Michael Ball (singer) artist in a controversial 'Musical Theatre' Prom on 27 August 2007 for the BBC at London's Royal Albert Hall. Ball performed a wide range of musical theatre numbers, including several by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show was broadcast live on BBC Four, as well as on BBC Radio 3. From October 2007 – July 2009, Ball made his West End return starring as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical "Hairspray" at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. In March 2008, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal. He also won the Whatsonstage.com
Happy End (musical) is based on Damon Runyon's short story, "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown". The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on May 7, 1977, and closed on July 10, 1977, after 75 performances. Directed by Robert Kalfin and Patricia Birch and staged by Birch, the cast starred Christopher Lloyd, Grayson Hall and Meryl Streep. A 1984 production by Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage was televised as part of the short-lived "America's Musical Theater" series on PBS. The musical was produced at Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland in February 1995, using the English adaptation by Michael Feingold (as did