Cedric Neal to take over as Arbiter in Chess the Musical as Murray Head withdraws from production

It has just been announced that  Murray Head has withdrawn from playing the role of the Arbiter in ENO's  production of Chess the musical  which is due to start previews at the London Coliseum on 24th April. Head performed in the original run of the musical alongside Elaine Paige when it debuted in the West End.

A show representative explained:

The producers of Chess announce with great regret that Murray Head is to leave the cast due to personal reasons. Cedric Neal will replace Murray in the production. Cedric was most recently in the West End when he starred as Berry Gordy in Motown the Musical and will now return to the UK to play The Arbiter in the forthcoming production at the London Coliseum.
 
Neal has also appeared onstage in Porgy and Bess and his TV credits include Friday Night Lights.