Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer are together again. The duo — who starred in the legendary "The Sound of Music" film and who recently reunited for a TV remake of "On Golden Pond" — will headline A Royal Christmas, a new holiday spectacular set to tour cities in the United States and Canada this December.
Andrews and Plummer will be joined by young soprano Charlotte Church as well as a whopping 150 dancers, singers and musicians. A Royal Christmas — which will make the first of its 15 stops at the USB Arena in Cincinnati, OH — will feature the season's most popular songs and carols, holiday tales as well as excerpts from the famed "Nutcracker Ballet." Stage veterans Andrews and Plummer will serve, respectively, as the Mistress and Master of Ceremonies.
A spokesman for the tour said that Andrews — who was involved in a public lawsuit after an operation on her vocal chords left her unable to sing professionally — will be doing a limited amount of singing during the tour. "She's going to be singing along with the chorus and the orchestra and Charlotte Church," said press representative Philicia Gilbert. "She's not going to be doing any solos right now. She's taking it day to day — she may do more, and she may do less."
Billed as one of the "largest holiday extravaganzas ever produced," A Royal Christmas will also include London's Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by George Daugherty; the Westminster Concert Choir; the Westminster Bell Choir; principal and solo dancers from London's Royal Ballet, Winnipeg's Royal Ballet, Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, Ukraine's Kyiv Ballet and the Shumka Dancers. As of press time, the tour for A Royal Christmas follows:
Dec. 3 at the USB Arena in Cincinnati, OH
Dec. 4 at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI
Dec. 6 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
Dec. 7 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI
Dec. 8 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
Dec. 10 at the John LaBatt Centre in London, ONT
Dec. 11 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ONT
Dec. 12 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, ONT
Dec. 14 at the Dunkin' Doughnuts Center in Providence, RI
Dec. 15 at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA
Dec. 16 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY
Dec. 17 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA
Dec. 18 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY
Dec. 20 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL
Dec. 21 at the Office Depot Forum in Ft. Lauderdale, FL Julie Andrews became a star on Broadway — in My Fair Lady, The Boyfriend and Camelot — before becoming an international star in such films as "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music." Andrews played opposite Christopher Plummer in the latter. Plummer's Broadway credits include J.B., Cyrano, Othello, No Man's Land and Barrymore. He won Tony Awards for his performances in both Cyrano and Barrymore. Soprano Charlotte Church has often been compared to the early work of Julie Andrews. Church has performed in concert halls around the world, and her recordings have sold more than 10,000,000 copies.
—By Andrew Gans
