Michael Harrison and David Ian have announced the cancellation of this September’s world premiere tour of My Best Friend’s Wedding The Musical citing continued uncertainty surrounding Covid restrictions across the UK.
Starring former X Factor winner turned musical theatre leading lady Alexandra Burke (The Bodyguard, Chicago, Sister Act), the show which had already been postponed due to the pandemic, had been due to launch at the Manchester Palace Theatre on 20 September 2021 ahead of an extensive UK and Ireland tour.
A statement posted on the production’s website on behalf of the producers reads: “The recent delay to the lifting of Covid restrictions, the increasing prevalence of the Delta variant and the possibility that come 19 July, theatres will still be required to operate social distancing, have sadly given us no option but to cancel the tour.
“Successfully launching a new musical is never easy, but this continuing uncertainty has made a difficult task into an impossible one. We have full confidence in the show, and hope to find a way of re-visiting it at a time and in circumstances that will afford it the best possible chance of enjoying the success it deserves.”
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement this week offered hope for England’s theatres and venues to fully reopen on 19 July, the devolved Governments have yet to indicate they will follow suit. As is the case with most major touring productions, the producers of My Best Friend’s Wedding The Musical had scheduled dates for venues in all regions of the UK.
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, My Best Friend’s Wedding The Musical has a book by the original screenwriter Ronald Bass and Jonathan Harvey and features the timeless songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
Based on the hit 1990s movie that starred Julia Roberts as meddling food critic Julianne Potter and featured a scene-stealing performance from Rupert Everett, the musical was originally due to debut at the Plymouth Theatre Royal in September 2020.
Angela Thomas
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