EI8HT: An Original Musical Presentation Comes to London This Month

Drew & Dane Productions has announced that EI8HT: An Original Musical with book, music and lyrics by Charli Eglinton, will have a presentation on Friday 17th June at The Other Palace Theatre in London.

Ed Leale is the eldest son of a Sicilian mafia boss. He rejects his family's criminal ties in pursuit of his own ambition - to build a new world for himself by constructing his chosen family of automatons. Ed escapes to New York to start again, chasing
his American Dream...but quickly learns he can't escape his family. Circumstance leads him to create his own empire or robots, becoming Don to feed his unearthed craving for power, more than his family ever had, until...

Welcome to the retro-modern world of EI8HT.

"We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Charli as we have all continued developing EI8HT over the past year" said Drew Desky and Dane Levens of Drew & Dane Productions. "She has created a fantastical and stunning world of characters and music that address timeless and timely issues about dreams and aspirations and the blurred lines between creation and destruction. These issues surround the always vital questions of what it means to be a human and what it means to be a family. We are delighted to continue working together to share this vibrant and impactful story."

A prior version of EI8HT was presented at the Asylum Steampunk Festival, the largest of its kind in the world, to a sold out audience in 2018. Charli directed and produced a sold-out staging at The Other Palace in 2019, part of the Tête à Tête New Opera Festival. Coming back afresh in 2021, Charli rewrote the piece as a book musical, with a brand new score, characters and expanded story. A five-minute animated excerpt of EI8HT won Best Short Film and was Overall Winner of the 2019 Moving Image Awards, judged by the BFI and industry film critics.

Casting for the presentation includes Mikey Wooster (Friends The Musical, UK Tour) as Ed Leale, Elliott Wooster (Rebel Cheer Squad, BBC / Netflix) as Valentin Leale , Parisa Shahmir (Mamma Mia!, UK Tour) as Marli Coraggiose, Alex Okoampa (Tina The Musical, West End) as Dino Coraggiose, Daniel Boys (Nativity Rocks!, Mirrorball Films) as Don Marco Russo, Nic Chiappetta (EnEyeCee, Sony Music) as Don Venero Leale and Ralph Bogard (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Globe Theatre) as Angelo Raimondi.

Michael Mills will be the Director and Creative Co-Producer for the presentation, and Dudley Hinton Productions will serve as General Manager.

Charli Eglinton is a composer, writer, lyricist and animator from London and has already written a slate of nine original musicals. She is passionate about escapism, evoking fanciful, different worlds onstage. During lockdown, she produced several remote concept albums, featuring Telly Leung and Maiya Quansah-Breed amongst others. Her musical passion began aged 13, winning the RSC 'Write Here Write Now' competition for 'Matilda', where her original scene, song and new character were performed by the West End cast at the Cambridge Theatre. She was a finalist in both the 2020 Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize (her entry performed by Fra Fee) and the 2020 NMI New Voices Project. She has also won multiple international film awards for her original animations. For more information on Charli and her projects, see her website: https://www.charlieglinton.com/

Most recently, Drew & Dane produced Rain and Zoe Save the World at Jermyn Street Theatre. They have produced the award- winning revival of Little Shop of Horrors (Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and Outer Critics Circle Honor for Outstanding Revival of a Musical), Pageant (Drama Desk nomination), Application Pending (Drama Desk nomination), Who's Holiday! (Lortel nomination), The Other Josh Cohen (Off Broadway Alliance nomination), Fairycakes , Unexpected Joy, Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, and R.R.R.E.D. Currently supporting Hadestown (including North American Tour), Dear Evan Hansen (including North American Tour and West End), Come From Away (Australia/NZ tour), Moulin Rouge! (Australia Tour), Cambodian Rock Band (US Tour), A Sherlock Carol and The Inheritance. They have produced and supported developmental presentations of several plays and musicals. Drew & Dane have earned the Emmy Award for Best Digital Drama Series as Executive Producers of After Forever in 2018. Drew is the Founding Co-Chair of the Leadership Council of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Drew and Dane are also members of the Artists Circle of the Bucks County Playhouse, where they have the honor of being the only couple married on that historic stage.

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