Rehearsals began last Monday – with the first perfomance scheduled for mid-February. Directed and coreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the production will count on supporting actors with strong theatre and television credits, including Neil McDermott, Rachael Wooding and Bob Harm. The show has a score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, with a book Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton (director and screenwriter of the original film, respectively).
Another year, another show! A new rehearsal on the go! It’s been this very week that the full cast of one of London’s hottest upcoming musicals has got together for the first time. After announcing last December the two leading actors who will play the most exhilirating couple in all romantic comedies, we finally get to know the amazing talent who will help them revive their love story every night at the West End stage.
Neil McDermott joins the team in the role of Philip Stuckey. Probably best-known for the character of Ryan Malloy in the BBC’s EastEnders, his other credits include TV projects such as Doctor Who, George Gently and Kiss Of Death (all on the BBC), as well several West End productions like Shrek the Musical at Theatre Royal Drury Lane and The Wind in the Willows, Follies and The Sound of Music, all at the London Palladium.
Rachael Wooding, on the other hand, will play Kit De Luca. Her previous theatre credits include We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) in the roles of Meat and Scaramouche, and also Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Annette in Saturday Night Fever (Apollo Victoria). Bob Harms will step as Mr. Thompson, his previous credits including Come From Away (Phoenix Theatre), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Palace Theatre) and Footloose at (Novello Theatre), while Mark Holden will play James Morse – he has recently perfomed as Bill Devaney in The Bodyguard (West End and UK tour) and the UK tours of Fame and The Jungle Book.
Further cast also includes Jemma Alexander, Andy Barke, Kimberly Blake, Katie Bradley, Oliver Brenin, Alex Charles, Olly Christopher, Ben Darcy, Daniel De Bourg, Hannah Ducharme, Nicholas Duncan, Paige Fenlon, Damon Gould, Alex Hammond, Antony Hewitt, Matt Jones, Serina Mathew, Katie Monks, Lily Wang, Joanna Woodward and Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke.
Directed and coreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the musical had its world premiere at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre in March 2018 before transferring to Broadway, where it ran at the Nederlander Theatre. The show had its first non-English production in Hamburg last September and will go on a tour across the US from September 2020. Based on the hit comedy starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, the shows features an original score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, with a book Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton (director and screenwriter of the film, respectively).
Pretty Woman will start performances on February 13th at the Picadilly Theatre. Tickets are already available at the following link.
First Night Magazine 