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Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
JOINING Michael Crawford and Maria Friedman in Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber's
long-awaited musical, The Woman in White, are
five new cast members - Angela Christian, Martin Crewes, Oliver
Darley, Jill Paice and Edward Petherbridge.
Based on crime- writer Wilkie Collins' thriller, The Woman in
White finds Count Fosco (Crawford) and his two students stranded
in a railway cutting one bitterly cold night.
As they await rescue, a woman dressed in white appears out of
the darkness and tells them a spine-chilling tale. It's the catalyst
for a web of greed and deception that engulfs them, the students
needing all their ingenuity to escape the grasp of the evil count.
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Angela Christian, who collected an Outer Critics' Circle award
for her Broadway portrayal of Dorothy, in Thoroughly Modern
Millie, takes on the role of the woman in white.
Martin Crewes, formerly Marius in Les
Miserables, becomes Walter Hartwright while Jill Paice, who
appeared in the Las Vegas production of Mama Mia!, plays
Laura Fairlie.
Oliver Darley, meanwhile, portrays Sir Percival Glyde. His previous
credits include The Alchemist, Romeo and Juliet, The Thebans
and Columbus, all with the RSC.
Lastly, but by no means least, comes Edward Petherbridge, a founding
member of the National Theatre and most recently seen in Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, as Mr Fairlie.
Music is from Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, with lyrics by David 'City
of Angels' Zippel.
Charlotte Jones, already acclaimed for her work on Humble
Boy and more recently, The Dark, adapts the novel
for stage.
And lastly, Sir Trevor Nunn, fresh from his success with his
own production of Hamlet at the Old Vic, directs.
The lavish production is due to receive its world premiere at
The Palace Theatre on September 15, with previews
from late August.
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