Zizi Strallen will follow her crowd-pleasing performance as Mary Poppins by taking on the role of infamous French queen Marie Antoinette in new British rap and R‘n’B-flavoured musical CAKE: The Marie Antoinette Playlist.
Strallen (Chicago, Leicester Curve, Rock of Ages, Shaftesbury Theatre) will star alongside Renée Lamb (Six, Arts Theatre, Little Shop of Horrors, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) as Jeanne in the debut tour of the musical which puts the spotlight on Marie Antoinette and the events that led to the French Revolution.
Opening at the MAST Mayflower Studios in Southampton on 18 March 2023, the production’s cast is completed by B Terry (Cabaret, West End, Rent, Hope Mill Theatre) as Nicole, Travis Ross (42 Balloons, Vaudeville Theatre, West Side Story, Manchester Royal Exchange) as Cardinal with Ope Sowande (Mother Goose, Hackney Empire, Mrs Doubtfire, Manchester Opera House) and Megan Bryony Gibbs (Treason The Musical in Concert, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Roles We’ll Never Play, Lyric Theatre) as the ensemble and Lukas Hunt (Dreamgirls, UK tour, Carousel, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Amie Hibbert (Wicked, Apollo Victoria, Carousel, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) as swings.
Following the Southampton run which ends on 25 March, the production will visit Salford, Plymouth, Leicester and Norwich.
Originally commissioned by the Turbine Theatre’s Paul Taylor-Mills during his first tenure as artistic director at The Other Palace and previously known as Killer Queen, the musical was one of the shows showcased at MTFestUK 2021.
Directed by Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie, CAKE: The Marie Antoinette Playlist has a book by playwright and screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm with music and lyrics by Tasha Taylor-Johnson and music by Jack McManus.
Announcing the tour, Taylor-Mills said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with some of our leading regional theatres to present a development production of this brilliant new show.
“I first commissioned the show at The Other Palace five years ago and seeing it evolve over the last few years has been a real privilege. To be working with some of the best theatre makers we have; Drew McOnie, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Tasha Taylor Johnson and Jack McManus, is a real honour. The show started life at our first MTFestUK and it’s great to see all the regional theatres involved be as passionate about its future as I am.”
Angela Thomas
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