Peters Brings Five Guys Home to Stratford East

Following a stint at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Clarke Peters and Five Guys Named Moe will return home to Theatre Royal Stratford East to mark the Olivier Award-winning musical’s 20th anniversary. The musical – written by and starring Peters, now best known to TV fans from The Wire – premiered at the east London in 1990 and will return there for a limited season from 7 September to 2 October 2010 (previews from 3 September).

The musical follows broke and newly single Nomax (Peters) as Five Guys Named Moe (Big Moe, Four-Eyed Moe, Eat Moe, No Moe, and Little Moe) emerge from his 1930s-style radio in an attempt to cajole and comfort him. The music comes courtesy of jazz legend Louis Jordan, with hits including “Early in the Morning”, “Choo, Choo, Ch’Boogie” and “Saturday Night Fish Fry”.

Following its original run at Stratford East, Five Guys Named Moe transferred to the West End – where it ran for four years and won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment – and on to Broadway in 1992.

The revival is directed by Paulette Randall and choreographed by Peters’ fellow original cast member and Olivier nominee Paul J Medford. Peters will be joined in the new cast by Ashley Campbell (as Little Moe), Chris Colquhoun (Big Moe), Carlton Connell (Four Eyed Moe), Paul Hazel (Eat Moe) and Horace Oliver (No Moe).

Ahead of its east London season, as previously reported, Five Guys Named Moe will open first at the Edinburgh Fringe, running from 4 to 29 August 2010 at the McEwan Hall on Underbelly’s Pasture as part of the this year’s Underbelly programme. It’s produced by Underbelly Productions and Theatre Royal Stratford East, by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.

(Pictured above, L-R: No Moe (purple jacket) is Horace Oliver, bottom left is Eat Moe played by Paul Hazel, bottom right is Little Moe played by Ashley Campbell, red braces is Four Eyed Moe played by Carlton Connell and at the top at the back is Big Moe Chris Colquhoun. Photo by Steve Ullathorne.