Glee‘s Matthew Morrison, Idina Menzel & Petula Clark join Oliviers’ line-up

American stage and screen star Matthew Morrison, of Glee fame, will give a special solo turn at this year’s Olivier Awards, marking at his first major UK event performance.
Morrison’s many leading stage credits include Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza and South Pacific, which he was previously rumoured to accompany to the UK in its 2011 transfer to the Barbican. He’s become internationally famous for his role as ‘Mr Schuester’ on Glee. This June, Morrison releases a new studio album titled Where It All Began, produced by the Phil Ramone (the producer behind Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett) and featuring classic Broadway standards.

Morrison will be joined by a roll call of stars at the Oliviers ceremony, which is presented by Whatsonstage.com Award winner and four-time co-host Sheridan Smith and Hugh Bonneville at the Royal Opera House on Sunday 28 April 2013. Other performances announced today include two other 2013 Whatsonstage.com Award winners – Broadway star and fellow Glee alum Idina Menzel and Will Young, joined by the cast of Cabaret – as well as Sixties British pop legend Petula Clark and Busted’s James Bourne, performing from Loserville, the musical he co-wrote.

There will also be company performances from A Chorus Line, Top Hat and The Bodyguard, led by Heather Headley, who brought this year’s Whatsonstage.com Awards to a thrilling finale after scooping our prize for Best New Musical. The live singing performances will be accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra under the musical direction of David Charles Abell.

And, amongst the guest presenters so far confirmed for the 2013 Oliviers are: Kim Cattrall, Lee Evans, Romola Garai, Lily James, Myleene Klass, Damian Lewis, Tim Minchin, Arlene Phillips, Daniel Radcliffe and David Suchet.

The Olivier Awards, sponsored by MasterCard, are the UK’s equivalent of the Tony Awards and bring the annual theatrical awards season to a close. This year’s event on 28 April will be aired on BBC Radio 2, hosted by Ken Bruce and Anneka Rice, from 6pm, firstly interviewing the stars on the red carpet and then broadcasting the entire ceremony live. Following the ceremony on the night, ITV will then broadcast an extensive highlights programme of the awards.

Theatregoers are invited to gather at the BBC Radio 2 Stage in Covent Garden Piazza from 4pm on the day for a free Olivier Awards celebration, hosted by Radio 2 presenter Claudia Winkleman and West End leading man Michael Xavier and featuring live performances from top West End shows – including the four shortlisted BBC Radio 2 Audience Award nominees, Billy Elliot, Matilda, The Phantom Of The Opera and Wicked.

HAVE YOU SEEN? In celebration of this year’s Olivier Awards, proud sponsor MasterCard is running a series of “priceless theatre” competitions, including the current one in which one lucky winner will receive the “star treatment” at Wicked. To enter, log onto the competition page here: http://wos.im/MCWicked. The Wicked prize draw takes place at 9:59am Monday 8 April 2013. All entrants will also be entered into a second prize draw for a VIP package for two to attend this year’s Oliviers. The Oliviers prize draw takes place on 22 April, ahead of the 2013 Olivier Awards ceremony on Sunday 28 April. Find out more on the Whatsonstage.com Discussion Forum, also sponsored this month by MasterCard.