RACHEL TUCKER & TORI ALLEN-MARTIN JOIN ERIC McCORMACK & OLIVER TOMPSETT
IN
WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW MUSICAL ‘WILD ABOUT YOU’ IN CONCERT
We are delighted to announce that Rachel Tucker and Tori Allen-Martin will be joining Eric McCormack and Oliver Tompsett in the new musical in concert Wild About You,which is making its World Premiere at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25th and 26th March.
Wild About You is a new musical with music and lyrics by Chilina Kennedy and book by Eric Holmes.
When Olivia finds herself in the hospital with limited memory, she must dig through her messy past to figure out which of the loves of her life is her emergency contact, only to understand that her desire to make everyone happy has left no one happy. Through a series of realizations, she reclaims her right to be flawed and loved in all her human complexity. However, as she regains clarity, tragedy strikes, but that is when Olivia literally moves Heaven and Earth to reconnect with her greatest love – her son.
Eric McCormack:
Best known for his eleven seasons as “Will Truman” on NBC’s Will & Grace, Eric McCormack was nominated for four Emmy Awards and six Golden Globes, receiving the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy in 2001. He served as a producer, director and leading actor on three seasons of Travelers, for Netflix, and for three seasons of Perception. Other series include Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years, Atypical, Trust Me, Departure and Slasher. Born in Toronto, McCormack got his start in theatres across Canada, including five seasons with the Stratford Festival, eventually starring on Broadway in Tony-nominated productions of The Music
Man, Gore Vidal’sThe Best Man and in this year’s hit comedy, The Cottage. Films include Holy Man, The Architect, Free Enterprise and the award winning Canadian comedy, Drinkwater.You can hear Eric and his old Will & Grace pal, Sean Hayes, on their new hit show “Just Jack & Will”. Eric splits his time between Vancouver and Los Angeles and has been honored with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Rachel Tucker:
Rachel Tucker is an Olivier Award nominated Actress who has just guest starred as Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd’s production of Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre. She recently starred in Come From Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway, playing the role of Annette/Beverley Bass: the role she originated in London. Rachel received her Olivier Nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 2019 Olivier Awards and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical at the 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards for her performances in this role.
An experienced screen actress – she can be seen playing the role of Siobhan O’Hare in Northern Irish Television series Hope Street for BBC One.
Theatre credits include: Songs For a New World (London Palladium & Streaming), Elphaba in Wicked (West End, Broadway and the London 10th Anniversary Cast); Meg Dawson in Sting’s musical The Last Ship (Neil Simon Theatre, New York and Bank of America Theatre, Chicago); Communicating Doors (Menier Chocolate Factory); Jen in John and Jen (Southwark Playhouse) for which she won Best Lead Performance In A Musical in the Off West End Awards OFFIES 2022; Farragut North (Southwark Playhouse) and Meat in We Will Rock You (Dominion).
Television credits: Siobhan O’Hare in Hope Street (BBC1/BritBox); Sharon Collins in Informer (BBC1/Neal Street productions) and I’d Do Anything (BBC), where she reached the semi-final stages for the role of Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh’s Oliver.
Oliver Tompsett:
THEATRE: Ramsey in In Dreams (Leeds and Toronto); Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman (Savoy Theatre); Shakespeare in &Juliet (Shaftesbury); Charlie Price in Kinky Boots(Adelphi); Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (Phoenix); Galileo in We Will Rock You (Dominion); Drew Boley in Rock of Ages (Dominion); Fiyero in Wicked (Apollo Victoria); Phil Davis in White Christmas (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Starlight Express (The Other Palace); The World Goes Round (St. James); The Royal Hunt of the Sun (The National); Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales); Our House (Cambridge); Caliph in Kismet (Arcola); Harry Lytton in Over My Shoulder( Wyndham’s) and Tony in West Side Story (Canizzaro Park Festival).
WORKSHOPS: Ghost; The Wall and Hoods The Musical.
FILMS: Chauncey in Showdogs (Open Road Films) and Jake in The Hard Way (Fireapple).
Tori Allen-Martin
Tori is a regular in BBC 1 comedy Here We Go and was previously seen as a leading regular in 4 series of BBC’s London Kills and as a regular on Channel 4’s Pure.
Further television credits include Mrs Sidhu Investigates (Acorn); Significant Other (Hatrick); Plebs: The War (the finale) (Rise films); The Other Half( Ranga Bee Productions); Flatshare (42 for Paramount+); Back To Life (Two Brothers Pictures); and Pandemonium (BBC).
Recent stage credits include Samuel Takes a Break (The Yard Theatre); Then, Now and Next (Southwark Playhouse); Park Bench (Park Theatre); One Man, Two Guvnors (New Wolsey, Ipswich/Nuffield Southampton); The Season (Glass Half Full Productions and Tim Johanson); The Hardest One (The Other Palace/ Criterion); and Hair the Musical (European tour).
TheWorldPremiereRecording
The album was released on 17th November under the Broadway Records label. The all-star recording includes Jackie Burns (Wicked), Kennedy Caughell (Paradise), Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Rachel Ling Gordon (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Aisha Jackson (Once Upon a One More Time), Joaquina Kalukango (Tony Award® winner for Paradise Square), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Eric McCormack (Emmy Award winner for Will & Grace), Jay McKenzie (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Katherine McPhee (Smash), Jessie Mueller (Tony Award® winner for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Alex Newell (Tony Award® winner for Shucked), Paul Alexander Nolan (Parade), Noah J.Ricketts (Frozen) and Lea Salonga (Tony Award® winner for Miss Saigon).
Wild About You Album Tracks:
- Floating and Falling – Katharine McPhee
- Bad Day Box – Jackie Burns & Paul Alexander Nolan
- Wild About You – Jenn Colella & Chilina Kennedy
- Gold -Jessie Mueller
- Fast Train – Jay McKenzie
- High – Noah J.Ricketts, Chilina Kennedy, Eric McCormack & Jenn Colella
- What I’m Here To Find – Joaquina Kalukango
- WithoutYou – Kennedy Caughell & Rachel Ling Gordon
- I Wouldn’t Call It Love – Aisha Jackson
- Take Us Down – Chilina Kennedy & Noah J.Ricketts
- Dangerous Lines – Alex Newell
- Here – Lea Salonga
The album is produced by two-time Tony Award® winner Brian Spector (www.keakaproductions.com) and Daniel Edmonds, who also serves as the album’s Music Supervisor/Director, Arranger and Orchestrator.
Chilina Kennedy (Music & Lyrics) is an award-winning actress, writer, composer, and the Artistic Producer of Eclipse Theatre Company. She has been writing original music for over 20 years and most recently contributed an original song to the new Canadian song cycle ‘Til Then’. Chilina is the longest running “Carole King”in Beautiful:The Carole King Musical on Broadway, playing over 1,200 performances. Other Broadway roles include “Annie” in Paradise Square and “Mary” in Des McAnuff’s Jesus Christ Superstar (2012). Chilina played “Dina“ in the North American Tour of The Band’s Visit (Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award), originated “Phoebe” in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder( CT and San Diego Critics’ Circle Nominations) and “Binky” in This Ain’t No Disco (Atlantic Theatre Company). Film: With Me (Bravo Fact, NY Shorts and Whistler Film Festivals) and “Elle” in The Human Voice( OAC).
Chilina honored Carole King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors by playing and singing Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Sara Bareilles and Janelle Monáe.
Multiple award winner Eric Holmes (Book) has a proven track record of success on both stage and screen. Eric was a writer on the critically acclaimed TV series The Good Fight on Paramount+ for four seasons. His musical Fly More Than You Fall, co-written with Nat Zegree, received nine regional BroadwayWorld Awards, including Best Musical and Best New Work, at its premiere at the NOORDA Center in Orem, Utah. His musical, Born Country, that he wrote with his wife Erin Holmes, received a NYC workshop in 2023 helmed by Kenneth Ferrone (Grease Live! and the Broadway bound musical The Wanderer). Eric has received the David S. Hawes Scholarship for his farce Nearly Departed and was nominated for the Otis Guernsey New Voices Play writing Award for his play Black Friday. He participated in the LARK’s Writer’s Retreat and was a writer in residence at The New Harmony Project. Other credits include Evil (CBS), Smash (NBC).
NickWinston-Director & Choreographer:
Nick has over 100 production credits to his name, and his work has been seen in 25 countries across four continents. His West End musical credits include “Bonnie & Clyde” (Whats On Stage Award for Best Musical), “Fame”, “Annie”, “Loserville” (Olivier Award nomination for Best New Musical), and the acclaimed concert productions of “Chess” and “The Secret Garden”.
Casting: Harry Blumenau
General Management: CarterDixonMcGillProductions Tickets: https://lwtheatres.co.uk/
More information about Wild About You can be found at wildaboutyoumusical.com