Two long-running shows – Stomp and Chicago – continue their presence in the West End by extending their booking periods, while new musical on the block, Jersey Boys, announces complete casting for its forthcoming London premiere production.
Stomp, which has been thrilling West End audiences for over five years by making music out of the mundane, is now booking at the Ambassadors until October 2008. However, from 25 March the show reduces its schedule of performances from eight shows a week to four, running nightly from Thursdays to Saturdays with a matinee on Saturday.
Meanwhile over at the Cambridge, murderous musical Chicago, which celebrated its 10th birthday in the West End in December last year, has announced another extension to its run, to 28 February 2009. Current Roxie Hart and Mama Morton, Bonnie Langford and Brenda Edwards, remain jailbirds until 24 February, starring alongside Duncan James (now until 10 February) as debonair lawyer Billy Flynn, Amra-Faye Wright as Velma and Paul Rider as Amos.
New musical Jersey Boys will be hoping for as much success when it opens at the Prince Edward on 18 March (previews from 28 February). The Broadway import, which relates the rise to fame of 1960s US pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, has announced the full cast to join the principal quartet of Ryan Molloy (Frankie Valli), Stephen Ashfield (Bob Gaudio), Phillip Bulcock (Nick Massi) and Glenn Carter (Tommy DeVito).
Scott Monello will be the alternate Frankie Valli, with Simon Adkins as Bob Crewe, Suzy Bastone as Mary Delgado, Michelle Francis as Francine, Jye Frasca as Joe Pesci, Tee Jaye as Barry, Tom Lorcan as Donnie/Knuckles, Stuart Milligan as Gyp Decarlo, Amy Pemberton as Lorraine, Joseph Prouse as Norm Waxman and Griffin Stevens as Hank Majewski. The rest of cast comprises Paul Ayres, Laura Brydon, Lucinda Gill, Mark Isherwood, Kieran Jae, Graham Vick and Ben Wheeler.
Jersey Boys opened in New York in 2005 and won four Tony Awards the following year. With a story by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and featuring a soundtrack of Four Season hits written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, the musical follows these four blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks as they become an international success with tunes including Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Big Girls Don’t Cry and December 1963 (Oh What A Night).
Book for Chicago
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