Adam Garcia and Arlene Phillips will be among the cast and creatives from the original 1998 production of Saturday Night Fever to reunite online for a special event next month.
Following on from June’s successful reunion of the team behind From Here To Eternity, SimG Productions’ second One Night Only event will take place on YouTube on 20 August 2020.
With all profits going to Acting For Others, the interactive Saturday Night Fever reunion will feature Phillips, the Olivier Award-winning production’s original director and choreographer, and her original Tony Manero, Australian star Garcia.
Garcia’s fellow Australian and leading lady Anita Louise Combe (Stephanie) is also lined-up to join the show, along with Tara Overfield Wilkinson who played Annette, with more guests to be announced.
Hosted by director and producer Simon Greiff, the unique event series features live discussion and Q&A sessions with the cast and creatives from major musicals.
The event focuses on the process of creating a musical and bringing a new show to the London stage with cast members also offering an insight into what it is like to create leading roles in a West End musical. The audience will be encouraged to submit questions for the panel, and may even be invited onto the virtual stage to ask their question in person. The evening will also feature archive video material and will conclude with a post-show virtual stage door mix and mingle session.
Tickets costing £10 are available from the box office and doors will open at 7pm for the event which will run from 7.30pm until 9.30pm.
Based on the 1977 John Badham-directed film that starred a famously white-suited John Travolta and featured the distinctive music of the Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever was inspired by a 1976 New York magazine article by British writer Nik Cohn.
Adapted for the stage by Robert Stigwood in collaboration with Bill Oakes, the musical version of the film debuted at the London Palladium in May 1998. Directed and choreographed by Phillips who is credited alongside Paul Nicholas and Stigwood as collaborators on the book which was written by Nan Knighton, the production ran for nearly two years at the Palladium.
The £4 million production was Olivier Award nominated for Best New Musical, and other nominations went to Phillips for Best Theatre Choreographer, and Garcia for Best Actor in a Musical. The production featured set design by Robin Wagner, costume design by Andy Edwards, lighting design by Andrew Bridge, sound design by Mick Potter, orchestrations by Nigel Wright, with arrangements and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.
Phillips also directed the show’s Broadway debut which began in 1999 and featured James Carpinello in the central role. There have been extensive touring productions in the UK and US, and multiple international productions including Germany, Argentina, Netherlands, Mexico, Spain, South Korea and South Africa.
Angela Thomas
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.