Richard: Hello and welcome to the show. This morning we have the exceptional Mr. Michael Ball in the studio (*screams and applause from audience*), and he will be talking candidly about his latest project, a musical about his own life, called, appropriately: “MICHAEL, the musical”. Michael: welcome.

Judy: yes, welcome. (*loud applause from audience*)

Michael: Thank you, it’s nice to be here, thanks for having me!

Judy: Is that the whole Michael Ball fanclub in the audience? (*more screams from the audience*)

Michael: I think so, yes, (*waves*) it’s nice to see some familiar faces when you are away from your house.

Richard: Now, Michael….your own musical, how does that feel? I mean, you were involved from the start, weren’t you?

Michael: Uh, yes, I was. I…let me just say that it was one of the most…no, THE most, I think, fulfilling and exciting things I’ve ever been part of. Just wonderful. I can’t begin to describe the fun we all had…when I say ‘we’, btw, I mean me and the whole Ballpoint-team of course. And the extra’s, like Michael Bolton….

Judy: Who??

Michael:  ….and Trevor, of course.  Trevor Nunn. And Andrew…I mean…oh, we had a blast!!! As I said, the most exciting thing I’ve done so far.  It really was, it really was.  And the Ballpoint-team were just FANTASTIC!!!!! I remember-

Richard: Yes, tell us about that, because I heard…  I heard that they were not at ALL easy to work with?

Michael: Where did you hear THAT?  No, not at all, not at all.  They were just the best-really putting me at ease and explaining everything to me.  Because I, I have to admit, was a little nervous at first. I mean … we didn’t … I hadn’t done a musical in 4 years, you know, so I was a bit … out of it, if you know what I mean. I remember … my first day in rehearsal at the Ballpoint studios … I … let me just set the scene for you: Here I was, on my first day of rehearsals in nearly four years and I was pe-tri-fied, I can’t tell you.  Really was …

Judy: Oh, dear …

Michael: Yeah! well, there I was in front of the gates of the Ballpoint studios, and they were these two enormous, huge gates, you know.  And inside the studio I could hear the cast already singing these strange, weird, dissonant sounds, and I thought …. I was thinking: ‘What on earth am I doing here?’, you know?

Richard: Yeah, yeah…must’ve been aw-

Michael: And then a horn rang out, to indicate it was lunch-break and everybody went out and these gates swung open…I was standing there, thinking…it’s now or never, and I just went in. I knew at that point that there was no going back…and I haven’t regretted it since, I tell you. I loved doing the musical, all of it.

Judy: ALL of it?  There wasn’t a song that you thought: ‘nah, I can’t do this’?

Michael:  Well … to be honest … I … there were a *few* songs that I thought …

Richard: …you weren’t ... um, uncomfortable singing them?

Michael: … well, not really that, but … for instance … you’ve seen the previews, right?

Richard: We have, we loved it!

Judy: Yes, brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Michael:  Right, well then you heard that song, ‘Ten years more’?  That was REALLY hard to sing for me, because I kept singing Marius’ lines!!!  That was really confusing.  But also challenging!

Judy:  I hear you even got your dog to play in this one?

Michael: Absolutely, yes, Yogi! He got a part as well.  I was so proud of him, I can’t tell you.  You can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is for a dog to learn how to sing.  But, he went for it and he made it. I’m really proud.

Richard: I’m sure, I’m sure.  Cute little dog…

Judy: So, how was it physically for you?  I mean, you haven’t done a musical for so long … how was your stamina?

Michael: Well, I gotta tell you, we …. I had to read a lot of scripts onstage, you know, the ‘How you’ve grown’ scene, and the Passion one … and … it was really hard at first, because, well … they’re really large and heavy, you know?  Usually I don’t do that more than once a week, but now I have to do it two or three times per show, 8 shows a week and these scripts are REALLY heavy.  But … the biceps are like any muscle in the body: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. (laughs)

Richard: (laughs)

Judy: (laughs)

Richard: That’s funny! And em, what about a single?  You’re releasing a single from it as well?

Judy: Oh, that’s fantastic!!

Michael: Yeah, that’s right.  Um … we’re thinking of releasing ‘I'd Be Far Better Off Without You’ as a single, to …. d’you know, only 4 percent of the population GO to the theatre, and by releasing a single we hope to get the music a little more known, you know, to get people to think ‘Hey, this is good, let’s go see the whole thing’. Hopefully (laughs) ….we’ve got a sp-

Richard: Oh, dear, look at the time, haha! We’ve got to leave it at that, Michael. Thank you so much for coming and we hope that the musical will do well. It deserves to, it really does.

Judy: Hear, hear.

Richard: Before we go: Michael, can you tell the audience in one sentence why they should go and see this musical?

Michael: Because I’M in it, of course, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Richard: (chuckles), very funny, but really, give us one good reason, before we go.

Michael: Okay, um ….. I’ve got it:  Going to see “MICHAEL, the musical” is the MOST exciting evening you can have …… legally!!!! (laughs hysterically)

Judy: HAHAHA …. okay, thank you, Michael Ball!!!  Give him a hand people (*audience claps and shouts enthusiastically*).  Tomorrow we’ll be chatting live with the producer of “MICHAEL, the musical’, Mr Apple Mackintosh and a few members of the Ballpoint/Forbidden Shaftsbury team. See you then, byebye!

Richard: Byebye!

(*audience claps as end-tune is playing*)