cancellation of the show's premiere production, planned for Tring 2020, but are delighted that the intention now is to swap the planned 12-piece band for a full 35-piece orchestra.
Preparing an 80-minute score for a full orchestra is no small task, so we are starting straight away; but, sadly, we do need financial help to get the sleigh moving!
Many people considering this campaign will already know me and the show well, but for those who don't, here is some information about "Santa Santa!" and its writers.
The show is a large-scale traditional musical for the whole family, in the vein of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Mary Poppins", "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory". With Santa as the main protagonist, the story concerns young Colin, whose mother can't be found anywhere. It seems that she has been accidentally kidnapped by Jack Frost. Santa needs Colin's help to rescue her, and so begins a fantastic adventure into the world of Christmas and magic.
Seven soloists lead the show, plus elves and children, with full orchestra and choir.
Further details as well as demo recordings of all the songs can be found on the "Santa Santa!" website: www.santasanta.co.uk
AIDAN BELL
Music and Lyrics
"Santa Santa!" is Aidan's fourth musical, following "Piper", the story of the legend of The Pied Piper of Hamelin; "Elite", based on the best-selling 80s computer game of the same name; and "Aesop", a reworking of the famous fables.
Born in 1964, Aidan has worked all his life in music and theatre, essentially as a performer, with roles including Aunt Spiker in "James and the Giant Peach" (Hornchurch), Riff-Raff in "The Rocky Horror Show" (Vienna), Mary Sunshine in "Chicago" (Stuttgart), Chantal in "La Cage Aux Folles" (Graz), Odyseus in "Troy - The Musical" (Wellington), Annas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Tecklenburg), Teen Angel in "Grease", Margaret Mead in "Hair" and Uncle Ernie in "Tommy" (Kassel). He has also recorded several CDs, including his solo album, "Timewarp"; the live recordings of "Musical? - Oh My God..." and "The Best of Musicals"; and in London, new recordings of "The Rocky Horror Show" (with Brian May and Christopher Lee) and "Hair".
LEO WEST
Book
Leo has been involved in musical theatre since he was 13, when he appeared in a youth production of "West Side Story" as Officer Krupke. Since then he has completed a Master's Degree in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. He was involved in over 70 theatrical productions during his his four years of study, including shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and Off-West End showcases.
After his role in the new musical "Sunshine Guy", he turned his hand to writing musical theatre and directed his first musical, "The Comedian", written with Josh Sood, to success in Birmingham. Now based in London, he continues to write for stage and screen.
Following, a few photos taken during production of the demo, which can be found at www.santasanta.co.uk
Organizer
Aidan Bell
Organizer
