Unheard musical theatre songs to be showcased in free online concert

Unheard musical theatre songs are to be performed in a free live-streamed fundraising concert.

REGENERATE: Lost Songs from the Musicals will be live streamed on 18 September 2022 in support of charity Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) in partnership with Musical Theatre Network (MTN).

The one-night-only show will feature never-before-heard songs from musical theatre writers including Elton John & Tim Rice, Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, Masi Arare, Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boublil, Adam Guettel, Stephen Schwartz, Maury Yeston, Douglas Hodge, Stiles + Drewe, Irene Sankoff & David Hein, Don Black & Debbie Wiseman and more.

Both songs from new works and those cut from past projects will be showcased during the concert.

Performers include Natalie Paris, Adrian Lester, Anita Dobson, Duncan James, Grace Mouat , Alice Fearn, Aisha Jawando , Luke McCall, Desmonda Cathabel, Michael McCorry Rose, Daniel Goldfarb, George Maguire, Hanna Khogali, Michael Ahomka-Lindsay and Frances Mayli McCann.

Vikki Stone hosts the the concert which is conceived and Produced by Neil Marcus with musical director Nick Barstow and studio producer Bartek Podkowa.

Producer Neil Marcus commented: “I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and passion of the composers and lyricists who are gifting work to support the next generation of writing talent.

“We are now reaching out to an incredible group of artists and musicians who will be introducing these songs to the world. We will soon be announcing the line-up and more songs showcasing new writers breaking through.”

REGENERATE: Lost Songs from the Musicals will stream on Sunday, 18 September at 7PM UK time on YouTube here.

You can watch a first trailer below…

Natalia Scorer, Mercury Musical Developments said: “We are delighted to bring these great songs to life at REGENERATE, in aid of the next generation of musical theatre writers, at the start of MMD’s 30th Anniversary celebrations.

“The generosity of the contributing writers, performers and audience members will go a long way to ensure that new talent can be properly supported at BEAM2023, where we will showcase a selection of the most exciting new musicals being created in the UK.”

James Hadley, Musical Theatre Network, added: “This is a brilliant example of acclaimed musical theatre writers ‘paying it forward’, sharing some songs that could otherwise have been lost to us, to help improve the chances of tomorrow’s musical theatre breakthrough writing talents being discovered sooner. We’re always in awe of the talent that emerges through BEAM – these freelance artists are so very deserving of our support; they’re the future of the art form in the UK.”

The evening will be dedicated to the Memory of Her Majesty The Queen, a true patron of the Arts and will include a minutes silence in her honour at 8pm