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IDA’s Francesca cast in Can’t Smile

August 27, 2008

Francesca Jackson (pictured) is the latest Nancy finalist from TV’s I’d Do Anything to land a starring stage role. She joins pop singer Chesney Hawkes and another reality TV contestant, Siobhan Dillon from How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, in Barry Manilow’s Can’t Smile Without You. The new compilation musical premieres on 1 September 2008 (previews from 28 August) at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre ahead of a three-month regional tour and planned West End transfer next year.

Prior to I’d Do Anything, Jackson, who plays Lucy, was already a professional actress, with West End credits including Tonight’s the Night and Rent: Remixed (in which she appeared with I’d Do Anything judge Denise Van Outen).

Can’t Smile Without You revolves around an aspiring young band who, on a visit to New York, come across an opportunity not to be missed - auditions for the latest reality TV show to find the next pop sensation. When the TV company offers lead singer Tony (Hawkes) a chance to appear on the show, the other band members give him their blessing. But before Tony can realise his dream, he’s caught up in a tragic sequence of events which leaves him fighting for his life. Left with no memory, his dreams are all but shattered. His only hope lies in the power of the music he loves and his feelings for a girl he once knew called Mandy (Dillon).

Can’t Smile Without You has a book by Tim Prager based on an original idea by Bill Kenwright, who also produces the show and co-directs it with Keith Strachan. The production is designed by Andy Walmsley with lighting by Ben Cracknel, choreography by Carole Todd and musical direction by John Maher.

American singer-songwriter Barry Manilow has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. At the height of his success in the late 1970s, he had five albums on the best-seller charts in the US. His many easy-listening singles “I Write the Songs”, “Mandy”, “Looks Like We Made It”, “Weekend in New England”, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”, “I Made It Through the Rain”, “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Copacabana”.

The new musical features more than 30 Manilow songs and is endorsed by Manilow and his music executive Garry Kief.  Can’t Smile Without You arrives in Manchester on 29th September for one week.

- by Terri Paddock & Glenn Meads

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