Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan's East Village in the thriving days of bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
Richard Dawson was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in Hogan's Heroes, as a regular panelist on Match Game (1973–1978), and as the original as well as third host of Family Feud.
Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson based on songs recorded by Swedish group ABBA and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, members of the band. The title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson, who composed the original music for ABBA, were involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad was involved financially in the production and she was also present at many of the premieres around the world.
Lorna Luft is an American actress, author, and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli.
Elaine Jill Paige is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.
Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals Rent and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the TV series Private Practice (2007–2013), Murder in the First (2014–2016), and All American (2018–2023), and the films How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Brown Sugar, Chicago, Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), and The Best Man (1999) and its sequel, The Best Man Holiday (2013).
Stephanie Lawrence was a British musical theatre actress.
Nigel Derek Harman is an English actor, best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He has worked mostly in theatre. He starred in the final series of Hotel Babylon. In early 2013 he started filming for the fourth series of Downton Abbey, playing visiting valet, Mr Green. From 2013 until the series ended in 2017, he played the role of Bradley Dawson in Sky One's Mount Pleasant. He appeared as Lloyd in Series 4 of Cuckoo.
Anneliese Louise van der Pol is a Dutch-born American actress and singer. She is known for her theatre work, and for starring as Chelsea Daniels on the Disney Channel series That's So Raven (2003–2007) and its spin-off Raven's Home. Her films include the musical comedy film Bratz (2007), the spoof film Vampires Suck (2010), and the international-production 5 Weddings (2017). Van der Pol has recorded several songs for The Walt Disney Company, including "Over It" for the Stuck in the Suburbs soundtrack, which debuted on August 7, 2004, at number 182 on the Billboard 200.
Paula Wilcox is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom Man About The House from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows such as The Lovers, Miss Jones and Son, The Queen’s Nose, The Smoking Room, Emmerdale, Mount Pleasant, Boomers, Upstart Crow and Girlfriends. Since 2020, Wilcox has appeared as Elaine Jones in Coronation Street.
Anne Reid is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000); and her role as Celia Dawson in Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020) for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. She won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film The Mother (2003).
"Hooray for Hollywood" is a popular song first featured in the 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel, and which has since become the staple soundtrack element of any Academy Awards ceremony. It is even frequently played during non-American movie ceremonies, e.g. the French César Awards. The popularity of the song is notably due to the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, which reference the American movie industry and satirize the illusory desire of many people to become famous as actors.
Jenna Leigh Green is an American actress and singer best known for her performances as Libby Chessler on the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as well as for roles on tour in the musical Wicked and later in the Broadway production.
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and double entendre.
Kelsey-Beth Crossley is a British actress from Fleetwood, England, who played the part of Scarlett Nicholls, the secret teenage daughter of deceased millionaire Tom King and Carrie Nicholls on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She made her first appearance in March 2007, and last appearance on 20 November 2012.
In the Heights is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City.
Louise English is an English actress. She was a regular performer on The Benny Hill Show from 1978 to 1986, as an actress and in dance group Hill's Angels, and has performed in West End plays and nationally touring musical-theatre productions.
Zara Dawson is an English actress and television presenter.
The Ladybirds were a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances on The Benny Hill Show. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many established artists, and perennial television performers.
Bethany Joy Lenz is an American actress, singer-songwriter and filmmaker. She is known for her portrayal of Haley James Scott on The WB / The CW television drama One Tree Hill (2003–2012). She also starred as Michelle Bauer Santos on the CBS Daytime soap opera Guiding Light (1998–2000), and is recognized for her music as a solo artist and as a member of the band Everly.
