Richard Fleeshman and Louise Dearman to star in Guys and Dolls UK tour

Louise Dearman and Richard Fleeshman will lead the cast of the UK tour of Guys and Dolls, which opens at the Liverpool Empire in March 2016.

Fleeshman, whose credits include Coronation Street, Ghost the Musical and Urinetown will play Sky Masterson with Dearman as Miss Adelaide. Dearman's theatre credits include Kiss Me Kate, Wicked and Evita (UK Tour).

They will be joined by Maxwell Caulfield (The Elephant Man, Emmerdale) as Nathan Detroit and Anna O'Byrne (Sweeney Todd, Love Never Dies) as Sarah Brown.

Completing the cast will be Jack Edwards as Nicely Nicely Johnson, Peter Harding as Arvide Abernathy, Anthony McGill as Lt Brannigan, Mark Sangster as Benny Southstreet, Melanie Marshall as General Cartwright, Craig Pinder as Harry the Horse/Joey Biltmore, Cameron Johnson as Big Julie, Christopher Howell as Rusty Charlie.

The ensemble includes Eamonn Cox, Jamal Crawford, Jonny Godbold, Ross Lee Fowkes, Aron Wild, Kiel Payton, Matthew Whennell-Clark, Ruthie Stephens, Bethany Linsdell, Hannah Cauchi, Chloe Chambers, Danielle Stephen, Abigayle Honeywill and Lucy Ashenden.

The production was originally a Chichester Festival Theatre production directed by Gordon Greenberg. The West End run has now extended, booking at the Phoenix Theatre until October 2016.

Guys and Dolls is Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows' musical based on the stories and characters of Damon Runyon. It follows the tales of gangsters in New York and the love story between a gambling man and a Salvation Army woman and features songs such as "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat".

Dearman will play all venues up to and including Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin.