(Clockwise) Benjamin Walker, Rebecca Thornhill, Ian McLarnon, Cilla Silvia and Jos Slovick
Benjamin Walker, Rebecca Thornhill, Cilla Silvia, Ian McLarnon and Jos Slovick lead the final additions to the cast for the world premiere of the stage musical version of acclaimed film director John Cassavetes’ 1977 film Opening Night.
Broadway actor Walker (American Psycho, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) will play Maurice, alongside Thornhill (Gypsy, Mill at Sonning, Matilda, Cambridge Theatre) as Kelly, Silvia (Pretty Woman The Musical, Savoy Theatre, The Boy in the Dress, RSC) as Carla, McLarnon (Passion, Queen’s Theatre, Follies, National Theatre) as Leo, and Slovick (Beautiful, UK tour, Fiddler on the Roof, Chichester Festival Theatre) as Gus.
They will join the previously announced Sheridan Smith who will star as the tormented actress Myrtle, with Shira Haas (Netflix series Unorthodox) making her West End debut as Nancy, Hadley Fraser (City of Angels, Donmar Warehouse/Garrick Theatre, Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre) as Manny, double Olivier Award nominee Nicola Hughes (Fosse, Prince of Wales Theatre, Porgy and Bess, Savoy Theatre) as Sarah, Olivier nominee Amy Lennox (Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Playhouse) as Dorothy and John Marquez (Pygmalion, The Old Vic, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Savoy Theatre) as David. The cast is completed by Robert Finlayson, Daniel Forrester, Jennifer Hepburn, Issy Khogali and Chrissie Perkins.
Directed and conceived by Ivo van Hove, with a book by van Hove, the production will feature music and lyrics by singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright.
Presented by Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and Playful Productions, Opening Night will make its debut with a strictly limited season at the Gielgud Theatre from 6 March to 27 July 2024.
Commenting on the production and the tortured character originally played on screen by Cassavetes’ wife, Gena Rowlands, Smith said: “The chance to work with the musical genius that is Rufus Wainwright and one of the world’s greatest stage directors Ivo van Hove was a once in a life time opportunity, and quite frankly if they’d asked me to read out the back of a cereal packet I’d have been there! But, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be cast in this fantastic original musical and to play the complex and challenging character of Myrtle.”
The production will feature set, lighting and video design by Jan Versweyveld, costume design by An D’Huys and sound design by Tom Gibbons and Alex Twiselton, with orchestrations are by Rufus Wainwright, musical supervision and musical direction by Nigel Lilley, movement and choreography by Polly Bennett and casting by Julia Horan. The associate director is Daniel Raggett.
Describing the origins of the production, producers Wessex Grove’s Benjamin Lowry and Emily Vaughan-Barratt said: “Deep in the early lockdowns of 2020, just after forming our company, we zoomed with Ivo and Rufus about turning Opening Night into a musical.
“It was a thrilling idea they had, and that conversation turned into the first commission Wessex Grove made. Rufus has written the most extraordinary original music and it is a joy for us to be reuniting with Ivo after the success of A Little Life earlier this year.
“Opening Night is a show about making theatre in all its forms; the heartbreaks, the turmoil, and the pure joy of it. We couldn’t be luckier to have one of our great theatrical stars, Sheridan Smith, leading the cast of this new musical.”
Angela Thomas
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