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Bright Lights Big Musical Receives UK Premiere

The musical version of Jay McInerney’s cult classic 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City will receive its UK professional premiere next month at Hoxton Hall, where it runs from 8 to 25 November 2010.

In McInerney’s novel, the unnamed central character is a struggling young writer, with a job as a fact-checker at an upmarket magazine and a model wife who’s left him. His life spirals out of control as he spends his nights in the cocaine-fuelled club scene and yuppie lifestyle of 1980s New York.

The novel was made into a 1988 film starring Michael J Fox as the writer, given the name of Jamie, Kiefer Sutherland as his best friend Tad and Phoebe Cates as his estranged wife Amanda.

The musical version – which has book, music and lyrics by Glasgow-born Paul Scott Goodman - premiered Off-Broadway in 1999. This new UK production is directed and designed by Christopher Lane and choreographed by Fabian Lane, with musical direction by Elizabeth Nantais.

The ten-strong cast of West End regulars is led by Paul Ayres (We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys, Wicked) as Jamie, Rachael Wooding (Hairspray, We Will Rock You) as Amanda and George Maguire (Fame, Dirty Dancing) as Tad, who are joined by Stuart Armfield, Rietta Austin, Mary Cormack, Matthew Gent, Lori Haley Fox, Jodie Jacobs and Oliver Roll.

- by Terri Paddock

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