Â鶹ԼÅÄ

I'm Lewis Carnie, Head of Programming at Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2 with a responsibility for commissioning programmes for the network. I wanted to use this blog post to explain more about Radio 2's specialist music output and in particular musical theatre.  

At Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2, we pride ourselves in bringing the most distinctive and diverse range of musical content to you. From blues to big band, folk to funk, jazz to country - specialist music is at the heart of what we do (in case you haven't already read it, take a look at about Radio 2's 15 year association with the Folk Awards. Musical theatre is one of the key genres Radio 2 reflects in its output and it’s one that we know our audience cherishes. 

So last Friday's Radio 2 broadcast of a re-staging of Joan Littlewood’s revolutionary musical, ‘Oh What a Lovely War!’ is as good a place as any to start. As Britain prepares to mark the centenary of the start of WW1 in 1914, Radio 2 launched its commemorative programming by broadcasting Tony Award winning director Terry Johnson’s new production of the show from the venue where it received its premier 50 years ago. The ensemble includes Caroline Quentin, with music directed by Mike Dixon. It's a great production and - as you would expect - is still available on Â鶹ԼÅÄ iPlayer, alongside an  presented by Joan Bakewell discussing what impact OWALW had on our understanding of World War One.  

Earlier this month on Monday 10 March, Radio 2 shone the spotlight on The Olivier Awards 2014. Saturday morning presenter Anneka Rice broadcast live on the Ken Bruce show announcing this year’s shortlist. I'm really pleased that with an amazing average daily audience of almost 5 million listeners Ken's show gave the awards a prominent centre stage spot on Radio 2.

The Radio 2 Audience Award also returns this year. This annual award gives our listeners the opportunity to have a say in who should be crowned the favourite long-running show. The prestigious accolade will be presented on the night by the station’s very own West End star, Elaine Paige.

Described as the 'first lady of British Musical Theatre', Elaine rose to prominence in the lead role of Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, played Grizabella in Cats and other roles in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney Todd and Benny, Bjorn and Tim Rice's Chess. No wonder then that someone with such a musical theatre pedigree remains popular with our listeners. Every Sunday at 1pm, dedicates two hours to playing the very best in musical theatre, and is enjoyed by an audience of over 2 million listeners. 

Another familiar musical theatre face (and winner of last year's Best Actor in a Musical Olivier Award for his role in Sweeney Todd), Michael Ball will continue our coverage of this year's Olivier Awards on Radio 2 with a two-hour highlights programme on Saturday 19 April (6pm-8pm). Michael will bring news of all the winners plus performances from the night’s glittering affair to listeners at home. He'll also be joined by Anneka Rice who will be backstage on the night talking to this year’s winners.

- once known as 'Radio's Hall of Melody and Song' and the world's longest-running orchestral live music programme on radio set up in 1953 - is a natural home for musical theatre. Very early on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ's newly formed Concert Orchestra under the baton of Sidney Torch regularly featured music by the likes of Stephen Sondheim as well as film music numbers and scores. Just this month, we on Radio 2 also featured an evening of music and wit by masters of the operetta - W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. This special  show featured songs from The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, Patience, The Gondoliers, Ruddigore and The Yeomen of the Guard. It was recorded at the Watford Colosseum in late February, and also featured the world premiere performance of an unknown piece - Lady Sangazure's song, called ‘In Days Gone By’, from The Sorcerer. Written in 1877, the song was cut from the first production and has never been performed since. It has been reconstructed by the eminent Gilbert & Sullivan scholar Dr David Russell Hulme, with Richard Balcombe conducting the and London Voices - with guest soloists Rebecca Bottone, Sylvia Clarke, Heather Shipp, Oliver White, Bruce Graham and Simon Butteriss.

And on Friday Night Is Music Night's 4th April show, Clare Teal will be joined by the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Concert Orchestra to celebrate the 90th birthday of one of the world's biggest box office stars and recording artists - Doris Day. Hers is a long list of movie and musical credits including The Lullaby of Broadway, April in Paris, By the Light of the Silvery Moon and Calamity Jane. Our Radio 2 show will see guests Matthew Ford and A J Brown recall some of the great ‘Doris’ songs from her fabulous career.

And on Easter Sunday - something I'm particularly looking forward to - Radio 2 will broadcast Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic production of the one-woman musical Tell Me On a Sunday, starring the original cast member Marti Webb. There's a special one-hour programme on Sunday April 20 at 7pm including interviews with both composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Don Black plus a full performance of Tell Me On a Sunday recorded at the St. James Theatre. This seminal piece means a great deal to much of the musical theatre fans and Radio 2 audiences and I’m thrilled that we can re-create it again in such style. The writing and story are as relevant today as they were when it was first created some 35 years ago. It’s an absolute Easter treat for our listeners.

And looking ahead even further, Radio 2 will be looking at the Tony Awards from New York in June this year to see what is currently the toast of the town on the Great White Way – Broadway.

Radio 2: Musical theatre's home on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ. Why go anywhere else?

Lewis Carnie is Head of Programming at Radio 2.

• Listen to episodes of 'Friday Night is Music Night' ond other shows on the .
• Read more blog posts about .