The musical, which transferred from the Finborough to the Charing Cross Theatre last month, will end its current five-week season as planned on Saturday 15th February. Before the show re-opens on Monday 3rd March, Willmott will make some subtle changes to the production.
“The break will allow me four days in the rehearsal room to focus the piece a little more, make cuts and improve one or two of the songs” Willmott said. West End star Jodie Jacobs joins the production from Monday 3rd March as Tinker Bell.
Lost Boy is described as “a dark sequel” to Peter Pan that reunites JM Barrie's characters as young adults on the eve of the First World War. Willmott’s music has a unique sound, blending a contemporary musical theatre style with music hall influences, and has been arranged into a score with additional music by Mark Collins who is Assistant Musical Director on the West End production of Billy Elliot The Musical.
Jodie Jacobs most recently starred as Regina in the West End production of Rock Of Ages at the Shaftesbury and Garrick Theatre. Her theatre credits also include: Evita (Adelphi), Little Shop of Horrors (Duke of York’s/Ambassadors), Fame (Aldwych) and We Will Rock You (Dominion).
Lost Boy also stars Olivier Award nominee Andrew C Wadsworth as Captain Hook. The rest of the cast are Steven Butler, Lauren Cocoracchio, Grace Gardner, Hannah Grace, Richard James-King, Natalie Lipin, Luka Markus, Max Panks, David Scotland, Joseph Taylor.
Peter Pan was the Harry Potter of the golden age of Edwardian children's literature. Tickets to Barrie's play and copies of the book sold in huge quantities with hardly a nursery in the Empire left untouched by the phenomenon. But when those children grew to adulthood, the world they encountered was a far cry from the utopia of Never Never Land. How did exposure to JM Barrie's masterpiece equip an army of frightened young men to deal with the horrors of trench warfare... and the complexities of grown up relationships?
The culture clash between the enchantment of childhood fantasy and real life provides a rich vein for humour and drama as this original story explores the hopes and dreams of one particular young officer on the eve of battle with a copy of Peter Pan in his pocket. As sleep begins to blur his dreams and reality, fact and fiction become entangled and he finds himself central to one final “awfully big adventure" with the grown up Wendy, John, Michael and Tinker Bell.
Lost Boy is directed by Phil Willmott, choreographed by Racky Plews and designed by Phil Lindley with musical direction by Isaac McCullough, musical supervision by Mark Collins and lighting by Mike Robertson. It is produced by Steven M Levy and Sean Sweeney and The Steam Industry in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.
Andrew Tomlins
Photo Credit: Scott Rylander