The London Musical Theatre Orchestra will present star-studded concert versions of Chess, Kinky Boots and new British musical Treason at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London this summer.
Currently starring in Frozen at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Samantha Barks will take to the same stage on 1 August 2022 in another guise, as Florence in Chess. She will be joined by Hadley Fraser (Young Frankenstein) in the first West End production of Tim Rice and ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ work since 2018.
Director and choreographer Nick Winston heads a creative team for the concert performance which includes associate director and choreographer Alexandra Sarmiento, musical director Freddie Tapner, designer Ruth Sutcliffe, lighting designer Ben Cracknell, lighting programmer Chris Winn, sound designer Tom Marshall and video projection designer Duncan McLean with casting by Harry Blumenau. Further casting is to be announced.
Back To The Future’s Cedric Neal will step into the role of Lola/Simon alongside Matt Willis (Waitress) as Charlie and Courtney Bowman (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) as Lauren in the concert version of feel-good musical Kinky Boots on 8 August.
The first production of the multi-award-winning show in the West End in three years will be directed by Omar F Okai, with musical direction by Tapner, design by Sutcliffe and lighting design by Cracknell. The creative team also includes lighting programmer Chris Winn and sound designer Tom Marshall with casting by Harry Blumenau.
An instant favourite with theatregoers, the exuberant show based on the hit film (written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth and inspired by a true story) has a book by Broadway legend and four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and songs by Grammy and Tony-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Further casting will be announced soon.
Neal will also appear in the performance of the Gunpowder Plot-inspired musical drama Treason The Musical on 22 August. Neal who also featured in last year’s digital concert premiere of the musical will reprise his performance as the Earl of Northumberland alongside fellow cast members Bradley Jaden (Les Misérables) as Thomas Percy, Waylon Jacobs (Hamilton) as Jack Wright, Rebecca LaChance (School of Rock) as Anne Vaux and Daniel Boys (Falsettos) as King James.
They will be joined by Carrie Hope Fletcher (Cinderella) as Martha Percy, Simon-Anthony Roden (Hamilton) as Robert Catesby, Adam Pearce (The Prince of Egypt) as Thomas Wintour and Emilie Louise Israel (Hamilton) as Eleanor Brooksby.
A fusion of original folk and pop songs, Treason features a score and lyrics by Ricky Allan and a book by Kieran Lynn and Allan. The performance will reunite members of the team involved in last year’s Cadogan Hall livestream – director Hannah Chissick, musical supervisor Nick Pinchbeck and orchestrator Matthew Malone.
The creative team also includes designer Ruth Sutcliffe, lighting designer Simisola Majekodunmi, sound designer Tom Marshall and video designer Gino Green with casting by Harry Blumenau. Chissick also provides the dramaturgy.
Angela Thomas
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