Musical theatre fans are in for a treat next month when the Margaret Howard Theatre College (MHTC) returns to Malta to present Grand Hotel The Musical, featuring a cast of both Maltese and British drama students.

The college, which counts a number of Maltese performers among its current students and alumni, first brought a show to Malta last year. Once On This Island was performed to packed audiences at the St James Cavalier Theatre and received rave reviews. This year, their show Grand Hotel will feature a cast of 35 (including eight Maltese students) and will be performed between 1 and 3 June at the same theatre.

"We're very much looking forward to a repeat of last year's very positive experience," says college principal Margaret Howard. "Grand Hotel is an interesting choice because it's not mainstream or well-known but it offers many opportunities for the cast. It is also great fun, and set in an era of opulence, glamour, new ideas and often frightening realities of life."

This exciting musical takes place in a beautiful hotel in 1928, when the world was between two world wars. The show is inspired by Vicki Baum's period novel, and deals with issues of life and death, financial ruin, love and murder - all in the lobby of the illustrious Grand Hotel.

Popular numbers include The Grand Parade, At The Grand Hotel and Everybody's Doing It. The show won five Tony Awards and has been nominated for many more. For this production it will be directed by Kevin Fountain, with musical direction by Offies award-winner Jordan Li Smith and choreography by Helen Conway and Holly Penny.

"Our students are in for a wonderful challenge with this musical," says MHTC artistic director Ben Darmanin, who is originally from Malta and studied at the College himself before continuing his training at the Royal Academy of Music. "The cast is full of energy and eager to showcase everything they have learnt during their training at MHTC. For the Maltese students this is an opportunity to perform on home ground, surrounded by friends and family, while, for the British students, this is a great way to experience Malta and the cultural scene here.

"Grand Hotel is a wonderful musical and I am sure local audiences will love it just as much as our audiences in London," he adds.

'Grand Hotel The Musical' will take place at the St James Cavalier Theatre on Thursday, 1, Friday, 2 and Saturday, 3 June at 8pm. For tickets phone on 2122 3200 or book online at www.kreattivita.org