International NewsCast Set for Australian Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TheBeautiful GamePerformances will begin in September under the direction of Karen Jemison.
By
Andrew Gans
June 19, 2019
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Noam Galai/Getty Images
Casting is complete for the Australian premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton's The Beautiful Game, which will play a limited engagement September 13–29 at Chapel off Chapel.
The principal cast will be headed by Stephen Mahy as John and Stephanie Wall as Mary with Nicola Bowman, Des Flanagan, Nigel Huckle, David Meadows, Ellie Nunan, Samuel Skuthorp, and Sam Ward.
Stephen Mahy
The ensemble will feature Finn Alexander, Robbie Breugelmans, Rebecca Cullinan, Liam Dodds, Emma Drysdale, Jake Gardner, Mikey Halcrow, Lachlan Hamill, Quin Kelly, Sophie Loughran, Jessica Mills, Fletcher O'Leary, Bronson Pfeiler, Matthew Prime, and Caitlin Spears.
Karen Jemison will direct with musical direction by Daniele Buatti, who will conduct an orchestra of nine. The production will also have choreography by Sue-Ellen Shook, lighting design by Jason Bovaird, and sound design by Marcello Lo Ricco.
Set in Northern Ireland in the troubled 1970s, The Beautiful Game centers on a local football (soccer) team, who attempt to overcome the emerging political and religious violence that has engulfed their community. Within this are John and Mary who fall in love, but find themselves caught in the middle of a “war” that neither of them wants.
According to producer-director Jemison, “What drew me to this show is the powerful story. What these characters go through as teenagers is both shocking and heart breaking and because the show plays out against the real struggles of Northern Ireland at that time, it makes the story even more poignant.”
The musical centers on Sophie Scholl, a young German student who was executed for high treason due to her involvement with the non violent anti-Nazi resistance group White Rose.
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, the production played
the Chichester Festival Theatre this past summer and will arrive in
London later this month.
The recording will be available on standard black vinyl, a limited-edition deluxe gatefold "pop-up" vinyl, and compact disc alongside digital versions.
The musical, a reinvention of Tim Burton’s cult classic film Edward Scissorhands, uses the pop music of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Alanis Morissette, and more.
The Succession star has partnered with the Fringe Society on a new initiative providing financial support for American theatremakers looking to bring work to the famed festival.
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