The full cast has been confirmed for the UK premiere of a hit musical based on the much-loved ABBA-flavoured Australian movie Muriel’s Wedding at Leicester’s Curve Theatre next spring.
As previously announced, Megan Ellis (Spring Awakening/Rent/Carrie/Parade, Frogmore Paper Mill) will play Muriel Heslop and Annabel Marlow (Six, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017, The Wizard of Oz, Watermill Theatre) will play Muriel’s straight-talking friend, Rhonda Epinstall in the musical which will follow its award-winning Australian world premiere run by making its UK debut in Leicester from 10 April until 10 May.
Directed by Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical’s original director Simon Phillips with choreography by Priscilla’s Andrew Hallsworth, the cast will also include Darren Day (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium, Chicago, UK tour) as Muriel’s father, the corrupt and selfish scoundrel Bill Heslop; alongside Laura Medforth (Hello Dolly!, London Palladium) as Muriel’s mother, the long-suffering Betty Heslop.
Muriel’s trio of idle and good-for-nothing siblings, Perry, Malcolm and Joanie, will be played by Jacob Warner (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, 2019 Australian tour), Joseph Peacock (Becoming Nancy, Birmingham Rep) and Lena Pattie Jones (Fangirls, Lyric Hammersmith).
The Porpoise Spit’s girl gang will be led by Helen Hill (Pretty Woman The Musical, Savoy Theatre) as Tania, Lillie-Pearl Wildman (Cabaret, Kit Kat Club) as Cheryl, Jasmine Beel (Bonnie & Clyde, UK and Ireland tour) as Nicole and Daisy Twells (Heathers, @sohoplace and UK tour) as Janine.
Ethan Pascal Peters (Cable Street, Southwark Playhouse) will play Brice, with Stephen Madsen (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre) as Alexander Schkuratov, Chris Bennett (Only Fools and Horses, Theatre Royal Haymarket) as Bill Heslop’s business partner Ken, Bronte Alice-Tadman (A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Shakespeare North Playhouse) as Deidre and Frida, Jasmine Hackett (Toys The Musical, Pump House, Watford) as Agnetha, Aaron Tsindos (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre) as Benny and Jamie Doncaster (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Gillian Lynne Theatre) as Björn.
The cast is completed by Edward Turner (Aladdin, Cheltenham Everyman Theatre), Carlo Boumouglbay (Miss Saigon, Australia and Asia tour), Andrew Berlin (Natsha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, Donmar Warehouse), Sophie Linder-Lee (Wicked, Appollo Victoria), Charlotte O’Rourke (Cruel Intentions, The Other Palace), Lizzie Nance (Matilda The Musical, international tour), Serina Mathew (Here & Now, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham), Will Luckett (Wicked, UK and Ireland tour) and Jamil Abbasi (The Great British Bake Off Musical, Nöel Coward Theatre).
Featuring a book by the writer and director of the original film, PJ Hogan, who updated his original screenplay for the musical, and original music by award-winning, multi-platinum selling artists Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall, the musical also includes additional songs originally written for ABBA by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson.
Set design is by Matthew Kinley, with costume design by Gabriela Tylesova, projection design by Andrzej Goulding, lighting design by Natasha Chivers and sound design by Adam Fisher. Isaac Hayward, who won the Helpmann Award for Best Musical Direction in 2018 for Muriel’s Wedding, will join the creative team as musical supervisor and casting is by Stuart Burt.
Commenting on the Made At Curve production which will be co-produced with event musical specialists Global Creatures, director Phillips said: “I’m thrilled that the team at Leicester Curve have embraced Muriel Heslop with the same open heart as the rest of the world. Muriel’s misguided aspiration has never been funnier or on-the-moneyer, and now that it’s not just ABBA doing the singing, but the whole of Porpoise Spit, Sydney, and even the Olympic swimming team, her self-made journey to stardom has double the decibels. Curve has an enviable track record delivering exciting new musicals, and it’s a privilege to be adding Muriel to their list.”
Curve’s Stafford and Nikolai Foster added: “We’re euphoric Muriel is leaving Porpoise Spit and coming to Leicester! We are looking forward to welcoming acclaimed Australian director Simon Phillips and his phenomenal team to Curve to create the UK premiere of this iconic film on stage, in this all-singing and all-dancing celebration of finding the courage to be your authentic self. It’s equally thrilling writer PJ Hogan has adapted his screenplay for the stage and this production, alongside the ABBA hits from the film, includes original music by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. Grab your Tim Tams and book your seats to RSVP for the wedding of the year at Curve in 2025!”
Winner of five Helpmann Awards, seven Sydney Theatre Awards, an Awgie Award, the 2018 David Williamson Prize and an ARIA Award Nomination, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical celebrated its world premiere in a co-production with the Sydney Theatre Company in November 2017 and returned with a successful Australian tour in 2019.
The story of the socially awkward Muriel Hislop, her love of ABBA songs, and her dream of the perfect white wedding, captured the hearts of audiences across world. The emotional comedy/drama helped launch the international career of Toni Collette, whose performance as Muriel garnered her an Australian Film Institute Award, a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award and a Golden Globe nomination.
Angela Thomas
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