Man of La Mancha Launch
I attended the launch of Man of La Mancha this week. You can see exclusive footage below but first here’s a bit more of the background.
MAN OF LA MANCHA
Starring
Kelsey Grammer, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Danielle de Niese
&
Cassidy Janson
Featuring the iconic song
DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
London Coliseum
Friday 26 April – Saturday 8 June 2019
Press Night: Tuesday 30 April 2019
Man of La Mancha, produced by Michael Linnit and Michael Grade, the producers who brought Chess, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard and Sweeney Todd to the London Coliseum – are collaborating again with English National Opera to bring a brand new production of the multi-Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha to London, the first West End production of this much-loved musical in over 50 years.
Emmy award-winning and Tony nominated actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for playing Dr Frasier Crane in NBC’s hit series’Cheers and Frasier will make his West End debut playing Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote and the international opera star and soprano Danielle de Niese will share the role of Aldonza and Dulcinea with Cassidy Janson. Danielle will play the roles in 33 performances and Cassidy in 17.
Man of La Mancha will play a limited season, with performances from 26 April to 8 June 2019. The press performance is on 30 April 2019. It will be performed with ENO’s 35 piece orchestra.
Plot
Man of La Mancha will be directed byLonny Price, who directed Linnit and Grade’s acclaimed London production ofSunset Boulevard at the Coliseum starring Glenn Close, as well as its hugely-successful subsequent Broadway transfer.
Featuring the iconic song ‘Dream the Impossible Dream’, Man of La Mancha is Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote.
In a 16th century dungeon Cervantes and his man-servant await trial from the Spanish Inquisition. In his possession he has a trunk carrying an unfinished novel, Don Quixote. As prisoners attempt to steal his possessions, Cervantes embarks on acting out his novel as his defence, transforming himself into Alonso Quijano.
Quijano, deluded, believes he is a knight-errant, renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, and sets off on a fantastical quest with his man-servant Sancho Panza.
Chivalry abounds in this classic tale of knighthood, love, loyalty and adventure.
The music in Man of La Mancha is by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion and book by Dale Wasserman.
‘The impossible Dream’ has become an internatonally-renowned song, and has been performed by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Luther Vandross and The Temptations, amongst others.
Bios
Kelsey Grammer played Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers and Frasier for two decades. He has won five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award nomination in 2010 for his performance inLa Cages aux Folles.
Opera Soprano Danielle de Niese, described by the New York Times magazine as ‘opera’s coolest soprano’ has performed to audiences world-wide, from the Metropolitan Opera to Covent Garden as well as performing on stage with LL Cool J. Sky Arts will feature Danielle as the subject of her own Southbank Show, presented by Melvyn Bragg on November 21, 2018.
Nicholas Lyndhurst, who will play the Innkeeper and the Captain is best known for his TV work which includes the classic series Only Fools and Horses as well asGoodnight Sweetheart and New Tricks. His previous stage credits include the Grade/Linnit production of Carousel at The Coliseum and Trevor Nunn’s The Tempest at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Cassidy Janson who will share the role of Aldonza and Dulcinea with Danielle de Niese, played the lead role in the recent production of Chess at the London Coliseum and the lead in the West End production of Beautiful: The Carole King Story. Cassidy is one-third of Leading Ladies, a group formed in 2017 with fellow musical stars, Beverly Knight and Amber Riley.
Joining Lonny Price on the creative team is conductor David White, set designerJames Noone, lighting designer Rick Fisher, sound designer Mick Potter and casting director David Grindrod CDG.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Man of La Mancha
London Coliseum
St Martin’s Lane
London WC2N 4ES
Dates
26 April – 8 June 2019
Press Night: 30 April at 7.00pm
Performances
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinées – Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Tickets
From £15
Box Office: 020 7845 9300
Twitter: @LaManchaLDN
Instagram: @LaManchaLDN
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