Complete cast revealed for tour of Disney's Winnie the Pooh

Jake Bazel (Sesame Street), who originated the role of Pooh on Broadway, is set to lead the show with Benjamin Durham (Young Frankenstein) set to play the title role on tour.

The characters of Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo will be brought to life by an ensemble of performers, including Laura Bacon (Britain's Got Talent, Star Wars), Harry Boyd (The Play That Goes Wrong, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), Alex Cardall (Evita, The Osmonds: A New Musical), Chloe Gentles (Mamma Mia!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Lottie Grogan (Smurfs Save Spring: The Musical, The Lips for Puppets with Guys) and Robbie Noonan (Avenue Q UK Tour, Jack and the Beanstalk).

Cast announced for Bonnie & Clyde at the Garrick

As previously announced, West End stars Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage will reunite as the titular pair in the smash-hit BONNIE & CLYDE THE MUSICAL in the West End running at The Garrick Theatre from Saturday 4th March - 20th May 2023 for a strictly limited 11-week season following the phenomenal response to the production during its limited run at The Arts Theatre earlier this year. Georgie Maguire eill br reprising his role as ‘Buck Barrow’ and West End star Jodie Steele as Blanche Barrow, with Olivier Award nominated Cleve September returning as ‘Ted’ and Dom Hartley-Harris as Preacher.

The cast is completed by Robbie Scotcher, Alexander Evans, Kit Esuruoso, Barney Wilkinson, Lauren Jones, Julie Yammanee, Pippa Winslow, Chloe Saunders, Charlie McCullagh, Sydnie Hocknell and Michael Cortez.

Cory English to join Back to the Future as Doc Brown

Cory English will take over the role of Doc Brown in Back to the Future from Roger Bart who plays his final performance on 20 March 2023 before jetting over to New York to appear in the show on Broadway .  The London  show is now booking until October 2023.

English was previously in the show from 23 November 2022 to 3 January 2023 and is now taking over permanently. His previous stage credits include The Producers, Sleepless and Young Frankenstein on Broadway.

English will join a cast including  Ben Joyce as Marty McFly, with Amber Davies as Lorraine Baines,  Oliver Nicholas as George McFly, Jordan Benjamin as Goldie Wilson, Harry Jobson as Biff Tannen, Sophie Naglik as Jennifer Parker, Gary Trainor as Strickland, Will Haswell as alternate Marty McFly and Dave McFly and Emma Lloyd as Linda McFly.

Also in the cast are Amy Barker, Simeon Beckett, Sia Dauda, Tyler Davis, Glen Facey, Dylan Gordon-Jones, Adam Margilewski, Cameron McAllister, Alessia McDermott, Bryan Mottram, Laura Mullowney, Anna Murray, Jon Reynolds, Melissa Rose, Georgia Tapp, Justin Thomas, Charley Warburton, Tavio Wright and Rhodri Watkins.

Caissie Levy and Trevor Dion Nicholas starring in Next to Normal musical at Donmar

 Initial casting has been revealed for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse which runs from 12 August to 7 October 2023

Michael Longhurst will direct the new production which is an intimate exploration of family and loss with  music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey.

The 2008 powerful musical about a far from average family which  follows a mother struggling with bipolar disorder, was first seen on Broadway in 2009 – going on to win three Tony Awards including Best Musical. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Set to appear as Diana will be Caissie Levy, who originated the role of Elsa in Frozen with other credits including Leopoldstadt on Broadway and Ghost in the West End. Joining Levy will be Trevor Dion Nicholas (Aladdin, Hamilton) as Dr Madden/Dr Fine, with further cast to be revealed.

The show is to be designed by Nigel Lilley, with lighting by Lee Curran, sound by Tony Gayle, movement by Ann Yee, musical direction by Nick Barstow and musical supervision by Nigel Lilley. The show is cast by Anna Cooper for the Donmar Warehouse. Alessandra Davison and Adam Karim are also today announced as resident assistant directors for the company.

Gareth Gates and Divina de Campo to lead cast for the UK premiere of The Spongebob Musical tour

 

Casting has just been  announced for the UK tour  of The Spongebob Musical, based on the  animated series. Featuring SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Eugene and Gary the Snail, the musical has original tunes by  Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Sara Bareilles, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Plain White T's and more. It is written by Kyle Jarrow and conceived by Tina Landau, and there are additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton and additional music by Tom Kitt.

The tour will open at Southampton on 5 April 2023 and appearing in the he 14-strong company will be Gareth Gates (he/him) as Squidward (not currently set to appear in Bradford, Manchester, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Aberdeen, London and Plymouth).  Divina de Campo (she/her) as Sheldon J Plankton, Lewis Cornay (he/him) as SpongeBob, Irfan Damani (he/him) as Patrick, Chrissie Bhima (she/her) as Sandy, Richard J Hunt (he/him) as Mr Krabs, Sarah Freer (she/her) as Pearl, Eloise Davies (she/her) as Mrs Puff, Hannah Lowther (she/her) as Karen and Rebecca Lisewski (she/her) as Mayor.

They are joined by Sam Beveridge (he/him), Jeremiah Olaleye (he/him), Eleanor Turiansky (she/her), Rhys Batten (he/him) and Reece Kerridge (he/him).

The tour will  be directed by Tara Overfield Wilkinson (she/her), with choreographer Fabian Aloise (he/him), designer Steve Howell (he/him), musical supervisor Mark Crossland (he/him), musical director Marcus Carter-Adams (he/him), costume designer Sarah Mercade (she/her), lighting and video designer Ben Bull (he/him), sound designer Ben Harrison (he/him), costume and wig supervisor Megan Rarity (she/her), associate choreographer Paris Green (she/her) and casting director Harry Blumenau casting (he/him).

Gareth Gates (Squidward) shot to fame in 2002, coming runner up in the UK’s first Pop Idol. He went on to sell over 5-million records worldwide including five UK number-one singles. His theatre credits include playing Marius in the both the West End and 25^th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables, Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End and on tour, Warner in the UK tour of Legally Blonde and Willard in the UK tour of Footloose.

Divina De Campo (Sheldon J. Plankton) is a seasoned British drag queen and singer who was recently crowned runner up on the first Series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Known for her high soprano and four -octave range, Divina has been featured on ITV’s The Voice and the BBC’s All Together Now. Her critically acclaimed theatre credits include Mary Sunshine in Chicago and most recently her award nominated performance as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Lewis Cornay (SpongeBob) was most recently seen as Amos in Whistle Down The Wind at The Watermill. His West End credits include The Book of Mormon, The King and I, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. As a writer, Lewis had his debut play Daddy Issues premiere at the Seven Dials Playhouse last year.

Cast for new tour of The King and I

The new tour of The King and I will start at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre on 30th January 2023, joining the previously revealed Helen George (Call the Midwife) as Anna will be Broadway star Darren Lee (Chicago, Guys and Dolls) in the title role of the King of Siam.

Also joining them will be Dean John-Wilson (Aladdin, The King and I) who will reprise his role as Lun Tha, Marienella Phillips (Henry V/Carmen) who will play Tuptim alongside Cezarah Bonner who returns as Lady Thiang, the King's head wife. Kok-Hwa Lie (The King And I tour) will play the role of Kralahome, Caleb Lagayan (Les Misérables) will play Prince Chulalongkorn, Sam Jenkins-Shaw (The Night Watch/Jane Eyre) takes the role of Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsay and Maria Coyne (The Phantom of the Opera/Wicked) will be the Alternate Anna.

The ensemble includes Chi Chan, Jeffrey Chekai, Emily Grace-Ling, Cher Nicolette Ho, Rachel Wang-Hei Lau, Daniel Len, Candy Ma, Rachel MacDougall, Amelia Kinu Muus, Yuki Ozeki, Kitt Pakapom, Prem Rai, Ria Tanaka, Hiromi Toyooka, Jasmine Triadi, Jensen Tudtud, Qinwen Xue and Jason Yang-Westland.

Harry Altoft, Dexter Barry, Max Ivemey and Charlie McGuire will play Louis, Anna's son.

Bethany Campbell, Coco Bridger, Cody Concha, Ethan Fung, Dulcie-Bella Hackley, Caitlin Lau, Khun Cho Lwin, Angelica Quynh An Nguyen, Tenzin Noryang, Sabri Leonel Puci, Niall Rina, Francis Benedict Sarte, Mia Snowdon, Yuen Zhai and Phoebe Zhao-Welsh will play the Royal children.

New casting for Phantom of the Opera in London.

New casting has been announced for The Phantom of the Opera in London´s West End.

Several performers will take on the leading roles in the show over the coming months. From 3 April 2023, Jon Robyns (currently Jean Valjean in Les Misérables) will play the role of the Phantom, with Earl Carpenter returning to reprise his role in the show from 13 February to 1 April, inheriting the mask from Killian Donnelly.

Holly-Anne Hull will take on the role of Christine full time from 23 January 2023, with Paige Blankson (who recently appeared as Cosette in Les Misérables on tour) set to appear as the alernate Christine from 13 February.

They join Matt Blaker as Raoul and Kelly Glyptis as Carlotta, 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.

The cast is completed by Hollie Aires, Connor Carson, Corina Clark, Michelle Cornelius, Edward Court, Lily De-La-Haye, Hywel Dowsell, Serina Faull, 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, Ralph Watts, Skye Weiss, Simon Whitaker, Lizzie Wofford and Andrew York.

Full casting announced for Rock of Ages 2023 UK tour

 The cast for the new 2023 tour of Rock of Ages includes Kevin Kennedy (Coronation Street) as Dennis Dupree, alongside Sam Turrell as Drew Boley, Gabriella Williams as Sherrie Christian, Tim Oxbrow as Lonny Barnett, Cameron Sharp as Stacee Jaxx, Natalie Winsor as Justice Charlier, Vas Constanti as Hertz Klinemann, David Breeds as Franz Klinemann and Stephanie Chandos as Regina, with Erin Bell, Adam Strong, Scott Hayward, Darius James, Reece Duncan, Tianna Sealy-Jewiss, Janine Somcio, Rhys West and Phoebe Samuel-Gray.

The band comprises musical director Liam Holmes (on keys), Liam Stevenson (guitar 1), Alex Ward (guitar 2), Elliot Mason (bass guitar) and Steve Hynes (drums).

Casting for the tour stops (from 2 May) in Llandudno, Crewe, Hull, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, and Swansea will be announced in due course.

Full casting for Oklahoma! announced

The full West End cast for Oklahoma! has been revealed. It will open at the Wyndham's Theatre on 28 February 2023, with previews from 16 February, and run until 2 September 2023.

Reprising their roles in the West End after appearing at the Young Vic are Raphael Bushay (Mike), Arthur Darvill (Curly McLain), James Patrick Davis (Will Parker), Stavros Demetraki (Ali Hakim), Greg Hicks (Andrew Carnes), Rebekah Hinds (Gertie Cummings), Anoushka Lucas (Laurey Williams), Marie-Astrid Mence (Lead Dancer), Liza Sadovy (Aunt Eller) and Patrick Vaill (Jud Fry).

Also joining the lead cast are Georgina Onuorah (Ado Annie) and Phillip Olagoke (Cord Elam), with Andrew Berlin, Arthur Boan, Shani Cantor, Anna-Maria de Freitas, George Maddison, Brianna Ogunbawo, Finlay Paul and Helen K Wint completing the company.

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Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story confirms touring cast

Casting has been revealed for the 2023 UK tour of Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story.

The bio-musical, which boasts such classics as "That'll Be The Day", "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy", charts the rockabilly singer's rise to fame until his untimely death at the age of 22.

Leading the company will be AJ Jenks and Christopher Weeks, alternating the titular role, alongside Joe Butcher as Joe B Mauldin, Josh Haberfield as Jerry Allison and Miguel Angel as Ritchie Valens/Tyrone Jones. Completing the cast are Daniella Agredo Piper, Christopher Chandler, Stephanie Cremona, Samuelle Durojaiye, Jacob Leeson, Ewan Ling, Thomas Mitchells and Laura-Dene Perryman

 

First Casting for Grease at London´s Dominion

For the new run of Grease at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End from 2nd June – 28th October 2023,  Louise Redknapp (9 to 5, Cabaret) will play the role of Teen Angel from 2 June (when the show begins performances) and will appear through to 29 July. Returning once more to the show will be Dan Partridge as Danny, Olivia Moore as Sandy and Jocasta Almgill as Rizzo.

Redknapp said today: "As the biggest fan of Grease growing up I was thrilled to be asked to join the cast in the role of Teen Angel.Traditionally seen as a male role, I'm excited to be given the opportunity to shake it up and play it from a new perspective under the direction of Nikolai Foster."

John McCrea and Aimee Lou Wood to take on star roles in Cabaret

New cast members will be joining the award-winning production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club from 13th February 2023.

John McCrea (who originated the part of Jamie in Everybody's Talking About Jamie) will take over the role of Emcee in the production, joined by BAFTA winner Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, Uncle Vanya) as the new Sally Bowles.

Wood is currently winning critical praise for her turn in new film Living, appearing opposite Bill Nighy. Her other credits include Downstate at the National Theatre, Rob Icke's version of Mary Stuart and People, Places and Things on tour.

McCrea won both the WhatsOnStage Award and Critics Circle Award in 2018 for his performance as Jamie New in Everybody's Talking About Jamie, and returned to the stage last year in Daddy! at the Almeida. His film credits include Cruella and Dracula.

He added: "I'm thrilled to be taking on the iconic role of the Emcee in this ground-breaking production of Cabaret. It's an absolute honour to be joining this amazing company of artists."

Also set to join the record-breaking production are Nathan Ives-Moiba (As You Like It) in the role of Cliff Bradshaw, beginning on 13 February. At certain performances, the role of Sally Bowles will be played by Emily Benjamin.

Benjamin will take on the role of Bowles from 30 January to 11 February before Wood begins, with Matthew Gent playing the role of the Emcee during the same window. At certain performances the role of Sally Bowles will be played by Sally Frith.

A new cast album for Cabaret is being released on 20 January 2023, featuring original stars Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley