Darius Campbell to Star in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY World Premiere?

According to the Daily Mail, Darius Campbell will star in the world premiere of the new stage musical From Here to Eternity. The show will preview at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 30th September with Press Night on 23rd October 2013. Rehearsals will begin in late August.

Read the original report here.

Adapted from one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, this gripping tale of illicit love and army life unites the writing talents of Tim Rice (lyrics), Stuart Brayson (music) and Bill Oakes (book). It marks Tim's first new stage musical for over ten years and Stuart's West End début.

From Here to Eternity will be directed by Tamara Harvey (Educating Rita, Menier Chocolate Factory; The Kitchen Sink, Bush Theatre), designed by Soutra Gilmour (Macbeth, Trafalgar Studios; Antigone, National Theatre) and choreographed by Javier De Frutos (London Road, National Theatre; The Most Incredible Thing, Sadler's Wells). The stellar creative team also includes lighting designer Bruno Poet (Frankenstein, National Theatre), sound designer Mick Potter (Phantom of the Opera, West End/ worldwide) and orchestrator & musical supervisor David White (LES MISERABLES, West End/ worldwide). Further casting to be announced.

Pearl Harbor,1941, where the girls sing "don'cha like Hawaii", the men of G Company sing the blues, and where even on an army base, love and desire are never very far away. When the troubled Private Prewitt falls for the kind hearted escort club girl Lorene, and when his platoon sergeant, Warden, embarks on a dangerous affair with his commanding officer's wife, Karen, the lives of both men are set on a course they cannot control. As war approaches, the worlds of the four lovers and the soldiers of G Company are dramatically ripped apart.

Published in 1951, From Here to Eternity was James Jones' début novel. It won him the National Book Award for fiction in 1952. It is loosely based on Jones' experiences in the pre-World War II Hawaiian Division's 27th Infantry and the unit in which he served. In 1953 the novel was adapted into a film directed by Fred Zinnemann and produced by Buddy Adler, starring Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Ernest Borgnine, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed. The film won 8 Academy Awards out of 13 nominations.

Campbell starred as Billy Flynn in the West End production of Chicago for two runs. He also appeared as Sky Masterson in the Olivier Award winning Guys and Dolls, and originated the role of Rhett Butler in Trevor Nunn's Gone With the Wind.

For more information, visit www.FromHereToEternityTheMusical.com.