Michael D. Xavier to Star in ROMAN HOLIDAY, the New Cole Porter Stage Musical
Based on the multi Academy Award winning movie comedy which made a worldwide star of Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday is now transformed into a glittering stage musical.
Theatre Royal Bath Productions, by arrangement with Paul Blake and BFI Productions, has announced that the acclaimed West End leading actor Michael D. Xavier will star in the UK premiere of the brand new stage adaptation of Roman Holiday, when it opens at Theatre Royal Bath from 10 June this year.
Two-time Olivier Award nominee Michael D. Xavier's theatre credits include Sunset Boulevard opposite Glenn Close (London Coliseum and Palace Theatre, Broadway), My Fair Lady (UK No. 1 Tour), Love Story (Duchess Theatre and Minerva Theatre), Into the Woods and The Sound of Music (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), Prince of Broadway (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway), The Pajama Game (Shaftesbury Theatre), The Wars Of The Roses - Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III (The Rose Theatre), The Secret Garden (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington D.C), The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty's Theatre), Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Spamalot (Palace Theatre) and Miss Saigon (UK Tour). On screen, Xavier's credits include series regular Elliott Wallace in Grantchester and recurring roles in Outlander (Starz!), The Blacklist (NBC) and Gentleman Jack (HBO).
Based on the multi Academy Award winning movie comedy which made a worldwide star of Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday is now transformed into a glittering stage musical, featuring the unforgettable music of Cole Porter including Easy To Love, You Do Something To Me, In The Still Of The Night, Just One Of Those Things and Night and Day.
Winning multiple Academy Awards when first released 70 years ago, Roman Holiday follows a youthful princess and an American journalist on a frenetic 24-hour adventure through the delights of the Italian capital. The beloved movie has been adapted for stage by Kirsten Guenther and Paul Blake, who co-wrote the stage version of Irving Berlin's White Christmas.
Ann, a young princess visiting Rome on a goodwill tour, escapes from the watchful eye of her chaperone. She meets Joe who offers to show her around the city, but Joe's editor has demanded a story regarding a missing princess. Through the course of one charming day and eventful night in Rome, Ann and Joe grow closer, but will true romance blossom before Ann has to return to her royal duties...?
Roman Holiday is directed by double Olivier Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jeremy Sams, whose directing credits include Noises Off in the West End and Jason Robert Brown's 13. He also wrote the script for the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and translated the award-nominated Amour on Broadway.
Further cast and further creative team will be announced in due course.
RELATED STORIES - UK / West End
What do you get when you have a ballet dancer who dreams of making it professionally and showing the world that guys can dance too? You have a real-life Billy Elliot story, which is happening to someone who played the titular role of Billy on the West End back home in the UK, and is now here in the US studying and training in professional ballet making his dancing dreams a reality! Not only does he dance, but he has done a few acting roles as well and even participated in a professional opera as a dancer. He is taking the role, and making it his real-life story! At the end of the musical, we see Billy leaving his home and family to head off for training at the Royal Ballet School, so this is like getting to see the story continue beyond the stage! Broadway World Detroit got a chance to catch up with Brodie Donougher, the last person to play the role of Billy, and see what he’s up to since his days on the West End stage 7 years ago!
Conducted by Anthony Parnther (isn’t that the perfect name to lead this specific venture?), this European premiere features Massamba Diop on the talking drum, an instrument essential to the score. Diop, who performed the original tracks for director Ryan Coogler, is a force of nature. After a beautiful introduction by Parnther (who surprisingly does a cracking impression of James Earl Jones as Mufasa!), Diop gave a taster for what was to come: a vibrant tattoo that goes hand in hand with masterful storytelling, filling the Hall effortlessly.
Few words grab the attention like murder. And few genres outside immersive theatre can pull you physically into a specific time and place. So why aren’t there more immersive murder productions like this one?
All in all, the evening is like a group session with no guarantees of being called out or receiving answers. Believers will believe, sceptics won’t. Without going into Michael’s “gift”, the two hours are, unfortunately, rather dull. He jumps straight in between tongue-in-cheek jokes and an entertainer’s spirit. A tense silence falls onto the audience and he starts pacing around, trying to “pick up” some “energy”. He is respectful, and kind, almost apologetic for his intrusions into people’s personal lives as he glances into nothingness, pulling information out of thin air.
Videos
Video: Watch an All-New Trailer For ASSASSINS at Chichester Festival Theatre
![Photos/TONY! [THE TONY BLAIR ROCK OPERA] Reveals New Tour Dates, Plus New Photos and Video Video](https://cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/upload13/2240333/300-0c2cbe5ad86fb82b66237e67107fcb74.jpg)
TICKET CENTRAL
Recommended For You
Special offers for UK Shows
