Full Cast Revealed For New Musical THE BOOK THIEF

The full cast has been announced for the stage adaptation of best-selling novel The Book Thief, with a book by Jodi Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald and music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson. The musical will be presented at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre and Leicester's Curve Theatre in autumn 2023.

 

THE BOOK THIEF will star Obioma Ugoala (Frozen the Musical, Hamilton) as Narrator, Mina Anwar (The Sarah Jane Adventures, The Worst Witch) as Rosa Hubermann, Jack Lord (West Side Story, War Horse) as Hans Hubermann and Daniel Krikler (Jersey Boys, The Secret Life Of Bees) as Max Vandenburg. Joining them are Storytellers Matthew Caputo (Hamilton) as Referee, Katy Clayton (The Band) as Liesel's Mother, Oonagh Cox (Matilda: The Musical) as Nurse, Mark Dugdale (Les Miserables) as Alex Steiner, Michał Horowicz (The Band's Visit) as Max's Mother, Thomas-Lee Kidd (Beauty and the Beast) as Mayor Hermann, Anu Ogunmefun (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) as Swing, Simon Oskarsson (A Midsummer Night's Dream) as Swing, Corinna Powlesland (Grease) as Social Worker, Purvi Parmar (The Jungle Book) as Barbara Steiner, Wendy Somerville (Billy Elliot) as Ilsa Hermann, Edwin Ray (Chicago) as Walter Kugler, Lee V G (Only Fools & Horses: The Musical) as Gravedigger and Russell Wilcox (The Producers) as Wolfgang Edel. Liesel Meminger will be played by Tilly-Raye Bayer (Frozen The Musical), Mollie Casserley (The Sound of Music) and Eirini Louskou (Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and Rudy Steiner will be played by Thommy Bailey Vine (Matilda: The Musical), Preston Cropp (Professional Debut) and Oliver Gordon (Newsies).

 

THE BOOK THIEF had an extremely well-received initial presentation at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton in 2022 for which it has been nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production. 

 

“The year: 1940. The place: Nazi Germany. The world is holding its breath, and Death is busier than ever.”

 

By her brother's graveside, 12-year-old Liesel steals a book abandoned in the snow - her first act of book thievery. Soon she is stealing from libraries, churches, and book burnings. But these are dangerous times for a girl with a curious mind. When her foster family hides a Jewish boxer in their cellar, Liesel learns that words are so much more than letters on a page - they hold power. As the Nazi regime wields words as weapons, Liesel, determined to fight back, picks up her pen and starts to write…

 

A mesmerising new musical based on Markus Zusak's international bestselling novel, The Book Thief is adapted by award-winning bestselling author Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper) and Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, Between the Lines) with music and lyrics by  Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (Central Park AppleTV+)

  

THE BOOK THIEF will be directed by Lotte Wakeham (The Book Thief, Shirley Valentine, A Midsummer Night's Dream), with Libretto by Jodi Picoult (Breathe, Between The Lines) & Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's James & The Giant Peach and Willy Wonka), Music and Lyrics by Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson (Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Central Park), Set & Costume Design by Good Teeth (Little Shop of Horrors, Jack and the Beanstalk), Choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves (Rent, Whistle Down the Wind, Romeo & Juliet), Orchestrations & Arrangements, Musical Supervision & Musical Direction by MATTHEW MALONE (Peter Pan, Carousel),  Lighting Design by Nic Farman (Allegiance, The Diary of a CEO Live), Sound Design by Andy Graham (Aladdin, The Wizard of Oz), Video Design by Dick Straker (A Monster Calls, Peer Gynt), Casting directed by Abby Galvin for Jessica Ronane Casting (The Glass Menagerie, Girl from the North Country), Casting Consultancy by Jessica Ronane, Puppet Design by Sam Wilde (A Christmas Carol, The Fir Tree), Production Management by Andy Fox and Lee Batty for Setting Line Production Management (Newsies, The Cher Show), Associate Direction by Martha Geelan (Fiddler on the Roof) and Anna Pool (A Little Night Music), Associate Choreography by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda (Moulin Rouge), and Associate Musical Direction by George Strickland (Allegiance). THE BOOK THIEF is produced by Deus Ex Machina Productions (Ride: A New Musical, Adrian Mole) with Writer's Cage, Andrew Paradis, and Christopher Ketner in association with Belgrade, Coventry. 

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