Rob Houchen will take the leading role in the Warwick Davis and Kevin Wood produced British musical Eugenius! when it returns to The Other Palace in September 2018 for a six-week season.
Houchen (Titanic, Broken Wings), who will play central character Eugene, is one of a number of West End favourites lined up to play key roles in the hit show’s early return to the London venue following its successful debut as a full-scale theatrical production at The Other Palace in January this year.
Ex-EastEnder Neil McDermott (The Wind in the Willows, Shrek! The Musical) will play Evil Lord Hector, with Emily Tierney (Wicked, Ghost) as Carrie/Super Hot Lady, Alex Bourne (Annie, We Will Rock You) as Lex and Simon Thomas (The Phantom of the Opera, Legally Blonde) as Gerhard/Tough Man.
Running from 1 September until 7 October, the production will also feature returning cast members Laura Baldwin (Big Fish The Musical) as Eugene’s love interest Janey, with Daniel Buckley (Book of Mormon) as Feris, Scott Paige (The Addams Family) as Theo and Alison Arnopp (Dusty) as Space Diva/Mrs Truthstretcher). The distinctive voice of Brian Blessed will once again boom out as Space Lord.
The cast is completed by Christopher Ragland (Forbidden Broadway) as Eugene’s Dad/Lord Tough Man, Tom Senior (Grease) as Stock Jock/Flock of Eagles Singer, with Titus Rowe, Laurence. Alex Tranter, Ben Darcy, Dillon Scott-Lewis, Lauren Cancannon, Amy West and Sasha Wareham.
Written by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins, the show which features a 1980s-inspired soundtrack and merges an earthbound love story with a comic book superhero fantasy, received its world premiere in concert format the London Palladium in 2016.
Commenting on the casting for the show’s return visit to The Other Palace, one of the show’s producers, Harry Potter and Star Wars favourite Davis said: “We are so thrilled to finally reveal our new cast – we have some of the most exciting young stars who have already played some of the biggest roles in the most successful West End musical hits. They are going to help take our show into another dimension!
“At the beginning of the year, Eugenius! had a buzz-filled, triumphant six-week premiere at The Other Palace. Since then we’ve been busy tweaking, tickling, tightening and super-charging the show. So, if you missed Eugenius! last time this is your chance to finally see what the buzz is all about. And if you were one of the wonderful, crazy fans who saw it many times, we look forward to welcoming you back again – especially as we have added a new song to the 80s-inspired soundtrack that had audiences on their feet at every performance punching the air and shouting in unison, ‘Go Eugenius!’.”
The director of the original concert performance and The Other Palace production, award-winning Ian Talbot will once again take the reins for the show’s comeback run. Also returning to the show will be choreographer Aaron Renfree, sound designer Gareth Owen, lighting design by Andrew Ellis. The creative team will also include musical supervisor Stuart Morley with musical direction by Darren Lord, and set and costume design by Hannah Wolfe. The show’s distinctive design features specially commissioned comic book artwork by Marvel artist Simon Williams (Transformers, SpiderMan).
Angela Thomas
Tickets for Eugenius! are available HERE
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