Exclusive: Cast announced for Grand Hotel at Southwark Playhouse

Casting has been announced for the upcoming production of Tony Award-winning musical Grand Hotel, which opens at the Southwark Playhouse on 31 July.

Leading the company will be Italian musical theatre star Christine Grimandi, making her UK stage debut. Grimandi's stage credits include Sunset Boulevard, Beauty and the Beast and Cats.

Directed by Thom Southerland, the production reunites the team behind the WhatsOnStage Award-winning production of Titanic, which recently had a run in Toronto.

Four of those cast members are joining Grand Hotel. They are: Scott Garnham (Made in Dagenham, I Can't Sing), Victoria Serra (Mamma Mia!, Love Story), Philip Rham (Parade) and Samuel J Weir.

The rest of the cast comprises George Rae, Jacob Chapman, Valerie Cutko, Jonathan Stewart, James Gant, Charles Hagerty, Paul Iveson, Rhiannon Howys, Jammy Kasongo, Ceili O'Connor, Durone Stokes and Leah West.

Based on the 1929 Vicki Baum novel and play, Menschen im Hotel (People in a Hotel), the musical focuses on events taking place over the course of a weekend in an elegant hotel in Berlin during the roaring 20s and the intersecting stories of the eccentric guests of the hotel.

Grand Hotel runs at Southwark Playhouse from 31 July to 5 September.