Happy Friday! Here’s all the latest info about new musicals, U.K. premieres, star casting, and more.
Sleepless, A Musical Romance will star Michael D. Xavier and Kimberley Walsh. The new musical, based on the movie Sleepless in Seattle, runs at the newly opened Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from 21 March 2020. Directed by Morgan Young (Elf, White Christmas, Big), Sleepless will also feature Soo Drouet, Gay Soper, Alex Fobbester, Dylan Turner, Vicki Davids, Michael Carolan, Jobe Hart, Charlie Bull, Charlotte Gale, Matt Holland, Joanna Rennie, Tyler Smith and Annette Yeo. The musical has a book by Michael Burdette, with music and lyrics by Robert Scott and Brendan Cull.
It’s official. Rhys Ifans will play Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. The London transfer of Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway play, directed by Bartlett Sher, opens in 2020. Further casting will be announced later.
Gary Beadle and Jasper Britton will star in Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited. The London premiere of Cormac McCarthy’s play, directed by Terry Johnson, will run at the Boulevard Theatre from 16 January 2020.
Helen Monks, Rob Rouse, Steve Speirs and Mark Heap join Upstart Crow. Based on the BBC TV sitcom, the play will star David Mitchell as Will Shakespeare, with Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) as Kate. Most of these actors will be reprising their roles from the original sitcom. Danielle Phillips, Jason Callender and Rachel Summers also join the cast. Adapted by Ben Elton, Upstart Crow runs at the Gielgud Theatre from 17 February 2020.
Dear Evan Hansen extends to 30 May 2020. The London transfer of the Broadway musical opened last week and is now running at the Noël Coward Theatre.
Wicked releases new tickets until 28 November 2020. The musical is currently booking at the Apollo Victoria Theatre for an open-ended run.
Afterglow extends through 22 December. The transfer of the hit Off-Broadway play has extended twice already, with this being the final extension. Afterglow is currently running at the Waterloo East Theatre.
The U.K. premiere of Pass Over will star Paapa Essiedu, Alexander Eliot and Gershwyn Eustache Jr. Antoinette Nwandu’s critically acclaimed play, directed by Indhu Rubasingham, runs at the Kiln Theatre from 13 February 2020.
Athena Stevens’ Scrounger opens Finborough Theatre’s 40th anniversary year. The world premiere of this new play by Finborough Theatre Playwright in Residence and Olivier Award nominee Athena Stevens will run at the Finborough Theatre for four weeks from 7 January 2020.
Opera Undone: Tosca & La Bohème announces casting. The double-bill will feature a repertory cast in two modernized, 60-minute adaptations of the Puccini operas. Fiona Finsbury and Honey Rouhani will share the roles of Musetta/Melissa and Tosca. Robert Barbaro, Philip Lee and Roger Paterson will share the roles of Rodolfo/Rod, Mimi/Luca, and Cavaradossi. Michael Georgiou and Hugo Herman Wilson will share the roles of Marcello/Marcus and Scarpia. Directed by Adam Spreadybury-Maher, Opera Undone runs at Trafalgar Studios 2 from 5 February 2020.
