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Tobias Tours 50th Anniversary of Wilson's Boyfriend

Oliver Tobias will star alongside Broadway's Liliane Montevecchi and Coronation Street's Roy Barraclough in the 50th anniversary production of Sandy Wilson's The Boyfriend. The musical embarks on a four-month UK tour in March, opening at the Theatre Royal Windsor on 24 March 2003 before continuing to 14 more venues with further dates to be announced.

Set in 1926 at Mme Dubonnet's fashionable finishing school on the French Riviera, The Boyfriend revolves around Polly, a millionaire's daughter, falls in love with Tony, a delivery boy. To hold his interest, Polly pretends to be a working girl, but her efforts are complicated by her boy crazy girlfriends.

The Boyfriend opened nearly 50 years ago at the Players Theatre in London and later transferred to the West End and onto Broadway where, in 1954, a young Julie Andrews made her American debut in the role of Polly. Wilson's score includes "Perfect Young Ladies", "I Could Be Happy with You", "A Room In Bloomsbury", "Won't You Charleston With Me?" and "It's Never Too Late to Fall in Love".

As the older generation, Tony winner Montevecchi plays Mme Dubonnet, Tobias is Percival Brown and Barraclough is Tony's father Lord Brockhurst. The new production is directed by Martin Connor and designed by Hugh Durrant with choreography by Bill Deamer and musical supervision by David Steadman.

Oliver Tobias is best known for his 1970s screen heartthrob roles in the likes of Arthur of the Britons and, most memorably, opposite Joan Collins in The Stud. On stage, he appeared last year in A Woman of No Importance, while his musical theatre credits include Jesus Chris Superstar, the rock opera version of Peer Gynt, The Pirates of Penzance and La Cava.

Following Windsor, The Boyfriend will visit Manchester, Bradfor, Edinburgh, Eastbourne, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Darlington, Bath, Sheffield, High Wycombe and Torquay, with further dates to be confirmed. The 50th anniversary tour is produced by Merlin Musicals.

- by Terri Paddock

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