Midnight is a sung-through musical by Todrick Hall, who wrote the music and lyrics for the show. Hall was also the director and choreographer and starred in the workshop of the show as the main character, Rail in its 2025 workshop in London. [1]
In America's South during the nineteenth century, the audience is introduced to the story of Rail, a young Black man, who was sold as a slave as a young boy. Rail falls in love with bubbly Lily Rose, a young Black woman. Rail's owner, young Scarlet, falls in love with Richard, a wealthy neighbour, at a ball he organises with his brother. Richard chooses Rail to work alongside him and a group of Black and white workers on his future house, and a bond starts between the two men. The friendship grows into mutual respect, and ultimately into a forbidden and dangerous love that challenges everyone's stories.
When Rail is brutally attacked, all characters are forced to confront their differences and what divides them, while the show invites the audiences to look at the story through other people's eyes. The final message is that we cannot choose the roles we are given in life, but we can choose how we play them.
The show had two close-doors performances in New York and London, before running for a paying audience at the Sadler's Wells East in London from 11 to 15 November 2025. [2] The musical style of the show blends gospel, blues and pop, with nods to the classic musicals. [3] [4]
Act 1:
| Act 2:
|
| Character | Sadler's Wells East workshop |
|---|---|
| 2025 | |
| Rail | Todrick Hall |
| Richard | Jeremy Beloate |
| Lily Rose | Charlotte Odusanya |
| Scarlet | Ailsa Davidson |
| Charlotte | Rachel Tucker |
| Ethel | Ayana George |
| Violet | Charlotte Jaconelli |
| Happy | Georgina Onuorah |
| Harry | Barney Wilkinson |
| Clyde | Ashlee Irish |
| Billy | Watkins Smith Jr. |
| Sylvester | Craig Armstrong |
{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)