Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem to star in Spellbound new movie musical

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem will lend their voices to “Spellbound,” an animated fantasy musical from Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation. The project reunites the pair, who just scored Oscar nominations for playing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Aaron Sorkin’s 2021 biographical drama “Being the Ricardos.”

Kidman and Bardem, again portraying a married couple, will play her parents: Ellsmere, “the kind and just, yet hyper-precise queen” and Solon, “the boastful yet big-hearted king.”

John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, André De Shields and Jordan Fisher have also joined the ensemble.

As previously announced, “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler is leading the cast as Princess Ellian, a young royal who embarks on a daring journey to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms them into monsters and threatens to cover Lumbria in darkness forever.

Kidman and Bardem, again portraying a married couple, will play her parents the King and Queen of Lumbria: Ellsmere the kind and just, yet hyper-precise queen and Solon the boastful yet big-hearted king.

Alan Menken, the composer behind Little Shop of Horrors' and the big three films of the Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin) is collaborating with lyricist Glenn Slater (Menken's partner on Sister Act'') on the score. Chris Montan serves as executive music producer.

Vicky Jenson (Shrek) directs the film, with screenplay by Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin and Linda Woolverton.

 

Cast changes announced for Frozen

 

Frozen has extended its West End run to March 2023 as it unveils new company members taking it into its second year.

Emily Lane, currently second cover Anna, will take on the role  full time from 28th September. Djavan van de Fliert, making his professional stage debut, will play Kristoff from the same date.

Continuing in the show will be Samantha Barks (Elsa), Craig Gallivan (Olaf), Oliver Ormson (Hans) and Richard Frame (Duke of Weselton). Mikayla Jade and Ashley Birchall will continue to alternate the role of Sven.

Also continuing in the show are Jeremy Batt, Laura Emmitt, Matt Gillett, Justin-Lee Jones, Jacqui Sanchez (Queen Iduna), Jak Skelly (Oaken/Bishop), Kerry Spark (King Agnarr), Anna Woodside and Luke Fraser Yates.

Joining the show will be Rhianne Alleyne, Danny Becker, Marianne Bardgett, Rebecca Botterill, Char Burnett (Bulda), Collette Coleman, Davide Fienauri, Jemal Felix, Jordan Fox, Molly Francis, Harriet Samuels, Isabella Glanznig Santos, Ben Irish (Pabbie), Aoife Kenny, Jordan Livesey, Joshua Robinson, Caitlin Tipping, and Rodney Vubya

 

Phantom of the Opera Cast Changes

New casting has been revealed for The Phantom of the Opera in London  as the show extends its run to 17th December 2022, with the new cast appearing from 1st August.

Killian Donnelly will continue as The Phantom alongside Lucy St. Louis as Christine Daaé. Joining them will be Matt Blaker as Raoul and Kelly Glyptis as Carlotta.

Also continuing in the cast are Matt Harrop as Monsieur Firmin, Adam Linstead as Monsieur André, Greg Castiglioni as Ubaldo Piangi, Francesca Ellis as Madame Giry and Ellie Young as Meg Giry. At certain performances the role of Christine Daaé will be played by Holly-Anne Hull.

The cast is completed by Hollie Aires, Connor Carson, Corina Clark, Edward Court, Michelle Cornelius, Lily De-La-Haye, Hywel Dowsell, Serina Faul, James Gant, Eilish Harmon-Beglan, Emma Harris, Yukina Hasebe, Thomas Holdsworth, Olivia Holland-Rose, Jacob Hughes, Grace Hume, James Hume, Tim Morgan, Michael Robert-Lowe, Eve Shanu-Wilson, Tim Southgate, Anouk Van Laake, Jasmine Wallis, Rafe Watts, Skye Weiss, Simon Whitaker, Lizzie Wofford and Andrew York.

Matt Blaker returns to The Phantom of the Opera having previously been in the ensemble and covering the role in the Original Production. His other theatre credits include the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the international tours of Jersey Boys and Jesus Christ Superstar and most recently playing Billy Bigelow in Carousel at Kilworth House. His television credits include Netflix’s The Crown.

 Kelly Glyptis’ operatic credits include Madeleine, Cosi fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro. Her other theatre credits include the North American tours of The Sound of Music, Into The Woods, Mary Poppins, West Side Story and The Addams Family. 

Cast announced for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

As the show begins rehearsals, casting has been announced for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in the West End

CS Lewis' 1950 novel  centres on Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and embark on the most magical of adventures in a frozen, faraway land where they meet Mr Tumnus the faun, talking beavers, Aslan (the noble king of Narnia) and the evil White Witch.

The show will open at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on 28th July (previews from 18 July), playing a strictly limited season until 8th January 2023. It is produced by the same team that won five Tony Awards for Company, which also ran in the West End in 2018.

It will star Samantha Womack as the White Witch, who is joined by Ammar Duffus as Peter, Shaka Kalokoh as Edmund with Robyn Sinclair as Susan and newcomer Delainey Hayles as Lucy.

Other cast members reprising their roles are Scott Brooks (Mr Pope and Fox Trot), Rachel Dawson (Miss Chutney, Blue Badger and Spirit of the Moon), Oliver Grant (Mr Wilson, Schrodinger, Red Squirrel, Head Cruel, Aslan Puppeteer and resident director), Chris Jared (Aslan), Matthew James Hinchliffe (Mr Marsden, Mauve Mole and Music Captain), Shaun McCourt (Mr Granville, Jack Rabbit and Aslan Puppeteer), Christina Tedders (Mrs Beaver), Jez Unwin (Mr Tumnus) and Johnson Willis (Professor Kirk, Father Christmas, Wise Owl and White Mouse).

Joining the show for its London spell are Myla Carmen (swing), Jasmin Colangelo (swing/ dance captain), Julian Hoult (Mr Beaver), Ashlee Irish (swing), Sean Lopeman (Mr Brinkworth, March Hare, Aslan Puppeteer), Micha Richardson (Mrs Pevensie and Robin), Ciaran Roger (swing), and Charlotte-Kate Warren (Miss Gumley Warmly and Phoenix).

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is directed by Michael Fentiman based on the original production by Sally Cookson.  Also on the  creative team are set and costume designer Tom Paris, composers Benji Bower and Barnaby Race, choreographer Shannelle 'Tali' Fergus, lighting designer Jack Knowles, sound designers Ian Dickinson and Gareth Tucker for Autograph, puppetry director Toby Olié, puppetry designer Max Humphries, aerial director Gwen Hales, illusionist Chris Fisher, music director Toby Higgins, casting director Will Burton CDG, fight director Jonathan Holby, wigs, hair and make-up designer Susanna Peretz, props supervisor Lizzie Frankl for Propworks, dramaturg Adam Peck and movement consultant Dan Canham.

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Keala Settle appearing in panto this Christmas

Tony Award nominee and Greatest Showman star Keala Settle is making her panto debut this Christmas starring as the Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk at Northampton's Royal and Derngate, alongside Richard David-Caine (Horrible Histories) as the villainous Luke Backinanger, Alex Lodge (The Book Of Mormon) as Jack, and Bob Golding (Morecambe) as Dame Trott. Written by Paul Hendy and co-directed by Golding and Emily Wood, the panto is produced by Evolution Productions and is set to run from 9 December 2022 until 2 January 2023

Jo Gordon, chief executive at Royal and Derngate said: "We're delighted to have Keala Settle joining our panto cast this year, and to be working with the same great team that made Dick Whittington such a success last year. Christmas is such a special time of year, when many children are introduced to theatre for the first time, and Jack and the Beanstalk promises to be one of our greatest pantomimes ever!"

Settle is scheduled to play her final performances as the Nurse in & Juliet  this weekend ,before going on to appear as Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act  at London's Eventim Apollo from 19 July to 28 August.

Full cast announced for Sadler’s Wells season and UK and Ireland Tour of Chichester Festival Theatre production of SOUTH PACIFIC.

Jamie Wilson, Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Gavin Kalin are delighted to announce the full cast for the Sadler’s Wells season and UK and Ireland Tour of Chichester Festival Theatre production of RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S SOUTH PACIFIC.

Lee Ross is announced as Luther Billis, joining the previously announced Julian Ovenden as Emile de Becque alongside Gina Beck as Ensign Nellie Forbush, Rob Houchen as Lieutenant Joseph Cable, Joanna Ampil as Bloody Mary and Sera Maehara as Liat. They are joined by David Birrell as Captain George Brackett, Stephen John Davis as Commander William Harbison, Antoine Murray-Straughan as Stewpot, Charlie Waddell as Professor and Olly Christopher as Sergeant Johnson.

 The cast is completed by Iroy Abesamis, Feline Andersson, Charlotte Coggin, Annabel Edwards, Leslie Garcia Bowman, Sergio Giacomelli, Ellie Jane Grant, Josh Kiernan, Matthew Maddison, Rachel Jayne Picar, Kate Playdon, George Renshaw, Pierce Rogan, Charlotte Scott, Trezel Sergeant, Nikhil Singh Rai, James Wilkinson-Jones and Eleanor Wright.

Lee Ross is probably best known as Owen Turner in the BBC’s EastEnders, his other television credits include Doctor Who, The Catherine Tate Show, Life on Mars, Midsomer Murders, Silent Witness and White Gold. His theatrical credits include playing Hugo Battersby/Loco Chanel in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and Jack Firebrace in Birdsong. His film credits include The English Patient, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and A Castle for Christmas.

David Birrell returns to South Pacific having been part of the show during the 2021 Chichester Festival Theatre season, his other theatrical credits include Wendy and Peter Pan at the Leeds Playhouse, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Moby Dick, The Tempest, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet at the RSC and Oh! What a Lovely War at the National Theatre. His television credits include Silent Witness, Vera, Midsomer Murders, Buried and The Royal.

Stephen John Davis’s West End credits include playing The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Valjean and Javert in Les Misérables, Man of La Mancha for the English National Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre and The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore for the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.

 Antoine Murray-Straughan’s West End credits include &Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre, In The Heights at the King’s Cross Theatre, The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre and Cats at the London Palladium. He has also appeared in the UK Tours of Madagascar and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Charlie Waddell returns to South Pacific having been part of the show in 2021 at Chichester Festival Theatre, his other theatre credits include Passion at the Hope Mill Theatre and Bernstein’s Mass at the Southbank Centre.

Olly Christopher has most recently been seen in Pretty Woman at the Savoy Theatre, his other theatre credits include The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Sweet Charity at the Royal Exchange Theatre and Cadogan Hall and Eugenius! The Musical at the London Palladium.

 

cast changes at Heathers Musical

Today some new faces joined Heathers the Musical  at The Other Palace.

New cast members include Jasmine Beel (Heather McNamara), Robin Hayward (Kurt), Daniel Robinson (Kurt's Dad), Lewis Asquith (Hipster Dork/Officer) and Joe Boyle (Beleaguered Geek) with Daisy Twells playing New Wave Party Girl and Jacob Young playing Pretty Stud/Officer.

Continuing to lead the show are Ailsa Davidson and Simon Gordon as Veronica Sawyer and JD respectively.

The show is currently booking at The Other Palace until September 2022.

New tour of the Bodyguard Musical

Producers Michael Harrison and David Ian have just announced a new UK and Ireland tour of The Bodyguard musical  opening at Glasgow King’s Theatre on Saturday 28 January 2023 with casting to be announced soon.
 
Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. A romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features  classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest hit songs of all time – I Will Always Love You.
 

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, THE BODYGUARD, directed by Thea Sharrock with book by Oscar winning Alex Dinelaris, had its world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End and was nominated for four Olivier Awards. A sell out 18 month UK and Ireland tour followed, before the show returned to the West End at the Dominion Theatre ahead of a second sell out tour of the UK and Ireland in 2018/19.  To date, THE BODYGUARD has played to over 3.6 million people in 15 countries and 45 US cities. Countries include the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Australia, Spain, France, the US, Austria and Japan.

 

New production of musical From Here to Eternity heading to London later this year.

A new production of the musical From Here to Eternity is heading to London later this year with a new revival playing at Charing Cross Theatre from 29 October to 17 December. Casting is to be revealed.

The show, first seen in 2013, is set in the two weeks running up to Pearl Harbor and is based on James Jones' novel of the same name. It has lyrics by Tim Rice (The Lion King), music by Stuart Brayson and book by Donald Rice and Bill Oakes.

Aria Entertainment, Bill Kenwright and Heartaches Limited will produce the show. Director Brett Smock said today: "After extensive development work on From Here To Eternity in the US at The REV Theatre Company in New York and The Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, we are thrilled to join forces with UK producer Katy Lipson/Aria Entertainment to present a powerful new production designed specifically for the intimacy of Charing Cross Theatre.

Nick Barstow will be the musical director and orchestrator, with Stewart Charlesworth as set and costume designer, Andrew Johnson as sound designer, Cressida Carré as choreographer. 

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Pretty Woman extends West End run and welcomes new cast members

Pretty Woman stars Aimie Atkinson and Danny Mac have extended their respective runs as Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis through to 13 November 2022.

Rachael Wooding, Bob Harms and Mark Holden will also remain with the company until that date as Kit De Luca, Happy Man/Mr Thompson and James Morse, respectively.

From 14th June, current cast member John Addison is set to take on the role of Philip Stuckey, while new company members starting on the same date include Becky Anderson, Matt Bateman, Robertina Bonano, Georgia Kleopa, Elishia Edwards, Helen Hill, Kurt Kansley, Curtis Patrick and Hassun Sharif.

The West End cast is completed by Jemma Alexander, Andy Barke, Patrick Barrett, Alex Charles, Ben Darcy, Hannah Ducharme, Tom Andrew Hargreaves, Antony Hewitt, Elly Jay, Matt Jones, Annabelle Laing, Will Luckett, Cilla Silvia and Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke.

 The show has extended its run and is now booking until 28 January 2023