Full cast announced for HERE COMES J EDGAR! at King’s Head Theatre
Full casting has been announced for the world premiere of sizzling new comedy musical, Here Comes J Edgar!, which opens at King’s Head Theatre in July.
Written by US comedy aristocracy, Harry Shearer and Tom Leopold, with a musical score written by the legendary musician, composer, arranger, and conductor Peter Matz, Here Comes J Edgar! takes a bitingly comedic look at the very public public life and the very secret secret life of real-life former FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover.
Joining the already announced Bryan Batt (Mad Men) making his London debut, in the title role, will be Marc Elliott, best known for playing Syed Masood in Eastenders. Elliot will take the role of famed gossip columnist and radio commentator of the time, Walter Winchell.
Here Comes J Edgar! tells the public and private story of J. Edgar Hoover who, as director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, secured his position as the most powerful man in America by gathering information on the private lives of others. Yet, behind all the machismo, was his concealed sexuality, his secret partying and his lifelong love affair with his deputy, Clyde Tolson. This was a man who stopped at nothing to use the secrets of others to build and exert his control … yet underneath the petticoats of power lay his own secrets … hidden … in plain sight.
Completing the cast are Alfie Parker (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, UK tour) as Tony Clownpants, Holly Willock (Mean Girls, West End) as Nurse, Hugo Bolton (King Lear, Almeida Theatre) as Clyde Tolson, Isobel Grace Bass (recent graduate) as onstage swing, Jeremy Batt (The Greatest Showman, Bristol Hippodrome) as onstage swing, Jess Pratley (professional debut) as Boy John, Joanna Kirkland (The Good Enough Mums Club, Tour) as Mother (21-24 July), acclaimed jazz singer Judith Owen as Lady In Red, Laura Medforth (Acorn Antiques, Hope Mill Theatre) as Helen, Lucy O’Byrne (Little Miss Sunshine, UK & Ireland tour) as Mother (excluding 21-24 July), Martha Pothen (Lovers Actually, The Other Palace) as Maisie, Ryan Heenan (Girl from the North Country, The Old Vic) as Purvis, Reuben Khan (professional debut) as John F. Kennedy, and Simon Anthony (Fiddler on The Roof, Barbican Theatre/Tour) as John Dillinger.
The show is directed by Josh Seymour, with choreography by Bill Deamer, musical supervision by Benjamin Ferguson, musical direction by Luke Holman, set design by Sophia Pardon, costumes by Tom Paris, lighting by Jamie Platt, sound by Nick Lodge, and casting by Harry Blumenau CDG CSA.
This weird and twisted tale is told in the style of a 1950s musical romantic comedy. What emerges is a sharp and irrepressible comic musical about the love of power and the power of love … and what a simple black dress and a single strand of pearls can do for a guy!
Director Josh Seymour said “I am so thrilled to be introducing the fabulous company of Here Comes J Edgar. We’ve assembled a truly dazzling array of West End and Broadway talent to bring this hilarious new musical to life. Our audiences are in for a spectacular experience, getting up close and very personal with our 15-strong cast in the exquisitely intimate King’s Head space.”
