To Wong Foo The Musical – a sneak peek behind the scenes

Ahead of the eagerly anticipated world premiere stage adaptation, WhatsOnStage recently headed to the rehearsal room of To Wong Foo The Musical.

Alongside renditions of two of the numbers from the show – “Feel the Light” and “Just Once” – we also sat down with the production’s three leads: Peter Caulfield (who plays Vida Boheme), Gregory Haney (Noxeema Jackson) and Pablo Gómez Jones (Chi Chi Rodríguez).

Find out about the show, its comparisons with Kinky Boots and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and the trio’s prior experiences with drag in the video below.

Based on the much-loved 1995 film, To Wong Foo The Musical follows three drag queens as they embark on a trip across America to attend the Drag Queen of the Year Finals in Hollywood. The stage show is written and directed by original film screenplay writer and multiple Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn.

The cast also includes Carolyn Maitland (as Carol Ann), Duncan Burt (as Sheriff Dollard), Alexander Kranz (as Bobby Ray), Arthur Boan (as Tommy Paul), Ayesha Maynard (as Beulah June), Emily Ooi (as Bobby Lee), Jermaine Woods (as Willie Joe/John Jacob), Lee Harris (as Ed Earl/Crazy Elijah), Natalie Day (as Mary Lou), Scott Hunter (as Billy Budd), Susie Fenwick (as Clara Pearl), Samantha Bingley (as Rose of Sharon) and Theo Maddix (as Rachel Tensions/Jimmy Jack), with Jamil Abbasi and Megan Davies-Truin.

The production features choreography by Jane McMurtrie, musical supervision by Brad Simmons, set design by Katie Lias, costume design by Gregory Gale, wig design by Bobbie Zlotnik, make-up design by Andrew Sotomayor, sound design by Sam Glossop, lighting design by Jack Weir, video design by Dan Light, musical direction by Andrew Hilton, associate direction by Joseph Houston, intimacy coordination and fight direction by Haruka Kurado, associate costume design by Rachel Tansey and casting by Sarah Leung.

To Wong Foo The Musical will run at the Hope Mill Theatre (who also produce the show) in Manchester from 21 October until 17 December 2023, with a national press night on 26 October.

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