& Juliet announces additional casting for UK tour
Further cast members have been announced for the eagerly anticipated UK tour of & Juliet.
After its successful run at London’s West End Shaftesbury Theatre from 2019 to 2023 and its current Broadway residency at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, the show is gearing up to open at Manchester’s Opera House, before visiting a series of venues listed below.
The musical, directed by Luke Sheppard, offers a twist on the classic love story, asking what might have happened if Juliet hadn’t chosen the tragic ending over Romeo. It is set to a pop-infused soundtrack featuring iconic hits penned by Max Martin, like Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and Katy Perry’s “Roar”.
With a book by David West Read, the production has choreography by Jennifer Weber and set design by Soutra Gilmour. The musical’s tunes are crafted by Martin and his collaborators, while costume design is by Paloma Young, and musical supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Bill Sherman.
The production also includes lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video and projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig and makeup design by Suzy Barrett, musical direction, additional arrangements and orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro, and casting direction by Stuart Burt.
Set to star as the title role in the show are Gerardine Sacdalan, who graduated from Urdang performing arts academy this year and recently made an appearance in the concert revival of Made in Dagenham alongside Pixie Lott.
Joining the already announced Sandra Marvin (Waitress, Sister Act, Hairspray) as Angélique, and Lara Denning (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Matilda the Musical, Sunset Boulevard) as Anne Hathaway will be Matt Cardle (The X Factor, Memphis, Strictly Ballroom) as Shakespeare.
In addition, Jack Danson (Mamma Mia) will play Romeo, alongside Kyle Cox (Crazy For You) as Francois, Jordan Broatch (42 Balloons) as May, Michael Nelson (Dirty Dancing) as Henry, and Liam Morris (The Bodyguard) as Richard. They are joined by Jade Johnson (Book of Mormon) as Nell / Lady C, Rosie Singha (Love Never Dies concert) as Judith, Nia Stephen (Cinderella) as Imogen, and Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Lucy/Alternate Juliet
Andilé Mabhena (Shrek The Musical) will play Augustine/Dance Team, Harriet Caplan-Dean (SIX), will play Eleanor, Alexander Kranz (To Wong Foo) will play Lennox, Aaron Shales (& Juliet) will play Gregory/Dance Team, Toni Paise (theatrical debut) will play Violet and Samuel Wilson-Freeman (Mrs Doubtfire) will play Fletcher and act as Resident Director and Dance Captain. Further casting is to be revealed.
The show, which won a wealth of WhatsOnStage and Olivier Awards and picked up a five-star write-up, has already achieved global success, with an upcoming US tour scheduled to begin in September 2024, alongside a variety of international productions.
Tickets for tour dates are on sale below.
It runs in Manchester from 8 to 20 July, before visiting Blackpool’s Winter Gardens (23 to 27 July), Norwich Theatre Royal (30 July to 3 August), Glasgow Kings Theatre (13 to 24 August), Oxford New Theatre (2 to 7 September), Sunderland Empire (9 to 21 September), Hull New Theatre (23 to 28 September), Plymouth Theatre Royal (30 September to 5 October), Wolverhampton Grand (7 to 12 October), Marlowe Theatre Canterbury (14 to 19 October), Liverpool Empire (28 October to 2 November), Southampton Mayflower (5 to 9 November), Edinburgh Playhouse (12 to 16 November) and Leeds Grand (18 to 30 November).
Into 2025, the show will visit Bristol Hippodrome (14 to 25 January), New Wimbledon Theatre (27 January to 1 February), His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen (4 to 8 February), Curve Leicester (17 to 22 February), Woking New Victoria (11 to 15 March), Bradford Alhambra (24 to 29 March), Milton Keynes Theatre (31 March to 12 April), Nottingham Theatre Royal (14 to 19 April), Birmingham Hippodrome (21 April to 3 May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (5 to 10 May), Stoke Regent (12 tto 17 May), Sheffield Lyceum (20 to 31 May), Newcastle Theatre Royal (2 to 7 June), Truro Hall for Cornwall (10 to 14 June) and Cardiff Millenium Centre (16 to 28 June), with further dates to be confirmed.
