Baker & Barzee Star in Napoleon the Musical

Paul Baker and Anastasia Barzee will star in Napoleon, the new bio-musical about the French emperor, which opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 17 October, following previews from 30 September 2000.

Set in the opulent world of post-Revolutionary France, Napoleon is a love story more than a straight account of Bonaparte's famous battles. A charismatic young leader who comes from a lowly background, Napoleon crashes a lavish society ball where he meets a beautiful socialite. Though by birth she's named Rose de Beauharnais, Napoleon names her Josephine and thus begins a passionate though turbulent love story.

Baker is currently appearing in Disney's The Lion King at the Lyceum. His other stage credits include 'Rusty' in Starlight Express, Les Miserables and Carousel. Barzee has appeared on Broadway in Miss Saigon and Jekyll and Hyde and played 'Betty Shaffer' opposite Glenn Close in the American premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The pair are joined in the cast by David Burt and Uwe Kroger.

Napoleon is directed by three-time Olivier Award-winning opera director Francesca Zambello. Zambello, recently dubbed 'opera's hottest director' by Time magazine, won awards for Billy Budd and Paul Bunyan at the Royal Opera and Khovanshchina at the ENO. Her production of War and Peace has recently won acclaim at the Opera Bastille, Paris.

The new musical is written by newcomers Andrew Sabiston (book and lyrics) and Timothy Williams (book and music). It's designed by Michael Yeargan and produced by Malmaison Productions Ltd.

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