The stage musical adaptation of Markus Zusak's novel The Book Thief will get a special one-night-only concert performance at London's Prince of Wales Theatre October 19. West End and Broadway & Juliet star Melanie La Barrie will lead the cast as Death, with additional casting (by Abby Galvin) to be announced.
The work features a book by Jodi Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald and a score by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson. Taking place in 1930s Nazi Germany, the story follows young, illiterate orphan Liesel, who steals an abandoned book and gains an appetite for them, learning the power of words—and kindness—from the Jewish boxer her foster family hides in the basement.
The musical premiered at Manchester's Octagon Theatre in 2022, later playing two additional U.K. runs in 2023. The upcoming concerts will present a revised version of the show, including new songs.
The upcoming concert will be directed and choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves. The performance will also feature orchestrations and music supervision by Matthew Malone, music direction by Natalie Pound, set and costume design by Good Teeth, lighting design by Nic Farman, and sound design by Sound Quiet Time.
"We couldn’t be prouder to present this new, gorgeous incarnation of The Book Thief in London," say Picoult and McDonald in a joint statement. "As Americans, we are very much aware of how quickly fascism can take hold of a country—this show is the right story, at exactly the right time. To have Melanie La Barrie leading the company as Death, our narrator, is a dream—her immense talent and experience has given us so many colors we writers can paint with.”
"We are so excited to bring this score back to life on stage, with some new songs that have grown and changed with the show's evolution," adds Anderson and Samsel. "To have our music in the talented and capable hands of an actor like Mel LaBarrie is a dream come true!"
Deus Ex Machina Productions, Writers' Cage, and Andrew Paradis are producing in association with Bethany Cooper Productions.
Tickets are at DelfontMackintosh.co.uk.
