Cameron Mackintosh has unveiled the international cast assembled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the London production of The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre.
The special limited birthday season cast will be led by Jordan Donica (My Fair Lady/Camelot) as The Phantom and Beatrice Penny-Touré (Les Misérables, Mary Poppins) as Christine Daaé, with Rhys Whitfield (The Devil Wears Prada, The Commitments) returning to the production as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny.
One of The Phantom of the Opera‘s most-loved Christines, Sierra Boggess (Love Never Dies, Little Mermaid) will return as the Prima Donna Carlotta opposite Matt Bateman as Piangi. Boggess’ co-star in Love Never Dies, Joseph Millson (Mary Poppins) will play Monsieur André alongside Ian Pirie (Les Misérables, Notre Dame de Paris) as Monsieur Firmin and Joanna Riding (Carousel, My Fair Lady) as Madam Giry, with Millie Lyon continuing in the role of Meg Giry and Colleen Rose Curran continuing to play Christine at certain performances.
The cast will be completed by Harry Apps, George Arvidson, Michael Baxter, Embla Bishop, David Burilin, Polly Clarke, Leonard Cook, Hywel Dowsell, Connor Ewing, Lila Falce-Bass, Florence Fowler, James Gant, Emily George, Melanie Gowie, Molly Hall, Will Hawksworth, Matt Hayden, Nino Hepher, Mandy Kwan, Verity Marlow, Tim Morgan, Inguna Morozova, Skye November, Taylor Pardell, Johnny Randall, Rachel Spurrell, Jasmine Wallis, Victoria Ward and Alicia Wong.
Announcing the cast, Mackintosh said: “I’m thrilled that this special birthday season of Phantom at His Majesty’s Theatre will be led by such a sensational cast alongside a brilliant ensemble – this is certainly going to be one of the finest casts ever of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical! Only two musicals in history have run continuously to packed houses for over 40 years… and counting, and I am very proud to be the producer of them both (the other being Les Misérables). The extraordinary resurgence of interest from young audiences all over the world to see this timeless gothic romance has been mirrored in the continued popularity of Andrew’s iconic score, which is now being excitedly discovered by new generations. I have no doubt that the music of the night will be thrilling audiences for many more decades to come and I’m delighted that the show that Andrew and I embarked on ‘just for the fun of it’ has become a phenomenon beyond our imaginations. Our gratitude to the public knows no bounds.”
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group Ltd, The Phantom of the Opera features music by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Based on the classic gothic novel Le Fantôme de l’Opera by Gaston Leroux, the musical boasts a book Stilgoe and Lloyd Webber, with orchestrations by David Cullen and Lloyd Webber, musical supervision by Simon Lee and production design by Maria Björnson.
The set design is adapted by Matt Kinley with associate costume design by Jill Parker, lighting by Andrew Bridge, associate lighting design by Warren Letton and sound by Mick Potter. The musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne, re-created and adapted by Chrissie Cartwright. Originally directed by Harold Prince, the production is directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn.
The Phantom of the Opera, opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 starring Michael Crawford as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine. The winner of more than 70 major theatre awards, including seven Tonys and four Olivier Awards, the musical was the first stage production to reach worldwide grosses of $6 billion. The show has been seen by over 160 million people in 58 territories and 205 cities in 21 languages.
Angela Thomas
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