Willis & Hamilton-Barritt to Lead West End FLASHDANCE

Matt Willis and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt will lead the cast in Flashdance The Musical, which opens in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre this autumn. Previewing from 24 September 2010 with Gala night on 14 October, Flashdance The Musical is currently booking until 26 February 2011. Press preview performances are Monday 11 October at 7.30pm, Tuesday 12 October at 7.30pm, Wednesday 13 October at 7.30pm and Thursday 14 October at 7pm, with reviews embargoed until Friday 15 October 2011.

Written by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, Flashdance The Musical will be directed at the Shaftesbury Theatre by Nikolai Foster with choreography by Arlene Phillips and orchestrations and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt will play Alex, and Matt Willis will play Nick. They are joined by Sarah Ingram (Hannah ), Charlotte Harwood (Gloria), Hannah Levane (Keisha) and Twinnie-Lee Moore (Jazmin) with Brendan Cull, Russell Dixon, Sam Mackay, Ricky Rojas, Andrew Spillett and Robbie White, as well as Ivan Blackstock, Tyman Boatwright, MyLes Brown, Joseph Conner, Natalie Edmunds, Nicholas Gilligan, Zoe Green, James Hall, Ben Harrold, Emily Hawgood, Kirby Huges, Sia Kiwa, Lindsay Shaw, Maria Swainson, Amy Thornton and Daniel Uppal.

Set in Pittsburgh, USA, Flashdance The Musical tells the story of 19-year old Alex, a welder by day and ‘flashdancer' by night, whose dream is to obtain a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy. This musical about holding on to your dreams and love against all the odds features an iconic score including Maniac, Manhunt, Gloria, I Love Rock and Roll and the Academy award-winning title track Flashdance - What a Feeling, as well as fourteen new songs written specially for the musical by Rob Cary and Robbie Roth.

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt created the role of Alex for the UK Tour of Flashdance The Musical. She has most recently been seen playing the role of Rizzo in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre. Her other theatre credits include Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Fame at the Aldwych Theatre, Desperately Seeking Susan at the Novello Theatre as well as Saturday Night Fever UK Tour and West Side Story International Tour. Her film credits include A Bunch of Amateurs and A Tale of Two Cities.
Singer, musician and presenter Matt Willis was a founder member of the British pop rock band Busted, after which he embarked on a solo career, releasing the singles Up All Night, Hey Kid and Don't Let It Go to Waste as well as a cover version of The Primitives' song Crash for the feature film Mr Bean's Holiday. Willis went on to win the 2006 ITV series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Subsequently he has been a presenter of ITV2's coverage of the BRIT Awards and returned as a co-host on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. During his stage school training with Sylvia Young he appeared on television in The Bill, Casualty and EastEnders.

Nikolai Foster's recent directing credits include Noel Coward's Hay Fever for Chichester Festival Theatre, the national tour of The Witches of Eastwick, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, adapted by Bryony Lavery and Jason Carr for Birmingham Rep, Orwell's Animal Farm at West Yorkshire Playhouse
and Barry Hines' Kes, adapted by Lawrence Till for The Liverpool Playhouse and the Touring Consortium. He has been director on attachment at the Sheffield Crucible, the Royal Court and the National Theatre Studio.

Multi award-winning choreographer Arlene Phillips has choreographed the West End musicals Grease, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express and, most recently, The Sound of Music. As director and choreographer her credits include Starlight Express - The Tour, Saturday Night Fever and EFX at the MGM Grand. She has been a judge on BBC1's hugely popular Strictly Come Dancing for six series, continuing her role on Strictly Come Dancing - The Live Tour, and most recently has been seen on television as a judge for BBC1's So You Think You Can Dance. In 2002 Arlene was awarded the OBE for Services to Dance.

Flashdance The Musical, based on the Paramount Pictures film (screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, story by Tom Hedley), is produced in the West End by Christopher Malcolm, David Ian, The Baruch-Viertel-Routh-Frankel Group and Transamerica.

 

www.flashdancethemusical.com