Imelda Staunton to star in West End transfer of Gypsy
Preview by Jack Foley
IMELDA Staunton (pictured) will star as the indomitable Momma Rose in the West End transfer of Jonathan Kent’s five star sell-out Chichester Festival Theatre production of Gypsy, the first to be seen in London for 40 years.
This strictly limited season opens at the Savoy Theatre on April 15, 2015 with previews from March 28, 2015 (7.30pm).
Further casting for Gypsy will be announced shortly but tickets are available now.
Gypsy is a musical fable with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It is suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, has choreography by Stephen Mear, designs by Anthony Ward, musical direction and orchestration by Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Paul Groothuis.
Gypsy is considered by many to be the greatest of the Broadway musicals. It tells the true story of ambitious showbiz mother Momma Rose, who treks across America with her daughters Baby June and Louise in search of success with their homespun vaudeville act.
As times change, Momma Rose is forced to accept the demise of vaudeville and the rise of burlesque, as well as her daughters’ quest for autonomy.
Gypsy reunites actor Imelda Staunton and director Jonathan Kent, who previously collaborated on the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Sweeney Todd, which, after a sell-out run there, transferred to the West End.
Kent also directed Staunton in Good People for Hampstead Theatre, which similarly transferred to the West End after a sell-out season in Hampstead.
Multi award-winning actor Staunton’s extensive theatre credits include Sweeney Todd for Chichester Festival Theatre, Guys and Dolls, A Chorus of Disapproval and Life x 3 for the National Theatre, A Delicate Balance and There Came a Gypsy Riding for the Almeida Theatre, They Shoot Horses Don’t They? and The Wizard of Oz for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Slavs and Good People for Hampstead Theatre and Circle Mirror Transformation for the Royal Court Theatre (among many, many others).
Director Jonathan Kent’s theatre credits includes Sweeney Todd and Private Lives for Chichester Festival Theatre, Good People for Hampstead Theatre, Le Cid, Mother Courage and Her Children, and The False Servant, Oedipus and Emperor and Galilean for the National Theatre.
Kent was joint Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre for 12 years, where his many productions included Gangster No 1, All For Love, The School for Wives, Medea, Hamlet, The Life of Galileo, Ivanov, The Tempest, Richard II, Coriolanus, Phèdre, Britannicus, Plenty, Lulu, Platonov and King Lear, many of which transferred to the West End and Broadway and toured internationally.
Savoy Theatre, Strand, London WC2R 0ET
Previews from March 28, 2015 at 7.30pm
Press Night: April 15, 2015 at 7pm
Running time: Approximately 2 hours 50 mins including 20 minute interval