CILLA THE MUSICALWRITTEN BY JEFF POPE
DIRECTED BY BILL KENWRIGHT & BOB TOMSON
ACCLAIMED MUSICAL WILL ‘STEP INSIDE’ STORYHOUSE IN CHESTER NEXT MONTH
CILLA – THE MUSICAL, the spectacular and heart-warming musical adaptation of the critically acclaimed ITV mini-series based on the early life of Cilla Black, by BAFTA award winner Jeff Pope, returns to the North-West next month.
The musical opened in Cilla’s hometown at the Liverpool Empire in September before embarking on a nationwide tour and will ‘step inside’ Storyhouse, Chester from 5-10 March 2018 – tickets are selling fast.
Andrew Lancel and Carl Au join the previously announced Kara Lily Hayworth as Cilla, who beat thousands of hopefuls in nationwide open auditions for the coveted role.
Bill Kenwright’s new musical features: Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein); Carl Au (Bobby); Amy Bridges(Rose Willis); Gemma Brodrick-Bower (Pauline); Bill Caple (Ringo Starr); Tom Christian (Kenny Willis); Tom Dunlea (Hutch); Pauline Fleming (Big Cilla); Joshua Gannon (Paul McCartney); Billie Hardy (Pat); Michael Hawkins (John Lennon); and Neil MacDonald (John White).
The musical reunites Tom Dunlea, Michael Hawkins and Gemma Brodrick-Bower, all of whom starred in Jeff Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which the musical is based. It also reunites Andrew Lancel with the role of Epstein, which he played on stage to great critical acclaim in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles. Andrew is best known to TV audiences as super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street and as DI Neil Manson in the long-running ITV television series The Bill.The legendary Merseybeat sound is authentically performed live on stage by the cast who are completed by: Alan Howell; Jay Osborne; Alex Harford; Will Kinnon; Jenny Murphy; Tom Sowinski; and Christopher Weeks.
CILLA – THE MUSICAL is the spectacular and heart-warming musical adaptation of the critically acclaimed hit ITV television series by Bafta-Award winner Jeff Pope (The Moorside, Philomena, From The Cradle To The Grave, Mrs Biggs and the acclaimed Little Boy Blue which had ITV audiences glued to their screens). It tells the extraordinary story of the ordinary girl from Liverpool whose teenage dreams of stardom lead her to becoming one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers of all time.It’s an introduction by a young John Lennon to music mogul Brian Epstein that changes Priscilla White’s life forever. By the age of just 25 she would be known as singer and TV Star Cilla Black, Number One selling artist and at the fore-front of the Brit-Pop music scene. The musical score is the ultimate soundtrack to the 60’s including Cilla’s greatest hits Anyone Who Had a Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me, Twist and Shout by the Beatles, California Dreamin by The Mamas and The Papas’ and many more.
LISTING INFORMATION
CILLA THE MUSICAL
Storyhouse
Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR
Monday 5 March – Saturday 10 March 2018
Evenings 7.30pm | Wed, Thu & Sat Mats 2.30pm
HOW TO BOOK
Online: Visit www.storyhouse.com
By Phone: Call 01244 409113
In person: Visit the Ticket Kiosks At Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR
Visit Chester Visitor Information Centre.