Next month, Sheffield Theatres stage the World Première of Flowers For Mrs Harris – an uplifting new musical based on the novel by Paul Gallico. Written by Richard Taylor and Rachel Wagstaff, the production, onstage at the Crucible from Wednesday 18 May – Saturday 4 June, will be Artistic Director Daniel Evans’ last for Sheffield Theatres.
In Battersea, London, just after the war, salt-of-the-earth Ada Harris spends every day cheerfully cleaning for her wealthy clients. But when she happens upon something that takes her breath away, she sets off on a life-changing journey that takes her from the cobbled streets of London to the magical avenues of Paris. Transforming the lives of everyone she meets along the way, can Ada let go of her past and finally let her own life blossom?
With a beautifully evocative original score, played live by a 10-piece orchestra, Flowers For Mrs Harris is the heart-warming story of an ordinary woman who makes an extraordinary difference.
Clare Burt, having appeared on both the Lyceum and Studio stages in her role as Yvonne in Tim Firth’s musical This Is My Family, makes her debut on the Crucible stage in the title role of Mrs Harris, alongside Anna-Jane Casey (Mack And Mabel, Forbidden Broadway, Billy Elliot) last seen in Sheffield in Company and Louis Maskell, familiar to audiences from his role in the award-winningMy Fair Lady and the UK tour of West Side Story. Completing the company are Moyo Akandé(White Christmas), Rebecca Caine (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera), Luke Dale(Holby City), David Durham (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King), Mark Meadows (High Society), Olivier nominated Laura Pitt-Pulford (Oliver!, The Sound Of Music, Piaf) and Nicola Sloane, who audiences will remember from her roles in My Fair Lady and Me & My Girl.
Flowers For Mrs Harris will be the final Sheffield Theatres production from Artistic Director Daniel Evans before he takes up his new role as Artistic Director at Chichester Festival Theatre. He teams up once again with Designer Lez Brotherston (Show Boat, Pride & Prejudice) and Musical DirectorTom Brady (Show Boat, Anything Goes), along with Lighting Designer Mark Henderson, Sound Designer Mike Walker and Movement Director Kay Shepherd
Tickets for Flowers For Mrs Harris can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £17.00 (concessions available). A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).