Full casting is announced today for Carrie, which will receive its long awaited London Premiere in The Large at Southwark Playhouse from Friday 1 to Saturday 30 May 2015, with a press night on Wednesday 6 May. Preview performances are now sold out, following the best on-sale week of any show in the venue’s 22-year history.
Evelyn Hoskins will star as Carrie White and Kim Criswell will star as her mother Margaret.
Evelyn Hoskins played Thea in the original cast of Spring Awakening at the Lyric Theatre and in the West End, with other theatre credits including Christmas with the Stars (Royal Albert Hall), Cool Rider (Lyric Theatre), This is My Family (Sheffield Crucible) and The Secret Garden (Birmingham Rep). Television credits include the reoccurring roles Lucy in Misfits (E4) and Shona in Casualty (BBC).
Kim Criswell is an Olivier Award-nominated actress whose career spans 4 decades and both sides of the Atlantic. In America, Kim featured in the original Broadway casts of The First, Nine, Baby and The Threepenny Opera, as well as playing Grizabella in the original LA cast of Cats. In the UK, Kim’s many theatre credits include Singin’ In The Rain in Concert (Royal Festival Hall), Follies (London Palladium), Company (Hackney Empire), On The Town (Royal Festival Hall) and her Olivier-nominated performance in the title role in Annie Get Your Gun (Prince of Wales Theatre).
The cast also features Sarah McNicholas as Sue, Greg Miller Burns as Tommy, Gabriella Williams as Chris, Dex Lee as Billy, Jodie Jacobs as Miss Gardner, David Habbin as Mr Stephens, Molly McGuire as Norma, Bobbie Little as Frieda, Emily McGougan as Helen, Patrick Sullivan as George, Olly Dobson as Freddy and Eddie Myles as Stokes.
Pray for your Salvation….
Carrie is back like you’ve never seen her before.
Twenty seven years after first wreaking havoc, the world’s most talked about Broadway musical is coming to London. Academy Award winning Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore (Fame), and original screenplay writer Lawrence D. Cohen, have transformed Stephen King’s unlikely Cinderella story into an infectiously modern musical that has gripped audiences from Australia to America with its timeless story and thrilling score.
A taunted and terrified seventeen-year-old misfit, Carrie White has a burning secret… a secret that will eventually ignite her revenge. Make your date for the Senior Prom to see who will be crowned Queen, and who will have blood on their hands. After one night with Carrie you will always remember her name.
Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, the musical of Carrie hasn’t been seen since the legendary original production. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, it first premiered in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1988 before transferring straight to Broadway, but never made it to London. In 2012, its score and book were revised by original composer Michael Gore, lyricist Dean Pitchford and librettist Lawrence D. Cohen and this newly reworked and fully re-imagined vision for Carrie will now be presented for the first time on the London stage.
The revised 2012 MCC production won Best Musical Revival by the Off-Broadway Alliance, and had its premiere cast recording released on Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom Records, which debuted as the No. 1 selling album of the week on Billboard’s Top Broadway chart in its first week of release.
Carrie will be directed and choreographed by Gary Lloyd, director and choreographer of global hit show Thriller Live!. Gary is renowned for his crossover from music to theatre, working as Creative Director on shows including American Idol and The X Factor. Other theatre credits include 20th Century Boy at Coventry Belgrade Theatre and the UK Tour of Aspects Of Love.
FRIDAY 1 – SATURDAY 30 MAY 2015
SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE, The Large
77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD
Press Night: Wednesday 6 May, 7.30pm
Performances: Monday – Saturday 7.30pm, Thursday 2.30pm (except 7 May), Saturdays 3.00pm
Tickets: £18-22 (£12 previews)
Box Office 020 7407 0234 | www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
Photo: The Umbrella Rooms