Picture: Roy Tan
The English language premiere of Manga musical Death Note: The Musical will follow its three sold-out performances at the London Palladium next month by transferring to the Lyric Theatre to play six extra shows in September.
Presented by Carter Dixon McGill Productions and Indie Theatrical, the concert-style production was initially due to play two performances at the Palladium on 21 and 22 August. After selling out the two shows in under eight hours, a matinee show on 22 August was added. The third Palladium show sold out within five hours. The additional performances at the Lyric Theatre will run from 7-10 September.
Directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, the Palladium production will star Frances Mayli McCann (Bonnie & Clyde, Arts Theatre/Garrick Theatre, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Edinburgh Fringe Festival/National Theatre/Duke of York’s Theatre) as famous model Misa alongside Dean John-Wilson (Disney’s Aladdin, Prince Edward Theatre, King & I, London Palladium) as the enigmatic detective known as L, with Joaquin Pedro Valdes (The Lion King, UK tour, The King and I, UK and international tours) taking on the role of the brilliant but bored genius Light.
The cast is completed by Adam Pascal (Rent), Aimie Atkinson (Pretty Woman The Musical), Rachel Clare Chan (Miss Saigon) and Christian Ray Marbella (Miss Saigon). Due to work commitments, Pascal is unable to transfer with the production to the Lyric.
Based on the best-selling Manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the award-winning musical has a score by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, Bonnie & Clyde) with lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell.
Death Note: The Musical premiered in 2015 in Tokyo, Japan, the setting for the original story of a high school student who discovers a notebook owned by Ryuk, the mythical God of Death and uses it to take justice into his own hands. A critically acclaimed 2022 Korean production was nominated for 10 Korea Musical Awards, winning four.
Winston heads a creative team that includes associate director and choreographer Alex Sarmiento, costume designer Kimie Nakano, musical supervisor Katy Richardson, musical director Chris Ma, orchestrator Jason Howland, designer Justin Williams, lighting designer Ben Cracknell and sound designer Ben Harrison, with casting by Harry Blumenau and artwork by Rebecca Pitt Creative.
Angela Thomas
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