Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre announces Drew McOnie’s inaugural season
Photo credit: FEAST Creative
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre have announced that the much-anticipated UK premiere of musical comedy Shucked and Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon will play as part of Drew McOnie’s inaugural season at the venue.
Shucked will play from 10 May-14 June, with Monique Ashe-Palmer (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, West End) as Storyteller 1, Ben Joyce (Back to the Future, West End) as Beau, Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey, ITV) as Maizy, Georgina Onuorah (Little Shop of Horrors, Sheffield Crucible) as Lulu, Keith Ramsay (The Play That Goes Wrong, West End) as Peanut, Matthew Seadon-Young (The Baker’s Wife, Menier Chocolate Factory) as Gordy, and Steven Webb (Here You Come Again, Riverside Studios/UK tour) as Storyteller 2.
Featuring a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn, a score by the Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and directed by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, this corn-fed, corn-bred American musical is sure to satisfy your appetite!
Maizy and Beau are getting hitched, when the corn that protects their small community starts to die. The town needs answers. But who will dare to venture beyond the borders of Cob County?
Including the knockout songs ‘Woman of the World’, ‘Somebody Will’ and ‘Independently Owned’, this Broadway hit about an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist, and a battle for the heart and soil of a small town, is not to be missed.
The creative team includes casting director Jill Green CDG, costume designer Tilly Grimes, music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger Jason Howland, choreographer Sarah O’Gleby, set designer Scott Pask, musical director Katy Richardson, sound designer John Shivers, and lighting designer Japhy Weideman.
A new adaptation of Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon by Rona Munro, with direction and choreography by Drew McOnie, will run from 2 August – 20 September. The captivating Scottish Highlands come to the magical outdoor setting of Regent’s Park in this major London revival for the first time in over 35 years. Danielle Fiamanya (Mandela) will play Fiona, alongside Louis Gaunt (Mary Poppins) as Tommy.
Crash landed in the Highlands of Scotland, WW2 fighter pilots Tommy and Jeff are searching for a way home, whilst just beyond the hills, sisters Fiona and Jean are preparing for a wedding. Over the course of one chance day in the dreamlike village of Brigadoon, their stories entwine. But can love endure in this enchanting place where everything is not quite as it seems?
Not seen in London for over 35 years, Brigadoon features soaring songs including ‘Almost Like Being in Love’, ‘Waitin’ for My Dearie’ and ‘The Heather on the Hill’.
The creative team includes musical director Laura Bangay, set designer Basia Bińkowska, casting director Will Burton, costume designer Sami Fendall, lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun, sound designer Nick Lidster for Autograph, and music supervisor and orchestrator Sarah Travis.
The season will also include Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Dream Ballets: A Triple Bill from 19 – 22 June, which will see award-winning musical theatre choreographers Julia Cheng, Shelley Maxwell and Kate Prince re-imagining the dream ballets from Allegro, Oklahoma! and Carousel, with new arrangements by Simon Hale and live accompaniment by Sinfonia Smith Square.
Drew McOnie said: “After what has without doubt been one of the most thrilling incubation periods of my creative career, I am so proud of the season we are now able to announce. Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre offers its own unique opportunity to engage with stories under a shared sky and my ambition is to honour that legacy as we move into this new artistic chapter. Every member of the Regent’s Park team and the many artists that are coming together to share their imaginations with us, will put our audiences, both new and returning, at the centre of their process and it's an honour to work alongside them in delivering my debut season for this much-loved venue.”
Full creative teams and casting for all productions to be announced.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Memberships are now on sale, and Members’ priority booking for the 2025 summer season opens at 12pm today (30 January), with public booking opening at 11am on 6 February.