David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, the producers of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s new musical comedy, THE GIRLS, based on the true story, the film and the award-winning play by Tim Firth, Calendar Girls, are delighted to announce that the production will return home to Yorkshire and open at the Leeds Grand Theatre on 15 August 2018 and visit 42 theatres across the United Kingdom.
The critically acclaimed and award-winning production will complete its six-month London season at the Phoenix Theatre on Saturday 15 July 2017, and, before that, this musical comedy played sold-out seasons in Leeds and Manchester.
David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers said,
“We are so proud and thrilled with this production, and we want to take it to everyone who wants to see it in the country, and at prices they can afford.” Gary Barlow and Tim Firth added, “We are delighted with the reception our musical has received in Leeds, Manchester and now London, and are thrilled that the show will be visiting towns and cities up and down the country, so that more people can get a chance to see it and, we hope, will also fall in love with THE GIRLS.”
THE GIRLS is inspired by the true story of a group of ladies, who decide to appear nude for a Women’s Institute calendar in order to raise funds to buy a settee for their local hospital, in memory of one of their husbands, and have to date raised almost £5million for Bloodwise. This musical comedy shows life in their Yorkshire village, how it happened, the effect on husbands, sons and daughters, and how a group of ordinary ladies achieved something extraordinary.
Gary Barlow and Tim Firth grew up in the same village in the north of England and have been friends for 25 years. With Take That, Gary has written and co-written 14 number one singles, has sold over 50 million records worldwide and is a six times Ivor Novello Award winner. Tim has won the Olivier Award and UK Theatre Award for Best New Musical, and the British Comedy Awards Best Comedy Film for Calendar Girls.
THE GIRLS is produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and The Shubert Organization.
Bloodwise, the UK’s specialist blood cancer charity, will receive monies from this production.
WICKED, the West End musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is delighted to announce that Alice Fearn (Elphaba), Sophie Evans (Glinda), Bradley Jaden (Fiyero), Melanie La Barrie (Madame Morrible), Andy Hockley (The Wizard), Jack Lansbury (Boq) and Laura Pick (Standby for Elphaba) will head the new London cast from Monday 24 July 2017, joining current cast members Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond), Sarah McNicholas (Nessarose) and Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda).
Sophie Evans & Alice Fearn – Photo by Darren Bell
Alice Fearn (Elphaba) originally joined the London production of WICKED in 2016, as Standby for Elphaba, and will now assume the role. Her previous West End appearances include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Shrek The Musical, Into The Woods, Les Misérables (also the film version) and The Woman in White.
Sophie Evans (Glinda) was the acclaimed runner-up in the BBC talent show ‘Over the Rainbow’ and subsequently played ‘Dorothy Gale’ in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.
Bradley Jaden (Fiyero) is currently starring as ‘Fiyero’ on the international tour of WICKED. He previously starred as ‘Enjolras’ in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre; Melanie La Barrie (Madame Morrible) is currently part of the acclaimed Everyman Company at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre. Her West End roles have included ‘Mrs Phelps’ in the original cast of Matilda, ‘Mme Thénardier’ in Les Misérables and ‘Mrs Corry’ in the original cast of Mary Poppins; Andy Hockley (The Wizard) has enjoyed a long association with The Phantom of the Opera, playing ‘Monsieur Firmin’ at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre as well as on the UK & Ireland Tour for over 1000 performances. He most recently played ‘Grandpa Potts’ in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at West Yorkshire Playhouse and on the UK & Ireland Tour; Jack Lansbury (Boq) is a graduate of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and will be making his West End debut in WICKED; Laura Pick (Standby for Elphaba) appeared in The Sound of Music at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, covering and playing ‘Maria von Trapp’. Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond), Sarah McNicholas (Nessarose) and Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda) all continue in their current roles.
Current cast members Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba), Suzie Mathers (Glinda), Oliver Savile (Fiyero), Sue Kelvin (Madame Morrible), Mark Curry (The Wizard) and Idriss Kargbo (Boq) will all play their final performances on Saturday 22 July 2017.
From Monday 24 July 2017, the London production will star Alice Fearn (Elphaba), Sophie Evans (Glinda), Bradley Jaden (Fiyero), Melanie La Barrie (Madame Morrible), Andy Hockley (The Wizard), Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond), Sarah McNicholas (Nessarose), Jack Lansbury (Boq), Laura Pick (Standby for Elphaba), Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda) and Jennie Abbotts, Ashley Birchall, Nicole Carlisle, Nicholas Corre, Conor Crown, Kerry Enright, Aimée Fisher, Joseph Fletcher, Alexandra Grierson, Katy Hanna, Tom Andrew Hargreaves, Olivia Kate Holding, Claudia Kariuki, Will Lucas, James McHugh, Danny Michaels, Ellie Mitchell, Rosa O’Reilly, Matt Parsons, Alex Pinder, Sam Robinson, Paulo Teixeira, Samantha Thomas, Hannah Toy, Russell Walker, Sasha Wareham and Libby Watts.
Acclaimed as “one of the West End’s true modern classics” (Metro), WICKED is now in its 11th smash hit year at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it is already the 17th longest running show in West End theatre history. The “hugely popular show” (The Times) is a three-time winner of the theatregoer-voted WhatsOnStage Award for ‘Best West End Show’ and a two-time winner of the Olivier Audience Award. The critically acclaimed and multi record-breaking UK & Ireland Tour returns from 31 January 2018, visiting Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Dublin, Sunderland, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester.
Based on the acclaimed, best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
WICKED has music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted and, for DreamWorks, The Prince of Egypt) and is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life). Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento and the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.
WICKED is produced around the world by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe.
