A new musical based on the ground-breaking TV series Rock Follies is one of three major musicals and four world premieres to feature in artistic director Daniel Evans’ final season at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
Due to make its debut in the Minerva Theatre from 24 July until 26 August, Rock Follies will follow new productions of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music.
Unveiling details of the packed 2023 season Evans and executive director Kathy Bourne said: “This year, we have an outstanding range of plays and musicals, including a handful of world premieres and renowned plays which have never been performed at CFT before. For example, we’ve never staged a play by the great Arthur Miller; nor have we staged Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most-loved musical. There is a rare outing of a play by US writer Adrienne Kennedy and, 50 years after his death, a new production of Noël Coward’s first big success. Contemporary, 20th century or classical, every piece has something to say about the world around us today.
“A company of exceptional actors are already lining up to join us including Dame Eileen Atkins, Samuel Barnett, Carly Bawden, Gina Beck, Rory Bremner, Sebastian Croft, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Joshua James, Danny Mac, Alexandra Roach, Zizi Strallen, Lia Williams, Greg Wise and Susan Wokoma; and seven directors are making their Chichester debuts.”
Due to take charge of the Royal Shakespeare Company alongside Tamara Harvey from June 2023, Evans added: “On a personal note, this is the seventh and last season I’ve programmed at Chichester. I’d like to thank the many thousands of freelance artists, creatives and technical staff who’ve brought them to life; CFT’s indefatigable staff; and of course our audiences, who are among the most supportive and adventurous theatregoers in the country. I know they will welcome my successor, Justin Audibert, with the same warmth that greeted my and Kathy’s own arrivals in this beautiful and unique theatre.”
Playing the Festival Theatre from 3-24 June, Assassins will be the first of the three musicals to play the venue. Featuring music and lyrics by the legendary Sondheim with a book by multi-award-winning librettist John Weidman (Pacific Overtures, Big), the Tony Award-winning dark, revue style story of the men and women who targeted US presidents is based on an idea by Charles Gilbert Jr. The musical first opened Off-Broadway in 1990, and made its UK debut in 1992 in a critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production directed by Sam Mendes.
Director Polly Findlay will make her CFT debut with the production which will star Amy Booth-Steel (Tammy Faye, The Magician’s Elephant) as Moore, Luke Brady (The Prince of Egypt, Sweeney Todd Festival 2011) as Zangara, Carly Mercedes Dyer (Olivier Award nominee and WhatsOnStage Award winner for Anything Goes) as Fromme, Harry Hepple (Hamilton, Follies) as Guiteau, Nick Holder (The Threepenny Opera, London Road) as Byck, Danny Mac (Sunset Boulevard, Pretty Woman The Musical) as Booth, Sam Oladeinde (Come From Away, A Christmas Carol) as Czolgosz and Jack Shalloo (Girl From The North Country, Groundhog Day) as Hinckley.
The creative team also includes designer Lizzie Clachan, choreographer Neil Bettles, musical supervisor Richard John, musical director Jo Cichonska, lighting designer Richard Howell, sound designer Gregory Clarke, video designer Akhila Krishnan, fight director Kate Waters and casting directors Charlotte Sutton and Christopher Worrall.
The acclaimed star of CFT’s hit production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific (Chichester, West End, UK tour), Gina Beck will return to take on the role of Maria in the venue’s first-ever production of the classic The Sound of Music.
Running from 10 July until 3 September, the major new production of The Sound of Music will be directed by the artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford with design by Robert Jones.
The creative team also includes choreographer Lizzi Gee, musical supervisor Gareth Valentine, musical director Matt Samer with original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett, orchestral adaptation by Larry Blank, lighting design by Johanna Town and sound design by Paul Groothuis. The casting director is Natalie Gallacher for Pippa Ailion Casting and children’s casting director is Verity Naughton.
New musical Rock Follies features a book by Chloë Moss and original songs from the 1970s series by writer Howard Schuman and composer Andy Mackay. The triple BAFTA-winning story of a fictional all-female rock band will be brought to the stage by director Dominic Cooke (Follies).
After appearing in CFT’s Concert in the Park in 2021, Carly Bawden (Carousel, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, My Fair Lady, Sheffield Crucible) will return to star in the production alongside another Chichester returnee Zizi Strallen (The Music Man, CFT, Follies, National Theatre) as Q.
The cast also includes Samuel Barnett, whose stage credits include Olivier and Tony nominated roles in The History Boys (also on film) and Twelfth Night, Tamsin Carroll (Hex, National Theatre Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Sheffield Crucible/Apollo Theatre) and Fred Haig (Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre, A Christmas Carol, The Old Vic).
Rock Follies will have set design by Vicki Mortimer, costume design by Kinnetia Isidore, choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, musical supervision and arrangements by Nigel Lilley, musical direction by Toby Higgins, lighting design by Paule Constable and casting by Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher.
Rock Follies is based on the award-winning television series written by Howard Schuman from an original idea of the Rock Bottom Group (Diane Langton, Gaye Brown and Annabel Leventon) and Don Fraser. Rock Follies was commissioned and developed by Fictionhouse, Longshot Films and Elpis Theatre Productions Ltd.
The season’s other world premiere productions will be Never Have I Ever by Deborah Frances-White, The Inquiry by Harry Davies and a new adaptation of The Jungle Book by Sonali Bhattacharyya for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre.
Angela Thomas
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