Final casting announced for the European premiere
of the multi award-winning manga stage musical
Death Note THE MUSICAL in Concert
including Aimee Atkinson, Rachel Clare Chan
Christian Ray Marbella and Adam Pascal
Broadway legend Adam Pascal (Roger in the original cast of ‘RENT’), Aimie Atkinson (Katherine Howard in the original cast of ‘Six’, Vivian in ‘Pretty Woman’), Rachel Clare Chan (a recent graduate from the Royal Academy of Music) and Christian Ray Marbella (Engineer in ‘Miss Saigon, international tour) join the previously announced Frances Mayli McCann, Dean John-Wilson and Joaquin Pedro Valdes to star in Death Note: THE MUSICAL in Concert.
They are joined by an ensemble featuring Felipe Bejarano, Charlotte Coggin, Jade Copas, Eu Jin Hwang, Yojiro Ichikawa, Deena Kapadia, David Kar-Hing Lee, Nick Len, Jasmine Leung, Jojo Meredith, Marcel Li-Ping, Janine Somcio.
Following acclaimed productions in Japan and Korea Death Note THE MUSICAL will get its English language premiere with three star-studded concerts at the London Palladium on 21 & 22 August.
Tickets sold out for the two evening performances in just 8 hours and only limited tickets remain available for the matinee.
Based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata/Sheuisha, this ground breaking musical (Winner Best Musical, Korea Musical Awards) has a score by Frank Wildhorn (‘Jekyll & Hyde’, four years on Broadway, ‘Dracula’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’) with lyrics by Jack Murphy and book by Ivan Menchell.
It will be directed by Nick Winston and is produced by Carter Dixon McGill Production (‘Chess in Concert’, ‘Kinky Boots in Concert’, ‘Treason the Musical in Concert’), Indie Theatrical and HoriPro.
Light Yagami, a bright but dissatisfied high school student in Tokyo comes across a discarded notebook owned by Ryuk, a mythological god of death. Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the supernatural notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by filling the notebook with names of the nation’s most wanted criminals. But a detective only known as ‘L’ is soon tracking him down…
Adam Pascal will play Ryuk, a Shinigami (“god of death”).
A rock singer, Adam was chosen to create the role of Roger Davis in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson’s musical ‘RENT’ on Broadway, he played the role in the West End premiere and the 2005 movie version of the musical. His other roles include Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice’s ‘Aida’, the Emcee in the 1998 revival of ‘Cabaret’, and for playing Huey Calhoun in the Broadway company of ‘Memphis’. More recently, he played William Shakespeare in the Tony Award-winning musical ‘Something Rotten!’.
Aimie Atkinson will play Rem, a Shinigami (“god of death”).
Aimie created the role of Katherine Howard in the original cast of ‘Six’ and was Olivier nominated Best Supporting Actress, then played the lead role of Vivian Ward in ‘Pretty Woman’ (West End). Her other roles include Daniela in ‘In the Heights’ and Serena in ‘Pretty Woman’ (KIlworth House).
Rachel Chan will play Sayu, Light’s little sister.
Rachel recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with an MA in Musical Theatre. She is the recipient of the ABRSM Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award. She will next apperar in ‘Oliver!’ at Leeds Playhouse.
Christian Ray Marbella will play Soichiro.
Christian recently played Herod in ‘Jesus Christ Supertstar’ in Vienna. His other roles include Engineer in ‘Miss Saigon’ (international tour), Lun Tha in ‘The King & I’, Gary in ‘The Full Monty’.
Creative team:
Director and Choreographer Nick Winston
Associate Director and Choreographer Alex Sarmiento,
Costume Designer Kimie Nakano
Musical Supervisor Katy Richardson
Musical Director Chris Ma
Orchestrator Jason Howland
Designer Justin Williams
Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell
Sound Designer Ben Harrison
Casting Harry Blumenau
Artwork by Rebecca Pitt Creative
Producers Carter Dixon McGill Productions, Indie Theatrical and HoriPro
Death Note THE MUSICAL premiered in 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. A 2022 Korean production won four awards at the Korea Musical Awards after being nominated in 10 categories (“Death Note offers a glimpse at the future of musicals”, The Korea Herald). In 2017, Netflix released a TV adaptation of ‘Death Note’ starring Willem Defoe.
Frank Wildhorn said: “Death Note THE MUSICAL has been the most unique, strange, edgy, and wonderful musical journey for me. It’s been a dream of mine to bring this show from Asia to the West End of London, and here we are!”
Frank Wildhorn
In 1999, Frank became the first American composer in 22 years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway with Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Civil War. Also for Broadway: Bonnie & Clyde, Dracula, Victor/Victoria, Wonderland, and the revival of Jekyll & Hyde. West End: Bonnie & Clyde. International: Carmen, Camille Claudel, Casanova, Cyrano, Death Note, Fist of the North Star, Mata Hari, Mitsuko, Never Say Goodbye, No Longer Human, Rudolf, Tears of Heaven, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man Who Laughs, Your Lie in April and Xcalibur. Upcoming: Song of Bernadette and Reunion. He Produced Harlem Song at the famed Apollo Theatre. The Korea Times recently proclaimed Wildhorn as “Korea’s most popular musical composer”.
Carter Dixon McGill Productions
Carter Dixon McGill Productions are an Olivier nominated production and general management company with offices in London and Glasgow. Co-founded by John-Webb Carter, Jamie Chapman Dixon & Stephen McGill, they have over 30 years of experience within the entertainment industry.
Recent productions include: ‘Blippi the Musical ‘(Apollo Theatre & Lyric Theatre); ‘Chess the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre); ‘Kinky Boots the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre); ‘Treason the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre). Previous productions include: ‘Wonderville: Magic & Illusion’ (Palace Theatre, London); ‘Death Drop’ (Criterion Theatre, Garrick Theatre & UK Tour).
Indie Theatrical
Indie Theatrical was established in 2014 by Broadway veteran, Louis Hobson, and theatrical producer, Jake Groshong. In addition to serving as Frank Wildhorn’s US producer, Indie has created global partnerships and established collaborations with industry leaders, top regional theatres, festivals, film and theatre producers, both domestically & internationally, to produce a wide variety of programming. Credits include ‘Grey House’ on Broadway, executive producer of the 2023 Grammy nominated album, ‘Some Lovers’, by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater; Shaun Cassidy’s ‘Magic of the Midnight Sky’; and Frank Wildhorn’s, ‘The Song of Bernadette’, which will premiere in 2024 by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical. Indie is also currently developing Frank Wildhorn’s new musicals ‘Reunion’, and ‘Your Lie In April’, which will both premiere in 2024.
HoriPro
Live Entertainment Division
Live Entertainment Division plan, produce and present various theatrical works including plays and musicals. Starting from the musical ‘Peter Pan’, which is presented every summer, HoriPro Stages, works produced by our company, are loved by many fans. We have brought the great works directed by the late Yukio Ninagawa, such as ‘Musashi’, ‘Shintokumaru’, and ‘Kafka On The Shore’ to other parts of the world and received fantastic reviews in London, New York, and other cities. In addition to producing our own directing version of musicals and plays such as ‘Thrill Me, ‘The Miracle Workers’, etc., we have presented the Japanese version of major musicals including ‘Billy Elliot’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ and have established a unique position in the Japanese theatrical industry. We are also the Japanese producer of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, which is being presented in Asia for the first time. Our original musical production ‘Death Note THE MUSICAL’, which is being presented in Korea too, is the first production HoriPro had licensed to another country.
LISTINGS INFO
Carter Dixon McGill Productions
and Indie Theatrical present
Death Note THE MUSICAL
in Concert
Music by Frank Wildhorn,
Lyrics by Jack Murphy, book by Ivan Menchell
©️Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/SHUEISHA, HoriPro
London Palladium
8 Argyll Street,
London W1F 7TF
Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 August
at 7.30pm
Tuesday 22 August at 2.30pm
running time:tbc
age recommendation: tbc
Tickets from £25
Booking link:
www.lwtheatres.co.uk
Website
www.deathnotethemucial.co.uk
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