Full cast announced for Martin Luther King Jr musical at Hackney Empire

Full casting has been announced for the concert staging of King, a musical about Martin Luther King Jr, which plays the Hackney Empire on 30 June and 1 July.

Joining the previously announced Cedric Neal as Martin Luther King Jr, Debbie Kurup as Coretta King and Sharon D Clarke as Alberta King, will be Alexander Hanson as John F Kennedy, Clive Carter as J Edgar Hoover and Cavin Cornwall as Ralph Abernathy.

They are joined by Carole Stennett as Rosa Parks, Adam J Bernard as Stokely Carmichael and Matt Dempsey as Robert Kennedy. Completing the company is Naana Agyei Ampadu,
Daniel Bailey, John Barr, Angela Caesar, Raffaella Covino, Adrian Hansel, Olivia Hibbert, Sinead Long, Jo Servi and Johnathan Tweedie.

Marking the 50th anniversary year of the King's death, Martin Smith's musical will be directed by Susie McKenna in a co-production between Hackney Empire and the London Musical Theatre Orchestra. It tells the story of King's marriage to Coretta Scott and their lives together fighting for the rights of African American people in the US.

This is LMTO's latest concert staging since its inception two years ago. The orchestra has performed eight public concerts and worked with artists including Robert Lindsay, Samantha Barks, Michael Xavier, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Natasha Barnes.