Alex Gaumond will join his Dirty Rotten Scoundrels co-star Robert Lindsay in the London Musical Theatre Orchestra’s concert staging of the 1994 Broadway musical reworking of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Gaumond, who joined Lindsay in the hit West End production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the Musical from November 2014 until the end of the run in March 2015, will play downtrodden Bob Cratchit opposite Lindsay who will take on the central role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Based on Dickens’ timeless tale of Scrooge and his ghostly visitors, the show features music written by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime) and a book by Mike Ockrent (Me and My Girl) and Ahrens.
Featuring the first London performance of the fully orchestrated score, the LMTO’s festive version of the show will play the Lyceum Theatre on 19 December.
Commenting on the concert and the casting of Gaumond, Lindsay said: “Having worked on Alan Menken’s brilliant Galavant for ABC last year and having been such a fan for so many years, I’m really excited about the opportunity of working with him again on A Christmas Carol. It’ll also be a lot of fun to be with my fellow scoundrel, Alex Gaumond.”
Gaumond added: “I had a huge amount of fun working with Robert in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels two years ago and I can’t wait to do it again in this exciting UK premiere of A Christmas Carol. I look forward to hearing Alan Menken’s music soar with a full orchestra.”
Stage and screen favourite Lindsay will lead a star-studded cast which includes Fred Anderson (The Go-Between, Shaftesbury Apollo); Madalena Alberto (Evita, Dominion and UK tour); Carrie Hope Fletcher (soon-to-be-seen in the UK premiere production of The Addams Family); vlogger Giovanna Fletcher, making her professional concert debut; Hugh Maynard (Sweeney Todd, Derby and Colchester); Gina Murray (Chicago, UK tour); Peter Polycarpou (Follies in Concert, Royal Albert Hall); and Norman Bowman (Murder Ballad, Arts Theatre).
With patrons including Menken himself, Jason Robert Brown, Michael Feinstein, Julian Fellowes, Stiles and Drewe, and Stephen Schwartz, the LMTO features some of London’s most accomplished professional musicians who all share an enthusiasm for musical theatre.
Other roles in the production will be played by members of the LMTO chorus, including: Davina Barron, Paul Bradshaw, Lucy Carne, Maeve Curry, Jessica Duncan, Barry Keenan, Matt McDonald, Chris McGuigan, Terri O’Ryan, Amy Perry, Rebecca Ridout, Alex Ryland Jones, Oliver Stanley and Lizzie Wofford.
The 32-piece orchestra conducted by founder and musical director Freddie Tapner is produced and managed by United Theatrical.
Originally programmed into the season at the Lyric, the seasonal staged concert, which follows on from the LMTO’s recent critically acclaimed concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair, has been relocated to the larger Lyceum stage.
Menken and Ahrens’ A Christmas Carol was presented annually in New York from 1994 until 2003 with some of the biggest names in entertainment including F. Murray Abraham, Tim Curry, Jim Dale, Frank Langella and Roddy McDowell who all took on the central role of the ultimate Christmas killjoy. The production was adapted for television in 2004 with Kelsey Grammar as Scrooge and Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley.
Angela Thomas
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