Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan's East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
David Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor. He has received nominations for two Academy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two British Academy Awards (BAFTAs), winning one. In 2007, he received an Honorary César and was named a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government, in recognition of his contribution to World Cinema Arts.
Elaine Paige is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.
Billie Paul Piper is an English actress, dancer, and former singer, from Swindon, Wiltshire. She made her debut in Scratchy & Co. (1995–1998), and at the age of 15, she signed a recording contract and released her debut single "Because We Want To", which entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart and made her the youngest artist ever to enter at number one on the chart. The single was followed by Piper's album Honey to the B (1998), which was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. In 2000, she released her second album, Walk of Life. In 2003, she retired from the recording industry and launched an acting career.
Katie Liu Leung is a Scottish film, television, and stage actress. She played Cho Chang, the first love interest for lead character Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series. In 2012, Leung made her stage debut in the play Wild Swans. Leung has an interest in painting and photography and studied art and design at the University of the Arts, London.
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy adapted from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the motion picture, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian legend, but it differs from the film in many ways. The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, received 14 Tony Awards nominations, winning in three categories, including Best Musical. During its initial run of 1,575 performances, it was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $175 million.
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, is an English stage and screen actress. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in the 1970s before appearing in seasons at various theatres in the UK.
Lindsay Vere Duncan, is a British actress. On stage she has won two Olivier Awards, a Tony Award for her performance in Private Lives and a Tony Award nomination for her role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Duncan has starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her best known roles on television include: Barbara Douglas in Alan Bleasdale's G.B.H. (1991), Servilia of the Junii in the HBO/BBC/RAI series Rome (2005–2007), Adelaide Brooke in the Doctor Who special "The Waters of Mars" (2009) and Lady Smallwood in the BBC series Sherlock. On film she portrayed Anthea Lahr in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), voiced the android TC-14 in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and Alice's mother in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), and played the acerbic theatre critic Tabitha Dickinson in Birdman or (2014).
Alice Sophia Eve is a British actress. She is known for her role as Dr. Carol Marcus in Star Trek Into Darkness.
Hermione Jane Norris is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet. She appeared in every episode of the series from 1998 to 2003 and was nominated for a British Comedy Award.
Connie Fisher is a British actress, singer and TV presenter, who won the BBC One talent contest, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
Rebecca Maria Hall is an English-American actress who made her first onscreen appearance at age 10 in the 1992 television adaptation of The Camomile Lawn, directed by her father Peter Hall. Her professional stage debut came in her father's 2002 production of Mrs. Warren's Profession, which earned her enthusiastic reviews and the Ian Charleson Award.
Spring Awakening is a rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. It is based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Set in late 19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of teenage sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.
The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms.
War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by children's writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel; nonetheless, the play was a success. The play's West End and Broadway productions are directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris; it features life-size horse puppets by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa, with "horse choreography" by Toby Sedgwick.
Quiara Alegría Hudes is an American playwright and composer. She wrote the book for the musical In the Heights. Her play Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful.
Matilda the Musical is a stage musical based on the 1988 children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was adapted by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. The musical's narrative centres on Matilda, a precocious 5-year-old girl with the gift of telekinesis, who loves reading, overcomes obstacles caused by her family and school, and helps her teacher to reclaim her life. After a twelve-week trial run staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford-upon-Avon from November 2010 to January 2011, it received its West End premiere on 24 November 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre and its Broadway premiere on 11 April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre.
Jack Andrew Lowden is a Scottish actor. Following a highly successful and award-winning four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace, which led to starring roles in feature films.
Cynthia Chinasaokwu O. Erivo is a British actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for her performance as Celie in the 2015 Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as well as the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. She reprised the role of Celie on Broadway after first performing it in the 2013 Menier Chocolate Factory production in London.
