Sleepless in Seattle Musical Sets London Premiere for Spring 2020
(photo via the Troubador Wembley Park Theatre website)
A new musical stage adaptation of the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle is headed to London for a world premiere at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre this spring. Previews are set to begin March 21, 2020, ahead of a March 31 opening.
The production, titled Sleepless, a Musical Romance, features a book by Michael Burdette, a score by Robert Scott and Brendan Cull, and direction by Morgan Young, and will star two-time Olivier nominee Michael Xavier (Sunset Boulevard) as Sam (originated in the film by Tom Hanks) and Kimberley Walsh as Annie (originated in the film by Meg Ryan). The cast will also include Soo Drouet as Becky, Gay Soper as Eleanor, Alex Fobbester as Rob, Dylan Turner as Walter, Vicki Davids as Suzy, Michael Carolan as Gregg, and Jobe Hart as Jonah, with Charlie Bull, Charlotte Gale, Matt Holland, Joanna Rennie, Tyler Smith, and Annette Yeo.
This new production is not connected to the film's 2013 musical stage adaptation at Pasadena Playhouse, which featured a book by one of the film's original authors, Jeff Arch.
The story is described as follows: "When eight-year-old Jonah phones a Seattle radio show and gets his dad, Sam, to talk live on air about the heart-breaking loss of his mother, Sam instantly touches hearts across America. Nearly 3,000 miles away, journalist Annie starts to ask herself whether Sam could be more than just a great news story. It looks like love is in the airwaves, but how do you know if he's the one for you if you've never even met? Perhaps only a last-minute dash to the top of the Empire State Building can prove that somewhere there's someone for everyone…"
The creative team for Sleepless includes set design by Morgan Large, costume design by Sue Simmerling, lighting by Tim Lutkin, video design by Ian William Galloway, sound design by Avgoustos Psillas and Terry Jardine for Autograph, orchestrations by Larry Blank, musical supervision and direction by Stuart Morley, and wig and hair design by Richard Mawbey.
