Parody musical Friendsical has announced the guest stars who will make cameos in the show during its U.K. tour, which kicked off in Southampton September 5. The production, which recently had a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe, tours through November 19.
Guest stars will include singer-songwriter and West End alum Louise Redknapp, The Pussycat Dolls’ Kimberly Wyatt, author and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher, and McFly drummer Harry Judd, in addition to stage veterans Jake Quickenden, Joanne Clifton, and Jay McGuiness and drag stars Lawrence Chaney, who won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK alums Vanity Milan and Ella Vaday.
Based on the popular TV show Friends, the musical was written by Miranda Larson (Christmasaurus), who also directs. Friendsical includes nods to all 236 episodes of the original TV series.
Larson said in a statement, "The guest stars in Friendsical are in homage to the guest stars the TV show had, and the range of amazing characters they played. In our show, the guest star arrives, only they don't know what guest character they are playing, so they pop up throughout the show trying to find the right part to play.”
Starring in the production are Sario Solomon as Joey, Sarah Michelle-Kelly as Monica, Nelson Bettencourt as Ross, Tim Edwards as Chandler, Ally Retberg as Phoebe, Amelia Kinu Muus as Rachel, Olivia Williamson as Hot Girl/Ensemble, and Tanveer Singh Devgun as Gunther/Male Ensemble.
The tour will make additional stops at Cardiff, Bristol, Northampton, Bradford, Sheffield, Colchester, Huddersfield, Harrogate, Horsham, Bath, Dundee, Aberdeen, Dartford, Leicester, Salford, Hull, Cheltenham, Eastbourne, and Exeter.
With a book and lyrics by Larson and music by Barrie Bignold, original songs featured in Friendsical include “(He’s her) Lobster!,” “Richard’s Moustache,” and “You’re Over Me? When Were You Under Me?”
The creative team also includes choreographer Darren Carnall, associate choreographer Michael Vinsen, set and costume designer Anthony Lamble, lighting designer Dominic Jeffrey, and sound designer Olly Steel. Casting is by Nicholas Hockaday with Nick Brooke, William Burdett Coutts, Philip Noel, and Dave Mauchline serving as producers.
Friendsical is produced by Brooke Mauchline Productions Ltd. in association with Assembly Festival.
Visit FriendsicalLive.com.
