Final casting has been announced for It Happened in Key West, a major new romantic comedy musical, which will get its world premiere at London’s Charing Cross Theatre in a strictly limited seven-week season from Wednesday 4 July 2018.
It Happened in Key West is inspired by shocking true events that rocked the tiny island of Key West in the 1930s. After decades of searching for his dream girl, eccentric scientist Carl finally finds Elena, only to lose the young beauty to the fatal disease of tuberculosis. But for Carl, the eternal optimist, death is only the beginning. He steals Elena’s body from the graveyard and takes her home, embarking on the most ambitious “fixer upper” project in history as he tries to bring his beloved back to life…
Joining the previously announced Broadway actor Wade McCollum (The Wizard in Wicked) as Carl is Alyssa Martyn as the tragic love of his life, Elena.
Alyssa Martyn originated the role of Amelia in the premiere of new musical The Clockmaker’s Daughter (Landor Theatre/St James Theatre Studio). Her other roles include playing Gazer in The Cagebirds (New Wimbledon Theatre Studio), Marty in Grease, Ariel in Footloose, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, West End Men (Vaudeville Theatre), and The Mikado (Charing Cross Theatre).
Wade McCollum was recently nominated for a Best Actor Lucille Lortel Award starring Off-Broadway as Ernest Shackleton in Ernest Shackleton Loves Me. Previously, he starred as Tick/Mitzi in the first national tour of the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert and as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, for which he garnered the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Backstage’s Garland Award for Best Actor and an Ovation Award for Best Musical. In 2012 McCollum was seen Off Broadway as the Velociraptor of Faith in Triassic Parq – the musical. In New York he also starred as Jeffrey in Jeffrey at the Sage Theatre and as Nestor le Fripe in Irma la Douce at Musicals Tonight.
The other 12 members of the ensemble are: Val Adams, Miguel Angel, Alexander Barria, Mary-Jean Caldwell, Andrea Golinucci, Siwan Henderson, Sophia Lewis, Guido Garcia Lueches, Hannah McIver, Ross McLaren, Johan Munir and Nuno Queimado.
It Happened in Key West is by award-winning Broadway composer Jill Santoriello (A Tale of Two Cities) novelist Jason Huza and Jeremiah James, a member of international recording group Teatro. Press night is Tuesday 10 July. The production will be directed and choreographed by Marc Robin, who has staged almost 400 productions across the US, earning multiple awards and nominations.
The rest of the creative team are: production designer Jamie Roderick, costume designer Lisa Zinni, projection designer Louise Rhoades-Brown, sound designer Andrew Johnson, musical director Andrew Hopkins and orchestrator Robert Felstein, with UK casting by Neil Rutherford.
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