Fresh from his success directing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Southwark Playhouse, Tyrone Huntley will be back in the spotlight, playing the role of Wes in the European premiere of new LGBTQ+ musical The View Upstairs, previewing from 18 July 2019 at London’s Soho Theatre. With Andy Mientus, Declan Bennett, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Cedric Neal and John Partridge already in the line-up, it’s turning into quite a cast!
The View Upstairs, written by young up-and-coming artist Max Vernon, runs from 18 July to 24 August at Soho Theatre, with a press night on 23 July and a special gala night in aid of the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), the national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity, on 24 July.
Tyrone Huntley joins the previously announced Andy Mientus, Declan Bennett, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Cedric Neal and John Partridge who will play Patrick, Dale, Inez, Willie and Buddy respectively. Completing the cast are Carly Mercedes Dyer as Henri, Gary Lee as Freddy, Joseph Prouse as Richard and Derek Hagen as Cops/Realtor.
The musical opens in present day when Wes, a young fashion designer buys an abandoned space, not realising this had been the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant 70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which, in 1973, was burned down in an arson attack, killing 32 people, and making it the worst attack on the LGBTQ+ community until the 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
The London production of the musical is one of ten that have been and are being mounted around the world between 2017 and 2019. As well as a triumphant run Off-Broadway, The View Upstairs has enjoyed multiple regional US productions and a recent Australian premiere. This production is directed in London by Jonathan O’Boyle, with choreography by Fabian Aloise.
