Casting for new British Musical The White Feather at Union Theatre Southwark

The White Feather is a new British Musical running at the Union Theatre in Southwark for  five weeks from  16 September – 17 October:  press night is Friday 18th September

It tells the story of Georgina Briggs whose brother was one of over 300 allied soldiers executed for cowardice during the First World War. She won’t accept the shame and she won’t let it lie. But as she fights for justice a shocking discovery awaits her. 

Casting includes Abigail Matthews (War Horse with National Theatre Productions, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the 360 Degrees Theatre, and the UK and European tours of Evita with Bill Kenwright Ltd) stars as Georgina Briggs while Adam Pettigrew will play her heroic brother Harry (Wicked at the Victoria Apollo, the UK tour of Avenue Q, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Ye Olde Rose and Crown).

Fresh from the stage as Jean Prouvaire in Les Miserables (Queens Theatre) Lee Dillon Stuart (UK tour of Oliver! and Carousel (Landor Theatre)) will join the cast as Peter Arthurs, as well as David Flynn, Cameron Leigh, Christopher Blades, Katie Brennan, Kathryn Rutherford, and Zac Hamilton.

Tickets for The White Feather

Full cast details and booking links for new tour of Mary Poppins

With rehearsals starting today for the new tour of Mary Poppins which kicks off at Leicester Curve on 12th October, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh are delighted to announce the full cast for the forthcoming UK and Ireland tour of their multi award-winning musical MARY POPPINS.

Joining the previously announced Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins and Matt Lee as Bert will be Milo Twomey as George Banks; Rebecca Lock as Winifred Banks; Penelope Woodman as Miss Andrew; Wendy Ferguson as Mrs Brill; Grainne Renihan as Bird Woman and Blair Anderson as Robertson Ay with Yves Adang; Abby Bebbington; Greg Bernstein; Jabari Braham; Matthew Caputo; Sophie Caton; Jennifer Davison; Lisa Dent; Joe Dockree; Maria Garrett; Hannah Grace; Graham Hoadly; Jacqueline Hughes; Thomas-Lee Kidd; Antony Lawrence; Adam Margilewski; Anu Ogunmefun; Ben Oliver; Stephanie Powell; Edwin Ray; Adam Rhys-Charles; Sam Salter; John Stacey; Christine Tucker; Alexandra Waite-Roberts; Wreh-Asha Walton and Scott Waugh.

Zizi Strallen most recently starred as ‘Lana’ in Matthew Bourne’s “The Car Man”. Her previous West End credits include: “Cats”; the multi award-winning “Merrily We Roll Along”; “Rock of Ages”; “Dirty Dancing”; “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” at Sadler’s Wells.  She has also appeared in “The Music Man” at Chichester Festival Theatre and as ‘Penny Pingleton’ in “Hairspray” at Leicester Curve.

Matt Lee, one of Australia’s premier “song and dance men”, played the role of ‘Bert’ in “Mary Poppins” in the hugely successful Australian production of the show, his portrayal winning him the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His other theatre credits in Australia include “Miss Saigon”, “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Rent”, “Grease” and “The Boy from Oz”. Matt was also a permanent member of the judging panel for Australia’s “So You Think You Can Dance”.

Milo Twomey has most recently been seen in “Twelfth Night” at the Sheffield Crucible.  His other theatre credits include: “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Royal Exchange; “Richard III” at the Nottingham Playhouse; “Dancing at Lughnasa” at Royal & Derngate Northampton and “Lady Windermere’s Fan” at the Manchester Royal Exchange.

Rebecca Lock has most recently appeared as ‘Rosie’ in “Mamma Mia!” at the Novello Theatre. Her other theatre credits include “Oliver!” at Sheffield Crucible; “The Tempest” at Theatre Royal Bath; “The Phantom of The Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre and “Avenue Q” at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Penelope Woodman’s recent theatre credits include: “Sons of the Desert” at the Royal Court Theatre Liverpool; the UK tour of “Birds of a Feather”; “Mamma Mia!” both at the Prince of Wales Theatre and on international tour, and the UK tour of “Never Forget”.

Wendy Ferguson most recently played the role of ‘Madame Thenardier’ in “Les Misérables” at the Queens Theatre. Her other theatre credits include: ‘Carlotta’ in “The Phantom of The Opera” both at Her Majesty’s Theatre and at the 25^th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and ‘Widow Corney’ in “Oliver!” at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Grainne Renihan’s theatre credits include: ‘Grizabella’ in “Cats” on UK Tour and in Hamburg; ‘Fantine’ in “Les Misérables” at the Palace Theatre; ‘Florence’ in “Chess” at the Prince Edward Theatre; ‘Guilietta’ in “Aspects of Love” at the Prince of Wales Theatre; ‘Ellen’ in “Miss Saigon” at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and ‘Mary Magdalene’ in the European tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

Blair Anderson’s recent theatre credits include “If the Lights Are Too Bright” at the Ovalhouse Theatre; “In Lambeth” at the Southwark Playhouse, the Singapore tour of “Seussical” and the UK tour of “Blockbuster The Musical”.

New cast announced for Kinks' Sunny Afernoon Musical

Multi-Olivier Award-winning  musical Sunny Afternoon, based on the early life of Ray Davies and the rise to fame of his band The Kinks, has announced new cast members joining the company from 5th October 2015.

Danny Horn will play Ray Davies with Oliver Hoare as Dave Davies, Tom Whitelock as Pete Quaife'and Damien Walsh as Mick Avory'

They will join an ensemble that includes Niamh Bracken, Christopher Brandon, Jason Baughan, Harriet Bunton, Alice Cardy, Oliver Hoare, Danny Horn, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Jay Marsh, Megan Leigh Mason, Ryan O'Donnell, Stephen Pallister, Charlie Tighe and  Gabriel Vick.

Sunny Afternoon marks the 50th Anniversary year of the band’s debut release. It  is currently booking to 16th April 2016 at the Harold Pinter Theatre and features some of The Kinks’ best-loved songs, including You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset and Lola.

Tickets for Sunny Afternoon

Matthew Malthouse, Alan Burkitt and Charlotte Gooch in Let's Dance Again

Let's Dance Again is being presented at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday 13th November paying homage to the glitz and glamour of some iconic dance sequences from great movie musicals (including Top Hat, Easter Parade, Swing Time, An American in Paris, Follow the Fleet, Girl Crazy, Royal Wedding, The Band Wagon, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) brought to life by legends Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly.

 

The first casting  has just been announced and will include Matthew Malthouse (Singin’ in The Rain, Mrs Henderson Presents), Alan Burkitt (Top Hat, Cats, We Will Rock You) and Charlotte Gooch (Top Hat, Dirty Dancing, Grease)

 

With choreography by Nick Winston (Annie, Calamity Jane, White Christmas, Kiss Me, Kate, Flashdance, Loserville, BBC Prom: Sondheim at 80) the show will also feature a  full orchestra and singers.

 

Tickets for Let's Dance Again

Dave Willetts, Siobhan McCarthy, Niall Sheehy, Julie Atherton and Giles Terera star in Pure Imagination -The Songs of Leslie Bricusse

Casting has just been announced for the World Première of Pure Imagination, which celebrates the songs of Leslie Bricusse

It will star Dave Willetts, Siobhan McCarthy, Niall Sheehy, Julie Atherton and Giles Terera in the show which is produced by Danielle Tarento and directed by Tony nominated Christopher Renshaw (Taboo, The King & I, We Will Rock You). It will première  at St. James Theatre for a a four week season from 24th September - 17 October. (Press night  29th September).

The full creative team is also : Director: Christopher Renshaw, Musical Director/Orchestrator: Michael England, Musical Staging: Matthew Cole, Production Designer: Tim Goodchild, Lighting Designer: Derek Anderson, Sound Designer: Mike Thacker, Projection Designer: Victor Craven, Producer/Casting Director: Danielle Tarento.

Dave Willetts (The Man) has been a leading musical theatre stars for 25 years. He was the first person to play the leading roles in , Les Misérables (London and Australia) and The Phantom of the Opera (London and Manchester) for which he won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Performance. His other leading roles include Old Deuteronomy in Cats (London); Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (London and Europe); Father in Ragtime (London); Adam Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (National Tour and London); Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (National Tour); George in Sunday in the Park with George (National Tour); Max Von Mayerling in Sunset Boulevard (London), for which he received an Olivier Award nomination; Sir George Dillingham in Aspects of Love (London) for which he received a Whatsonstage Award nomination.
 
Siobhan McCarthy (The Woman) recently starred as Mrs Lovett in the sold-out production of Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Harrington’s Pie Shop, Tooting which then transferred to the West End. She created the role of Donna in the original cast of Mamma Mia! for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other roles include: Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre); Mrs Johnston in Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre); Chrissie in Dancing at Lughnasa (Phoenix Theatre); Fantine in Les Misérables, (Palace Theatre); Svetlana then Florence in Chess, original London cast (Prince Edward Theatre); Frankie Frayne in On Your Toes, original London cast (Palace Theatre); Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (Palace Theatre); The Mistress then Eva in Evita original London cast (Prince Edward Theatre).

Niall Sheehy (The Boy) was a finalist on the ITV show Superstar. His musical theatre roles include: cover Chris in Miss Saigon (Prince Edward Theatre); cover Enjolras in Les Misérables (Queens Theatre); cover Fiyero & Dr. Dillamond in Wicked (Apollo Victoria); cover Sir Lancelot in Spamalot (UK Tour); Arab in West Side Story (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin); Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassins (Draíocht Theatre, Dublin); Ray Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Int’l Theatre, Frankfurt); Carson/Peter in A Man Of No Importance (Union Theatre and  Arts Theatre transfer).

Julie Atherton (The Girl) first starred in the West End in the lead role of Sophie in the West End production of Mamma Mia! Her other leading roles include: Serena Katz in the national tour of Fame and the Kolokolo Bird in the Stiles and Drewe musical Just So. In 2006, she played Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in the West End premiere of  Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre). More recently: Sister Mary Robert in the first UK tour of Sister Act the Musical; Therese Raquin (Finborough & Park Theatres); the world première of Shock Treatment, the musical sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (King’s Head Theatre).

Giles Terera (The Joker) was in the original West End cast of Book of Mormon. His other musical theatre roles include: Gary Coleman in Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre); Sammy Davis Jr in The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas (Strand Theatre); Quickly Robinson in Jailhouse Rock (Piccadilly Theatre); Luther in 125th Street (Shaftesbury Theatre); Mr Jefferson in Rent (Prince of Wales Theatre).

 Leslie Bricusse has composed over 1,000 songs and written the book, music and/or lyrics for more than 40 musical films and plays over a 60-year career. This show features 50 of his songs, including such favourites as What Kind Of Fool Am I, If I Ruled The World, Talk To The Animals, Feeling Good and  Goldfinger . Hehas been nominated for 10 Oscars, nine Grammys and four Tonys and won eight Ivor Novello Awards in an illustrious career. His composing started as a student at Cambridge, where he co-authored, directed and performed in his first two musical shows, Out of the Blue and Lady at the Wheel, both of which transferred to London’s West End. He spent the first year of his professional life writing another musical, The Boy on the Corner and the screenplay and score of his first motion picture, Charley Moon, which won him his first Ivor Novello Award. His later stage musicals include Stop the World - I Want to Get Off; The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd; Pickwick; Harvey; The Good Old Bad Old Days; Goodbye Mr Chips; Henry’s Wives; Scrooge; Sherlock Holmes; Jekyll and Hyde; Noah’s Ark; Sammy; Cyrano de Bergerac Kennedy; Victor/Victoria and It’s a Dog’s Life!

Tickets for Pure Imagination 

Lloyd Daniels, Sarah Earnshaw and Sophie Evans in You Won’t Succeed on Broadway if You Don’t Have Any Jews

You Won't Succeed On Broadway If You Don't Have Any Jews is a celebration of over 80 years of the Jewish contribution to Musical Theatre, playing at the St James Theatre from 25 August-5th September.

The show covers he period from the early sounds of the Gershwin’s and Irving Berlin through to showstoppers from contemporary Musicals including  Rent, Hairspray and Parade,  from the 1930s to present day, with  success stories of Broadway’s most famous composers.

Featuring an all-star cast led by Lloyd Daniels (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Sarah Earnshaw (Spamalot) and Sophie Evans (The Wizard of Oz) and a great line up of West End performers including  David Albury, John Barr, Danny Lane , Natalie Lipin , Jackie Marks , Alex Marshall , Yiftach Mizrahi , Mira Ormala and  Rebecca Wicking

Tickets for You Won’t Succeed on Broadway if You Don’t Have Any Jews

Miss Saigon goes to the Movies - Cabaret Evening at Delfont Room

Some cast members from the London production of   Miss Saigon are performing a charity Cabaret Evening in the Delfont Room at the Prince Edward Theatre in aid of the TheatreMAD Trust.

Miss Saigon Goes to the  Movies will take place at 11:00 pm on 17th September.

Tickets for Miss Saigon Cabaret

Cilla the Musical on hold for time being

Following the untimely death of 72 year old Cilla Black in Spain recently, plans for a West End show on the amazing life of the TV icon have  put on hold but production companies are still keen to make it happen.

Her PR company said: “Cilla had a meeting with producers interested in turning her life story into a musical. She  was thrilled and excited at the idea, and was looking forward to its development.Her manager, son Robert Willis, had been in continuous talks with a West End producer regarding early stages of planning, but obviously these are now on hold for the time being..”

Cilla, who was played by former West End actress Sheridan Smith  (she is currently selling out in a production of  Funny Girl playing Fanny Brice at the Menier Chocolate Factory) in an award winning ITV mini-series, got her break in Liverpool’s Cavern Club.

People are being requested to line the streets of Liverpool when she s laid to rest on Thursday and it is  expected that the city will come to a standstill as famous faces and thousands of fans attend the service at St Mary’s Church in Woolton

Cast announced for tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

The cast has just been announced for the new tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert which kicks off in Manchester on 20th August.

Joining the previously announced Duncan James and Jason Donovan, who share the role of ‘Tick’, are Simon Green as ‘Bernadette’, Adam Bailey as ‘Felicia’ and Philip Childs as ‘Bob’ with Richard Astbury; Rebecca Botterill; Matt Crandon; Peter Cumins; Amy Di Bartolomeo; Martin Harding; Lisa-Marie Holmes; Ricky Lee Loftus; Adam Lyons; Callum MacDonald; Laura Mansell; Catherine Mort; James Paul McAllister; Robin Mills; Craig Ryder; Naomi Slights and Julie Yammanee.

Simon Green’s most recent stage credits include ‘Bruce Ismay’ in “Titanic” both in Toronto and at the Southwark Playhouse; “The World Goes Round” at the Union Theatre and ‘Monsieur André’ in “The Phantom of The Opera” on tour.

Adam Bailey most recently appeared as ‘Espresso’ in the German production of “Starlight Express”. His other theatre credits include ‘Mary Sunshine’ in “Chicago” at Leicester Curve and ‘Alan’ in “Bare” at the Greenwich Theatre.

Philip Childs played the role of ‘Bob’ on the 2013 tour of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”. He is currently appearing as ‘Doctor Dillamond’ in “Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria. Other recent theatre credits include Alan Bennett’s “People” and “The Habit of Art” at the National Theatre.

Venues and Dates for New tour of Sister Act

Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood is currently starring as Miss Hannigan in a tour of Annie the Musical.  It has just been announced that he is to direct and choreograph a new touring production of the musical Sister Act which will be produced by Jamie Wilson and  open at Leicester Curve  on July 30th next year. (tickets go on sale 10th August)   It is currently booking to December 17th, when it will play the Corn Exchange in Cambridge. The show will have musical supervision by Sarah Travis.It has music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner. Additional book material is by Douglas Carter Beane.


You can find full  tour dates with booking links here

Horwood said that he was “putting together a dream creative team” and added that he could not wait to “get started next year on this hilarious and wonderful show”.

The 1992 film of Sister Act originally starred Dame Maggie Smith as Mother Superior and Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence who also appeared for a limited season when it played at the London Palladium followed by a  UK tour in 2011, starring Cynthia Erivo,