David Hasselhoff to star in 9 to 5 the Musical in the West End
David Hasselhoff will star in 9 to 5 the Musical at the Savoy Theatre from 2 December until 8 February.
Hasselhoff – playing Franklin Hart Jr – will join Caroline Sheen as Violet Newstead, Chelsea Halfpenny as Judy Bernly, Natalie McQueen as Doralee Rhodes and Bonnie Langford as Roz Keith. The cast will be completed by Victoria Anderson, Alexander Bartles, Simon Campbell, Alexander Day, Rhiane Drummond, Demmileigh Foster, Molly-May Gardiner, Llandyll Gove, Ben Irish, Jenny Legg, Natasha Mould, Sean Needham, Jon Reynolds, James Royden-Lyley, Giles Surridge, Antoine Thomas-Sturge, Sasha Wareham and Emily Woodford.
The TV star is most famous for his role as Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch and Michael Knight in Knight Rider. His stage credits include Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway, The Producers in Las Vegas and as Billy Flynn in Chicago at the West End's Adelphi Theatre. He has also appeared as a judge on both NBC's America's Got Talent and ITV's Britain's Got Talent.
9 to 5 the Musical tells the story of workmates Doralee, Violet and Judy as they are pushed to boiling point by their manager. Parton – who attended the premiere in February and joined the cast on stage at the finale – said: "I am so pleased that David is joining our show. He will be a terrific addition to an already amazing cast, the audiences are going to love him just as much as I do! Get ready to be Hassled Hoff!".
Hasselhoff added: "I went to see the show back in June and I thought it was 'Hofftastic'. That's when I knew I wanted to be part of it. Franklin Hart Jr is going to be a fun part for me to play and I'm looking forward to being back on stage in the UK."
The musical's book is by Patricia Resnick – the film's original screenwriter – with music and lyrics by Parton, direction by Jeff Calhoun, choreography by Lisa Stevens, design by Tom Rogers, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Poti Martin, video design by Nina Dunn, original arrangements by Stephen Oremus and Alex Lacamoire, original Broadway orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin, musical supervision, reductions and extra arrangements by Mark Crossland, musical direction by Andrew Hilton and casting by Victoria Roe and Anne Vosser.
