UK Chess Tour - Casting for the new regional touring production of Chess, under the direction of Craig Revel Horwood, is as follows: Shona White (All The Fun Of The Fair) as Florence Vassy, James Fox (Jesus Christ Superstar Tour) as Freddie Trumper, Daniel Knock as Anatoly Sergievsky, Poppy Tierney as Svetlana Sergievsky, David Erik as the Arbiter & James Graeme as Walter. Casting took place from April through June and rehearsals began on 19 July 2010. Under the musical supervision of Sarah Travis, the show's 28 actors will supply their own musical accompaniment as has been done in previous Revel Horwood works. The tour is schedule is as follows: Newcastle, Theatre Royal : 27 August - 11 September 2010; Northampton, Royal & Derngate : 14-18 September 2010; Edinburgh, Edinburgh Playhouse : 21-25 September 2010; Cheltenham, Everyman : 28 September - 2 October 2010; Aberdeen, His MajestyÕs Theatre : 5-9 October 2010; Wolverhampton, Grand : 12-16 October 2010; Sheffield, Lyceum : 19-23 October 2010; Salford, Lowry : 26-30 October 2010; Cardiff, New Theatre : 1-6 November 2010; Bradford, Alhambra : 9-13 November 2010; Southampton, Mayflower : 16-20 November 2010; Nottingham, Theatre Royal : 22-27 November 2010; Norwich, Theatre Royal : 30 November - 4 December 2010; Plymouth, Theatre Royal : 6-11 December 2010; Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes Theatre : 25-29 January 2011; Belfast, Grand Opera House : 22-26 February 2011; Woking, New Victoria Theatre : 8-12 March 2011; Glasgow, King's Theatre : 5-9 April 2011.

Le Roi Lion est de Finir - Paris production of The Lion King played its final performance on 25 July 2010. The Lion King opened in Paris at the Theatre Mogador on 4 October 2007 and was awarded three Moliere Awards in 2008 for Best Musical, Best Costumes and Best Lighting. On 21 January 2010 it reached the milestone of having been seen by a total of over one million theatre-goers. Its three-year run has made it Paris' longest running musical.

Disney has retracted earlier reports that it would be closing Disney's Aladdin : A Musical Spectacular, the theatrical show playing at the Hyperion Theatre in Disneyland's California Adventure theme park, on 15 August 2010 to make way for Toy Story - The Musical. Although construction for Disney's expansion will begin near the theatre on the 15th, Disney expects there to be minimal disruption to the show's performance schedule. Disney has not, however, withdrawn the possibility that the show will be closed sometime in the near future. As of August 2010, Disney's Aladdin : A Musical Spectacular will have run nearly eight years, having begun previews in November of 2002 with an opening in January of 2003.

Evita's Gonna Be A Part Of The Big Apple In 2012 - Americans will have a chance to find out what all the buzz was about regarding the acclaimed 2006 West End Evita revival in the Spring of 2012 when the production comes to Broadway with its original star Elena Roger in the title role. Singer Ricky Martin has been cast in the part of Che. The production will again be directed by Michael Grandage and choreographed by Rob Ashford. The Evita revival is being produced by Hal Luftig and Scott Sanders with an expected budget of $8-9 million. The tentative schedule is for rehearsals to begin sometime in January with an eye at performances beginning in April.

Sir Tim Rice was awarded The Academy Fellowship at the 55th annual Ivor Novello Awards on 20 May 2010. The award was presented by singer Tommy Steele.

American audiences will be treated to a reimagined Beauty and the Beast during its current national tour. The changes, which were made by the show's original creative team, include a redesigned set, tweaks to the songs and revamped choreography. This new version of the show premiered on 7 February 2010 at the start of the show's engagement at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

UK Evita national tour, produced by Bill Kenwright, which began in Hull in January 2009, continues on with venues including Bromley's Chirchill Theatre from 23 March - 10 April 2010 and Dublin's Gaiety Theatre 12 April - 1 May 2010. Evita stars Rachael Wooding in the title role and Any Dream Will Do's Seamus Cullen as Che. Tickets can be booked through the Official Tour Site.

After an extensive tour of the Netherlands, the hit Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has taken up residence at the Beatrix Theatre in The Netherlands' capital of Utrecht. Joseph stars Freek Bartels in the title role, Renee van Wegberg as the Narrator, Paul Walthaus as Pharaoh and Leo Hogenboom as Jacob. Translated by Martine Bijl, the show is directed by Paul Garrington with musical staging and choreography by Stanley Burleson and Daan Wijnands. The sets are by Eric Goossens, lighting by Henk Jan van Beek, sound design by Jeroen ten Brinke and costume design is by Cocky van Huijkelom. Tickets for the show, currently booking through 29 April 2010, can be purchased through the production's website at http://www.musicals.nl/joseph/index.html. The page also contains a link to follow the show's star, Bartels Freek, on Twitter (tweets in Dutch).

The acclaimed UK national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, produced by Bill Kenwright, continues to plays throughout 2010 with stops including: St. Albans (25 - 30 January 2010, Alban Arena), Woking (1 - 6 February 2010, New Victoria Theatre), Carlisle (8 - 13 February 2010, The Sands Centre), Skegness (15 - 20 February 2010, Embassy Centre), High Wycombe (22 - 27 February 2010, Swan Theatre), Rhyl (8 - 13 March 2010, Pavilion Theatre), Coventry (15 - 20 March 2010, Belgrade Theatre), Doncaster (22 - 27 March 2010, The Dome), Crawley (29 March - 3 April 2010, The Hawth), Ipswich (5 - 10 April 2010, Regent Theatre), Worthing (12 - 17 April 2010 Pavilion Theatre), Southsea (19 - 24 April 2010, Kings Theatre), Stoke On Trent (26 April - 1 May 2010, Regent Theatre), Shrewsbury (10 - 15 May 2010, Theatre Severn), Dunfemline (17 - 22 May 2010, Alhambra Theatre), Aberdeen (24 May - 5 June 2010, His Majesty's Theatre), Derby (7 - 12 June 2010, Derby Assembly Room), Oxford (14 - 19 June 2010, Oxford New Theatre), Salford (5 - 10 July 2010, Lowry Theatre), Bournemouth (20 July - 14 August 2010, Pavilion Theatre), Plymouth (16 - 21 August 2010, Theatre Royal), Birmingham (23 August - 11 September 2010, Hippodrome). The tour stars Any Dream Will Do finalist Craig Chalmers as Joseph at performances through the end of June 2010. Keith Jack, the runner-up from Any Dream Will Do, will then be donning Joseph's coat. Other leads include I'd Do Anything's Tara Bethan as the Narrator, Lachlan Scheuber as Pharaoh and Henry Metcalfe as Jcaob and Potiphar. Tickets for the various venues can be purchased through the Official Tour Site.

Sir Tim Rice is contributing the lyrics to 3-D animated South African film Jock of the Bushveld, which is based upon the 1907 classic children's novel by Percy Fitzpatrick about the adventures of a Staffordshire Terrier. In addition to a score by Marius Brouwer, the soundtrack will feature songs by various composers including South African singer/songwriter Johnny Clegg. The film is being produced by Duncan MacNeillie and is expected to be released in December of 2010.