Broadway star Betty Buckley will star alongside Paul Nicholas in the UK premiere of Jerry Herman’s Dear World at the Charing Cross theatre next February.
Running from 4 February (13 February) to 30 March, Dear World is directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynee who has worked on numerous hit shows including Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, Aspects Of Love and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Written by the multi-award-winning composer and lyrist Herman (Hello, Dolly!, La Cage Aux Folles), Dear World received its world premiere in 1969 with Angela Lansbury winning a Tony Award for her starring role as the Countess Aurelia.
The surreal musical fable is based on Jean Giraudoux’s play The Madwoman Of Chaillot and weaves a classic tale of good versus evil. Set in the Countess’s Parisian home in 1945, the story sees her and a motley crew of acquaintances band together to stop rapacious business men destroying both her home and all of Paris when oil is discovered under the streets of the city.
Described by New York magazine as “The voice of Broadway”, Buckley will take on the role of the Countess. As well as starring turns in numerous Broadway musicals including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats and Bob Fosse’s Pippin, the Tony Award-winning actress played Norma Desmond in the West End production of Sunset Boulevard.
On screen Buckley’s credits include television series Oz and The Pacific, and films including Carrie, Frantic and Another Woman. As well as her hugely successful stage career, Buckley has also recorded 15 solo albums.
Nicholas, who will play Sewerman, began his career as a pop star, forming Paul Dean & The Dreamers in the 1960s before going solo with the stage name Oscar. He made his musical theatre debut in Hair and has since appeared in numerous productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Cats and Charlie Girl, as well as plays Much Ado About Nothing (Young Vic), T-Zee (Royal Court) and The Mysterious Mr Love (Comedy theatre).
Famous for narrating the hugely successful children’s show The Adventures Of Spot, Nicholas is equally well-known for his roles on screen, starring in the BBC’s popular 1980s sitcom Just Good Friends, comedy Sunburn and appearing in talent show Grease Is The Word.
Joining Buckley and Nicholas in the cast are Katy Treharne, Stuart Matthew Price, Peter Land, Robert Meadmore, Jack Rebaldi, Ayman Safia, Anthony Barclay, Brett Brown, Brett Brown, Paul Hawkyard, Annabel Leventon, Rebecca Lock, Joanna Loxton and Craig Nicholls.