Picture: Oliver Rosser for Feast Creative
Sheridan Smith will be back in the West End next year in the world premiere of a major musical based on acclaimed film director John Cassavetes’ Broadway based Opening Night.
Directed and conceived by Ivo van Hove, with a book by van Hove, the production – transforming Cassavetes’ classic tale of a leading lady tormented by a tragedy ahead of her Broadway opening night into a stage musical – features music and lyrics by singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright.
Presented by Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and Playful Productions, Opening Night will make its debut with a strictly limited season at the Gielgud Theatre from 6 March to 27 July 2024.
Commenting on the production and the tortured character played on screen by Cassavetes’ wife, Gena Rowlands, Smith said: “The chance to work with the musical genius that is Rufus Wainwright and one of the world’s greatest stage directors Ivo van Hove was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and quite frankly if they’d asked me to read out the back of a cereal packet I’d have been there! But, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be cast in this fantastic original musical and to play the complex and challenging character of Myrtle.”
Internationally renowned director van Hove added: “After the success of A Little Life I am thrilled to return to the West End together with Wessex Grove to create a new musical. It is a dream come true to collaborate with the wonderful Rufus Wainwright, whose work I have been a fan of for so many years.
“We connected over our shared love of the incredible John Cassavetes film Opening Night and it has long been an ambition of ours to bring a musical version to the stage. Opening Night not only gives us an insight into the trials and tribulations behind the scenes of the theatre, but it is also the heartbreaking story of a woman fighting for hope and self-determination in a world that doesn’t want to listen.”
Wainwright commented: “For me, John Cassavetes’ movie Opening Night has long been a shining beacon representing both excellence in cinema and the might of live theatre. An intense marriage of film and stage it is about a very personal mental and creative survival that I think we can all relate to on a very deep human level.
“I’ve been waiting for ages to write my first musical and with this fantastic story plus the incomparable Sheridan Smith, not to mention the incredible Ivo van Hove, I don’t think I could have aimed any higher.”
The production will feature set, lighting and video design by Jan Versweyveld, costume design by An D’Huys and sound design by Tom Gibbons and Alex Twiselton with orchestrations by Rufus Wainwright, musical supervision and musical direction by Nigel Lilley, movement and choreography by Polly Bennett and casting by Julia Horan. The associate director is Daniel Raggett.
Describing the origins of the production, producers Wessex Grove’s Benjamin Lowry and Emily Vaughan-Barratt said: “Deep in the early lockdowns of 2020, just after forming our company, we zoomed with Ivo and Rufus about turning Opening Night into a musical.
“It was a thrilling idea they had, and that conversation turned into the first commission Wessex Grove made. Rufus has written the most extraordinary original music and it is a joy for us to be reuniting with Ivo after the success of A Little Life earlier this year.
“Opening Night is a show about making theatre in all its forms; the heartbreaks, the turmoil, and the pure joy of it. We couldn’t be luckier to have one of our great theatrical stars, Sheridan Smith, leading the cast of this new musical.”
Angela Thomas
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