Lee Mead will star in the second UK and Ireland tour of Kay Mellor’s crowd-pleasing Fat Friends – the Musical in 2022.
The actor who first shot to fame as the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s television talent search for his new Joseph in 2007 and went on to star in a series of major musical productions, will take on the role of Paul in the touring production which will launch at Dartford’s Orchard Theatre on 14 January 2022.
Commenting on the timely return of the feel-good show which debuted in Leeds in 2017, Mellor said: “Issues of body image and online trolling are more pertinent today than ever, and will resonate with people everywhere. Despite this, using song, dance and humour I can guarantee that audiences will leave the show with a smile on their face and feeling better about themselves – something we all need right now.
“I’m delighted to be remounting Fat Friends the Musical, thrilled to be working with the brilliant and talented Lee Mead and can’t wait for us to bring the show to so many fantastic venues around the UK and Ireland.”
Mead, whose extensive genre credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Legally Blonde and Wicked added: “I am so excited to be returning to musical theatre after an enjoyable few years on Casualty and Holby City and I’m so thrilled to be starring in Fat Friends The Musical. I saw the show when it first ran and absolutely loved it, so I can’t wait to now play the lovelorn vicar, Paul. I’m so looking forward to performing live again to wonderful audiences around the country and working with the incredible and iconic Kay Mellor.”
Produced by Joshua Andrews, the tour will follow its first Dartford dates (a return visit is planned for mid-March) by visiting Cardiff, Nottingham, Sheffield, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Southampton, Canterbury, Norwich, Southend, Leicester, Dublin, Liverpool, Bradford, Salford, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Plymouth, Bristol and Hull.
Further casting is to be announced.
Written and directed by Mellor, the creator of the original ITV drama Fat Friends, and with original music by Nicholas Lloyd Webber, the musical re-shaping of popular drama played its opening run at the Leeds Grand Theatre in late 2017 before heading out on the road in January 2018.
Produced by Joshua Andrews and Rollem Productions, the production features set and costume design by Bretta Gerecke, with choreography by Karen Bruce, sound by Ben Harrison, lighting design by Nick Richings, and orchestrations, arrangement and musical supervision by Simon Lee. Casting is by Stephen Crockett for David Grindrod Associates with additional casting by David Shaw.
The story of the lives and loves of a group of dieters, Fat Friends first arrived on television nearly 17 years ago. With a cast that included Alison Steadman, Sheridan Smith and Mellor’s own daughter, Emmerdale and Coronation Street favourite Faye, the show was credited with launching the careers of James Corden and Ruth Jones.
Angela Thomas
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