Casting announced for the UK premiere of BECOMING NANCY at Birmingham Rep
Photo credit: Alexis Chabala
Birmingham Rep have announced casting for Becoming Nancy, the UK premiere of a new musical directed and choreographed by the Tony Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, beginning performances at the venue on 2 October.
Joseph Peacock (Bat out of Hell, West End) will play David Starr, with Joseph Vella (Fame, From Here to Eternity) as Maxie Boswell, Paige Peddie (Oklahoma, West End) as Frances Bailey, Olivier Award-winning Rebecca Trehearn (Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, West End), as Kath Starr, Genevieve Nicole (Magic Goes Wrong, West End) as Aunt Val, Mathew Craig (Crazy for You, West End) as Eddie Starr, Olivier Award-winning Stephen Ashfield (The Book of Mormon, West End/Broadway) as Hamish McClarnon, and Daisy Greenwood (Made in Dagenham concert, London Palladium) as Abigail Henson. Further casting is yet to be announced.
Becoming Nancy is a coming-of-age story about first love, friendship, and finding your voice, based on the novel by Terry Ronald. The book is by Elliot Davis, with music by George Stiles and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, and additional music and lyrics by Terry Ronald, Elliot Davis and George Stiles.
Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell was returning to New York from the UK in 2013 and came across the book Becoming Nancy at Heathrow Airport. By the time he reached the US, he knew he had to make the story into a musical!
Mitchell said: “Becoming Nancy requires a lot of young fresh talent, and I'm so excited to introduce these incredible young performers to British audiences alongside some spectacular West End stars. This beautiful story about finding your true self and the spotlight each of us deserves is going to be a joy to share with audiences of all ages.”
In Becoming Nancy, it’s 1979 and David Starr is unquestionably one of the smartest, most talented sixth formers in East Dulwich – he’s got a wild imagination, a vocal range to die for, and a bedroom plastered with posters of his beloved pop idols: Blondie, Sting, and Kate Bush. But being clever, having talent, and great taste in music may not be enough to get him through secondary school, where, to his great surprise, he’s just been given the lead role of Nancy, in the school play, Oliver! The unconventional casting sends shockwaves to everyone around him – including his parents, his aunt, and his classmates. Before long, it seems like everybody has an opinion on whether David should go on with the show, inspiring him to turn to his no-nonsense best friend Frances and his unlikely co-star Maxie, the enigmatic captain of the football team.
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