UPDATED - 26/5/17
During Monday evening’s performance, May 22, 2017, Fred Haig - who plays Chip in On The Town - sustained an injury to his foot which has now been confirmed as a fracture. Sadly, this means that he has had to withdraw from the production and we all wish Fred a speedy recovery.
With the support of Danny Mac (Gabey), Samuel Edwards (Ozzie), Lizzy Connolly (Hildy) and all the Company, Fred’s understudy, Jacob Maynard has now stepped out of the Ensemble permanently to play the role of Chip for the remainder of the run.
Perry O'Bree is gutted, especially in this heatwave, not to be heading to Regent's Park tonight for his latest #FirstNightTakeover. But while the show must go on, the press night has been cancelled for ON THE TOWN at the Open Air Theatre. Here's a short statement from the theatre...
"We are sorry to announce that Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will be cancelling the press night of ON THE TOWN this Thursday 25 May, due to the incapacity of one of the lead performers. Whilst there is an understudy for the role, this combined with poor weather conditions during technical rehearsals, means that the production has had to make the difficult decision to cancel media performances this week in order for production to extend previews of the show."
Press are now being invited over two days next Tuesday and Wednesday with reviews embargoed until Wednesday 31 May 2017 at 11pm.
ON THE TOWN is the biggest dance production in the theatre's history, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie. Danny Mac, Fred Haig and Samuel Edwards (who took over from originally announced Jeremy Taylor) take the roles of the three sailors, Gabey, Chip and Ozzie, originally played in the film version by Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin. Siena Kelly, Lizzy Connolly and Miriam-Teak Lee take the roles of Ivy, Hildy and Claire, originally played in the film version by Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett and Ann Miller.
Also joining the cast are Maggie Steed as Madame Dilly, Naoko Mori as Lucy Schmeeler, Rodney Earl Clarke as The Workman and Mark Heenehan as Judge Pitkin. And completing the cast are: Michelle Andrews, Myles Brown, Matthew Caputo, Edward Chitticks, Lavinia Fitzpatrick, Cristina Hoey, James Leece, Jacob Maynard, Rachel Muldoon, Melissa Nettleford, Emily Ann Potter, Mollie Melia Redgrave, Lisa Ritchie, Barnaby Thompson, Sam Salter and Brandon Lee Sears.
ON THE TOWN is based on a concept by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, including the hit song “New York, New York (it’s a helluva town)”. It is directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, designed by Peter McKintosh, with musical supervision by Tom Deering, lighting by Howard Hudson, sound by Nick Lidster for Autograph.
