Category Archives: Casting news

An American in Paris – Rehearsals

REHEARSALS BEGIN IN LONDON FOR THE TONY® AWARD-WINNING NEW MUSICAL

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Dominion Theatre from 4 March 2017

Original Broadway stars

Robert Fairchild & Leanne Cope are joined by

Jane Asher, Haydn Oakley, Zoë Rainey, David Seadon-Young & Ashley Day

Jane Asher
Haydn Oakley
Zoë Rainey
David Seadon-Young
Ashley Day
Rehearsals begin in London today for the highly anticipated new West End musical An American in Paris. Christopher Wheeldon’s stunning reinvention of the Oscar® winning film (that starred Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron) features the sublime music and lyrics of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a new book by Craig Lucas. Directly following celebrated engagements in Paris and New York, this critically acclaimed and multi award-winning new musical lights up London from Saturday 4 March 2017 with the official opening night on Tuesday 21 March 2017 at the Dominion Theatre.
Joining award-winning Broadway stars Robert Fairchild (as Jerry Mulligan) and Leanne Cope (as Lise Dassin) are Haydn Oakley as Henri Baurel, Zoë Rainey as Milo Davenport, David Seadon-Young as Adam Hochberg and Jane Asher as Madame Baurel. Ashley Day will be the alternate Jerry Mulligan (and will assume the role from Monday 19 June 2017).

The company also features Julian Forsyth and Ashley Andrews, Sophie Apollonia, Zoe Arshamian, Sarah Bakker, James Barton, Alicia Beck, Chrissy Brooke, James Butcher, Jonathan Caguioa, Jennifer Davison, Katie Deacon, Rebecca Fennelly, Sebastian Goffin, Alyn Hawke, Nicky Henshall, Genevieve Heron, Amy Hollins, Frankie Jenna, Justin-Lee Jones, Robin Kent, Kristen McGarrity, Julia J. Nagle, Daniela Norman, Aaron Smyth, Todd Talbot, Max Westwell, Jack Wilcox, Carrie Willis, Stuart Winter and Liam Wrate.
The new musical An American in Paris premiered in 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris to ecstatic reviews before transferring to the Palace Theatre on Broadway, where it became the most awarded musical of the 2015/16 season, including four Tony® Awards. A major North American tour is currently playing.
An American in Paris features many of George and Ira Gershwin’s most iconic songs including I Got Rhythm, ‘S Wonderful, I’ll Build a Stairway To Paradise and They Can’t Take That Away from Me, together with George Gershwin’s sweeping compositions including ‘Concerto in F’ and ‘An American in Paris’.

Jerry Mulligan is an American GI striving to make it as a painter in a city suddenly bursting with hope and possibility. Following a chance encounter with a beautiful young dancer named Lise, the streets of Paris become the backdrop to a sensuous, modern romance of art, friendship and love in the aftermath of war…
An American in Paris is directed and choreographed by the internationally renowned, British-born Christopher Wheeldon. An Artistic Associate of the Royal Ballet, Wheeldon received an OBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours ‘for services to promoting the interests and reputation of British classical and theatrical dance worldwide’. He is the recipient of a Tony® Award and two Olivier Awards. The set and costumes are designed by the multi Tony® Award-winning West End and Broadway designer Bob Crowley (The Audience; Mary Poppins and Christopher Wheeldon’s productions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale) with projections by the celebrated British designers 59 Productions (War Horse; London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony).

With music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a new book by Craig Lucas, the new musical An American in Paris is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon with set and costumes designs by Bob Crowley, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Jon Weston and projection designs by 59 Productions. The musical score is adapted, arranged and supervised by Rob Fisher with orchestrations by Christopher Austin and Bill Elliott, dance arrangements by Sam Davis and musical supervision by Todd Ellison. The UK Musical Director is John Rigby.
An American in Paris is produced in London by Stuart Oken, Van Kaplan, Roy Furman, Michael McCabe and Joshua Andrews. Robert Fairchild is appearing with the support of UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity.

 

Broadway production photographs by Matthew Murphy

 

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Listing

An American in Paris

First Performance: Saturday 4 March 2017

Monday to Saturday 7:30pm
Wednesday* & Saturday matinees 2:00pm

*First Wednesday matinee 29 March 2017

 Dominion Theatre

268-269 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1T 7AQ

Box Office: 0845 200 7982

AnAmericanInParisTheMusical.co.uk

Tickets from £19.50

Principal casting is subject to change. The producers cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artist, which is always subject to illness, injury and statutory leave entitlement

 

Open Auditions for Aladdin

Open auditions will be held at London’s Pineapple Studios for the 2017/18 cast of Disney’s hit new West End musical Aladdin, which opened to critical acclaim at the Prince Edward Theatre in June 2016. Auditions for both male and female singers and dancers to play ensemble and featured roles will be held on Monday 16 January 2017.
Disney’s casting team is looking for athletic, technically-trained dancers with very strong technique in all styles, including tap, as well as excellent singing voices. Male dancers with acro, gymnastic and/or tumbling skills is a plus but not essential. Singers should be excellent and be able to dance well in order to make up the ensemble.
Attendees must be aged 18 years or older, eligible to work in the UK and have a playing age of 20s-30s. Actors of all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are strongly encouraged to attend.

Full information, including what to wear and bring to the audition, can be found at www.aladdinauditions.co.uk

Open auditions were held in 2015 for the original London company, and seven members of the 38-strong company were cast from those calls in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
Aladdin features the timeless songs from the 1992 animated film as well as new music written by Tony®, Olivier© and eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Little Shop Of Horrors). With lyrics from Olivier Award and two-time Oscar® winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), three-time Tony and Olivier Award, three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (Evita, Aida), and four-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), and a book by Beguelin, Aladdin is directed and choreographed by Tony and Olivier Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon).
Now in its third record-breaking year on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre, where it has been seen by more than 1.5 million people, Aladdin’s global presence has grown to five productions on three continents. The show is also playing at Tokyo’s Dentsu Shiki Theatre Umi, Stage Theatre Neue Flora in Hamburg and Capitol Theatre in Sydney, before moving to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne in April 2017.
Previous Disney stage productions in London have included Shakespeare in Love and the Olivier-winning productions of Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins and The Lion King, which is now playing its 18th year in the West End.
Aladdin is designed by Olivier and seven-time Tony-winning scenic designer Bob Crowley, five-time Tony-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz, Olivier and two-time Tony-winning costume designer Gregg Barnes and sound designer Ken Travis. Casting is by Jill Green CDG.
The production team also includes illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer, hair designer Josh Marquette and makeup designer Milagros Medina-Cerdeira. The music team is headed by music supervisor and music director Michael Kosarin, who also created the vocal and incidental music arrangements, joined by orchestrator Danny Troob and dance music arranger Glen Kelly.