Nigel George Planer is a British actor, writer and musician. He played Neil in the BBC comedy The Young Ones and Ralph Filthy in Filthy Rich & Catflap. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including original casts of Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He has also appeared in Hairspray. He won a BRIT award in 1984 and has been nominated for Olivier, TMA, WhatsOnStage and BAFTA awards.
Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the production follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Claire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality, best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and playing the role of Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago in London's West End.
Lorna Want is an Olivier Award-winning British theatre actress. She most recently played Princess Anne in the workshop reading of Roman Holiday, a new musical based on the 1953 film starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.
Benedict Freeman is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Scott Windsor in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. After leaving Emmerdale in 2007, he embarked on a career in musical theatre, and has since played various roles in the West End. In 2021, he joined the cast of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Caleb Malone.
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in 1907 and still retains its original substage machinery. As of November 2021, the theatre has been refurbished and renamed as the Kit Kat Club and is home to a revival of the musical Cabaret with a seating capacity of 550.
Daniel Boys is an English musical theatre actor, who was a contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do in 2007 before becoming known as a stage actor in various musicals including Avenue Q, Spamalot and Falsettos.
Benjamin James Ellis is an English stage and script actor who starred in the role of Link Larkin in the West End production of the musical Hairspray from its opening in October 2007 until July 2009.
Samantha Dorrance is a British actress, singer and dancer from Willenhall in the West Midlands who reached fame on Disney Channel UK. She played the lead role of Laura in both the UK Tour and West End versions of Dreamboats and Petticoats.
Francesca Jackson is a musical theatre actress. She took part in the Reality television show I'd Do Anything and lost out the role of Nancy to Jodie Prenger.
Dreamboats and Petticoats is a jukebox musical based on popular songs from the fifties and early sixties. The musical, featuring those songs of the rock 'n' roll era, is set around the years 1957 to 1963 and was written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
Samuel Attwater is an English actor and singer who played Leon Small in the British soap opera EastEnders and its online spin-off EastEnders: E20.
Daisy Wood-Davis is a British singer and actress. She has appeared in several stage productions, including Dreamboats and Petticoats as Laura and The Rocky Horror Show as Janet Weiss. From 2014 to 2018, she played the role of Kim Butterfield in Hollyoaks. In 2019, she recurred as Phoebe Palmer in Holby City.
Ben Harrison is a British sound designer specialising in musical theatre and live events.
Sunny Afternoon is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by Ray Davies and a book by Joe Penhall. Based on the formation and career of the English rock band The Kinks, the musical was commissioned and produced by Sonia Friedman and made its world premiere in 2014 at the Hampstead Theatre, London, before transferring to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre. Featuring songs by The Kinks, Sunny Afternoon includes their hits such as "Lola", "Waterloo Sunset", "You Really Got Me" and the musical's title song, "Sunny Afternoon".
Emma Hatton is a British actress and singer, who played the role of Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked. She has also understudied the roles of Meat and Scaramouche in We Will Rock You and has a number of other professional stage and theatre credits, such as Donna in Dreamboats and Petticoats. In 2017 she took on the lead role in the Bill Kenwright touring production of Evita. In 2018 she toured as a featured vocalist with the vintage rotating music collective Postmodern Jukebox during their UK and European tour.
Save The Last Dance For Me is a jukebox musical written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. It primarily uses songs from the 1960s written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman such as A Teenager in Love, Sweets For My Sweet, Little Sister, Viva Las Vegas, Can't Get Used to Losing You and the title song Save The Last Dance For Me. It opened at the Churchill Theatre Bromley on 9 January 2012 before embarking on a nationwide tour. A spin-off production from Dreamboats and Petticoats, it reunited the writing team with producer Bill Kenwright and director Keith Strachan. The choreography was by Olivier Award winner, Bill Deamer. As was the case in Dreamboats and Petticoats, all of the music was played live by the actors on stage. A new production has been announced, due to open April 2016 at Windsor Theatre Royal, before touring the UK again.
Laurie Mansfield is a theatrical agent from Birmingham.
Greatest Days is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by Take That and a book by Tim Firth. It received its world premiere under its original title The Band at the Manchester Opera House, in September 2017, before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour and opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket at London's West End in December 2018. The band was cast through the 2017 BBC reality television show Let It Shine.
