EastEnders’ Marc Elliott and former Wicked actress Cassie Compton will appear in the London premiere of See What I Wanna See when it plays a four-week run at the Jermyn Street Theatre next month.
Michael John LaChiusa’s vibrant new musical, which interweaves three remarkable stories of lust, greed, murder, faith and redemption, will play from 8 September to 3 October.
Elliott, who is arguably best known for his long-running role as Syed Masood in EastEnders, returns to the London stage following recent performances in two much-loved London musicals, the Donmar Warehouse’s Olivier Award-winning production of City Of Angels and St James Theatre hit Urinetown The Musical, which also transferred to the West End.
Former X Factor finalist Compton has notched up a long list of West End musical theatre roles including Nessarose in Wicked and Eponine in Les Misérables. The actress also appeared opposite Matt Smith in the Almeida Theatre’s production of musical thriller American Psycho.
The duo is joined in See What I Wanna See by director and choreographer Jonathan Butterell, who choreographed the New York production of the provocative musical in 2005, West End regular Mark Goldthorp, whose credits include Matilda The Musical and Avenue Q, and Sarah Ingram, whose West End appearances include hit musicals Martin Guerre and Oklahoma!.
Featuring a unique blend of musical styles, from jazz and salsa to classical and pop, See What I Wanna See takes audiences from medieval Japan where two lovers seek to escape a doomed relationship to modern day New York where a priest is wrestling with his faith.
Billed as “A fiercely intelligent, heartfelt piece of theatre”, the musical received its world premiere at New York’s Public Theater a decade ago when it starred Wicked’s Idina Menzel and was nominated for nine Drama Desk Awards.
With fellow Wicked star Compton taking on the trio of roles played by Menzel, See What I Wanna See will begin performances at the Jermyn Street Theatre following the current run of Laurence Olivier-inspired drama Letters To Larry, which closes on 22 August.