Darren Day will be the latest star to step into the role of Hugo/Loco Chanelle in the critically acclaimed and crowd-pleasing British musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie when the touring production reaches Blackpool in November.
The actor and TV presenter whose musical theatre credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium and on tour, Grease at the Cambridge Theatre, and Chicago on tour, will join the production when it plays Blackpool Winter Gardens (21-25 November). Day will remain in the role when production plays Venue Cymru in Llandudno (28 November-2 December) and the Christmas season at the New Theatre in Oxford (12-30 December).
Commenting on his latest role, Day said: “I can’t wait to step into Loco Chanelle’s heels and join the brilliantly talented cast of the UK tour of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. It’s a wonderfully uplifting show filled with great music and humour and has a beautiful message at its heart. I’m thrilled to be part of it.”
Launched at The Lowry in Salford on 7 September, the production stars Ivano Turco (Get Up! Stand Up!, Lyric Theatre, Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre) as the irrepressible Jamie New, with Rebecca McKinnis (Dear Evan Hansen, Noel Coward Theatre, We Will Rock You, Dominion Theatre) and Shobna Gulati (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, UK tour, Mamma Mia! international tour) reprising their acclaimed West End performances as Margaret New and Ray respectively. The production also features former touring ensemble member Talia Palamathanan (Matilda The Musical, Cambridge Theatre, Soho Dreams workshop, The Lowry) as Pritti.
The launch cast includes John Partridge (Cats UK tour/West End, A Chorus Line, London Palladium) as Hugo/Loco Chanelle from 7 September to 11 November 2023 and 8 January to 23 March 2024 and Hayley Tamaddon (Chicago, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Miss Hedge from 7 September to 26 November 2023. Former Strictly professional turned musical theatre performer Kevin Clifton (Strictly Ballroom, UK tour, Singin’ in the Rain, Sadler’s Wells/UK tour) will take on the role of Hugo/Loco Chanelle from 25 March until 15 July 2024, with 2020 I’m A Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher (Wish You Were Dead, UK tour, 2:22 A Ghost Story, West End) stepping into the role of Miss Hedge from 8 January until 23 March 2024 and 2013 X Factor winner Sam Bailey (Chicago, West End, Fat Friends, UK tour) taking over as Miss Hedge from 25 March until 15 July 2024.
Completing the cast for the 2023-24 UK tour are KY Kelly (Anthony Gyde) as Laika Virgin, with Garry Lee (Sandra Bollock), David McNair (Tray Sophisticay), Akshay St Clair (Dad), Jordan Ricketts (Dean), Liv Ashman (Vicki), Rhiannon Bacchus (Fatimah), Geoff Berrisford (Sayid), Jessica Daugirda (Bex), Finton Flynn (Young Loco Chanelle/Jamie New cover), Annabelle Laing (Becca), Luca Moscardini (Levi), Joshian Omana (Cy), Thomas Walton (Mickey), Takayiah Bailey (Swing) and Georgina Hagen (Understudy Margaret / Ray / Miss Hedge).
Following on from its record-breaking three-year West End residency, a sold-out UK and Ireland tour, and the award-winning film, the second tour will launch at The Lowry – one of the venues visited by the first tour – from 7 to 17 September. The tour will then visit Sunderland, Nottingham, Bromley, Birmingham, Cardiff, Brighton, Leeds, Blackpool, Llandudno, Oxford, Southampton, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Woking, London, Bristol, Plymouth, Sheffield, Liverpool, Eastbourne, Portsmouth, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Northampton, Bradford, Milton Keynes, Hull and Leicester.
Described as a ‘coming-of-age story with a twist’, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie was written by singer songwriter Dan Gillespie Sells, the lead vocalist of rock band The Feeling, and stage and screen writer Tom MacRae. An instant hit with audiences and critics, the musical premiered in Sheffield in 2017 before transferring to London’s West End in November 2017. The show’s first UK tour launched in February 2020.
The multi-award-winning musical’s creative team also includes designer Anna Fleischle, choreographer Kate Prince, musical supervisor Theo Jamieson, musical director Ben Holder, lighting designer Lucy Carter, sound designer Paul Groothuis, casting director Will Burton and video designer Luke Halls.
The Sheffield Theatres Production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is produced on tour by Nica Burns, Ian Osborne, and Teresa and Craig Beech.
Angela Thomas
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