Cast announced for major new London production of THE WILD PARTY at EartH Hackney
Casting has been announced for a major new London production of the multi Tony-nominated Broadway musical The Wild Party, which plays at EartH Hackney, a new 680-capacity venue in Dalston, from 12 August-7 September.
EartH, originally built in the 1930s as a cinema, has undergone two years of restoration and now boasts jaw-dropping original Art Deco features and a state-of-the-art sound system.
The cast includes Laura Baldwin (ALW’s Cinderella, West End) as Queenie, Simon Anthony (Guys and Dolls, Bridge Theatre) as Burrs, Bobbie Little (The Witches, National Theatre) as Kate, Billy Cullum (A Christmas Carol, Old Vic) as Black, Chumisa Dornford-May (The Phantom of the Opera, West End) as Dolores, George Crawford (Newsies, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre) as Jackie, Jade Kennedy (Fun Home, Dublin) as Eddie, Kirsty Foreman (professional debut) as Mae, Christian Maynard (Rehab the Musical, Neon194) as Phil, Samantha Bingley (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, West End/Tour) as Sally, Kyle Richardson (The Lion King, West End) as Oscar, Maddison Bulleyment (42 Balloons, The Lowry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, West End) as Madelaine, Ronan Quiniou (The Wizard of Oz) as Gold, and Ryan Wolpert (professional debut) as Goldberg, with Jennifer Louise Jones (Swing and Dance Captain), and Amber Sylvia Edwards (Swing).
The Wild Party has music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, with a book by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe, based on the poem by Joseph Moncure March, and will be directed by Dan Herd,
Manhattan decadence provides the backdrop for this tough musical fable. Queenie, a vaudeville chorine, hosts the blow-out of the title with her vicious lover. The guests are a vivid collection of the unruly and the undone. The jazz and gin-soaked party rages to a mounting sense of threat as artifice and illusion are stripped away. When midnight debauchery leads to tragedy at dawn, the high-flying characters land with a sobering thud, reminding us that no party lasts forever.
Director Dan Herd said: “LaChiusa and Wolfe’s The Wild Party is a bold explosion of a musical that transports us into the intoxicating dark side of the Jazz Age. It’s a thrilling journey through a booze-fueled night with characters, score, and text that are utterly exhilarating. Our production aims to match the creators’ daring writing; here, the grotesque and iconic guests at this party possess our cast, transforming them into the puppets of ghosts from an untamed past, creating a palpable sense of unpredictability. This summer in Hackney, we’re crafting a unique theatrical event: shadows will dance across the faded grandeur of our venue, the audience will become part of an immersive ghost story, and our brilliant creative team and top-tier cast will revive this landmark musical with exuberance and true wildness.”
The production has choreography by Alexzandra Sarmiento, set and costume design by Sophia Pardon, lighting by Adam King, sound by Russell Ditchfield, musical supervision by Ben Goddard-Young, and casting by Richard Johnston for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting.
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