Helen Sheals, Belinda Wollaston and Lucy Penrose will play Judy Garland at different stages of her life in Through the Mill at the London Theatre Workshop
Helen Sheals, Belinda Wollaston and Lucy Penrose have been cast to play Judy Garland in three different stages of her life in Through the Mill, a new play featuring a hit list of Garland greatest standards, by Ray Rackham.
Through the Mill will get its world premiere in a three-week season at London Theatre Workshop from Tuesday 1 December to Saturday 19 December (press night is 3 December).
Helen Sheals recently played Goneril in a UK tour of King Lear for Northern Broadsides She previously starred as Mari Hoff in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice for Hull Truck and on TV as a series regular in Downton Abbey.
Belinda Wollaston was in the musicals The Spitfire Grill at the Union Theatre and Once We Lived Here at the King’s Head Theatre. In her native Australia she appeared in Mamma Mia!, Dr Zhivago and Titanic.
The rest of the cast of 12 actor/musicians who will also make up the onstage Judy Garland band include: Harry Anton, Amanda Bailey, Carmella Brown, Don Cotter, Tom Elliot Reade, Chris McGuigan, Perry Meadowcroft and Joe Shefer.
Written by Ray Rackham, the artistic director of London Theatre Workshop and librettist/lyricist of last year’s hit Christmas musical Apartment 40C, his new work focuses on three significant periods in Garland’s career. Her early success as an MGM movie star, her turbulent touring years and her short-lived career as a television personality provide the subject matter. The drama will feature a selection of Garland’s most famous songs.
The play is directed by Max Reynolds (Ushers – The Front of House Musical at the Arts Theatre) and produced by Skye Crawford for the London Theatre Workshop.
The creative team also includes choreographer Chris Whittaker, set designer Johnson Williams, costume designer Millie Hobday, hair and make-up by Lea Steedman, lighting by Jordan Lightfoot, sound by Ed Shaw and casting by Samuel Julya.
Angela Thomas
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