Olivier winner Ruthie Henshall (Chicago, She Loves Me, Putting It Together) will star as Fosca in a re-imagined version of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony-winning Passion this spring at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre.
Directed by Michael Strassen with movement direction by Sundeep Saini, the production will run May 5–June 5, 2022. Opening night is set for May 10. Additional casting will be announced later.
Henshall says, "Passion is a deep exploration of what it is to love and be loved; if that wasn’t enough, the score is some of the best musical theatre ever written. To be able to develop this show in such an intimate space and alongside one of my dearest friends, Michael Strassen, only makes this production an even more rare and exciting event."
The upcoming production will also have orchestrations by Stuart Barr, musical supervision by Paul Schofield, musical direction by Yshani Perinpanayagam, and sound design by Dan Samson. Casting is by Rob Kelly.
Based on Ettore Scola's Italian film Passion d'Amore, Passion opened on Broadway on May 9, 1994, with a cast that featured Donna Murphy as Fosca, Jere Shea as Giorgio, and the late Marin Mazzie as Clara. The tale of obsessive love includes such Sondheim tunes as "Happiness," "I Read," "I Wish I Could Forget You," "Loving You," and "No One Has Ever Loved Me." The original Broadway production received the 1994 Tony Award for Best Musical; Murphy also earned her first Tony for Best Actress in a Musical, and Sondheim and Lapine were awarded prizes for, respectively, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.
Producers are Thomas Hopkins, Guy Chapman, Schofield, and Henshall.
Visit PassionMusical.com.
