CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR
TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL
IN THE HEIGHTS
RETURNING TO LONDON AT KING’S CROSS THEATRE
FOLLOWING A SELL-OUT RUN AT SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE
Full casting is announced today for Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In The Heights, which returns to London in October following a critically acclaimed sell-out UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse in 2014. The production will transfer to King’s Cross Theatre on 3rd October 2015 and is booking for a limited four week period until 1st November 2015.
Reprising their roles following the run at Southwark Playhouse are David Bedella as Kevin, Josie Benson as Camila, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as Daniela, Sam Mackay as Usnavi, Sarah Naudi as Carla and Eve Polycarpou as Abuela. They are joined by Jade Ewen as Vanessa, Lily Frazer as Nina, Antoine Murray-Straughan as Graffiti Pete, Joe Aaron Reid as Benny and Cleve September as Sonny. The cast also includes Jocasta Almgill, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Michael Cortez, Gabriela Garcia, Reiss Hinds, Alexandra Sarmiento and Spin.
David Bedella will reprise his performance as Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show when it returns to the West End in September. David is also known for his Olivier Award winning performance as Satan in Jerry Springer the Opera (National Theatre), with other credits including Sweeney Todd (Twickenham Theatre), Putting It Together (St James Theatre), Road Show (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Chicago (Cambridge Theatre).
Josie Benson’s theatre credits include Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival Theatre and Adelphi Theatre), The Cradle Will Rock (Arcola Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Savoy Theatre) and The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre).
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt previously starred as Diana in the revival Broadway production of A Chorus Line at the London Palladium, with other credits including Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy (Leicester Curve), Alex in Flashdance (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Rizzo in Grease (Piccadilly Theatre).
Sam Mackay’s recent stage credits include Wonder.Land (Manchester International Festival), 5,6,7,8 (Royal Court), Flashdance (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales Theatre). Television credits include Game of Thrones for HBO.
Sarah Naudi has film credits including By The Sea directed by Angelina Jolie, which is due for release later this year. Television credits include Casanova for Amazon Studios.
Eve Polycarpou’s theatre credits include Mother Courage and Her Children (Manchester Library Theatre Company), The Bacchae and Palace of the End (Manchester Royal Exchange), and Threepenny Opera (National Theatre).
Jade Ewen is widely recognised as one third of the multi-million selling pop group Sugababes. Since joining the band in 2009, Jade has toured extensively around the world and had numerous international and UK hits. Jade originally came to prominence in 2009, representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s song It’s My Time. More recently, Jade has been seen on stage as Clara in Porgy and Bess at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, and Dee Dee in the 2014 UK Tour of Tonight’s The Night.
Lily Frazer’s recent theatre credits include Demeter in the UK Tour of Cats, the Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Tour and Les Misérables in the West End. Television includes Suzy in E4 series Drifters.
Antoine Murray-Straughan played Rum Tum Tugger in the recent West End revival of Cats at the London Palladium. Other credits include the Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Tour and Britain’s Got Talent.
Joe Aaron Reid’s many Broadway credits include If/Then, Ghost, Catch Me if You Can and Chicago, with regional US credits including On The Town (5th Avenue Theater), Ragtime (Paper Mill Playhouse) and Finian’s Rainbow (City Center Encores). Television credits include NBC’s Smash.
Cleve September recently graduated from Mountview Academy where credits include Curtains, Parade and Fiddler on the Roof. Other work includes Elaine Paige’s 50th Anniversary Tour at the Royal Albert Hall and The Last Days of Troy at the Globe Theatre.
Watch the cast announcement trailer: http://youtu.be/371kkXIUNRo
In The Heights is an uplifting and exhilarating journey into Washington Heights, one of Manhattan’s most vibrant communities – a place where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggle can be deciding which traditions to take with you, and which ones to leave behind. With a gripping story and unforgettable Latin and hip-hop infused score, In The Heights is a ground-breaking contemporary musical about what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream, and what it means to be home.
In The Heights opened at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2008 where it was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. It also won the 2009 Grammy Award for its Original Broadway Cast Album and was nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the Tony-winning composer-lyricist of In the Heights. He also originated the lead role of Usnavi for which he received a Tony-Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Lin-Manuel is currently starring in the title role in his newest musical Hamilton, which had its world premiere at The Public Theater in January 2015 before transferring to Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in July 2015. The production has so far received a record-breaking 10 Lortel Awards, 3 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 8 Drama Desk Awards, the 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical and the 2015 OBIE Award for Best New American Play.
In The Heights is directed by Luke Sheppard whose recent credits include Oliver! (Watermill Theatre), Adrian Mole (Curve Theatre, Leicester), Next Fall (Southwark Playhouse), Peter Pan (Beck Theatre), Mort (Rose Theatre), Bed And Sofa (Finborough Theatre) and Jet Set Go! (Jermyn Street Theatre). Luke is also Associate Director of Matilda in the West End and on Broadway.
It is choreographed by Drew McOnie, who won the 2015 Off West End Award for Best Choreography for his work on In The Heights at Southwark Playhouse. Recent credits include Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith), Oklahoma! (UK Tour), Chicago (Curve Theatre, Leicester) and Drunk (Bridewell Theatre). Drew is also the Artistic Director of The McOnie Company and an Associate Artist at The Old Vic, for which he is currently creating a new dance-thriller version of Jekyll and Hyde.
Tickets start at £19.50, with a selection of best seats available for Under 25s at a special rate of £15 at every performance.
In The Heights is conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda with Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. It is directed by Luke Sheppard with choreography by Drew McOnie, musical supervision by Tom Deering (Made In Dagenham, From Here To Eternity), set design by takis (Chicago, Curve Theatre), costume design by Gabriella Slade (Alice in Wonderland, Oxford Playhouse), lighting design by Howard Hudson (Adrian Mole, Titanic) and sound design by Gareth Owen. Casting is by Will Burton. It is produced in London by Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment Ltd and Paul Taylor Mills Ltd.
King’s Cross Theatre is a brand new purpose built theatre at King’s Cross Station. The venue is currently home to The Railway Children which has just extended its run until 3rd January 2015 and will continue to play in rep with In The Heights. King’s Cross Theatre will also be opening a late night bar to coincide with the run of In The Heights, opening an hour before every performance until late, with live music and DJs after certain performances.
Twitter @InTheHeightsLDN
www.intheheightslondon.com
LISTINGS
Saturday 3 October – Sunday 1 November 2015
KING’S CROSS THEATRE
Good’s Way, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4UR
Press Night: Tuesday 13 October, 7.00pm
Performances: Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday 8.00pm, Friday 3.00pm, Saturday 8.30pm, Sunday 6.00pm (except for Sun 4 and Sun 11 October at 2.30pm)
Tickets: From £19.50 (with a guaranteed selection of £15 tickets per performance for U25)
Box Office: 0844 871 7604 | www.intheheightslondon.com