06 February 2019
Newsdesk
The BAFTA award-winning actor Nicholas Lyndhurst and West End star Cassidy Janson have joined Kelsey Grammer and Danielle de Niese in the acclaimed musical Man of La Mancha which opens at the London Coliseum on 26 April 2019.
Man of La Mancha, produced by Michael Linnit and Michael Grade, the producers who brought Chess, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard and Sweeney Todd to the London Coliseum - are collaborating again with English National Opera to bring a brand new production of the multi-Tony award winning Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha to London, the first West End production of this much loved musical in over 50 years.
Nicholas Lyndhurst, who will play the Innkeeper and the Captain is best known for his TV work which includes the classic series Only Fools and Horses as well as Goodnight Sweetheart and New Tricks. His previous stage credits include the Grade/Linnit production of Carousel at The Coliseum and Trevor Nunn’s The Tempest at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Cassidy Janson who will share the role of Aldonza and Dulcinea with Danielle de Niese, played the lead role in the recent production of Chess at the London Coliseum and the lead in the West End production of Beautiful: The Carole King Story. Cassidy is one third of Leading Ladies, a group formed in 2017 with fellow musical stars, Beverly Knight and Amber Riley.
Man of La Mancha will play a limited season, with performances from 26 April to 8 June 2019. The press performance is on 30 April 2019. It will be performed with ENO’s 35 piece orchestra.
Emmy award winning and Tony nominated actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for playing Dr Frasier Crane in NBC’s hit series’ Cheers and Frasier will make his West End debut playing Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote and the international opera star and soprano Danielle de Niese will share the role of Aldonza and Dulcinea with Cassidy Jonson. Danielle will play the roles in 33 performances and Cassidy in 17.
Man of La Mancha will be directed by Lonny Price, who directed Linnit and Grade’s acclaimed London production of Sunset Boulevard at the Coliseum starring Glenn Close, as well as its hugely-successful subsequent Broadway transfer.
Featuring the iconic song ‘Dream the Impossible Dream’, Man of La Mancha is Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote.
In a 16th century dungeon Cervantes and his man servant await trial from the Spanish Inquisition. In his possession he has a trunk carrying an unfinished novel, Don Quixote. As prisoners attempt to steal his possessions, Cervantes embarks on acting out his novel as his defence, transforming himself into Alonso Quijano.
Quijano, deluded, believes he is a knight errant, renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, and sets off on a fantastical quest with his man servant Sancho Panza.
Chivalry abounds in this classic tale of knighthood, love, loyalty and adventure.
The music in Man of La Mancha is by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion and book by Dale Wasserman.
‘The impossible Dream’ has become an internatonally-renowned song, and has been performed by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Luther Vandross and The Temptations, amongst others.
Kelsey Grammer played Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers and Frasier for two decades. He has won five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award nomination in 2010 for his performance in La Cages aux Folles.
Opera Soprano Danielle de Niese, described by the New York Times magazine as ‘opera’s coolest soprano’ has performed to audiences world-wide, from the Metropolitan Opera to Covent Garden as well as performing on stage with LL Cool J. Sky Arts will feature Danielle as the subject of her own Southbank Show, presented by Melvyn Bragg on November 21, 2018.
Joining Lonny Price on the creative team is conductor David White, set designer James Noone, lighting designer Rick Fisher, sound designer Mick Potter and casting director David Grindrod CDG.
Photographs of Nicholas Lyndhurst, Cassidy Joanson, Kelsey Grammer and Danielle de Niese can be downloaded here
For further information please contact:
nada.zakula@storyhousepr.co.uk + 44 7831 766086
david.bloom@storyhousepr.co.uk + 44 7980 297299
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Man of La Mancha
London Coliseum
St Martin’s Lane
London WC2N 4ES
Dates
26 April – 8 June 2019
Press Night: 30 April at 7.00pm
Performances
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinées – Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Tickets
From £15
Box Office: 020 7845 9300
www.eno.org.
Twitter: @LaManchaLDN
Instagram: @LaManchaLDN
Biographies:
KELSEY GRAMMER
Kelsey Grammer has excelled at the highest level in theatre, television and film as an actor, producer and director. An initial role as Dr Frasier Crane on "Cheers" developed into the cornerstone of the Juilliard-trained actor’s career. Grammer played the celebrated character in three different television series (“Cheers,” "Wings" and "Frasier") over a span of 20 years, tying the record for longest-running television character.
Grammer has won six Emmys, three Golden Globes and a SAG Award and has received an unparalleled 18 Emmy nominations, eight Golden Globe nominations, 16 SAG nominations and one Tony nomination.
On stage, Grammer was most recently seen at the Hollywood Bowl in “Beauty and the Beast” voicing Lumière alongside an all-star cast in a two night limited run of a live performance of Alan Menken’s music that accompanied a screening of the classic, animated Disney film. He also joined the 2018 season of the L.A. Opera in a limited run of Leonard Bernstein’s operetta “Candide,” which ran January–February 2018, playing the dual role of Pangloss and Voltaire. He made his London stage debut in a revised version of the Broadway musical “Big Fish” November—December 2017.
In 2010 Grammer earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, for his starring role in “La Cage aux Folles” on Broadway. In 2015 Grammer returned to the Broadway stage to star in “Finding Neverland.” He reprised the role again in 2016.
Grammer can currently be seen in the Netflix original film “Like Father.” His next film is “Grand Isle,” which he is filming now.
Announced in May 2018, through his production company Grammnet (in conjunction with AwesomenessTV and Wattpad,) Grammer sold a 10-episode straight-to-series, supernatural thriller to Hulu called “Light as a Feather,” based on the story by Zoe Aarsen.
Grammer’s next project will be the timely and powerful new television series “Proven Innocent” for FOX about a legal team that takes on cases involving wrongful convictions. He has signed on for a series regular role for the first season.
Grammer’s recent television voiceover projects include the character Blinky in all three seasons of Netflix’ animated series “Trollhunters,” created by Guillermo Del Toro, for which he won his sixth Emmy Award last season. The third season is available for streaming now.
Accomplished as a voice-over artist, Grammer has played the iconic character Sideshow Bob on “The Simpsons” since 1990, for which he won an Emmy in 2006. As part of his extensive voiceover work, recent films include Warner Bros.’ animated film “Storks” and the adventurous and comedic animated film “Bunyan and Babe.” He has also lent his voice to the feature films “Toy Story 2,” “Anastasia” and “Teacher’s Pet,” to the television series “Father of the Pride” and “Gary the Rat,” and to the Emmy-nominated “Animal Farm” for TNT.
Recent films include Arclight Films’ live action “Guardians of the Tomb,” Universal Pictures’ “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” Sony Picture Entertainment’s “Baby, Baby, Baby” and made a cameo appearance in Warner Home Video’s “Entourage” movie. In 2014, Grammer appeared in five films: Paramount’s fourth installment of the “Transformers” film series, “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” Twentieth Century Fox’ “X-Men: Days of Future Past” Lionsgate’s “The Expendables 3,” Screen Gems’ “Think Like a Man Too” and Millennium Entertainment’s “Reach Me.” In spring 2014, he was also heard lending his voice to the iconic Tin Man in “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” which was nominated for Best Feature at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, prior to its 2014 release.
Recent television credits include the Amazon series “The Last Tycoon,” currently available for streaming, The National Geographic Channel’s historical drama miniseries “Killing Jesus,” FX Network’s comedic series “Partners” and Starz drama “Boss,” in which he starred and was executive producer, for which he was honored with his most recent Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Mayor Tom Kane.
Grammer created Grammnet NH Productions, a TV production company which has produced such hit television shows as the Emmy-winning “Medium,” for NBC, and “The Game” and “Girlfriends,” for CW. Other Grammnet producing credits include the NBC productions “The Innocent,” “Kelsey Grammer Salutes Jack Benny,” “Fired Up,” “In Laws” and “Gary the Rat.” For PAX, he produced “World Cup Comedy.” For FOX, he starred in and produced “Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show.”
Grammer directed single episodes of “Everybody Hates Chris,” “My Ex Life” and “Out of Practice.” He has also directed several episodes of “Frasier”, one of which earned him a DGA nomination. Grammer also starred and served as executive producer of the ABC comedy “Hank.”
Grammer’s other acting credits include “I Don’t Know How She Does It, “MGM’s remake of “Fame,” Paramount Pictures’ “Middle Men,” Vivendi Universal’s “An American Carol,” Disney’s “Swing Vote,” FOX’s blockbuster hit “X-Men: The Last Stand,” FOX’s “Back To You” in which he also served as executive producer, “A Christmas Carol” for NBC, “Benedict Arnold” for A&E, “Mr. St. Nick” for ABC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame, “Fifteen Minutes” for New Line Cinema, “Down Periscope” for 20th Century Fox and “Even Money” for Yari Film Group.
Grammer began acting in plays at Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, where his teenage stage success inspired him to apply to Juilliard. He developed an interest in Shakespeare and began his professional acting career at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. He continued in regional theatre, and finally made his way to New York with roles in the off-Broadway productions “Sunday in the Park with George,” “A Month in the Country” and the Obie Award-winning “Quartermaine's Terms.” He starred on Broadway in “Macbeth” and “Othello.” After gaining television notoriety, he returned to the stage and received critical acclaim as Professor Higgins in “My Fair Lady.” He also performed the title role in “Richard II” and Lucio in “Measure for Measure” at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
Before long he appeared in two TV miniseries: first as Stephen Smith in “Kennedy” (NBC, 1983) and next as Lieutenant Stewart in “George Washington” (CBS, 1984.) Grammer then landed the role of Dr. Frasier Crane in “Cheers.” Originally, the show’s creators wanted John Lithgow for a brief recurring role, but the actor was unavailable. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate Mandy Patinkin suggested him to the New York casting director and he got the job, parlaying six episodes into a career that would span decades.
Grammer was born at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was raised in New Jersey and Florida. He lives in the Los Angeles area and New York.
CASSIDY JANSON
Cassidy’s most recent project was the Leading Ladies trio along with Amber Riley and Beverly Knight. Their debut album, Songs from the Stage, was released in November 2017 and features songs from Hamilton, Dreamgirls, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and The Bodyguard.
Previous to this Cassidy recently played Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Prior to that she was in the West End playing Ruth in Dessa Rose at the Trafalgar Studios opposite Cynthia Erivo. Other work includes Tick, Tick .. Boom! for the Menier Chocolate Factory, starring alongside Neil Patrick Harris; Blood Wedding at the Courtyard Theatre; Rooms: A Rock Romance at the Finborough Theatre; Lend me a Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre playing the principal role of Maggie; Company at the Southwark Playhouse and Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q at the Wyndham’s Theatre. She was a member of the original London cast of Wicked and played standby Elphaba.
Cassidy has guested with The Jive Aces at Glastonbury and Ronnie Scott’s and also toured New York City and Florida with them. She was a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall for Magic FM’s Magic of the Musicals and duetted with Carole King in Hyde Park for 65,000 people.
Her films include The Hike, Tail’s End, Day Trip to London, Full Circle and Coma and her TV appearances include Casualty.
NICHOLAS LYNDHURST
Nicholas Lyndhurst most recently appeared in the West End as Starkeeper/ Dr. Seldon in the Grade Linnit production of Carousel at The Coliseum. This marked the BAFTA Award-winning actor's return to the West End stage, where he was last seen in Trevor Nunn's 2011 production of The Tempest at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His other West End credits include Allan Davis's The Straight and Narrow at the Wyndham's Theatre, Peter Hall's production of The Dresser at the Duke of York's Theatre and The Foreigner by Larry Shue at the Albany Theatre.
He is best known for his classic television series Only Fools and Horses, Goodnight Sweetheart, After You've Gone, Rock & Chips, Butterflies and The Piglet Files, as well as Thin Ice, David Copperfield, The Two of Us and New Tricks.Lyndhurst can also be seen in the 2016 film A United Kingdom.
