Jonny Fines and Emma Williams will be the romantic leads in the musical version of the 1980s classic movie An Officer and a Gentleman when it receives its world premiere at Leicester Curve in April ahead of a UK and Ireland tour.
Most recently seen in Annie at the Piccadilly Theatre, Fines (UK tours of The Sound of Music and Avenue Q) will step into the white-suited role of Zach Mayo played by Richard Gere in the iconic film, opposite four-time Olivier Award-nominated actress Williams (West End productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mrs Henderson Presents, Love Story) in the Debra Winger’s role of Paula, the factory girl Zach falls in love with.
They will be joined by the creator of the roles of Rusty in Starlight Express and Nomax in Five Guys Called Moe, Ray Shell, who will play tough training officer Foley, famously played on film by Louis Gossett Jr.
Olivier-nominated actor Ian MacIntosh (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, The Commitments, Rock of Ages) will take on the role of Sid Worley, Zach’s doomed friend. The role of Paula’s friend, Lynette Pomeroy, originally played by Lisa Blount, will be played by Jessica Daley, a finalist on the BBC’s talent search Over the Rainbow who went on to appear in Mamma Mia! in the West End and The Sound of Music on tour.
The cast also includes Keisha Atwell, Andy Barke, Darren Bennett, James Darch, Nathaniel Landskroner, George Loannides, Joe Maxwell, Corinna Powlesland, and Rachel Stanley. Joining them will be David Burrows, Vanessa Fisher, Aimee Hodnett, Keiran McGinn and Rhys Whitfield.
Directed by Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster and produced by Jamie Wilson and Curve, the show will make its debut in Leicester on 6 April with a press night on 19 April.
Three years in the making, the musical has a book by the writer of the movie’s screenplay Douglas Day Stewart, co-written with Sharleen Cooper Cohen.
Announcing the casting details, Foster said: “Douglas Day Stewart wrote An Officer and a Gentleman in response to his time serving in the American Air Force and the challenges he faced during training. It is a visceral, uncompromising and ultimately tender portrait of these personal experiences and the lives of folk living near the training facility in the early 1980s. We are proud to have assembled such an accomplished company of actors, led by Emma, Ray, Jonny, Ian and Jess to create our production and realise this beautiful portrait of working class lives.
“All of us at Curve are excited to tell this story – set to a fantastic 80s playlist – and to be working with the talented team at Jamie Wilson Productions. Productions like this couldn’t be made without the support of our collaborators and we are thrilled to be working with Jamie and his team. Officer will certainly be a memorable moment in our theatre’s 10th birthday year.”
As well as featuring the film’s romantic anthem ‘Up Where We Belong’, the production will feature 1980s pop classics including ‘Alone’, ‘Don’t Cry Out Loud’, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and ‘Material Girl’.
Foster will head a creative team that includes Zoonation founder Kate Prince, musical supervisor Sarah Travis, and designer Michael Taylor with lighting design by Ben Cracknell and sound design by Tom Marshall.
Following on from the premiere run at Curve which will end on 21 April 2018, the tour will visit Leeds, Southampton, Wycombe, Birmingham, Liverpool, Dublin, Sheffield, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Bristol, Canterbury, Manchester, Plymouth, Ipswich, Bradford and Glasgow.
With an iconic and much parodied romantic finale, that belied the dramatic grit of the bulk of the film’s content, An Officer and a Gentleman captured the imagination of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the film was one of the biggest movies of 1982, a hit with both the critics and audiences the film featured a career defining performance from Gere and an Oscar nominated performance from his leading lady Winger.
Angela Thomas
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