NEWS ROUNDUP: 13 - 19 April
- James Tradgett
- Apr 19
- 7 min read
We're back with another weekly news recap, and there have been some particularly exciting news announcements to bring you over the past seven days, so here goes nothing...
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SWEENEY TODD
Full cast announced for Birmingham revival
The full cast attending the tale in the upcoming regional revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” has been revealed. Joining previously announced Ramin Karimloo, Meow Meow and David Bedella will be Shem Omari James (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Anthony Hope, Jo Stephenson (Les Misérables) as Johanna, Julius D’Silva (What’s New Pussy Cat?) as Beadle, Jack Gibson (Reverberation) as Tobias Ragg, Florence Andrews (School of Rock) as Beggar Woman, and Silas Wyatt-Barke (The Prince of Egypt) as Adolfo Pirelli, with Emily Ivana Hawkins and Hadrian Delacey as Ensemble.
The show has music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, and will open at Birmingham Rep on the 4th of July, and run until the 9th of August on the House stage; it will be directed by The Rep’s Artistic Director Joe Murphy, and designed by award-winning designer Elin Steele. Tickets are now available from the Birmingham Rep website, head on over to find out more.
LES MISÉRABLES
Cast revealed for final stops of arena tour
Ahead of its final dates, the arena tour of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s musical theatre juggernaut “Les Miserables” has announced its final cast. The roles of Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine and Mme Thénardier will all be split between two or three performers, with Alfie Boe, Killian Donnelly and Géronimo Raunch all sharing the role of Jean Valjean, with Javert being portrayed by both Bradley Jaden and Jeremy Secomb, Fantine by Samantha Barks and Katie Hall, and Madame Thénardier by Marina Prior and Helen Walsh.
They will be joined by Beatrice Penny Toure as Cosette, Shan Ako as Éponine, Matt Lucas as Thénardier (excluding 30/31 of May, when it will be portrayed by Luke Kempner), Jac Yarrow as Marius, and Christian Mark Gibbs as Enjolras. The production will run at 3Arena in Dublin (29/5 - 6/6), Utilita Arena in Birmingham (11/6 - 14/6), London's Royal Albert Hall (18/6 - 21/6) and New York’s Radio City Music Hall (23/7 - 9/8).
OCTET
Cast revealed for Lin-Manuel Miranda directed movie musical
After weeks of speculation, the cast for the upcoming film adaptation of the Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) chamber choir musical "Octet" has been announced, with some broadway big hitters set to feature. The lineup will comprise Jonathan Groff (Just In time) as Henry, Paul-Jordan Jansen (Sweeney Todd) as Ed, Gaten Matarazzo (Sweeney Todd) as Toby, Sheryl Lee Ralph (Ohio State Murders) as Paula, Amanda Seyfried (The Way We Get By) as Jessica, Phillipa Soo (Camelot) as Karly, Tramell Tillman (Good Night, Oscar) as Marvin, and Rachel Zegler (Evita) as Velma.
The musical first premiered on stage in 2019 at the off-broadway Signature Theatre, winning three Lucille Lortel Awards and two Drama Desk Awards in the process, and has also performed in Chicago, Washington D.C. and Toronto, however it has yet to make its European premiere. Further details, including a release date, will be revealed in due course, and you can read more about the show and its synopsis here.
KIMBERLY AKIMBO
Lead casting announced for European premiere
The lead casting for the upcoming European premiere of award winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo” has been revealed, with three-time Olivier winner Maria Friedman (Sondheim’s Old Friends) set to take on the title role originated by Victoria Clark in 2021. The musical, to be directed by Michael Longhurst (Next to Normal) opens at London's Hampstead Theatre on the 28th of August, where it will run until the 9th of November; further casting for the production will be announced at a later date.
The show follows 15 year old Kimberly Levaco who, due to a rare genetic disorder, has the outward appearance of someone four times her age, as she attempts to traverse her teen years amid limited time on the planet. The winner of 5 Tony Awards in 2023, including best musical, “Kimberly Akimbo” has music by double Pulitzer nominee Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and lyrics & book by Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), who also wrote the original play; you can find out more, as well as book tickets, via the Hampstead Theatre website.
THELMA & LOUISE
New musical part of 2026/27 Young Vic season
The Young Vic in London have announced their upcoming season, the second under artistic director Nadia Fall, and it will include August Wilson, a Colin Teevanand adaptation starring Ben Whishaw, and a new musical staging of an iconic 90s film. The flagship production of the Young Vic's upcoming season, this new iteration of "Thelma & Louise" has a book by Callie Khouri (who also wrote the original film, winning an Oscar for her original screenplay), and music & lyrics by Neko Case, and will be directed by Trip Cullman. Lead casting has also been revealed, with Rachel Tucker (The Great Gatsby) and Amy Lennox (Cabaret) taking on the ill-fated titular pair. Further casting for the production will be revealed at a later date.
The production also features additional music by Carl Newman, Paul Rigby and Zoe Sarnak, and will be co-produced by Sonia Friedman, Blue Spruce Productions, Ley Line Entertainment and the Young Vic. Priority booking for Patrons+ of the Young Vic opens on the 20th of April, with priority for Friends+ opening on the 22nd of April, and general booking opening at 12pm on the 23rd of April. You can find out more via the Young Vic website.
HAY FEVER
New revival of Noël Coward play to open in the west end
A new production of Noël Coward’s play “Hay Fever” is set to open in the west end this autumn, starring Richard E Grant (My Fair Lady), and Christine Baranski (Follies). The production will be directed by Emily Burns (The Comeback), and marks a return to the London stage for Grant in 20 years, as well as Baranski’s west end debut. The play was last seen in the west end over a decade ago, when it played at the Noël Coward Theatre and subsequently at the Duke of York's Theatre in 2012-15, in a production starring Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Northam, Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
“Hay Fever” will run at Wyndham’s Theatre from the 22nd of September until the 12th of December 2026, in a strictly limited west end run. Tickets for all performances are now on sale, and you can find these, as well as more information about the show, on the Delfont Mackintosh website. Further casting and creatives will be revealed at a later date.
WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT
Experimental play to return to the west end
Nassim Soleimanpour-penned experimental theatre exponent “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” is set to return to the west end later this year. The play will perform on usually dark Mondays at the Duchess Theatre, from the 8th of June until the 27th of July, and then on the 21st and 28th of September. With a different face appearing at every performance, the lineup will feature David Harewood (8/6), David Tennant (15/6), Jo Joyner (22/6), Asim Chaudry (29/6), Luke Thompson (6/7), Jodie Whittaker (13/7), Kathryn Bunter (20/7), Kunal Nayyer (27/7), Archie Madekwe (21/9) and Riz Ahmed (28/9).
This run comes after a hugely successful run at @sohoplace in 2024, which featured a wide range of personalities, from Lenny Henry, Mat Baynton, Paloma Faith and Matt Lucas to Kate Fleetwood, Miriam Margolyes, Jonathan Pryce, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Jason Isaacs. Tickets for all the latest performances are now on sale via the Nimax Theatres website, with David Tennant’s engagement having already sold out!
RENT
West end revival rumoured to be in the works
There have been whisperings of a new production of Jonathan Larson's multi-award winning musical "RENT", to open in the west end later this year. The show originally opened at the off-broadway New York Theatre Workshop in 1996, transferring to broadway later that year, winning 4 Tony Awards from 10 nominations, including best musical, book, and original score, as well as a Pulitzer Prize, and running for 12 years, making it the 12th longest running broadway show of all time. It had a recent revival at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre, featuring a cast that starred Millie O'Connell, Tom Francis, Maiya Quansah-Breed and Dom Hartley Harris, and later performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023.
Telling the story of a group of artists in the east of Manhattan, as they contest with love and loss at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, the musical is loosely based on the 1896 opera "La Bohème" by Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa; a revival this year would mark 30 years since its initial premiere, as well as the 4th time it has been staged in the west end, last performing in 2007 in a heavily revised version that was received poorly by critics. Keep your eyes peeled for updates...
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