Alongside the onscreen appearance of Liam Neeson and the onstage appearance of Jeff Wayne and his Black Smoke Band and ULLAdubULLA string orchestra, casting has now been announced for the world stage premiere of The War of the Worlds at the Dominion Theatre.
The show will preview from Monday 8 February 2016 with an opening night gala performance on 17 February.
Making his West End debut, singer-songwriter, actor, musician, and writer Jimmy Nail plays Parson Nathaniel.
Also making his debut will be Daniel Bedingfield, as The Artilleryman. The New Zealand born, British raised singer-songwriter shot to stardom in 2001. He returns to this country from LA for the first time in many years.
The third cast member to make their West End debut is Heidi Range, playing Beth. Range is the longest-serving member of the BRIT award-winning multi-platinum-selling British girl group Sugababes.
Alongside these debutants are two West End regulars: Michael Praed, as George Herbert, whose first major appearance was at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Joseph Papp’s production of The Pirates of Penzance, and who has since regularly starred on Broadway and in the West End; and joining him will be Madalena Alberto, playing Carrie, fresh from her triumph as Eva Peron in Evita at the Dominion last year.
Finally, as The Voice Of Humanity, is David Essex. One of the original contributors to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds in 1978, this will be the first time the two men have joined together to work on the show since.
Based on HG Wells’ much loved sci-fi novel, The War of the Worlds is adapted by Doreen Wayne with music by Jeff Wayne; lyrics by Gary Osborne, Paul Vigrass and Jeff Wayne. The production will be directed by Bob Tomson and produced by Bill Kenwright.
Completing the cast are Will Barratt, Charlie Bull, Antony Hansen, Chris Jenkins, Grace McKee, Simon Shorten, Ethan Bradshaw, Tash Holway, Matt Holland, Jack Mitchell, Marios Nicolaides and Jodie Steele.
Since its inception in 1978, Jeff Wayne’s original double album has become a ground-breaking and bestselling musical work. With over with more than 15 million copies sold and 330 weeks in the UK Album Charts to date, a No. 1 album in 11 countries, a No. 1 music DVD, eight years of worldwide arena tours, and critical acclaim across the globe, the score includes the two hit singles ‘The Eve of the War’ and ‘Forever Autumn’.
Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds has won two prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, the Best Recording in Science Fiction and Fantasy Award (the judges included Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg), as well as winning for Wayne, Classic Rock’s Showman of The Year Award.
Tickets for The War of the Worlds are available HERE!
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Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds – LG Arena, Birmingham and Touring – Review
The War of the Worlds in rehearsal. Picture: Mark Yeoman
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