WORLD PREMIERE OF
CILLA THE MUSICAL
To visit Theatre Royal Nottingham
3 – 7 April 2018
‘KARA LILY HAYWORTH IS A SUPERSTAR…YOU’LL LAUGH, CRY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
CILLA THE MUSICAL IS SIMPLY FLAWLESS’
LIVERPOOL ECHO
Due to phenomenal success following its World Premiere in Liverpool in September 2017 and an Autumn Tour around the UK, Cilla the Musical has extended tour dates into 2018, including the Theatre Royal Nottingham from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 April.
The show, written by BAFTA® award winning Jeff Pope, has been met with Five Star reviews and standing ovations up and down the country. It has also been nominated for Best New Musical at the What’s On Stage awards.
‘A PERFECT BALANCE OF SONG AND STORYLINE…AN IMMENSELY ENJOYABLE NIGHT OUT. CILLA WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD.’
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
Bill Kenwright’s new musical features: Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein); Carl Au (Bobby); Amy Bridges (Rose Willis); Gemma Brodrick-Bower (Pauline); Bill Caple (Ringo Starr); Tom Christian (Kenny Willis); Tom Dunlea (Hutch); Pauline Fleming (Big Cilla); Joshua Gannon (Paul McCartney); Billie Hardy (Pat); Michael Hawkins (John Lennon); and Neil MacDonald (John White).
They join Kara Lily Hayworth as Cilla, who beat thousands of hopefuls in nationwide open auditions for the coveted role.
The musical reunites Tom Dunlea, Michael Hawkins and Gemma Brodrick-Bower, all of whom starred in Jeff Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which the musical is based. It also reunites Andrew Lancel with the role of Epstein, which he played on stage to great critical acclaim in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles. Andrew is best known to TV audiences as super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street and as DI Neil Manson in the long-running ITV television series The Bill.
The legendary Merseybeat sound is authentically performed live on stage by the cast who are completed by: Alan Howell; Jay Osborne; Alex Harford; Will Kinnon; Jenny Murphy; Tom Sowinski; and Christopher Weeks.
CILLA – THE MUSICAL is the spectacular and heart-warming musical adaptation of the critically acclaimed hit ITV television series by Bafta Award winner Jeff Pope (The Moorside, Philomena, From The Cradle To The Grave, Mrs Biggs and the acclaimed Little Boy Blue which had ITV audiences glued to their screens). It tells the extraordinary story of the ordinary girl from Liverpool whose teenage dreams of stardom lead her to becoming one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers of all time.
It’s an introduction by a young John Lennon to music mogul Brian Epstein that changes Priscilla White’s life forever. By the age of just 25 she would be known as singer and TV Star Cilla Black, Number One selling artist and at the fore-front of the Brit-Pop music scene. The musical score is the ultimate soundtrack to the 60’s including Cilla’s greatest hits Anyone Who Had a Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me, Twist and Shout by the Beatles, California Dreamin by The Mamas and The Papas’ and many more.
‘WOW, WHAT A SHOW. KARA LILY HAYWORTH AS CILLA IS SOMETHING REALLY QUITE MAGICAL’
BIRMINGHAM MAIL
Cilla – The Musical is produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, alongside Executive Producer Robert Willis
CILLA – THE MUSICAL
WRITTEN BY JEFF POPE
DIRECTED BY BILL KENWRIGHT & BOB TOMSON
Visit cillathemusical.com for all the latest tour and audition information
Twitter: @CILLAMUSICAL
LOCAL LISTINGS INFORMATION:
CILLA THE MUSICAL
Theatre Royal Nottingham
Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 April 2018
£18 – £46.50 plus discounts for Royal Members*, Under 16s, Go Card** holders, and Groups
Box Office 0115 989 5555
*Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham Royal Membership scheme offering ticket discounts, exclusive pre-sales, meet the cast nights and more www.trch.co.uk/membership
**Go Card free scheme for full time students and under 26s offering ticket discounts for Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham events www.trch.co.uk/gocard
Kara Lily Hayworth’s (Cilla) theatre credits include: Annie (Liverpool Empire); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Arts Theatre); Persephone (The Rosemary Branch Theatre); and Secret Cinema Presents: Moulin Rouge. Concerts credits include: The Night of 1000 Stars and Songs of Daniel & Laura Curtis (both Royal Albert Hall). Film credits include: Bad Day At The Office (Cannes Film Festival) and The Huntsman: Winter’s War (Universal). TV credits include: Will (TNT Productions) and Britain’s Got Talent (ITV) with her band Zyrah Rose.
Carl Au’s (Bobby) theatre credits include: Ostrich Boys (Belgrade B2 Theatre); Bright Phoenix (Liverpool Everyman); Jersey Boys (Prince Edward Theatre); Bells Are Ringing (Union Theatre); Dance:Radio (DryWrite, York Theatre Royal, The Roundhouse); A Christmas Carol (Birmingham Repertory Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Oxford Playhouse); High School Musical (Hammersmith Apollo); Pendragon (UK and Japanese Tour with NYMT). Carl’s television credits include: The Lost Sitcoms: Till Death Us Do Part (BBC); Waterloo Road (BBC); Doctors (BBC); Casualty, (BBC). Concerts include: Barbara Cook and Friends (London Coliseum) and Good Thing Going (Cadogan Hall). Carl was also a featured dancer at the 2009 Brit Awards alongside The Pet Shop Boys, Lady Gaga, and Brandon Flowers. Carl was the winner of the inaugural Stephen Sondheim Prize for Student Performer of the Year.
Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein) returns to the role following his critically acclaimed portrayal in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles (Epstein Theatre/Leicester Square Theatre). His previous theatre credits include: The Sound of Music (UK Tour); The Damned United (West Yorkshire Playhouse), 12 Angry Men (UK Tour), The Small Hand (UK Tour); Antony and Cleopatra (National tour); A Christmas Story (Message Theatre Company), Conduct Unbecoming (Yvonne Arnaud/UK Tour) Grapes of Wrath (Phoenix Productions), Certain Young Men (Almeida), The Recruiting Officer (Chichester Festival Theatre). His television credits include: Coronation Street (ITV); Cardian Arrest (BBC 1); Queer as Folk (Channel 4); Liverpool 1 (ITV); Bad Girls (ITV); City Central (BBC One); Casualty (BBC One); Inspector Alleyn (BBC One); Peak Practice (ITV); First Post (ITV); Heartbeat (ITV); Go Back Out (BBC One); The Wanderer (Sky 1); Solider, Soldier (ITV); The Detectives (BBC); Dangerfield (BBC); The Grand (ITV); The Vice (ITV); Urban Gothic (Channel 5); Sweet Medicine (ITV); Mersey Beat (BBC One); Midsomer Murders (ITV); Holby City (BBC One) and Hillsborough (ITV). Film: Wide Eyed and Legless (The Wedding Gift in USA).
Directing/Producing include: My Liverpool (Granada TV); She Stoops To Conquer (Regents Park); Grand Hotel The Musical (Southport); and Black Comedy (Oxford University).
Amy Bridges’ (Rose Willis, u/s Cilla) theatre credits include: two contracts with Viking Ocean Cruises, Cool Rider Live (Lyric Theatre); Something Old, Something New and Just the Ticket (Bridewell Theatre).
Gemma Brodrick-Bower’s (Pauline) theatre credits include: RIP (Kings Head Theatre, London); Secrets (Epstein Theatre); Desperate Scousewives (Floral Pavillion Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Echo Arena); Escorts the Musical (Tour); Assassins (Chelsea Theatre, London); Once a Catholic (Landor Theatre, London); Beside the Seaside (Unity Theatre); Red Riding Hood (Liverpool Actors Studio Theatre); Gormenghast (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Be Our Guest (Tour), Musicals in the Night (Tour), Twopence to Cross the Mersey (Empire theatre); Oliver (Playhouse Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Playhouse Theatre). Television and film credits include: Cilla (ITV); The Good Karma Hospital (ITV); 4 O’Clock Club (CBBC); Sex & the Chippy (Lime Pictures) – Crownton Dobby; Stalin My Neighbour; Suburban Gothic.
Bill Caple (Ringo Starr) trained in Merseyside at Rare Liverpool and has been involved in a number of Community and small-scale theatre productions. Cilla will be Bill’s professional debut. He is also the drummer with the group DENIO.
Tom Christian’s (Kenny Willis) theatre credits include: Batman Live (Warner Bros); As You Like It (Changeling Theatre Co); A Clockwork Orange (Action to the Word); Peer Gynt (Lost Theatre Co); and Titus Andronicus (Action to the Word). His television and film includes: Hatton Garden Project (ITV); Virgin & Martyr (Television Espanola); Humans (Channel 4); Call the Midwife (BBC); The Royals (E! Entertainment Television); Grantchester (ITV); Mr Selfridge (ITV); American Odyssey (NBC); and 24: Live Another Day (Sky).
Tom Dunlea’s (Hutch) theatre credits include: The Fumidor (Pants On Fire Theatre Company); Romeo and Juliet (Home Theatre); Lights, Camera, Improvise (Mischief Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe Festival); and Assassins (Unicorn Theatre). His film and TV credits include: Jimi, All is by my Side (Darko Entertainment); The Guvnors (DP Films); and Cilla (ITV). His radio credits include: When Elvis Met the Beatles (BBC Radio 2).
Pauline Fleming’s (Big Cilla) theatre credits include: A Chorus of Disapproval (Theatre Clywd & National Tour); Twelfth Night (Kaboodle Theatre Company); I’m Marrying Robbie Fowler (Liverpool Playhouse & National Tour); Gargling with Jelly (Liverpool Everyman); The Winter’s Tale (Liverpool Shakespeare Company); The Naked Truth (National Tour); Mum’s the Word (National Tour, Robert C. Kelly); Rhinestone Mondays (National Tour, Narrow Road Productions); Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story (National Tour); Guilty Pleasures (Theatre 1st Ltd); Ashes to Ashes (Arundel Jailhouse); The Vagina Monologues (Liverpool Royal Court); Lucky Numbers (Liverpool Royal Court); Canoeing for Beginners (Liverpool Royal Court); Cinderella (Southport Theatre); and The Full Monty (UK Tour). Pauline’s TV credits include: Being Eileen; Terraces; Candy Cabs; Nice Guy Eddie; Moving On; and Doctors (all for the BBC); Heartbeat (ITV Yorkshire); Brookside (Channel 4); Emmerdale (ITV Yorkshire); and Coronation Street (ITV Granada).
Joshua Gannon’s (Paul McCartney) theatre credits include: The Wind in the Willows (London Palladium). Concert credits include: The Olivier Awards 40th Anniversary Concert (Royal Festival Hall/BBC Radio 3). Workshops include: Odd: A New Muiscal (Perfect Pitch); As You Like It (GSA); and The Oresteia (GSA).
Billie Hardy’s (Pat) theatre credits include: Grease (Royal Caribbean Cruises); Grease (Belinda King Productions); Peter Pan (The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks); Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Adelphi Theatre & UK Tour). Television & film credits include: Crimewatch (BBC) and Bridget Jones Diary (Miramar/Universal Pictures). Commercial includes: Capital One (Therapy Films Ltd).
Michael Hawkins’ (John Lennon) theatre credits include: Ball of Fire (Blue Park Theatre Company). Television credits include: Cilla (ITV) and Tina and Bobby (ITV).
Neil Macdonald’s (John White) credits include: Freezin’ (Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight); Spilled Milk (Media City); and Healthy Living Liverpol (Health Authority).
East Midlands Theatre. 